Chapter 63 Chapter 61: Quelson's Assault in Depth

The situation shown on the map is dire, and anyone can easily see many long red arrows and short blue arrows.The maps shown on the morning TV show were no different than the ones in the situation room, and there was commentary, especially from experts, on how the US and Saudi forces were poorly deployed with their backs to the sea and woefully outnumbered.Next up is satellite broadcast. "We've heard reports of intense air battles in the northwest," Downer said to a camera somewhere in Saudi Arabia, but soldiers from the Black Horses were still watching.I can't say where I am now and in fact I don't know at all. B Company was stopping to refuel now, pumping a hundred gallons of oil into those huge M-Abrams.The soldiers told me it was really a big oil barrel.But their mood was the same, they were all angry.He added: Don't know what we'll find out west.I can tell you that no matter what bad news comes from Saudi Arabia, these soldiers will not be affected.The enemy is in one place over there, advancing southward with a strong force, and we expect to engage after sunset.I am Tom.Donner, reporting live from the camp of Company B, 1st Company of the Black Horse Cavalry Regiment.The report is over.

He is doing well.Ren nodded, when can this be played externally. Fortunately for all concerned, encrypted television networks are broadcast over, monitored and controlled by military channels.It is not yet time for the United Islamic Republic to know exactly all the details.However, negative comments about the defeat of the Saudi army leaked out.The news came from Washington, and it was accepted as fact without careful comment from the Pentagon.The president is still worried about how ridiculous the media is to create public opinion without investigation. Tonight, maybe sooner.Michael.General Moore replied that it would be sunset there in three hours.

OK?the president asked. All right, sir. The 1st Brigade Wolf Pack of the North Carolina National Guard was fully formed, and Ettington was patrolling his frontline troops in a UH|60 Black Hawk helicopter.His 1st Battalion Gray Wolves had positioned its left flank on the road from Al Tawi to King Khalid Military City, 2nd Battalion White Fang was on the west side of the highway, and 3rd Battalion Coyotes acted as a backup dispatch, his mobile unit.He divided his artillery battalion into two parts, covering both the left and right flanks, and covering the center.He lacked air power and had nothing but three Black Hawk ambulance helicopters.He also has an intelligence group, a combat support battalion, medical personnel, military police, and everything else a brigade must have.In front of his two front-line battalions was a reconnaissance unit, whose mission was to report and, when an enemy appeared, to eliminate the enemy's vision.He had thought of asking the 11th Armored Cavalry for some helicopters, but he knew that Hamm had plans for their use, and it would be futile to ask.He had to work on reconnaissance.

He looked down and saw that the leading edge of the M-A-2 and the Bradley fighting vehicle had found their proper positions, mainly hiding behind the berms and small sand dunes behind the high ground.The distance between each tank is more than 300 meters, which makes them less obvious targets when they are bombarded or attacked by air.He was told not to worry about an air strike, but he worried about all the contingencies. Retreating ten miles at a speed of thirty-five miles an hour, which was well out of range of the gunfire and roughly in line with Berman's original plan. He suddenly remembered that he had done this exercise before, and at least faster than now. Fifteen times faster to leave enemy fire behind.The top hatches were all open as the cars sped along, and Berman stood up, looking back at the geyser of smoke from the exploding shells.He'd never known what it was like to be on the defensive side.It must be lonely, he thought.

Not without loss.He turned around and counted, there were only fifteen tanks and eight infantry transports.Perhaps there was much in the dust that he hadn't seen; I hope so.He looked up and saw the clear sky he had hoped to see. Yes.Forty United Islamic Republic fighter jets have been shot down in dogfights since dawn, while the U.S. and Saudi forces have lost six, all by surface-to-air fire.Enemy airpower could no longer gain an advantage within the detection range of Allied airborne radars.That patchwork of American, French and Russian fighter jets looks impressive in the papers and on the tarmac, but not in the air.However, the night combat capabilities of the Allied Air Forces are also very poor. Only a few F|15E Eagle fighter jets have real all-weather capabilities (night can also be regarded as a weather condition).United Islamic Republic intelligence personnel estimate that there are about 20 such aircraft and that they pose no major threat.The advance division stopped to refuel and re-equip before entering King Khalid Military City.Commanders believed that if the situation developed further like this, they would be able to get to Riyadh before the American forces could organize their occupation there.They still hold the initiative and are only halfway to their destination.

The Palm Bowl keeps track of radio intercepts to the southwest, but its north is under threat from Iranian armored divisions.Perhaps the United Islamic Republic believes that because Saudi Arabia has been hit hard, the Kuwaiti army must not dare to act rashly.If they really think that way, they are really wrong.The border can be crossed in both directions, and the Kuwaiti government is right in thinking that failure to act will only make their situation worse, not better.It will take an extra day to switch partners this time. The 4th Air Cavalry Squadron of the 10th Cavalry Regiment lifted off twenty minutes after sunset and headed north.There were some light motorized troops stationed at the border, and they thought that the troops that were crossing the Tigris and Euphrates delta would soon be replaced.That force consisted of two battalions, transported by trucks and light armored vehicles.They chatted a lot on the radio, and the commanders sent troops back and forth, only to be strangely caught off guard by a country less than one-tenth the size of their own.For the next hour, twenty-six Apache helicopters from the Buffalo Troopers would hunt them down with cannon and rocket fire, clearing the way for Kuwait's light mechanized brigade whose scout vehicles had spread out to search for Iran. The vanguard of the Armored Forces.Five kilometers behind is a heavily armored battalion guided by reconnaissance intelligence. For the United Islamic Republic, the most unexpected thing this night is: this battalion was shot by 20 tanks at dusk, and immediately after two seconds Fifteen attacks after the clock left it in tatters.The next lesson is overconfidence.Their first engagement with the enemy was successful, and the Kuwaiti vanguard defeated the enemy's advance.Everything seems to be prepared for them.The night vision system worked, the artillery did its job, and they left the enemy alone with nowhere to run.

