Chapter 1410 Sniper Team
The snowfall that lasted for nearly a week finally stopped last night, which was good news for the snipers who had just arrived in Liaodong. It is difficult for even Morgan to adapt to such a combat environment in a short period of time when observing and aiming at distant targets in snowy weather. Now that the weather has begun to clear up, there is one less obstacle that limits the performance of snipers.
Although last night's campsite was only a dozen miles away from the destination, due to terrain reasons, it still took the team more than three hours to complete the journey, and Morgan also understood why Takahashi Nan Hui insisted on setting up camp before dark. If you wanted to march to your destination in one breath yesterday, it would have been impossible at least before dark. And marching in such barren mountains at night would consume a lot of physical energy. It would be wisest to stay overnight to recharge your batteries. choose.
After passing through a dense forest, everyone suddenly saw a mountain lake with an area of about 70 to 80 acres. The surface of the lake has frozen, and it shows a faint blue-green color under the light. Looking from a distance on the hillside, it looks like a huge jade covering the ground. There are some faintly visible houses scattered among the woods on the shore of the lake. They should have been the residences of local people in the past.
"That's Nanshan Lake." Takahashi Nan introduced to Morgan: "The northernmost outpost of our army is currently located by the lake."
After nearly a day and a half of mountain marching, Morgan was a little tired, but the destination was in sight. He cheered up and called on everyone to work harder to complete the last leg of the journey.
After getting closer, Morgan found that this village had obvious signs of being burned, just like the village he passed before entering the mountain yesterday. Needless to say, this must be a good thing done by Hou Jinjun.
"According to our understanding, there used to be a village in the north and south of the lake, with hundreds of residents, but now there are only these empty houses that have not been burned." Takahashi Minami introduced to Morgan with regret. The situation here: "The Houjin dog thieves kidnapped all the Han people in these places, and they didn't even leave any soup for us!"
Morgan comforted him: "When we conquer the Jinzhou Isthmus and Dalian Bay, and then slowly remove the Liaodong Han people from the Houjin territory, I believe that within a few years, this place will become a colony like Zhoushan and Taiwan." .”
Morgan knew very well that although the Liaodong Peninsula borders the mainland, the part south of the Jinzhou Isthmus is almost an isolated piece of land overseas. As long as Haihan can control the throat area of the isthmus, this place is actually no different from an island. . When the time comes, the fleeing Liaodong Han people will be picked up nearby via both sea and land routes. Wouldn’t that be a blessing? With Haihan's ability to develop and build colonies, as long as there is a sufficient labor force, it is indeed only a matter of time to establish a stable ruling area at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula.
The duty of the outpost deployed by the special operations battalion here is mainly to monitor and provide early warning for the activities of the post-Jin army outside the mountain, so it only has one squad. The team of more than 60 people who came here this time was probably the largest number of troops gathered here after the winter armistice. The soldiers who were originally stationed here had already guessed a certain possibility when they saw Takahashi Nan accompanying the leader to this place.
The Special Operations Battalion is a very special existence in the Haihan Army. It has participated in the most battles, has the richest combat experience, and has the most outstanding military achievements. These achievements give the soldiers from top to bottom in the Special Operations Battalion the confidence to choose anyone else. . They know very well that the place where they are stationed will always be the border of Haihan Kingdom, and their mission is to continuously expand Haihan territory outwards.
Although they are currently in a state of truce due to the weather and the epidemic, they all understand that they are certainly not here for tourism and vacation in Liaodong, and fighting against Houjin is the most important task. The chief's personal visit to the front line means that the war may be restarted soon.
The gathering of snipers here is indeed related to the battle plan after the beginning of spring, but Morgan did not explain anything to these soldiers with hot eyes. The training and actions of snipers are also top secrets in the Haihan Army. There are only Only a handful of senior officers knew about Morgan's arrangement, and even the sniper rifles they used were packed in special boxes and transported on horseback.
"Does the enemy know this place?" After settling down briefly, Morgan asked Takahashi Nan.
