220: Chapter 220 Ground Offensive Begins

The consumption of Israel's anti-aircraft missiles was staggering; the anti-aircraft missiles produced by military enterprises had to be supplied to the military as soon as they came off the production line, and even then, it was far from enough.

More than half of the anti-aircraft missiles provided by the USA had also been consumed; it could be said that the anti-aircraft missiles currently being provided were all being shipped from the mainland.

However, after successive rounds of aid to Israel, the USA's domestic inventory of anti-aircraft missiles was basically exhausted, leaving no choice but to place orders directly with military enterprises for production.

This presented a problem: it would take a considerable amount of time for the USA's military enterprises to manufacture and transport them to Israel.

If they waited for production to be completed before shipping, it would cause Israel's anti-aircraft missile shortage to grow increasingly severe, potentially leaving them with no anti-aircraft missiles to use at all.

Seeing this situation, the Israeli military hurriedly lobbied Israeli capital to pressure the United States Department of Defense, demanding that they withdraw anti-aircraft missiles and various other weapons and equipment from their domestic troops to be shipped to Israel in a timely manner to meet the needs of the Israeli military.

Under pressure from multiple sides, the United States Department of Defense had no choice but to withdraw as much weaponry and equipment as possible from their active-duty forces while maintaining minimum operational levels, hurriedly transporting them to Israel via military transport aircraft.

Even so, time was needed for coordination and dispatch. The supply of anti-aircraft missiles and other equipment to Israel resulted in the Israeli military sometimes having sufficient supplies to intercept aggressively, while at other times having to play the coward, unable to mount an effective response.

With both sides locked in this war of attrition, another half a month passed.

The Anti-Israel Coalition Joint Forces Command observed that during this month of offensive and defensive operations against the Israeli military, Israel's defensive capabilities had loosened significantly, and their border defense lines had been reduced to ruins after continuous shelling.

After some analysis, they decided to immediately enter Israeli territory to launch a ground offensive, gradually advancing to annihilate the Israeli military.

The first to launch the ground offensive was the Golan Heights Front Command. 15 Mechanized Infantry Brigades set out from their various positions, with 675 Fierce Rhino series Tank, 1,275 Fierce Tiger series Armored Vehicle, and 450 Fierce Lion series Artillery moving simultaneously, swarming toward the Israeli defense line in overwhelming numbers.

The defensive positions constructed by the Israeli military on the Golan Heights had been completely destroyed on the surface during the month of continuous shelling; while some underground hidden positions remained usable, the number of troops that could be stationed there was limited.

Faced with the assault of so many armored vehicles, the defending Israeli troops had no way to hold their ground; they quickly lost Quneitra and other positions, retreating to the second line of defense.

While the engagement between the two sides was somewhat intense at the beginning, it subsequently turned into a pursuit. The Israeli military had known from the start that the frontline positions could not be held, so they focused more of their energy on the defense of the second line and subsequent lines.

If the frontline positions could block the Anti-Judea Coalition's offensive, that would be best, but if they could not, inflicting a certain amount of casualties would be considered achieving their goal.

In the battle for a hill west of Quneitra, the Golan Heights Front Command committed 8 Mechanized Infantry Brigades. After more than three days of fighting, they successfully captured it, opening a passage to continue the advance.

The losses were naturally quite high as well; 45 Fierce Rhino series Tank were destroyed, along with 120 Fierce Tiger series Armored Vehicle. Additionally, 20 Fierce Rhino series Tank and 60 Fierce Tiger series Armored Vehicle were rendered unusable due to various types of damage.

It could be said that they had directly lost the equivalent of nearly two Mechanized Infantry Brigades' worth of weapons and equipment. Fortunately, subsequent Mechanized Infantry Brigades were immediately brought in to continue the advance, allowing the units that had been in combat to rest and regroup on the spot.

When the Aqaba Front Command launched its offensive, the first to enter the battlefield were the troops from Afghanistan and Pakistan. With so many armored vehicles committed to the attack, the soldiers from these two countries were very excited, and their combat effectiveness increased significantly.

Facing Israel's already riddled defensive positions, they quickly broke through the Israeli defense line under the suppression of tanks and armored vehicles, gradually widening the gaps in the line.

Under the full-scale offensive of the 16 Mechanized Infantry Brigades from Afghanistan and Pakistan, they quickly advanced two to three kilometers across the Israeli border, seizing defensive space from Israel.

Fighting between the two sides continued in this valley. The Juda Southern Military District Command directly committed an armored division to engage in a counter-offensive against the 4 Mechanized Infantry Brigades from Afghanistan, and also deployed a Mechanized Infantry Brigade in an attempt to outflank and annihilate this Afghan force.

The quality of the Afghan troops was indeed slightly lacking; although they fought bravely, there were instances of improper command in the use of Fierce Rhino series Tank, Fierce Tiger series Armored Vehicle, and Fierce Lion series Artillery, which caused many armored vehicles to be destroyed by the Israeli armored division.

The Israeli armored division had thought they could link up with the outflanking Mechanized Infantry Brigade to surround the enemy and achieve greater results. However, they did not expect that 3 Mechanized Infantry Brigades, formed from local militias near the Aqaba Front Command, would immediately join the battle upon learning that the Afghan troops were at risk of being surrounded.

This suddenly made it impossible for the Israeli armored division to handle so many troops. Furthermore, 3 Mechanized Infantry Brigades from Iraq, which had been held in reserve, immediately reinforced them, launching an assault on the Israeli troops who were maintaining the encirclement and breaking through the Israeli siege.

As 10 Mechanized Infantry Brigades from the Anti-Judea Coalition and 1 armored division, 1 Mechanized Infantry division, and 1 border defense infantry division from Israel were gradually committed to the battle, a large-scale tank and armored vehicle battle soon erupted in the valley.

More than 2,800 armored vehicles were deployed by both sides, and drones from both sides also appeared in the sky, seizing opportunities to strike the enemy. This battle lasted for more than two days, and in the end, after losing a large number of armored vehicles, the Israeli military had to withdraw from the battlefield.

The Anti-Judea Coalition did not come away with much of an advantage either. Because they were initially surrounded by the Israeli armored division, the number of losses was staggering; two Mechanized Infantry Brigades were left with only two or three tanks and about twenty armored vehicles.

If 6 Mechanized Infantry Brigades had not followed up and entered the battlefield, those 4 Mechanized Infantry Brigades from Afghanistan would likely have been completely wiped out. Therefore, after this battle, they had to withdraw to rest and regroup, with the following units from Saudi Arabia and other Afghan Mechanized Infantry Brigades taking over the defensive positions.

However, this battle also dealt a massive blow to Israel; two divisions and one brigade were essentially in a state of being written off, and without reinforcements, they had absolutely no capability to continue fighting.