Due to continuous heavy rain, the Susangerd region in Khuzestan Province had long since turned into a marshland.
When thinking of the Middle East and North Africa, Qusay's impression was one of vast deserts, but upon arriving here, he realized that was not the case at all.
Baghdad and Basra are both places with abundant water resources and lush vegetation. This is the famous region of Mesopotamia, which nurtured great ancient civilizations.
In contrast, areas like the Southwest and Northwest, and most of neighboring Saudi Arabia, are almost entirely desert. However, the southeastern part of Iraq has several lakes, meaning water resources are not entirely lacking.
It is the same along the border with Iran. Large areas of aquatic plants grow in the Susangerd region. Continuous rainfall has made the land near the mouth of the two rivers around Susangerd extremely muddy, and the marshes here are impassable.
Off-road vehicles? Whether they are two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, no matter how much horsepower they have, they would all be defeated. However many came, that many would get stuck in the mud.
Only tracked armored vehicles could barely pass through.
In the tank battle that occurred here previously, more than four hundred tanks participated on both sides, but over two hundred eventually sank into the swamp and never managed to get out.
This is truly a nightmare for tracked vehicles.
Most of Iran's weapons were American-made, but for its main battle tanks, it chose the British Chieftain.
The Chieftain tank weighed 55 tons, much heavier than other tanks of the same era. Its substantial weight provided thick armor, a powerful 720-horsepower engine, a 120mm rifled cannon, and advanced aiming equipment, allowing it an 80% first-round hit probability against moving tanks at a range of 1,500 meters.
Its only drawback was that it was too heavy, making it ill-suited for marshlands.
The tanks equipped by Iraq were mostly the Soviet T-62. This tank was widely exported to the Warsaw Pact, but the models Iraq received were simplified versions compared to those used internally by the Soviet military. Although its cannon also had a 115mm caliber, the fire control system was extremely simple, equipped with an infrared lamp!
During World War II, tank aiming was mostly based on feel. By the 1950s, coaxial machine guns became popular; a machine gun was mounted co-axially with the main cannon, and tracer rounds were fired in a burst. If the machine gun hit, the aim was confirmed accurate, and then the main shell was fired (a very primitive method, but better than aiming purely by experience). Later, optical aiming equipment was introduced, which involved using large infrared lamps to illuminate the target, while the gunner observed through a periscope to determine the position, with an effective range of at most one thousand meters.
The tanks currently used by the Iraqi army employ this type of fire control system.
The Chieftain tank, however, had already integrated a laser rangefinder, crosswind sensor, and ballistic computer, possessing nearly the prototype of a modern tank fire control system. The most outstanding fire control system was the German Leopard's hunter-killer system, which allowed the gun barrel to remain fixed on the target regardless of how much the vehicle body shook.
But even with the outdated fire control system, the brave Iraqi tankers did not feel ashamed. They didn't hold the belief that backwardness leads to defeat; they preferred to abandon the outdated system and use direct aiming, trusting their own eyes more.
The only advantage of the T-62 was probably its light weight, with a combat weight of only forty-four tons. Furthermore, its wider tracks gave it far superior marshland traversing capability compared to the Chieftain tank.
While recalling the combat capabilities of Iraq's tank units, Qusay arrived at the headquarters of the 35th Armored Brigade of the 13th Armored Division. The brigade commander was a middle-aged soldier named Muhammad.
Muhammad is one of the most common names in Iraq, just like Zhang Ming or Li Qiang.
The Southern Military District Command was extremely confident about these marshlands, believing them to be an insurmountable natural barrier against enemy tanks. This meant the area was safe, which is precisely why Qusay was transferred here.
If they knew that the largest tank battle since the Fourth Middle East War was about to take place here, Izzat probably wouldn't be so composed.
Qusay's group now consisted of four people: besides Wahrih and Ghassar, they were joined by a bodyguard sent by Izzat: Marwan.
Marwan was Izzat's personal guard, a burly man with incredible marksmanship, and one of Izzat's trusted confidants. While sending him to Qusay was certainly for protection, Qusay did not dwell on any deeper meaning.
His most important task now was to integrate with the soldiers of this armored brigade and assess their combat effectiveness—whether they could withstand the Iranian tank assault.
"Welcome, Excellency Qusay, to the 35th Armored Brigade for inspection. This is an honor for all our officers and soldiers," Muhammad said, standing at the headquarters entrance. He immediately saluted upon seeing Excellency Qusay's jeep approach.
"allah is great. I am deeply honored to see your mighty war machines," Qusay replied, returning the salute. His gaze was already fixed on a tank parked in the nearby open space.
"Excellency Qusay must be tired from the long journey. Please rest at the brigade headquarters first before inspecting the troops. I have specifically arranged target practice drills for you," Muhammad said.
"Good." After traveling for so long, Qusay was indeed a bit tired.
"How many tanks does our armored brigade have in total?" Qusay asked as he walked.
"We have three Tank Battalions, one Artillery Battalion, and one Mechanized Infantry Battalion. Each Tank Battalion has thirty-six tanks (three companies, twelve vehicles per company). The Artillery Battalion has forty artillery pieces, and the Mechanized Infantry Battalion has sixty-four armored vehicles, totaling 1,753 personnel," Muhammad replied.
Qusay nodded after hearing Muhammad's reply. These men would be the main force defending the Susangerd region.
There was a reason the Iranians wanted to capture this place: it was right on the soft underbelly of the Southern Military District's defenses. If the enemy captured it, they could move south to take Khorramshahr, which had been occupied for nearly a year, and the besieged Abadan, or they could strike north straight toward Baghdad.
"Do we have attack helicopters?" Qusay asked. Attack helicopters are the natural enemy of tanks. A tank's frontal armor is the thickest, followed by the sides and rear; the thinnest part is likely the armor on top.
"Our military district has about fifty Mi-24s, but they are all deployed within the district. We do not have Mi-24 protection in the Susangerd region," Muhammad said.
Zhang Yang knew that although the Iraqi Army was equipped with attack helicopters, they were not assigned to frontline units. When needed, they had to be requested from the Military District Command, which was undoubtedly a waste of time. He needed to find a way to get a batch transferred from the Command headquarters.
The Mi-24 was the Soviet Army's first dedicated attack helicopter. It had already been widely deployed by the Soviet military and exported to many countries. The main missions planned during the Mi-24's design included providing cover for friendly tank clusters, suppressing enemy ground forces and anti-air fire, forcibly air-dropping small infantry units, and suppressing enemy advance forces in the drop zone. However, through long-term training and use, the Mi-24 increasingly took on anti-tank roles and gained some anti-helicopter capability.