Takahashi Nan understood what Morgan meant and responded with a smile: "Of course they know that there are our people in the mountains, but they don't know our specific location. This outpost is not fixed here, so they may not be able to suppress them even if they want to. They tried it several times and after dozens of people died, they were no longer willing to risk their lives again.”
The soldiers of the special operations battalion monitor the plains outside in the mountains and forests, and naturally occupy a great geographical advantage. The Hou Jin Army also knew that Haihan had an outpost here, but every time he came to suppress it, he was discovered first. When they entered the mountains, the Haihan Army naturally moved to a more secluded position in the mountains and forests, and then set off in the dark. Killing people with cold guns made the Hou Jin army unable to defend themselves, and finally gave up their plan to deal with Haihan here.
"Let's go, find a higher place and take a look at the situation outside the mountain." After asking a few questions, Morgan became more interested and asked Gao Qiaonan to lead the way to the monitoring point where sentries were usually on duty.
Takahashi Minami didn't refuse, ordered a group of men and set off with Morgan. Morgan's snipers were left in the camp to sort out their exclusive weapons.
Starting from the campsite, heading north over a mountain ridge about 100 meters above sea level, you will find the plain stretching for dozens of miles outside the mountain. After reaching the mountain ridge, even without using a telescope, you can clearly see the wind and grass for several miles from the top. The special operations battalion has set up a 24-hour sentry here to monitor the movements outside the mountain. As long as the Jin army moves near the mountain, the soldiers stationed in the mountain will receive a warning signal from the mountain and quickly evacuate the station.
Morgan took out his telescope and looked into the distance. The plain outside the mountain was the target area that Haihan wanted to capture after the beginning of spring. The southeast side of the plain is Dalian Bay, and the northwest side is the Bohai Sea. This narrow plain is sandwiched between the oceans on both sides. The widest point is only more than thirty miles. The narrowest point is the Jinzhou Isthmus at the northeast end of the plain, which is less than ten miles wide. land passage. But that place cannot be seen clearly from the mountain ridge, because it is still a full forty miles away from here. Morgan knew that there were thousands of post-Jin soldiers stationed on the other side of the Jinzhou Isthmus at the end of his sight. After Haihan seized the Lushun area in a surprise attack before winter, perhaps Hou Jin will send more troops to the Jinzhou Isthmus to ensure that Haihan will not easily seize this special location with very important strategic significance. Of course, Morgan is not too worried about this. The Ministry of Defense has already made preliminary plans for the spring offensive, and his purpose of visiting the front line is to confirm whether the geographical environment here is consistent with the Ministry of Defense's operational plan.
Of course, taking the opportunity of the reconnaissance operation to let his students practice their combat skills in this icy and snowy environment is also one of the main purposes of Morgan's trip.
Morgan observed for several minutes before slowly putting down the telescope in his hand. As Takahashi Minami introduced, the terrain outside the mountainous areas is flat, and there are even very few hilly patches. It is naturally difficult for the Houjin cavalry to hide their figures in such terrain, but this is also an unavoidable trouble for the Haihan army who wants to go deep into the plains to detect the enemy's situation. Although it is easy to hide your tracks while traveling on foot, if you are encountered by a large group of enemy cavalry on the plains, it will most likely result in the consequences of being unable to escape. It is precisely because of this that the special operations battalion set up its northernmost outpost here, and strictly restricted the garrison's activities, and did not recklessly set foot on the plains outside the mountains.
As if he had seen through Morgan's thoughts, Takahashi Nan took the initiative and said: "Chief, if you want to arrange for someone to go out for investigation, the best time is really in the near future."
"Oh? Tell me your reasons." Morgan also wanted to see the military quality of Qian Tiandun's No. 1 general, so he encouraged him to express his opinion.
Takahashi South Road: "This period is a truce period, and the enemy does not want to make big moves during this season, so the defense force outside the mountain is relatively weak, and you can always find loopholes to exploit. In addition, it is snowy now, and this kind of weather and The environment is actually the most conducive to concealment. The sniper team has special snow clothing for camouflage, and the leader must have made arrangements for it.”
