176: Chapter 176 Believing that Admiral McTominay's pressure will be effective

Lieutenant General Gran had anticipated the defeat of the Opposition Armed Forces, but he hadn't expected them to crumble so quickly. This outcome left him somewhat caught off guard.

On one hand, Lieutenant General Gran ordered the Hera Joint Military Base and others to strengthen their defenses; on the other, he quickly contacted General Maitang, hoping the Central Theater Command would make a decision as soon as possible on whether the USA military would withdraw from or hold Syria.

"General Maitang, the situation in Syria has severely deteriorated. The Syrian army has advanced very close to the Hera Joint Military Base, and a conflict could break out at any moment. We need to make a decision early," Lieutenant General Gran said, painting the situation as grimly as possible.

"Can't you hold out for a bit longer? A decision hasn't been made yet," General Maitang said with some dissatisfaction.

"But our forces are severely insufficient, especially after losing nearly 900 men in the last attack on Mayadin. Our manpower is stretched thin," Lieutenant General Gran complained.

"You have the nerve to say that! Losing so many men just to attack a small city—those losses are even greater than when the USA invaded Iraq. If it weren't for the ongoing fighting in Syria, I would have relieved you of your command and brought you back by now," General Maitang said angrily.

"I didn't expect Colonel Wall's frontline command to be so poor. Even though I sent reinforcements, Colonel Wall still couldn't control the losses," Lieutenant General Gran muttered.

"You still think you're right?! Weren't you the one directly commanding the battle in Mayadin? Your command was like a pile of shit," General Maitang rebuked.

Lieutenant General Gran didn't dare speak again, and a sudden silence fell. After all, he really hadn't commanded the battle in Mayadin well; if he argued further, it would be hard for him to save face.

General Maitang considered for a moment before saying, "Continue to hold out for a while longer and wait for our decision before making the corresponding deployments. But don't just focus on your own affairs; pressure the military bases in Turkey and Israel near Syria to make them engage the Syrian army and share some of your pressure. I will also pressure their Ministries of Defense to provide you with assistance."

Lieutenant General Gran quickly responded, "Yes, General."

After the Syrian army launched its offensive, Turkey and Israel hadn't initiated any decent attacks. They were just having small skirmishes with the stationed Syrian and Glass House forces, seemingly content to watch from the sidelines. They really needed to be spurred into action.

Just as General Maitang was about to hang up, Lieutenant General Gran hurriedly asked, "Can the Central Theater Command transfer some fighter jets or troops to the Hera Joint Military Base? After all, our strength is insufficient."

General Maitang refused flatly, "There are no fighter jets or troops to reinforce Syria right now. We'll talk after a decision is made."

Lieutenant General Gran was very disappointed; this would make it very difficult for him to hold the Hera Joint Military Base. But if General Maitang was unwilling to send troops to Syria, what could he do?

After ending the call with General Maitang, Lieutenant General Gran immediately contacted Major General Seze, the head of the Harim Air Base in Turkey.

"Major General Seze, you must launch an attack on Syria immediately. The main force of the Syrian army is now concentrated in the northeast; this is a great opportunity for you to attack," Lieutenant General Gran requested.

"We have already launched an attack, but we haven't achieved the desired results," Major General Seze said perfunctorily.

"You call that an attack? Even the intensity of routine training is stronger than the attack you're talking about. You must immediately launch a powerful offensive, or the relevant cooperation between the USA and Turkey will be affected," Lieutenant General Gran wasn't about to be fooled by Major General Seze.

"I will order an offensive to begin, with the target set as the Raqqa Military Base," Major General Seze said, forced to compromise after seeing Lieutenant General Gran threaten Turkey. After all, Turkey still needed to procure some weapons and equipment from the USA and had to be subject to their influence.

"I hope you deploy at least 20,000 troops to launch the offensive and throw the situation in northwestern Syria into chaos. If you can't organize that many regular troops, you can use all the local armed forces you support and let them seize more territory."

Lieutenant General Gran naturally hoped that northwestern Syria would tie down more Syrian troops, ideally forcing Syria to divert some forces from the northeast. That way, the pressure on the Hera Joint Military Base would be much smaller.

"We will do our best. As long as the Syrian army's defense is not in place, we can find an opportunity to break through their lines and strive to take several military bases, or even control the Raqqa Military Base," Major General Seze said, though even he didn't quite believe it.

After all, Turkey's previous airstrikes had ended in failure, and now seeing the Syrian army achieve successive victories against the Opposition Armed Forces supported by the USA, it was truly hard to imagine they could seize Syrian military bases. However, he had to give Lieutenant General Gran the necessary boast to keep him from pestering further.

"I hope you can do it." Lieutenant General Gran only needed Turkey to send troops; it would be best if they achieved results, but even if they didn't, they could still tie down the Syrian army.

Lieutenant General Gran soon contacted Major General Ita, the head of Israel's Palmachim Airbase, who had been transferred from Harem Air Force Base to Palmachim Airbase.

"Major General Ita, why haven't you continued your offensive? There aren't many Syrian troops in the Golan Heights," Lieutenant General Gran inquired.

"We launched three large-scale attacks on the Golan Heights, but they were all repelled by the Syrian and Glass House forces. We really don't have the manpower to attack the Golan Heights," Major General Ita complained.

"The Syrian troops in the Golan Heights are surely fewer than in the northeast. Is it that you haven't launched a large-scale offensive at all?" Lieutenant General Gran simply didn't believe him.

"We did launch an offensive. But the Syrian army's weapons and equipment are very sufficient, and their strength has improved greatly; they are simply not something we can take down," Major General Ita said.

Lieutenant General Gran had also noticed that the level of Syria's weaponry and equipment had improved significantly, but he continued, "As long as you launch a more vigorous offensive, the flaws in the Syrian army's equipment will be exposed. You don't need to worry about them having the strength to stop you."

"But I haven't received orders from the Israeli Ministry of Defense, so I have no way to mobilize troops to attack the Golan Heights," Major General Ita found an excuse.

"You will receive the orders soon. Prepare for battle now and immediately launch the offensive on the Golan Heights." Lieutenant General Gran believed General Maitang's pressure would be effective.

"Fine. I'll make the arrangements," Major General Ita said helplessly.