Damn the World, Ride a Submarine - Chapter 143



Only Krnovel

Episode 143 – Leadership

In the expression on Chairman Cha Min-soo’s face, one could read a feeling of wonder rather than joy.

“Your Majesty! There are many wounded, but… there are no casualties on our side.”

“Ah, that’s a relief.”

“I am once again amazed by the bulletproof helmet and bulletproof vest that the Marshal provided. Really! These are truly amazing items.”

“is it so?”

“That’s right. If this hadn’t happened, there would have been at least tens, if not hundreds, of casualties.”

“It was worth the money.”

“How expensive is it?”

“Um… that’s a bit ambiguous. A helmet, plate, and one set of accessory equipment will cost 300 units.”

Cha Min-soo answered with his eyes wide open, either surprised or unable to understand.

“Huh~ Are you serious? Oh no, you supplied the resources to arm a battalion to one soldier?”

“I see. Haha.”

“Did you put that on all 50,000 soldiers?”

“Whether it’s a gun or a tank, if it breaks you can just re-shoot it, but you can’t bring back a life.”

“Ah! I am deeply moved by the heart of the Marshal who loves the people.”

“By the way, please report on enemy movements first.”

“Ah, yes. A significant number of enemy forces have been annihilated, but it is estimated that approximately 60,000 are hiding within a 2km combat range.”

“Despite the artillery fire, a considerable number of enemy troops have advanced.”

“That’s right. They must have taken the drugs… They just rushed in without even knowing.”

“Maybe I really was on drugs.”

“yes?”

“This neighborhood has been famous for its myaac since the Kunsa era.”

“Giltamun! Those guys are the vanguard, so it’s clear that they’ve drugged the cannon fodder unit.”

“ah…”

“The Mitins came charging with their eyes wide open. After them, the sane soldiers started crawling in.”

“Um… Anyway, tonight and tomorrow will be critical.”

“That’s right. The real battle starts at night.”

“Understood. I will order the drone brigade to conduct night reconnaissance and attack, so please give the soldiers some rest.”

“I understand. We are sequentially carrying out the mission rotation between the forward units and the reserve units.”

“Yes. Good job. And please share the battle situation with Brigade Commander Seo Ji-seok.”

“Yes, I understand.”

It was necessary to make sure that the enemy did not rest even at night.

Brigade Commander Seo Ji-seok was ordered to conduct night drone operations.

The goal was to prevent enemy nighttime infiltration surprise attacks, prevent the enemy from resting, and weaken the enemy’s fighting power as much as possible before the offensive.

The night sky above the front lines was filled with all kinds of drones.

MQ-9B STOL and Bayraktar were monitoring the enemy 24 hours a day from 8 km above.

At the infantry engagement range, about 500 Matrice 350 RTK drones took turns sortieing and performed low-altitude reconnaissance in a trawling net style at 50m intervals.

When enemy positions or soldiers were discovered using thermal imaging cameras and low-altitude reconnaissance, about 300 Revolver 860 attack drones waiting in the air were dispatched one after another.

The targets were eliminated one by one with 60mm mortar shells.

When the moving figure on the screen stopped moving, it meant that a life was fading away.

A terrible night was passing in pitch-black darkness where it was difficult to distinguish between heaven and earth, with screams continuing incessantly.

It was the second day of the Sittwe Defense Battle.

According to the combat analyst’s report, today’s offensive is expected to be the last general offensive.

The Myanmar army overcame the absolute disadvantage in firepower with human wave tactics, losing 140,000 troops in the process.

At such a terrible cost, 60,000 troops were advanced within 2km of the defense line. It is estimated that more than 10,000 combat capabilities were lost due to nighttime drone strikes.

Their only option was to break through the front lines with their remaining 50,000 men, instigating melee combat between friendly and enemy forces and avoiding air raids and artillery fire.

Even though the sun was rising and it was almost lunchtime, time was strangely quiet.

I always felt that way. Such silence was often a precursor to an unexpected shock. I took the MV-280 and headed to the Sittwe Defense Command.

It was also to encourage the front line. I didn’t want to take up Commander Cha Min-soo’s time.

As we entered the defense headquarters without notice, everyone looked busy and tense.

A few people recognized me and saluted, and I put my index finger to my lips and made a hand gesture to signal them to continue the movement.

And he called out to Commander Cha Min-soo with a nod.

I went up to the roof of the command building with him and talked to him while looking at the front lines.

“Commander Cha, aren’t you being too quiet?”

“It’s going to explode any minute.”

“yes?”

“He’s probably crawling all night somewhere on the front lines.”

“Are you talking about crawling?”

“That’s right. I would have done the same thing. That’s the only way.”

“As expected. Do you have any countermeasures?”

“Okay. Do you remember the trench I showed you earlier?”

“Yes. Radiating out like sunlight in a semicircle…”

“That’s right. Those radiating trenches are now traps. They’re like the tiger’s mouth, the fool you mentioned.”

“…?”

“So, if you advance by crawling and come across a trench, you have no choice but to go in there.”

“ah ···.”

