Beirut after the Great War is full of traces of fighting. Although it has been cleaned up briefly, the smell of gunsmoke is still everywhere.

Although the smoke of gunfire in Beirut has not yet dissipated, the lively scene has not diminished at all. A large number of ships piled up in the port area to unload people and cargo. Although the port area was heavily damaged in previous battles, the damage to the docks was minor and was repaired as soon as the battle ended.

The first unloading from the transport ships was the loading and unloading machinery, followed by the various heavy equipment urgently needed by the army, and then other materials such as oil equipment.

Now the fleet is bringing supplies and personnel ashore through the docks, bringing the current garrison in Beirut to more than 60,000 people. And today, the docks are star-studded, and at first glance it is the arrival of big people.

True, General Hoffman, who today served as the commander of Army Group Middle East, transferred with his command.

After several hours of sailing, Hoffman set foot on the soil of the Middle East. Looking at the city with a very Arab style, Hoffman greeted the generals present one by one.

"Major General Torres, this battle was well fought."

"Major General Ingres, your 1st Marine Division has made a great contribution to this battle, and I will write to Marshal Lomodan to inform you of your performance."

Leaving the commander of the 1st Marine Division with a smile on his face, Hoffman came to Major General Rodier, and his 8th Division performed just as well in this battle.

I saw Hoffman holding his hand and said. "Major General Rodier, your division performed well in this battle."

Hoffman's words made Major General Rodier ashamed, and this time the performance of the 8th Division in the battle was nothing at all. The 1st Marine Division of Landing Operations performed the most outstandingly, and this is after all someone else's specialty.

In the ensuing battle for Beirut, the 3rd Division performed much better than the 8th Division. In particular, in withstanding the enemy's counterattack at night, the 3rd Division not only blocked the enemy's offensive, but also took the opportunity to expand the occupied area. And compared to the fact that their Eighth Division was taken away from a lot of positions, it was simply a shame.

Of course, this operation was not only their three divisions, but also the troops of other divisions. But they are the ones who play the whole game and make the main contribution, of course, it is inevitable to compare them, so the eighth division will be embarrassed. In any respect, it is inferior to the other two divisions, which makes the commander of the division, Major General Rodier, look a lot gloomy recently.

As for the mood of Major General Rodier, Hoffman, as the commander of the army group, was not at all interested in understanding. Now he has so many problems to solve that he is simply preoccupied with superfluous things.

The former Lebanese Governor's Palace, located on the Avenue de la Menceau, was originally the French governing body of the region, with a strong French style, and has now been transformed into the current headquarters of Army Group.

And now the officers of the command are busy here.

"Hurry up boys, we've got this place done, we still have a lot of work to do."

The white-haired chief of staff, Lieutenant General Moderk, was commanding the young officers.

"Mordec."

Hoffman, who had just come out of the war room, walked up to the chief of staff.

"What's the matter, Your Excellency Commander."

Faced with Hoffman's interruption, Morderick immediately asked, it was not bad to partner with Hoffman. No matter how difficult it is, he has seen it, like he is in the Far East, the headmaster always loves to do micro-exercises, and he still has to make various plans to deal with possible situations.

"I have a plan."

After hearing Hoffman's words, Morderick knew that now was not the time to speak, and motioned for a safe environment.

It wasn't until the two of them arrived in the war room that Hoffman sent the others away before he spoke. "Now that we have preliminarily secured the security of Beirut, according to the reports of the reconnaissance aircraft, the French troops who are currently being repulsed have retreated across Mount Lebanon and towards Damascus. The British army is now mainly entrenched in the Palestinian areas, and the other part has crossed Jordan and marched towards Syria, with the goal of holding Damascus and receiving the withdrawal of French troops in Syria if it is not. ”

"So you're going to settle the Anglo-French forces in Syria first?"

Before Hoffman could finish speaking, Morderk, who was the chief of staff, made up for it.

"Yes, that's exactly what I do."

Hoffman replied to the other and went on to say why he did it. "Come and see, Chief of Staff. At present, our army has landed nearly 100,000 people, and now occupies most of Lebanon, and only in the Hermen Mountains near Damascus are the French army resisting. ”

"We can't give the illusion that they can rely on the terrain and wait for rescue, so we have to strike quickly, give the other side a hard blow, and make them give up their illusions. So I planned to use the newly landed troops and bring the 8th Division to form a temporary battle group, and quickly take Damascus and stop the British reinforcements. ”

Hoffman's words made Moderick frown, because he had calculated that if Hoffman's plan was followed, Beirut's defensive forces would be relatively empty, although Romania had the advantage of sea and air, but if Admiral Wavell on the opposite side did not count casualties, then Beirut would be in danger. As a qualified chief of staff, he considered it necessary to point out his shortcomings.

"The plan is not a bit too many troops, although the British army is currently held back by the Arabs, but intelligence shows that at present, in the Palestinian area, there are nearly 20 troops with the number of troops, and the estimated strength should be about 15-180,000. We can't let our guard down on it. ”

Hoffman nodded in agreement to Moderick's question, but then he answered the chief's concerns.

"I've thought about that. At present, the best line of attack for the British is the coastal road, where the terrain is gentle and easy to advance on a large scale, but given the naval superiority of our army, they should not dare to take this line. And in order to prevent the enemy from acting in the opposite direction, I have ordered the Air Force to pay close attention to this.

In addition, I contacted the navy and sent the fleet to roam the open seas, ready to strike at the enemy at any time. As for the problem of the under-strength of our troops in Beirut, I have asked the transport fleet to step up the transportation of troops, and the commander of the naval transport fleet, Rear Admiral Aldeni, has assured me that two divisions of troops will be transported to Beirut within three days. ”

Hoffman went on to say after talking about his arrangement of Beirut. "I am more worried about attacking the Damascus troops than I am about Beirut. Look here, Chief of Staff. ”

Hoffman said, pointing to the valley through which the Jordan River runs on the map. "Along the Jordan River, you can get all the way from Palestine to Baalbek, and that would cut off Beirut from Damascus, so I have to hold the Bekaa Valley so that other forces can take Damascus."

Although Hoffman was unaware of the famous Bekaa Valley air battle, he still saw the possible danger at a glance. Therefore, an elite force must be sent to defend the Bekaa Valley and protect their own back road.

The Eighth Division, which was specially transferred at this time, because its previous combat performance was not as good as the other two divisions, but he saw the spirit of not admitting defeat, and now that he had entrusted such an important task to them, he would definitely not disappoint his expectations.

Moderick then asked a few more questions, and after receiving satisfactory answers, he turned supportive of Hoffmann's plan.

With the agreement of both commanders, the operation to give priority to the strength of the French army began.