The vanguard was ambushed and annihilated, much to the surprise of Major General Giannini.

It was a mixed battalion of 14 main battle tanks and 18 infantry fighting vehicles, consisting of an armored company, two infantry infantry companies and an infantry company!

In fact, it was not all annihilated.

The three officers and soldiers who survived by luck stood in front of Giannini, all of them in a state of mental exhaustion, embarrassed, and depressed.

All three officers were from infantry companies and remained in the rear while fighting.

After the explosion, they all fainted, and when they woke up, a reconnaissance unit sent by Major General Giannini had arrived on the battlefield.

They didn't know what was going on, except for a surprise attack.

After a brief questioning, Giannini asked the guards to take them away.

Because it was not clear what was ahead, Giannini had ordered his troops to stop advancing, and the reconnaissance platoon sent out continued to advance towards Nasiriyah.

Towards evening, Giannini received a report from the reconnaissance unit.

The vanguard's tanks and tanks were destroyed, with only a few destroyed by armor-piercing shells, and most destroyed by an anti-tank missile capable of attacking the top.

The enemy did not clear the battlefield, but only set fire to some tanks and combat vehicles that were still worth repairing.

Apparently, the enemy knew that the main forces led by Major General Giannini were about to arrive, so they hastily withdrew from the battlefield.

Also, the enemy certainly has an anti-tank missile with advanced performance.

American "Javelin", or Huaxia HJ-12?

Of course, it is certainly not the Swedish "Bill", because only Sweden and Austria are equipped with such missiles, and the total production is less than 5,000 units.

Whether it is the "Javelin", or the HJ-12, it is a big trouble.

There are still more than 30 kilometers to Nasiriyah, and if you continue to let the armored forces assault, you will inevitably encounter accidents.

Although the "Holy Land Heroes" brigade still has dozens of M1A1 main battle tanks, and the three mechanized infantry brigades coordinated with a total of more than 100 tanks, the tragedy of the 190th armored battalion of the Israeli army will be repeated if they rashly enter the ambush circle set up by the enemy without infantry cover.

You must know that except for the M1A1, which is a generation more advanced than the M60, the Iraqi army commanded by Giannini is no more powerful than the IDF in the fourth Middle East war, and the enemy's weapons are anti-tank missiles that are much more advanced than the AT-3 "Sagarh".

However, we can't stop there.

Figuring out the situation, Giannini gave the order to move forward, sending a battalion of troops again, only this time to the east in battle formation.

By dark, the vanguard advanced to a distance of about twenty-five kilometers from Nasiriyah.

At this time, Wang Dong was having dinner with Major General Nanijer at the garrison headquarters.

The main dish was roast lamb chops, which were not hearty, but they were already very good, at least much better than the roasted naan and other dry food that the officers and soldiers of the garrison received.

Nanijal did not hold a celebration banquet for Wang Dong, now is not the time, after all, the enemy of the six brigades is about to be killed.

Nanigel fully affirmed the battle of ambushing the enemy's vanguard, but on the issue that Wang Dong was most concerned about, Nanigel's attitude was more ambiguous.

Putting hundreds of mercenaries together, is it under the command of Nanijel or Wang Dong?

It is undeniable that these people were brought by Wang Dong and must be under Wang Dong's command, but Nanigel also knows that these people are the key to guarding Nasiriyah.

Dispersed into grass-roots units is obviously easier to command.

Wang Dong knows Nanijer's little abacus.

Wang Dong didn't care who commanded him, but scattered hundreds of operational personnel into the grassroots troops, and they were unable to give full play to their combat effectiveness.

If Nasiriyah's defenders are a plate of loose sand, the operatives brought by Wang Dong are steel bars.

If the steel bar is cut and mixed with loose sand, then the loose sand is still loose sand, and if the steel bar is kept intact, this pile of loose sand can be turned into reinforced concrete.

Fortunately, Nanigal is not the kind of politician who is desperate for power.

Such an easy-to-understand truth, even if Wang Dong doesn't say it, Nanijer can think of it.

After a brief consultation, Nanijel accepted Wang Dong's proposal, and Wang Dong also made appropriate concessions, that is, to retain the establishment of operational personnel, and only a small number of operational personnel were transferred to the garrison headquarters, and were responsible for assisting Nanijel in directing combat operations as military advisers.

Of course, Wang Dong is also among them.

As for the operatives who were organized into a separate detachment, Wang Dong was under direct command, and Wang Dong, who remained in the headquarters, had to obey Nanijel's orders.

To this end, Nanijel fulfilled his promise and appointed Wang Dong as acting chief of staff.

After dinner, the two went to the operational command center next door, where a major staff officer gave Wang Dong a detailed description of Nasiriyah's defensive deployment.

There are a few lines of defense, but they're all furnishings.

It's not that Nanijel's ability is insufficient, but that the troops are insufficient.

Nasiriyah was almost an isolated city, with only a few strongholds to the west and neighboring cities to the east, and the terrain was extremely unfavorable for the defending side.

Obviously, the stronghold to the west could not be abandoned.

The problem is that those strongholds can't be held at all.

With the strength of the garrison, even if all the outlying strongholds are abandoned and all retreat into the city, it is only a drop in the bucket.

How should this battle be fought?

Wang Dong was not disappointed, because he had long known the situation here, and he also knew that the number one purpose of coming here was to slow down the advance of the rebels.

As for whether Nasiriyah can be defended, it is a secondary question.

Since the purpose is to delay the enemy, it is necessary to make full use of the defensive positions on the periphery to cause problems for the enemy and slow down the enemy's advance.

Obviously, this is exactly what Wang Dong is good at.

It's just, what's next?

As Wang Dong pondered this question, the ground shook violently.

Earthquake!?

No, it's not an earthquake, it's an artillery bombardment!

By the time Wang Dong reacted, the explosion was clearly audible.

The staff officers in the command center had already rushed out, and Wang Dong followed closely behind.

The explosion occurred to the west of the city, illuminating the night sky from the blinding firelight, and there was a faint straight glow in the night sky beyond.

"Rocket artillery!"

Hearing this, Wang Dong looked at Xie Chuyue, who came to his side.

"It should be the M270, it seems that the rebels are not far from us."

"These guys obviously didn't learn their lesson, didn't we exist when we didn't exist?" It was Zhang Zilan who said this, and he was holding a lamb rib in his hand.

At this time, Wang Haotian, who was standing at the door of the command center, whistled and beckoned to Wang Dong and them.

The enemy is dozens of kilometers away, and those rocket artillery will move after firing, so even if Wang Dong and them set off immediately, it will be too late.

Fortunately, it was not only the operatives brought by Wang Dong who could deal with rocket artillery.

While Wang Dong was discussing with Nanijer, Wang Haotian completed his work and set up confidential communication equipment to contact Saudi Arabia.