Where those rumors about Boer's defense came from, I'm afraid no one in the world knows better than Shepard. After all, this is what he did.
Anyone who understands the situation of the war in Angola can tell. The CIA pays a monthly salary of 1,100 yuan and recruits thousands of mercenaries. In addition to various military aids, there are also a large number of regular troops from South Africa. Such power still cannot stop the progress of the People's Liberation Army.
In the past year, the Angolan People's Movement has not only been recuperating and recuperating, but has also been constantly preparing for war and accumulating strength. The intensity of the battlefield in Angola is now even different. A year ago, everyone only used artillery and armored vehicles. Equipment like jet fighters, anti-aircraft missiles, and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns are now commonplace. In such fierce battles, the combat effectiveness of mercenaries is nothing.
Shepard is even making preparations to withdraw from the Angolan civil war. Once UNITA loses the big cities it currently holds, he can change his boss.
Under such circumstances, if a strong role model appears on the front line, it will inevitably become a benchmark that UNITA will vigorously promote, just like during the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviet defenders would vigorously promote those who were brave on the front line. Like the role models of soldiers in combat, they are both a means of boosting morale.
And Bob Denard's mercenaries can be regarded as such a role model, because in terms of attack efficiency and results, they are much more powerful than the Shadow Company. One operation can be compared to Hannibal's five times. Of course, the casualties It can also be compared to five times!
Under Shepard's early instructions, Shadow Company had stopped performing ground combat missions a few months ago. The combat team began to be responsible for training the UNITA army. Those sortie missions were handed over to the helicopter team, and their The results of the battle were nothing more than destroying a few bunkers with machine guns and blowing up a few suspicious targets with missiles. How could this be as shocking as the Boer Defense blowing up several oil depots and destroying several grain silos in one go?
And Bob himself also intends to take this opportunity to build his own mercenary kingdom, so the two parties have a cooperative relationship where one is willing to fight and the other is willing to endure.
Savim's practice of buying horse bones for thousands of dollars has greatly boosted the popularity of Boer Defense. In addition, France is also secretly interfering in the Angolan civil war, and Bob Denard and the French senior officials also have unclear reasons. relationship, so in less than a week, the number of Boer defense personnel doubled again, from more than 200 people before to more than 500 people.
And these people were all placed in Xinlizhibo by Savimbi! In addition to Boer defense, Savimbi has also assembled more than a thousand white mercenaries here, a South African mechanized infantry regiment, plus more than a dozen of his own infantry battalions, a total of more than 5,000 people. This can It can be regarded as the battle in which both sides gathered the largest number of troops since the outbreak of the Angolan Civil War.
For UNITA, Xinribo, as its headquarters, must not cause any trouble, because it is not only an important place, but also a spiritual and symbol. Without it, UNITA would be like a lost dog.
And the People's Liberation Army is also determined to win Xinliribo, because this is the base camp of the hostile forces. If they win here, their battle for reunification will basically be decided!
Everyone understood the importance of this place, so they also put their wars in other places on hold and began to concentrate their efforts, preparing to deal a fatal blow to their opponents here.
For this purpose, the MPLA troops concentrated dozens of cannons with a caliber of 105 mm and above, as well as more than a dozen B21 rocket launchers. In order to prevent attacks by the South African Air Force, the Soviet Union also provided additional anti-aircraft firepower to the offensive troops. Not only did they have the Shilka River Such self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and Arrow 10 anti-aircraft missile vehicles are cutting-edge weapons in the Soviet arsenal. The Soviet Union has only begun to equip them. This is enough to show the importance they attach to this place.
Facing the menacing MPLA troops, UNITA has also made adequate preparations here. An important reason why Xinlijibe was selected as the headquarters of UNITA is that it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The city is located on high ground, to the north. It's a river. Due to the rainy season, the flow of this river has skyrocketed, making it impossible to swim or build a pontoon bridge.
The only means of crossing the river are the two steel bridges outside the city, which Savimbi himself invited European designers and engineering teams to design.
And it was built, even the steel was shipped from Europe.
Now, both iron bridges have been set with explosives. This is a last resort and will only be used when everything is hopeless.
Along the river, UNITA built a large number of reinforced concrete fortifications and deployed hundreds of bunkers, which can seal the bridge from all directions.
In the city, Savimbi prepared a large amount of arms and food, and even civilians in the city were mobilized. Under the leadership of the UNITA army, Savimbi began to build fortifications. It can be said that Savimbi was very concerned about defending his headquarters. Wenbi didn't have the slightest doubt.
"They won't pass!"
To this end, Savimbi also held a mobilization meeting in the city square. As a qualified hero, his eloquence was very good. He mobilized the morale of the army with just a few words, and Savimbi mobilized the morale of the army. This time, Bi finally used his own small treasury to distribute sufficient wages and bonuses to his army, and he also promised that once he wins, there will be more rewards!
The mercenaries who came to help defend the city naturally received more salary. Savimbi even awarded the mercenaries a reward system. Killing an ordinary MPLA soldier cost ten yuan, and a non-commissioned officer Fifty yuan, one hundred yuan for a lieutenant. Of course, the prerequisite for the reward is to be able to obtain the opponent's military rank as proof.
And this move made the mercenaries guarding the city even more excited. They even couldn't wait for the People's Liberation Army's troops to appear so that they could kill them and make a fortune.
In the expectation of the mercenaries, the artillery fire of the People's Liberation Army of China became closer and closer. Finally, in the third month of the rainy season, the vanguard of the People's Liberation Army of China successfully broke through the defense of the defenders outside the city. The last line of defense came to the gate of UNITA headquarters.
Before the war started, everyone smelled a strong smell of blood, and even more crows were circling in the sky. Shepard, who was listening to the battle on the front line in the Japanese base in South Africa, shook his head, and then held the My coffee went to the window.
"Oh my God, things are finally going to change!"
