The 10-kilometre-wide vacuum between the two lines of defense is not an ornament.

With such a long distance, the artillerymen did not have to worry about accidentally injuring their own people when they opened fire.

In addition, the rebels advancing on foot would certainly not be able to cross the open field in one fell swoop, and would have exceeded the range of direct fire from tanks and combat vehicles.

As Wang Dong gave the order, the artillery took the lead in counterattacking.

That's right, those M109A6s commanded by Shamkh.

In half a minute, 16 M109A6 fired hundreds of shells, used up all the remaining ammunition, and then quickly withdrew from the position.

Ammunition provided by Saudi Arabia has been delivered, but it is stockpiled in warehouses on the east side of the city.

Anyway, if you have to go to the rear to replenish the ammunition, there is no need to leave a few shells, and the 100 tons of ammunition provided by the Saudis are enough for these howitzers to last for several days.

The rebels immediately counterattacked, nothing more than a waste of shells.

Under shelling, the offensive operations of the rebels were temporarily stopped.

The casualties were extremely heavy, but the key was not how many officers and soldiers were killed and wounded, but that the rebels did not know how many shells were left in the defenders' howitzers.

Three hours later, just after 9 a.m., the rebels attacked again.

In order to avoid shelling, the rebel attacking forces not only left the road, but also broke into pieces, each with no more than a platoon in size.

This tactic did work, at least not to give the defending artillery a chance to exert its power.

Let the heavy artillery deal with small groups of enemies operating in platoons?

Not to mention how efficient the combat is, just frequent firing will expose the position, so that the rebel artillery who are on the stand will have a chance to counterattack.

In fact, the combat efficiency is not much higher.

The point is that all the Saudis provide are high-explosive shells.

Theoretically, the 155-mm high-explosive bomb has a killing range of 50 meters for exposed personnel, but the actual effect depends on the specific situation.

If a platoon of rebels lined up in a neat formation, one 155-mm high-explosive shell would suffice.

The problem is that more than thirty rebels are dispersed, maintaining a distance of at least twenty meters, or even fifty meters, and the shelling effect is not much better.

It's just that the threat of infantry is not very great.

In response to this situation, Shamkh immediately adjusted its tactics and no longer dealt with the infantry of the rebels, but aimed at tank fighting vehicles scattered near the road.

Presumably to launch a charge at a critical moment, the rebels' tanks and fighting vehicles were near the road.

In fact, this also reflects that the rebels are not aware of the defensive deployment of the Nasiriyah defenders, and take it for granted that they will soon encounter the next line of defense.

Against tank combat vehicles with howitzers, the effect is also not very good.

Unless you use guided shells such as the "Copper-spotted Snake", you can only pray for good luck with ordinary shells against tanks and combat vehicles.

In regular combat, howitzers are used against infantry accompanying the attack of tank fighting vehicles, and not tank fighting vehicles.

In other words, a tank tank tank can be destroyed only if you are lucky enough to make a direct hit, and the shrapnel from the explosion does not pose any threat to the tank tank.

Sometimes, of course, quantity solves everything.

The tactics adopted by Shamkh are also very simple, and it is not wrong to say that they are "barbaric", that is, all 16 M109A6s are aimed at one target, and three shells are fired at the same time, three shells are fired in 15 seconds, and 48 shells are used against a tank or an infantry fighting vehicle.

If the accuracy is not enough, use more shells, and there will always be one that can hit by chance.

As for the combat effect, there is certainly nothing to say, 48 high-explosive shells cost tens of thousands of dollars, and one M1A1 costs several million dollars.

Even firing ten times to destroy a tank is worth a thousand dollars.

All that needed to be considered was to transfer positions in time to avoid the rebels' counter-artillery fire.

Actually, the shelling effect is very good.

By noon, 16 M109A6 guns fired a total of fourteen salvos, killing 3 tanks and 2 infantry fighting vehicles with 672 high-explosive shells.

Although the tank has thick armor, if it is hit by a high-explosive shell, it will definitely destroy the car and kill people.

Quite simply, just a few kilograms of high-energy explosives can shock everyone in the tank and destroy most of the equipment.

As early as the Cold War, the US military did similar tests.

During that test, an M1 tank in good condition was completely destroyed by a 155-mm high-explosive projectile, all major equipment, including the engine, was severely damaged, and one of the M60 tanks involved in the test was even bombarded to a part-by-part condition by a high-explosive shell.

In fact, it was this test that allowed the US military to invest in the development of guided artillery shells, which later became known as the "Copper-spotted Snake."

According to the original conception, the "Copperspot Snake" was not used to destroy high-value point targets, but to fight tanks, that is, against the Soviet torrent of steel.

The tactics were simple, deploying a large number of scouts with laser designators on the Western European defense lines, and when the Soviet steel torrent came, these scouts provided guidance, and the long-range artillery could destroy the Soviet tanks one by one by simply firing laser-guided shells.

You must know that throughout the Cold War, "fighting tanks" was the highlight of the NATO military bloc.

At that time, more than 100,000 tanks deployed in Eastern Europe kept the generals of NATO countries awake at night.

In order to deal with the Soviet Union's steel torrent, the United States also took the lead in developing a neutron bomb specifically designed to kill and injure personnel, and distributed it to front-line troops in Europe.

It's just that hitting a tank with an ordinary shell is clearly not qualified.

The destruction of 3 tanks and 2 tanks of the rebels did not stop the rebels' advance, and it is not wrong to say that the mantis arm was used as a vehicle.

In addition, the losses are not small.

At 11:45 a.m., the rebels carried out a massive artillery strike, with hundreds of howitzers and more than 20 rocket launchers simultaneously firing at more than a dozen suspected artillery positions.

As a result, the defenders' artillery, which had just arrived at a position, was shelled when they were equipped to open fire again.

Although only one M109A6 was directly hit by a shell, resulting in the destruction of the car and the death of people, more than half of the M109A6 suffered damage of varying degrees.

Subsequently, Wang Dong gave Shamkh an order to retreat.

It was not until the evening of the same day that Shamkh again led the M109A6s back to the battlefield, and the damaged howitzers were repaired two days later.

At this time, the vanguard of the rebels advanced near the second line of defense.

The defence was guarded by two infantry battalions, one of which was deployed near the road to the west and the other southwest of the city.

Behind is the city, where the government officers and soldiers on the defensive line are extremely heroic.

Maybe it's inspired.

After all, it took the rebels more than 10 kilometers to advance in one morning, and hundreds of officers and soldiers, 3 tanks and 2 combat vehicles were destroyed by artillery fire.

The main attack of the rebels was on the road line, and the roundabout troops did not enter the battle.

Heavy fighting continued into the evening, with more than half of the government forces defending the line suffering casualties, and Nanijel gave the order to retreat after dark.

It's just that the battle didn't end because the night fell.