Through the Palm Bowl, Major Sabah got second-hand information that only a brigade of the Iranian 4th Armored Division, mainly a reserve formation, managed to penetrate the line of defense, recklessly and ignorantly breaking into the advance armored force.Three hours after sunset, the only route to southern Iraq was completely blocked, making reinforcements for the Allah army much easier.To be sure, precision-guided bombs will be dropped on the bridge at night.It was a small battle for his tiny country, but one that set the stage for victory for his allies. When the Air Cavalry Squadron returned to refuel and replenish equipment, the ground troops of the Bison Cavalry Regiment had already moved due west, leaving only an energetic Kuwaiti army to contain the Allied rear and actively prepare for battle.

So far, the 1st Army of the United Islamic Republic has been used as a reserve force, mainly composed of the former Iranian 1st Armored Division Immortal and another armored division (mainly surviving Republican Guard officers and those who did not participate in the 1991 Composed of soldiers from the 1990s War).The Second Army has breached the border and, despite losing more than a third of its forces in the fighting, maintains its lead in advancing towards King Khalid's military city.After this task is completed, the Second Army will move to the left, that is, to the east, to make way for the First Army.Apart from a few air raids, the First Army was largely unscathed, as was the Third Army.The Second Corps would now cover the flanks of the advance force in preparation for a possible counterattack from the coast.When night fell, all troops sent out reconnaissance troops as usual.

The vanguard marched along the perimeter of King Khalid's military city and were surprised to find no enemy troops.The commander of the scouting battalion had the nerve to send his troops straight into the city, only to find it almost deserted, with most of the inhabitants having been evicted the day before; this seemed logical to him when he thought about it.Although Allah Corps has been hit hard several times, it is still advancing, which the Saudi army cannot stop.He pushed south contentedly, but more cautiously.There must be an ambush ahead. Eddington's gendarme detachment had completed its mission to evacuate the people to the south and then departed.In the process, what he saw were some dejected faces, until they saw what was waiting for them between King Khalid's military city and Al Tawi.Wolves can't hide everything.The Saudi Gendarmerie stepped in behind and crossed the reconnaissance and cover force at exactly 9:00 pm local time.They said there was nothing behind, but they were wrong.

Major Abdullah's wheeled vehicle was at the front and the combat vehicle was at the rear with its turret also turned to the rear.The major had thought of making one last resistance, but he had no fighting strength to deal with any enemy following him.His men were exhausted after twenty-four hours of continuous fighting, and what was worse was that his chariot drivers, due to their position in front of the car body, were so comfortable that they dozed off. He wakes up when he yells or accidentally drives the car into a ditch on the side of the road, causing the body to tilt.He had another thought, hoping to get in touch with the Allies. He had learned over the past few days that the battlefield was definitely not a friendly place.

Vehicles appear on the thermal imaging sight glass as white spots sporadically driving down the highway.Ettington, who was in the command position, knew that there would be some deserted Saudi soldiers, so he warned the reconnaissance and cover forces to be careful until the evening when the Marauders were lifted into the air.From the thermal imaging sight glass, you can clearly see the unique flat roof of the M-A World War II vehicle.He told the situation to the reconnaissance detachment owls.The detachment only relaxed their tense nerves when they saw the white dots on the observation system gradually forming the figures of the Allies.Nevertheless, there is also a possibility that the allied forces were captured by the enemy and turned into hostile use. Soldiers smashed street lamps and threw them on the road.The advance truck spotted these and almost stopped on them because they were going very slowly without street lights.Several Saudi liaison officers assigned to the wolves told them to go south after identifying themselves.Major Abdullah reached the cover ten minutes later and jumped out of the command vehicle, accompanied by Colonel Berman.The U.S. Defense Forces came first with food and water, followed soon after by military coffee, which had three times the caffeine of regular coffee. They came a little late, but they came anyway.It was a busy day, Berman said. The Saudi major