Standing in the command center, Hu Hao watched the battle unfolding in Jinhe City. A staff officer approached, warning him that the defending troops might suffer heavy casualties. This particular Allied unit was clearly well-versed in urban combat tactics, and their infantry was aggressively pushing to secure the high-rise buildings.
"Why weren't those high-rises demolished beforehand?" Hu Hao snapped, turning to glare at his staff officers. The officers froze, staring back at him in silence.
"Order our artillery! The moment they finish suppressing the Allied artillery positions, they are to level every single high-rise building in the enemy-occupied sector! Level them all!" Hu Hao didn't wait for an answer, immediately issuing the tactical correction.
"Yes, sir!" the staff officers responded instantly.
"Our men can hold the line. The regimental and battalion commanders out there should have anticipated this! They know the enemy cannot be allowed to secure the high ground! Since they knew that, why didn't they blow the buildings before retreating? A harsh lesson is exactly what they need right now!" Hu Hao stated grimly, his face set in a hard line.
"Yes, sir!" the staff officers nodded, daring not to argue.
"Heavy machine guns and RPGs! Suppress those upper floors! Keep them pinned down! Do not let them get a clear shot! Damn it!" a defending regimental commander roared into his radio.
Just moments ago, Allied infantry had successfully secured firing positions in the overlooking high-rises, cutting down several Eastern Spirit soldiers with plunging fire. A quick-thinking RPG gunner had managed to blast the specific room they were firing from, killing that squad.
However, the building itself remained standing. As long as the structure was intact, more Allied soldiers would simply rush up to replace the fallen. Now, the combat wasn't just street-level; a brutal, vertical firefight had erupted, with both sides pouring fire between the buildings to suppress the other.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, a massive volley of artillery shells screamed over the contested urban sector, arcing toward the Allied rear echelons.
"Our artillery is opening up! Hold the line, brothers! We're about to silence their big guns!" the defending battalion and company commanders shouted to boost morale.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
"Ammo! Bring up more ammo!"
"Medic! We have wounded here! Get them out, quick!" The brutal urban meat grinder ground on.
RUMBLE... RUMBLE...
A deafening crack of thunder drowned out the artillery. Lightning had been flashing for a while, but no one had paid it any mind; the enemy in front of them was a far more pressing concern.
Plop... plop...
Within a minute, massive, heavy raindrops began to fall. As they struck the parched, dusty earth, they kicked up tiny puffs of dirt before soaking into the ground.
RUMBLE... The thunder rolled continuously overhead.
"Brothers, keep firing! Kill them all!" The company commanders fired their own weapons alongside their men, screaming orders over the din.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Massive explosions erupted in the Allied rear. The Eastern Spirit soldiers positioned in the upper floors could clearly see the brilliant flashes of secondary explosions in the distance.
"Report! Our artillery positions are under heavy bombardment from Eastern Spirit artillery!" a staff officer reported to Ketonli.
"I know! Order the reserve artillery batteries to locate the enemy guns and initiate counter-battery fire! Wipe them out!" Ketonli ordered calmly. He had heard the shells screaming overhead; he fully expected the defenders to utilize their artillery.
"Report! Our infantry is facing intense, entrenched resistance within the city! The advance has stalled! Casualties are mounting rapidly, and we've lost numerous tanks and APCs! The fighting is incredibly fierce!
"The frontline Division Commanders are requesting permission to halt the offensive. Their men are exhausted from the march and the heavy combat!" a senior staff officer pleaded with Ketonli.
Ketonli checked his watch. "The assault began less than an hour ago. Tell them to hold the line and push harder! They must break through this defensive line! It's highly likely the majority of the Eastern Spirit garrison is concentrated on this single line. If we shatter it, Jinhe City is ours!"
"Yes, sir! However... judging by the sheer volume of incoming fire and explosions, the enemy force is substantial!" the senior staff officer warned.
"I am aware! But what does that matter? Think of how many numerically superior Eastern Spirit forces we've crushed on our march here! We must determine their true strength. Since we've committed to the attack, we press the attack! Their artillery has revealed itself, hasn't it?
"Kelly warned us that Hu Hao possesses tank divisions and air cavalry. We will maintain the pressure until we force him to reveal those assets!" Ketonli stated coldly.
He knew the initial assault would be brutal. War was never easy. But having committed his forces, he needed tangible results. At the very least, he needed to gauge the enemy's true strength, identify their unit types, and assess their combat effectiveness.
"Yes, sir!" The senior staff officer hurried off to relay the orders.