Morgan nodded and continued to ask: "So if a small team like snipers goes out to operate in the mountains and encounters an enemy on the plains, how do you think they should respond?"
Takahashi Minami responded: "If it is a small infantry patrol, I believe that the sniper team can easily control the situation, and it should not be difficult to annihilate them all. But if you encounter a cavalry team, it is best to hide as long as you can. If they can't hide, they will retreat separately and cover each other. After all, with the sniper's fighting method, it will be easier to cover the retreat of the companions after being separated from the enemy."
When Morgan heard what he said was reasonable, he couldn't help but nodded silently, thinking that the person Qian Tiandun brought out really had a lot of tricks up his sleeve. However, he would not specifically tell Takahashi Nan that even in close combat, these snipers would not be too afraid of the cavalry unless the opponent's troops had a clear advantage. He spent several years training only a few dozen qualified snipers. It can be said that all of them are treasures. The loss of one is enough for the military to feel distressed for a long time. Therefore, no expense was spared in equipping these snipers. Not only are they equipped with long-range The main weapons of attack are hand crossbows and revolvers specially used for close combat. Their individual firepower covers both distance and distance, and they can fight even when encountering a small group of cavalry.
Of course, even so, Morgan would not let his snipers go head-to-head with the enemy. In his opinion, the hundreds of lives of the enemy are not as important as the safety of one of his own students. The sniper plays the role of a disinterested killer on the battlefield, and there is no need to risk his life unless absolutely necessary. Each trainee can become a qualified sniper after several years of training and continuous honing of combat skills on the battlefield. Their value is the same as that of barbarian soldiers who were transferred from fishermen, hunters, herdsmen and farmers. There is no comparison at all.
Morgan did not rush down the mountain to rest. Instead, he continued to observe the situation under the mountain with his telescope, compared it with the military map drawn by the special operations battalion, and then conceived in his mind how the sniper team under his command should arrange the marching route for reconnaissance out of the mountain. .
After nearly two hours of this, Morgan and his team came down the mountain and returned to their base. After eating briefly to replenish his energy, Morgan immediately summoned his men, together with Takahashi Minami, to discuss the next plan of action. Although this winter is still very long, Morgan does not want to waste even a day. He hopes that his elites can fully adapt to the local environment before the spring offensive, so the reconnaissance operations near the Golden State Isthmus during this period are particularly important. , one more day of adaptation period, and the combat effectiveness will be increased by one point.
In addition to advanced weapons and combat ideas, the Haihan Army's invincibility also depends to a large extent on good preparations for war. It can be said that most of the wars launched by Haihan have been determined before the war begins. The victory and the result will only depend on the soldiers' on-the-spot performance.
The action plan formulated by Morgan can be said to be very cautious. He did not plan to take all twelve snipers out of the mountain. Instead, he designed a progressive marching route, that is, setting up multiple firepower points along the sniper team's marching route. Then advance forward or retreat backward in sequence. This way of marching is a bit like a snake. The purpose is to ensure a larger observation range while also providing fire cover for the team when retreating and maneuvering.
Takahashi Minami can tell at a glance, because this combat method has many similarities with the Army's existing squad combat tactics. The difference is that Morgan's sniper squad uses special weapons, so its fire control range is wider, and even It can provide fire cover for comrades from a concealed position hundreds of meters away, which is something that ordinary army soldiers cannot do. And because the distance between each firepower point is far enough, the chance of the entire squad being surrounded by enemy forces will be minimized. Although the firepower will be dispersed, it is already the most effective for a small group of elites with special characteristics like them. Good arrangements.
This tactic is not unfamiliar to the snipers. They have also practiced it in daily training, so they quickly understood Morgan's intention. However, since this operation was actual combat rather than training, Morgan was more detailed when deploying tactics, especially after contacting the enemy, under what circumstances should he fire to kill the enemy, cover his comrades, and retreat step by step? explain.
Although Takahashi Minami was already a senior military officer, there were not many opportunities to listen to such detailed tactical explanations. At that moment, he was very alert and carefully digested the tactical ideas taught by Morgan.
(End of chapter)