Chapter 1285: Operation Dandelion
East Africa.
El Wak, Somalia.
This place was at a high alt.i.tude and was located in a mountain rich area. Freshwater was a scarce resource. There were neither rich mineral deposits nor fertile soil. Instead, it was filled with endless poverty and hunger.
Except for extremist organizations, armed civilian forces, and arms brokers, almost no one would have the slightest interest in this barren land.
And even for those who were interested in this place, this interest was rarely directed at the land itself, but at the nearby cities, villages, and charity supply resources.
In the past, although they robbed and kidnapped, they rarely killed people. Nearby authorities hated this stubborn disease, but they were helpless. Even though the neighboring country had applied for military a.s.sistance more than once, the authorities were unable to help.
Therefore, this zone was full of chaos and evil, and it had maintained a strange balance for more than ten years. It had become a breeding ground for terrifying diseases.
However, the situation changed recently.
A large number of military units began to gather in the area. Police and soldiers in nearby towns set up checkpoints along the main traffic roads, surrounding the entire area inside and out.
Even the wild goats living nearby could smell the gunpowder gradually permeating the air.
This was like throwing oil on a fire. The El Wak area, which had been stable for decades, instantly turned into chaos.
“Why don’t you let this place just rot?”
Colonel Abati stood next to General Katzno. He squinted his eyes and looked at the military teams nearby as he said, “The people living here are not Somalis. Why don’t we just let them fend for themselves?”
El Wak was tricky.
Even if the US military landed here, it would be difficult to take out the tumor from the desert.
Of course, the main problem was that the militants active in the local area wouldn’t fight them on the frontal battlefield. Instead, they would rely on the complex terrain to launch guerrilla attacks against them.
Not to mention that now they only had three infantry divisions here. Even if that number doubled, it would be difficult to attack the local forces.
“Because the idiot who owns this area did a stupid thing and p.i.s.sed off an important person. An now, we have to convince the superpower in the east that we have nothing to do with these people.”
General Katzno had a telescope in his hand. His eagle-like gaze was full of solemnity as he said, “Also, they promised to support us in regaining this area and help us rebuild it.”
“Support? How to support? Airstrikes? Or spreading flyers?”
Colonel Abati had a smug face.
This was a mistake all laymen made when they intervened in Somalia’s business.
When the militants broke into the cities, alleys, and deep mountains, even if all of the US military fighter jets were deployed, it wouldn’t do anything.
This battle was doomed to be impossible.
They would bring the region that had finally stabilized into chaos again, allowing other countries to see their incompetence in handling overseas military conflicts. No substantial progress would be made.
“They didn’t elaborate. They just told us to wait for them.” General Katzno put down the binoculars in his hand as he simply said, “Anyway, we don’t need to be the first, we just have to wait quietly.”
…
On a ravine hill, Marach, dressed as a sheep, looked at the army station in the distance with a telescope in his hand. His eyes filled with haze.
A well-built man with an AK on his back crawled up from the mountain behind him and reported to him in a nervous tone.
“The Somali authorities have a.s.sembled at least three divisions here. It seems like they are determined to clean us up.”
“What about the border between Kenya and Ethiopia?”
The dark-skinned man gulped and said, “They have closed the border and increased patrols…”
The escape route has been blocked…
The situation was quite serious, and it had reached a critical point.
However, instead of a trace of fear on the face of the bearded man, a cruel smile appeared.
His army was entrenched in this land. Besides him, there were many other warlords.
Even though they were usually scattered far away, once they encountered an invasion by an “external force” or whoever that tried to control this area, all armed forces would temporarily put aside their priorities and stand on the same front.
Marach didn’t worry about losing at all.
Not to mention he had tens of millions of dollars worth of arms in his hand. Even without these arms, he wouldn’t be afraid of the troops from the nearby countries.
Once this war was dragged into a cruel tug of war, the displaced refugees would hit the entire East African region. Under the internal and external pressure, the weak Somali authorities would be unable to stand.
However, at this moment, he felt a sense of uneasiness.
It was as if he were being tracked by a fierce beast.
Marach suddenly realized something. He raised his head and looked up at the sky.