"What if we still can't break through? We've already secured a decent foothold in the city!" Janlis suggested again, hoping Ketonli would reconsider.
"If we truly cannot advance, then we will halt and fortify our positions. However, the current perimeter is far too shallow to be secure. We must push deeper. If the enemy has significant forces massed here, a single, concentrated counter-attack could easily throw us right back out into the mud!" Ketonli explained his reasoning.
"Understood. But my point remains: we could halt temporarily to allow the men to catch their breath and regroup before pushing again!" Janlis argued.
"Let's wait and see. Tell them to keep the pressure up for now," Ketonli compromised slightly.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The explosions within the city continued unabated. The torrential rain did nothing to dampen the ferocity of the firefight, though the streets were rapidly flooding.
"Spit! Brothers! Keep the fire up! Cover the infantry guns and RPG teams! Wipe out those bastards in the upper floors!" a company commander shouted, wiping a mixture of rain and sweat from his face.
"Hurry! Drag him inside! Get him to the rear!" a platoon commander yelled, spotting a wounded soldier. Medics rushed forward, grabbing the man by his webbing and hauling him to safety.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
"Damn it! Our casualties are too high! We should have demolished those high-rises before we fell back!" a regimental commander cursed, watching the grueling vertical firefight.
"What's the point of saying that now? Are we supposed to send demolition teams sprinting across no-man's land to plant charges?!" another commander retorted.
"Contact artillery command! Tell them to level every single building over two stories in front of our positions! Do not leave a single one standing!" the first commander ordered the others.
"Agreed!"
One of the commanders immediately dialed the artillery coordination center, demanding an immediate fire mission against the high-rises.
"What? Hao-ge already ordered it? Alright, good! Tell them to hurry!" the commander hung up the phone and turned to his peers. "Hao-ge already foresaw the problem. He ordered the artillery to level the buildings, but they have to finish suppressing the Allied guns first."
"It seems our defensive planning was flawed," another commander admitted thoughtfully.
"It was definitely flawed! We shouldn't have left those high-rises intact for the enemy to use. We should have rigged them with explosives and blown them the moment we retreated. That would have completely denied them the high ground and the ability to pin us down with plunging fire," a third commander analyzed their mistake.
They all realized now that leaving the buildings standing had been a critical error. In urban combat, clearing sightlines and denying the enemy elevated firing positions was paramount. A single heavy machine gun on a high floor could suppress an entire city block.
"Well, we haven't suffered a catastrophic defeat yet. We can still hold them. After all, we control plenty of high-rises on our side of the line as well!" the first commander pointed out, trying to remain optimistic.
"Keep fighting! If they want to break this line, they're going to pay in blood!" another commander nodded grimly.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Allied artillery positions were still being pounded. In response, the Allied reserve batteries finally opened fire, attempting to suppress the Eastern Spirit guns. Instantly, Hu Hao's reserve artillery regiments joined the fray, launching a massive counter-barrage.
"Damn it! How do they have so much artillery?!" Ketonli stared at his Chief of Staff in shock as reports of multiple new enemy batteries opening fire flooded in.
"They clearly had reserve batteries prepared. If we engage in a pure artillery duel, we will likely lose. As the attackers, we must use artillery to soften their defenses. But the Eastern Spirit forces are already dug into the urban terrain; they don't need to rely solely on their big guns. They already hold the tactical advantage in this environment!" Janlis analyzed the grim situation.
"What is the status of the frontline infantry assault?" Ketonli asked, ignoring Janlis's assessment and turning to his staff.
"The fighting is still incredibly intense, sir. No major breakthroughs reported yet," a staff officer replied.
"Commander, I strongly advise we halt the offensive immediately!" Janlis pressed his case again.
"No! We cannot halt! Absolutely not!" Ketonli refused adamantly.
"But—"
"No 'buts'!" Ketonli cut him off. "In war, you cannot simply fight and stop whenever you please! We committed to this assault; we must see it through to a conclusion! We just arrived; we must launch probing attacks to gauge the enemy's strength! If we don't fight, how will we ever know what we're facing?!"
"Sigh. Yes, sir," Janlis conceded, shaking his head.
"Report! The Commander of the 2nd Division reports that the Eastern Spirit garrison is massive! Based on the resistance in his sector alone, he estimates he is facing over a full division! His forces are taking heavy losses and cannot advance!" a staff officer rushed over.
"And the 4th Division? They committed three infantry regiments to the assault! What is their status?" Ketonli demanded.
(End of Chapter)