Empire Conquest-Chapter 687 - 18 Copper Wall Iron Curtain_2

Simply put, it was about attacking King Khalid’s Military City to disrupt the military deployment of the Liangxia Empire.

If Saudi Arabia could not hold out and declared neutrality, the Liangxia Empire would lose its most critical foothold and lack the basic conditions to counter-attack Kuwait.

Clearly, the problem lay here.

When planning combat operations, Hussein had repeatedly asked his generals if they could annihilate Saudi Arabia and how much it would cost.

Unfortunately, other than sounding good, no officer provided a constructive answer.

The key issue was whether Boi Country would stab them in the back.

It was not until the end of last month that the Tiaoman Authority confirmed that Boi Country would at least remain neutral and not kick them while they were down during the war.

However, Hussein still had not decided whether to attack Saudi Arabia from the south.

The crux was whether the Air Force could achieve air supremacy over the battlefield.

To put it bluntly, even if they could swiftly capture King Khalid’s Military City, it would be impossible to deal with the Liangxia Fleet cruising in Boss Bay and Mua Sea.

Without the Air Force, the Liangxia Empire could still rely on its shipborne air force.

Clearly, if the Air Force was not confident about achieving and maintaining air supremacy, then sending troops south would just be making targets for the Liangxia ship-borne aircraft!

Unfortunately, no one dared to guarantee this.

With reinforced deployment, the Liangxia Navy could at least deploy six carrier battle groups in the Boss Bay area, utilizing over 500 ship-borne aircraft.

The entire Iraqi Air Force only had about 600 aircraft, with fewer than 400 being combat planes.

When devising the plan, Hussein made one thing clear.

Only in the most ideal situation, would they consider moving further south after capturing Kuwait.

The so-called most ideal situation was if Saudi Arabia still refused to provide a military base for the Liangxia Empire and remained neutral after Kuwait’s fall.

Simply put, it meant that the King of Saudi Arabia, fearing invasion or other concerns, opted for a policy of appeasement.

Unfortunately, such a scenario did not occur.

Because of this, yesterday, Hussein had ordered several ace divisions acting as strategic reserves to return to their stations.

That is to say, Hussein had already abandoned the idea of attacking Saudi Arabia.

So, was achieving air supremacy still useful?

To say it wasn’t would be deceiving oneself.

Fundamentally, air supremacy was what decided the outcome of this war.

According to the Tiaoman Advisor, if the Iraqi Air Force could inflict heavy damage on the Liangxia Air Force in aerial combat, even if eventually overwhelmed, it would have a significant impact, such as forcing the Liangxia Authorities to admit that the cost of ground warfare was too great and thus opting for compromise.

Indeed, this was the only way for Iraq to achieve victory.

That is why Hussein had called this meeting and had Hariri play a leading role.

According to Hariri, the first battle was particularly crucial.

For this, he planned to deploy the main units of the Air Force, dispatching hundreds of fighter jets in two batches from two directions to challenge the Liangxia Air Force.

It sounded good, but the core tactic was simple.

Use quantity to compensate for the lack of combat strength.

No matter how good the Liangxia Air Force’s fighters were, they only had about 40, and the only support they could rely on was King Khalid’s Military City.

Limited by their deployment capability, Liangxia Air Force could at most deploy three squadrons of fighter jets at a time.

Yet another key issue was that with insufficient support from the rear bases, they would surely face command challenges in directing the aerial combat.

Don’t forget, this was the first time the Liangxia forces had been stationed in Saudi Arabia since its independence, and they were not familiar with this military city built just a few years ago.

To build a command system from nothing within a few days was no easy task!

In Hariri’s words, as long as enough combat planes were deployed and they were willing to endure huge operational losses, they could make the Liangxia Air Force suffer.

According to Hariri’s analysis, after two rounds of intense impacts, the Liangxia Air Force deployed in Saudi Arabia would virtually lose its combat capability.

At that point, let alone maintain a no-fly zone, they probably wouldn’t even manage to protect King Khalid’s Military City.

This was what interested Hussein the most.

