The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

The shells fell on the ground like raindrops.

In just a moment, it was as if thousands of cannons were firing at the same time. The deafening roar was accompanied by the spreading air waves of the explosion, carrying the soil hundreds of feet high. One shell after another exploded all over the positions of Kumchat Mountain. In just a few minutes, the overwhelming roar enveloped the entire Kumchat Mountain.

Mount Kumchat is located at the junction of Iraq, Syria and Turkey. The mountain is four or five hundred meters high and controls the border area between the three countries. Not far below the mountain is the Tigris River flowing.

The joint forces chose this place as a breakthrough point, and they must have wanted to capture Mount Kumchat and tear open one end of the Iraqi defense line. As long as they captured the second line of defense, the Fishchabur Mountain Line, the joint forces could march straight into Iraq without having to worry about other lines of defense in the Kurdish mountains.

The distance between the two lines of defense is thirty or forty kilometers, and the area in the middle is a plain, which is Silopi.

Of course, the joint forces can also break into Syria and pass through Syria, so that they can reach Iraq's Dahuk and Nineveh provinces without having to fight mountain battles.

However, Syria has mobilized 15 troops to deploy on the Turkish-Iraqi border, and the Arab coalition also has 15 troops stationed on the border, and they are all elite troops. Once the joint forces force their way through, they are likely to be attacked by the Syrian army and the Arab coalition, thus triggering a war between the joint forces and the entire Middle East.

That could potentially trigger the start of Season 3, and the Joint Forces Supreme Command does not dare to take that risk.

Inside the pit island, the fierce artillery fire shook the oil lamp so much that it jumped off the box, fell to the ground and went out. The cupboard made of ammunition boxes hanging on the hole in the wall fell to the ground with a "swing", and fragments were all over the floor. A gust of wind blew in from outside the tunnel, blowing the soldier's hat off his head.

In just a moment, a deafening roar filled the eardrums. American fighter planes appeared in the sky, but the fierce artillery fire on the ground made it completely impossible for the soldiers in the tunnel to hear anything. Incendiary bombs fell from the sky onto this 500 square kilometers of land.

The flames lit up the darkness, and the shock wave spread far and wide. Through the tunnel entrance, one could clearly see that the entire Kumchat Mountain was illuminated red by the flames of the incendiary bombs.

Thick smoke billowed and the air was filled with gunpowder. In this sea of ​​fire, the joint forces' artillery shells fell on Mount Kumchat like raindrops.

Inside the pit island and the air-raid shelter, Iraqi soldiers opened their mouths one by one.

The intensity of the terrifying explosions was no less than that of three or four strings of ten thousand-shot thunder cannons. Sitting in the tunnel was like being inside a drum. With the fierce artillery fire, the whole body shook from the inside out, and gravel was falling above the head.

The Iraqi soldiers squatted on the ground, holding their guns and opening their mouths, listening to the continuous roar above their heads and waiting quietly. There was determination on their faces, without any trace of cowardice.

Since the outbreak of the Iraq War, coalition forces have launched numerous exploratory attacks on Iraqi defenses, using aerial bombardments, artillery bombardments, and special operations.

But there have never been such fierce air strikes and artillery bombardments as today!

From outside the tunnel, wind carrying gunpowder smoke kept blowing in, whistling and extremely pungent.

The artillery fire overhead kept falling on the heights of Mount Kumchat and exploding on various positions. The deafening roar of artillery fire shook every soldier in the tunnel and struck every soldier's heart.

At the Iraqi Northern Theater Command, Rashid has received news that the joint forces have launched an offensive.

The direction of Kumchat Mountain was suddenly subjected to unprecedented artillery and air bombardment, which started at 3:30 in the morning and lasted for more than 20 minutes. The roar of the artillery fire had basically destroyed most of the surface fortifications.

The lights were on at the Iraqi Northern Theater Command Headquarters, and Rashid and others stayed up all night.

The mercenary group is working on the topographic map. The computer displays the satellite map and the deployment of the joint forces.

"We suggest that the defenders of Kumchat Mountain keep their composure, wait until the enemy's bombardment is over, and then immediately organize troops to counterattack and hold the Kumchat Mountain position!" A middle-aged man from the mercenary group said in a deep voice: "At the same time, the defenders in other areas should also be reminded to pay attention to possible attacks by the enemy at any time!" "In addition, we must prevent the enemy from airborne troops!" said the middle-aged man with a serious face.

Iraq now has few air defense weapons left and almost all its aircraft have been lost.

In this situation, it is basically impossible to stop the enemy airborne troops!

However, measures can be taken to quickly surround and annihilate the enemy's airborne troops.

Rashid gave the order. He had great prestige. Half of the troops in the Northern Theater were his own troops, all of whom were elite. In addition, his prestige in the Iraqi army enabled him to enforce his orders.

At this time, the aircraft of the joint forces continuously dropped artillery shells, napalm bombs, incendiary bombs, and fuel-air explosive bombs from the sky on Mount Kumchat. The artillery fire of the joint forces covered the entire Mount Kumchat.

There are 5,000 garrison troops stationed throughout the Kumchat Mountains, and there are constant stream of reinforcements following behind.

Artillery fire continued, and it was difficult to hear people talking in the trenches, tunnels and air-raid shelters. The artillery fire was extremely fierce, and there had been no pause since the shelling began. Observers on the front line used the flickering fire from the artillery fire to see that the enemy began to move towards Kumchat Mountain with two battalions of troops. They were divided into two routes, one on the west and the other on the north.

As for the south side, it is the rear of the Iraqi army, and the east side is another defensive position of the Iraqi army, which is enough to block the narrow valley.

As the enemy's troops appeared, the artillery fire began to extend backwards to create a curve for the infantry to attack.

The observers understood that this was a tentative attack by the enemy.
Observers report the intelligence.

At the same time, observers in the rear also observed the enemy's figures through the flickering lights of artillery fire. They continued to advance, and the enemy's artillery fire continued to extend to the rear.

Finally, it came within range.

The Iraqi army began to shoot, with rifles and machine guns firing.

It is hard to say whether you can hit the target or not. This is how war is. 100 bullets may not injure a person, and 10000 bullets may not kill a person.

Especially at night, we can only make judgments based on the flames on the ground and the flames from the enemy's shooting.

The entire terrain was favorable to the defenders, and Iraq had previously laid mines ahead. If someone unlucky enough stepped on a mine, it would explode.

Although the previous large-scale artillery and aerial bombardment by the US military caused some mines to explode, some mines still did not explode.

Then when the enemy entered the range of the grenade, the Iraqi soldiers took out the grenades, removed the fuses, and threw them downwards.

Grenades kept exploding, and some unlucky American soldiers were blown away.

These Iraqi soldiers carry four grenades with them, not to mention grenade boxes, which can be replenished at any time. (End of this chapter)