Chapter 30: Cross the border

On the evening of October 6, after it became dark, the 188th Armored Brigade evacuated Delserice.

In order to prevent the Syrian army from pursuing victory, Baram dispatched dozens of armed helicopters to carry out a fierce low-altitude strike on the Syrian Army's Third Armored Division and the Seventh Armored Division. Although this round of strikes achieved good results and forced the Syrian army to give up the idea of ​​continuing to advance, the Israeli army also paid an extremely heavy price. A total of thirteen Ah-64ds were shot down by the Syrian Army's field air defense system.

Judging from some information released after the war, the Israeli army's air counterattack was basically meaningless.

The reason is very simple. When repelling the 188th Armored Brigade and capturing Delserice, the 3rd Armored Division and the 7th Armored Division of the Syrian Army were not far from being "disabled".

At that time, the Syrian army lost at least 370 main battle tanks near Delceres.

In addition, in the battle to block the 7th Armored Brigade, the Third Armored Division also lost about eighty main battle tanks.

According to the combat organization of the Syrian army, the two divisions had only more than 600 main battle tanks in total. After the more than ten lost during the assault, after capturing Delserice, there were only less than 150 main battle tanks left, and the fierce battle was used up with all ammunition and fuel.

In other words, even if the logistics support capabilities of the Syrian army are not affected, it will take about one day for the Third Armored Division and the Seventh Armored Division to attack again with only one-quarter of the armored forces left. If combat forces are to be replenished, it will take more time.

In fact, this is exactly the biggest problem facing Qi Kaiwei.

If the Israeli army stops here, they will have enough time to consolidate the last line of defense, and may even launch an attack before the Syrian army. If the attack continues, the Third Armored Division and the Seventh Armored Division will not be supplemented or rested, and are likely to be defeated by the Israeli army in the subsequent battle.

You know, by this time, the Israeli army only used three ace brigades.

In front of the Third Armored Division and the Seventh Armored Division, there are at least one standing brigade and four reserve brigades. If the offensive slows down, the Israeli army will continue to increase its troops.

If possible, Qi Kaiwei certainly hopes that the Third Armored Division and the Seventh Armored Division will continue to advance forward.

The news from the front line frustrated Qi Kaiwei. Fortunately, the Syrian army's emergency repair troops have arrived and can repair about two-thirds of the damaged tanks. However, it takes enough time, and some of the more severely damaged main battle tanks must be sent back to the repair shop in the rear.

Without a choice, Qi Kaiwei could only let the infantry division rise and continue to put pressure on the Israeli army, consuming the Israeli army's combat capabilities.

Of course, this does not only refer to the living power of the Israeli army.

The most tested thing for continuous high-intensity combat is the patience ability or energy of the officers and soldiers. As long as they do not relax their offensive strength, the Israeli army will have to fight hard on the front line and maintain a combat state at all times. For a few days, even if the Israeli army is still on the position, they may not be able to defend it.

Qi Kaiwei did not forget the most important thing: contacted Mu Haoyang and proposed to let the Egyptian army fight together.

At that time, Balam also adjusted his deployment: First, let the 188th Armored Brigade retreat to the rear to replenish its troops, especially the severely damaged armored forces; second, to send more troops to the 7th Armored Brigade and the First Infantry Brigade to stabilize the flank defense line; third, to push the reserve troops up and defend the front line.

More importantly, Balam also needs a reserve team, sufficient reserve team

That night, Balam contacted the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army and proposed to send at least four infantry brigades to add 500 main battle tanks.

The requirement to supplement the main battle tank was immediately met.

By this time, the Israel Defense Forces had not yet fully traded for "stock". The large inventory of "Mekava 4" and "Mekava 3" main battle tanks, and even some "Magach 7" main battle tanks, were all provided to the reserve forces formed during the war after renovation.

Unfortunately, the problem with the additional dispatch of reserve forces is that the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army did not meet Balam's requirements.

The reason is very simple. On the afternoon of the Sixth, the Egyptian army on the frontier positions of the Sinai Peninsula entered the offensive position, and the Egyptian Air Force also bombed the Israeli positions on the border.

All signs indicate that Egyptian troops are about to cross the border.

Although the battle situation on the Golan Heights is very dangerous, it is nothing compared to the southern border defense line. In any case, in the first day of the battle, Baram successfully withstood the fierce attack of the Syrian army and also severely damaged the two Syrian ace armored divisions. However, in the south, the Egyptian army had been resting for a week, and the three main armies were replenished and their combat capabilities were restored. More importantly, the southern border line was basically without any danger. If the Egyptian army made a breakthrough, even if it only captured the Port of Eilat, Israel would face the test of life and death. The result was that the Israeli army had to stay on the southern defense line in a large number of troops.

Given the situation at that time, the Israeli army was unable to reinforce the Golan Heights.

