On the night of August 3, in the military city of King Khaled, the headquarters of the coalition forces.

So far, the fourteen member states of the pan-continental bloc, represented by the Kingdom of Gaoju, Nanzhu, Malai, Shiquan City, Daiman Kingdom, and the Narrow-Empire Kingdom, have indicated that they will send troops to the war. The positions of the countries bordering Posha Bay, such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, are also clear.

For this purpose, the Joint Command was formed ahead of schedule.

Although it is called the Joint Command, it is basically the original team of the "Westward 150" exercise headquarters, and other countries have only sent liaison personnel for the time being, after all, it has only been two days. Even if someone is sent, it is mainly responsible for assisting and conveying combat orders.

Of course, for the soldiers of the Reich, two days can do a lot.

Shi Zhiliang arrived the night before yesterday, and his first order was to ask the newly established General Staff to draw up a defensive battle plan.

The point is, only two days were given.

Fortunately, a similar plan was already in place.

To put it simply, it is to let the pre-deployed marines advance and set up a no-fly zone along the border to build a barrier that the Iraqi army cannot cross.

This set of tactics relies mainly on air power and does not require too many ground forces, which is very suitable for the current situation.

To put it more bluntly, when the relevant operational plan was drawn up, the General Staff was faced with a hypothetical situation, that is, the sudden outbreak of a major war.

The key to implementing this tactic lies in gaining air supremacy on the battlefield.

As long as there is air supremacy, it can contain the enemy's ground offensive through air strikes and keep the enemy out of the country in Saudi Arabia.

In the "Westward Expansion" joint exercise in the past few years, this set of tactics was practiced many times.

However, it is not Iraq that is being targeted, but the armored forces of the West Continent Group, which are deployed on the west bank of the Volga River and have tens of thousands of tanks and combat vehicles.

As for the value of this tactic, it is needless to say.

Past years of exercises have proved that as long as the air power invested is strong enough, it can buy the Imperial Army time to complete the war mobilization.

In fact, the military construction of the empire, especially the planning related to the army, was almost always based on this tactic.

If anything, the most obvious is the construction of equipment for the Imperial Army.

The most representative is to vigorously build a low-altitude strike force with the "Z-10" as the core.

According to the strategic concept of the Imperial Army, after the outbreak of war, in addition to relying on the air force and naval aviation, the main thing is to use low-altitude strike forces headed by helicopter gunships to block the armored torrent from the Western Continent Group in the strategic buffer zone between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains, and to do its utmost to control the front in the western continent and strive to gain 15 to 30 days to complete the war mobilization.

If there is enough time, it can also complete the build-up of forces in the rear, so as to launch a strategic counterattack immediately after withstanding the attack of the Western Continent Group.

The core of the entire defensive counterattack strategy is battlefield air supremacy.

As long as they have air supremacy, hundreds of armed helicopters in the Northwest Theater will theoretically be able to destroy tens of thousands of main battle tanks of the Western Continent Group!

Only now, the situation is much more complicated.

The biggest problem is that there are only three "expeditionary mixed wings" of air forces deployed, and only more than 50 fighters can actually be used, and a maximum of two squadrons can be dispatched at a time, so they can only provide cover for the ground forces undertaking defensive tasks in two directions.

As for air support, don't count on it.

Even if there were three squadrons of mixed bombers available, they would not be able to effectively carry out close support missions because they were not covered by tactical aviation.

There is no absolute air supremacy, and letting a bulky bomber fly to the battlefield to drop bombs is no different from sending him to death.

The lessons of the Polish-Iranian war are still fresh in our minds.

It was only after losing more than 100 strategic bombers in that war that the Imperial Air Force came to its senses and admitted that intensive bombing tactics were outdated.

If air support is not in place, the scope of the no-fly zone will have to be adjusted.

However, there are two main points of view on how to adjust the no-fly zone, expanding the scope of the no-fly zone and narrowing the scope of the no-fly zone.

The former view comes mainly from the Marine Corps, which has a maximum of two armored battalions and less than 70 tanks at its disposal, but the border that needs to be guarded is hundreds of kilometers wide, so the only way to gain more depth of defense can be obtained by expanding the width of the no-fly zone.

To be precise, it's actually to get more time for tactical maneuvers.

Expanding the width of the no-fly zone from the usual 100 kilometres to 300 kilometres would have required the Iraqi army an additional 12 hours to launch a surprise attack.

For the Marines, the extra 12 hours will allow them to travel at least 200 kilometers.

As a result, only two defensive support points were needed to the south of the Saudi-Iraqi border, so that two armoured battalions were barely sufficient.

