On the first day of October, the assault on Bagh X officially began.

Unlike the assault on Bus X, there was no preparation of fire before launching an attack.

In the early hours of the same day, the vanguard of the 7th Panzer Division set out from Al Ar and crossed the border into Iraqi territory before dawn.

However, it was the 17th Panzer Division that fired the first shot.

At about 4 a.m., the assault units of the 17th Panzer Division met Iraqi troops northwest of Samawa, on the north bank of the Euphrates.

An infantry brigade attached to the Wehrmacht.

This infantry brigade belonged to the 5th Army, which was defending Diwaniyah.

Unfortunately, the Iraqi army was simply not able to hold back the 17th Panzer Division's torrent of steel.

The battle lasted less than 2 hours before the Iraqi army was routed by the 171st Armored Brigade.

Crucially, the commander of the Iraqi 5th Army made a low-level mistake at this time, believing that it was only a lone army that forced the river crossing.

The reason is that it is the rainy season of the year, and the Euphrates River is at a high water level and the current is very fast.

In order to prevent coalition forces from crossing the river, the upstream reservoir also opened its floodgates a few days ago.

Even with adequate preparations, it would be very difficult for mechanized troops to cross the river.

In addition, about a hundred kilometers northwest on the south bank of the Euphrates, there is a bridge across the Euphrates River at Shinafyeh.

For more than two months before that, the coalition forces had not focused on bombing the bridge.

Although as early as late July, laser-guided bombs dropped by coalition attack aircraft blew up a section of the bridge deck, but did not blow up the bridge piers.

Since then, the Iraqi army has been working hard to repair the bridge, and the coalition forces have also come to drop bombs many times, but the blowing up is the bridge deck repaired by the Iraqi army.

During this time, the Iraqi army commanders had always felt that the coalition forces had deliberately left the bridge in order to eliminate Iraqi engineering troops and equipment, and to deal with the convoys that had to pass through and were blocked at both ends of the bridge.

As the ground fighting began, the commanders of the Iraqi army must think.

The coalition forces left this bridge in order to cross the river from here!

It was for this reason that the 5th Army placed its heavy forces in Shinafyeh, where it prepared to block the allied armored forces that had arrived from Semavo.

In order to prevent the coalition forces from crossing the river here, the Iraqi army was even ready to blow up the bridge.

Apparently, the commander of the 5th Army did not expect at all that the coalition forces would cross the Euphrates downstream.

In addition, there was indeed an armored unit advancing on the south bank of the Euphrates towards Sinafyeh, which was also the assault force of the 17th Panzer Division, but it was not the 172nd Panzer Brigade, but a mechanized infantry battalion, but the battle was very large, and it looked like the main force.

As a result, Iraq's 5th Army missed the perfect opportunity to launch a counterattack.

At that time, there was a very well concealed armored unit in the rear of Shinafye, even if it was only a reinforced battalion, and it was mainly equipped with some outdated T-62 medium tanks, but this unit could be killed by noon, and the 171st Brigade's river crossing operation would continue into the evening.

Obviously, if this Iraqi unit can be killed at noon, it will definitely cause great trouble for the 171st Armored Brigade.

Unfortunately, the battalion did not leave for Sinafye until noon that day to meet the "assault force" that was about to be killed.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the main force of the 171st Armoured Brigade crossed the Euphrates River in the afternoon of the same day, and the reinforced engineering battalion also built 2 boat bridges and 3 pontoon bridges.

By the evening of the same day, not only had the 171st Panzer Brigade crossed the Euphrates, but the 177th Mechanized Infantry Brigade had also begun to cross the river.

Interestingly, on the side of Shinafiyah, all the Iraqi reinforcements did not arrive on time, and all of them were attacked from the air on the way forward.

It was only in the evening of the same day that the commander of the 5th Army realized that the main armored forces of the 17th Panzer Division had crossed the Euphrates.

It's just that the Iraqi military again made a very serious mistake at this time.

According to the information obtained after the war, on the afternoon of the 1st, the reconnaissance satellites of the Nuland Republic had discovered the 7th Armored Division that had set out from Aral and entered Iraq, and concluded that the strength of this unit was more than 40,000, and even made a relatively accurate inference about the number of main battle equipment of the division.

Based on this, the Nuland intelligence agency identified it as the 7th Panzer Division of the Imperial Army.

Actually, there is nothing surprising about this.

In order to ensure a fast enough advance speed and to reduce the burden of logistical support, the 7th Armored Division was advancing along the road, and the convoys were all driving on the road, except for the 701st Armored Brigade, which rushed to the front to take up the assault mission, the main combat equipment of the other brigades was transported by flatbed trailers.

