Empire Conquest-Chapter 875 - 107: Extreme Measures (Part 2)

But the problem is, there’s simply no way to solve this issue.

To avoid causing collateral damage, during the initial airstrike phase, the alliance army has been striving to avoid bombing military targets near the oil fields.

Clearly, it’s impossible to stop the Iraqi army from sabotaging the oil fields through bombing.

What Ding Zhennan can do is actually just take preventive measures in advance, such as pre-ordering a batch of firefighting equipment, and having the air force modify a dozen tactical transport aircraft to carry these non-standard dimension equipment, delivering them directly to field airports near the burning oil wells.

Of course, the main thing is to organize firefighting units.

According to Ding Zhennan’s proposal, or more accurately, the request issued by the alliance headquarter, the Empire’s Ministry of Defense has already gathered thousands of reserve engineering officers and soldiers, acquired a lot of professional equipment, and even set up a department specifically responsible for related matters, to respond to possible disasters.

It’s just that these professional teams will have to wait until after the battle to be sent over.

As for now, those oil wells ignited by the Iraqi army can only be left burning.

By evening, the impact has already started to show.

Because of the smoke and dust generated by the burning oil wells, drifting into Saudi territory with the wind, the alliance army had to cancel part of the bombing missions planned for that night.

With smoke and dust obscuring visibility, it’s impossible to accurately bomb ground targets.

Furthermore, the ground troops are also affected.

The alliance army, which was supposed to proceed northward during the night, could only stay within Kuwait to deal with landmines laid by the Iraqi army near the oil wells and attempt to extinguish the fires.

With black smoke covering the sky, visibility is extremely low, and the drifting smoke and dust, after evaporating and rising high into the air, condenses and falls down like rain, the so-called "oil rain," severely impacts the troops, causing a large number of them to be unable to move, naturally precluding any continued offensive.

Additionally, there’s the rescue and relocation of civilians.

Although after being occupied by the Iraqi army, a large number of Kuwaitis managed to flee to Saudi Arabia, there are still over two million Kuwaitis who could not escape.

Now, these Kuwaitis all need assistance.

Just maintaining order is a troublesome task.

According to previous estimates, within half a month after the counterattack, tens of thousands of tons of humanitarian aid materials must be shipped to Kuwait and distributed to the refugees in need of assistance to ensure social stability and timely reconstruction after the war.

Although north of Kuwait City, at the mouth of the two rivers, the Empire’s Marine Corps has successfully landed, there are only two mechanized infantry battalions in total, and they have taken on feigned attack tasks, carrying very little ammunition and supplies. Even if they can launch an attack, it will take a lot of time to prepare.

The ground troops attacking from the south have not been able to advance towards Basra as planned, and it is unclear when they can move towards Basra.

If the situation in Kuwait isn’t controlled, the eastern attack route might have to be abandoned.

Although in Ding Zhennan’s battle plan, the eastern route is also a feigned attack, besides the underpowered Kuwaiti Royal Guard and the equally concerning Saudi Royal Army, as well as the alliance army of Mua Country, the eastern route’s main force is actually an armored brigade from Gaoju Kingdom.

Previously, there was also an armored brigade from Bakistan.

However, after the outbreak of the war, due to concerns for homeland security, especially since Fanluo Country has raised the strategic alert level, Bakistan withdrew this brigade back.

Relying on a single brigade clearly won’t cut it.

But the problem is, the importance of the eastern route attack isn’t low, or rather, it needs to rely on the attack from this side to pin down the Iraqi forces stationed in Basra.

If Iraqi troops can be drawn elsewhere, that would be ideal.

If the eastern route remains stagnant, all operational pressure will fall on the central route, which only has the 5th Marine Division.

Relying on one Marine Division, especially when logistic support might not be able to keep pace, it’s simply impossible to push from Samawa all the way to Basra.

It is for these reasons that after dinner, Ding Zhennan arranged to send a major staff advisor by helicopter to Kuwait City.

Not to convey orders but to oversee the battle.

To instruct the commander of the Gaoju armored brigade to continue advancing north before dawn, to attack Basra according to plan, no matter what.

Of course, Ding Zhennan also made adjustments to the deployment.

He directed the Air Force to mobilize transport planes to deliver a batch of heavy equipment to Kuwait City, arming up the two mechanized infantry battalions tasked with the feigned attack.

