Empire Conquest-Chapter 913 - 126: Enemy Reprisal_2

No matter what, on the south bank of the Euphrates River, there is only one reinforced mechanized infantry battalion.

Even if the formation is made large, the troops are just that minuscule; if it were a frontal assault, it definitely couldn’t capture the big bridge.

After waiting for about ten minutes, they finally received the processed radar imaging photos.

Because they needed to perform post-processing, such as making the images clearer and adding annotations that everyone could understand, it was delayed by more than ten minutes.

The battle had already begun, but the situation wasn’t as bad as imagined.

At the southern end of the bridge, outside the bridgehead, five armored reconnaissance vehicles were neatly placed. Although the specific situation couldn’t be seen, the information annotated afterward mentioned that these five armored reconnaissance vehicles had all been destroyed, the leading one being destroyed by an anti-tank missile.

The three special forces squads tasked with taking the bridge each carried a set of individual anti-tank missiles.

Because they are light anti-tank missiles, their range is not very far, within 1500 meters, but they are undoubtedly more than enough to deal with armored reconnaissance vehicles.

The main battlefield is on the north bank of the bridge.

After the battle on the south bank had started, the Iraqi troops in the north bank barracks immediately took action, dispatching a platoon-sized unit.

Unfortunately, as soon as they left the barracks, they were ambushed.

The squad of special soldiers ambushed outside the barracks caught the enemy off guard.

Although the Iraqi troops didn’t suffer much in terms of casualties during the brief exchange of fire, after having their morale dampened, they had to retreat back to the barracks.

The key point is, the Euphrates River Bridge remained intact!

In other words, the special forces timely dismantled the explosives on the bridge, at least removing the detonation devices; otherwise, the Iraqi troops would undoubtedly have blown up the bridge after the battle began.

For this reason, Ding Zhennan breathed a quiet sigh of relief after seeing the photos.

As long as the bridge is still there, everything will be negotiable.

Moreover, the special forces have already crippled the fighting spirit of the Iraqi troops. Even if they were to immediately organize an offensive, it would take at least half an hour. By that time, the air assault forces responsible for reinforcement will have arrived to assist the special troops in securing the bridgehead position.

As long as nothing unexpected happens, the mechanized infantry battalion advancing on the south bank will arrive in about an hour.

No matter how well the Iraqi troops can fight, even if the officers and soldiers all fight to the death, they cannot retake the Euphrates River Bridge within an hour!

However, before Ding Zhennan could rejoice, the communications advisor brought the latest news.

Northwest of Samawa, approximately 80 kilometers southeast of Sinafiye, the helicopter group of the air assault forces was ambushed on the north bank of the Euphrates River, with five general-purpose helicopters shot down by small-caliber high-altitude guns or man-portable air-defense systems, and three more helicopters damaged.

Although the accompanying armed helicopters immediately launched a reprisal and eliminated the enemies ambushing the helicopter group, due to the heavy losses suffered by the assault force and the unclear front-line situation, the 17th Armored Division had already ordered the assault force to return and reorganize before reinforcing the special forces again.

This hassle would delay them by at least three hours!

Ding Zhennan didn’t think much and immediately called Fu Weimin.

After understanding the situation, specifically whether the air assault forces could continue fighting, Ding Zhennan directly ordered Fu Weimin to immediately dispatch the second air assault force, ensuring air support would be arranged in advance to suppress enemies near the helicopter flight path.

Subsequently, Ding Zhennan instructed the staff to adjust the airstrike operations.

Though Fu Weimin promptly made arrangements for the second air assault force to depart immediately upon readiness, the delayed time couldn’t be recovered; even if everything went smoothly, it would take over an hour for the second air assault force to arrive.

As the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly.

After dealing with the air assault forces, the battlefield situation changed again.

Around 6:15, about 15 minutes after the first platoon was repelled outside the barracks, the Iraqi forces launched a counterattack again. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

This time, a full infantry battalion was deployed.

Along with more than a dozen armored vehicles.

According to feedback from the special forces, it turns out the Iraqi troops were utilizing armed vehicles — mainly pick-up trucks reinforced with steel plates and mounted with heavy machine guns, incomparable to real armored vehicles — but these vehicles provided fire support from the rear with heavy machine guns for the infantry.

