Three hours before dawn, the battle around Nasiriyah entered a white-hot phase.

The first was the rebel ambush of the Arab League convoy east of Nasiriyah.

Soon after the battle began, the rebel commander noticed that the mechanized infantry battalion that had opened the way appeared to be prepared and not panicked by the ambush.

For example, as soon as the battle began, the infantry fighting vehicles that followed the tanks unfurled, quickly laid down the infantry.

As a result, the rebel anti-tank men in ambush nearby were immediately counter-attacked by Saudi infantry rather than having much chance to open fire.

With the support of the infantry, more than a dozen M1A2 main battle tanks adjusted the queue in time.

When the rebel ambush force launched an assault, it was immediately suppressed by the fire of tank fighting vehicles, and most of the ambush troops failed to complete the assault mission.

Had it not been for the remote-controlled bombs planted in advance, the rebel ambush would have been thwarted by the Saudi vanguard.

After detonating the remote-controlled bombs that were supposed to be used against the convoy, the rebels finally completed the assault and advanced to both sides of the road.

Until this time, the rebel commanders did not react.

It was not the transport convoys of the Arab League that entered the ambush circle, it was the Saudi army, and it was a main force, at least a mechanized infantry brigade!

When hundreds of rebel officers and soldiers charged the convoy on the road, they were greeted by heavy fire.

What kind of transport vehicles, all flatbed trailers!

It is equipped with main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.

In addition, the Saudi army had been prepared for a long time, and when the rebels arrived, the tanks and combat vehicles drove directly from the flatbed trailers.

Some infantry fighting vehicles even fired directly at the rebels.

In addition, the small number of container trucks carrying not goods, but heavily armed soldiers.

This is an ambush war, and it is also a counter-ambush war.

Of the hundreds of rebels, not one escaped alive.

Only then did the rebel commanders find out that they had been fooled.

The ambush was not successful, but half of the troops were lost.

It's just that the battle is far from over.

After thwarting the rebel ambush, the Saudi army quickly launched a counterattack, and at the same time had three mechanized infantry battalions charge.

Obviously, it was indeed a mechanized infantry brigade that arrived, otherwise there would not have been so many mechanized infantry battalions.

The rebels fought very tenaciously, only a few hundred infantry, and they could not stop the three mechanized infantry battalions at all, and they did not even have a chance to retreat.

To fight this ambush, the rebels left the vehicle several kilometers away.

You can't outrun a tank tank on two legs.

At the same time, another Saudi army raided the crossing on the south bank of the Tigris River.

The same brigade, but an armored brigade, with hundreds of M1A2 main battle tanks and more infantry fighting vehicles, also supported by self-propelled howitzers.

At the crossing point on the south bank, the rebels had only one infantry battalion.

Because it had been organizing troops and convoys to cross the river, the infantry battalion did not build defensive positions, but only temporary firing points.

In fact, none of the rebels expected that the crossing site would be attacked, let alone by armored forces.

A battalion, which has not yet formed a position, how can it be fought?

At this time, the north bank of the Tigris River.

After seeing the Saudi armored forces attack, Wang Dong put down the binoculars and gave the attack order to the operationals who were gearing up.

For six hours, the armored unit led by Wang Dong marched more than 200 kilometers in a cross-country manner.

They arrived here about half an hour ago.

Because the Saudi army had not yet arrived, Wang Dong did not immediately order an attack.

Fortunately, the Saudi army was only half an hour late.

The number of troops is not very large, with a total of only 42 "Khaled", 56 BMP-3 and about 100 "Piharan", and the total strength is less than 1,000.

However, there were fewer rebels on the North Shore, with a maximum of one company.

Of course, the drivers and passengers of those transport vehicles do not have much combat effectiveness and can be completely ignored.

Wang Dong's order was simple, destroy all the vehicles he encountered, kill all the rebels he encountered, and rush to the river crossing site as fast as he could.

What are you going to do?

Of course, it was to seize the bridge erected by the rebels.

You know, the Tigris bridge in Nasiriyah has long been blown up, and only the rebel boat bridge in the vicinity allows armored troops to cross the Tigris.

There was no suspense in the battle, and Wang Dong had been watching the battle from the rear.

Whether it is against the transport vehicles of the rebels, or against the infantry of the rebels, the combat efficiency of the BMP-3 with the "Piharan" is much higher than that of the "Khalid".

Quite simply, the 3-mm cannon of the BMP-30 with the 25-mm cannon of the "Piharan" was enough to destroy the transport vehicle.

Although tank guns can also destroy transport vehicles, they are limited by the rate of fire and have a small amount of ammunition to spare, so they do not play much role.

It took only half an hour for the armored group to advance to the river beach.

Caught in a flank, the rebels at the crossing quickly dispersed.

When Wang Dong arrived at the river beach, the commander of the Saudi armored forces was already waiting for him.

According to Wang Dong's arrangement, the Saudi armored brigade sent an armored battalion to cross the river and follow Wang Dong's armored group, while all the other troops stayed behind to guard the river crossing site.

It's just that there is still a little delay.

That is, it is necessary to refuel the tanks and combat vehicles of the armored group, and also replenish some ammunition, especially the armor-piercing shells used by the "Khalid".

The tanks previously belonged to other units of the government army and were equipped with ammunition supplied by Pakistan.

Auxiliary shells such as high-explosive shells are nothing, and the armor-piercing shells sent by Pakistan are poor, and it is difficult to destroy the rebels' main battle tanks in a head-to-head engagement.

To this end, Wang Dong asked the Saudi troops to bring a batch of new armor-piercing shells.

If you encounter the main battle tanks of the rebels, you have to rely on these armor-piercing shells.

By this time, the north bank of the Tigris River was already in flames.

I don't know who did the good deed, but they fired at dozens of fuel tankers parked together, and thousands of tons of fuel were wasted.

Fortunately, the tankers were still far from the river beach, and the spilled fuel did not flow into the Tigris.

Otherwise, the bridge will definitely be burned.

The blazing fire can be seen from dozens of kilometers away.

For the rebels fighting the militia in Nasiriyah, what happened to the east was not a good thing.

The capture of the crossing by Saudi forces meant that they had lost their access back to the north bank of the Tigris.

To the east, Saudi mechanized infantry battalions are advancing towards Nasiriyah.

To the west, there are tens of thousands of government troops in Semawah, as well as a Saudi army.

To the south, it is a vast desert, with the nearest town, Salman, more than a hundred kilometres away, and a barren desert to the south.

In addition, there is no water source between Nasiriyah and Salman, not even a well!

Obviously, no matter how strong the rebels are, they will not be able to walk more than 100 kilometers in the desert without water.

Nasiriyah was already surrounded, trapped here by more than 10,000 rebels from four brigades.