Although Ding Zhennan always felt that the first phase of the offensive operation did not go well, strictly speaking, the battle against Basra was considered to be smooth.

On the night of the 18th, the day the offensive was resumed, the assault force under the command of Liu Zunshan had advanced to the outskirts of Nasiriyah.

In accordance with Ding Zhennan's deployment, the 5th Marine Division mobilized its campaign reserves in the afternoon of the same day and occupied an open area on the outskirts of Nasiriyah, next to Highway No. 1, through an air assault.

Before the assault troops arrived, more than 30 tactical transport planes arranged by Ding Zhennan delivered about 700 tons of ammunition and supplies. In addition to supplying the assault force, the air assault unit guarding the area was also provided with the equipment needed to expand the camp.

Since then, the camp has been expanded around a field airfield and has become a key node on the transportation route from Basra to Baghdad.

According to the later plans made by the Imperial Army, the camp will be expanded into a comprehensive military base, and named after Liu Zunshan, that is, "Zunshan Comprehensive Support Base", and the field airfield will also be expanded into a regular airport capable of large transport aircraft and combat aircraft taking off and landing.

The base played a crucial role in the assault on Baghdad. Just the combat materials that are airlifted here and then sent to the front line account for one-third of the total consumption. Forward-deployed tactical aircraft, namely Army and Marine helicopter gunships, provide strong support for offensive operations. Thousands of wounded were also boarded on planes and taken to the rear for treatment in a timely manner.

As for the troops guarding the base, it was later increased to an infantry brigade.

By the end of the war, the base had also served as a foothold for coalition forces to control central Iraq, with nearly 100,000 troops stationed at its peak.

By the afternoon of the 19th, the assault force commanded by Liu Zunshan arrived at Jelibai.

Because there was no decent resistance along the way, the naval aviation and marine aviation resumed air support during the day on the 19th, and the marine aviation also deployed several helicopter gunships to the field base in Nasiriyah to provide strong support for the assault force, so the assault force stayed in Jelbay for less than two hours, mainly to replenish fuel and ammunition for tank fighting vehicles.

Before dark, the assault troops set off again.

It was in this way that before dawn on the 20th, the assault force had advanced to the outskirts of Rumaila.

In fact, a battalion of infantry had already been sent to the outskirts of Rumaila by transport helicopters arranged by Ding Zhennan before the assault force arrived.

Crucially, these infantry also encountered and fought with the Iraqi army guarding Rumaila.

Despite air support, in the absence of armour, lightly-armed infantry could at best hold their positions.

It was only when the assault troops led by Liu Zunshan arrived that the situation changed.

At this point, Liu Zunshan has completed the combat mission arranged by Ding Zhennan.

Rumaila is located less than 40 km from Basra and is a satellite town of Basra, and advancing to Rumaila is considered to be on the outskirts of Basra.

By the morning of the 20th, when the assault forces stormed Rumaila, the two infantry battalions that had landed north of Kuwait City were finally ready.

That is, more than 100 tracked armored combat vehicles, and mainly the army's BZ-68 armored transport vehicles.

In the Marine Corps, especially infantry units, they are not equipped with infantry fighting vehicles, but use amphibious assault vehicles, but there are quite a few armored transport vehicles.

Of course, this also has to do with the operational environment of the Marine Corps.

Within the establishment system of the Marine Corps, amphibious assault vehicles with the ability to float and send personnel directly from the landing ship to the beach, and can also provide a certain amount of armor protection, are equivalent to the infantry fighting vehicles of the army. Because they are mainly fighting in the coastal area, the marines do not need specialized infantry vehicles.

As for the BZ-68 series of armored transport vehicles, in the Army and Marine Corps, they play the role of field taxis, that is, to send combat personnel from the rear to the front line, as far as possible to minimize the casualties suffered during the transport, and do not undertake combat missions such as accompanying tank combat.

At the tactical level, the military jeep replaced by the BZ-68.

Although more expensive and much slower, the BZ-68 is a true tracked vehicle that can be driven in the field far above a jeep.

That is, the BZ-68, which allowed the infantry of the Imperial Army to truly gain the field ability to follow the advance of the tank.

It is precisely in this way that armored transport vehicles became the largest volume of tracked armored vehicles with the largest number of equipment.