was almost exhausted. He had never expended so much physical strength and energy.He hobbled to the owl command post, gesticulating on the map and explaining everything as coherently as he could. We must stop them.he said firmly. Major, why don't you go ten miles and there you can see a huge barricade.Well done, young man.The Charlotte attorney told the young man.The major walked to his car.Is it really that difficult?he asked as the Saudi major came out of hearing distance. I know they knocked out fifty tanks, that's all I could see, Berman said, sipping his coffee from the steel mug, but more tanks came. real?asked the lawyer and lieutenant-colonel, which is just to our liking.Don't you have allies behind you? Berman shook his head.No chance at all. You go ten miles down the road, Berman, and you'll see a show, you hear? Berman could see that they looked like Americans, in their desert combat uniforms, their faces smeared under German-style helmets.A red light is shining on the map.It was very dark here, and so was the night sky, and only the light of the stars could make him distinguish between the sky and the earth.The silvery moonlight would come out soon, but not much.The covering force commander had a Humvee at his disposal, with a number of radios available.Plus, he could see a Bradley fighting vehicle and some soldiers, but nothing else.But they stand and talk like Americans. Owl Six, I am Twenty Nine. Number twenty-nine, I'm number six, please tell me.Commander said on the radio. We noticed some movement, five miles north of our current position, two vehicles driving on the right. Understood, number twenty-nine, keep in touch.complete.He turned to Berman.Keep going, Colonel.We have work to do. There was a flank covering force that might have been part of the enemy's Second Corps, Colonel Hamm thought.His OH|58 Kiowa scout helicopter was ahead watching all of this. OH｜58 is the military type of the Jet Ranger 206 helicopter. The 206 is often used in the United States for traffic patrols. It has hidden observation capabilities. Most of them are hidden behind small hills or ridges, and then installed on the top of the fuselage. The electronic periscope monitors the terrain; it can observe while circling without being discovered, and then the TV system will record all the information and send it back.Hamm deployed six OH|58s in the lead for his 4th Squadron, ten miles from the front of his ground forces, which were still thirty miles southeast of King Khalid's Military City. The technicians converted the intelligence from the reconnaissance plane into data, and transmitted it to the combat vehicles under Hamm's command in a graphical display.Then the Predator drone also sent back information.These unmanned aircraft have all taken off to monitor the roads and deserts south of the occupied military city, and one of them is just above the military city.Hamm saw that the streets were full of oil trucks and supply trucks. What's more, electronic detectors are also in operation.Due to the rapid movement of the United Islamic Republic Forces, radio communications continued to flow.They had now identified two brigade command posts and perhaps a division command post. Hamm switched the display to a larger picture.Now two divisions are moving south from Military City, which should be the enemy's 1st Army. Its front is ten miles wide, and its two divisions are moving side by side in brigades. There is also a tank brigade ahead, The Mobile Artillery Brigade was last.Second Corps marched to their left at a short distance to provide flank cover.The Third Army appears to have been left in reserve.This deployment is common and expected.Their first engagement with the wolves would take place in an hour, and he would hold out until then, so that the First Corps would pass his front from north to south, right to left. There is no time to properly prepare for the battlefield.The security forces lacked a full engineering detachment as well as anti-tank mines, and time did not allow for obstacles and traps to be placed on the battlefield.They had less than ten hours to reach the field and even less time for the brigade to arrive, so they really only had one fire plan. The wolf pack could attack selected close range targets, but all long range firearms had to be on the way. west side. That's very good information, sir.Hamm's intelligence staff said. send it out.As a result, all combat vehicles of the Black Horse Cavalry Regiment received data map intelligence about the enemy.Then Ham picked up the radio. Wolves Six, I am Dark Horse Six. I am Wolves Six.Thank you for your information, Colonel.Ettington called back on a digital radio.Both sides know the location of all allied forces.I estimate the first engagement will be about an hour away. Ready to go big, Nick?Hamm asked. Al, this is the only way to