Song Heping had studied terrain very well.
He understood the defensive difficulties of the Hassan Oil Zone just by looking at the map.
It was incredibly difficult for just his handful of men to defend hundreds of square kilometers of the oil zone; it was easy to focus on one area and neglect another.
So far, the various armed forces in the area had adopted guerrilla warfare; they did not directly confront regular troops but instead adopted hit-and-run tactics aimed at causing destruction and casualties, draining the enemy's resources.
After Song Heping had explained his tactical thinking to everyone,
he emphasized that you could not use regular military tactics against guerrillas.
The very nature of guerrilla tactics is devised to counter regular troops, especially those forming defensive networks and engaging in trench warfare and tight defenses.
In a situation where our own forces were insufficient for overwhelming superiority, this was undoubtedly suicidal.
The US Army stationed in Baghdad provided the perfect example—they had been here for less than half a year, and though their numbers and firepower overwhelmingly surpassed those of the resistance and the suicide squad, various harassing attacks had turned them all into nervous wrecks.
Guerrilla warfare is itself a form of special operations, so the best way to combat guerrilla tactics is with guerrilla tactics of our own, using special operations against special operations, defeating magic with magic.
Want to engage in guerrilla warfare?
Who could outplay the people from the Flower Planting Clan?
After calling a few local mercenaries, Song Heping had them unload some of the landmines from the pickup truck.
"Damn!" White Bear looked at the boxes of broadsword mines being unloaded from the truck and asked curiously, "You bought so many mines this time, planning to blow them all up with mines?"
Saying this, he turned and pointed into the distance.
"Look at this place, such a vast open area, how are you going to bury mines?"
To this elite ex-paratrooper Da Mao, it was obvious that mines should be planted in key passages and narrow sections to be effective.
In a place like the Hassan Oil Field, surrounded by open, unobstructed plains, it was hard to decide where to bury the mines, as the enemy could come from any direction.
"I'll mark the positions on the GPS map in a while, and you'll bury the mines according to the positions I've marked."
Song Heping looked at the sky, "Hurry up, everyone come help, otherwise we're all doomed if the enemy arrives after it gets dark."
"Hurry up!" the cook urged White Bear, "What are you still standing there for? Didn't you hear the boss giving orders?!"
The cook's serious demeanor made everyone laugh.
Honestly, everyone in the team hadn't quite adjusted their mindset yet.
Just a few days ago, the cook was the leader; now it suddenly shifted to Song Heping.
They all found it quite amusing and funny.
Because it was clear that the cook was superstitious, fearing the "Umarov curse."
The atmosphere suddenly lightened, and everyone cheerfully went to help.
This time, they had brought twenty broadsword mines.
Following Song Heping's orders, the mines were buried at 5 points, with four mines at each, arranged left and right to create a fan-shaped crossfire, to maximize the explosive damage.
The locations of these five points varied; except for the swamp in the north of the oil storage area, mines were buried in the remaining three directions.
Song Heping didn't explain to them why the mines needed to be buried there; they just had to follow the orders.
After all, even mercenaries need to adhere to discipline.
After the mines were buried, darkness had fallen.
Sanchez also led the employees from Wood Company to retreat.
Song Heping then began the tactical deployment.
"Samir, Arif, take your squads to the west and east sides of this work area and find places to hide, making sure to camouflage your vehicles well, and nobody moves without my order!"
"Yes! Boss."
Samir and Arif obediently took their commands and led their men away.
After Samir and the others left, the cook looked around and asked Song Heping, "Son, where do you plan for us to lie in ambush?"
Song Heping said, "We have five points where we're planting mines, which means the seven of us need to split into five teams, each stationed near a mine point for surveillance. White Bear, you and your spouse are one team, Hunter, you and Disaster Star will team up, and the rest of us will each be on our own. I only have one requirement—avoid direct engagement.
Even if someone comes at night, passes by, or even gets blown up, avoid direct engagement. Report your position and wait for everyone's support. Clear? Moreover, White Bear and Hunter, your teams are responsible for driving an SUV each. When the enemy appears, quickly gather the rest of us. Specific tactics will be executed according to my command."
A concise arrangement ensued, and the cooks among them found no issues with it, so they all complied.
Several minutes later, everyone was in their assigned positions.
Song Heping was stationed at a point northwest of the Hassan Oil Field, approximately 7 kilometers away from two of Samir's platoons.
The core squad members were spaced far apart, with distances ranging from at least 3 kilometers to as much as 6-7 kilometers between each other.
Lying behind a mound of dirt just over two hundred meters away from the blast site, Song Heping checked the time.
Eight o'clock at night.
He then looked up at the sky.
The cold moon hung high with few clouds.
The weather was good.