The BZ-68, developed and purchased before the Polish-Iranian War, weighs less than 15 tons in combat and can carry up to 2 and 10 crew members, has not only produced about 50,000 units in the past 20 years, equipped with the armies of dozens of countries, including the Imperial Army and the Marine Corps, and is now the main transport platform of the Imperial Army, and has also developed dozens of modifications.

For example, a self-propelled mortar vehicle with a 120-mm mortar.

In addition, there are infantry fighting models with a turret installed, armed with a 30-mm cannon.

The BZ-68 was able to produce such a large amount of production and be purchased by so many countries, not because the new energy was good enough, but because it was cheap enough.

If you want to say it, the performance of the BZ-68 is not good at all.

In order to control the weight and reduce the cost, the BZ-68 before the D model only had the front of the hull that could resist 13 mm bullets, and the side protection strength could only resist 8 mm bullets, while the rear body could not even block 8 mm bullets, which can be said to be quite fragile.

After a major overhaul, starting with the D-model, after increasing the combat weight to 16.5 tons, the protection capability was only slightly improved, but only the sides could resist 13 mm shells, and the front had to be covered with additional armor to cope with 20 mm shells from a distance of 500 meters.

In fact, this protection is not outstanding.

Even the latest modification, the BZ-68H, could not stop the RPG-7 rockets of Xiluosha, and could even be pierced by 40-mm armor-piercing grenades.

It's just that the low price masks all the flaws.

The initial model of BZ-68 has a unit price of only 60,000 gold yuan, which is equivalent to one-fifth of the infantry fighting vehicles of the same period, and is not even a fraction of the main battle tank!

Crucially, the BZ-68 can complete about 75% of the battlefield delivery tasks.

To put it simply, only 25% of battlefield transport tasks need to be carried by infantry fighting vehicles, such as carrying infantry to fight with main battle tanks.

75% combat effectiveness is obtained at one-fifth price, and this cost-effectiveness ratio is not ordinarily high.

In addition, the BZ-68 is not for nothing.

For example, the hull can store four heavy anti-tank missiles, but they have to be used by the infantry on board, and it takes a few minutes to prepare before going into battle. Although anti-tank combat capabilities are inferior to infantry fighting vehicles, they can still pose a threat to tanks if they are prepared.

In the Iran-Iraq war, especially in the early days, the Polish army carried out anti-tank missions with captured BZ-68s, and also achieved good results. During the Abbas offensive and defensive battles, the Poy-Iraqi army used an anti-tank group carried by BZ-68s to annihilate an Iraqi armored brigade in an ambush. It was this battle that made the anti-tank missile recognized by the whole world and became the number one weapon against tanks.

Because the tank appears vulnerable in the face of anti-tank missiles, it also gives rise to the "tank uselessness theory".

Of course, as long as you are willing to spend money, you can also transform the BZ-68 into an anti-tank platform.

In fact, even if it is an improved model in the later period, such as BZ-68H, the unit price of export sales is within 300,000 gold yuan. At the same time, infantry fighting vehicles were all above 1 million gold yuan, and the main battle tank was more than 2 million gold yuan, so their prices were still relatively cheap.

It was in this way that the BZ-68 became the armored platform with the largest number of armaments in the Eastern Bloc.

Although the performance of the BZ-68 is not outstanding, it is better than nothing.

In contrast, the Marine Corps relied more on the BZ-68.

There are no two reasons: the BZ-68 has a floating capability.

Using tracked paddling propulsion, it can travel at speeds of up to 5 kilometers per hour. If propellers are attached, the speed on the water can be doubled.

The reason for the popularity of the BZ-68 is actually the relatively safe way to send troops to the front.

After obtaining the armoured carriers, the infantry battalions of the two Marines began to advance in the direction of Basra and, in the afternoon, crossed the border and occupied Saifwan, off Highway 3, to complete the encirclement of the Iraqi forces invading Kuwait.

Although the Iraqi forces in Kuwait had been routed in the fighting on the 17th, there were still a number of stragglers remaining in Kuwait, some of whom had regrouped and were slowly moving north along Route 3.

There are no vehicles, and they don't dare to use them, they only rely on two legs, and they are still in the desert, and they are moving very slowly.

Because the enemy was almost always operating in small groups, with a few dozen people and a large number of more than a hundred, and the company-platoon-level scale did not have heavy weapons worth mentioning, the coalition command did not arrange air strikes, nor did it have so many combat planes to deal with these stragglers.

Do not forget that tactical aviation has only a few hundred carrier-based aircraft of the Navy that have come ashore.