get my men back safely, we're stuck and there's no way out.Commander Ettington told him that we were monitoring their advance covering force. You know what to do, Nick.Good luck. Thanks, dark horse.Ettington ended the call. Hamm switched radio frequencies and began calling Bison Advance Six. I got the picture, Al.Marion.Diggs told him.He is a hundred miles away in the rear, but his life is not as comfortable as others think. He must remotely command his soldiers to participate in the battle. All right, sir, we're ready, now we're just waiting for them to come automatically. Got it, dark horse.Prepare on the spot.complete. The Predator drones were doing the most important work, and their pilots, along with Hamm's intelligence team, maneuvered the small planes to hover at higher altitudes so they were less likely to be seen or heard.The camera has captured the target and is calculating and determining the bearing.The left half of the enemy is the Immortal Division, while the former Iraqi Guards Division is on the west side of the road to the right.The enemy was advancing steadily ten miles behind his reconnaissance and covering force, battalion after battalion in formation, well organized, in order to have the greatest strength and the best effect of fire when encountering the enemy.Following the advance brigade came the Division Artillery Brigade, which was divided into two sections, one of which stopped to provide covering fire while the other continued to advance.Marauders fly over artillery emplacements, taking positions via GPS and relaying this information to multiple rocket launcher batteries.Two Marauders were then dispatched to find out the exact location of the enemy command vehicle. I don't know when these reports will be released.Donner faced the camera and said, I am now in the position of B32, which is the second reconnaissance vehicle in the third row of B Company.We have just received information on the enemy's position, about twenty miles west of us, where at least two divisions are advancing south along the road from King Khalid's Military City.I know that a brigade of the North Carolina National Guard is now in the sniper position, and they are deployed with the 11th Cavalry, because they have been training together at the National Training Center. Now the atmosphere here is um, how should I put it?The soldiers of the Black Horse Cavalry Regiment all look like doctors, perhaps this analogy sounds strange.These people are very angry about what is happening in the country, I have talked to them, but now they are like doctors waiting for the ambulance to come to the emergency room.The atmosphere in the car is quiet.We have just been informed that we will be moving west into the attack area in a few minutes. I would like to add my personal thoughts.As you all know, I broke a professional rule not too long ago, I was wrong, I was misled, but it was all my fault.I learned earlier today that the president himself offered me to come here maybe to kill me?On a whim, Donner made a joke, and it was a joke.Journalists rely on this situation to make a living. I am now in a place where a major historical event is about to take place, and some American soldiers with heavy responsibilities are around me. Regardless of the outcome, this is a place where journalists belong.President Ryan, thank you for this opportunity. I am Tom.Downer, southeast of King Khalid's Military City, reports with Company B, 1st Battalion, Black Horse Cavalry.He turned the mic down, okay? Yes.The army soldier answered him, then said something into the microphone.Well, it's been transmitted to the satellite. Very good, Tom.The captain lit a cigarette while talking, come here, I will let you know the function of this on-board information system. He stopped and picked up his helmet to listen to what was being said on the radio.Let's go, Stanley.He told the driver.It's time for a good show! He lets them in.The man who commanded the Wolves Scouting Cover Unit was a criminal defense attorney who had graduated from West Point and had chosen to practice law.He is forty-five years old, but has thirty years of military service. The lead scout vehicle was two miles ahead of him.He reckoned what he saw in the darkness were two platoons, a total of ten vehicles lined up within three miles, three or four moving at a time.On his thermal imaging system, he could identify it as a BRDM|Type II scout vehicle, with four wheels and armed with heavy machine guns or anti-tank missiles.He saw two models, but he was more concerned about the one with the four radios, because it was probably the command vehicle of the platoon or company commander The antenna car is found directly ahead.The commander of a Bradley combat vehicle reported from a distance of 400 meters to the colonel's right that the distance was two kilometers and that