The infantry division stationed at Sinafiye was a second-line unit, lacking even sufficient transport trucks for infantry, let alone tanks and combat vehicles. Finding some serviceable pickups and outfitting them with heavy machine guns to be converted into combat vehicles was already quite good.

Under the suppression of more than a dozen heavy machine guns, special soldiers couldn’t return fire.

While reporting the battle situation, Lei Zhenting also called for fire support.

According to him, just destroying those armed pickups would allow them to repel the enemy’s infantry!

At this point, Ding Zhennan only learned from the staff that the 17313th battalion, advancing on the south bank of the Euphrates, was still 20 kilometers downstream.

This distance exceeds the maximum range of a 120-millimeter mortar!

In fact, the accuracy of a mortar at maximum range cannot guarantee the destruction of enemy armed pickups.

To achieve optimal precision, it’s best to keep the mortar’s range within 10 kilometers.

Fortunately, when adjusting airstrike operations, the responsible staff had already dispatched a squadron of "Attack-6F" to stand by near Sinafiye.

There were only four aircraft, but each "Attack-6F" was armed with six 250-kilogram bombs and two rocket launch nests, able to strafe ground targets with a 30-millimeter machine gun if necessary.

Dealing with more than a dozen armed pickups should be more than sufficient.

However, these attack aircraft were expected to arrive around 6:25.

Could the special forces hold out for 10 minutes?

Strictly speaking, they didn’t have 10 minutes.

The Iraqi forces need about five minutes to reach the northern bridgehead from the barracks. If they encounter resistance, it will take even longer.

There’s every reason to believe the special soldiers would make full use of every advantageous condition.

Therefore, Ding Zhennan remained calm throughout.

Being anxious is useless!

Just before 6:25, Ding Zhennan asked the air combat staff whether the Sea Air’s "Attack-6F" squad had arrived.

Three minutes later, they received a message from the front.

Following the airstrike, more than a dozen armed pickups were destroyed. After losing suppression fire, the Iraqi forces had abandoned their assault action.

However, the special forces also suffered considerable casualties.

Several special soldiers were killed, and the others, including Lei Zhenting, were all wounded.

The crucial point remained the reinforcement troops.

Despite the bombing, where the Iraqi forces suffered heavy casualties, over 300 officers and soldiers were killed or injured, there’s no guarantee they’ll cease their counteroffensive actions.

Moreover, the four "Attack-6F" flew off after dropping their bombs!

It’s not that they ran out of ammunition; they just had insufficient fuel left, and there were no refueling aircraft at the frontline, so they couldn’t refuel the attack aircraft in mid-air.

The next batch of attack aircraft wouldn’t arrive for at least 30 minutes.

We mustn’t forget that Ding Zhennan had previously adjusted the airstrike routes to sweep the air assault forces’ flight paths.

Thus, as long as the Iraqi command realizes that the Alliance Army cannot carry out airstrikes temporarily, they will undoubtedly initiate a third counterattack.

Furthermore, they will employ all available forces!

If they fail to retake the bridge, even withdrawing will turn them into cannon fodder.

During the Iran-Iraq War, Hussein showed no mercy to those commanders who fled from fear of death.

As long as there is even a slight hope, the Iraqi forces will launch a counterattack, striving to retake the bridge before the main Alliance Army forces arrive. Failing that, they will try to blow up the bridge to prevent the Alliance Army’s assault troops from advancing simultaneously from north and south of the Euphrates.

At this juncture, Ding Zhennan’s tactical command prowess became apparent.

At 6:30, he issued a command for the Sea Air to urgently dispatch a squadron of "Attack-5H" to stand by near Sinafiye, more precisely, near the battle zone.

Then he issued the second order.

Detach a company from the 7th Armored Division, transported by 12 general-purpose helicopters, with four armed helicopters providing cover, to rapidly reinforce Sinafiye.

At that time, many staff members couldn’t understand.

The first order was understandable; after all, air support was what the special forces needed most.

But could the air assault troops from the 7th Armored Division arrive in time?

If not, what’s the point of sending them?

Ding Zhennan didn’t provide an explanation, nor did he need to explain his combat intentions to his subordinate staff.