As expected, none of the four squad leaders hesitated to vie for the position of company commander. However, the training officers reminded them in cold, stern language: the squad leaders choose the platoon leaders, and the platoon leaders choose the company commander; none of them can be considered as candidates.
Although this rule had not been explicitly stated before, it was implied in the statements, and even during the selection of squad leaders by the section leaders, this rule had been reiterated. However, the squad leaders seemed not to have seriously considered this critical information, even though it had been captured by Lin En, the "Danish" with questionable German language skills.
Besides the four squad leaders, everyone, including the twelve section leaders, was eligible to become a platoon leader. However, even if the squad leaders could tolerate their section leaders and top soldiers suddenly surpassing them, how could they form a unified opinion in such a short time?
The debate was intense.
The training officer glanced at his watch and said, "Gentlemen, if there is no decision within 3 minutes, your graduation results will be collectively judged as unacceptable!"
Upon hearing this, Lin En suddenly felt amused. The once mighty Third Reich had now fallen to its knees, so what significance did the graduation results of a special forces training camp have? With the operational style of the "Vampire" assault team, casualties were inevitable in every battle, and the reserve soldiers were like the lifeblood. If everyone was deemed unacceptable, the worst that could happen was an extension of the training period or a collective reduction in rank; it was impossible for them to be thrown into ordinary units.
Unfortunately, not everyone could maintain a calm mind at such times, making it even more difficult to break free from the circle of being trapped in one's own perspective.
Indeed, the squad leaders stopped arguing and looked at each other. Despite their vigorous training, they were now at a loss for ideas.
"Gentlemen!"
Lin En timely took a step forward and gave himself a "shining debut" with a loud and steady voice.
"I am Lin En Gagor, formerly of the Waffen-SS 'Nordland' Division, engaged in combat on the Eastern Front for a long time. I am a Dane, and I am also a Germanic. Perhaps my age is younger than many present here, and my rank is not high, but I am proud of one thing here... the ability to maintain a calm mind at all times! Not long ago, I had the privilege to accompany Sergeant Eric's assault team through the Soviet lines and launched a night raid on a Soviet armored battalion, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy with just fifty men. When the commanding officer was unfortunately killed, I provided crucial advice to the temporary commander, successfully helping the assault team return to our lines!"
These words were not spoken fluently, but Lin En tried to make every pronunciation full of vigor. He scanned each face with firm eyes, showing no sign of retreat when his gaze met that of the soldiers.
After a brief pause, Lin En continued in an accent of unknown origin, "Gentlemen, although the largest group I have commanded before was only four people (myself and the White Goat family of three), I have complete confidence in my courage, will, and ability. I am a natural marksman and a calm soldier. I can confidently observe the surroundings when charging with full enthusiasm and patiently look for opportunities to counterattack when repeatedly hit. I am willing to live and die with every companion. Gentlemen, I have an unchanging motto: never give up an opportunity, never abandon a brother!"
Shamelessly plagiarizing others' famous quotes, Lin En also imitated Colonel Bach, shouting in a high but unpretentious tone, "Long live the Fuhrer! Long live Germany!"
Some reserve soldiers responded, while others looked at Lin En with skeptical eyes. However, when the training officer lowered his head to check the time once again, the squad leaders who could truly make a decision had no other choice.
Plap... plap... plap...
The muffled applause with gloves on suddenly sounded, and Colonel Bach, dressed in black leather, appeared like a ghost beside the team. Following him closely was a young lieutenant who looked unfamiliar, tall and thin, somewhat resembling the French President de Gaulle in Lin En's impression, but without a beard or the leader's haughty demeanor, giving a sense of calm and solidity.
Colonel Bach walked steadily to the middle of the team. "Although the real confrontation exercise has not yet begun, we have already seen a splendid performance! Each of you has worked hard in training and has mastered various combat skills, but I hope you remember tonight, remember every word that this young man just said. Whether in the face of imminent victory or facing a strong enemy, you should maintain a calm mind, see the situation clearly, and firmly grasp every opportunity! This can even serve as the battle creed for each of you!"
Upon hearing Colonel Bach say these words in front of everyone, Lin En did not tremble as he used to, nor did he look around nervously. Instead, he held his head high and felt proud of himself for seizing such a wonderful opportunity.
Without any further ado, after Colonel Laurence Bach briefly outlined the situation, he announced the commencement of the confrontation exercise.
It was Lin En's first time serving as a commander, and initially, he was somewhat flustered. However, as he himself said, composure was a major advantage he possessed over others. Calming himself down to assess the situation, Lin En speculated that the attacking side was likely composed of elite "vampire" commandos, probably not too numerous. With well-prepared defenses on his side and mental readiness to counter any enemy night raids, he believed that meticulous organization of the defense would surely provide an opportunity to win the confrontation.
