Middle Eastern tyrants

Chapter 116 Fierce Battle (Part 1)

As the enemy's armored forces approached the vicinity of Ghanam, Lu Lin finally regained a global view.

This time, he deployed his entire mixed division and launched a surprise attack from the pre-ambushed valley. According to the best plan, this attack could wipe out the Kurdish light armored division in one fell swoop.

On the main front, he left only two battalions of infantry, several anti-tank positions, and a heavy artillery brigade firing at full power.

This heavy artillery brigade was the support previously provided by Al-Ilag. The majority of the artillery consisted of 152mm towed artillery pieces, in addition to four 203mm B-4Ms. The prototype of the B-4 was the one that the Russians had deployed in the early days of World War II. The version given to Lu Lin was a modernized version with increased range and rate of fire, but the differences were not significant.

The chassis also needs to be adjusted during steering calibration, and the United States' M110 has been upgraded to hydraulic power steering.

Seeing that Lu Lin was about to unleash a barrage of attacks again, Ibrahim said, "You should use them sparingly. Try to let the armored forces deal with the enemy. After all, we can't ask Al-Iraq for support right now."

A D-20 carries approximately 120 rounds of ammunition, including conventional grenades and extended-range rounds. However, in high-intensity combat, this ammunition can only last for a maximum of eight hours, and the battle has only just begun.

"Good things should be used in the right place, Ibo."

Lu Lin disagreed. Ibo was Ibrahim's nickname, but at this moment the two had completely different views: "If we can use artillery to quickly annihilate the enemy, why not use it? There are still enemy armored divisions lurking in the west. Only by dealing with this side first can we free up our hands to deal with the threat on the other side!"

With a hawk-like global perspective, Lu Lin clearly saw the battlefield situation: the red markers representing the enemy were disappearing continuously, while the green armored torrent of his own forces was flanking from both sides, cutting the enemy in half.

Ibrahim sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

A general only needs to consider how to defeat the enemy, but logistics and overall planning involve much more complex issues.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The first assault inflicted heavy losses on the Kurdish armored forces, with Shuangzhi's surprise attack destroying nearly 20% of their tanks.

Hearing the thunderous artillery fire from the front, Lieutenant General Diyar was restless: "No, we must immediately rescue the vanguard!"

But Major General Cohen put down his binoculars and said decisively, "No! You should order the troops to continue the attack now!"

"Are you crazy?" Lieutenant General Diar exclaimed in shock. "This is practically sending them to their deaths!"

"Haven't you noticed yet?" Major General Cohen glared at him, his tone tinged with disappointment. "This is Amir's entire armored force! During the battle in Ghanam, both sides used only M60A1 tanks, but now their tanks are a mixed force!"

"How could a highly skilled tactical commander allow his troops to use two completely different equipment systems? This indicates a major problem with their logistics!"

Major General Cohen asserted, "Their frontal defenses must be very weak right now. If we break through in one fell swoop and directly threaten Garnum, we can turn the tide of the entire battle!"

General Yeshavishin, the current commander of the Zion front, was formerly the commander of the 38th Division. He has always adhered to the idea that "the best defense is offense" and has planned daring raids such as "Sereth Farm" and "Operation Abu-Aguila," all of which have achieved brilliant victories.

It must be said that this style of combat is consistent throughout the military. At this moment, Major General Cohen is almost possessed by a general, and all that is missing is that he personally leads the charge.

"Use the mobility of your light armored forces to flank us," Major General Cohen said sharply. "Seize key bridges and towns to establish offensive footholds. We are one step away from victory!"

Lieutenant General Diar's Adam's apple bobbed; he hadn't expected Zion officers to be even more radical than religious extremists when they went mad.

They agreed to follow the military manual, so why did they all start to let themselves go when it came to actual combat?
"Done!"

Lieutenant General Diyal's eyes suddenly turned fierce. He could not hesitate for a moment. As long as he could capture Major General Amir alive, what did it matter if he lost an armored division?
So he grabbed the radio: "Frontline troops, don't stop! Spread out and continue advancing toward Canam! Take them straight into the city!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Report! The enemy is accelerating their advance!"

Hearing the reports from the front lines, Lu Lin was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that the commander on the other side was also quite capable.

However, this situation was within his expectations. He issued the order: "Have the reserves immediately move into combat positions and launch a blocking attack, taking advantage of the terrain of the forward positions. Once their offensive spearhead is broken, the Kurdish armored forces will be ours for the taking!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

At the forward positions north of Ghanam, the radio crackled with static, followed by the battalion commander's hoarse voice: "Position 12, have you seen the Kurdish tanks?"

Scout Hassan lay prone at the edge of the trench, observing through binoculars, and then he saw a row of moving black dots appear in his field of vision.

The silhouette of the AMX-30 was distorted by the heat, followed by several half-track vehicles, and then a group of Kurdish armored vehicles.

Hassan pressed the radio: "I see them, at least twenty."