After seizing air supremacy, especially before the Liangxia Air Force reinforcements arrived, the Air Force would focus its power on bombarding King Khalid’s Military City relentlessly.

If successful, it would definitely cripple this most critical military base in the northern region of Saudi Arabia.

Facing Iraq, King Khalid’s Military City was the only large, comprehensive military base that could support hundreds of combat aircraft with complete facilities.

If King Khalid’s Military City became paralyzed, the operations of the Joint Forces would inevitably be affected.

Perhaps, it might even coerce the Saudi authorities to change their stance.

In fact, merely disrupting the Liangxia Empire’s battle plans had an underestimated value.

That’s exactly why Hariri further emphasized the value of King Khalid’s Military City.

According to Hariri, the Liangxia Air Force could use the world’s strongest strategic airlift capabilities to dispatch hundreds of fighter jets to King Khalid’s Military City within the next few days.

By implication, if they missed this current opportunity, there would be no chance later.

Of course, the Iraqi Air Force was also ready.

At that moment, aside from the dozens of fighters already in the air, nearly a hundred more were on the ground on standby, ready to take off immediately upon Hussein’s command.

All the pilots involved in this operation were elites.

Additionally, Hariri had brought several dozen pilots’ requests to engage in battle.

In summary, the Air Force was united in hostility and would do their utmost to win this battle.

Hariri appeared resolved to either succeed or die trying.

But could they really win this battle?

After Hariri finished his presentation, Hussein did not immediately issue the commands; instead, he left the conference room on the pretext of needing to take his medication.

He went to seek advice from a Tiaoman advisor.

Although there were thousands of Tiaoman military advisors and instructors within the Iraqi military, and almost all of Iraq’s main military equipment was imported from the West Continent, Hussein was particularly keen on minimizing the influence of Tiaoman advisors at the decision-making level.

Simply put, any major strategic decision was Hussein’s, not the Tiaoman advisors’.

This was a matter concerning his prestige within the military.

However, for all major decisions, Hussein would consult with or seek valuable advice from a Tiaoman advisor.

It wasn’t that Hussein lacked his own opinions, but rather he needed the support of the Tiaoman Empire.

These military advisors represented the Tiaoman Empire!

Of course, this time was no different.

After Hussein explained the situation briefly, a high-level advisor group of seven military experts provided advice.

Just as Hariri had emphasized, this was the only way to force the Liangxia Empire into a compromise, and the window of opportunity was only a few dozen hours.

Once the Liangxia Air Force reinforcements arrived, it would be too late!

Moreover, the Liangxia Navy was also mobilizing troops; the combat power of three carrier battle groups was not to be underestimated.

The first battle after the declaration of war was critical; there was no room for maneuver nor any room for fanciful hopes.

According to the military advisors, this concerned the morale and fighting spirit of over a million Iraqi soldiers; even with slim chances, they could not back down.

Half of the no-fly zone delineated by the Joint Forces was over the Iraqi homeland.

That was Iraqi airspace!

What difference did it make from a defeat if they couldn’t control their own airspace?

Certainly, the advisory group also offered another suggestion.

If they were worried about defeat, the reasonable choice now was to immediately withdraw from Kuwait and recognize it as an independent state with full sovereignty.

If they were willing to give up Kuwait, which was already within reach, the Tiaoman authorities could act as mediators.

Clearly, the advisors were explicitly suggesting this, or perhaps they were using a form of reverse psychology.

To give up Kuwait, which was already occupied?

If Hussein dropped out at this time, even if the Liangxia military didn’t drive him out of the President Mansion, his generals might take matters into their own hands.

Furthermore, after consistent propaganda, the Iraqi military and people all believed that Kuwait was a province of Iraq!

Don’t forget that over a decade ago, Hussein had come to power through a military coup.

As a military dictator who always maintained a tough image, what Hussein feared most was his subordinates thinking he was weak.

There was only one choice!

Subsequently, Hussein returned to the conference room and issued the combat orders.

However, he still had a very serious concern.

Hariri’s proposed battle plan coincided exactly with the advisory team’s recommendations.

Was this a coincidence, or was there another reason!?