Middle Eastern tyrants

Chapter 249 Full of Difficulties
Although the battle of Haifa has come to an end, the battle in Galilee is far from over.

Under the command of Markov, a military staff officer dispatched by Ant, Surya's army group is engaged in fierce fighting with Zion's Sixth Army.

Even Markov, who usually looked down on Arab officers, had to change his tune after learning that Amir's Shuangzhi troops had completely captured Haifa: "This Amir does indeed have some ability."

Upon hearing this, Commander Hafez straightened his back and unconsciously revealed a knowing smile.

Putting aside political stances, he personally admired Lu Lin, the Allied Commander, for both his talent and character.

Even the top leaders of most Arab countries are like this.

The fact that the vast majority of Arab countries recognize his "Jiblil" status is something that no Arab general or monarch throughout history has been able to do.

Amir is like a mirror; different Arab countries see him as if they see the image they most aspire to be in.

In the eyes of monarchical kings like Hashim and Magan, they saw a young and powerful ruler who could change the landscape of the Arab world.

But in the eyes of presidents like Masr and Surya, who lived in democratic republics, they saw a secular general.

In his army, it was not princes and nobles who held high positions, but rather truly capable people who won over the troops with genuine military achievements.

unite Arab countries;
Destroy Zion;

It has prompted the world to re-examine the Arab world.

The achievements embodied by Amir bin Mohammed represent the ideals they aspired to in their youth but were unable to realize.

Although there may be some selfish motives behind these ideals, this is precisely a reflection of human nature, and the allied forces led by Amir have indeed satisfied all Arab countries.

The allocation of tasks among the armies of various countries during the war did not involve using smaller countries as cannon fodder, and in the process of reclaiming lost territory, they did not encroach on the land of their allies as other Arab countries had done in the past.
Most importantly, he has been winning all the time.

He may not be a perfect person, but he is the one the Arab world has been waiting for.

At this time, the latest intelligence from the front lines also came back.

"The Seventh Army has indeed arrived."

Markov didn't dwell on the previous issues, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Perfect timing! Haifa has already fallen to Shuangzhi, and we need to achieve results here as well. I've been waiting for them!"

He then gave the operational order to his staff: "Order the 11th Armored Brigade to move to the flank and cooperate with the 7th Mechanized Infantry Division to prepare to execute the 'wave tactic.' Our armored forces will smash the flank of the 7th Army like a hammer!"

"Wave tactics" is a tactic that evolved from "deep formations" or "human wave tactics," which involves attacking enemy forces through continuous echelon assaults.

In Markov's operational plan, the core of the "wave tactic" lies in the precise coordination between units and the unwavering execution.

The first wave of troops surged into the enemy lines like a tidal wave, determined to breach even at the cost of heavy losses; the second wave had to be deployed without hesitation to expand the gains; and the third wave was a decisive armored assault to completely destroy the enemy's command structure.

This tactic was used by the Ant during World War II and continued to be effective in Bactria.

Commander Hafiz said, "I fear that Zion is also planning to attack us with the same intentions."

Markov confidently told his adjutant, "Don't worry, in Antwerp, our Guards Armored Division could penetrate such a line in three hours!"

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, Seventh Army.

"Lieutenant General, intelligence has just come in from the Sixth Army," the intelligence officer reported. "Surria has not chosen to retreat; instead, he has launched an offensive echelon in our direction."

When Lieutenant General Ger, who was commanding the Seventh Army, heard this intelligence, he subconsciously touched his bald head, which was still steaming hot.

"Instead of retreating, they're launching an attack?"

His thick brows furrowed, his mind racing. "This doesn't make sense. Could it be another of Amir's tricks?"

Because Lu Lin's past achievements were full of various deceptions and unexpected surprise attacks, many senior Zion officers would subconsciously think about more complex aspects when faced with unusual situations.

