Mercenary’s War

Chapter 2384 - 2360: First Salvo

Coordination between infantry and artillery is the litmus test for any army. If a military can’t even manage this, it has no claim to being a modern force.

Gao Yang wasn’t sure about the standards of Yemen’s regular troops, but from what he had seen so far, the Houthis Armed Forces were undoubtedly an undisciplined rabble. This puzzled him greatly, as logically, a group of over a hundred thousand should not be this backward.

But at least today, it was proven that among the people Abdullah brought along, not one had any knowledge of artillery.

Rebrov looked to Gao Yang for help, and Gao Yang nodded and said, "Let’s treat it like we’re shooting at a stationary target."

Hitting a stationary target is the simplest task, but when it comes to actual execution, it’s not that simple because one must guard against enemy counterattacks. With modern technology, counter-battery radar has been around for quite some time and is no longer considered a high-end weapon. If the enemy possesses such radar, firing artillery would mean exposing the gun position.

Counter-battery radars, also known as artillery trajectory radars, can detect the projectile once the artillery is fired, allowing the radar to calculate the gun’s location immediately. All it takes is informing the friendly artillery to counter the enemy’s gun position within minutes.

Counter-battery radar has become almost standard equipment for modern ground forces. Hence, if Rebrov orders the artillery to fire from the positions near the camp, this temporary camp is likely to be exposed immediately, putting everyone at risk.

Thus, the only option before firing is to relocate, fire from a distance, and be ready to move again at any moment to ensure safety.

Rebrov took out the map, confirmed with Abdullah’s people that the target was indeed on the map, and then immediately spoke into the radio, saying loudly, "Move to B3 Preset Position, over."

Finishing his command, Rebrov turned to Gao Yang, with a hint of excitement, and asked, "Boss, I’m on my way, do you have any further instructions?"

"Stay safe."

"Yes!"

Rebrov saluted and hurriedly ran to his car before taking off, towing artillery and carrying shell supplies.

Abdullah watched the departing convoy and then looked at Gao Yang, left behind, and suddenly asked in confusion, "Why leave?"

Gao Yang paused and explained, "They’re heading to the preset position. We can’t fire from here, what if the position is exposed?"

Abdullah nodded and then suddenly said, "We should follow them too."

Gao Yang was taken aback again and replied, "Is it necessary? The terrain here is elevated; we can observe the city’s situation from here. The weather is good today, and if they fire, we’ll see the smoke columns in the city. There’s no need to follow them and constantly relocate."

Abdullah was silent for a moment, but eventually insisted, "No, let’s go have a look."

Not understanding what was so appealing, Gao Yang reluctantly agreed since Abdullah insisted.

With Joseph’s injured foot preventing him from accompanying Gao Yang, only Peter and Glolov were left to follow him. Both were Russians, and since they were posing as a Russian Envoy, it was beneficial to speak Russian every now and then.

Gao Yang’s convoy followed the artillery convoy for a distance of four kilometers until they saw the artillery convoy veer off the dirt road and swiftly set up on a flat section of land.

Abdullah’s convoy tried to continue towards the artillery position, but Gao Yang stopped them, parking two hundred meters away from the gun position.

"Keep the engines running, ready to move with the artillery at any moment. Nobody should approach the artillery position to avoid interference."

After getting out, Gao Yang instructed Abdullah, who remained intently focused on the activities at the artillery position.

Firstly, the artillerymen detached the cannons from the trucks. Seven or eight men pushed a cannon while shouting rhythms, jogging it into the proper position. Then a group quickly began digging to secure the gun’s spade, while Rebrov led three men in sketching on a make-shift table.

Determining the position, calculating the distance to the target, everything proceeded methodically. Since it was a preset position, crucial data had been pre-calculated, significantly reducing the workload for Rebrov and his men.

Nevertheless, setting up a D30 cannon still takes some time. Despite its wheels facilitating transport and movement, deploying a D30 requires positioning a stand to prop up the cannon, lifting the wheels, setting up the gun frame, and lowering the stand to place the cannon on the deployed spade—this entire process is rather cumbersome.

However, the team with Rebrov moved swiftly. With seven or eight men around one cannon, they completed the setup process in just three to four minutes. While three men hammered stakes into the ground using sledgehammers, the main gunner began adjusting the barrel based on Rebrov’s instructions.

This was actually Gao Yang’s first time witnessing the artillerymen he worked hard to recruit in operation.

These artillerymen, before coming to Yemen, had fought in Ukraine for a long time, practically spending every day amidst gunfire. At present, it would probably be hard to find more experienced artillerymen than them.

In just five minutes, they completed all tasks, including setting up the artillery and calculating the trajectory. The loader was ready with shells, loading one into the chamber.

Rebrov spoke into the radio, saying, "Boss, don’t you need an artillery observer to report the damage effect? Just relying on calculations, there’s a risk of missing! A miss could result in collateral damage with serious consequences!"

There was still a chance to reconsider before firing; once the gun is fired, there’s no turning back.

Gao Yang looked towards Abdullah, intending to confirm if he wanted to rely solely on calculations to fire, which was almost like a blind shot. Abdullah, looking shocked, said, "How can they be so fast?"

Since the cannon was provided by Abdullah, he had seen how the D30 performed in the hands of his own men, so it was clear that Rebrov’s artillerymen left him quite astonished.

"Should we fire? It’s in a densely populated urban area without scouts, firing like this can easily lead to collateral damage!"

Abdullah nodded without hesitation, saying, "Fire!"

"Fire!"

With Gao Yang’s command, Rebrov motioned with his hand and shouted, "Rapid firing mode, commence fire!"

With a thunderous roar, the first shell left the chamber, sending shockwaves across the ground, stirring up dust—a mere beginning. The gunners combined with the assistant gunners in tight coordination, paired with the loader’s high efficiency, launched the four cannons into continuous rapid succession.