Middle Eastern tyrants

Chapter 225 "Surrounding Three Sides, Leaving One Open" (Part Two)
In the eastern Mediterranean, the cargo ship "San Juan" was sailing along its planned route at a speed of 14 knots, its bow cutting through the calm sea and leaving a gradually spreading wake.

Captain Diego Mendoza stood on the right wing of the bridge, the espresso in his hand emitting a rich aroma.

Outside the window, it was a typical Eastern Mediterranean summer day: a clear blue sky and bright sunshine.

"Good morning, Captain."

First Officer Carlos walked onto the bridge and signed his name in the ship's logbook. "We are 127 nautical miles from Tel Aviv. At this speed, we should be able to see the lighthouse in Ashdod by noon tomorrow."

Mendoza nodded in acknowledgment.

He had been sailing this route connecting Barcelona and Ashdod for twenty-three years, and every navigation point and every danger was deeply etched in his memory.

As a Hispanian of Zionian descent, he spent most of his career on this maritime artery that connects his homeland with Europe.

Although he worked for a Zionist-owned shipping company responsible for transporting aid supplies, Mendoza always identified with his Hispanian identity.

This complex emotional identification is quite common among overseas Zion communities—they are both loyal to their ethnic roots and deeply integrated into the society of their host countries.

Mendoza's gaze swept across the chart; the cargo ship was passing through the waters south of Latakia.

This area witnessed fierce naval battles during the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, which ended in a decisive victory for the Zion Navy.

"Unidentified vessel spotted on starboard!" the lookout suddenly reported urgently. "Several small, high-speed targets are approaching!"

Mendoza immediately put down his coffee cup and grabbed his high-powered binoculars. In the intense sunlight, several low, dark silhouettes were rapidly cutting through the waves.

He strode towards the radar display screen, where four high-speed contact points were clearly visible, their headings pointing directly at the cargo ship convoy. The low freeboard and high speed clearly indicated that these were not merchant ships.

"All ships on high alert!"

Mendosara sirens the alarm, “Immediately send an urgent telegram to the Ashdod Port Authority and Naval Command: 32°19'N, 33°17'E, intercepted by unidentified warships! Repeat, intercepted!”

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.

Zion, Haifa Naval Headquarters.

Admiral Eliezer Haim, the Navy Commander, had just finished a video conference with the General Staff when he saw the urgent telegram from the USS San Juan and his brow immediately furrowed.

"Which fleet is closest to the USS San Juan right now?"

"The patrol ship 'Hanite', Captain Yitzhak Holmfel."

The operations staff responded quickly: "The vessel is on a routine patrol mission, has received an alert, and is approaching the USS San Juan."

Elizer frowned. Although the Zion Navy had a relative advantage in the Middle East, ensuring the safety of the long sea lanes remained a challenge.

After all, the battle between Zion and the Arabs was always on land, which determined the priority of naval resource allocation.

"The incident occurred in waters only 35 nautical miles from Masr's controlled area."

The operations staff marked the location on the map. "General, should we request air support?"

"Immediately dispatch the 193rd Squadron with fighter jets for escort."

Admiral Elizer stared at the nautical chart and ordered the "Tashev" and "Glo" to immediately set sail to provide support. All the Sa'ar 4.5 missile boats on standby in port were to form a second escort fleet to ensure the safety of the waterway.

"Yes," the operations staff officer replied.

Elizer stared at the lifeline on the nautical chart that connected Europe with the port of Ashdod.

This route transports medicines, industrial parts, and essential supplies; any disruption would severely impact the supply of materials to both the front lines and the rear.

As the least valued naval commander among the three branches of the armed forces, Elizet was actually somewhat helpless.

Because the naval power of Arab countries is also relatively weak, Zion's naval development has long been maintained at a level of "just enough".

Currently, their navy's main force consists of missile boats that excel in coastal operations. These ships perform well in coastal waters, but their seaworthiness is limited, making it difficult for them to carry out long-term escort missions in open waters.

When faced with the task of protecting shipping lanes for hundreds of nautical miles, it proved inadequate.

"Order all warships at sea to move closer to the escort route."

Eliizer ultimately ordered that "the safety of the San Juan and subsequent cargo ships be given priority, and the captain may be authorized to exercise the right of self-defense if necessary."

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.

West bank of the Hashim River, Zion Army's crossing position.

