The assault force advanced on the east bank of the Gaela River, with only one battalion of troops acting as a forward on the west bank of the Gaela River, responsible for attracting the attention of the rebels.

Before dawn, the assault forces captured Fort Sukhair.

Occupation, to be precise, because the rebels stationed in the area had withdrawn before the assault force arrived, and a number of mines had been laid in the north.

By this time, the vanguard of the movement on the west bank of the Gaela River had already arrived on the outskirts of Fegil.

The battle began before dawn, and the rebels fought valiantly and showed no intention of retreating from Fergil.

On the east bank of the Gaela River, the assault force under the personal command of Wang Dong ran into trouble, being delayed for several hours due to the effects of minefields laid by the rebels.

It was not until about ten o'clock the next morning that the assault force bypassed the rebel line and reached the north of Fergil.

By this time, Fergill's rebels had already begun to break through to the north.

Obviously, the rebels were aware of the assault force's every move, and knew when the assault force would arrive, and only broke through in time.

What's next?

According to the original plan, it was supposed to move north at this time, advance towards Haiyi, and strive to take it in one fell swoop, and capture Kut before the rebels adjusted their deployment.

As for the task of advancing west from Fergill, it should be left to the government forces that followed.

It's just that Wang Dong adjusted his plan at this time.

Quite simply, the rebels already knew that the assault force was advancing north, and that they had been delayed in passing through the minefield and might not be able to attack Coult as planned.

If there is another delay at Hay, it will definitely not be possible to take Kut, as planned.

The rebels will certainly hold on to Hai and strengthen the Kut's defenses.

Because Hay is the only way to get to Kut, the assault force must storm Hai and not march on Kut until he has captured Haite.

It can be seen that by this time, the original plan was no longer feasible.

At noon, the 101st Guards Battalion, which was directly commanded by Wang Dong, and the mechanized infantry battalion equipped with the M2A3 infantry fighting vehicles provided by Saudi Arabia was the first to set off and march towards Haiyi.

In order to strengthen the offensive force, Wang Dong arranged for the 202nd Battalion, that is, the artillery battalion equipped with AH-4, to provide fire support.

The first round of shelling, which began just after one o'clock in the afternoon, lasted nearly an hour, ploughing the rebel positions on the outskirts of Hay with thousands of shells.

This battle is simply to storm Hay.

Otherwise, why use up so many shells?

Let's not forget that the assault force travels lightly and does not carry much supplies, and a few thousand large-caliber shells are equivalent to a third of the total.

At about three o'clock in the afternoon, the 301st Armored Battalion, the 401st Mechanized Infantry Battalion and the 402nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion began to assault westward.

All three battalions are from Iraqi government forces.

Half an hour later, the 404th Infantry Battalion and the 501st Artillery Battalion also began to move westward.

Similarly, the two battalions were also from Iraqi government forces.

In other words, Wang Dong put the equivalent of a reinforced armored brigade to the west and put on a posture of marching towards Diwaniye.

In the evening, the 301st Armored Battalion and the 401st Mechanized Infantry Battalion were slaughtered on the outskirts of Ajak.

The town is less than 30 kilometres from Diwaniya.

By this time, the main forces of the government forces from Semavo had advanced to Imam Hamzai, about sixty kilometers from Diwaniyah.

The situation of encircling Diwaniyah has been formed.

How should the rebels respond?

Give up Diwaniye?

Obviously, Karim will definitely not give up on Diwaniyah, because the city is too important.

From Diwaniyah, government forces could attack Baghdad in the north, cut off the line of communication from Kut to Baghdad in the northeast, and attack Najaf in the west.

It can be seen that Diwaniyah is a strategic town that must not be lost.

The rebels will inevitably defend Diwaniyah.

So, what to hold?

Najaf has already been attacked by the coalition forces, and it is not only impossible to send troops to reinforce Diwaniyah, but also needs to draw reinforcements from the rear.

In fact, before that, the two rebel units stationed in Karbala and Sheila had already gone south to Najaf.

Sending troops from Baghdad?

Obviously, too far.

The only troops that Diwaniyah's rebels could count on were the troops on the Kut side, to be precise, in Sumir and a few other towns to the north.

However, after the transfer of troops from Sumir and other towns, the rebels will inevitably transfer troops from Kut to plug the holes in the defensive line.

That night, government forces began to storm Imam Hamzai.

In order to take the rebel-controlled town in one fell swoop, the government forces committed a mechanized infantry brigade and used an infantry brigade as a reserve.

In addition, three artillery battalions were used by government forces.

The fighting was fierce, the government forces launched an offensive at any cost, and the rebels did not give up an inch of land.

At the same time, the troops sent by Wang Dong began to attack Ajak.

Because the main force of the rebels was south of Diwaniye, with only one infantry battalion deployed in Ajak, the offensive went very smoothly.

At about ten o'clock, the large-scale battle was declared over.

While the mechanized infantry battalion was sweeping the city, the 501st Artillery Battalion, which followed with it, under the cover of the 404th Infantry Battalion, took the initiative to advance to the west of Ajak and began shelling Diwaniyah.

30 M109A3 self-propelled howitzers did not pose much of a threat to the rebels in Diwaniya.

The point is that the 402nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion began to advance towards Sumir at this time, and the 301st Panzer Battalion moved to the west of Diwaniyah.

As long as Sumir is taken, the encirclement of Diwaniyah on three sides is completed.

As for the road to Najaf from the west, even if it is still in the hands of the rebels, it is not a big problem, because the rebels in Najaf are crossing the river in mud.

At this time, the rebels finally couldn't sit still.

In the second half of the night, a large number of rebels began to move towards Sumir, and at least three brigades set out from Kut and advanced at full speed in the direction of Sumir.

Of course, not all of these rebels will go to Sumir.

If Diwaniyah can't be held, the rebels will have to make long-term plans, such as strengthening Sheila's defenses and holding the southern gate of Baghdad.

One way or another, the rebels have already begun to act.

After receiving the news, Wang Dong immediately gave the order to set off.

Two armored battalions, one mechanized infantry and one artillery, with all the baggage troops, advanced at full speed in the direction of Haiyi.

In order to ensure that the assault force had sufficient ammunition, the Saudi army used hundreds of helicopters and sent hundreds of tons of artillery shells that afternoon.

In addition, the coalition forces have been bombing Hay and Kut.

When Wang Dong and the others were still on the road, the Saudi Army carried out an ultra-long-range fire strike on Haiyi, using long-range rocket artillery imported from China.

Even from a distance of several tens of kilometers, you can clearly see the bright flashes of light produced by the explosion of the rocket.