Empire Conquest-Chapter 914 - 127: Seizing the Bridge

The fierce battle continued past 10 o’clock.

The first to arrive was not the second air assault force dispatched by the 17th Armored Division, nor the 17313 Mechanized Infantry Battalion advancing on the south bank of the Euphrates, nor the 171st Armored Brigade and the 177th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, but an infantry company from the 7th Armored Division, rushing from Nuhayb.

This battle clearly demonstrated one issue: the morale of the Iraqi army had not yet deteriorated to the point of complete collapse.

Downstream at Sinafiye, the Iraqi army was already well-prepared.

According to prisoners of war, after the Alliance Army forced a crossing at the Euphrates in Samawa, Major General Hawani, defending Sinafiye, had drawn several infantry battalions to set up a tiered defense on the north bank downstream. To avoid detection by the Alliance Army, these units operated at night and dispersed immediately upon reaching the defensive zone.

The key factor was that these were all infantry units.

Even though they lacked main battle equipment, especially tanks and armored vehicles, the infantry units’ combat strength was not strong. However, relatively speaking, the infantry units’ concealment was very effective.

Even if exposed, they might not be subjected to an attack.

Despite the technical prowess of the Alliance Army, they couldn’t distinguish between troops moving in large groups and refugees fleeing in clusters.

Furthermore, having fought for 8 years during the Iran-Iraq War, at least 500,000 firearms had fallen into civilian hands, mostly scattered south of Baghdad.

During the battle to take Basra, many armed civilians were encountered.

The key point was that the Boss Bay War had not yet developed to the extent of firing on refugees.

Additionally, after entering deployment status, the officers and soldiers of these units rarely ventured out, mostly hiding inside buildings.

As a result, until the battle to advance on Sinafiye commenced, the Alliance Army had not discovered these Iraqi forces secretly deployed on the north bank of the Euphrates.

After the first air assault force encountered setbacks, both the Alliance Headquarter and the 17th Armored Division failed to elevate their alertness.

At the time, including Fu Weimin, it was believed that they were merely defeated troops scattered on the north bank of the Euphrates from earlier battles.

When the second air assault force was again blocked, Major General Fu Weimin of the 17th Armored Division realized the trouble and subsequently ordered to abandon the assault.

By then, it was already past 7 o’clock.

Even though the 17th Armored Division had several reserve teams ready for combat and could be deployed at any time, facing such a complicated battlefield situation, however brave the officers and soldiers of the grassroots units might be, Fu Weimin would not send his men to their deaths, much less for a meaningless sacrifice.

In the situation at the time, even if the 17th Armored Division sent a third air assault force, they would not make it to Sinafiye.

On the south bank of the Euphrates, the 17313 Mechanized Infantry Battalion also encountered trouble.

What stopped the advance of the 17313 Mechanized Infantry Battalion was not the Iraqi army, but a large field of mines!

Knowing that the Euphrates bridge couldn’t be held, Major General Hawani did not deploy defense units on the south bank during the deployment but instead used tens of thousands of landmines to set up more than 10 minefields along the south bank road, at least a third of which were anti-tank mines.

One could say that the Iraqi army was never short of landmines!

According to incomplete statistics, during the Iran-Iraq War, more than a million landmines were used by both sides!

Now, the southern part of Iraq and the border area of the Lowland Province in the Boi Country have become death zones, with hundreds of thousands of landmines buried.

During the Iran-Iraq War, Iraq spent billions of Gold Yuan importing a large number of mines.

Additionally, they have produced even more mines independently.

Imported mainly were anti-tank mines that Iraq couldn’t produce, used in cluster bombs or spread through rocket fire as small-scale mines.

As for independent production, it’s actually modification, mostly done by frontline combat units.

The most common modification was fitting artillery shells with pressure or pull detonators, then buried by engineers, usually at crucial traffic points or the frontline of positions.

Because they were easy to modify and very simple to deploy, requiring no specific caliber for the shells—ranging from the 203mm howitzer to the 60mm mortar shells—they saw extensive use in the battlefield, making it impossible to count their exact number.

As such, no one knows exactly how many landmines the Iraqi army possesses.

Of course, the power of the mines cannot be underestimated.

During the Iran-Iraq War, mine casualties reached 300,000, second only to artillery fire!

There’s no need to elaborate on anti-personnel mines—whoever steps on one, even if not killed, will spend the rest of their life in a wheelchair.

The crucial point is the anti-tank mines.

According to information from the Military Intelligence Bureau, during the 8-year Iran-Iraq War, Saddam Hussein’s regime procured about 300,000 anti-tank mines in several batches from the Tiaoman Empire and West Luosha, and used only 30% by the end of the war, with over 200,000 stored away.

These anti-tank mines are all lethal weapons!

Do not forget, the Tiaoman Empire and West Luosha face the Eastern Group directly, and even if they maintain an offensive stance, they cannot hope to thoroughly defeat the Liangxia Empire. Eventually, they’ll have to shift from offense to defense, standing firm against the steel torrent of the Eastern Group during the strategic defense phase.

The key is that the West Continent Group certainly must abandon initiative only when they can no longer advance.

That means, in the strategic defense phase, the armored strength of the West Continent Group would inevitably dwindle, with no expectation to rely on armored forces to hold the line.