Government forces launched a counterattack, but it was not resolute enough and the intensity was grossly insufficient.

Although with the fire support provided by Tiehu and others, the government army smoothly advanced to the west of the square, cleared the remaining enemy in the square, and controlled some buildings on the west side of the square, but the government army did not advance again, to be precise, it encountered big trouble when continuing to advance.

In fact, the government army cannot be blamed.

When advancing to the west, due to the influence of buildings, the fire support provided by Tiehu and others was significantly weakened, and the rebels were able to hold on to the spot.

In addition, the government forces are seriously underarmed.

After nearly two hours of fierce fighting, the government forces stopped, and then came under artillery fire from the rebels, forcing them to abandon their positions on the west side of the square.

Fortunately, the four M1A1 main battle tanks led by Zhang Zilan arrived in time.

After almost three hours of fierce fighting, all four M1A1s were intact, not to mention the government officers and soldiers, even Tiehu and other operatives could not believe it.

It's just that four tanks have long run out of shells.

In order to avoid unnecessary casualties, government officers and soldiers retreated to the east of the square under the cover of tanks.

At this time, Tiehu also received an order to break through.

Although he was not reconciled, Tiehu had no choice.

The government army will soon retreat, and if they stay, they will definitely be surrounded by rebels, even if they can all fight against ten, don't try to fight their way out.

In fact, the rebels will definitely give priority to "taking care" of the Iron Tigers.

You must know that in the beginning of the battle, at least more than half of the rebels died at the guns of Tiehu and others, as well as four tanks and four infantry fighting vehicles.

Whether they hold the line or continue to advance eastward, the rebels will prioritize the capture of the building.

At this time, the rear command center.

Wang Dong's expression was grim, and he stared at the computer screen in front of Wang Haotian without saying a word.

The image comes from the small unmanned reconnaissance plane operated by Wang Haotian remotely, the rebels have returned to the west of the square, and there is also a problem in the south of the city.

Unlike in the west, the rebels did not attack in the south of the city, but pushed all the way.

Although the pace of advance was slow, it was more secure, and the government forces in this direction were almost helpless, and could only retreat step by step.

By this time, the tactical intentions of the rebels were already very obvious.

The northern faux was only a feint, the main purpose of which was to attract the attention of government forces and force them to commit forces in that direction, and not to immediately blow up the bridge over the Tigris.

The west is the main direction of attack, with the main purpose of depleting the strength of the government army.

The steady advance to the south is to reduce the defensive space of the government army, and at the same time force the government army to use more troops to defend the southern defensive line.

It won't be long, maybe a few days, before the rebels can complete the encirclement of the city on the south bank of the Tigris.

At that point, the rebels will have the option of assaulting or besieging them.

The point is that once the encirclement is completed, the rebels no longer need to worry about the security of the flanks, and the "Holy Land Heroes" brigade will immediately advance eastward.

Perhaps, Major General Giannini did not even think of annihilating Nasiriyah's defenders.

However, how long will it take for the rebels to complete the encirclement of Nasiriyah?

At this time, a staff officer sent a document over.

Actually, it's just one page.

After a glance, Wang Dong handed the document to Wang Haotian.

According to preliminary results, in the morning battle, more than 30 tanks, more than 40 infantry fighting vehicles and about 60 armored vehicles were destroyed, more than 1,000 rebels were killed, and more than 100 people were captured, including a battalion major officer.

The guy was seriously injured and trapped inside an armored car.

However, the casualties and losses of the government forces are also very huge.

More than 500 officers and soldiers were killed, hundreds more were wounded, more than a dozen armored vehicles were lost, as well as the captured main battle tank.

The key is ammunition, especially anti-tank missiles.

In just one morning, half of the RA-12ERs brought by Wang Dong and them were used, and there were less than 50 left, and they might run out tomorrow.

In addition, the tank guns were almost out of shells.

Although it is possible to get some replenishment on the battlefield, that is, to get ammunition from those destroyed rebel tanks, it is a drop in the bucket compared to the high intensity of combat attrition.

As for those M109A6s, there are more than enough shells.

Now the question is, what to do next.

While Wang Dong was thinking about this problem, the staff officer brought lunch, that is, military rations that were heated in an iron lunch box.

Front-line troops have been sending reports that the rebels in all three directions have stopped their offensive.

Subsequently, Wang Haotian received news that Tiehu and other operatives had withdrawn under the response of Zhang Zilan and others, and only a few operatives were slightly injured.

In addition, the rebels are also adjusting their deployments.

According to Wang Haotian's judgment, because of the extremely heavy casualties, the rebels may not launch a large-scale attack in the afternoon.

Without enough troops, attacking is asking for trouble for yourself.

Besides, the rebels need to replenish not only their troops, but also heavy equipment such as tanks, at least the rebels who have invaded the city do not have enough heavy equipment.

After Wang Dong finished lunch, Major General Nanigel rushed over.

Because Wang Dong was concentrating on the battles in the north and west, in the morning, Nanijal went to the south and commanded the government forces there.

As Wang Dong had judged, the government forces had no choice but to retreat in the face of the rebels' slow but determined onensive.

Nanigel returned to the command center to discuss the combat arrangements with Wang Dong.

"After nightfall, we launched a counterattack, to the south."

"South?" Nanijel looked at Wang Dong incomprehensibly, because it was obvious that the south was a secondary battlefield, and the main force of the rebels was in the west.

"The rebels in the south are more dispersed, so there are more opportunities." Wang Dong glanced at Nanijel and said, "The purpose of the counterattack is not to regain lost territory, but to harass the rebels, so that the rebels cannot organize an attack immediately after dawn, and by the way, create a little trouble for the rebels." ”

"That's just how we still can't defeat the rebels."

"Do you think Giannini wanted to destroy us in one fell swoop?"

Nanigel's brows furrowed, obviously not quite understanding what Wang Dong meant.

"If he didn't think about being able to quickly capture Nasiriyah, then why did he commit so many troops on the first day of the offensive?"

"You mean ......"

"He's waiting for an opportunity to let the 'Holy Land Heroes' Brigade continue to advance eastward, after deciding that he has knocked us down."

Nanijel nodded, this is easy to understand.

"Then, what we have to do is to let him know that we are not lying down, that we are still fighting, and that we have the ability to crush the rebel attack."

"What to do?"

Wang Dong smiled faintly and did not rush to explain.