In Geer's view, if he were in the other side's position, the wisest choice at this moment would be to hold his ground and wait for reinforcements, or to fight and retreat towards Haifa to seek an opportunity to regroup, rather than actively engaging in a seemingly hopeless war of attrition.

This unusual toughness made him wary, wondering if it was a feint to lure him into a decisive battle.

However, the clear enemy situation on the map and the pressure the Sixth Army was under were real.

With the fall of Haifa, the Fifth Army was wiped out as a whole, while the Sixth Army was locked in a fierce battle with the enemy.

At this moment, his Seventh Army was practically the only strategic heavy force group in Zion's Northern Theater that still retained its complete structure and mobility; they were also his last hope.

"Fight! Since they want to fight head-on, then we'll fight them to the bitter end!" Lieutenant General Gerr gritted his teeth and then gave the order.

In this situation, he had no other choice.

Especially after the fall of Haifa, the Fifth Army was completely wiped out, the Sixth Army was embroiled in fierce fighting, and the Seventh Army was the only large-scale army in northern Zion that still had a chance to turn the tide.

Regardless of whether the Arabs are prepared or not, they must fight this war.

Lieutenant General Ger hardened his heart and continued, "Tell all the soldiers that we have no way out. Even if we fight to the last man and the last bullet, we must charge towards the enemy!"

For Zion! Fight to the death!

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 42nd Infantry Regiment of Surya arrived at the village of Tellhala, which was at the forefront of the battle line.

Upon receiving the order from above to "hold the position at all costs," the soldiers were filled with resentment.

"It must have been the idea of ​​those Alawite officers again; they just want us to go and die!"

Nineteen-year-old Private Kadri hid behind a crumbling wall and complained to his comrades beside him.

His uniform was covered in mud and dark red bloodstains, whether from enemies or comrades, it was unclear.

An Alawite officer glanced at the private, then whispered a few words to his confidant beside him.

The veteran standing nearby witnessed all of this and tugged at Lakadri's sleeve. He whispered, "Carry out the order, for the glory of Surria."

"glory?"

Private First Class Kadri sneered, his voice not loud, but just loud enough for the surrounding soldiers to hear: "Is it for the glory of the Alawite sect?"

These words immediately drew the attention of several people.

The internal conflicts within the Surya army had long been impossible to conceal.

Since the Ba'ath Party seized power through a coup seven years ago, the Alawite faction, a minority in the country, has held considerable power.

To prevent the Sunni majority from using their numerical advantage to overthrow the regime, the Alawite community allocated a large number of mid- to senior-level command positions in the security services and the military to Alawite "insiders".

The Sunnis, who make up the majority of the country's population, will never be allowed access to the country's most central positions, especially in the military.

In this situation, a young person from an ordinary Sunni family, no matter how outstanding, will encounter an invisible "glass ceiling" after reaching a certain level.

Young people from the Alawite sect can become key members of the army with almost no effort.

They are assessed not on their "ability", but on their "background" and "loyalty".

However, due to the natural numerical advantage of Sunnis, the ordinary soldiers and low-ranking officers in Surya were generally Sunnis, and their role in the army was to act as "cannon fodder" and perform routine tasks, rather than being excluded from the chain of command.

Ultimately, this led to numerous internal conflicts and a rigid system within Surya's military structure.

The most direct manifestation of this was in the Third and Fourth Middle East Wars. Because the Alawites focused more on controlling their Sunni soldiers, the performance of the Surya army was appalling, often suffering exchange ratios of more than 1:10.

"You'll be joining the suicide squad later."

A sergeant walked up to Private Kadri, patted him on the shoulder, and said something without warning.

Kadri, hot-blooded and impulsive, slapped the other man's hand away and sneered, "I'm not going. You go by yourself!"

The sergeant sneered, "You're nothing but a coward."

