King Khalid Military City, headquarters of the coalition forces.

After receiving the report, Ding Zhennan immediately rushed over. After some inquiry, he was relieved and no longer worried.

Rushing to the front was the assault force commanded by Liu Zunshan, and there should be no problem.

When drawing up the plan, Ding Zhennan repeatedly stressed that the poor climatic conditions in the Posha Bay area must be taken into account.

The main thing is sandstorms.

Although high temperatures are also a big problem, after adaptation, especially after increasing relevant investment, such as installing air conditioning in each barracks and shortening the time of outdoor duty, the impact of high temperature on officers and soldiers is already negligible. The equipment can also achieve a high attendance rate by increasing maintenance efforts, shortening the maintenance interval, and frequently replacing consumables that are prone to aging.

The only thing that can't be passed is actually a sandstorm.

In the previous month or so, at least 4,000 air raids were canceled due to sandstorms, resulting in a reduction in combat efficiency by more than 10%.

The point is, sandstorms can't be avoided at all!

When conducting an air strike, if there is a sandstorm, let alone a laser-guided bomb, even if it is an iron-hulled bomb, it may not be able to be used normally.

Taking advantage of this, the Iraqi army has saved a large amount of main battle equipment, including thousands of tanks.

Ground combat, in fact, is the same.

Dust storms not only cause a significant reduction in visibility, but also generate strong static electricity and, in some cases, can even burn electronic equipment.

In response to the impact of the sandstorm, the Imperial Air Force urgently launched several sun-synchronous orbit meteorological satellites in early August.

Meteorological satellites can provide a few hours of weather forecasts, but they cannot eliminate sandstorms.

In the face of sandstorms, you can only walk around.

Ding Zhennan waited patiently for more than an hour before receiving a message from the front.

In fact, it is a report sent back by the "Finger-10A".

Before the sandstorm arrived, the Marine assault force had maneuvered to the southwest of the Iraqi army, that is, in the upwind direction.

Although this can be swept away by a sandstorm in advance, facing away from the sandstorm protects electronic devices such as infrared imagers.

However, those ZT-99ALs are still moving northward.

Obviously, the assault forces wanted to move to the upper hand.

There are no two reasons for this, to minimize the impact of crosswinds.

Although the tank has a crosswind gauge and is linked to the fire control system, the tank commander will try to reduce the impact of crosswinds when engaging at long distances.

Theoretically, crosswinds are the number one interfering factor affecting the accuracy of tank gun hits.

The most effective way to reduce the impact of crosswinds is to stay in a downwind direction.

Keeping the wind parallel to the direction of the shell will reduce the impact of the projectile in flight.

Obviously, this is also the key to the movement of the assault force to the northwest.

About half an hour before the arrival of the sandstorm, more than 30 ZT-99ALs of the assault forces launched an assault.

At the same time, more than 20 infantry fighting vehicles operating in concert also launched an attack on the incoming Iraqi tank fighting vehicles in the southeast direction.

Wire-guided heavy anti-tank missiles used by infantry fighting vehicles, which are controlled by the shooter at all times and are not affected by crosswinds.

It's just that the time is too short.

However, it is not necessarily a bad thing.

According to reports from the Finger-10A, from the north came an armored brigade of the Republican Guard, with hundreds of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, almost three times the strength of the assault force. If strengthened, there are hundreds of infantry armed with anti-tank missiles and rocket launchers.

If this sandstorm had not been encountered, even if the enemy had been defeated in the end, the assault force would have suffered heavy losses.

The sandstorm that came from the northeast actually protected the assault troops.

By the time the sandstorm arrived, the assault force had destroyed dozens of tanks and essentially routed the Iraqi army, according to reports from the joint command aircraft.

It's just that Ding Zhennan didn't dare to be careless, and then ordered the Marine Corps aviation to get ready.

Immediately after the sandstorm passed, helicopter gunships were dispatched to search for and annihilate Iraqi tanks and combat vehicles that had not been eliminated by the assault forces.

In addition, transport helicopters were dispatched to deliver supplies and provisions.

If needed, they also help the assault unit repair damaged and malfunctioning tanks.

All in all, it is to restore the combat capability of the assault force as soon as possible so that it can continue its advance towards Semavo.

It's not that Ding Zhennan doesn't sympathize with the grassroots troops, let alone believe in Liu Zunshan, but on the front line, there are no armored troops that can go up for the time being.

The sandstorm also caused the main forces to slow down their advance.

