This tent stopped almost at the very edge of what was "supposed to go forward". In that place, the soldiers were concentrated in a special, martial order: "in a broken chain."
The mortars looked a little farther out from the front lines: there were only four of them, but that was only for now.
The Imperial Army was distinguished by one very noticeable fact: they never used a fixed number of units to accomplish a task. They moved first one, then another, building up pressure in key places. The limit was not derived, and sometimes it turned out that the operation was already completed, and replenishments are still coming. Plagues emphasized the factor of psychological pressure as a fundamental element of their combat tactics. In a way, this methodology worked: "defend as much as you want, but you'll still lose." After all, they will not stop — they will attack. And attack by suppressing positions, not just occupying them.
Suppress, destroy. And occupy the ruins. It's a favorite battle tactic of the imperial army.
Spetsnaz did not respond to such things: "we are warriors, and it is our highest honor to complete a task, and if necessary, to do it at the cost of our lives, and to die as warriors". And now they were doing what they saw as the meaning of their stay here.
Confusing the enemy can be done through a sequence of precisely organized actions. The first to meet the enemy, in the best case scenario, is the special forces, and this moment is the moment when the officer in charge has received the order from on high to launch the offensive and is about to communicate it to his subordinates. The moment when the officer waves his hand but doesn't have time to command. The instant between his first step and his second. If the officer is eliminated in that very "instant," there is a rush forward and a subsequent desire to stop. There's nowhere to run. There's no one to tell you where to go. And everyone starts rushing in different directions, from the unknown. And nothing is clear… Soldiers forget who they are in this particular place where nothing is clear. That's the result.
*** 07:04
Dark ceiling and dark walls. This is the basement. This is the Command Post.
Several explosions sounded from the street: how many, I couldn't understand — they merged into one, but no more than five. Seven seconds more, and another line. Seven more, and another explosion. It went quiet.
Bolotnikov was happy about this: the medium and heavy artillery had not yet arrived, which meant that we could hold on tight.
— Bullfinch, I'm Tit. 4th bush. 6 o'clock. Battalion. 250.
How good it sounds "6 o'clock." Their left flank is slightly behind and weakened. SWAT did a great job.
— Sinitsa, do not open heavy fire until they are within 100 meters. Concentrate main forces at bush 6. Report to me when the enemy reaches the specified distance.
— Yes, Snowbird.
— Over and out.
*** 07:09
— Stork, this is Bullfinch. Over.
— Yes, Snowbird.
— We drove the pischals (mortars) to the north end of the 7th bush and prepared to fire on the DT-18 square.
— Roger that, Snowbird.
— Over and out.
Company mortars, along with Faust ammunition, are the rebels' backup weapons this morning.
*** 07:12
— Bullfinch, this is Tit. The enemy is approaching at a distance of 100 meters. The left flank is weakened and uncoordinated.
And he's good, he's thinking big.
— Five seconds after the end of communication, open fire to all. Fully utilize the capabilities of the 6th bush. Over. Stork, Snowbird. Activate the squadron's beepers. Fire three salvos.
— Yes, Snowbird.
After so much sudden shelling on the flank, the plagues must stop. Before that they hit mines, so their spirits are already low.
*** 07:19
— Tit, this is Bullfinch. Situation report.
— The enemy has stopped the advance. Looks like they're changing direction to the 2nd bush.
— How many are there?
— Half a battalion. At least. There's little dispersal.
— Simulate an attack from the 6th bush for 4 hours. At that time, move two-thirds of the 6th bush unit behind the 4th to the 2nd bush. Report their arrival.
— Yes, Snowbird.
— Over and out.
We'll confuse the Chumas. Let them think we tricked them into attacking from the west. Now they'll fortify from the west and attack from the east.
Although, if they can get another battalion now, they can play whatever notes they want, but the defense will break through. It won't collapse, but it will break through. And with a "broken" defense, we won't be able to hold out for more than 10 minutes.
*** 07:22
— Bullfinch, I'm Tit. The transfer is complete.
— Move to initial positions and take up defenses. Only redeployed units. The rest of us stay where we
are.
— Yes, Snowbird.
— Over and out.
By all rules, we should have attacked from the west, from the flank. An attack from the flank is sometimes better than even an attack from the rear.
Both are designed for surprise. But the rear attack needs voluminousness in coverage, all around the rear of the enemy. And the flank attack — swiftness, to blow away all from the side, like grass with a sickle.
The plagues know this, and that's why you can't act that way.
We'll be wherever they come. We'll attack them here. It'll be a counterattack. The theory is we need at least two times the numerical superiority. We're outnumbered three to one. But they're not expecting us there, and that's a chance.
This is the 13th paragraph of the chapter "Fullness and Emptiness" in Sun Tzu's book "The Art of War": The form of the army is like water — avoiding height and striving downward; the form of the army — avoiding fullness and hitting emptiness. Water establishes its flow depending on the place; the army establishes its victory depending on the enemy."
"Fullness" in this paragraph is a concentration of enemy forces. "Void" is a gap in the organization of actions.
A counterattack from the eastern flank of the chums is not a concentration attack, it is a gap attack. A gap is not the absence of enemy troops in any of his areas, but the weakness of that area (often expressed in the absence of troops). This is the ability to see the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy.
*** 07:25
— Snowbird, this is Sinitta. The enemy has halted movement to the east.
— Counterattack at 8 o'clock from the 2nd bush. The 6th bush is to act only at 6 o'clock and to the west.
— Yes, Snowbird.
— Over and out… Stork, this is Snowbird. Over.
— Stork on the line.
— Continue firing on the previously indicated square. Give two volleys.
— Yes, Snowbird.
— The end, the connections.
*** 07:31
— Bullfinch, Bullfinch, it's a tit. 7 o'clock. Three tanks. 230.
— Type of tanks. Supply.
— No sign of them yet. No KAZs at all.
— Recognize the urgency. *** 07:27
A volley rang out. It was so loud that even in the basement, dust spattered from the ceiling.
— Tit, this is Bullfinch. Situation report.
Silence and the prolonged hissing of the walkie-talkie.
— Tit, this is Bullfinch. Over.
— It's Sinitta. KAZ is only on one. Т-95.
— Use ATGMs. On T-95 not further than 40 meters.
— Yes, Snowbird.
— Over and out.
Zhivenko felt slightly lost: either stunned by the volley or frightened. His voice hardly answered "yes" to the given order.
I wanted to wish him luck, but that would rather confuse him more. He'd think the major was also hooked on the idea of such a tank. Т-95. Where did that come from? There were only-there were 50 of them… In the human war, most of them were destroyed (as well as everything else). What was left to the plagues? Two or three tanks? And one of them is here!