Upon hearing this, Khadri rolled up his sleeve and pointed to a circular scar, saying, "This scar was caused by a Zionian bullet, penetrating me from both ends. I have another one like this! From the time I failed to resist in Damascus three years ago until I fought back to Damascus last year, I was always at the forefront. You call me a coward? Ask yourselves, besides calling Sunni soldiers cowards, what else have you done?!"

The sergeant was taken aback. Although the other soldiers on the scene did not respond, it was not hard to tell from their expressions and eyes that what Kadri said was not without reason.

“Watch your words.” The sergeant narrowed his eyes. “Soldiers must obey orders. I represent Surria.”

“You don’t represent anyone else,” Kadri retorted without backing down. “If you’re so capable, why don’t you charge ahead yourself!”

Looking at the fully armed soldiers around him, the sergeant suppressed his urge to shoot the disobedient soldier.

The more they fear something, the harder it is to manage it. The harder it is to manage, the more they fear it.

Just then, the sound of heavy boots came from behind. The sergeant realized that the person approaching was a second lieutenant and quickly lowered his head.

The lieutenant glanced at the sergeant, then pointed his pistol at the group of soldiers gathered together. "You are all going to the suicide squad. That's an order. For the sake of Surria—blame someone for disobeying."

He pointed the gun at Khadri, and everyone dared not speak out in anger.

The brave soldiers were not afraid of death; they proved this as early as the battle to liberate Damascus.

What they despise is that some people use high-sounding reasons to exchange their sacrifices for their own glory and to cover up their despicable and cowardly behavior.

“We will carry out orders—but this is for the Arabs, sir,” a veteran said coldly, slapping the muzzle of the lieutenant’s gun away.

He didn't fall for this simple divisive tactic, or perhaps he was already used to the methods of these superiors.

“That would be best,” the lieutenant said, putting away his gun. “Don’t forget your families behind you—if you don’t want them to become the families of deserters.”

The veteran glanced at the smug sergeant standing behind the lieutenant, but didn't answer. He then led Kadri and the other soldiers toward the front line.

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.

Lieutenant Avi of the Zion Army's 75th Armored Battalion leaned half his body out of the Merkava's turret when a shell whistled and slammed into them dozens of meters in front of them, sending dirt flying like a fountain.

Lieutenant Avi had no choice but to retract the turret and close the hatch.

“Another wave of enemy infantry! Load armor-piercing rounds!” he shouted into the vehicle.

"Armor-piercing rounds, ready!" the loader's voice was urgent.

The gunner stared intently through the scope. "Aren't they afraid of dying? This is the fourth wave!"

The relentless offensive caused the 75th Armored Battalion to begin to show signs of fatigue, but no one dared to let their guard down.

Through the binoculars, Surya soldiers advanced in skirmish lines. Some were shot and fell, but those behind them did not hesitate to step over the bodies of their comrades and continue the charge.

"Battalion headquarters reports that the 38th Battalion has successfully penetrated to the enemy's left flank and is currently engaging the enemy!" The latest intelligence came through the communicator.

Avi's spirits lifted. "All crews, prepare to coordinate with friendly forces on the flanks..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Surrian infantry on the front suddenly intensified their attack.

A rocket came flying, and the tank swerved to avoid it, its tracks crushing concrete blocks with a screeching sound.

Lieutenant Avi gritted his teeth.

Normally, when the flanks are attacked, the frontal offensive would be affected and adjusted to varying degrees. However, the Surrian army's charge continued at its original pace, wave after wave crashing against their defenses, as if what was happening on the flanks had nothing to do with them.

"Are their communications cut off?" the gunner wondered. "We've already penetrated their flanks, and they're still attacking?"

But then, some of the Surrian soldiers seemed to receive orders and began to retreat in a panic.

Initially, a small section of the front line couldn't hold and began to retreat, only to collide with the second wave of attacks.

The previously continuous offensive had a break in the chain of attacks. Although he didn't know why, Lieutenant Avi knew that this gave them a chance to catch their breath.