Conversely, if the no-fly zone is not expanded, more defensive support points and more ground troops will need to be deployed.

In proposing this set of tactics, the officers of the Marine Corps deliberately ignored an issue.

For this tactic to work, one prerequisite must be met. The Empire's military deployments, especially the air power stationed in the Saudis in advance, had a sufficiently strong deterrent effect. Front-loading and combat-ready patrols alone would have convinced the Iraqi Air Force to abandon the idea of adventure.

Can just 3 "expeditionary mixed wings" scare the Iraqi Air Force?

If such a deterrent effect is not achieved, the expansion of the no-fly zone will be self-defeating.

Six tactical squadrons, with a total of only 48 fighters, may not be able to defeat the Iraqi Air Force, which has more than 600 fighters, even if it comes out.

According to the deduction made yesterday, if the Iraqi Air Force makes up its mind, it only needs to launch two large-scale shocks in a row to crush the imperial air defense.

Although the Iraqi Air Force would suffer heavy losses, in the ensuing battle, the Iraqi Army's armored units were able to advance as fast as possible to the south of the border without a major threat, submerging the two armored battalions of the Marine Corps with hundreds of tanks.

Strategic bombing, it won't make much sense.

Because of the lack of cover provided by fighter jets, the bombers deployed at the Diego base could only use cruise missiles to launch attacks from a distance.

Let's not talk about whether the cruise missiles in the reserve of the Imperial Air Force are sufficient, and even if they are enough, the strike efficiency will not be high.

Cruise missiles are more suitable for use against stationary targets than against advancing armored forces.

The technology that allows cruise missiles to fly up to 1,000 kilometers in more than one hour and still move targets accurately, the Empire's scientific researchers are still working hard to explore.

According to the worst-case scenario, the Iraqi army would capture King Khalid military city before the arrival of imperial reinforcements, at great cost.

Even if it hadn't gotten to that point, the Iraqi army would have been able to push the front hundreds of kilometers south.

Whatever happens, the consequences will be unbearable.

It is precisely for this reason that the Air Force advocates adopting another set of tactics, that is, reducing the scope of the no-fly zone and strengthening its control over the no-fly zone.

As for the specific tactics, it is to break the confidence of the Iraqi army through resolute and decisive counterattacks after the start of the war.

Again, this is a deterrent tactic.

The difference is that the core idea of the deterrence tactics advocated by the Air Force is not only to deter, but to dispel the enemy's offensive thoughts through practical actions.

To put it bluntly, it's a few battles!

Setting the width of the no-fly zone at 100 kilometers and extending it 50 kilometers along the border to both sides is actually "luring" the Iraqi Air Force to fight.

According to the air force's calculations, at the beginning of the engagement, especially without finding out the strength of the opponent, the Iraqi air force will certainly not move southward in a big way, but will first conduct a test and arrange for combat planes to enter the no-fly zone and take the next step according to the reaction of the imperial air force.

Here's the key.

As long as the arrogance of the Iraqi Air Force can be defeated and its sharp spirit can be defeated in the first few battles, there is a great confidence that it will give up the idea of going south.

Fundamentally speaking, it is actually a war instead of intimidation.

Even if the Iraqi Army were to increase its forces in the border areas, it would have halted its advance north of the border because it had not received air cover and air support.

As the saying goes, morale is not bad.

As long as the Iraqi army stops and wants to relaunch the offensive, it will not be so easy.

From a political point of view, the cessation of the advance of the Iraqi army is tantamount to abandoning the combat operation of the attack on the Saudis.

Of course, the core idea of the Air Force's tactics is to bring into play the value of the "expeditionary mixed wing" through small-scale battles.

Don't forget, what the "Expeditionary Mixed Wing" is best at, in fact, is this kind of skirmish aerial combat.

The six tactical fighter squadrons of the three "expeditionary mixed wings" can ensure that at least two squadrons of 16 fighters are in combat condition at any time within seven days.

Obviously, after 7 days, more troops will definitely arrive.

The key is that as long as the scale of the engagement can be controlled, there is an absolute chance of victory.

In expounding on this viewpoint, Li Tianling did not speak theoretically, but used the results of the exercises in the past few years, especially the performance in the "Westward Expansion" joint exercise.

Not to mention the Iraqi Air Force, even in the Imperial Air Force, no unit has ever defeated the "Expeditionary Mixed Wing" in the exercise.

It's just that there is a very serious problem with this tactic.

If there is not enough deterrent effect, or if the relationship between the Iraqi Air Force and the Iraqi Army is not very good, there is a possibility that the ground battle will start earlier.

