"Hold steady! Wait until they're closer to shoot!"
Song Heping's voice came through the communications network to the ears of every frontline commander, "Prioritize taking out their pickups and technical equipment! Let the infantry get closer and finish them off with crossfire!"
Eastern Road, "Vulture Ridge" Liberation Forces Third Battalion position.
The battalion commander, watching the enemy army surge like a tide, licked his chapped lips and shouted into the radio: "All units, listen to my command! No one is to open fire without my orders! Let those lunatics get within 500 meters!"
The armed pickups roared, the heavy machine guns on the vehicles indiscriminately sweeping the hillside positions, sending sandbags puffing and dust flying.
Behind the pickups, thousands of infantry brandishing rifles and rocket launchers charged with crazed shouts, heads down in an assault.
800 meters... 700 meters... 600 meters...
The position remained deathly silent, with only the whistling sound of enemy bullets passing by and the increasingly loud engine roars and shouts approaching.
500 meters!
"Fire!" The battalion commander gave the order with a sharp wave of his hand!
In an instant, the "Vulture Ridge" position awoke like a hedgehog, bristling with deadly spikes!
The heavy machine gun positions arranged on the flanks were the first to open fire!
"Boom boom boom!"
"Ratatatata!"
12.7mm and 7.62mm bullets rained down like a scorching steel storm, forming a crossfire net that instantly covered the leading pickup convoy!
The pickups' thin armor was no match for the tearing power of large-caliber machine guns, and one after another, they were riddled with holes, collapsing on the path of charge, exploding into flames, becoming obstacles for the following infantry.
Almost simultaneously, anti-tank missiles with a white trail of smoke precisely targeted those modified armored vehicles attempting to break through the weak points of the defense line.
Boom!
Boom!
With a few loud explosions, several of the most threatening vehicles turned into burning fireballs.
The infantry, having lost the cover of vehicles, were completely exposed to the defenders' firepower.
Rifles, light machine guns, and rifle-launched grenades... all weapons rained down a hail of bullets down the mountain.
The charging 1515 militants fell like wheat being cut down, one patch after another.
They were reckless, but lacked effective tactical coordination and fire support, and in the face of a well-prepared defensive position with advantageous terrain and firepower, their charge turned into a one-sided slaughter.
On the western line, Sawtooth Cliff Battalion Five position, the battle was equally fierce.
The terrain here was steeper, making it difficult for vehicles to attack directly, so the 1515 committed more infantry to an uphill assault.
They used rocks and craters as cover, inching their way upward, occasionally firing RPGs at the hilltop positions.
The battle descended into a brutal stalemate.
Relying on their manpower advantage and the crazed disregard for casualties, 1515 organized new waves almost as soon as one was repelled, persistently attacking both the eastern and western flank positions.
Just as the Liberation Forces' artillery was fully supporting the frontline, a sudden change occurred!
"Whiz—Boom!"
A shell, with a sharp whistle, crossed the frontline positions and smashed into an open area about a kilometer behind them, kicking up a giant plume of smoke!
Soon after, more shells followed, their points of impact scattered and somewhat inaccurate, but clearly targeting the artillery positions and logistics area!
"Shelling! They're shelling us!"
Panic-stricken reports came from the logistics units over the radio.
"They're attacking our artillery positions."
A few shells even fell not far from the frontline command post, shaking dust from the ceiling.
Though there were no major losses for now, the presence of enemy artillery posed a significant threat; they could disrupt our artillery's shots and possibly strike logistics and command nodes.
Reports of shelling on frontline positions and the rear began flooding the channel.
It seemed Buckdadi had pulled out all the stops, transferring units equipped with large-caliber artillery to Hulmatu.
Judging from the intensity and ferocity of the shelling on our side, the quantity and quality of 1515's artillery was no less than that of the Liberation Forces' militias!
"How can this be?"
Song Heping turned to Jiang Feng in surprise.
"Hadn't we already sent out UAVs for reconnaissance? They didn't seem to have artillery larger than 122 caliber!"
"Yes, they didn't. Our UAVs have been scouting for days and haven't found their artillery positions. They're mostly mortars, so their range shouldn't reach our artillery positions!"
The Liberation Forces use 122mm Soviet-made D-30 howitzers. If the 1515 militants could shell our artillery positions, it meant they were using artillery of this caliber or even larger with longer range.
Where did it come from?
"UAV unit, immediately search the outskirts of Hulmatu City and areas where artillery positions might be hidden! Find their damn artillery claws for me!"
"Understood!"
The UAV unit sprang into action, deploying more "Falcon" UAVs, circling the battlefield like falcons, their high-definition cameras and infrared sensors carefully scanning the ground.