"Chase after them, keep formation!"

The order came over the radio, and Lieutenant Avi, without hesitation, gave the order to attack. Tank engines roared, and the infantry began to advance.

Some Surya soldiers who attempted to retreat were exposed to direct fire from the tanks and were quickly cut off and annihilated.

The other group wanted to launch a counterattack against them.

"Machine gun suppression!" Avi shouted. "Driver, reverse! Maintain distance!"

"For the Arabs!" A soldier with a blood-covered face leaped out of his bunker, clutching a satchel charge.

A 7.62mm machine gun bullet instantly tore him apart.

What should have been a relentless and well-organized offensive turned into a chaotic meat grinder. In contrast, the Zion army had a more flexible command structure, its soldiers were more trained, and its equipment was superior.

Once a tank crew recovers, it often takes two to three times the sacrifice to regain the advantage.

However, the Surrian army's response was always a beat slower than the battlefield situation.

"Attention everyone! Advance two hundred meters! Push them back!"

Zion's lines began to move forward.

At this point, Surria's attack had begun to crumble.

Large numbers of troops were exposed to direct artillery or tank fire. The on-site commanders, unable to receive orders from the rear, began to prepare to retreat, only to become entangled with their comrades preparing to attack behind them, thus becoming even larger targets.

All of this eventually turned into a vicious cycle.

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.

"What are they doing?!"

Markov's voice echoed in the command post: "The 3rd Panzer Division has launched its attack; they need infantry support!"

But the calls from the front lines seemed to come flooding in at once.

The chief of staff shouted, "The 3rd Armored Division reports that they are surrounded by enemy anti-tank fire and request reinforcements!"

Markov was spinning like a top in the staff headquarters, like a firefighter—but now it wasn't just one or two fires, the whole building was on fire.

A flanking attack launched by the Sixth Army brought the offensive of the Surya Army Group to a standstill and into chaos. At that very moment, the Seventh Army, which had been on the defensive, suddenly launched a counterattack and outflanked the Sixth Army.

Markov had no idea why this was happening; it seemed as if the forces of the various groups in Surya had suddenly become uncontrollable.

The great defeat began.

"Can anyone tell me what's going on?!"

Markov looked at Commander Hafez with disbelief: "Why isn't our commander leading the charge, but instead leading the troops in retreat?"

He realized he seemed to have misjudged something about the unit—despite being equipped entirely with Ant weapons and most of its officers having received advanced training at Ant.
But this unit was not a true Ant Force unit.

He had calculated everything correctly, except for overestimating the fighting spirit of the Surria officers.

The chief of staff whispered, "General, we must order a retreat. The enemy's vanguard is less than five kilometers from the command post."

Markov slowly stood up and took one last look at the battle map.

The "wave tactic" may have been effective in Zion, but not every unit is like Ant's Guards Division, where the commissar can charge ahead of the soldiers.

"Order the reconnaissance battalions of each division to advance and spare no effort to buy time for the main force to retreat."

Markov's tone lowered, as if he had accepted his defeat: "The remaining troops will take turns providing cover and withdraw to the Haifa line."

Reconnaissance battalions are generally the best-equipped, most determined, and most reliable units among divisions or brigades, making them the most suitable candidates for rearguard duties.

Hafez's expression was also tense. Although he wanted to reprimand the staff officers led by Markov, he was also aware of the problems within his own army.

Moreover, he hadn't even thought about how to explain the serious consequences of his own decision.

"Hafiz Zafira Bassam?"

Just then, the radio rang.

"Who?"

Markov paused for a moment.

At this point, who could make a direct call into the army group's headquarters?

Hafiz rushed forward, grabbed the communicator, and hurriedly said, "Marshal Amir!"

"Order the army of Surria to hold their ground."

Lu Lin's voice came through the microphone: "The Central Army has set off and will soon arrive in Hamana."

"From now on, I will take over the battlefield."

(End of this chapter)