The key point is that the logistics support unit follows the activities of the main force, and many vehicles are temporarily deployed, and the necessary improvements have not been made in response to the harsh environment in the Crescent region. For example, many military trucks have not replaced their air filters, and they are easily scrapped under sandstorms.

If Liu Zunshan's assault force stopped, the offensive operation would inevitably be affected, or even abruptly stopped.

If the strength of a division is concentrated in the depths of the desert where there are no villages in front of it and no shops in the back, it will be difficult to imagine the consequences, not to mention that the Iraqi army has already sent this large army.

No matter how difficult it was, the assault force had to continue its advance towards Semavo.

Fortunately, the situation is not as bad as imagined.

At about 9 o'clock in the evening, after the sandstorm weakened, Ding Zhennan received definite news that the losses of the assault troops were not very large, but nearly half of the tanks and combat vehicles were out of order because of the sandstorm, and only a small part of the troops could be organized for the time being, and about a reinforced company attacked Semavo.

Crucially, the Iraqi army has been routed.

According to captured prisoners, the unit was an infantry brigade under the Nebuchadnezzar Mechanized Infantry Division, which had been deployed to Semavo a few days earlier.

It was only in the morning that I received information that the coalition forces had broken through the border and were advancing towards Salman.

After a few hours of preparation, the brigade was ordered to move south to stop the coalition forces.

Who would have thought that the coalition forces were advancing too fast and even crossed Salman at noon that day, so when encountering the coalition forces, the brigade was not ready for battle at all, and did not even let the armored forces deploy, and was in a passive situation from beginning to end.

Crucially, the brigade's commander was convinced that the coalition forces would not attack when a sandstorm was imminent.

This is also in line with the battle report sent by the "Finger-10A" before.

From this, it can be judged that it was the reconnaissance satellites of the Nuland Republic that discovered the assault force, and then the Nuland intelligence agency informed the Iraqi authorities of the relevant information. Because of the inefficiency of the chain of command, perhaps related to secrecy, the front-line troops were several hours late in receiving the news.

With the reconnaissance system of the Iraqi army alone, it is simply impossible to detect the assault forces of the coalition forces.

Of course, this also proves that the Nuland Republic has been indirectly involved in the Poshawan War and has replaced the Hindan Empire as the largest supporter of Hussein's regime. It is only because of Poland that the Republic of Nuland has not provided substantial support to Iraq.

Perhaps, the Nuland authorities are actively brokering these two countries that have been fighting hard for eight years.

Then, it is necessary to consider the threat from the north, that is, from the Boi country.

If I want to say, this is also the thing that caused Ding Zhennan the most headache when drawing up the battle plan.

He only has a total of 3 divisions in his hands, and his strength is already seriously insufficient, and if he counts the Boyi State, even if he uses defense to deal with the threat from the Boi State in the early stage, the strength is far from enough.

Don't forget, the Poian state is 3 times the size of Iraq!

Although the Iran-Iraq war has ended, Poland has not relaxed its national defense construction, nor does it dare to relax, because to the east of it is the Pakistani Railway, which is allied with the Liangxia Empire.

To this day, the standing army of Poland is more than 1 million.

Obviously, it will not be easy to withstand the attack of a million-strong army.

Theoretically, the Polish-Ian state could mobilize 2.5 million reservists and militias in one month, and expand its strength to 5 million in three months.

It is precisely because of this, after repeated weighing, that Ding Zhennan gave up the idea of directly attacking Baghdad and decided to first fight a battle in southern Iraq, that is, to capture the crucial Basra and stabilize the situation in the south, and then send heavy troops to attack Baghdad.

The point is that the southern part of Iraq, namely Basra and Maysan, is facing the Low Countries of the Boi State.

The Iran-Iraq war, which lasted for 8 years, almost always revolved around the Low Provinces!

Since its independence, Iraq has always claimed that the Low Provinces, also in the valley of the two rivers, are part of its territory and have been usurped by the Boish state.

In addition, the Boi state gained its independence through war and did not have a legal basis for occupying and controlling the Low Provinces.

According to the Iraqi authorities, Iraq was established independently through a form recognized by the international community and was therefore the successor of the Republic of Ther in the valley of the two rivers.

As a result, 10 years ago, the Hussein regime in Iraq used this as a justification to launch a war against the Polish-Iraqi state.

Territorial disputes, as well as the legitimacy of inheritance, are actually all excuses.

There is only one key.

The Low Provinces are the country's main oil producers, with several large oil fields, hundreds of kilometers of coastline and several deep-water ports.

Even if Iraq had a lot of oil, it would need these hundreds of kilometers of coastline.

