179: Chapter 179 The Battle of the Golan Heights

At the same time Turkey launched its offensive, Major General Ita and the Armored Division commander, Major General Gonen, took joint action. They deployed a significant number of fighter jets and armored units to launch an attack on Quneitra, and suddenly, the flames of war were reignited on the Golan Heights.

The small-scale skirmishes that both sides had previously maintained by tacit agreement vanished, replaced by constant artillery fire. Major General Ita commanded F-16 Fighter Jets and Storm Fighters taking off from Palmachim Airbase to lead the airstrikes against the Syrian army on the Golan Heights, causing the Syrian troops to suffer losses due to their initial slow response.

Upon learning that Israel had launched an offensive against the Golan Heights, General Faraj immediately ordered a full-scale defense to block the Israeli advance. Four Mechanized Infantry Brigades were sequentially committed to the battle, while Drone Battalions and Anti-Aircraft Battalions shed their camouflage to launch retaliatory attacks.

The air battle over Quneitra was the most intense. After the first wave of fighter jets commanded by Major General Ita arrived, they immediately bombed the exposed anti-aircraft missile positions of the Syrian army, destroying many Tianlei Series Anti-Aircraft Missiles. Once the Syrian army reacted, they immediately used hidden anti-aircraft missiles to strike back, shooting down two Storm Fighters.

In the following days, Major General Ita not only commanded the jets from Palmachim Airbase for airstrikes but also coordinated and directed reinforcements from other airbases to conduct bombings. He was determined to strip the Syrian army of its anti-aircraft capabilities to clear the obstacles for the Armored Division's offensive.

Seeing this situation, General Faraj also dispatched some anti-aircraft units from Damascus to reinforce the Golan Heights, as he could not allow the Israeli fighter jets to bomb without restraint.

In this back-and-forth exchange of attacks, the depletion of weapons and equipment increased sharply. Buildings in Quneitra were occasionally hit by bombs dropped from jets or by crashing aircraft, turning into blazing ruins.

Following Major General Ita's air operations, Major General Gonen also directed the Armored Division to launch an assault. Although several previous probing attacks against Syria had been repelled, they had clarified the deployment of the Syrian army. In the initial assault, they achieved good results.

The Armored Division took advantage of the Syrian army being caught off guard to capture several strategic heights and began a deep-penetration assault. However, the speed of this attack was quickly checked.

After all, the deployed Mechanized Infantry Brigades had only lost their positions because they were temporarily without defenses; to further tear through the defensive lines, Israel needed to commit more armored vehicles. However, Israel had only committed the strength of one Armored Division, which was further dispersed across multiple directions on the Golan Heights, making it impossible to form an assault spearhead.

As long as the Syrian army held against Israel's first wave of attacks and did not let the offensive cause a rout, they could quickly demonstrate their defensive strength. Moreover, the Mechanized Infantry Brigades were equipped with many armored vehicles and could go head-to-head with the armored battalions of the Israeli Armored Division.

Such a battle would not end quickly, and the forces committed by both sides gradually increased. After the first four Mechanized Infantry Brigades entered the battle, Syria's remaining two Mechanized Infantry Brigades and three reserve Mechanized Infantry Brigades also joined the fight one after another.

When the Israeli military saw that the Armored Division's offensive was not meeting expectations, they immediately reassigned an Armored Brigade, a Mechanized Brigade, and an Infantry Division to the battle, attempting to use numerical superiority to besiege the Syrian army and capture Quneitra as soon as possible.

The army of the Glass House also joined the battle at this time, with three Heavy Armored Battalions coordinating with the Syrian army to directly face the offensive of an Israeli Mechanized Brigade. Since their Fierce Rhino series Tanks and Fierce Tiger series Armored Vehicles were in no way inferior to Israel's armored vehicles, the battle between the two sides immediately reached a fever pitch.

However, the Syrian army was ultimately at a numerical disadvantage. Under the steady advance of the Israeli armored units and Infantry Division, they lost many positions and gradually retreated to the Quneitra region. All territory to the west of Quneitra was lost.

Seeing the situation, General Faraj quickly reassigned three Mechanized Infantry Brigades from Damascus and other regions to reinforce and consolidate the defense line at Quneitra. At the same time, he replenished various units on the Golan Heights with armored vehicles held in reserve and requested reinforcements from Major General Rahim.

Upon receiving the request for reinforcements, Major General Rahim quickly organized a Heavy Tank Battalion, a Heavy Armored Vehicle Battalion, and a Heavy Artillery Battalion to head for Quneitra. He appointed Lieutenant Colonel Haidari as the commander to coordinate operations with the Syrian army.

With the arrival of reinforcements, the Syrian army quickly consolidated the Quneitra defense line, preventing the Israeli army from advancing further. Major General Gonen was quite perplexed to see that the Syrian army could still organize a defense, but upon seeing reinforcements arriving from Damascus, he realized that the capture of Quneitra would likely not be smooth.

The battle around Quneitra continued with both sides alternating between offense and defense, and neither side could gain an absolute upper hand. The daily consumption of weapons and ammunition by both sides exceeded 5,000 shells, and the loss of armored vehicles was significant, while other losses like anti-aircraft missiles and anti-tank missiles were impossible to calculate.

Just as the battle for Quneitra was in full swing, news arrived of the struggle between Turkey and Syria for the Safira Military Base. Turkey's offensive had ended in a rout, with troop losses exceeding sixty percent and even greater losses in weapons and ammunition.

When Major General Ita and Major General Gonen saw this intelligence, they became somewhat restless. Currently, the war situation between the Israeli and Syrian armies in Quneitra remained unclear, but the Syrian army had already finished the battle in the northwest; they wondered if Syria would reassign troops to reinforce the Golan Heights.

If the Syrian army received reinforcements, Israel would have to send new reinforcements of its own to maintain the standoff. However, Israel had already committed a large number of troops to the Golan Heights; to reassign more forces, they would need to commit reserve units to the battlefield, which could not be done in a short time.

While Major General Ita and Major General Gonen were in a dilemma, orders came from the Israeli military for them to retreat five kilometers to establish a defensive line, abandon the offensive on Quneitra, and hold the gains they had already achieved to prevent the Syrian army from having a chance to counterattack.

Major General Ita and Major General Gonen naturally followed the Israeli military's orders, having the Armored Division and Infantry Division withdraw from the battlefield to begin digging trenches and constructing defensive lines. Upon learning that the Israeli army had taken the initiative to retreat, General Faraj did not launch a pursuit.

After such a long period of fighting, the Syrian army no longer had the capacity to pursue, so they could only watch as the Israeli army re-established its defensive lines.

General Faraj was also helpless regarding the situation on the Golan Heights. The Syrian army's strength was ultimately too low, and they could only barely maintain their hold on the Golan Heights, waiting until the battles in northern Syria ended before making further plans.