119: The fierce battle of Alice Springs!

“If you were the attacking general and encountered this situation, how would you break the deadlock?”

Inside the Anti-War Army base, Fang Le, who was watching the show, asked the high-ranking generals around him.

Yue Hanshan: “On ancient battlefields, if the attacking or defending side disregarded morality, they often used this tactic, making the enemy’s civilians cannon fodder. The other side’s usual response was indiscriminate attacks to avoid being constrained.”

“But modern human moral standards have generally improved. No one dares to sacrifice a large number of civilians for a military objective… I mean, basically no one dares.”

Other generals also nodded.

The occupying forces held too many hostages. No matter what they did, it would be impossible to retake the town without harming civilians.

Political Commissar Zhao Gang:

“The occupying forces originally seized the town under the pretense of the Anti-War Army, and now they are using the ordinary civilians in the town as human shields to protect themselves. This is undoubtedly slandering the People's Army’s image.”

“And when the People's Army fought in Darwin City before, it always avoided disturbing civilians and designated non-military zones… The American military’s intentions are sinister.”

Below, that Australia combined brigade probably reported the situation here to their superiors.

Then they received some orders and set up camp on the spot.

This standoff continued until that evening.

Fang Le couldn't watch the good show, so he had to give up focusing on it.

Yue Hanshan, however, found Fang Le.

“Commander, are we really going to do nothing?”

Knowing that the other side was putting on a show and slandering the Anti-War Army, the Anti-War Army just watching felt a bit vexing.

Fang Le: “Once we get involved in this military conflict, no matter which side we take, it will be difficult to completely disassociate ourselves from this conflict in the future… This is a clear scheme by the American military. What can we do?”

“Are you suggesting we send a special operations unit to infiltrate at night and rescue civilian hostages?”

“That’s over ten thousand townspeople; we can’t rescue them all. And during the rescue, civilian casualties are bound to occur, and those of us who enter the town will be slandered as accomplices of the defending side, which will make it completely impossible to explain.”

Yue Hanshan listened helplessly. He was good at fighting, but he still needed to learn more about the political intrigues involved.

On the third day, the attacking and defending sides remained in a standoff.

Then, the Australia government, without reservation, informed the entire world about the situation here through television, press conferences, and the internet.

It also accused the occupying forces of holding ordinary people hostage as an anti-human act.

The Australia government had already sought help from its ally, the United States, and the two countries were already discussing how to rescue the hostages.

The world’s attention then turned to the United States.

Another day later, the United States government also announced to the world that, in order to help its younger brother resolve the crisis and rescue the more than ten thousand civilian hostages, the United States would dispatch troops to Alice Springs to assist in quelling the rebellion.

During a temporary interview featuring U.S. Military spokesperson Pierre, the host unreservedly posed a pointed question:

“Mr. Pierre, some people on the internet are questioning whether the group occupying Alice Springs is the Anti-War Army’s so-called First Division, Third Infantry Regiment, claiming they are imposters.”

“What is your opinion?”

Pierre nodded and replied:

“Hmm, I also agree with the opinions of these netizens.”

“That group is most likely impersonating.”

Ah?

This was beyond all viewers’ expectations.

Even the host was a little surprised.

“Do you not believe that the Anti-War Army occupied Alice Springs?”

Pierre: “Haha, we can look at the map and see how close Alice Springs is to the main body of the MacDonnell Ranges where the Anti-War Army is entrenched. It’s practically right on the edge of the mountain range.”

“From the Australia government’s decision to dispatch troops to the troops’ arrival in Alice Springs, this process took at least two days.”

“But during these two days, the Anti-War Army did not send additional troops to Alice Springs. There is only about one regiment of occupying forces in the town.”

“If it isn’t that the Anti-War Army’s strategic resolve is too strong, then it means the group occupying Alice Springs is indeed unrelated to the Anti-War Army, and therefore the Anti-War Army will not send reinforcements.”

Host: “This… I thought our government had already determined that the Anti-War Army occupied Alice Springs.”

Pierre repeatedly waved his hand: “No, no, no, that’s just habitual thinking… The U.S. Military has never announced this, and the Department of Defense has not officially commented on it yet.”

“Although the People's Army and the Anti-War Army have been at war, they are currently in a ceasefire period, with less than two months remaining.”

“I believe the Anti-War Army will not blindly attack Alice Springs. This would cause them to violate the ceasefire agreement, and the strategic significance of that place is not that great.”

—

Fang Le, Yue Hanshan, and others looked at this latest U.S. Military spokesperson interview and exchanged glances.

What the hell,

What does the United States government mean by this?

It’s a bit different from what they had imagined.

If the United States wanted to start a war quickly, using the occupation of Alice Springs as a pretext, coupled with the reason of rescuing controlled hostages, it would be enough to seize the moral high ground, tear up the ceasefire agreement, and send troops.

Now what kind of show are they putting on?

Two days later, Fang Le finally understood the United States’ complete strategy.

And he marveled at its brilliance and ruthlessness.