Continuously injecting confidence into himself, Lin En quickly dispelled any doubts and swiftly deployed defenses according to his plan. Although the village was not large, dividing forces for a full-line defense would easily provide the opponent with breakthrough opportunities, especially in the dark and windy night where his side lacked infrared night vision goggles and was not allowed to use illumination flares or open fires. Therefore, he ordered the first row of soldiers to lurk in the trenches outside the village and in the woods, ignoring sporadic enemies until the "night warriors" approached in groups before launching an attack. The second row of soldiers dispersed and deployed on all sides of the village, maintaining vigilance with spaced intervals. The third row took positions at the four corners of the defensive line, ready to support any attacked position promptly. The fourth row of soldiers, as a reserve force, were stationed near the command post, oil depot, and ammunition depot, ready to annihilate the enemy with intense firepower once they breached the defensive line.
With each squad and platoon properly deployed, the forces playing the role of the attacking side, however, were still nowhere to be seen. Initially, it was manageable for the first couple of hours, but as midnight approached, even Lin En couldn't help but yawn. Realizing that the inexperienced recruits needed rest, Lin En ordered them to take turns resting. However, shortly after the orders were issued, gunfire from the east signaled the official start of the confrontation exercise.
Considering the sparse gunfire, Lin En speculated it was a tactic of harassment from the opponent, so he ordered all units to hold their positions. After a while, the gunfire ceased, but the forward reports revealed that all soldiers lying in ambush in the eastern trenches were "killed." Firing from the defensive positions without any visibility of the enemy was futile according to the rules.
Since the opponent had discovered the trick in the trenches, Lin En quickly ordered the withdrawal of the peripheral forces from three other positions, directing them to reinforce the trench positions directly. After another ten minutes or so, gunfire erupted successively from the west and north, sounding particularly intense. Lin En remained still and ordered reinforcements for the east and south positions. As expected, the southern position quickly reported a fierce enemy attack. Lin En ordered the second and third rows to each draw personnel to reinforce the southeast and southwest positions, while half of the personnel on the southern line were withdrawn. Intentionally allowing the enemy to break through from this side, he also ordered the fourth row not to open fire to expose their position until the enemy entered the effective illumination range of flashlights.
Lin En's calculations were indeed good, but unfortunately, it seemed that the attacking side had seen through his tricks early on. After swiftly capturing the southern position, the commandos did not adopt a straightforward approach but instead maneuvered around the circular defensive position. As a result, intense firefighting broke out at the southeast and southwest positions. As the battle escalated, Lin En persisted in not deploying the fourth row of troops, letting the soldiers originally deployed in the eastern position rush to reinforce. However, as soon as this batch of combatants left, the eastern position was subjected to a "fierce attack" from the opponent. For a while, gunshots echoed around the village, as if the enemy had a thousand troops surrounding them from all sides.
Lin En firmly believed that the "vampire" commando squad would at most employ the seventy to eighty commandos who dined together in the restaurant at night, so he only drew reinforcements from the west and north. The persistent defense eventually paid off— the fourth row personnel lying in ambush near the command post successfully carried out a clean and decisive ambush using flashlights, "eliminating" more than ten attackers who came from the southern position. Immediately after, the attackers who broke through the eastern position rushed towards the ammunition depot, only to encounter fierce resistance from the fourth row ambush unit midway. In just these two encounters, more than twenty attackers voluntarily withdrew from the battle, but they refused to hand over the "captured" infrared night vision goggles to the defending forces.
After the "fierce" battle, the defenders, depleted of ammunition and supplies, lost the southeast and southwest position support points. The west and north positions were also breached successively after the east and south positions. The remaining soldiers who withdrew into the village, along with the fourth row and Lin En's platoon, relied on buildings for the final defense. Unfortunately, infrared night vision goggles were particularly effective in this dark environment, and Lin En eventually lay down on the ground voluntarily.
"Not bad at all, young man! This battle was fought beautifully!"
Hearing this familiar voice, Lin En looked up and saw Sergeant Eric extending his right hand to him, his face smeared with mud.
Having done what he had to, but with a vast difference in night combat capabilities between the two sides, Lin En smiled calmly and said, "Is it still considered beautiful when all troops are wiped out?"
After pulling his little brother up from the ground, Eric patted his shoulder and said, "Better than the previous three sessions! Heh, I was thinking of having you come over to help me as soon as possible, but it looks like I'll have to wait a while longer!"
What did he mean by that? Lin En was curious.