156: Chapter 156 The Time for Launching the Attack is Determined

General Faraj noticed the unusual situation in northern Syria. While strongly supporting Major General Zaha's deployment, he ordered the armies in other directions to accelerate their reorganization and prepare for war as quickly as possible.

Since the purchased weapons and equipment had all arrived, all the troops could now be fully armed. Even the reserve forces were allocated a significant amount of weaponry and equipment.

This gave General Faraj considerable peace of mind. However, having equipment did not equate to an immediate boost in combat effectiveness, so the reorganization work continued at a high speed. Nevertheless, Major General Zaha's reorganization efforts suffered some delays due to the impact of the USA's airstrikes.

General Faraj had no choice but to summon Major General Zaha to Damascus to inquire about the progress of his combat preparations, so that timely adjustments could be made to the relevant work.

"How many units have you completed the reorganization for?" General Faraj asked, getting straight to the point.

Major General Zaha did a mental calculation and said, "I planned to form 15 mechanized infantry brigades, 3 artillery brigades, 5 drone battalions, and 10 reserve mechanized infantry brigades. Currently, 10 mechanized infantry brigades, 3 artillery brigades, 5 drone battalions, and 6 reserve mechanized infantry brigades have completed reorganization. There are still 5 mechanized infantry brigades and 4 reserve mechanized infantry brigades that have not yet finished their final reorganization."

With five mechanized infantry brigades still unfinished, the number was somewhat high. General Faraj pressed further, "How much longer will it take for these units to complete their reorganization?"

Major General Zaha considered it for a moment and said, "The five mechanized infantry brigades will need at least five days, while the four reserve infantry brigades will take about ten days. This is mainly because the recruited soldiers have only been in place for less than twenty days and need time to re-familiarize themselves with various weapons and equipment."

Five days wasn't long. General Faraj asked, "Can you launch an attack immediately in five days?"

"No. It will take at least an additional three days to complete the movement of forces and the mobilization and replenishment of weapons and ammunition. That is to say, it will take at least eight days before we can launch an attack." Major General Zaha extended the time as much as possible to ensure more thorough preparation.

"Eight days?" General Faraj repeated. He then said, "We need to coordinate the timing. You must wait for my command. Once I issue the combat order, you must launch the attack immediately. No delays are permitted."

"Yes, General," Major General Zaha replied.

"What is the status of your ammunition replenishment? Do you need more?" General Faraj inquired.

"Supplies are currently sufficient, but we don't know what the ammunition consumption will be like once the war starts. If it's consumed quickly, I suggest negotiating with the arms dealers to place orders for procurement as soon as possible." Major General Zaha did not dare to claim they had no shortage of ammunition.

No one knew how intense the fighting would be once the war began. If the intensity was low, the existing ammunition could last for a long time. However, if the intensity suddenly spiked, the duration the ammunition could last would decrease sharply, and a shortage would erupt.

General Faraj thought it over and said, "Let's hold off on purchasing ammunition for now. We'll decide after the war starts. If things go smoothly, we'll postpone the purchase; if not, we'll make other plans."

In any case, Syria still had a large sum of procurement funds with the arms dealers that hadn't been used yet. If there was an urgent need for ammunition, they could directly use those funds to negotiate an immediate purchase without affecting front-line operations.

Major General Zaha had no objection to this. He was more worried about whether the USA would mobilize troops to Syria after discovering that Syria was attacking their military bases within the country.

If they mobilized troops to Syria, the pressure he faced would be immense. If the USA's mobilization was slow, Major General Zaha could still handle it; if it was fast, he could not guarantee he would be able to block the USA's counterattack.

After understanding Major General Zaha's troop situation, General Faraj immediately looked into Colonel Urbi's deployment in northwestern Syria.

Twelve mechanized infantry brigades and eight reserve mechanized infantry brigades were deployed in the northwestern direction of Syria. According to Colonel Urbi's report, eight mechanized infantry brigades and three reserve mechanized infantry brigades had completed reorganization. The other units had not yet finished, and the required time for their reorganization was as long as half a month.

General Faraj could only force Colonel Urbi to complete the reorganization within 10 days. If it exceeded 10 days, Colonel Urbi would face punishment from General Faraj; in a serious case, he would be directly transferred away from the Safira Military Base and would no longer be in charge of military affairs in northwestern Syria.

General Faraj was relatively more at ease regarding the reorganization at the Golan Heights. Since it was close to Damascus, he personally oversaw the completion of the reorganization for the 6 mechanized infantry brigades and 3 reserve mechanized infantry brigades there.

Because personnel were replenished in a timely manner, even though the replenishment of weapons and equipment was slightly delayed, it did not affect the progress of the army's reorganization. These nine mechanized infantry brigades had basically finished their reorganization. Only the equipment for the 3 reserve mechanized infantry brigades was slightly weaker, not reaching the maximum required supply of weapons and ammunition.

As for the reorganization of the Damascus army and troops in other regions of Syria, the two mechanized infantry brigades in Damascus had already completed their reorganization. However, three mechanized infantry brigades and two reserve infantry brigades in other regions were still unfinished and would require about 15 days to complete.

General Faraj thoroughly assessed the preparation status of the Syrian Army unit by unit, understanding the progress of the troops in each direction. He urged the army to complete reorganization as quickly as possible and wait for orders to launch an immediate attack.

General Faraj simultaneously communicated with Major General Rahim of the Glass House. The Glass House's 5 heavy armored battalions, 1 heavy tank battalion, 1 heavy armored vehicle battalion, 1 heavy artillery battalion, 1 anti-aircraft battalion, and 10 drone battalions had all completed their reorganization.

According to Major General Rahim, these units were making final preparations. The movement of forces had also been completed, and they were just waiting for the combat time to be determined. They could launch an attack or join the defense immediately without affecting the Syrian Army's combat plans.

General Faraj was very satisfied with this. With the Glass House cooperating so actively, he believed both sides could reach a tacit understanding. When coordinating operations during the war, there would be no communication breakdowns, allowing each to exert their maximum combat capability.

General Faraj also confirmed the final attack time with Major General Rahim, which was to be at dawn in eight days. Major General Zaha's army would be the first to launch the attack, followed by the troops in other directions joining the battle.