159: Chapter 159 The Battle for Dairo

Major General Zaha did not halt his offensive pace, continuing large-scale shelling while armored vehicles were quickly deployed to the battlefield to clear the towns occupied by the Opposition Armed Forces.

Fifteen Mechanized Infantry Brigades and three Artillery Brigades participated in the battle one after another. At the peak, fifteen brigades were engaged in combat simultaneously. The Drone Battalion also operated at full capacity, providing intelligence support or bombing coverage for the Mechanized Infantry Brigades at all times.

Two Reserve Mechanized Infantry Brigades began entering the battlefield to take over the occupied areas, conducting sweeps for remnants of the Opposition Armed Forces, arresting traitors who served the USA's invasion, and eliminating hidden threats in the rear.

Under the powerful assault of the Mechanized Infantry Brigades, the defenses of many Opposition Armed Forces were precarious; unable to organize any effective defense, they could only flee quickly under the shelling to avoid being completely annihilated.

Dairo was a major stronghold for the Opposition Armed Forces. There were over 10,000 of their personnel in Dairo, and after the Syrian Army launched its offensive, they rushed to repair many fortifications, hoping to use them to block the Syrian Army's advance.

Three Mechanized Infantry Brigades were responsible for the attack on Dairo. After receiving their orders, the three Brigade Commanders formulated a combat plan based on reconnaissance, deciding to advance jointly from the east, south, and west to drive the Opposition Armed Forces out of Dairo and then launch a pursuit.

When the time for the attack arrived, the Brigade Commander in charge of the eastern assault immediately ordered two Self-Propelled Artillery Battalions to begin precision shelling of the enemy's eastern fortifications, continuously extending the bombardment into their positions. Twenty-five Fierce Lion series Artillery pieces fired over 800 shells in less than two hours, completely silencing the enemy positions.

Subsequently, 30 Fierce Rhino series Tanks and 60 Fierce Tiger series Armored Vehicles began a slow advance under mutual cover, clearing the remaining enemies from the positions. Under the precision fire of tank and armored vehicle shells, the Opposition Armed Forces personnel still putting up a desperate struggle were blown to pieces.

Due to the continuous offensive, the Opposition Armed Forces' defensive lines were forced to retreat step by step, eventually being compressed into a cluster of buildings in the city. The Brigade Commander found the struggle for the buildings a headache but still had to dispatch troops to occupy them floor by floor.

At this point, Man-Portable Air-Defense Missiles and Anti-Tank Missiles had to be used to fire at the temporary positions where the enemy was dug in. Although the cost was high, it was a necessary choice as there were no other suitable weapons.

After all, armored vehicles cannot climb buildings to attack and can only provide fire cover. Since there are always gaps in the cover, other heavy weapons were needed to destroy the enemy's building fortifications.

This kind of struggle is often the most intense, and the speed of advancement is slow. After three days of fighting, the three Mechanized Infantry Brigades had only occupied one-third of the streets in Dairo, with many still held by the Opposition Armed Forces.

To completely occupy Dairo at the current speed would take a week. Fortunately, the Brigade Commander had considered the possibility of reinforcements and deployed over 800 troops to set up a blockade, preventing reinforcement supplies from entering the city.

The Opposition Armed Forces in Dairo requested emergency support from the USA. Major General Hunter sent five F-16 Fighter Jets to bomb the Syrian Army in Dairo. However, deterred by the Tianlei Series Anti-Aircraft Missiles of the three Air Defense Battalions, and after losing one F-16 Fighter Jet, Major General Hunter had to abandon aerial support and ignored further requests from the Opposition Armed Forces in Dairo.

As the battle in Dairo intensified, the personnel losses of the Opposition Armed Forces grew. Over 3,000 were lost in the first three days, with numbers increasing by three to four hundred daily thereafter. The number of wounded also surged, and many who weren't treated in time soon became fatalities.

This made the leaders of the Opposition Armed Forces in Dairo unable to remain calm. If this continued, their internal ranks would collapse before the Syrian Army even reached them. After discussion, they concluded they couldn't hold Dairo and would be completely overrun within five days.

The question before them was the future of their forces: whether to hold out until total annihilation or to seize the chance to flee Dairo now.

After discussion, they decided to hold for two more days to see if the Syrian Army's offensive would weaken. If the attack lost momentum, they would stay; if the intensity remained high, they would prepare to evacuate.

However, the Syrian Army soon shattered the dreams of the Opposition Armed Forces' leaders in Dairo. Major General Zaha deployed another Mechanized Infantry Brigade into the fray, causing the intensity of the offensive to spike and leaving the Opposition Armed Forces stunned.

Seeing this, the Opposition Armed Forces were forced to evacuate early. After arranging for a rear guard, they used the cover of night to retreat through streets not yet occupied by the Syrian Army, gathering briefly before fleeing.

By then, the original force of over 10,000 in Dairo had dropped to fewer than 2,000. Many were lightly wounded, while the seriously injured and those with mobility issues were assigned as the rear guard to cover the evacuation.

The Syrian Brigade Commander noticed the significant drop in defensive fire and immediately sensed something was wrong, ordering reconnaissance. They soon found that the number of defenders had drastically decreased.

This change alerted the Brigade Commander that the Opposition Armed Forces were fleeing. He contacted the other Brigade Commanders, and they concluded that an evacuation was indeed underway.

After a brief coordination, two Mechanized Infantry Brigades remained to besiege the remaining forces in the city, while two others deployed tanks and armored vehicles for pursuit, with additional armored vehicles drawn from the besieging units to assist.

Once tasks were assigned, 60 Fierce Rhino series Tanks and 150 Fierce Tiger series Armored Vehicles set off in pursuit. Since many vehicles had been destroyed or were awaiting repair, only this number could be spared.

The Mechanized Infantry Brigades besieging Dairo also stepped up their offensive. With the resistance weakened, it was the perfect time to strike.