149: Chapter 149 Meitila's Game

Meiktila, the throat of the central plains of Myanmar.

Located between Mandalay and Naypyidaw, this city has been a fiercely contested strategic point since ancient times.

The flat terrain is suitable for the deployment of armored forces, sparse villages and farmland provide excellent fields of fire, and several major highways and railways converge here; controlling this place is equivalent to seizing the lifeline of north-south transportation.

At this moment, this once-tranquil city has turned into a massive military barracks.

In the northern suburbs of the city, Zhang Cheng's forward command post was set up in an abandoned textile factory.

Inside the factory, a holographic sand table projected a three-dimensional topographic map of the area within fifty kilometers of Meiktila, densely marked with red and blue unit icons.

"Master, the reconnaissance intelligence has been summarized," Old K's voice echoed in the empty factory. "The US 25th Light Infantry Division, a portion of the 1st Armored Division, plus the remnants of the Myanmar Army 33rd, 44th, and 55th Divisions, totaling about eighty thousand troops, have already constructed three defensive lines south of Meiktila."

Zhao Yuxun pointed to the red arc on the sand table: "The first defensive line is deployed along the Yangon-Meiktila highway, spanning about fifteen kilometers. The US military has deployed two stryker armored battalions here, equipped with M1128 Mobile Gun Systems. The Myanmar Army is responsible for filling the gaps in the positions."

"The second defensive line is constructed relying on the factory area on the outskirts of Meiktila," Lei Zhen added. "The terrain here is complex with dense buildings, and the US military has committed one battalion of the 75th Rangers to prepare for urban warfare."

"The third defensive line is in the hilly area ten kilometers south of the city," Lin Xiao pointed to the undulating terrain on the sand table. "The M1A2 tank battalion of the US 1st Armored Division is deployed here as a mobile reserve force. Once the front line is under pressure, they can move out to support at any time."

Zhang Cheng listened quietly, his fingers tapping lightly on the edge of the sand table.

Eighty thousand people, of which about twenty-five thousand were US troops, well-equipped and well-trained. On his side, the troops that could be committed to the Meiktila campaign were only the main force of the "Titan" Division, the "Lightning" and "Hurricane" brigades, plus some support units, with a total strength of less than fifty thousand.

A numerical disadvantage, but in terms of equipment... it was a fair fight.

"Who is the US commander?" He asked.

"Army Lieutenant General Robert Miller, formerly the Deputy Commander of US Forces Korea, served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars," Old K pulled up the file. "His deputy is Brigadier General James Carter, who comes from a special operations background and is in charge of commanding the Rangers."

Zhang Cheng nodded: "An old fox leading wolf cubs, a good combination. Can their operational plan be analyzed?"

"Based on electronic reconnaissance and drone surveillance, the US military is likely to adopt an 'active defense' tactic," Old K drew several arrows on the sand table. "First, use the Myanmar Army at the front to wear us down; when our offensive momentum weakens, the US armored forces will launch a counterattack from the flanks, attempting to split and encircle our vanguard forces."

"A very traditional style of fighting," Zhao Yuxun evaluated. "But it is indeed effective. If we charge head-on, even if we can break through the first defensive line, we will exhaust our vigor before the second defensive line. By then, the US tanks will strike from the flanks..."

He didn't finish, but the meaning was clear.

"Then we won't play by their rules," Zhang Cheng smiled. "Order the troops: starting at midnight tonight, complete electronic silence. All radars off, communications switched to the lowest power mode."

"Master, this..." BigDecimal own was confused. "Doesn't that make us blind?"

"That is exactly what I want them to think—that we have become blind." Zhang Cheng's eyes were sharp. "The 'Vega' system will switch to passive reception mode, monitoring all US communications and radar signals. All 'Swarm' drones will take off, but remain hidden, and will not be exposed until the critical moment."

He walked to the sand table and pointed his finger at the US tank battalion's pre-set positions: "Don't they want to wait for us to be exhausted before counterattacking? Then we will give them the illusion of being 'exhausted'."

South of Meiktila, US Joint Command Post.

This was a semi-underground command center built from prefabricated components, covering an area of over five hundred square meters, filled with various electronic equipment and display screens. In front of the central operational sand table, fifty-six-year-old Lieutenant General Robert Miller was listening to the intelligence officer's report.

"General, the vanguard of Zhang Cheng's troops has arrived twenty kilometers north of Meiktila." The intelligence officer pointed to the map. "Confirmed: about eighty M1A2 tanks, over two hundred 'stryker' armored vehicles, and a large number of self-propelled artillery. Aerial reconnaissance also discovered at least twelve anti-aircraft missile positions."

"Troop scale?" Miller asked.

"Estimated between thirty thousand and forty thousand, less than half of ours."

A satisfied look appeared on Miller's face. This gray-haired old general possessed the typical temperament of a USA soldier—confident, tough, and carrying an arrogance of "I am the best in the world."

"Brigadier General Carter, what do you think?" He turned to the special operations commander beside him.

James Carter was in his early forties, lean, with eyes as sharp as an eagle's. He stared at the deployment map of Zhang Cheng's troops for a long time before slowly speaking: "General, I think it's too smooth."

"What do you mean?"

"Zhang Cheng has fought all the way from Mandalay, showing extremely high tactical literacy and technological superiority in every campaign." Carter said. "His 'Sky Dome' air defense system intercepted over three hundred of our tomahawk missiles, and his electronic warfare capabilities made even the EA-18G suffer. Would such an opponent, in a situation of numerical disadvantage, head-on attack our pre-set solid defensive lines?"

Miller frowned: "You mean he has a conspiracy?"

"He definitely does." Carter nodded. "I have studied all of Zhang Cheng's battle cases; the tactic he likes to use most is 'feigning weakness to lure the enemy'—first making you think he is failing, and when you relax your vigilance and launch a counterattack, he suddenly reveals his trump card, catching you off guard."

The command center was quiet for a moment.

"Then what is your suggestion?" Miller asked.

"Change the plan." Carter walked to the sand table. "Don't wait for them to attack. We should take the initiative, use the Myanmar Army to attract attention at the front, and have the Rangers infiltrate from the flanks to destroy their logistics nodes and command systems."

He paused: "No matter how powerful Zhang Cheng's troops are, they still need fuel, ammunition, and food. As long as we cut off the supply lines, his armored forces will just be a pile of scrap metal."

Miller was deep in thought. As a traditional army general, he preferred steady, methodical positional warfare. But Carter's suggestion also made sense—to deal with an unconventional opponent, one needed unconventional tactics.

"General, there is one more thing." The communications officer suddenly reported. "Our electronic reconnaissance discovered that the radar and communication signals of Zhang Cheng's troops suddenly weakened significantly half an hour ago, and now they are almost undetectable."

"Electronic silence?" Miller raised an eyebrow.