However, the Israeli Ministry of Defense gave Palam the privilege that within the northern theater of war, he could recruit all personnel suitable for the war on his own.

For Israel, this is the highest level of war mobilization.

In the past four Middle East wars, only during the first Middle East Wars did the Israeli government delegate power to allow the theater commanders to recruit combatants from civilians.

The question is, can this solve the problem?

Although Israel is a country where all people are soldiers, it does not mean that everyone is suitable for military service. After all, elderly people, teenagers and children under sixteen years old, workers engaged in childbirth, soldiers who care for the family, disabled people, etc. are not suitable for combat.

In addition, there are not many civilians in the jurisdiction of Balam.

The only thing that made Baram feel a little relieved was that the tenacious blockade on the first day severely damaged the main force of the Syrian army, so it was impossible for the Syrian army to launch a large-scale attack immediately.

On the morning of October 7, the pressure from the Israeli army was transferred to the southern battlefield.

On the morning of the same day, Egyptian troops crossed the border and began to siege the Port of Eilat.

The main force was still the Third Army, which performed well before and was a bit reckless, the First Army served as the reserve force, the Second Army was responsible for guarding the border defense line, and there were twenty-four reserve infantry divisions in the rear, mainly responsible for transporting combat materials.

After the battle started, the Israeli Ministry of Defense received a warning from the United States: the Egyptian army will definitely capture Eilat at any cost.

The reason is simple: Egypt has already concentrated more than 30 ships and more than a dozen small ships in Guldai in the Red Sea.

According to the information, in the past week, the Egyptian army transported about 150,000 tons of ammunition and drug supplies to Guldaiga, requisitioned more than 30 merchant ships, and concentrated all warships of the Red Sea Fleet. As long as Eilat was captured, Egypt would send these supplies to the front line.

In this way, the Egyptian army can use Eilat as a base to sweep and capture the Negev region.

More importantly, through sea transportation, the Egyptian army can shorten the ground supply line by two-thirds and place more logistics support forces at the front and rear, thus providing sufficient logistical support for a large army of 150,000, which is at least capable of hitting Beersheba. If the Egyptian army captures Beersheba, it can transport supplies through the railway line to ensure that enough front-line troops are provided with supplies.

According to the Israeli army's defensive deployment, as long as Eilat falls, there is no chance of defending Bernsheba.

In addition, even if we can defend Belsheba and prevent the Egyptian army from heading north, the Negev area will be abandoned, which is equivalent to one-quarter of the territory of Israel.

If we really want to reach this point, Israel can only seek peace.

In fact, the US Department of Defense clearly mentioned in a report submitted to the White House that the Egyptian army was likely to end the offensive operation after controlling the Negev Desert, consuming Israeli forces through defensive wars and tactical counterattacks, forcing Israel to seek peace.

Politically, as long as Israel cannot win the southern battlefield, even if it defends the Golan Heights, it will be no different from defeat.

The reason is very simple. If the truce is in this state, Israel will definitely return to the Negev area at the negotiating table, and the only way is to hand over the Golan Heights. Whether choosing the Negev Desert or the Golan Heights, Israel's security situation will completely deteriorate.

Of course, there is another crucial political factor.

If the Egyptian army controls the Negev Desert, it can use it as the foundation to help Palestine establish a state and gain unparalleled reputation and status in the Arab world. At that time, not to mention pro-Egypt countries like Syria, even more pro-American countries such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will recognize Egypt's leadership status, and the "Egypt-Syrian axis" will be formed, and no one can stop Egypt from uniting and unifying the entire Arab world.

It can be seen from this that Israel cannot abandon the Negev Desert, and the United States cannot allow Israel to abandon the Negev Desert.

The influence is that the Israeli army had to focus on the southern battlefield, with the main purpose of defeating the Egyptian army, and then turn around to clean up Syria.

Of course, the premise is that the Egyptian army must be defeated.

To this end, the Israeli army not only sent all the reserve brigades, but also sent all the main combat equipment obtained on October 3 to the southern battlefield.

By the early morning of October 7, the Israeli army had gathered 80 brigades on the southern border defense line, more than 1,800 main battle tanks and more than 3,000 armored combat vehicles, of which more than 1,000 main battle tanks were M27a1 provided by the United States, and the rest were mainly re-activated "Mekava 4" and "Mekava 3".

Because of sufficient ammunition, after receiving m27a1, the Israeli army conducted high-intensity training.

The main purpose is to let the tank master the operation method of m27a1, especially the US military's gun aiming system. After all, this is not much the same as Israeli tanks.

These preparations came in handy soon.

At around 8 a.m. on October 7, the Egyptian army launched an attack. The Third Army surrounded the Port of Eilat, which was guarded by four armies, in just four hours.
Chapter completed!