Chapter 415 - 415 Destroying the Withered and Decaying (I)

As the ground campaign has unfolded, the inability of Iraqi forces to resist the Multinational Force's ground offensive has become even more apparent. The Iraqi 3rd Army, located in front of the US 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, the 310th Division of the PLA and the combined forces of the Eastern Front, suffered heavy losses. On its western flank, the Iraqi 7th and 14th Infantry Divisions, located in front of the US 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, were incapacitated.

The 36th Infantry Division, the 1st Mechanized Infantry Division and the 56th Armored Brigade were also withdrawn from their original defensive positions under the double blows of the US forces and the PLA, and new defensive positions were hastily established to the south, west and southwest of Jahra in the northwest of Kuwait City. However, these defensive positions are far less solid than those that have been operated for a long time before, and the Iraqi army is in turmoil, so it is still a question of how long they can hold out. Its 3rd Armoured Division attempted to hold the blocking position between Kuwait's defence airfield and Jahra.

The 18th and 8th Infantry Divisions of the Iraqi 3rd Army, although they put up stubborn resistance to the joint Arab forces on the Eastern Front near Minasaw, were soon incapacitated by the powerful ground and air fire of the multinational forces. Its 29th Infantry Division, although it made a timely retreat, was also heavily damaged. In the process of retreating, the UAVs flying here directly destroyed the command of the division with missiles, and it collapsed directly without leadership.

On the second day of the operation, the Iraqi 4th Army, located head-on with the Multinational Force's Northern Front and the United States 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, also suffered heavy losses. Its 20th and 30th Infantry Divisions had lost their combat capacity, while the 21st and 16th Infantry Divisions had lost ground to a defensive line west and south of Aliselem airfield.

The Iraqi Army's 6th Armored Division, located west of Ali Selim Airport, was also severely reduced by the Multinational Force. On the front of the US 7th Army from west to east, there are 5 divisions of the Iraqi 7th Army, namely the 48th, 25th, 26th, 31st and 45th Infantry. Under strong pressure from multinational forces, these forces were quickly isolated and incapacitated. In the meantime, the Iraqi 12th Armored Division, which was located in the rear, launched a powerful counterattack against the British 1st Armored Division, which had turned eastward, in an attempt to open a line of communication for the Iraqi 47th, 27th, and 28th Infantry Divisions deployed along the eastern flank of the US 7th Army, but was defeated by the British.

By the end of the second day of the ground operation, the three armies deployed by the Iraqi army on the front line had suffered a devastating blow, and the multinational forces had captured more than 30,000 Iraqi troops. In Kuwait City, the 19th, 11th and 15th Infantry Divisions and three special forces brigades of the Iraqi Army maintained a strong combat effectiveness in order to deal with amphibious landing operations launched by multinational forces from the sea. However, on the night of the second day of the battle, Radio Baghdad announced that Saddam had ordered Iraqi troops to withdraw from Kuwait City, triggering a rout of these forces.

On the eastern front of the left flank, the PLA Army's 310th Blue Army Mechanized Infantry Division and the US 2nd Marine Division began an offensive at 12 noon on the third day, aiming directly at Jahra. Near the quarries and garbage dumps south of the city, the U.S. 6th Marine Regiment encountered stubborn resistance from some units of the Iraqi 3rd Armored Division and the 5th Mechanized Division.

At the same time, the 310th Division of the PLA Blue Army encountered resistance from the 1 Iraqi armored unit when it launched an attack on the Kowei International Airport. However, this time the 310th Division's advance was not alone, after weighing the battlefield situation, Schwartzkov decided to send the 127th Division, which did not have much opportunity to play in the middle line battlefield, to the Eastern Front, so when attacking Kuwait International Airport, the 310th Division and the 127th Division completed the convergence of divisions.

With the support of the 406 heavy guns of the US battleship Wisconsin and the close-range air fire of the PLA Air Force, an offensive was launched against the Iraqi armored forces that had established a deep echelon defense centered on Kuwait International Airport. Although the 127th Division and the 310th Division both belong to the PLA Army, they are different in terms of system, equipment, and establishment.

For example, after the two sides communicated, they agreed to encircle the Iraqi armored forces in two ways, but the time and the other side's actions were not well controlled, and the 310th Division arrived earlier because it was closer, and the 127th Division, which did not wait for follow-up operations, directly began to encroach on the enemy forces on the periphery. By the time the 127th Division arrived, the Iraqi army had already been wiped out, which made the people of the 127th Division also very angry.

By the time the Chinese army occupied Kuwait International Airport, a total of 250 Iraqi tankers and 70 armoured vehicles had been destroyed. The formidable Chinese Army units completed the task of capturing all the targets in the plan before midnight.

No matter how much the Iraqi army resisted, it still could not support the multinational forces for long in the face of a multinational force with obvious superiority in equipment, firepower, and even morale. Especially after Saddam Hussein officially announced that he would withdraw his troops from Kuwait, the Iraqi army was thinking more about how to escape from this terrifying battlefield and return to their homeland.

