Counterfeit Hero

Chapter 1280: Chapter 44: Morning Light (Part 5)_2

The most crucial aspect among these is the grand strategic perspective!

Standing by the side, Pei Litong couldn’t help but glance at the Old Marshal. The Old Marshal’s intentions were fully exposed in this confrontation.

Going big?!

Fatty was stunned for a moment and then flew into a rage. The old fellow was taking advantage, thinking Master Fatty was uneducated!

If it were in the past, with a background as a Mechanic Soldier, never having attended the Military Academy, and lacking systematic military theoretical knowledge, Master Fatty, challenged in such a way that implied a non-professional commander couldn’t handle it, would have surely jumped up, angrily beaten his opponent, and then stormed off in frustration.

However, having become Russell’s disciple, experienced several years of war honing, and received Margaret’s guidance, Fatty, through countless attempts to minimize casualties in simulated confrontations, learned to embrace both pain and joy. He was no longer a novice in military command.

Especially on Canglang Star, when the cargo hold of the Armed Merchant Ship was hit, destroying all Mechas, he had to find a way to lead a dozen exhausted infantry and over two hundred war prisoners to turn the tide and create a lifeline for the besieged troops. This forced his tactical skills to skyrocket.

It was then that he truly learned to view the battlefield through a commander’s eyes, to identify the key points of the battle. It was also then that he integrated his combat experience over the years, Russell’s case study explanations, and Margaret’s military theories and command skills marked by Hastings’ influence!

Perhaps he’s not someone who could command a battle like a textbook military tactician. Perhaps he still can’t complete a formal military exam or finish a basic theoretical test paper.

Yet, the battles over these years, the countless narrow escapes, combined with what he learned from Russell, from Margaret, from Fang Xiang, from Carl, and every opponent in simulated confrontations, merged with his own personality, were enough for him to form his own tactical philosophy amidst the crisis on Canglang Star!

He’s like an old farmer who, despite never attending an agricultural university or understanding theory, can farm better than anyone else!

The confrontation reached its climax right at the start.

The Red and Blue forces rolled together like tides of different colors. Along a 200 to 300 kilometer frontline, the forces interlocked, engaging in fierce combat.

Li Cunxin’s Blue Army bore his distinct stylistic imprint. On the attack, the Blue Army was fierce and vigorous; in defense, they were impregnable; in retreat, they were swift and clean!

To Pei Litong and others watching, the Old Marshal, having fought battles all his life, had truly reached a realm of unmatched mastery and simplicity in military command. The Blue Army was flawless, both strategically and tactically, exuding a sense of steadfastness like a mountain and grandeur like a mighty river.

And as for Fatty....

Everyone was sweating all over.

In such large-scale battles, under pressure from an opponent like Li Cunxin, a commander couldn’t hide his style. The style displayed in the battle was undoubtedly a reflection of the commander’s personality and military thought!

And Fatty’s personality and military thought, as everyone saw it, could only be described as cunning!

This is a scoundrel!

Pei Litong and others had never seen such a command style before..... endless traps, endless ambushes, endless sneak attacks, endless harassment! On the vast battlefield, the Red Army, divided into over a hundred parts, attacked like more than a hundred sly wolves, employing flanking maneuvers, looking for opportunities to bite the Blue Army. If the first hit did not succeed, they would immediately retreat. And near every attack, there were supporting Red Army units for cover, feints, rearguard actions, and harassment.

This was no grand, honorable confrontation. This crazy Fatty, using a crazy method, forcibly turned the battle into a chaotic skirmish!

Initially, Pei Litong disregarded Fatty’s tactics.

A war confrontation needs to consider all factors such as troop strength, intelligence, logistics, morale, technology, training, strategy, tactics, and even luck. Winning with surprising tactics is just one of many elements.

Although history has many instances of battles won with surprise tactics, many brilliant classic cases, frequently with few conquering many through clever strategies, this is by no means the entirety of war.

Top-notch military strategists always engage in battles of advantage. With adequate preparation, a powerful offensive crushes the opponent, leaving no chance for the enemy. Strategically holding the high ground, tactically prioritizing the ordinary and augmenting with the extraordinary, meticulous and cautious, is the art of warfare.

In such large-scale battles, commanding ten divisions, no one carries out combat like Fatty! Not only does this not align with military theory or appear grand and imposing, but more importantly, no one is willing to disperse their forces, risking being defeated piece by piece!

Know that on an unpredictable, rapidly changing battlefield, the highest commander can’t control everything.

No one considers the tactics and combat situations of smaller units. Their attention never reaches that level. After all, specific frontline combat command is executed by frontline unit commanders. Beneath corps-level commanders are division commanders, under them regiment commanders, and countless combat staff at division, regiment, and battalion levels.