CHAPTER 315: CHAPTER 315 SNIPER COMPANY

Although we have the support of amphibious landing boats, Shire’s flanking insertion combat plan still carries a lot of uncertainty.

Pointing to the sea to the east, Shire said, "Once the enemy detects our amphibious landing boats’ insertion in time, they might use machine guns and artillery to suppress them comprehensively. This would be devastating for the landing boats."

Tijani nodded in agreement, "Moreover, the enemy’s machine guns on their defense lines, with both flanks covered, will subject our attacking troops to a pincer attack."

If the frontal assault is broken by the enemy, the insertion troops would only be marching to their deaths even if they get in position.

"Thus," Shire pointed to the middle of the defense line, "we should make the enemy believe we are counter-attacking in the middle, diverting their attention there!"

"But..." Tijani looked at Shire in confusion, "How do we make them know?"

Shire smiled without saying anything. He had his channels for that.

...

Sanders was very pleased with the situation on the battlefield, at least for now.

The Australians’ assault was fierce, and with the cooperation of mortars and grenades, they stormed into the Ottoman Army’s trenches several times for hand-to-hand combat, but were ultimately driven back by Sanders using artillery and reinforcements.

The artillery strikes hit their reinforcements hard, impeding the enemy’s follow-up efforts, while the Ottoman reinforcements kept pouring in like a tide. Such a battle clearly indicated that victory would definitely belong to the Ottoman Army.

At this moment, Staff Officer Quinn rushed out from the command post and reported to Sanders, "General, the enemy is attacking from the flank."

Sanders responded with an "Hmm," naturally assuming that the enemy’s flank attack was to divert the limited Ottoman firepower, making it easier for the Australian Army to break through.

However, Quinn added, "They are collapsing quickly; they are requesting reinforcements!"

"What?" Sanders turned sharply to look at Quinn, his face full of astonishment.

The battle had just begun, how could they collapse so quickly?

Furthermore, the flank was not even the enemy’s main attack direction...

"General!" Quinn handed several telegrams to Sanders, his face pale and his voice urgent, "I believe the flank is the enemy’s main attack direction."

Sanders took one look at the telegrams and exclaimed, "Amphibious landing boats? They are inserting with amphibious landing boats from the flank?"

"Yes!" Quinn replied, "They may have initiated the flank attack at the moment our artillery bombarded the enemy!"

Sanders understood; he had fallen for the enemy’s "sound the east and strike the west" strategy. The enemy launched a real attack on the flank while his attention was drawn to the massive central assault.

Sanders hurriedly put away his binoculars and briskly walked towards the command post. Soon he broke into a run, rushing into the command post, panting, "What’s the situation?"

The staff officers reported one after another:

"The enemy’s amphibious landing boats have successfully inserted to the rear of our 3rd Civilian Corps and are launching an attack."

"The enemy is also attacking both defense lines simultaneously."

"Their artillery is fierce, it’s mortars, at least dozens have been concentrated on the flank, continuously bombarding our positions, causing heavy casualties."

...

It must have been the mortars and shells that the enemy resupplied last night, Sanders thought, secretly regretting. He should have blocked the enemy’s supply lines but had refrained because he didn’t want to waste artillery shells.

"Machine guns!" Sanders ordered loudly, "Immediately reinforce with machine guns, artillery shift targets, suppress the enemy on the flank!"

"Yes!" The staff officer responded.

Sanders’ response tactics were correct. Long-range artillery suppressing enemy mortars would allow the machine guns to be effective.

In this situation, machine guns would be the kings; they could simultaneously target the enemy’s charges on both defense lines. As long as the machine guns operated normally, the flank’s security would be ensured, and the Ottoman Army could regain the initiative.

However, Sanders underestimated Shire.

At this moment, Shire had specifically organized a special unit against the machine guns: the First Sniper Company, led by Company Commander Shen Bili.

Unlike the usual company of over 200 men, the sniper company’s establishment consisted of just over 100 men, all selected marksmen from the unit.

Shire summoned Shen Bili before him. By now, Shen Bili had already learned to call him "Colonel" in French.

"Your primary target is the enemy’s machine guns," Shire said, "Once the fight begins, I want no machine guns in your defensive zone firing a single bullet!"

"Understood!" Shen Bili responded confidently.

"You don’t ask for other specifics?" Shire was a bit puzzled, "For instance, the size of your defensive zone, how many enemies, and how many machine guns?"

"No, Colonel," Shen Bili replied, "I trust you have assigned a reasonable task for me, there’s no need to worry about that."

Smart guy, Shire thought.

Shen Bili must have realized this was a decisive battle; Shire could not joke with everyone’s lives and assign tasks beyond his capability.

However, even a smart person, even with such capabilities, in history remained with no way out under "universal discrimination."

"Moreover," Shire said, "you should learn to cooperate with others, Lieutenant!"

"What?" Shen Bili was taken aback, looking at the rank insignia on his uniform with confusion, he turned to the translator, "But I am, a Junior Sergeant. And I never cooperate with others..."

He thought the translator had made a mistake.

Shire interrupted him, nodding towards a set of gear piled in the trench corner, "You are now a Lieutenant. I had two sets of French Army uniforms sent over, if you are willing..."

"Of course, Colonel," Shen Bili responded excitedly, "of course I am willing."

My God, having just joined the French Army and already a Lieutenant, I can flaunt this uniform in front of those who looked down on me before.

The important part is, this is the French Army, one level higher than the Australian Army!

"As for cooperating with others," Shire stared at Shen Bili, "It’s non-negotiable, you must learn to cooperate!"

"But, why?" Shen Bili’s eyes showed puzzlement, and a bit of reluctance.

"Two-person cooperation, one is the shooter, the other is the observer," Shire explained succinctly, "The shooter squints through the sight to observe the enemy, striving for precision, but his field of view is small, making it hard to identify valuable targets over a large area in a short time. The observer carries a telescope, dedicated to finding targets for the shooter."

Shen Bili let out an "Oh," "So, the efficiency of two people would be much higher than merely adding two rifles together?"

"Exactly," Shire nodded, "The shooter can always stay aimed and in the state to snipe the enemy, not wasting time or getting distracted searching, any opinions?"

"No opinions!" Shen Bili responded standing tall.

But he was still half-confident; can this method work?

What if cooperation doesn’t go well?