The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Baghdad.

The night in Baghdad was originally very beautiful and quiet, and the starry sky was clearly visible.

But tonight Baghdad seems to be filled with smoke.

Fireballs kept appearing in the sky, which were formed by intercepted missiles or explosions of aircraft.

The air raid sirens in Baghdad had already sounded, and citizens took shelter in basements or air-raid shelters.

“Da da da~~” “Boom boom boom~~”

You can see anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft guns forming an air defense firepower network to intercept close-range, low-altitude targets.

Iraq's air defense system has also formed an air defense system consisting of medium-range air defense missiles, short-range air defense missiles, anti-aircraft machine guns, and anti-aircraft guns.

As for the long-range air defense missile system, Iraq now only has two battalions of S300 air defense missile systems!

"Boom~~"

A building was hit and there was a startling explosion, and a building was hit by a missile and thick smoke billowed.

At the embassy, ​​the lights had long been turned off and the embassy staff had entered the underground air-raid shelter.

When building this embassy, ​​military aspects were taken into consideration. There is a complete air-raid shelter, which is equipped with food, water, and a communication system so that external contacts can be made at any time.

Although most of the embassy staff have evacuated, some staff still remain to facilitate communication between the two sides.

Besides that, there are military observers here!
During the Iraq War, a large military observation group of 200 people was sent to Iraq. There was also a military observation group of 200 people in Turkey, and another 200 people in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea.

In order to better observe the war, a total of 600 military observers were dispatched, a size far exceeding the 200-person military observer group in the Afghanistan War.

Inside the air-raid shelter, Zhong Yuemin was writing in a notebook with a pen.

Zhong Yuemin, now 31 years old, was just promoted to colonel this year and served as deputy brigade commander of a combined mountain brigade. He came to Baghdad in September and served as deputy head of the military observation group.

The current combined brigade is different from the past. Normally, the military and political chief of a combined brigade is usually a colonel, and there are four deputy brigade-level officers, namely the deputy brigade commander, deputy brigade political commissar, brigade chief of staff, and director of the brigade political department, all of whom are colonels. The commander and instructor of a combined battalion are both deputy regimental-level lieutenant colonels, and the chief of staff of a combined battalion is a battalion-level major.

This trip to Baghdad is a rare opportunity for Zhong Yuemin to observe and understand the war up close.

In Baghdad alone, the military observer group consists of 80 people.

The night light was on and Zhong Yuemin was writing seriously.

Baghdad is not peaceful tonight, as the offensive and defensive battle between the two sides began in the morning.

Military observers like Zhong Yuemin observe and study the war from a military perspective, while also collecting first-hand war intelligence.

Even in the air-raid shelter, Zhong Yuemin did not put down the Type 78 pistol at his waist.

Although this place will not be bombed by the joint air force, as the saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry. Out of caution, most people go into the air-raid shelter and only a few are left outside.

I looked at the time. It was already 0:00 a.m. Baghdad time, which means 5:00 a.m. Beijing time. The time difference between Baghdad and Beijing is exactly 5 hours.

Zhong Yuemin took out a photo from his chest pocket and a happy smile appeared on his face.

This is his wife and his daughter. His daughter is now 3 years old and has started going to kindergarten. As a deputy brigade-level cadre, Zhong Yuemin's wife and daughter can naturally live in the military community as dependents, which also allows Zhong Yuemin to do his job better.

However, since his wife and daughter moved in, Zhong Yuemin probably only spends half a year at home throughout the year.

Studying, participating in exercises, and military training are all impossible to do at home.

This time, as deputy heads of the military observation group, they will stay in Iraq for half a year.

These six months are actually a time for learning.

Zhong Yuemin's wife is a Chinese from Southeast Asia. They regained their Chinese nationality after they got married. When they were in Southeast Asia, Zhong Yuemin rescued her from the mob and acted like a hero saving a beauty. The two got to know each other and fell in love. When Zhong Yuemin returned to China, she followed him to China.

After gently stroking the photo for a while, Zhong Yuemin put the photo into his chest pocket.

The Iraq war has reignited.

The White House held a press conference, and George Walker, with a beaming face, claimed that a heavy blow had been dealt to Iraq today.

In response, Saddam also gave a speech in a secret place.

"The hypocritical and evil George Walker carried out an inhumane massacre and owed a blood debt to the Iraqi people! We Iraq will never compromise. This is a new colonial war of the West against us! We must fight back against the enemy twice as hard and fight bravely to defend our motherland and our revolutionary cause! We Iraqis are invincible! Our Islamic civilization is invincible!"

Saddam was also very smart, and even now when he makes televised speeches, he always mentions Iraq, the Arab world and the Islamic world, portraying himself as a hero of the Arab and Islamic worlds resisting American hegemony.

At the same time as Saddam was giving his speech, in western Iraq, Iraq's Scud missile forces were rapidly becoming excited.

Strike the enemy! Saddam's trump card is the Scud missile!

Medium-range ballistic missiles are difficult to obtain. Neither Panshan Group nor Russia will sell medium-range ballistic missiles to Iraq.

So far, Saudi Arabia has only acquired Dongfeng Express, and it still has deterrent power relying on Dongfeng Express.

After all, it’s only 1400 to 1500 kilometers from Saudi Arabia to Athens, and 2500 kilometers to Rome, Italy!

The delivery distance of 'Dongfeng-3' can reach 2800 kilometers!

Besides, who knows whether the range of the 'Dongfeng-3' express delivery vehicle has been extended? If the range is extended by another 1000 kilometers, it can reach London!
Saddam could get short-range tactical ballistic missiles, which have a range of basically 1000 kilometers and cannot reach Europe, so the impact would not be too great.

This time, Saddam decided to attack Israel, America's ally in the Middle East, to retaliate against the Americans.

If Israel can be dragged into the war, it will no longer be the Iraq War, but the Seventh Middle East War. By then, Americans will have no chance of staying in the Persian Gulf, and Israel will only need a northeastern defense line.

Yes, this was Saddam’s plan, to drag Israel into the war by attacking it, thus triggering the seventh Middle East war.

Otherwise, the war would only happen in Iraq, and Iraq would be the only ones hurt.

This is not Saddam's character!

Saddam was a tough guy sent from heaven to Iraq. He was ruthless and cruel, otherwise he would not have ruled Iraq for more than 20 years.

The United States has only one ally in the Middle East, Israel, but Israel is surrounded by hostile forces. The hatred between Jews and Arabs cannot be explained in a few words. (End of this chapter)