Joshua Levy crouched in the chief’s shadow, expertly tightening his boot laces and wrapping two more strips of cloth around his ankles.

Not far away, a group of new recruits were talking excitedly.

"Let those Arabs see what I'm made of!"

A soldier with a still-childish face patted the six-pointed star pendant on his chest, "This is a lucky charm my sister sent from Nahariya. It will surely protect me and make me the first to storm into Amman!"

A soldier nearby joked, "Maybe after the war, the marshal will make you a brigade commander!"

A group of people laughed.

Joshua's gaze lingered on the faces of the recruits for a moment.

There was a time when he was just as passionate, but he soon realized the true nature of war.

"Forward, all!"

The tank commander’s order came over the radio, and Joshua got up and followed, stepping onto the pontoon bridge with the armored column.

Thanks to the cover of artillery fire, the crossing of the river went exceptionally smoothly.

When Joshua set foot on the east bank, most of the armored forces had already crossed the river.

The landing troops immediately began standard ground occupation procedures—tanks formed triangular formations of three vehicles each, providing mutual cover, while infantry units began clearing the fortifications along the riverbank.

"Company B is responsible for the left flank," the platoon leader deployed over the radio. "If resistance is encountered, fire at will."

The implication of this statement is that no prisoners should be taken.

Joshua's squad quickly advanced toward a partially collapsed machine gun position.

At a distance of 20 meters, the platoon leader made a gesture, and two comrades immediately provided covering fire.

Joshua threw two grenades into the firing port without even looking, and only rushed in with his gun after the explosion.

All that remained on the position were severed limbs; the machine gunner had long since died, likely struck on the head by the first volley of artillery fire, his machine gun covered in a layer of flesh.

Joshua reported over the radio: "Cleanup complete."

Suddenly, cheers and bursts of gunfire erupted from not far away. Joshua looked up and saw an Arab soldier engulfed in flames staggering out from behind cover, while several new recruits excitedly fired at him.

The soldier fell to the ground and never moved again.

Joshua frowned; he felt a strange, inexplicable unease in his heart.

Just then, an ominous whistling sound came from the sky. "Fire! Take cover!"

Joshua immediately lay down and assumed a standard defensive stance.

The new recruits who had just fired their guns were still looking blankly at the sky.

The next second, hell descended.

Dense artillery shells rained down on the river surface and banks, sending up countless towering columns of water.

A 122mm grenade hit the pontoon bridge directly, overturning an armored vehicle that had just driven onto the bridge and throwing it into the water. In an instant, shattered equipment and human remains flew through the air.

Joshua was thrown into the air by the shockwave of the nearby explosion and crashed heavily to the ground.

The world was silent amidst the tinnitus. He shook his head, and all he could see were swirling blocks of color.

A lieutenant helped him up: "Can you walk?"

Joshua gritted his teeth and nodded. He quickly checked himself and found that he was basically unharmed except for a few scratches.

"Move inland immediately!" the lieutenant pointed to the dense forest behind them. "Our retreat has been cut off, and the Arabs are shelling the entire river!"

When Joshua rushed into the woods and looked back, the entire Hashim River was a boiling inferno.

Burning armor wreckage floated on the river, destroyed tanks billowed smoke on the shallows, and soldiers frantically searched for cover on the bank.

Anyone could see that they had fallen into a carefully designed trap.

"All units, move closer to me!"

A colonel fired a warning shot in a clearing in the woods: "Remain calm! We still have nearly two divisions that have successfully crossed the river, enough for us to complete our mission!"

The soldiers perked up slightly upon hearing this.

Joshua looked around. Although the organization had been disrupted, at least two thousand soldiers were regrouping. They were quickly reorganized into temporary combat units.

"Remember the glory of the Six-Day War!"

The colonel rallied the soldiers, shouting, "Back then, one of our divisions pierced through the entire Al-Iraq! Now, we'll make the Arabs taste defeat again!"

Encouraged by the officers, the troops began to advance towards Amman.

As more scattered soldiers joined along the way, the ranks gradually expanded, and many soldiers rekindled their hope that they could reorganize a complete divisional unit before reaching Amman.

But Joshua's unease grew stronger, because their opponent was Amir, and knowing their tactics, how could the opponent not have a countermeasure?
Sure enough, about 30 kilometers from Amman, they encountered organized resistance.