it was approaching. The lawyer-turned-commander raised his head from behind a short ridge, and scanned the battlefield with his thermal imaging sight glass.Things are as peaceful now as before. Owl, I'm number six, start in ten seconds, I repeat, start in ten seconds.Four three, get ready. Four and three ready, number six.That Bradley Fighting Vehicle will be the first to fire on the Second Field in Military City.The gunners loaded high-explosive incendiary tracers.The armor of the enemy BRDM vehicle is not too thick, and his armor-piercing shells are enough to destroy it easily.He framed the target into the center of the sight, and the computer automatically adjusted the distance. go to hell.The gunner spoke on the intercom in the car. I'm number six, start shooting, start shooting. emission!The commander gave orders to the gunner.The gunner pressed the firing button of the 25mm gun and fired three consecutive guns.Three tracer rounds slid across the desert and hit their targets directly.When the gas tank of the BRDM command vehicle exploded, the entire vehicle turned into a ball of fire in an instant.Right in the heart!The commander yelled as soon as he confirmed that the gunner had blown up the target.Turn to the left and the target is locked. locking!Said the gunner as he locked on to the target. emission!A second later, on target!Stop firing and turn right!The target is locked, the direction of two o'clock, and the distance is 1,500 meters!The Bradley's turret spun the other way as the enemy vehicle began to counterattack. locking! emission!So just ten seconds after the first car was hit, the third car was also destroyed. In less than a minute, the cover commander saw all the BRDMs burning, blinding him with blinding white light.Then, there were flashes of light on the left and right sides of his position.He ordered again: start action, destroy them! On the ten-mile-wide desert, twenty Bradley combat vehicles rushed forward from their hiding places, their turrets turning constantly, looking for the enemy's scout vehicles.The short and heavy artillery battle lasted for ten minutes. Some BRDMs tried to escape, but were unable to fight back.The enemy had launched two clay box anti-tank missiles, but the missile launch vehicle was destroyed by the Bradley armor-piercing projectile immediately after the missile was launched, and both missiles fell before reaching the target. to the sand and exploded.The enemy's heavy machine guns were not powerful enough to penetrate the Bradley's frontal armor.In the end, the enemy's covering force composed of thirty vehicles was all destroyed.The owl contributed a lot to this victory. Wolves, I'm Owl Six, we've wiped them all out.Their vanguard covering troops are all finished.We had no casualties.he added.He thought to himself, those Bradley fighting vehicles are really powerful. There's radio interference, sir.The electronic intelligence unit next to Ettington reported that the noise was getting stronger. He's calling for fire support.A Saudi intelligence official quickly responded. Owl, you'll be getting firepower in no time.Ettington predicted. Got it, got it.Owl is on the move. It is always safer to attack than to stay in one place or retreat.After receiving the order, the Bradleys and Humvees headed two kilometers north in search of the enemy's rear flank reconnaissance cover. There should be some of them now, perhaps under the command of the brigade commander or division commander, moving cautiously upwards.The lieutenant colonel commander of the National Guard knew that this would be a scouting battle, a light-weight confrontation before the heavyweight engagement ended.But the difference is that he will continue to clear the field for the wolves.He hoped to spot another formation of reconnaissance vehicles, which would be followed by perhaps an advance security force of combat vehicles and BMP armored infantry fighting vehicles.The Bradley Fighting Vehicle can use towed missiles against tanks, while its armor-piercing shells can be used to annihilate infantry transports.And, although the enemy now knew where the reconnaissance and cover units of the American forces were, he expected the enemy to retreat rather than advance. Two minutes later, enemy blocking fire suddenly appeared one kilometer behind the advancing Bradley combat vehicle.Everything is clear, the enemy is following the script, using old Soviet tactics.The owl stopped after traveling another kilometer quickly, and found a favorable watershed, and many faint white spots appeared on the horizon.The lawyer-turned-colonel radioed all this. Bison, I'm the pack, we've made contact with the enemy, sir.Ettington is in touch with Diggs from his field command post, we've just slaughtered their scouts.Our cover force is watching the enemy's advance security force.My intention was to make