157: Chapter 157 Launching the Attack Ahead of Schedule

However, plans could not keep up with the changes.

Just as Major General Zaha received the order to launch an offensive on the morning eight days later, the two military bases, Seychelles Military Base and Sola Military Base, were subjected to powerful airstrikes by the USA.

After discovering the anti-aircraft missile positions at the Seychelles Military Base, Major General Hunter immediately reported to Lieutenant General Green. Lieutenant General Green ordered the few F-35 Fighter Jets at the Hera Joint Military Base to scramble and immediately destroy the anti-aircraft missile positions at the Seychelles Military Base.

Because the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile equipped on the F-35 Fighter Jet has a maximum strike range of 500 kilometers, far exceeding the maximum operational range of the Tianlei Type VI Anti-Aircraft Missile equipped at the Seychelles Military Base, the missiles were destroyed by the F-35 Fighter Jet before they could even be launched.

Seeing that the anti-aircraft missile positions at the Seychelles Military Base had been destroyed, Major General Hunter immediately deployed F-16 Fighter Jet and F-15 Eagle fighter jet units to follow up with bombing runs. Although the Seychelles Military Base still possessed some Type II and Type III Tianlei series anti-aircraft missiles, they were fundamentally unable to stop the USA's airstrikes.

An exceptionally brutal bombing campaign was launched under Major General Hunter's venting order.

Major General Hunter had been annoyed for a long time about not having destroyed the large military bases of Syria, and having found an outlet for his frustration, he ordered the air squadron to swarm in and begin bombing.

In the end, the Seychelles Military Base was completely destroyed, resulting in significant casualties and property damage.

Upon receiving the news, Major General Zaha was so shocked that he was speechless.

This was not the only piece of bad news; the Sola Military Base, with Major General Hunter repeating his old tricks, was similarly subjected to bombing by the USA, with the final tragic state comparable to that of the Seychelles Military Base.

Seeing such situations happen twice in a row, Major General Zaha could no longer sit still. He hurriedly reported to General Faraj, hoping to launch an attack on the USA and the Opposition Armed Forces it supported early. Even though the army had not yet completed its reorganization, it could not be delayed any longer.

No one knew which military base the USA would target next; if they waited until then to start bombing, the losses would only continue to mount.

If it were before, with the Syrian army lacking weapons and equipment, they could only watch helplessly, but now that they had weapons and equipment, there was no need to remain indifferent.

General Faraj looked at the material on the damage to the Seychelles Military Base and Sola Military Base provided by Major General Zaha and asked Major General Zaha on the other end of the phone, "After these few days, how is the reorganization of your army proceeding?"

Major General Zaha replied quickly, "There are still four reserve mechanized infantry brigades that have not finished reorganization, but all other units have completed it today."

General Faraj continued to ask, "How is the mobilization and replenishment of weapons and ammunition going?"

Major General Zaha considered for a moment and said, "If we need to be fully replenished, it will take another day, but we can replenish while attacking, which will not affect the battle."

Upon learning that Major General Zaha was basically prepared, General Faraj said without hesitation, "You are to launch the attack early according to the original operation plan. Your forces will be the first to initiate the battle, and troops from other directions will follow closely into the fight. The attack time is set for 10 o'clock tonight. You must first clear out the strongholds of the Opposition Armed Forces supported by the USA."

In any case, the army in the northeastern region of Syria would launch the attack first, while the armies in other directions would focus on defense for the time being. Depending on the results of Major General Zaha's offensive, they would decide whether or not to rapidly expand the scale of the war.

Major General Zaha had already mobilized the troops and weapons, so there was no problem with him launching the attack three days early. The only issue was a slight lack of ammunition, which could be replenished subsequently without affecting the conduct of the battle.

Upon hearing this, Major General Zaha immediately said, "Yes, General."

After ending the call with General Faraj, Major General Zaha immediately ordered each mechanized infantry brigade to begin moving to the designated locations and, with the cooperation of the air defense battalion, to prepare for potential airstrikes by the USA.

General Faraj also conveyed the news of the early attack time to the army commanders in other directions, and at the same time, he contacted Major General Rahim at the Glass House to inform him of Syria's operation plan to launch the attack early.

Although Major General Rahim did not quite approve of General Faraj's approach, upon learning that General Faraj had already issued the orders to all units, he did not say anything more, only indicating that he would cooperate with the Syrian army's operations as much as possible.

In fact, the primary mission of the Glass House army was defensive operations, and they would not take the initiative to launch an attack unless the Syrian army's offensive did not go smoothly and they requested support from the Glass House army, at which point they would proactively participate in the attack.

As for launching the attack early, it had no major impact on the Glass House army; at most, it just meant they had to accelerate their preparation rhythm for the next few days and be ready to enter the battle at any time.

Major General Zaha was very nervous as he watched one mechanized infantry brigade after another begin to depart from their assembly points and rush to their respective battlefields. They had prepared so many weapons and equipment and had been training for some time; now was the time to see the results of their efforts.

Baiershem was a small city, where a small number of Opposition Armed Forces troops were entrenched.

After a mechanized infantry brigade departing from the Seychelles Military Base arrived, it immediately began to surround Baiershem, and subsequently, without attempting to persuade them to surrender, it launched the attack directly.

At the command of the brigade commander, the Fierce Lion series Artillery immediately began shelling the various strongholds and facilities occupied by the Opposition Armed Forces. In just over ten minutes of shelling, the strongholds of the Opposition Armed Forces were riddled with holes.

Subsequently, under the cover of the Fierce Rhino series Tank, the Fierce Tiger series Armored Vehicle slowly advanced into the city.

Whenever they encountered fortifications of the Opposition Armed Forces that had not been destroyed, the Fierce Rhino series Tank immediately fired shells to attack them.

For some less sturdy fortifications, the Fierce Tiger series Armored Vehicle also fired shells to bomb them.

Sometimes, when armored vehicles did not follow up, some soldiers would directly use the Sky Arrow series anti-tank missiles to attack the positions temporarily constructed by the Opposition Armed Forces.

Occasionally, the attack results were not ideal, but for the most part, they were able to achieve their objectives.

As more and more Fierce Rhino series Tank and Fierce Tiger series Armored Vehicle units entered the city, constantly splitting, surrounding, and annihilating the Opposition Armed Forces, in just two hours, they had compressed the Opposition Armed Forces in the city into a single building.

At this moment, seeing that the Opposition Armed Forces no longer had the confidence to resist, the battalion commander on the front line shouted, demanding that the personnel of the Opposition Armed Forces inside the building surrender unconditionally.

However, he did not receive a positive response, and after the brigade commander received the news, he directly ordered the final attack to be launched.

As officers and soldiers kept entering the building, the last resisting personnel of the Opposition Armed Forces quickly lost their combat capability and were completely wiped out.

This battle was just a small-scale engagement; it took less than three hours to complete the occupation of Baiershem.

The brigade commander immediately ordered the troops to begin a search for any remaining personnel of the Opposition Armed Forces in the city to avoid any fish slipping through the net.