Obviously, counting the number of tanks on photographs taken by reconnaissance satellites is not difficult for intelligence analysts.

In addition, this information was delivered to the Iraqi authorities in a timely manner.

The problem is, however, that information has not been taken into account by the Iraqi authorities.

At that time, Hussein decided that it was a feint force, and that it was a unit of the Royal Saudi-Saudi Army, and that the main force of the coalition was south of Bagh X.

The reason is also very simple, the distance of the assault from the west is too far, and the logistical support is extremely difficult.

Relying on a desert road that has not been repaired for decades, it is simply not able to support the battle of the Great Army.

Besides, apart from the Royal Saudi-Saudi Army, which army will transport tanks on flatbed trailers during a surprise attack?

In addition, Hussein was backed by the Empire, and the Nuland Republic had been supporting the Boe Empire during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war.

Without the support of the Nuland Republic, the Boi would have been defeated, at least the vital Low Provinces.

Even if a global war has broken out, Hussein may not be willing to believe in his former foe.

It was that in the evening of the same day, after the 5th Army had confirmed that the main coalition force had crossed the Euphrates, Hussein sent an armored division of the Republican Guard, which served as a strategic reserve, to Diwaniyah to be exact, to support the 5th Army in its counterattack.

It's just that Hussein really overestimated the 17th Army.

Although the 171st Armoured Brigade and the 177th Mechanized Infantry Brigade crossed the river on October 1 and 2 respectively, neither of these two armies went north, but after consolidating their beachheads, they went straight to Shinafye and took the position of attacking the bridge over the Euphrates.

In addition, on the afternoon of the 2nd, the 172nd Armored Brigade also began to cross the river.

At this point, the situation of the Iraqi army has become very awkward.

With only one Republican Guard armored division, the 5th Army could only launch a counterattack in one direction, either to recapture the bridgehead north of Semavo or to hold the bridge at Shinafyeh. With the strength of one armored division, it is impossible to take care of both ends.

Obviously, judging by the situation at that time, the Iraqi army should abandon Shinafiyah.

In this way, it will be possible to concentrate forces on the bridgehead north of Semavo, prevent the combat units of the 17th Panzer Division from continuing to cross the river, and fight a meeting around the bridgehead.

Secondly, Shinafye can't hold it at all!

Even without the 171st Armoured Brigade and the 177th Mechanized Infantry Brigade outflanking from the rear, the Iraqi army would have abandoned the town and the bridge over the Euphrates River southwest of the town, and there was no possibility of holding on to Shinafiyah.

Besides, the bridge doesn't have much value.

As the coalition forces began operations to attack Bagh X in the north, all combat units deployed south of Diwaniye began to retreat north.

It can be seen that whether Hussein wants to or not, he can only give up the southern region.

So, is it still necessary to hold on to this bridge, which is located on the main north-south highway?

Do not forget that in the previous month or so, the Iraqi army suffered heavy losses in coalition air strikes in order to hold the bridge.

Even now, at both ends of the bridge, there are thousands of wreckage of tanks and combat vehicles!

Crucially, the Iraqi army only needs to blow up the bridge to prevent the coalition assault forces advancing on the north and south banks of the Euphrates River, thereby greatly reducing the defensive pressure on Diwaniyah and ensuring that there are enough troops to resist the coalition forces crossing the river from Samawa.

As for the 2 brigades that assaulted Shinafye, there was nothing to be afraid of.

The reason is also very simple, without the support of the rear, sooner or later these 2 brigades will stop advancing because the logistics cannot keep up.

On the Semavo side, relying only on two boat bridges and three pontoon bridges, and continuing to allow the armored troops to cross the river, the supplies that can be delivered to the north bank must be very limited.

In addition, in the early stage, it was mainly combat troops crossing the river.

That is, the logistics support forces have not yet kept up.

In the short term, the 17th Panzer Division could only move north from Semavo, and there was no possibility of a detour to Shinafiyah and then outflank Diwaniya.

If anything, it's not that difficult to make these judgments.

Unfortunately, on the night of the 2nd, the advance of the 7th Panzer Division reached Nuhaib and launched an attack overnight.

Now, whether Hussein is willing to admit it or not, he must believe that the information provided by the Nuland Republic is not wrong, and the main force of the coalition is in the west.

If nothing else, just the preparation of artillery fire before the attack was enough to prove that it was a main armored force.

In just 15 minutes, dozens of long-range rocket artillery pieces of the 7th Panzer Division covered the entire town with a rain of bullets, which directly broke the morale of the defenders.