"Tank position on a reverse slope spotted ahead!"

The scout squad reported back, "They've taken control of the high ground on both sides of the highway!"

The colonel, however, was unconvinced: "These Arabs? We could break through their lines with a single charge!"

Zion's armored forces quickly deployed into battle formation, with tank companies forming the spearhead of the attack in the center, mechanized infantry providing cover on both flanks, and engineer detachments advancing to clear obstacles. The entire deployment was well-organized, demonstrating Zion's standard offensive procedures.

However, the Al-Iraq army displayed tactical prowess beyond expectations. They skillfully used the terrain to deploy crossfire, and artillery observers accurately called for fire support, clearly intending to trap them there.

"Could it be Shuangzhi's troops on the other side?"

The colonel, whose attack had stalled for a long time, was starting to get anxious. Their logistics were all on the other side of the river, and they needed a quick victory: "Concentrate the spare tanks and open a breach on the north flank!"

Joshua was assigned to the left wing attacking unit, along with the recruit wearing the necklace.

The twelve Chieftains launched an attack in a wedge formation, followed closely by infantry.

Initially, things went smoothly, with the chief successfully breaking through the first line of defense thanks to his heavy upper glacis armor and accurate firepower.

But just as they were about to break through the encirclement, dozens of unfamiliar tanks suddenly appeared from their flank.

Joshua's first thought was that it was a T-62, but upon closer inspection, he discovered that these tanks had six pairs of road wheels, one more pair than the T-62, and the hull was longer and the turret was flatter.

Immediately afterwards, the tank on the other side opened fire, its main gun spewing out scorching flames, and armor-piercing shells hurtling towards them at speeds exceeding one thousand meters per second.

The chieftain's composite armor sparked blindingly under the massive kinetic energy impact, but it failed to be penetrated.

"Aim for their flanks!"

Zion's tank commanders roared and returned fire, their 120mm rifled guns firing accurately at the upper glacis of the opposing tanks, but the bullets bounced off, leaving only deep bullet marks.

So meaty?
Joshua was certain that this was definitely not the defensive capability a T-62 should have.

The tank battle reached a brief stalemate, but the Arabs' numerical advantage began to show. One Sheikh's tracks were destroyed, and another's sights and aiming equipment was damaged, forcing it to withdraw from the battle.

Joshua's infantry platoon was pinned down in a low-lying area. Enemy machine gun fire swept across the grass like a scythe, and soldiers fell one after another, riddled with bullets.

"We need backup!" the lieutenant shouted into the radio, but only static noise answered him.

Using the shell craters as cover, Joshua calmly fired at the exposed enemy positions. Suddenly, a barrage of artillery fire covered their area.

The powerful shockwave temporarily deafened Joshua. When he looked up again, the order to retreat came over the radio: "All units, disengage immediately! Repeat, retreat immediately!"

Thick smoke billowed across the battlefield as Joshua grabbed his rifle and began to retreat.

As he passed a depression, he saw a corpse with a glittering six-pointed star pendant hanging around its neck.

Joshua remained silent and continued to retreat.

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.

Colonel Lev Alekseevich Rokosov lowered his binoculars and watched the smoke rising from the battlefield. "The Zionian attack has been repelled," he said to his staff officer beside him. "They cannot break through our lines."

Major General Al-Iraq laughed and said, "Now they have our army in front of them and the Hashim River behind them. They are completely trapped."

"I estimate that the enemy has at least two divisions," another senior staff officer added with a smile. "This is the greatest victory achieved by the Arab coalition since the start of the war! Colonel, you have made the greatest contribution this time!"

“Indeed,” another officer chimed in, “Your T-72 unit completely overwhelmed the enemy. Even without any advantage, we were still in a strong position to win.”

Amidst the praise, Colonel Lev was in a bad mood.

He knew perfectly well who the real mastermind behind this victory was, and that he was merely there to claim credit for his own victory.

What he truly desired was merit earned through real, hard-fought battles, not this kind of pre-arranged victory.

"It feels like I'm being given charity."

Lev Alekseyevich Rokosov wore a sour face and looked sullen.

But then again, it really does smell good.

In the distance, Al-Iraq's encirclement was steadily tightening, trapping this isolated Zion army firmly on the east bank of the Hashim River.

(End of this chapter)