a quick fight, drive them back to the southeast, and let the enemy fire fall between the cover and the main body.complete. Got it, wolves.From the command screen, Diggs saw that the Bradley combat vehicles were advancing neatly, and the formation was well distributed.Then they start to disperse.On the vehicle intelligence command system, they saw that some symbols of unknown enemies began to be displayed. This caused great distress for Diggs.He was good at war strategy, so he was perfectly capable now of telling the platoons what to do, where to go, who to shoot, but he couldn't allow himself to do that.He has approved the plans of Ettington, Hamm and Magruder and coordinated them in space and time, and now he, as the commander, should let them do it. Only when problems arise or occur He intervenes when some unexpected new situation arises.As the commander of the US military stationed in Saudi Arabia, he is now just a bystander.The black general shook his head blankly; he had known this would happen, but he didn't know how much it would hit him. Now is the time.Hamm had all the squadrons advance side by side, each squadron had a front of ten kilometers, but the intervals between the teams were more than ten kilometers.Usually the squadron commander will put the reconnaissance unit in front and the tank company in the rear.Each squadron had nine tanks, thirteen Bradleys, plus two M|113s with mortars.Now seven kilometers ahead of them are several brigades of the Second Army of the United Islamic Republic. Although their strength has been weakened after the bloody battle in the north of the military city, their vigilance is still high, because there is no other army in the world The tragic death is even more shocking.His helicopter and video feeds from the Marauders had clearly shown their location.His last order was to send his helicopters to another onslaught of the enemy's security.Everything was going well; fifty miles away the Apache helicopters were taking off, along with the OH|58 Kiowa spy planes, to complete their mission in this war. All F | Fifteen E is heading north.Two of them had gone missing earlier in the day, including the one on which the squadron commander was flying.Now, under the protection of F|Sixteen armed with high-velocity anti-radiation missiles, they were bombarding the bridges and causeways over the two river mouths with sprite bombs.They could see the tanks on the ground, the ones that were blown up and ablaze were on the west side of the swamp, while the undamaged ones were concentrated on the east side.During this thrilling hour, every road was destroyed by successive bombings. F｜Fifteen gathered in the sky over King Khalid Military City, which has been under the control of the air early warning and control aircraft.A squadron of four planes was flying high, beyond the effective range of anti-aircraft missiles of the enemy's advance ground forces; its mission was to keep an eye on the fighters of the United Islamic Republic, lest they get in the way.The rest were tasked with searching for helicopters belonging to armored divisions. Below them, word travels fast.During the day, only three helicopters were shot down, but as the night progressed, half of the helicopters that took off in the fleet exploded within the first ten minutes.This is completely different from last time, the search is quite easy.Attacked enemies had to fight back because they had nowhere to hide and couldn't evacuate which suited the Eagle pilot's appetite.A pilot south of Military City, with the help of an AWACS aircraft, fired an AIM|120 missile and shot down a helicopter; it was the last helicopter hit that night. Although these Bradley fighting vehicle gunners have operated the towed missile in the simulator many times, at least less than half of them have never actually used the towed missile in actual combat.The owl waited for the advance security team to accurately reach its position, but this was difficult because the enemy's auxiliary reconnaissance cover was still nearby.The security unit exchanged fire with them first, and this artillery battle was actually a two-sided battle.The U.S. military detected two BRDM enemy vehicles behind them, and immediately turned around.A Humvee was machine gunned by one of the BRDMs before it could get cover from a Bradley Fighting Vehicle.Armored vehicles rushed to the scene and found a wounded man, the only survivor of the three Humvee crew members.The infantry guarded him as the driver drove up the dunes while the gunner hoisted up the towed anti-combat vehicle missile launchers. The enemy's open combat convoy was now on the attack, looking for Bradley fire and night vision, and there was another brief but furious battle across the barren and dark land.A Bradley combat vehicle was hit and exploded, killing everyone on board.The rest of