The Three-Arch Bridge, located on the east side of Longcheng, is the only way for the entire Long River to meander down to the Caribbean Sea.
The bridge is less than two kilometers long and less than fifty meters wide. The overall construction scale is very small, but it is the most important strategic location in the Longcheng counterattack.
Occupation of this bridge can ensure that the occupied area of District 1 in Longcheng and the forward base of the First Corps cannot be tightly deployed in a short period of time.
At the same time, this can also win a crucial counterattack opportunity for the 300,000 coalition forces led by Su Tianyu. Once they arrive here, they can follow this opening to attack the frontier base of the First Corps and recapture the occupied area of Longcheng.
Therefore, the Longcheng garrison led by Tan Mingchao and the First Army of the Renmin Army led by Xin Xiaodong forcibly occupied this place at the very beginning of the counterattack.
They deployed defenses in the urban areas near the banks of the Long River, in the nearby mountains, and in the surrounding complex areas.
At this time, the troops of District 1 in Longcheng had been completely cut off after Xin Xiaodong launched the attack, and the passages connecting the occupied areas were cut off.
In addition, the series of chaos caused by the assassination of Commander Wang forced the troops in Zone 1 to retreat and defend the occupied areas that had not yet been lost.
However, the upper echelons of the military and political leadership of District One reacted just as quickly. They also knew the strategic value of the Three-Arch Bridge and that it was a battleground for military strategists, so they dispatched a force of 50,000 to 60,000 people from the forward base of the First Corps to launch an attack on the defenders of the Three-Arch Bridge.
In comparison, the total number of Xin Xiaodong and Tan Mingchao's troops combined did not exceed 30,000. Moreover, without any support in a short period of time, it was hard to imagine how difficult it would be to hold this position.
The two sides quickly engaged in battle, and District One launched three general attacks within six hours. The fighting stretched for more than ten kilometers along the Three-Arch Bridge.
The battle here was extremely brutal. The buildings on the edge of the city and the nearby mountains were all full of craters. The blood of the fallen soldiers on both sides almost dyed the Long River behind them red.
The bodies of both sides of the river were everywhere. In these six hours, the total number of casualties on both sides exceeded 15,000.
This was the highest number of direct casualties in Zone 1's battles around its homeland since the beginning of the era.
Similarly, Xin Xiaodong and Tan Mingchao's troops, who were fighting hard here, were also facing the danger of destruction at any time. Because they not only had to face the impact of the army, but also had to bear the continuous bombing from the air force base in the area between Longcheng and the Laomo border.
The smoke of war is spreading like a tiger and the war is still going on.
…
At around 9:30 in the evening, Su Tianyu's command center had arrived in Longcheng and made offensive adjustments.
Su Tianyu ordered the Lao Mo official army and the Ren Min army, a total of 150,000 troops, plus 30,000 armed forces of the Black Water Corps, to attack the air force base built by the First Corps at all costs.
As soon as the war started, its intensity escalated infinitely.
In this battle, the Mexican army has emptied out all the wealth they have accumulated over the years. For the long-range tactical missiles mounted on vehicles alone, they brought more than 20 vehicles with hundreds of shells.
At the same time, the Shenzhou series of missiles that the Chinese region had recently provided to the Min Army were all deployed to the battlefield, forming two unprecedentedly large long-range firepower groups.
In just two rounds of firepower, the garrisons inside and outside the airport, as well as the main military structures inside the airport, were destroyed.
Afterwards, nearly 200,000 troops pressed forward from all directions, ready to occupy this place with the attitude of fighting to the death.
On the other side, Su Tianyu ordered Wang Dingyuan's troops and part of the Renmin army led by Fei Pingsheng to rush to the Sankong Bridge at full speed, and the estimated arrival time was within five hours.
While he was arranging the tactics, District 1 was also deploying its troops, also splitting its forces into two locations. While they sent the First Corps to attack the Three-Arch Bridge, the 80,000 main forces stationed around the air force base also quickly moved towards the base and engaged the coalition forces.
In the short term, the two battlefields will have to fight to the final outcome.
…
In Longcheng, the front-line battlefield command center.
Su Tianyu stood in the center of the command room, looking at the entire deployment on the sand table with sweat on his forehead.
