Middle Eastern tyrants

Chapter 85 Arrival at the Battlefield
The western bridgehead of Garam is located about 30 kilometers from the Zion Line.

Shuangzhi's expeditionary force in the northern border region has arrived at its designated combat position after a day of forced march and has begun to deploy its positions.

"Is the air defense battalion in position?" Lu Lin asked.

"The MIM-23 missile battery is ready, just waiting for Zion's reconnaissance planes to walk right into our trap." Ibrahim was somewhat eager to try.

Since the MIM-23 successfully shot down two Mirage IIIs, it's as if air defense firepower has suddenly turned from Zion's weakness into its strength, and everyone is looking forward to when Zion's air force will appear next.

This situation also occurred among other Arab coalition forces. On the first day of the war, the SA-6 air defense systems provided by Ant to Masr and Suriyah shot down more than 30 Zion fighter jets, which made the air defense weapon famous overnight.

According to the pilots who survived the attack in Zion, they only heard the radar alarm and were hit before they could react. The SA-6 thus earned the nickname "Black Death".

Lu Lin switched to the eagle's perspective. The area around Garam had been densely packed with concrete bunkers and anti-tank ditches, the density of which was astonishing.

As one of the largest cities in western Al-Ilag and the weakest link in the Euphrates front, Zion's forces have deployed a large number of fortifications here. In addition, they already know the intelligence of the expeditionary force in the northern border region. Taking this city will be no easy task for the Twins.

Lu Lin withdrew his gaze, and in the eyes of the high-ranking military officers, it seemed as if their major general had suddenly snapped out of his "absence".

Ibrahim and Bandar were already used to it; the world's top athletes all had some quirks that ordinary people couldn't understand, and compared to that, their own major general's quirks were nothing.

Tamiya watched the scene with great interest. It seemed that rumors were circulating in the army that "Major General Amir is an apostle of God," and the veterans of Nukoshir, in particular, believed it to be true.

However, Major General Amir has personally denied this, since impersonating an apostle is a serious crime in Islamic countries, but what the soldiers think is another matter.

“Our first priority is to destroy the enemy’s anti-tank firepower system. Only in this way can we improve the survivability of our armored forces,” Lu Lin said. “To do this, we need to first find and lock onto the enemy’s anti-tank and artillery positions.”

"And then you'll command the artillery to eliminate them in pinpoints?" Ibrahim nodded. "That does sound feasible."

This simple and direct method is based on the premise that the artillery can accurately fire in short bursts, and Shuangzhi just happens to have a "humanoid" artillery radar.

“Perhaps there is another way,” Bandar suggested. “We can wage a war of attrition against Zion.”

For key defensive nodes like Garam, the Zion Army usually stores about 7 to 10 days' worth of ammunition, but the previous battle with Al-Iraq's 9th Armored Division must have depleted a significant portion of those reserves.

Furthermore, since we've cut off Sergiad, a crucial supply depot, the Zion defenders inside the city should be the ones feeling anxious now.

Ibrahim was somewhat surprised: "I thought you would choose to charge head-on with tanks, which would be more in line with your personality."

Bandar: "If you've ever led an armored group in a frontal assault, you'll change your mind. Those anti-tank missiles are specifically designed to destroy armor! Just one position can wipe out an entire tank company!"

Lu Lin joked, "You sound like you have some insights to share."

“I’ve come up with a new tank tactic, but I haven’t put it into practice yet,” Bandar said. “It mainly involves using the tank’s mobility to ambush from a narrow point and then firing at precise targets, much like a sniper.”

This way, the tank will be exposed outside the cover for no more than a minute and a half, which should effectively reduce the risk of it being destroyed. Lu Lin was genuinely surprised this time; he hadn't expected this seemingly rugged guy to be a general with potential for growth!
The key point is that his thinking was on the right track.

The Fourth Middle East War marked a crucial turning point in tank warfare, shifting the focus from sheer numbers of armored vehicles to highly mobile artillery.

After all, the Chieftain, with its 400mm equivalent armor, already weighs 55 tons, yet it still can't withstand the power of a single "Oakstick Missile." The old approach of stacking armor is outdated; instead, we should utilize mobility and caliber to start firing in bursts.

The most typical example is the French-made AMX-30. As an upgraded version of the AMX-13 that Lu Lin once drove, the AMX-30 basically abandoned its defensive capabilities. However, its 105mm rifled gun is longer than that of the ordinary L7, and it is also equipped with a two-way stabilizer. With a speed of 65 kilometers per hour, the AMX-30 is the fastest light tank exported to Middle Eastern countries.

(The AMX-30's super-large cannon barrel.)
The key to taking this crucial step was the emergence of "hydraulic suspension" and "two-way gun stabilization," which significantly increased the accuracy of tanks firing from sudden stops.

In the end, Lu Lin finalized the attack plan: "We will launch the attack after sunset, with the main direction of attack being the southeast industrial area. The First Armored Brigade will be responsible for drawing fire and luring Zion to expose its anti-tank missile positions."

Engineering vehicles, carrying engineers, were responsible for clearing roadblocks, removing minefields, and constructing assault bridges, while using smoke grenades to obscure the enemy's line of sight to direct fire.

After more than a month of adjustment, the soldiers of Shuangzhi had completely reversed their sleep schedules. (The armored units rested during the day and marched at night.)
In addition to this, Lu Lin had several other reasons for choosing to attack at night, the two most important being that the tanks were less likely to malfunction due to high temperatures.

Secondly, he could clearly see the fire from artillery positions and anti-tank positions.

“Then let’s set the attack time for 9:30,” Ibrahim said. “You can take this time to rest. We have a tough battle to fight tonight.”

Lu Lin: "Let the soldiers rest first, I'm not sleepy yet."

After saying that, he turned to the military map again to see if he had missed anything.

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, 45th Armored Brigade.

A scout reports: "Report! We've discovered traces of Shuangzhi's army in the southwestern canyon!"

Major General Cohen: "Interesting. Even the Al-Iraq themselves have abandoned the Euphrates Front. That Major General Amir either has designs on Galam or he's just an idiot!"

He stood up, looking very pleased: "But that's good, the United Kingdom's airdropped supplies arrived yesterday."
Let's have a real fight, and let me wash away Zion's shame with this victory!

The communications officer asked, "Do you need me to relay any messages to the soldiers at the front?"

"Make sure all anti-tank positions are wide open, all tanks move into their reverse firing positions, assign PRG teams to each infantry battalion, and have snipers keep a close eye on the engineers on the other side!"

Major General Cohen's smile was somewhat sinister: "Let these country bumpkins see what modern warfare is all about!"

(End of this chapter)