the tanks fired one or two missiles, destroying 20 enemy tanks.At this time the commander told them to withdraw, so they withdrew from the artillery sniper area where the enemy tanks were in the position.The Owl lost a Bradley fighting vehicle and two utility vehicles, the first ground casualties the United States suffered in the Second Gulf War. It's just after lunchtime in Washington.The president ate so little that he had just finished his lunch when word reached the situation room that gold-rimmed plates, crumbs from sandwiches and potato chips he hadn't eaten were still there.The news of the death hit him hard, even more than the casualties on the cruiser Yorktown or the six missing pilots. Missing doesn't mean death, does it?He made himself think so.Yet these people died.As far as he knows, they are members of the National Guard, and most of them are used to rescue victims after floods or hurricanes Mr. President, if it were you, would you be there for this mission?General Moore asked, after Robert.Before Jackson could speak, he asked again: If you were in your twenties and a lieutenant in the Navy, if they asked you to go, you would go, right? I thought no, no, I would, and I must. So do they, sir.Moore told him. This is duty, Jack.Robert said calmly that this was the right thing to do. Yes.And he has to admit that's what he should do. Four F|117 Nighthawk fighter jets slid into the bunker after landing in Harje, and the transport plane carrying reserve pilots and ground crews followed.Intelligence officers from Riyadh met with them and brought together the reserve pilots and briefed them on his first mission; these men would take part in a war that had already been waged on a large scale. The major general commanding the Immortal Division was sitting in the command car analyzing the situation.The state of the war so far has been satisfactory.The Second Army had completed its task and opened the gap to allow the main force to break in. Until the previous hour, the situation was clear and optimistic.Yes, there was a Saudi force coming towards him from the southwest, but they were still at least a day away.By then, he would have already reached the vicinity of the Saudi capital, and naturally there were other ways of dealing with the Saudi army.At dawn, Second Corps would charge east from its concealed position to his left, feinting to attack the oil fields.This will create another illusion for the Saudi, so that he can buy another day, if he is lucky, can partially or completely eliminate members of the Saudi government, even the royal family; or if they escape ( They will probably do so), then the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be leaderless and the United Islamic Republic will be victorious. Getting to this point is not easy.So far, the Second Army had lost half its combat strength to allow the Allah Corps to go on an expedition; but victory was never easy, and it was no different here.他前面的掩護部隊消失在無線電通訊網上，他們曾經和一個不知名的部隊聯繫過一次，請求火力支援，然後就什麼都沒有了。他知道前面某處有一支沙國軍隊，是幾乎被第二軍全殲的第四旅殘部。他還知道該旅是在哈立德國王軍事城北部激戰過又撤回來的它也許是奉命抵抗以讓首都撤離也許它還有能力吃掉自己的偵察部隊。他不知道美國的騎兵團在哪裡也許在他的東面。他認為也許還有美國的另外一個旅在什麼位置，可能也在他的東面。他希望有直升機，但是不久前才被美國戰鬥機擊毀了一架，裡面還有他的主情報官員。上頭曾經答應過要給他很多的空中支援，但他一整天所見的唯一一架支援戰鬥機也在哈立德國王軍事城東部的地面上化為灰燼。儘管美軍讓他氣憤填膺，但卻阻止不了他。如果他能按時到達利雅得，他就可以派兵控制沙國的大部分機場，來個先發制人。所以正如軍長和司令官告訴他的那樣，目前應該做的是以最快的速度前進。他的主意已定，於是命令先遣旅按照計劃開進，前面警戒分隊則負責偵察。他們向他報告了與一支來歷不明敵人的交戰情形以及雙方的損失，而且在交戰之後不久，敵人就撤回去了。他判斷可能是那支沙國部隊在負隅頑抗，於是決定在日出之後把它幹掉。他把自己的打算告訴了參謀，然後離開指揮部，驅車前往視察前線。 OH｜五八奇奧瓦偵察直升機報告說發現了一些掩護部隊，但不太多。哈姆將軍認為，他們也許在南行時受到了重創。他將一個中隊調到左邊狙擊，同時命令空中指揮官在幾分鐘後派一架阿帕契攻擊直升機前去對付他們。另外一支也很容易對付，但糟糕的是第三支卻位在第三中隊必經的路上。 發現了不朽師。艾廷頓看見其先遣警戒部隊以及緊隨其後的主力部隊的先導分隊，正以每小時二十公里的速度行進，剛好進入己方戰車的射程。他呼叫哈姆。 五分鐘之內。祝你好運，阿爾。 你也是，尼克。艾廷頓聽到。 這被稱為協調性。三十哩之外，幾組武士機動砲調整砲管瞄準了由掠奪者無人飛機和電子情報竊聽所確定的位置。新時代的砲手們把相關座標輸入電腦，以使分散的武器能夠發揮同時彈著的功效。個個眼睛都直盯著時間看，時鐘一秒一秒地過去，必須等到利瑪時間晚上十點半整，也就是祖魯時間晚上七點半整，即華盛頓時間下午二點半整。 在多管火箭發射系統車裡更是如此，士兵們要確保封閉好隔離間，鎖好彈簧懸置以固定住處於發射狀態的車輛，然後關上擋風玻璃窗板，因為火箭產生的廢氣有致命的危險。哈立德國王軍事城南面，卡羅萊納國民兵部隊的戰車們看見一支逼近的部隊，砲手們打開了雷射距離探測器。先遣掩護部隊現正處於二千五百公尺處，而由戰車和BMP戰鬥車所組成的主力部隊則在後面一千公尺處。 在軍事城的東南面，黑馬騎兵團正以十五公里的時速向西開進，朝向四千公尺遠處山脊上的目標。 情況並不太好。第十一裝甲騎兵團的第一營B連由於誤闖進一個沒被發現的BRDM裝甲偵察車陣地而首先開火，向空中發射霧彈以傳遞信號，但是警報發得早了幾秒鐘，所以根本沒有作用。時間仍然繼續在走，不緩不急，而當事者的感覺則各不相同。 艾廷頓嚴格遵守時間。夜裡不能抽煙，因為怕弄出火光來被敵人的夜光觀察器發現。當時間由五十九變到○○時，他打開了打火機。現在有一點點小火光沒關係 砲兵首先發動攻擊，而且已經受命要精確到秒發射。多管發射火箭的氣勢最為壯觀，每架發射器一次都可發射十二枚，不到兩秒就可發射完畢。火箭飛奔沖天，火熱的彈體所排出的煙將整個天空照得光亮通明。到晚上十點三十分三十秒時，空中差不多就會有二百枚M｜七七火箭。 夜空光明如晝，一百哩內的人都能看見火光連天。向東北方向飛行的戰鬥機飛行員們發現了飛行的火箭，而且看起來好像離他們的路線很近；他們可不想與這種東西共處於同一領空。 伊拉克衛隊裝甲師的軍官先看到這些火箭從南面而來，隨後又看出這些火箭瞄準的是從軍事城到阿爾塔維的南北向馬路西側。一些人被嚇呆了，另一些人則大聲命令士兵們保持冷靜，關上艙門把車開走。 而砲兵們根本無法躲開。他們大部分的砲都是拖式的，而且大部分的砲手都在敞開的彈藥車裡為待會兒的火力任務做準備。他們看見燃燒的火箭，並且注意到了它們的方向，但他們除了等待之外別無他法。士兵們都跳到地上，然後先散開，戴好頭盔，再祈禱那該死的飛彈是奔向別處的。 火箭滑過最高點後，開始向地面墜落。在幾千呎高處，定時器打開彈頭，每一枚火箭都釋放出六百四十四顆彈中彈，每顆都有半磅重，因此每一次每架發射器都必須負擔七千七百二十八顆彈中彈的重量。所有火箭都以衛隊師砲兵部隊為目標。艾廷頓希望火箭能早點退出戰鬥，因為這是他們射程最大的武器。一些伊拉克砲手抬頭觀看，他們既看不到也聽不到來襲的火箭，但它們的確來了。 