During the eight years of the Iran-Iraq war, the warring parties fought several major battles around the Low Countries, and the casualties were very heavy, and it can be said that the blood flowed heavily.

Even if the Low Provinces are finally retained, the top brass of the Boi State will definitely be unforgettable.

It is for this reason that after the end of the Iran-Iraq war, Poland has been strengthening its defensive deployment in the direction of the Low Provinces, and in addition to building defensive lines along the border, it has also deployed a large number of elite troops there, including three armored divisions belonging to the Guards with a total of 2,000 main battle tanks.

Of course, the biggest problem for the coalition forces that have invaded southern Iraq is that there is no danger to defend.

If anything, the Iraqi army has a very clear understanding of this.

Throughout the Iran-Iraq war, the Iraqi army was desperately attacking, even if it was in a disadvantageous position in the overall war situation.

The reason is that the neighboring provinces of Basra and Maisan are also plain terrain and cannot be defended at all.

If you don't take the initiative to attack and burn the flames of war into the enemy's territory, but let the enemy launch a counteroffensive, then you won't be able to hold the home defense line at all.

The Iran-Iraq war ended with the cessation of Iraq's offensive and the withdrawal of troops from the Low Countries.

Of course, Iraq's withdrawal of troops is indeed no way to continue fighting, and it has done its best to exhaust all combat troops.

The offensive could not be sustained, and there was no need for an armistice with the Poian state.

It can be seen that, at least in terms of geographical factors, it is very unfavorable to the coalition forces.

The ideal option, just like Iraq back then, would be to occupy the Low Provinces by taking the initiative to attack, and then fight a war of attrition with the Polish army.

Unfortunately, this is simply not possible.

Because he knew that it would not be approved, when he started to draw up the plan, Ding Zhennan did not mention it, and directly ignored this choice.

In Ding Zhennan's plan, strategic deterrence will be used to deal with the Polish-Iraqi state.

To put it simply, in the operation of attacking Iraq, they showed a strong striking force, which deterred the leaders of Poland and Iraq.

The key is the means of creating a "threatening" effect.

Air strikes, naturally, needless to say.

Over the past two months, the Imperial Air Force and Naval Aviation have proven through their actions that even regional powers cannot withstand the Empire's air power.

If you compare the air defense forces, the Poian state is inferior to Iraq.

As for the Air Force, even if Poland receives strong support from the Nuland Republic and purchases dozens of F-14A, as well as hundreds of third-generation fighters such as F-4 and F-5, because of the lack of a modern command system, the actual combat performance is likely to be half as good as that of the Iraqi Air Force.

Counting on the support of the Nuland Republic?

Unless troops are sent directly to the war, the support of the Nuland Republic will only be a cake. On the other hand, the Nuland Republic directly sent troops to the war, which had little to do with the Boi country.

In fact, during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war, the Polish Air Force did not take much advantage in front of the Iraqi Air Force.

If you want to say that, in 10 days at the earliest, or half a month at most, the coalition forces will be able to completely destroy the air power and air defense system of Poland and Iraq, just as they did against Iraq.

Ground combat, that's another matter.

Compared with Iraq, the most prominent advantage of the Polish-Iraqi country is that it has a larger land area, and almost all of it is plateau and mountainous.

This is also the key to the imperial army's fierce battle in Poland for more than ten years, and finally had to admit defeat and withdraw its troops.

It's just that it's not what it used to be.

The key, in fact, is at the strategic level.

More than 20 years ago, the Liangxia Empire had to occupy and control the entire Boi Plateau in order to prevent the Boi region from declaring independence.

Now, it is only to weaken the Poi state, increase the control of Posha Bay, and consolidate the influence in the crescent region.

If the coalition forces can quickly sweep through southern Iraq, it will make the Boely authorities realize that the coalition forces can also capture the Low Provinces.

Of course, it is enough to occupy the Low Provinces.

According to the fighting method adopted by the coalition forces before this, mainly air strikes, Poland and Iran could not afford the impact of war at all.

To put it bluntly, the coalition forces could have destroyed the Polish-Iraqi country by bombing, and there was no need to fight a ground war, at least not in a favorable environment for the Polish-Iraqi army.

In this way, it will be impossible for the Boi state to defeat the coalition forces by fighting a war of attrition.

It can be seen that the coalition forces can blow the Boi country back to the Stone Age at a very small cost!

If so, what is the benefit of going to war?

It is precisely for this reason that Ding Zhennan has repeatedly stressed that in the first stage of the ground war, the combat operation to sweep the southern region of Iraq must be resolved quickly.

It's just that now it seems that it won't go too well.

()