However, these enemies who invaded Kuwait must not be let go.

According to the order of the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, that is, Admiral Shi Zhiliang, the Iraqi army that had invaded Kuwait must be completely annihilated, and not a single enemy should be allowed to leave.

This is not a purely military task, but a political task of greater significance!

As such, the first task of the two Marine Infantry Battalions was to hold Sefwan and eliminate the Iraqi rout from the south.

Of course, there is an even more important task.

On the night of the 20th, the 553rd Marine Infantry Battalion, which occupied Sefvan, left Sefwan and began to advance eastward along the border line.

According to the arrangement made by Ding Zhennan, the battalion was to capture the port of Fa'w and control the road from the port of Fa'w to Basra.

The occupation of the port of Faou was basically not difficult.

On the 17th, the Navy's fire support formation, the four "Yanhai"-class battleships, had already blasted the port into ruins with thousands of rounds of 400-millimeter bombs.

According to credible information, on the night of the 18th, the Iraqi forces stationed there, after destroying infrastructure and laying mines in the harbor, withdrew to Basra, abandoning the port, which was in ruins and could not be defended at all.

However, for the coalition forces, the port of Faou is very important.

Actually, this is also related to the adjusted battle plan.

According to the original plan, it was only to recover Kuwait, annihilate the Iraqi army that invaded Kuwait, and incidentally destroy and destroy the defense system based on the air defense network.

To conquer all of Iraq, it is necessary to attack and occupy the port of Faw, and to use it.

The reason is simple, the road from Kuwait to Iraq will definitely be destroyed in the battle, and a port closer to the battlefield will be needed!

In addition, Faw is the only coastal port in Iraq, and the road from Faw port to Basra is located right next to the Polish border.

The occupation of the port of Faw, and the control of the road from the port of Faw's port to Basra, were linked to the military deployment against the Poian State.

In Shi Zhiliang's words, the occupation of the port of Faou is actually a warning to the Polish authorities not to fight for Iraq at this time.

In a real fight, the Imperial army can capture or destroy all the ports of the Boi Kingdom in the same way as they did in the port of Fao.

Even if the leaders of the Boi State do not read this warning signal and insist on going their own way, they will be able to attack the Low Countries with the help of Faw Port in the future.

This is also a political task, if it is to be said.

Of course, it's hardly difficult.

Fighting in the coastal area is the strength of the Marine Corps, not to mention the fact that the fire support fleet is nearby and has not withdrawn, and it can provide fire support to the Marine Corps at any time.

If nothing else, just 4 battleships will be enough.

On the ground, there are no fortifications that can hold off 400-mm projectiles!

Earlier, it was impossible to withstand the direct artillery fire of the battleships, and the thousands of Iraqi officers and soldiers guarding the port of Faou had to withdraw to Basra.

In fact, this is also the key to arranging for landing ships to send dozens of amphibious assault vehicles.

In southern Iraq, the mouth of the two rivers, there are mainly swamps, there are almost no roads, and the ground is very soft.

Even a tracked combat vehicle may not be able to pass smoothly.

Relatively speaking, the amphibious assault vehicle of the Marine Corps is actually an ideal choice.

The amphibious assault vehicle is not only able to sail directly on the water, but also uses wide tracks, is not very heavy, and the pressure during normal driving is very low, which is more suitable for activities in swampy areas with soft ground. In fact, in coastal areas, mangrove swamps are the most common.

The Marine Corps has always disliked main battle tanks, and it has something to do with it.

To put it bluntly, if there is no other choice, it is impossible to develop a medium tank specifically for the needs of the Marine Corps, and the Marine Corps has the mission of fighting inland, otherwise, it would be impossible for the Marine Corps Command to choose the ZT-99AL with a total combat weight of up to 56 tons.

Regardless of the issue of funding, the Marine Corps prefers to equip medium or light tanks with a total combat weight of 40 tons, or even 35 tons.

Of course, the solution of the Marine Corps is to purchase air-cushion landing craft with a carrying capacity of 60 tons.

Because there were no enemies along the way, in the early morning of the 21st, the 553rd Marine Infantry Battalion reached the north of Port Faw.

Subsequently, a reconnaissance team entered the port of Faw and found that the Iraqi army had abandoned the port.

In any case, by the morning of the 21st, the two armies attacking from the central and eastern routes had completed their combat missions and reached the outskirts of Basra.

After the siege of Basra was completed, all that remained was to storm Iraq's second most populous city.

()