從遠處看，那好像是在地面上放煙火，有如中國新年時的爆竹。七千多枚炸彈炸在二百畝左右的大地上，地上一片喧鬧。運載車著火引起劇烈爆炸，砲膛裡的彈藥又引發了第二次爆炸，炸死了大部分的砲手。第一次砲擊就已造成超過百分之八十的砲手死傷。還有兩次的砲擊。狼群中心的後部，發射車急速返回到補給運輸車。在裝彈前，要卸下用過的六聯裝發射器零件，並換上新的。完成這項工作大約要五分鐘的時間。 一百五十五公釐大砲的速度很快，它們也在向相應的敵人開火；這種砲彈和火箭一樣，都非常精確。這是軍事行動中機械化程度最高的一種：火砲負責殺傷，而人為火砲服務。在這種情形下，士兵們看不見自己的戰績，甚至也沒有前方觀察員告知他們幹得如何，但他們知道用全球定位系統定位目標是不會有問題的，而且如果一切順利的話，他們以後便可以看到一切致命的結果。 跟平常不同的是，那些最先看到敵人先遣部隊的戰車砲手卻是最後才開火的，他們在等待命令，等待連長先開火並下達命令之後才開火。 艾布蘭戰車的射控系統殺傷性極強，而且是操作最簡單的機械裝置之一，甚至比百萬美元的訓練模擬器還容易。每個砲手都有一個劃定的防區，而且已經清楚要從什麼地方開始打起，並已各自瞄準了一輛行進中的T｜八○戰車。 T｜八○戰車是蘇聯設計的老式戰車。由於引擎動力不足，這種戰車的外形比美國戰車要小得多，因為尺寸的減少有利於彌補設計上的不足。前面有一油箱，油線通向砲塔。其砲彈固定於油箱的後部，所以彈藥周圍都是柴油。而且，為了節省砲塔空間，還用自動裝彈系統代替了裝彈手，但這個系統的動作比人還要稍慢一些，而且要求砲塔裡在任何時候都必須要有一發露置的實彈。總之，這也許並沒有多大的不同，但是在大規模的殺戮中，它的確不同凡響。 第二輛被炸毀的T｜八○，其砲塔底部中了一顆銀彈。來襲的砲彈首先破壞了油管，在引爆炸開裝甲的過程中，迸裂的碎片像致命的冰雹般以超過每秒一千公尺的速度四處飛散，連帶將人擊中殺死；同時，待發的砲彈在托架上起火，而另一發砲彈也在炸彈架上爆炸。當彈藥爆炸時，砲手早就被炸死了，引起的柴油爆炸則把笨重的砲塔直直地向上捲到了五十呎的高度，這就是軍隊中常說的災難性殺戮。三秒鐘內又有十五輛戰車被如此摧毀。又過了十秒鐘，不朽師的先遣警戒部隊已被消除殆盡，他們唯一能做的抵抗就是讓戰車燃燒的濃霧蒙蔽整個戰場。 火力立即轉向敵人的主力。大概在三千公尺遠的地方有三個營正在行進當中。 儘管伊朗戰車的車長們都看見幾哩遠的火箭已經發射而且正沿著彈道飛行，但他們大部分都仍留在砲塔外面觀看，因為這樣才能比較清楚地掌握目前的局勢。他們隨後看到的是三公里遠處一條橘白色的光束，緊接的是在他們正前方的爆炸。反應快一點的軍官和現役戰車車長們立即命令砲手們還擊，但是他們都來不及測距，所以砲彈都射得太近了。在震驚的情況下，他們有一些人開始重裝砲彈，另一些人則使用距離探測器以便能命中目標，但那時地平線上已經又是橘黃一片了。至於隨後所發生的一切，則根本就讓他們無暇去顧及天空的顏色變化。 五十四發砲彈在不到二十秒的時間內擊中了四十四輛T｜八○戰車，其中有十輛戰車被擊中了二次。 發現還有一個移動的目標。一個E｜六戰車車長對其砲手說。戰場被照得很亮，引爆的火球也對熱成像儀造成了干擾。那邊，砲手找出了雷射測距的距離在三千六百五十公尺處他將彈藥上膛並發射。火光使他什麼也看不見，過了一會兒，他才發現了滑過沙漠的彈道弧形曲線直直地通往。 命中！車長喊道，改變目標。 正在搜尋目標鎖定準備！ 發射！車長下了命令。 hit the road!這是這位砲手在半分鐘內所發射出的第三枚砲彈。三秒鐘之後，又一座T｜八○的砲塔成為彈道的終點站。 戰車作戰階段很快就結束了。 當不朽師的師長看見火箭飛過時，他正靠近先遣旅尾部。他告訴駕駛把車開過去，而他則從指揮車中站起並轉身，剛好看到他的師屬砲兵正遭受第二次砲擊。當他向後轉繼續向前去時，他看到了艾廷頓騎兵團的第二波戰車。不到一分鐘的時間，他就喪失了百分之四十的戰鬥力。他突然明白，自己中了埋伏，但怎麼會呢？ 摧毀不朽師砲兵的多管火箭是從東面發射的，而不是從南面。這是哈姆送給國民兵部隊的禮物，因為國民兵部隊自己的火力計劃對伊朗的火砲造成威脅。黑馬騎兵團的多管火箭在完成這些任務之後，便將火力轉去支援該團的阿帕契攻擊直升機，這批直升機正在與由三支地面中隊所組成的第二軍交戰。 不朽師的戰地指揮所於二十分鐘前就已經不存在了。在首輪火箭攻擊發起的前十分鐘，攻擊和偵察直升機編隊從北面後方接近無線電信號發射台。他們首先解決了師級目標，其次是旅級的。 不朽師的參謀將按接收到的信號行動。在能恰當反擊之前，軍官們需要確定並核實信息。指揮所也面臨了同樣的問題，他們是部隊的核心，所以必須同心協力。 車輛集結於六公里遠的地方，那裡有四具朝向南方的防空飛彈發射架，還有一組高射砲。P連的阿帕契直升機選了一個周圍沒有危險的地方停下，在大約一百呎的高空盤旋。前排的砲手們都是年輕的准尉用瞄準儀鎖定第一組目標後發射出地獄火雷射引導飛彈。儘管是出其不意地發射，但還是被一名伊朗士兵看到了火光，他大聲告訴一個砲組，那個砲組便立即調整砲位並搶在飛彈降落之前射擊。接下來是一片混亂。AH｜六四向左躲開，以五十節的速度加速閃到一邊避開砲彈，這使得地面上的砲手無法瞄準，只得重新鎖定目標。其他的AH｜六四並沒有被牽制住，在他們六次的發射中有五發命中。又過了一分鐘，敵人的防空火力被壓制住了，攻擊直升機停止射擊。AH｜六四上的人能看到地面上的人正從指揮車裡四散跑開。指揮隊的一些士兵開始用步槍向天空射擊，而機槍手們的行動則更有組織，不過AH｜六四的行動則讓對方大感吃驚。AH｜六四的砲手發射二點七五吋的火箭席捲戰場，發射的地獄火飛彈也摧毀了剩下的裝甲車輛，然後又將目標瞄向他們的三十公釐機砲。為了發洩憤怒，他們逼得更近，就像一隻嗡嗡叫的巨型昆蟲般左右來回，尋找沒死於重武器之下的人。平坦的地面根本無處藏身，AH｜六四的砲手們把他們一個個趕盡殺絕，像收割機收割一樣。出戰前的討論已經決定，在這次戰爭中，直升機不能再像一九九一年那樣允許敵人投降。P連在戰場上停留了十分鐘的時間，直到敵軍徹底車毀人亡之後才滿意地離開。 過早對第二軍偵察部隊的攻擊使得戰鬥開始得早了一點，也讓敵人那個完整的戰車連提早有了戒備之心。敵人的戰車在不到四千公尺的地方。 戰星戰車準備迎戰。B連指揮官邊下命令，邊發射出第一發砲彈，緊接著又發射出八發。儘管這已是砲彈的極限距離，但仍有六發擊中。黑馬騎兵團對第二軍的進攻甚至比多管火箭的第一次齊射還早。行進中他們又發射了一輪砲彈，至少造成敵方的五輛戰車被炸毀，但敵人射出的砲彈卻沒打中他們。 B連戰車分佈間隔為半公里，每輛戰車的搜索區也剛好是這個寬度。他們越向前走，發現的目標就越多。布萊德雷戰鬥車在後方一百碼左右搜尋，而其砲手們則尋找著可能使用反戰車武器的步兵。他們透過車載情報裝置看到，第二軍的兩個師分佈在長二十哩、寬八哩的區域內。B連用十分鐘的時間穿越了一個營的所在地，該營在被沙國軍隊重創之後已被美軍消滅掉了。十分鐘後，他們發現了一個正在組建的砲兵連，於是布萊德雷戰鬥車並沒放過它，用廿五公釐機砲掃射一番燃燒的火團讓人誤以為是太陽提早了四個小時升起。 Damn.艾廷頓很平靜地說了這個詞。營長命令他前進，而他卻站在悍馬車裡。 你確信不到五分鐘？灰狼六號問道，並聽到營信息網中詫異的語氣。that's all?不只一個士官大聲問道。這是繁瑣的無線電通訊紀律，而每個人腦中都在想著同一件事。 但是不能滿足於現狀，還有許多工作要做。艾廷頓拿起無線電通話器，呼叫他的旅情報參謀。 掠奪者有什麼消息嗎？ 我們還有兩個旅仍在向南行進，但速度慢了點，長官。離你稍近一點的大概在你隊伍北部九公里處，遠一點的則有十二公里。 給我接通野牛。狼群六號命令道。 那位將軍依舊站在原地，身前身後死屍遍地。差不多十分鐘過去了，三輛戰車和十二輛BMP戰鬥車都退了回來，停在一個凹處等待指示。人也開始撤了回來，有一些受了傷，但大部分都沒有受傷。他不能責罵他們。將軍此時所受到的打擊比他們所受到的還大。 他曾經嘗試與師指揮所取得聯繫，但回覆他的只是一片沉寂，而他在軍隊裡的經驗，所受的教育以及他所有的勝敗經歷都無法使他面對這樣的現實。 不過他還有約半個多的師可以指揮。他的兩個旅仍然完整，而且他也不是專誠來這裡損兵折將的。他命令駕駛往回開，並下達命令給先鋒的殘餘部隊：除非接到命令，否則一直堅守下去。他必須戰鬥，雖然他經歷了一場厄運，但是厄運總不會處處存在吧。 你有什麼打算，艾廷頓？ 迪格斯將軍，我想把我的兵力往北調。我們剛剛輕而易舉地殲滅了敵人的兩個戰車旅。敵人的砲兵受到重創，長官，我軍將暢行無阻。 好吧，抓緊時間，照應側翼。我會通知黑馬。 Yes, sir.我們將在二十分鐘後出發。 當然，他們已經考慮過這個可能性，甚至在地圖上繪出了概略的計劃。灰狼將改變方向往右散開，白牙直向北走，控制道路，而到目前為止尚未參戰的特遣營土狼則往左散開，形成梯隊以便向西橫掃過去。在各自就定位之後，艾廷頓的旅將向北推進使間隔擴為十公里。由於天黑路又不熟，所以他們走得很慢，而事實上這只是完成了計劃的一半。此次行動的代號是內森，而第一個階段則命名為曼納瑟斯。艾廷頓希望迪格斯不會介意。 我是狼群六號，向所有六號傳訊，代號是內森（編註：以南北戰爭時期南方將領內森．弗雷斯特的名字命名）。再重複一遍，我們將在二十分鐘後執行內森計劃。記住。he ordered. 幾秒鐘後，三名營長便開始協調行動。 迪格斯一直讓馬格魯德將軍處於中心位置，一幅地圖（就算它是吧）顯示在M｜四運輸車的指揮幕上。馬格魯德對最初的戰果並不感到十分驚訝，不過他覺得國民兵部隊表現得很出色，第十騎兵團的進展更是讓他刮目相看。 M｜四以每小時三十公里的速度平穩行駛。他們已進入前伊拉克境內，準備向南折去。現在是當地時間的凌晨二點，由於他的直升機中隊留在後方掩護科威特，所以此刻他覺得有點孤立無援，幸好還有四個小時才會天亮，到那時他就能回到沙烏地阿拉伯了。野牛六號認為馬格魯德有世界上最好的地面部隊。現在，它已深入敵人領土，還將繼續深入。Just like John.奎爾森上校對強尼．雷伯所做的那樣，也像自己和野牛士兵們對阿帕契直升機所做的那樣。他命令部隊散開。偵察兵報告說路上沒有什麼阻礙，敵人的主力深藏在沙國境內。好吧，他應該做的是從後面突襲，看他們能深藏到哪裡去。 唐納在偵察戰鬥車砲塔後面的頂艙裡站了起來，站在他身旁的是一位隨軍攝影師。他以前從未有過這種經驗。他用錄音帶錄下了砲兵連受到攻擊的情形，但他並不認為在這種戰鬥車頻頻受到撞擊震動彈跳的情況下，錄音帶真能錄得成功。他的四周是一片廢墟，後面東南方處至少有一百輛被燒毀的戰車、運輸車以及一些他叫不出名字的東西，而這一切都發生在不到一個小時的時間裡。當布萊德雷停下時，他身子往前一撲，臉撞到了艙口蓋的邊緣。 確保安全！車長喊道，我們要在這裡停一下。 布萊德雷在回教聯合共和國那些被毀的火砲陣地以北一哩遠的地方圍成了一圈。砲手將砲台轉了一圈以觀察四周，確定沒有什麼危險。然後打開後艙門，首先有兩個人跳出來，手持步槍，他們先環視了一下，然後便跑了起來。 come here.中士邊說邊伸出手。唐納抓住他的手爬上了車頂。Do you smoke? 唐納搖搖頭。戒了。 Yeah?那些傢伙一、兩天後也會戒煙的。他邊說邊對後面一哩遠的士兵們比了一下。然後他舉起望遠鏡四處觀看，再次確認此地是否安全。 What do you think?記者拍了一下他旁邊的攝影師問道。 他們付我錢要我來就是要我拍下這一切，而我也不負所託。 我們停下來幹什麼？ 半個小時後我們要加油，還要補充彈藥。攝影師摘下眼鏡。 我們要加油？又沒走多遠。 因為將軍認為明天也會是個忙碌的一天。他轉身問道：你認為呢，湯姆？