At the entrance of Lavo Town.
The cessation of artillery shelling finally allowed Samir's People's Power armed forces to catch their breath.
The previously intense bombardment had inflicted heavy casualties on the People's Power soldiers hiding around the buildings and on rooftops.
Mortar strikes on rooftop defenders are the most effective, and hiding behind buildings is useless.
The advantage of howitzers is their ability to hit targets beyond visual line, calculated trajectories ensure the shells land nearby even if you hide behind a structure.
"The shelling has stopped, Commander!"
When the subordinate reported this through the radio, Samir initially thought he had heard wrong.
"What?! Say that again!"
"Their shelling has stopped, they might be out of ammunition!"
The subordinate speculated that the I5I5 armed forces had ceased their artillery fire due to a shortage of shells.
"Impossible!"
Samir immediately became alert.
Tonight, I5I5 armed forces concentrated their superior strength and launched comprehensive attacks from three directions on the three most important strongholds in the Southwest Region occupied by the People's Power armed forces.
In the current situation in Illigo, where different armed factions control separate territories, everyone occupies their own piece of land.
This is similar to the nature of a base area.
Each armed group needs soil for survival.
I5I5 is located due west, bordering Siria, while the Shiye Sect armed forces supported by Persia occupy the northwest border region adjacent to Persia, and the Kurds are in the north.
Of these regions, the one with the most resources is the Kurd-controlled area, which has many oil wells. In these two years of war in Illigo, the Kurds have taken the opportunity to self-govern. Although they haven't openly declared independence from the Illigo Government, they have harbored such thoughts.
With the help of their American patrons, the Kurd Armed forces have established their own small independent kingdom in the northern mountainous areas. While others wage war, they develop; over the years, the Kurd autonomous region has become the most stable and economically prosperous area in Illigo.
Next in line is the Shiye Sect armed forces' northwest region, which also possesses some oil fields, and with the Persians backing them with weapons and funds, life there isn't too tough.
Then there's the region controlled by the I5I5 armed forces in the west, which borders Siria. Previously, this wasn't I5I5's territory; it was an area where over a dozen armed factions waged mixed warfare. However, in the past two years, since Baghdadi was released from Guantanamo by the American intelligence agency, I5I5, crafted by his hands, seemed divinely assisted. In just a few years, they annexed the Salafi Brigade and drove away various other small-scale armed organizations, becoming the undisputed rulers of the region.
In theory, the western region near Mosul is a crucial corridor to Siria. The rise of armed forces there should be clear to the Americans, who ought to suppress it.
However, the coalition forces seem to turn a blind eye, focusing their troops around cities with Mosul at the center, completely disregarding remote towns and villages, letting the I5I5 armed forces continually strengthen themselves.
Of all the armed factions, the one led by Samir, the People's Power armed organization, is the most destitute. It is an armed group formed by natives of Illigo, similar to a tribal militia.
Their firearms, ammunition, and equipment are poor, and although they are not considered an extremist organization, they detest the Americans. They believe that for Illigo to be independent and self-reliant, the Americans must leave, or otherwise, Illigo can never develop.
Because of this, they frequently clash with the Americans and are not favored by them.
However, since they are a militia organization created to sweep away domestic armed factions and establish stable order, they have gained the support of many tribes and civilians. The Americans can't easily find a reason to take action against them for the time being.
But not taking action doesn't mean they won't deal with them. For an armed group, the critical elements are sources of funding and weapons equipment.
You can't fight a war with fists alone; you need guns and artillery.
So, Samir's armed organization has been consistently resource-starved. There are no government grants, no weapon supplies; the weapons in the warehouses from Sadam's former army, rather than rusting away, are never allocated to the People's Power.
The main support for Samir comes from sympathizing government officials and military personnel who covertly back them. The weapons they have are those that military personnel under the pretext of wear and tear have taken from police or security forces' phased-out firearms and military vehicles to give to them, making them barely qualify as an "armed" force.
Compared to the I5I5 armed forces, the People's Power is at a disadvantage both in terms of numbers and equipment.
Tonight, the I5I5 armed forces came prepared, so from the start, Samir and his troops were squeezed into the town, with no chance to escape.
Samir has been following Song Heping for two years.
He has learned a lot of basic tactical knowledge from Song Heping. After all, he is a person who has studied abroad and, in a place like Illigo, qualifies as an intellectual. Initially entering the government army as a translator out of necessity, meeting Song Heping and serving under him was also for livelihood.
However, he is eager to learn, and every time Song Heping commands operations, Samir watches and learns covertly, with keen interest.
Guerilla warfare, this is the treasure of overpowering the strong with the weak that he learned from Song Heping.
In casual conversations, he heard Song Heping mention the essence of this tactic—Retreat when the enemy advances, harass when the enemy camps, attack when the enemy tires, pursue when the enemy retreats.
After careful consideration, Samir found the concept of guerilla warfare brilliant. He felt that applying it in Z Dong, in Illigo, and within his own armed group would be an excellent specific strategy.
But tonight, he had no chance to demonstrate his talents.
Lavo Town is considered a critical stronghold, but Samir does not station there long-term.
He leads his armed personnel in groups, each stationed in different villages and towns.
They never stay in one place for more than three days and avoid having too many forces concentrated in one spot lest they be wiped out altogether.
In theory, this method should be safe enough.
Did not expect that just after arriving at Lavo Town this afternoon, we'd be besieged by the I5I5 armed forces by nightfall.
Now there's no time to investigate whether there's a mole within our own ranks. Getting out alive is what matters most.
Upon hearing from his subordinates that the I5I5 forces had suddenly stopped their artillery fire, he was immediately faced with a critical decision—should he take this opportunity to break out, or should he wait and observe a little longer?
Indecision leads to chaos.
That was a tactical thought he had learned from Song Heping.
But he worried that their cessation of mortar fire was just a trap.