However, there was nothing but a clear sky; nothing that could indicate a fighter jet, not even a single cloud.
Why do I feel this way?
The anxiety in his heart became stronger and stronger.
Marach clenched his fist. When he was thinking about leaving, he suddenly saw a few black spots in the sky.
The black spots were very small.
If he didn’t happen to be looking in that direction, he wouldn’t even have noticed it.
Marach gulped and grabbed his telescope.
“Jesus, what is that?”
However, before he could think, a violent tremble came from under his feet. Billowing smoke and fire came from two kilometers away, and he almost fell on the ground.
When he stood up straight and looked in the direction, the blood in his chest rushed to his head.
“No!”
That was the ammunition depot he deployed nearby, which contained bullets and IEDs capable of arming at least two guerrilla wars.
Marach stared at the fireball that soared into the sky. His eyes were bloodshot as he looked in the sky, trying to find where the airstrike came from.
However, the enemy seemed to be nonexistent.
The arms and ammunition facility was destroyed. That was the only evidence that something was flying above their heads.
Marach grabbed his walkie-talkie and spoke with all his strength. He commanded the surviving subordinates to move the ammunition to a safe place and ordered the soldiers on the front line to disperse immediately. They prepared to break into pieces and start a desperate fight with the enemy’s ground troops.
However, Marach did not realize that the first round of airstrikes was only the beginning.
Their nightmare had only just begun.
The black spot floating in the air finally revealed its true self.
Those were “black coffins”, tied to parachutes.
They were only slightly larger than the airborne capsules of aeros.p.a.ce paratroopers, but not much larger.
They were like dandelions, scattering and landing on the battlefield. They deployed vertically on the ground.
After a smooth landing, the four-wall sh.e.l.l of the black coffin opened one after another, revealing a drone inside.
The signal lights were all lit up instantly. The electric motor began to buzz, and the drones were like hornets pouring out of a nest. Under the guidance of satellites and ground terminals, they entered the battlefield.
The drones were only a little bigger than a basketball. The small-caliber muzzle and exposed magazines were suspended under the cha.s.sis. A single fly-by could drop a wave of bullets.
The flames from the sky and the flashes from the guns illuminated the fears on the faces of the militants. The airstrikes launched from nowhere had almost destroyed all of their ammunition depots on the ground and even the ones in the tunnels. Now they had to face a group of murderous “bees.”
It was almost impossible for them to aim at the drones that were hundreds of meters away. On the other hand, the drones could come and go freely on the battlefield.
Marach knew a lot about drones. Compared to most of his compatriots, he had experience in North Africa with the US troops.
In fact, it was very easy to shoot down these things. When they flew by, if one aimed in their direction, they could easily be shot down.
They didn’t even need a gun, a rock would do.
However, it seemed like these drones had brains. Not only would they use bunkers to shelter them in firefights, but they also knew how to use simple fire suppression and outflank tactics to perform operations on their fixed defenses.
It was as if every drone was controlled by a professional UAV engineer…
…
The flames rising into the sky suppressed the sun while the billowing smoke from the hills turned into clouds in the sky. The wind engulfed in the yellow sand rolled across the messy battlefield.
Marach was searching for the traces of the bombers. The Somali army, the border guards, and even the US military base a hundred kilometers away were all desperately searching for where the airstrikes came from.
There was not a single trace of a plane on their radars.
They didn’t even detect a bird!
Airstrikes?
How was this possible?!
How could there be such a precise artillery attack?!
And most importantly, how did they find the ammunition depots!
Did they guess?
General Katzno put down the telescope in his hand; his eyes were filled with shock.
Standing next to him was Colonel Abati. He was also stunned.
He gulped and asked, “Are there any airstrikes announced by the PLA?”
“Yeah…”
“Did you hear any sounds of a fighter jet?”
“No… Their aircraft carrier is probably still in the East China Sea.”
“What plane can fly this fast?”
“Don’t know, don’t ask me.”
“Then… Should we move forward?”
“Get in the car first…”
There was no longer any suspense in the battle.
It seemed that none of the contingency plans discussed in the combat meeting were used.
Of course, this was almost a good thing.
They had a strong feeling that…
This war was going to end very soon.