"If we follow the way the Cubans are playing today, our artillery shells may not last even three days!"
"And it's not just the shells, there's also the most important issue of the wounded! I just came from the rescue center. Today we have seven dead and eighteen wounded, three of whom are seriously injured. I don't know if we can survive tonight!"
Shepard picked up the kettle and took a deep drink, then said.
"Fortunately, water is not a problem. If even water had to be flown in, it would be a disaster!"
"I have contacted the base and they can come again tomorrow morning, but if the Cubans come again!"
"The fleet is here for nothing!"
Logistics support of the army has been a top priority since ancient times. Otherwise, why would there be a proverb that goes before the troops use food and grass? There are more than 500 combat personnel guarding the airport. These people consume more than 3,000 cans every day. , not to mention the fuel and spare parts for the tank.
In addition, the infantry also needs additional equipment such as rifles and machine guns. After all, if the weapons are damaged on the battlefield, it is impossible to repair them on site. Plus other miscellaneous things, more than 500 people are basically eating and drinking without land transportation. It all relies on transport aircraft for support, and even the wounded have to be evacuated by transport aircraft.
Although Hannibal had stocked up on a lot of supplies in the past few days, they were only for emergencies. If every day was like the day the Cuban army attacked, a special transport plane would have to be mobilized to deliver the mortar shells alone.
This is also the reason why a big guy like the 130 is needed. Only one of its level can meet the supply needs and deliver supplies from thousands of kilometers away in one go.
If you switch to ordinary small and medium-sized transport aircraft, not to mention the range issue, the transport capacity alone will make people's scalp numb. This is why Hannibal has to stick to the runway.
But now, the runway has become a burden that constrains them. If they want to get supplies, they must ensure that nothing happens to the runway. If they want nothing to happen to the runway, they must ensure that there are no problems on the front line. If they want to ensure that there are no problems on the front line, they must ensure that nothing happens to the runway. There is no problem with supplies, so we are stuck in an endless loop.
The MPLA troops do not have the ability to threaten the runway, but that does not mean that the Cuban army does not have this ability. The Cubans can extend the bombardment target to the runway from the beginning, but because the airport is also very important to them, everyone has a tacit understanding. There is no fuss about the runway.
"By the way, can't it be airdropped?"
A mercenary commander suddenly raised his hand and asked.
"The premise of airdrop is that we have enough space. If you throw two things one second apart at high altitude, their landing points may be thousands of miles apart due to wind direction and other factors. If we do airdrop at this airport, I'm afraid it will be 10 out of 10. Nine supplies were all thrown at the Cubans’ heads!”
"I see, I'm sorry, I don't know!"
"Anyway, let's get ready!"
As a representative of the CIA, Hudson immediately stood up and said to everyone.
"First of all, there is the issue of ammunition. We are not in short supply of basic ammunition, but mortar shells and recoilless rifle ammunition must be used sparingly. Everyone, the three-party talks have reached a critical moment. Next, it will depend on our performance. As long as we complete the task, We will not treat you badly!"
The tripartite talks that Hudson is talking about are the current negotiations between the three armed forces in Angola. Since they cannot reach an agreement on the formation of a government, the meeting has entered into the next issue of dividing the control area. In a place like Luanda, it will naturally depend on who Whoever can persist to the end will belong to him, so as the old saying goes, if you hold on firmly, there will be a solution!
But Shepard is not as optimistic as Hudson. Because of the airlift problem, he is now worried about another thing, and that is the air force. A force emerging in a place like Angola naturally cannot have any air force. But the problem is Cuba and the Soviet Union. Now that they have sent paratroopers, there is no guarantee when the shadow of MiG fighter jets will appear in the sky.
However, it is thought that Hudson and the others knew about this matter first. Therefore, as long as Hudson is not panicking yet, it means that there is no leader in this matter yet. All he has to do is to lead the company's employees to complete today's task. , after all, the CIA is really generous with its money. The daily combat subsidy alone costs a
Ten thousand yuan, not counting the combat allowance allocated to everyone, but simply to the Shadow Company. If the fight lasted for a year and a half, that would be great!
However, the top priority was the issue of logistical support. Hannibal led a group of team commanders and Shepard to count the remaining supplies overnight, and then made calculations and divisions. By the time everything was finished, it was already dawn.
And everyone rushed to the third and fourth runways without even having time to catch up on their sleep. In order not to give the Cubans a chance to interfere, the transport opportunity made a surprise landing in the early morning, and this indeed caught the Cubans off guard.
When Garcia learned that the transport plane had landed, his men were almost still resting. After all, yesterday's day-long attack was also a huge burden for the elite paratroopers. The soldiers braved the hail of bullets and repeatedly crossed the battlefield. Even the robots could not carry it. live.
So Major Garcia could only watch helplessly as the transport fleet landed in such a swagger, and then unloaded loads of supplies to the airport defenders.
However, Major Garcia quickly thought of a way to deal with it. He mobilized two of his elite paratrooper platoons and formed a mobile unit with Malashenko's remnants. They did not participate in the attack and were only responsible for interfering with the transport plane when it landed. , and Garcia was so stupid that he installed the 120mm mortar in the truck compartment. Whenever the transport plane was about to land, these trucks carrying 120mm mortars would attack together with the mobile troops.
This move once again frustrated Hannibal's plan. He did not dare to bet whether the enemy would use these mortars. He could only let the transport plane take off again. When the transport plane took off, the Cuban mobile troops would retreat neatly. .
At other times, the Cuban paratroopers who were able to obtain supplies and personnel airdropped by An-22 were unshakable and continued to launch assaults with various tactics. Each assault was frantically depleting the defender's reserves. , the mercenaries responsible for guarding the west side of the airport couldn't hold it anymore.
Because the rated base artillery shells were exhausted and emergency ammunition had not yet been delivered, there was a gap in their fire interception line. A platoon of Cuban paratroopers even directly attacked a position fifty meters away from the defense line.
The two sides could even throw grenades at each other. If Shepard hadn't brought emergency reinforcements with armored vehicles, the mercenary defense line might have been torn open by Cuban paratroopers, and by then, the entire Western Front would have collapsed.