When the time comes, what will you do to resist Iraq's million-strong army?

This is the key reason why the Marine Corps is firmly opposed.

Not to mention the million-strong army, as long as the Iraqi authorities are determined to dispatch one armored division, two armored battalions of the Marine Corps can be wiped out.

As for air support, it may not be able to play a decisive role.

The officers of the Air Force and the Marine Corps quarreled for a day yesterday over this issue, and no result came to that.

Today, this issue is still being discussed.

It's just that Shi Zhiliang obviously doesn't have much patience.

After dinner, after the meeting resumed, he first asked the officers of the Air Force and Marine Corps to explain their respective tactics.

Subsequently, he made arrangements.

The preliminary battlefield interdiction operation was divided into two phases: first, the no-fly zone was set at 100 kilometers wide, and the scheduled implementation time was seven days, after which the no-fly zone was expanded to 300 kilometers. During the implementation process, if the situation on the battlefield changes, adjustments will be made according to the actual situation.

In addition, Shi Zhiliang assigned a new mission to the Marine Corps.

During the first 7 days, deception of the enemy was carried out through tactical means to enhance the effectiveness of deterrence tactics.

As for how to do it, the Marines will figure it out themselves.

In addition, the Air Force is not alone.

According to Shi Zhiliang's intentions, the chief of staff of the Navy has already given a guarantee that carrier-based aircraft will be assigned to be responsible for air defense tasks in the direction of Posha Bay.

In other words, there is no need for the Air Force to keep an eye on the Boi country to the north.

As soon as the situation deteriorates, especially if the Iraqi army crosses the border, the Navy will immediately launch a full-scale strike against military targets in Iraq.

Although in the first seven days, there were only three aircraft carrier battle groups and more than 200 carrier-based aircraft that could be used, but on the more than 10 escort warships of the three aircraft carrier battle groups, there were more than 300 cruise missiles, which was enough to inflict heavy losses on the Iraqi army in the early stage of the war.

If anything, more than 200 carrier-based aircraft are enough to stabilize the situation.

This is only the extreme, though.

Shi Zhiliang also mentioned that the first task of the navy is actually to protect the shipping route of Posha Bay and ensure that the Boi country in the north does not dare to act rashly.

Kuwait is finished, then oil from Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE becomes even more important.

If the Strait of Hormuz were to be blocked by the Poian State at this time, the consequences would be unimaginable!

From the standpoint of the empire, I am afraid that the only way to fight a regional war is to treat it as a global war.

It is precisely for this reason that the Navy has deployed two of the most powerful aircraft carrier battle groups in the Mua Sea and arranged for warships to patrol back and forth in the Strait of Hormuz.

To put it simply, as long as the Air Force can withstand it, it cannot bother the Navy.

After the meeting, Shi Zhiliang left Li Tianling, who had attended the meeting on behalf of the Air Force.

Although Shi Zhiliang is an army general, if it is related, he is still a distant relative of Li Tianling, and his wife is the cousin of Li Tianling's mother.

"Do you have faith?" Shi Zhiliang is the style of the army, and his speech has always been straightforward.

"I can't say that I am completely sure, but if we really want to fight, it will definitely not be us who will suffer." Li Tianling smiled, and then continued: "There is only one key, seize the opportunity or create an opportunity, and strive to defeat the arrogance of the Iraqi Air Force as soon as possible." ”

"Got an idea?"

"I don't have a specific idea yet, but to sum it up, it's nothing more than an old routine like luring the enemy deep."

"As long as it works, the old routine is also a good routine."

Li Tianling smiled, he has always admired Shi Zhiliang, and the most critical reason is that this almost 60-year-old general is not rigid at all.

In the words of the officers and men at the grassroots level, Shi Zhiliang is an old man who is not old in heart.

The fact that so many new tactics can be promoted and implemented in the Northwest Theater is not unrelated to Shi Zhiliang's full support!

If Shi Zhiliang is a naval general, then there is nothing strange, even if he is an air force general, it is reasonable.

In the army, the senior generals who can accept the new 15 th Five-Year Plan with an open eye can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

"Anyway, it's good to have an idea. The combat operations of the Air Force are your responsibility, and you decide how to fight. If you think about it, you can act, you don't need to look ahead, I'll give you the cover. ”

"Thank you, Commander."

When he said this, Li Tianling got up and said goodbye to Shi Zhiliang.

He also knew that Shi Zhiliang left him alone, that is, to say this, so that he would not have to carry his burden and devote his energy to the battle that was about to start.

But that's not all.

When he came out of the commander's office, Li Tianling saw Liu Zunshan guarding outside.