Northeast of Saudi Arabia, King Khalid Military City.

As the order was given, the eight EF2000 fighters next to the runway started one after another, taxied to the take-off point in groups of two, and took off in turn.

Each of these fighters carried four Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles.

An hour later, the fighters will drop cruise missiles more than 200 kilometres south of Nasiriyah to bombard the bridge over the Tigris River.

In addition, this is the last batch of Storm Shadow cruise missiles in the inventory of the Royal Saudi Air Force.

Although in the past few days, the Royal Saudi Air Force has not provided air support to the defenders of Nasiriyah under the threat of FD2000 air defense systems, it has not been idle, and has been bombing military targets in the heart of Iraq, as well as industrial targets of great value.

For example, three days ago, eight F-15SAs of the Royal Saudi Air Force attacked Kirkuk and destroyed the refinery there with dozens of JDAM.

You know, that's one of only two large oil refineries in Iraq, the other in Basra.

The various fuels sent from this refinery supported the backbone of the rebels, otherwise the rebels would have stopped their progress because of the lack of fuel.

In addition, the Royal Saudi Air Force focused on bombing military camps outside Baghdad.

In order to stop the rebels from increasing their forces to the front line, the Royal Saudi Air Force even destroyed several bridges over the Tigris River, as well as transportation hubs along the way.

It can be said that it is precisely because of this that the rebels have never sent more troops to Nasiriyah.

Because when bombing targets in the hinterland of Iraq, Saudi fighter jets were never attacked by anti-aircraft missiles, so it can be roughly concluded that the FD2000 air defense system was near Nasiriyah, and it was only because the Saudi fighter jets did not go there that it never played a role.

In fact, under the threat of the Royal Saudi Air Force, the rebels did not dare to frequently change the deployment location of the air defense system.

In the big picture, Nasiriyah has become the key to the situation.

In the words of the Western news media, Nasiriyah is the "Stalingrad" of this civil war, which will determine the final outcome of the civil war.

As long as the government forces are able to hold Nasiriyah, the tide of the war will turn in their favor.

On the contrary, the government forces will lose the war.

After a week of holding out, the situation has begun to turn.

The point is that the rebels are at the end of their game, and if they can't take Nasiriyah within a week, don't try to capture Basra before the ground forces of the Allied coalition enter the battle.

You know, six brigades of the Royal Saudi Army are already ready to go at King Khalid Military City.

In Kuwait, there are four brigades from other Arab League member States, two of which are ready to leave in a few days.

In addition, the assistance provided by Pakistan was sent three days ago.

A convoy of transport ships carrying enough heavy equipment to arm four brigades is sailing the Arabian Sea and is expected to arrive in Basra in five days.

In Pakistan, two more squadrons of JF-17 fighters completed the handover formalities.

Now, these fighters belong to Saudi Arabia and have been donated by Saudi Arabia to the Iraqi government forces, and the pilots who fly the fighters have signed contracts with the "Angu" company.

Once the ground service equipment arrives in Basra, the fighters will depart for Iraq.

If anything, the ammunition will not arrive until about 10 days later, i.e. the ships carrying the ammunition have not yet left Karachi.

Until then, these fighters could only use unguided munitions from the Iraqi Air Force reserves.

As for fuel, there was no problem, the refinery in Basra was in the hands of government forces, and the port of Basra had enough fuel in stock.

It can be seen that time is running out for the rebels.

If we delay any longer, and wait for the aid to arrive, even if the rebels occupy Nasiriyah, it will not be possible to attack Basra under the resistance of the Arab League ground forces.

In fact, the rebels now need to consider not to capture Nasiriyah, but to advance east as soon as possible.

For this reason, the rebels took the risk of forcibly crossing the Tigris River east of Nasiriyah, hoping to eliminate the hidden danger of attacking eastward by encircling Nasiriyah.

From this point of view, whether or not the rebels in the east can be defeated will determine the outcome of the entire war.

It was in this way that Wang Dong called for air support.

Of course, the bombardment is only one aspect, and in order to break up the rebels' encirclement, it is necessary to launch a counterattack and destroy the rebels who have crossed the Tigris.

Only by securing the road with Sugshuyukh can the rebels pose a threat and make them dare not rush east.

To this end, Wang Dong concentrated all the troops that could be mobilized.

It's a pity that there are not many reserves left.

In the battle a few days ago, in order to withstand the frantic attack of the rebels and hold the defensive line to the west and south, Wang Dong successively sent all the reserves.

In fact, Wang Dong did not have many reserves in his hands, and there were only three infantry battalions in total.

Don't forget, the defenders were already grossly underwhelmed.

As a result, Wang Dong was able to mobilize only the guard troops of the headquarters and the dozens of operatives he brought with him who had not yet been dispatched.

In total, less than 400 people!

In terms of main battle equipment, there are only six M1A1s, two of which are repaired damaged tanks, and more than two dozen wheeled armored vehicles.

As for infantry fighting vehicles, not a single one!

Of course, the government forces did not have many infantry fighting vehicles in the first place, and before the outbreak of the civil war, all the infantry fighting vehicles of the Iraqi Defense Forces were equipped with the main forces in the northern region.

What can be done with this little force?

You know, two infantry battalions of the rebels have crossed the Tigris River, and they have also formed defensive positions on the south bank, waiting for the armored troops to cross the river.

In addition, the rebels, who had previously operated south of Nasiriyah, have begun to advance eastward.

Around dawn, the rebel army would reach the south bank of the Tigris River and join up with the troops crossing the river.

Obviously, what Wang Dong needs to face is most likely a mechanized infantry brigade of the rebels.

What are the odds of winning?

Wang Dong was not sure, he only knew that if he missed tonight, Nasiriyah would be surrounded by rebels, and all his previous efforts would be in vain.

If the rebels who crossed the river can be annihilated in time, there may be some chance of victory.

Wang Dong did not give such an important task to others, and decided to personally direct the counterattack, to be precise, to participate in the counterattack.

For this reason, he returned the command to Nanijer, and asked Wang Haotian to stay and assist Nanijer.

Wang Haotian is a non-combatant, and he is responsible for communication and liaison with the rear, so he cannot be allowed to go to the front line to take risks, and he cannot play a role in the front line.

By the time the Royal Saudi Air Force fighter jets took off, the counterattack led by Wang Dong had reached the east of the city.

The rebel troops crossing the river were just ten kilometers to the east, so close that tanks and armored vehicles could kill them with a single charge, and there was no need to hurry.