163: Chapter 163 Holding Back the US Army at All Costs

Two mechanized infantry brigades of the Syria army in Mayadin were resting. Since they had just finished fighting the Opposition Armed Forces, their current combat readiness was somewhat affected.

When the USA air force commanded by Major General Hunter conducted airstrikes on Mayadin, the Syria army organized a counterattack, but many of their anti-aircraft missile positions were still destroyed, creating significant gaps in their air defense.

During the subsequent bombing by the USA's F-16 Fighter Jet and F-15 Eagle fighter jet, some armored vehicles of the Syria army failed to take cover in time and became targets, suffering heavy losses that made the brigade commander's heart bleed.

These armored vehicles had been hard to come by; some were already lost during the offensive on Mayadin, and now with more losses, the entire mechanized infantry brigade had lost more than a third of its armored vehicles.

After the air force led by Major General Hunter watched Mayadin turn into ruins and departed with satisfaction, the joint forces led by Colonel Wall began their offensive.

Under the cover of helicopters and drones, the armored vehicles gradually approached Mayadin. The Syria army troops rushed out of their hidden fortifications into position, and upon seeing the advancing USA army, they knew a fierce battle was imminent.

The battle began with a contest between the anti-aircraft missile units and the helicopters. After the remaining "Tianlei" series Type I and Type II anti-aircraft missiles were launched, two USA helicopters were directly hit.

However, this was immediately followed by drone and helicopter attacks on the anti-aircraft missile positions. Many anti-aircraft missiles were struck by missiles fired from helicopters, blowing both the equipment and the soldiers away.

The following USA armored vehicles began shelling the discovered Syria fortifications, and the Syria army utilized "Sky Arrow" anti-tank missiles to attack the incoming armored vehicles.

In an instant, both USA armored vehicles were hit and anti-tank missiles were destroyed. The battle between the two sides immediately entered a white-hot state.

Colonel Wall, seeing that the Syria army in Mayadin still had the capacity to resist, ordered his troops to step up the attack and break through the positions as quickly as possible, giving the Syria army no time to react.

Seeing the aggressive USA army, the brigade commander, in addition to ordering strengthened defenses, immediately reported the news of the USA attack on Mayadin to Major General Zaha.

Although he did not know how many troops the USA had sent to attack, judging from the ongoing battle, the number was certainly not small. Given the current strength of the mechanized infantry brigade, it was difficult to encircle and annihilate the invading enemy. He had no choice but to ask Major General Zaha to send reinforcements.

After receiving the news, Major General Zaha quickly checked the map. Looking at Mayadin under attack by the USA, he estimated the USA's troop strength; it was likely the USA's main force. After all, if they could force two mechanized infantry brigade commanders to request reinforcements, the attacking force could not be small.

Major General Zaha had anticipated an offensive from the USA, but he had not expected it to be at Mayadin. Now, the question of whether to reinforce Mayadin in time and how many troops to send was before Major General Zaha.

Looking at the frontline's description of the USA's troop strength, which claimed a scale of over several thousand, Major General Zaha did not believe it. Frontlines often had situations of double-counting enemies, and there was no way to get an accurate number; these reports could not be fully trusted.

However, judging from these reports, it was likely correct that the USA had sent at least a thousand troops. Major General Zaha was considering whether to annihilate this USA force. If this force were annihilated, the USA's troop strength in Syria would be severely insufficient.

When attacking the USA military bases in the future, they would face less defense from USA officers and soldiers. After consideration, Major General Zaha decided to put effort into encircling the USA forces that dared to attack Mayadin and completely annihilate the invading USA army.

Without further hesitation, Major General Zaha mobilized five under-strength mechanized infantry brigades from several directions to end their rest immediately and rush to Mayadin. He aimed to implement a large encirclement before the USA discovered it and completely trap the invading USA army.

Just as the five mechanized infantry brigades received orders and prepared to depart, the two mechanized infantry brigade commanders in Mayadin also received orders to stall the USA army at all costs; they were neither to let the USA quickly defeat the army in Mayadin nor to allow the USA army to divert troops for defense.

Looking at this order, the brigade commander had a headache. After the USA army's offensive, the mechanized infantry brigade had already suffered significant losses. If they continued to stall the USA army at all costs, by the end of the battle, they might not even be able to preserve half of their troops.

However, facing such an order, the brigade commander dared not disobey. In the end, he could only pass the order down to each battalion, requiring them to fight the USA flexibly and actively, continue to defend where necessary, and seize any opportunity for counterattacks. The goal was to keep the USA continuously attacking, so they would have no energy to pay attention to other changes on the battlefield.

With both sides attacking each other, there were sounds of battle everywhere in Mayadin, including various artillery, tanks, and machine guns; there was basically not a moment of quiet.

Colonel Wall, seeing that Mayadin had not yet been taken, and that he had not broken through to the core of the Syria army to carry out a decapitation strike, was very anxious. If the offensive continued like this, the USA officers and soldiers would soon lose their combat capability, and if the Syria army received reinforcements, the situation would become unfavorable for the USA.

After much consideration, he reported to Lieutenant General Green, requesting that the Opposition Armed Forces enter the battlefield early. They could not wait any longer; otherwise, it would not be a matter of finishing the operation, but rather whether there would even be an operation left to finish.

After receiving the news, Lieutenant General Green checked the time; a long time had passed since the estimated time for decapitating the Syria army officers, but the mission was still not completed. At this moment, Lieutenant General Green felt a trace of unease.

So much time had passed, and the USA army was still attacking in Mayadin; if the Syria army seized the opportunity to encircle them, it would be very disadvantageous for the USA army.

Lieutenant General Green immediately ordered the leader Tara to have all the Opposition Armed Forces in the north of Mayadin march toward Mayadin to cooperate with the USA army to take Mayadin as soon as possible.

After receiving the order, the leader Tara was somewhat worried that he had to let the Opposition Armed Forces enter the battlefield early. But he dared not disobey Lieutenant General Green's order, so he quickly ordered the Opposition Armed Forces to set out, ensuring they would rendezvous with the USA army as soon as possible and take back Mayadin.