He thought for a moment, picked up the satellite communicator, and personally called the commander of the old Mexican army fighting on the front line, and said straight to the point: "Lieutenant General Yodhua, don't care about the intensity of their resistance, and don't think that they are coming with 80,000 people just to fight you to the death. We fight this battle to be responsible for ourselves, and their troops are always responsible to the regional council and many factions. If you look at their history, they cannot tolerate too large a scale of losses in any land battle. Therefore, I don't need to give you too much artillery suppression time now. After you get close to the airport, I will give you enough long-range fire support. It must be taken in a short time! Once the air force base is occupied, the communication line between Old Mexico and Longcheng will no longer be subject to comprehensive air strikes."
The other party thought for a moment and immediately replied: "Okay, after my troops move forward, I hope to see our long-range firepower group bomb their airport into a sieve. You know, Commander Su, this is a battle of revenge!"
Su Tianyu immediately said: "Of course I know, this is the same for us!"
After they finished talking, they hung up the call.
Su Tianyu paused and was about to contact the Blackwater Legion when a shout suddenly came from outside the door.
"salute!"
Immediately afterwards, a burst of hurried footsteps sounded, and Tan Hengqiang, An Zecheng, Li Mingsheng and others walked into the room.
Su Tianyu heard the voice, turned his head to look at the other party, and asked softly: "Leaders, why are you here?"
Li Mingsheng and An Zecheng both looked embarrassed and said nothing.
Tan Hengqiang looked at Su Tianyu and asked in a questioning tone: "The decisive battle has already begun, why do we need to divide the troops?"
When Su Tianyu heard this, he immediately said, "Commander Tan, let's talk inside."
Tan Hengqiang glanced at everyone with a displeased look on his face, then walked into a lounge next door with Su Tianyu, Zhao Weihu and others.
After Lao Li and Lao An came in, Gu Baishun stood in the room and closed the door.
Su Tianyu extended his hand and invited: "Leaders, please take a seat."
Tan Hengqiang waved his hand and said, "I won't sit down. I just want to ask you, why are you dividing the troops?"
Su Tianyu paused for a moment, frowning as he explained, "Commander Tan, this air force base is right between our Longcheng border and the Laomo border, and there are 80,000 main forces nearby protecting it. If we take it out, first, we can force their 80,000 troops to fight a decisive battle with us around the air force base, thereby reducing the pressure on the Longcheng battlefield and the obstacles to Wang Dingyuan's advance; secondly, this air force base has a very long radiation radius. Within 500 kilometers, they can carry out fire strikes at will. If our troops are combined, they will inevitably suffer fierce air attacks during the movement. Therefore, we must pull out this nail, which will not only ensure that the communication line between Longcheng and the Laomo area is safe, but also accelerate the victory of this war and get a result that is beneficial to us as soon as possible."
Tan Hengqiang pointed at the ground and said word by word: "You are using Longcheng's troops as cannon fodder and bait again!"
Su Tianyu immediately shook his head: "I don't mean that. I know that it is difficult to defend Longcheng, but as long as it is a war, no army will be comfortable. Although our attacking force is large in number, their casualties are no less than that of Longcheng."
Tan Hengqiang waved his hand and said, "I don't care what you think now. You must order the main force of Lao Mo to send 80,000 people to support the Three-Arch Bridge! I just received news that the garrison troops at the Three-Arch Bridge have lost nearly 8,000 people. They may be wiped out at any time!"
Su Tianyu considered it and refused: "No, I can't evacuate so many people now. Once another 80,000 people are pulled out, the intensity of the attack on the air force base will not be enough. And even if we mobilize troops now, we can't quickly change the situation in the Three Arch Bridge."
Tan Hengqiang looked very unhappy, and he glared at her and shouted, "You are talking without any pain! The troops in Longcheng have paid too much for this war. We have nearly 70,000 garrisons, but now there are less than 30,000. Do you want them all to die? My son is still there!"
When Su Tianyu heard this, he stood there in a daze.
At this moment, Zhao Weihu, who had been silent all this time, immediately stepped forward, looked at Tan Hengqiang, and responded angrily: "Where is your son? Look at the entire battlefield, go and look at those attacking soldiers, which one of them is not someone else's son? Aren't they important? Is your son the only one who is the most important?!"