The Joint Arab Force, located in the eastern sector of the Multinational Force front, continues to advance. Since the intensity of the Iraqi army's resistance was much lower than expected before the war, the advance of the combined forces on the Eastern Front was unexpectedly too fast, and the planned plan had to be scrapped and brought forward again. On the same day, its "Omar" contingent continued its offensive west of Kuwait City to capture its intended objectives. At the same time, the Qatari battalion seized targets south of Kuwait City. Task force "Ottoman" also arrived on the outskirts of Kuwait City just before dusk. The UAE's motorized rifle battalion is located on the left flank of the 10th Mechanized Brigade of the Royal Saudi Ground Forces, providing cover for its movements. Due to the excellent combat operations of the Joint Arab Forces on the Eastern Front, the combat demarcation line between the Western Union and the US 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and the 310th Division was adjusted twice, and four targets were re-added. By the end of the day, the Arab force was ready to enter Kuwait City.

The Joint Arab Forces on the Northern Front, located in the center of the Multinational Force's front, also successfully occupied the intended targets. The Egyptian forces within its formation, having seized the target near Abraq, turned to the east and advanced 60 kilometres to capture the Ali Sele airfield. According to the plan, the unit will take over the tasks of the US Marine Corps and take direct part in the battle to liberate Kuwait City. Task Force Khalid, another unit of the Joint Forces on the Northern Front, also turned east and advanced towards Kuwait City after capturing the intended target. At the same time, the Syrian 9th Armoured Division was defending the supply lines of the Joint Arab Forces on the Northern Front with two brigades, while its 3rd Brigade was advancing towards Kuwait City with Khalid contingent.

On the Western Front, the US 18th Airborne Army, which had been advancing northward, turned its offensive to the northeast, approaching the Euphrates Valley. The 82nd Airborne Division of the 101st Air Assault Division and the 6th French Light Armored Division were assigned the task of protecting the western and northern flanks of the 18th Airborne Corps and the Chinese 113th Division, which were tasked with the main attack.

Three brigades of the 24th Mechanized Infantry Division struck directly at the Iraqi airfields at Jelibay and Telil. In the face of the powerful attack of the US 24th Division, the Iraqi troops relied on their positions to put up stubborn resistance. The 1st Brigade of the 24th Mechanized Infantry Division of the United States came under fire from Iraqi tanks and artillery for four hours. However, as night and sandstorms fell, the U.S. military's superiority in technical equipment gradually came into play. Under the precise fire suppression of tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored transport vehicles with night vision equipment and various protective devices, as well as AH-64 attack helicopters, the US 24th Mechanized Infantry Division finally broke through the defense line of the Iraqi armored and artillery units, forced the Iraqi country to escape from underground bunkers and armored vehicles, and was finally annihilated or captured.

At 1:30 a.m. on the second day of the operation, news came out of Baghdad that Saddam Hussein was going to withdraw his troops on his own initiative, and Iraqi radio said that in order to implement the withdrawal agreement reached with the Soviet Union, Saddam had ordered the Iraqi troops to withdraw from Kuwait. The multinational force ignored this and said that it would continue to attack the Iraqi army.

The multinational forces from the Western Front cut off all lines of communication in Iraq, established logistical supply points, and deployed a steady stream of troops from the rear, while the Iraqi army's resistance became weaker and weaker, and the will to fight was also sharply reduced.

The Multinational Force had clearly created a gesture of encircling Kuwait City, which was visible to all, but the Iraqis could not stop it. Because the gap between the two sides is so great, even if the size of the Iraqi army is not much different from that of the multinational force, it is obviously like the armies of two eras fighting, especially the troops of China and the United States, so that military observers in the whole world seem to see clearly how the future war should be fought and how to fight to win.

The 113th Division also performed well in this day's battle, as they encountered the Iraqi Tawakarna Mechanized Division as they attacked eastward. The division not only had a large number of tanks and armored vehicles, but also occupied well-constructed defensive positions. In addition, the division had built reserve positions, so it was able to turn the defensive direction in time to resist the attacks of friendly forces of the 113th Division from other directions.

Although the Tawakarna Mechanized Division had previously been heavily bombarded by the Multinational Forces, most of it remained highly combative. After the battle began, the 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade and the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade of the 113th Division simultaneously attacked the 29th and 9th Brigades of the Tarwana Division. The 113th Division set up the artillery position of its headquarters, and with the support of dozens of PLZ-88s and Dragon's Tooth rocket launchers, the two infantry brigades quickly occupied the advantage and initiative on the battlefield, and a large number of Iraqi armored vehicles and tanks were destroyed in the fierce battle. This battle deprived the Itawakarna mechanical pilot of its proper combat capability as a complete combat unit, and created conditions for the multinational force to encircle and annihilate Iraq's strategic reserve at the rear.

As the weather improved later in the battle, the Z-10 of the 113th Division was also engaged. Guided by the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, the helicopter gunship intercepted other Iraqi units that were going to reinforce the Tawakarna Mechanized Division. In this helicopter attack, the army destroyed a total of 8 Iraqi tanks and 19 armored vehicles.