On the battlefield virtual image in the Operations Hall, the red arrows representing the Gazalin Empire continuously clashed against several key high grounds of Jialuo Mountain, while the blue defensive lines of the Leray Federation were on the verge of collapse under the enemy's assault.
Jialuo Mountain, the forward position west of Kato, had already become hell. Countless artillery barrages poured onto this area of just over six hundred square kilometers, reducing several important high grounds by twenty to thirty meters.
In a hidden command room less than ten kilometers from the Jialuo Mountain front, Admiral Blatt, the Chief of Staff of the Miloke Advanced Command, looked gravely at the electronic sand table.
He had already dispatched two fully mechanized infantry divisions to High Ground D1 on Jialuo Mountain, both of which were full-strength main divisions. However, distress calls from the front line were still coming in one after another. The only difference was that those who had initially called for help had already perished, and their replacements picked up the phone to make the same pleas.
None of the soldiers from the original fully mechanized infantry division stationed at High Ground D1 managed to withdraw alive; they all perished in battle.
This battle was brutal and fierce!
The bunkers on High Ground D1 had already been leveled, and the two additional divisions had to go up there with hastily assembled temporary fortifications. Such makeshift structures couldn't possibly withstand the enemy's artillery. The only thing they could buy was time for the soldiers to use their engineering mechanical arms to dig new fortifications.
How many more reserve forces should be dispatched? The Gazalin Empire's attacks on High Ground D1 were virtually endless and insanely aggressive. Their losses were even greater than those of the Federation, yet it seemed that the Empire's commander had made a firm decision to seize this critical crossover point that allowed them to bypass Katos Canyon by crossing Jialuo Mountain.
The position of High Ground D1 was on the left-forward defensive line of the Jialuo Mountain combat zone. The entire high ground looked like a pyramid with half its side sheared off, and the side facing the enemy was a steep cliff, nearly eighty degrees. Whether infantry or Mecha, any attempt to attack this high ground first faced this steep wall. Thus, this high ground became a thorn on the enemy's attack route, always ready to strike from a commanding position, making it a primary target for the Imperial Army's offensive.
Admiral Blatt was frustrated because the fire support system was no longer operational. Six self-propelled artillery units had been destroyed by the enemy's counter-barrage. Among them, four belonged to the direct artillery battalions of the fully mechanized infantry divisions at High Ground D1, and two were reserve support artillery battalions from the Jialuo Mountain front command. The direct cause of these losses was that the SkyNet System was practically paralyzed from the unprecedented intensity of the electronic warfare.
Self-propelled artillery was essentially a simplified version of Mecha, with ultra-large caliber guns mounted on reverse-joint mechanical legs, capable of traversing various terrains. Their concealment and deployment abilities were significantly better than the older tracked self-propelled artillery. These were the fire support systems of the mechanized infantry divisions, which under the coverage of the SkyNet System, continuously provided precise fire coverage based on coordinates transmitted by the system.
However, the unending electronic warfare since the start of the battle had rendered both sides' SkyNet Systems completely inoperative. No system could survive such high-intensity electronic warfare.
In modern warfare, both in space and on the ground, electronic warfare was the first to commence. It aimed to destroy the enemy's communication, command, battlefield monitoring, fire distribution, and targeting systems, an invisible war with no smoke.
Electronic warfare continued the terminology from the Ancient Earth era. In reality, modern electronic warfare encompassed electronic transmission, optical imaging, signal deception, simulated forces, camouflage, diversion attacks, and other advanced operations, with increasingly diverse attack methods. Besides basic strong interference, there was also virus infection, system intrusion, program vulnerabilities, laser blinding, signal disruption, information infiltration, microwave radiation, pulse attacks, and single-soldier directed violent destruction, with new electronic attack devices becoming increasingly advanced, covering larger areas and with greater intensity.
The capabilities of both sides in electronic warfare determined the general direction of the war. If electronic warfare failed, combat units would suffer tremendous losses, unable to pinpoint the enemy or provide accurate fire support, with communication and command systems becoming entirely inoperative. They would have to revert to the most primitive battlefield communications, and fire support positions would be exposed the moment they opened fire, then picked off one by one under the enemy's SkyNet Command.
That was the current situation. Neither side could gain an upper hand in electronic warfare. Without SkyNet guidance, self-propelled artillery units could only rely on primitive frontline artillery observation to conduct fire coverage.
The entire Jialuo Mountain had become a vast battleground with nowhere to hide. The usual mobile shooting tactics of self-propelled artillery units were now completely ineffective. Furthermore, the front line was in desperate need of fire support. Without SkyNet guidance, mobile shooting not only lacked accuracy, but also couldn't achieve the required speed and density of fire coverage. Consequently, both sides were now competing over who had more artillery units, destroying one self-propelled artillery battalion after another once their positions were exposed.
Not just High Ground D1, the entire Jialuo Mountain combat zone had reached Admiral Blatt's psychological limit of losses. Looking at the electronic sand table, he desperately cross-checked the intelligence on the enemy's force disposition. He wasn't sure how long his remaining reserves could hold out, as fire support reserves had dwindled to their minimum, with only a few armored divisions left, and fully mechanized infantry divisions getting decimated as soon as they were deployed. If the attacks continued for another day, he would have no choice but to request additional defensive forces from other areas through Bernadotte.
But, would he dare to reallocate forces? Even if he dared, from where would he draw them? The entire region west of Kato was mired in brutal combat, and no place could afford to transfer any forces.
Except for Gallipalan, the forces elsewhere were also stretched thin. Even if reassigned, it would take two days from mobilization, transport, to final deployment in battle. The only ones that wouldn't require too much time were the stationed forces in Gallipalan. But if these forces were pulled away, what if a mishap occurred?
The most disconcerting part was that no one knew the Imperial Army's true intentions behind suddenly launching such a full-scale offensive! Could it really be that they just wanted to clear the road to Kato and then engage the Leray Federation in another brutal battle east of Kato to seize the vast strategic space?
Although Blatt knew there were several routes other than through Jialuo Mountain to attack Kato, the Empire was aggressively targeting Jialuo Mountain because the other routes were also heavily guarded. Additionally, Jialuo Mountain and the subsequent Katos Canyon hosted three Federation military bases and two air force bases. Troops positioned behind Jialuo Mountain could move freely across the flat terrain and readily encircle and divide any deeply penetrating Imperial forces.
However, such an assault clearly didn't add up. Intelligence indicated that the Empire's great general, Russell, had personally arrived on Miloke Planet to command ground battles. With his commanding prowess, he wouldn't launch such an attack without the Imperial Army having an advantage in numbers.
Preparations had to be made. Unable to draw conclusions, Blatt sent the current situation to the central command in Gallipalan, hoping to find a solution for the defense of Jialuo Mountain and uncover the enemy's hidden intentions. Confronting the renowned general Russell of the Gazalin Empire, Blatt knew he couldn't match him alone, and could only rely on the collective intelligence of their team.
They only had one day left.