"Reserve troops, move to the position." The brigade commander's voice suddenly became clear. "You have six M40s, and each infantry squad can be allocated two RPGs. That should be enough."

Hassan turned to look at the right flank, where reserve soldiers were running towards their firing positions.

A recruit tripped over the machine gun's ammunition belt, his helmet thudding against the ammunition box. Sergeant Mohammed cursed and kicked the fallen box righting. "Watch the sights," Hassan said over the radio. "Fire when they're within 400 meters."

The first shell landed a few dozen meters in front of the position. Hassan wiped the dust off his binoculars and saw that the turret of the lead tank was turning, and the machine gunner on the roof was firing, with flashes of light coming from the muzzle.

"Fire!"

Six M40s simultaneously spewed flames as armor-piercing rounds streaked through the dry air.

The two AMX-30s stopped, and the turret hatch of one of them suddenly opened, revealing the commander with half his body sticking out. His turret was smoking, and all the messy sashes on his body were on fire.

However, the Kurds retaliated quickly. The centurions opened fire, and the sand they kicked up fell into the trenches like rain.

Hassan heard someone coughing nervously. Half of his company were new recruits, and of the remaining half, fewer than ten had fought in two battles like him. The most elite veterans had been transferred to armored units and were now behind enemy lines.

Immediately afterwards, the anti-tank positions behind them opened fire. These were the few remaining Sheridan tanks in the entire unit, and their firepower was fierce.

Ever since Zion destroyed one of their tanks with rifles in Sergiad, Chief of Staff Ibrahim has abandoned their mobility as light tanks, throwing these "crispy dumplings" into the fortifications built by Zion and starting to fire from narrow slits.

Three high-explosive shells struck the front line of the position, and the shockwaves knocked two machine gun positions away.

Hassan's ears were ringing; he saw the sergeant's mouth moving, but he couldn't hear anything.

A machine gun bullet hit the sandbag next to him, and with a "poof," steaming sand flowed out of the hole.

He continued to peer through the gaps in the sandbags into his binoculars. A half-track vehicle had broken down on the battlefield, and the infantrymen inside were beginning to jump out.

Muhammad grabbed the RPG from their class and pulled the trigger.

He had originally aimed at the half-track vehicle, but the rocket hit the lead soldier in the chest. The explosion blew off the soldier's upper body, and his lower body took two steps forward before he fell.

Upon witnessing this scene, recruit Hablish began to vomit.

Hassan ignored him, grabbed his rifle and emptied a magazine—the kind of "faith" shooting style where he crouched in the trench with his hands raised above his head.

He didn't know if he had hit anyone, partly because he hadn't looked at the battlefield, and partly because the smoke was too thick and the Kurds were running around.

He had heard Colonel Bandar say that it took an average of two thousand bullets to kill one enemy. He hadn't believed it before, but now he did.

On the battlefield, muffled explosions could be heard from time to time. This was because Kurdish armored forces had stepped on pre-laid anti-tank mines. The ground would first bulge out, and then the shockwave would carry dust dozens of meters into the air, like a vertical fountain.

A moment later, the firepower on the battlefield seemed to have decreased somewhat. Hassan picked up his binoculars again, looked at the opposite side, and frowned: "They're starting to adjust their attack!"

A sharp whistling sound suddenly came from the earpiece, and all the soldiers on the position frowned and ripped off the earpiece.

Several oddly shaped Centurion tanks charged ahead, with a huge plow blade mounted on the front of the vehicle, looking somewhat like the front shovel of an excavator.

Meanwhile, other tanks and infantry followed behind, advancing gradually.

At that moment, the thunderous roar of fighter jets echoed from the sky. Hassan looked up and saw two iron-gray fighter jets swooping down from below the clouds, with wasp-waisted fuselages and tailless delta wings.

Phantom III.

The appearance of enemy aircraft also triggered the city's air defense system. Anti-aircraft missiles shot into the sky with white trails, and the low- and medium-altitude fire network began to strangle the suddenly appearing Zion Air Force. The Mirage III rolled in the gaps of the interwoven fire network, its agile body like a pas de deux.

The Mirage III's cockpit features twelve daggers, signifying a total kill count of twelve. Such ace crews typically only appear on the front lines in Masr or Surya, but now they've appeared over Ghanam.

Hassan watched as one of the Mirage IIIs suddenly climbed, carrying Hawk anti-aircraft missiles straight into the sky, quickly escaping the firing range of the low-altitude fire network.

Then, the foil released by the Mirage III, like a handful of shiny coins, successfully interfered with Hawke's pursuit and disappeared into the clouds.

"Why are you so dazed!"

The company commander shoved Hassan's head down, and then fired a precise shot that landed on the anti-tank gun position on the left flank, detonating the ammunition box. Four comrades were instantly killed in the explosion.

Hassan saw that the sergeant outside the gun emplacement was also thrown into the air by the blast wave, and when he landed, he was motionless like a broken sack.

He cautiously peeked out and saw the black armored unit appearing on the hillside, with a large bump on its turret.

Chief!

　There is more in the evening.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)