“Sir, do you know the fish trap? It’s used to catch fish…”

“So you’re saying that the T-shaped trenches on the front line were designed to act as traps to trap infiltrating enemies?”

“That’s right.”

“I thought you just made it that way for the convenience of the border… but you had it all planned out.”

“That’s right. The tactic of overcoming equipment disadvantages with manpower! The Republic has studied and trained countless times.”

“Again, many people will die.”

“This is the fate of a soldier who meets the wrong leader.”

“It seems that not only the soldiers but the entire people of Myanmar are facing the same fate…”

“I am ashamed to say this, but I have come to realize what true leadership is after meeting you, my lord.”

“I too am impressed by the Commander’s experience, sincerity, and wisdom.”

“That’s all~ It’s all thanks to the leader’s outstanding leadership.”

“Anyway, I hope that Myanmar will be liberated after this battle.”

“That’s what’s going to happen. Look at the students and militia that gathered as soon as our troops landed. How are we going to deal with them rising up all over the country?”

“Yes. It’s our job to light that spark.”

After hearing Commander Cha Min-soo’s explanation, I felt relieved. Although it was not intentional, bringing the Northern 1st Army, which had a solid tactical understanding of the enemy, felt like a stroke of genius.

…

Soon, the sounds of claymore shells exploding, grenades exploding, and mortar shells dropped by Revolver 860s could be heard simultaneously from all over the front line.

And the 120mm self-propelled mortars also started spitting fire.

The sound of the machine gun of the AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter could also be heard. The silence between the explosions was filled with the distant sound of gunfire, ‘tak-tak-tak, tak-tak, gurgling, tada-dang.’

The sound gave an idea of ​​how horrific the scene was.

Following the advice of Director Kim Jun-myeong and his adjutant, he returned to the Tawi Tawi. He headed straight to the combat information room.

A drone was filming close combat situations in real time from the air.

It was exactly as Commander Cha Min-soo said.

Burmese soldiers, crawling or charging at close range, would come into the trenches dug in a T shape as if they had made a promise.

As he said, they advanced along the trench as if they had been caught in a fish trap, and where the trench split, a bottleneck occurred where they could not advance.

Then, without fail, a grenade would fly in or a claymore would explode.

It was more of a massacre than a battle.

Whether they knew the situation or not, soldiers continued to rush in from the rear, and they were seen retreating to the rear after discovering the corpses of soldiers piled up in the trenches.

However, the Burmese soldiers were unable to get out of the trenches or advance inward. They were trapped inside the trenches… They were literally like fish in a trap.

‘Ah, you idiots, surrender…’

I almost screamed out loud.

As someone who knew all about the operation and was watching it from the air, it was an incredibly frustrating scene, even if our military was victorious.

Such a ridiculous and brutal battle continued.

Then, the behavior of the group of Burmese soldiers who had gathered in one trench began to change.

They were seen taking off their combat uniforms and underwear to create a white (actually yellow) surrender flag.

The drone operator who confirmed it reported it to the battalion and company on site, and the SAF student interpreter who heard the Myanmar military’s cries interpreted the cries and reported them.

The Northern 1st Army, which received the Myanmar soldiers who had thrown away their weapons, was leading the prisoners and handing them over to the civilian militia and sending them to the rear.

And in the footage captured on the drone screen, one of the soldiers of the Northern 1st Army leading the prisoners of war from the surrendered Myanmar Army snatched the surrender flag.

And then they placed the surrender flags again on the piles of dead soldiers at the entrances to the T-shaped trenches and traps.

And a little later, although it is not confirmed whether Commander Cha Min-soo gave the order, surrender flags began to be planted at the entrances to all the T-shaped trenches on the friendly side.

It was a white surrender flag, a last hope for those trapped.

And then, volunteer interpreters from the Myanmar Civilian Militia and Student Army began broadcasting from the outside of the trenches to call for surrender.

The sun began to set on the second day as well.

A significant number of Burmese soldiers have surrendered, and the remaining forces are seen retreating.

Commander Cha Min-soo came to Tawi Tawi to report on the battle situation.

“Your Majesty! I will report on the battle situation.”

“Yes. I was waiting.”

“First, we have 0 casualties and 789 wounded on our side.”

“Whew~ It’s nice to hear that.”

“It’s truly a miracle. We were shot and a grenade exploded next to us. But we all survived.”

“Oh my, that’s a relief.”

“This is all thanks to the leadership of the leader.”

“No. It’s thanks to the Commander’s excellent tactics. Haha.”

“No. No matter how excellent the strategy and tactics were, there were no casualties!”

“…”

“This would have been impossible without the new bulletproof vests that the Marshal provided. I am once again impressed by the Marshal’s foresight and leadership.”

“Anyway, I’m so glad, I’m so glad.”

“Yes, 11,238 enemy soldiers surrendered. We made a temporary camp in the high school behind the airport and held them there.”

“Okay. And once the soldiers surrender, please treat them with the utmost respect.”

“Yes. I also felt something about the leadership of the Marshal who loves the people…”

I could see something like will and determination in Commander Cha Min-soo’s eyes.

…