Chapter 1045 Yucheng Zhongxian
The dawn of the Yangtze River was wrapped in thick, impenetrable gray fog. The water corpses on the river surface looked like frozen, torn sacks, looming in the fog.
The steel cables of the river-crossing bridge sliced diagonally across the gray-blue sky. The zombies that had been stuck in the cracks of the bridge last night were still roaring softly, their voices muffled by the morning mist...
In the past eight hours of last night, the East Column troops of the Yucheng Military Region, which had completely withdrawn from the urban area, only maintained the lowest intensity of containment on the zombies in the city. The occasional bursts of machine guns and sporadic roars of rocket launchers were only to prevent the zombies in the city from running out of the city.
At this moment, at several troop assembly points outside Zhong County, Yucheng, the troops of the East Column, which had rested for a night, began to prepare for the attack again.
There were no loud slogans, only the squeaking sound of tracks rolling over gravel, the low hum of engines, and the crisp sound of metal colliding as soldiers checked their equipment.
The whole scene seemed to be confronting the roars of zombies in the city through the fog, like the silence before a storm.
In the temporarily leveled armored cluster assembly area, the ZB77 main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles of the 96th Armored Brigade have deployed into an offensive formation.
Dozens of ZB96 main battle tanks were deployed in a wedge shape. As they slowly started and advanced, their tough steel tracks crushed the asphalt road surface into layers like puff pastry.
I saw that some of the tank gun barrels were still covered with rotten zombie flesh splashed from last night's night battle. In the morning mist, it looked like old dirt picked out of the sewer, black and smelly.
During the preparation process, the commanders stuck their heads out, repeatedly calibrated the coordinates of the city direction with binoculars, or occasionally shouted a few short instructions into the radio.
Behind the tank cluster were more than 30 infantry fighting vehicles arranged in two columns. Each vehicle was covered in blood and flesh after a bloody battle, with its tailgate closed. The coaxial machine guns on both sides of the vehicle had been loaded with ammunition belts, and the bullets in the ammunition boxes shone with a brassy light in the morning mist.
Inside the infantry fighting vehicles, soldiers from the 9th Yezhou Infantry Brigade expertly prepared for battle: checking their weapons, magazines, projectiles, rations, battlefield first aid kits, and more...
The battlefield is the best training ground. Obviously, after this period of hellish high-intensity fighting, the surviving soldiers in the various infantry brigades of Yucheng have quickly grown into veterans of many battles.
I don’t dare to talk about the word “ace” lightly, but I definitely deserve the word “elite”!
On the other side, at a temporary take-off and landing point near the east side of the river beach, six armed helicopters of the 77th Army Aviation Regiment had completed preheating, with their rotors spinning at a low speed. The wind created by the wind swirled the broken grass and mud on the ground.
Li Rui, the flight squadron leader, sat in the cockpit, repeatedly checking the parameters on the instrument panel. The co-pilot casually handed him an energy bar.
"Captain, eat something first. The battle pace today will probably be very intense!"
Hearing this, Li Rui did not stop. Without saying a word, he took the energy bar that the other party had torn open and stuffed it into his mouth.
He had only slept for three hours since the forced landing last night, and his mouth still tasted bitter. He really had no desire to communicate. The endless fighting for days had made him mentally numb.
In the helicopter's rocket pod just below him, the newly loaded rockets were already neatly arranged, with the tail flame nozzles wrapped in moisture-proof cloth. Ground crew members were squatting beside them, using wrenches to make a final check on the fixing bolts to ensure that there would be no problems during takeoff.
Not far away, two transport helicopters with slightly mottled paint were parked there, with their cabin doors open, filled with ammunition boxes and medical supplies, ready to respond to emergencies after the attack began.
...
The headquarters of the Eastern Column was located in the former government office building in Dongxi Town, across the river from the urban area of Zhong County.
While the various combat units were making intensive and orderly preparations for the new day's battles, the headquarters of the East Column was also extremely busy.
Inside the command center, a two-meter-square sand table of the Zhongxian urban area was set up in the center of the former government hall. The outlines of the buildings were made of green plasticine in the sand table, and small red flags marked the areas with dense zombie concentrations. Blue represented the armor of the East Column and green represented the infantry units. Several silver chess pieces were the symbols of the Army Aviation helicopters.
At this moment, Yang Wei, commander-in-chief of the East Column and deputy commander of the 77th Corps, was bending over and staring at the sand table. He held a worn baton in his fingers, rubbing his fingertips repeatedly on the position of the "cross-river bridge", and his brows were twisted into a knot.
"Has the Armored Brigade confirmed? Can the damaged road surface on the west side of the bridge withstand the weight of the Type 96?"
The voice of Major General Yang Wei, commander-in-chief of the East Column, was hoarse. He only slept for two hours last night, and the bitter taste of black coffee still lingered in his mouth.
Upon hearing this, the combat staff officer next to him immediately handed over a folded paper report, the edges of the paper being rubbed rough by fingers:
"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, the engineering detachment went to investigate at 4:00 AM and used steel plates in three places. It's passable, but we must control the speed. Each tank must be spaced ten meters apart to prevent resonance on the bridge deck."
"Where's the Army Aviation?" Yang Wei stood up and pointed his baton at the area east of the river on the sand table. "Li Rui and his team's armed helicopters, I want them to focus on sniping the mutant zombies that can cause heavy damage to the troops. We can't let anything go wrong this time!"
As soon as the voice fell, the staff officer in charge of coordinating the army aviation immediately grabbed the microphone and pressed the call button:
"Command to Vulture Squadron, confirm the combat plan. Repeat, no need to participate in the ground attack. Prioritize eliminating high-threat targets. Over."
Li Rui's response soon came over the radio, his voice carrying the background noise of a helicopter engine:
"Vulture received. Rocket parameters have been calibrated. Thermite rounds are ready. Mission accomplished. Over."
After he finished speaking, the staff officer lowered his head and made a check mark on his notebook. The notebook was already filled with dense handwriting, some of which were blurred by coffee stains. He then traced the mark again with a red pen.
In the communication area on the left, 10 folding tables are put together, like a black Internet cafe, crowded with radios and computers, and various lines crisscrossing.
Eight communications soldiers, according to their division of labor, wore headphones, their fingers tapping quickly on the keyboard, with the headphone wires wrapped around their wrists, swaying gently with their movements.
"Changjiang calling headquarters. 9st Battalion, 1th Brigade, ammunition inventory complete. Short of 98 PF-180 rockets and 5 rifle ammunition. Requesting replenishment. Over." A signalman read the message, and another immediately noted it on a form, then grabbed another radio.
"Commandant to the Logistics Team. The 9st Battalion of the 1th Brigade requires 180 rockets and rifle ammunition... Prioritize ammunition depot number two. Deliver within ten minutes. Over."
...