As a result, the commander of the defenders, having sent a telegram of the fall of Nuhayb, ordered surrender.

The point is that the commander of the defending army, Major General Halim, is the nephew of Hussein!

At the beginning, Hussein arranged for him to be here, but he was actually keeping him away from the battlefield.

It was for this reason that Hussein decided that the armoured assault force that had set out from Semavo, that is, the two brigades that were advancing towards Shinafiya, was the real main force.

To be precise, it was the main force in the south.

The reason for this was that the coalition forces were focusing on the western side of the battlefield, and the troops attacking from the south were moving north along the Euphrates River in an effort to join forces with the troops attacking from the west.

In this way, in addition to solving the problem of logistical support, it will also be possible to increase the intensity of assault.

To this point, it is not as simple as blowing up the Shinafye Bridge.

To the north of Sinafyeh, there are several bridges!

In order for the two forces to join forces, it is necessary not only to blow up the Shinafye Bridge if necessary, but also to block the coalition forces heading north here.

According to information obtained later, Hussein had planned a counterattack plan at that time.

To put it simply, the assault force of the 17th Panzer Division had to be held back at Shinafye for 3 to 5 days, and then the 3rd Army, deployed west of Bag X, with the support of the Republican Guard commanded by Hussein's second son, Usse, would annihilate the coalition forces to the west.

As long as this annihilation battle can be fought, there is hope that the coalition forces will abandon the operation to attack Bag X.

In Hussein's view, it is still possible to turn defeat into victory.

However, the premise is that the armored forces in Shinafye are held back to the north.

For this reason, Hussein gave a death order to the commander of the 5th Army, to hold Shinafye at any cost, to blow up the bridge over the Euphrates River if necessary, but to absolutely not retreat from Shinafyeh, even if the commander of the army group must personally guard the position.

As a result, in the early morning of the 3rd, with the support of reinforced Republican Guard armored divisions, the 5th Infantry Division of the 2nd Army began to advance towards Shinafye.

As for the coalition forces on Semavo's side, they don't care about it at all.

Hussein overestimated the strength of the Iraqi army and once again misjudged that the two brigades of the 17th Panzer Division were not going to attack Shinafiyah.

The 171st Brigade and the 177th Brigade assaulted along the Euphrates River, still feinting.

To put it more bluntly, it was to reduce the pressure on Semavo's side and reduce the density of troops at the bridgehead, so that the troops crossing the river behind had a place to stay.

An armored brigade of 5,000 officers and men is deployed in the field with a range of more than 100 square kilometers.

If you start a battle, expand the activity area by at least 10 times!

Obviously, the bridgehead north of Semavo simply could not accommodate many combat troops.

Of course, tactically there is no need to wait for all the troops to cross the river before launching a surprise attack.

In fact, in the plan drawn up by Ding Zhenna, the Iraqi army would concentrate its forces on the bridgehead at Samawa and would not go to Shinafiyah.

In this way, there is no possibility of stealing the credit for Shinafye.

As for the coordinated operation with the 7th Armored Division, it is even more imaginary, at most it can be regarded as cooperation, and it is far from developing to the extent of coordination.

It's not that the command is insufficient, it's not that the two armored divisions can't get along, it's that it's unnecessary.

In the whole battle plan, the combat operation against Bag X had little to do with the 17th Panzer Division. After the first round of assault operations, the 17th Panzer Division will withdraw and concentrate on sweeping and controlling the southern region to help the 7th Panzer Division relieve its worries.

It is precisely because of this that after discovering that the Iraqi 5th Army had sent the main force to Shinafiyah, Ding Zhennan immediately made adjustments to the combat operation.

If you want to say it, it will be calculated.

In the early morning of the 3rd, the 171st Armored Brigade and the 177th Mechanized Infantry Brigade accelerated their assault and at the same time received an operational order to storm Shinafyeh.

In addition, the infantry battalion that feinted to the south also increased the speed of the assault.

In order to ensure that nothing went wrong, Ding Zhennan not only asked the 17th Armored Division to send a divisional engineering battalion from the south bank of the Euphrates River to Shinafiyah, but also ensured that after the bridge was blown up by the Iraqi army, the boat bridge and pontoon bridge could be erected, and to ensure that the logistics support for the troops on the north bank could be provided in time.

After all, the 171st Armored Brigade and the 177th Mechanized Infantry Brigade did not carry much ammunition and supplies.

In addition, Ding Zhennan also sent a special force to try to seize and control the Euphrates River Bridge in Sinafye through a sneak attack.

()