Mainly infantry fighting vehicles.

Of course, the officers and soldiers of the mechanized infantry battalion can only drive and operate infantry fighting vehicles, as they lack tank operators, so they wouldn’t be able to handle main battle tanks even if they were given to them.

By providing equipment, they are making the Marine Corps battalion reach the combat power level of an Army mechanized infantry battalion.

Even though Army infantry fighting vehicles differ somewhat from the Marine Corps’ amphibious vehicles, in terms of operation, the Marine Corps officers won’t have trouble controlling them. The key is that both infantry fighting vehicles and amphibious vehicles use 30-millimeter machine guns, and the targeting and fire control systems are fundamentally similar.

Following this, these 2 battalions will attack north together with the Gaoju armored brigade, to solve the problem of the lack of mechanized infantry cover for the Gaoju armored brigade.

Clearly, they will definitely arrive before the attack on Basra.

After making arrangements, Ding Zhennan also left King Khalid Military City, boarding an observation plane heading for Samawa.

Clearly, Ding Zhennan isn’t placing his hopes on the eastern route.

Fundamentally, it’s because he doesn’t trust that armored brigade.

While outsiders might understand Gaoju Kingdom as the second most powerful entity within the Eastern Group after Liangxia Empire, the Empire’s soldiers do not have high expectations for the combat capability of the Gaoju Royal Army, or rather, they don’t anticipate receiving help from Gaoju’s forces.

The reason is simple; during the Boi War, the performance of the Gaoju Royal Army speaks volumes.

In this war, which lasted more than a decade, Gaoju Kingdom dispatched around 200,000 officers and soldiers in total, with casualties exceeding 50,000.

Very heavy, yet the results achieved were not proportional.

The most representative battle occurred at Abbas Port.

At that time, two Infantry Divisions from Gaoju Kingdom defended the port, totaling nearly 30,000 troops, and could obtain ample ammunition and supplies via sea transport, also with fleet support. The result? Gaoju forces were defeated by enemies lacking heavy weapons after less than a month.

Eventually, under the cover of the Empire’s Navy, they retreated via sea transport.

The scene of the retreat was an utter disaster!

Because of organizational issues, a batch of wounded couldn’t be evacuated, all ended up captured by the enemy, and after more than a decade, they returned to Gaoju Kingdom through a neutral third party. Gaoju Kingdom adapted this incident into a TV drama a few years ago, celebrating the indomitable spirit of Gaoju soldiers. What’s more fascinating is, this drama is not only popular in Gaoju Kingdom but also widely received in other countries.

The drama even has a catchy name: Sun’s Descendants.

In losing Abbas Port, the sea routes in and out of Boss Bay were threatened, making it impossible for the Empire to maintain tens of thousands of combat troops.

After persevering for more than a year and losing numerous ships, the Empire had to withdraw from Boi Country.

Simply put, the Gaoju forces managing not to hinder would already be decent.

Of course, the Gaoju forces’ equipment level is top-notch.

Thanks to their amicable relations with Liangxia Empire, Gaoju Kingdom can acquire new weapons at the earliest, with virtually no import restrictions. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Gaoju Kingdom relies heavily on relatively strong military forces to maintain their deputy leader status within the Eastern Group.

In other aspects, Gaoju Kingdom isn’t that remarkable.

For instance, their population totals less than 75 million, while Saiyi Imperial Kingdom has already exceeded 100 million, and Bakistan surpassed 200 million a few years ago.

When it comes to land area, natural resources, and strategic geography, Gaoju Kingdom isn’t prominent.

Even the industrial standards they once prided themselves on have been surpassed, with Saiyi Imperial Kingdom rapidly growing after the war and East Luosha’s ever-changing waves of modern development, Gaoju Kingdom has fallen behind, barely ranking fourth within the group, and it’s certain Bakistan will overtake them soon. If Ao Country is included, Gaoju Kingdom’s comprehensive strength would rank even lower within the group.

Frankly speaking, Ding Zhennan doesn’t hold a favorable impression of the Gaoju forces.

It’s not just him, rather, all soldiers of the Empire somewhat look down on Gaoju Kingdom and their royal forces.

It is precisely for these reasons that he came to the front lines.

If the Gaoju forces aren’t reliable, then all hope must be placed on the 5th Marine Division to see if they can speed up their assault on the central line.