165: Chapter 165: Annihilation of over 11,000 enemy troops.

Colonel Wall looked at the more than 400 soldiers who had already died in battle, feeling as if his heart were being cut by a knife. He wasn't heartbroken for the fallen soldiers, but rather for his own position, which he was certain would be lost after this battle.

After all, such heavy casualties were the greatest the USA had suffered in a long time. Colonel Wall could claim he was executing Lieutenant General Green's orders, but as the commander, he bore an inescapable responsibility.

Although the Opposition Armed Forces had joined up with the USA military, Colonel Wall saw that staying here would only increase casualties further, so he directly ordered an immediate breakthrough to retreat.

Just at this moment, the relief force sent by Lieutenant General Green also contacted Colonel Wall, hoping that he would break through as soon as possible so they could rendezvous with him.

After a brief clarification of the operational plan, Colonel Wall immediately ordered the remaining helicopters and drones to provide cover towards the northeast of Mayadin, and all soldiers, supported by the remaining tanks and armored vehicles, quickened their march.

The Syria military quickly discovered this move by the USA, however, troop mobilization could not be completed that quickly. Half of a mechanized infantry brigade stationed in the northeast directly faced the USA military's offensive.

Under the desperate, loss-defying cover of the helicopters and drones, the tanks and armored vehicles finally carved out two breakthrough gaps. But the losses were staggering; only 3 helicopters and drones remained, and only 20 tanks and armored vehicles were left, with massive losses of other weaponry and equipment.

Upon seeing the breached gaps, the Syria military immediately mobilized forces to try and plug them again. However, Colonel Wall did not give the Syria military a chance, and the USA military quickly broke out through the breach.

What Colonel Wall hadn't expected, however, was that the Syria military units rushing from other directions, upon learning that the USA military had broken out, immediately launched a pursuit. They abandoned their artillery and tanks, deploying only armored vehicles to chase in the direction the USA military had fled.

Just as Colonel Wall thought they were temporarily safe, news came from the rear that the Syria military had caught up. Seeing the situation, Colonel Wall immediately ordered the Opposition Armed Forces to stay behind and cover the retreat, prioritizing the withdrawal of the USA military.

Seeing Colonel Wall's order, the Opposition Armed Forces dared not disobey and had to arrange a makeshift defensive line, preparing to scatter and flee in other directions the moment the USA forces left, to avoid being caught by the Syria military.

Just as the pursuing Syria forces thought they were about to encounter the USA military, their path was blocked by the Opposition Armed Forces' makeshift defensive line. The brigade commander was extremely annoyed and directly ordered the armored vehicles to force a breakthrough and destroy the Opposition Armed Forces' line.

Because it was only a makeshift line, and given the significant gap in weaponry between the Opposition Armed Forces and the Syria military, the line was quickly breached. A portion of the forces stayed to engage the Opposition Armed Forces to avoid being harassed from the rear, while the rest of the troops continued to pursue the fleeing USA military.

Just as the brigade commander caught sight of the USA military, Colonel Wall finally rendezvoused with the relief force. The relief force quickly ushered the escaping USA troops onto their armored vehicles; after all, at this point, the USA military had fewer than 200 men left, while the others had either been killed in action or gone missing during the breakout.

While the relief force had the rearguard troops hold off the Syria military, they promptly resupplied the escaping soldiers with ammunition to prepare for the Syria military's pursuit.

Seeing his force suddenly increased to 500 men, Colonel Wall felt much calmer. He ordered his troops to fight while retreating, while simultaneously contacting Lieutenant General Green to request more troops for support.

Lieutenant General Green had by this time scraped together a force of over 200 men, even pulling in some ground crew. Upon learning of Colonel Wall's situation, he hurriedly dispatched this force.

When Colonel Wall had retreated halfway, he finally received the reinforcements. He quickly organized them to launch a counter-assault against the pursuing Syria military, immediately checking the momentum of the Syria military's pursuit.

Seeing the USA military suddenly possess such strong combat capability, the brigade commander knew that the USA must have dispatched reinforcements. He just didn't know how many. If they had sent many reinforcements, the troops he had with him would not be enough.

After much consideration, the brigade commander did not dare to immediately order his troops to push back forcefully, and Colonel Wall, seeing that the Syria military did not immediately continue the pursuit, ordered his troops to seize the time to flee.

By the time the brigade commander realized what was happening, the USA military was already very close to the Hera Joint Military Base. He no longer dared to order a pursuit and had to lead his troops back to Mayadin.

In the end, only over 600 USA soldiers returned to the Hera Joint Military Base. Among them, the relief force had lost over 60 men, leaving only over 440, while the force that went to attack Mayadin had only over 160 left out of over 1,000; the others had all been killed or gone missing. Among the 600 who returned, there were quite a number of lightly and seriously wounded.

Seeing this result, Lieutenant General Green's anger was beyond words. A single attack on Mayadin had cost over 900 men, and without achieving any results. How could he not be filled with hatred and resentment at such an outcome?

Now, having lost over 900 men, the USA garrison in Syria was left with only over 1,600 troops. Excluding those incapable of combat, there was simply no way to defend the several USA military bases in Syria.

Now it was time to consider the future of the USA military in Syria—whether to continue holding their ground in Syria, or to simply abandon Syria and withdraw the troops. Lieutenant General Green had no way to decide.

After the USA military fled, the mechanized infantry brigade in Mayadin immediately launched a mopping-up operation against the Opposition Armed Forces. Not only the mechanized infantry brigade in the city but also the reinforcements—everyone, except for the wounded and sick who could not move—took action.

Upon learning that the USA military had already fled, the Opposition Armed Forces commander, whose forces were already lacking in combat power and now suffering from low morale, hurriedly ordered the Opposition Armed Forces to disperse and retreat, before fleeing Mayadin himself without stopping.

After a mopping-up operation by the Syria military, over 10,000 members of the Opposition Armed Forces were eliminated, and Mayadin was successfully and firmly brought under control. The casualty statistics for the USA military also came out: over 700 killed, and over 130 captured.

Such a victory was massive, with a cumulative total of over 11,000 enemies eliminated, and the blow to the USA in particular was heartening.

However, the losses of the Syria military were also not small. The two mechanized infantry brigades in the city suffered the greatest losses, with nearly 3,500 killed in action and countless lightly and seriously wounded; the 5 mechanized infantry brigades that came to support also suffered certain losses, with nearly 2,500 casualties. In just one battle, the equivalent of one mechanized infantry brigade had been lost.