Chapter 1788 - 1371: The Eve of Battle (Part 2)

In times of war, any solid building may be used for military purposes.

The walls are bare concrete, painted with moisture-proof paint, with screens and maps hung on them.

In front of the central curved console, about a dozen staff members are seated, each wearing headphones and facing at least three monitors.

No one looks up; only the sound of fingers typing on keyboards is as dense as rain.

The main screen wall is composed of twelve seventy-inch LED screens, currently displaying the real-time situation on the battlefield:

In the upper left corner is the satellite infrared imagery, showing the building outlines of Tikrit City in varied shades of red, with several concentrated heat sources marked as "suspected assembly areas."

In the upper right corner is the signal intelligence map, with countless white points randomly flashing within the city area, representing radio communications distribution.

Three clear tracks are moving from west to east.

Those could be vehicles.

The largest six screens in the middle display the integrated situation map. Scarlet Tikrit is surrounded by blue arrows from four directions, with each arrow showing troop numbers and real-time distances.

The blue arrow on the eastern line is the closest to the city edge, only twelve kilometers away.

The most eye-catching is the countdown board on the right wall:

41:03:17

Red numbers, each the size of a washbasin, pulsing like a heartbeat in the dim command center.

"Commander, the video conference channel is established, all four commanders are online."

The communications officer speaks, eyes fixed on multiple status indicators: "Encryption level A, delay test passed, ready to start."

Song Heping walks onto the central command platform.

This is a platform fifty centimeters above the ground, standing on it allows overlooking the entire hall.

Only three items are on the console: an encrypted communication terminal, a physical battlefield model.

"Connect them."

The screen wall instantly switches.

In the upper left screen, Major General Samir's face nearly fills the entire screen.

The light behind him is dim, indicating he is in a field command vehicle.

A corner of the map board comes into view, drawing arrows and circles in red and blue ink.

"Boss."

He speaks with the old salutation, even though he's a Defense Army major general, he cannot change that respect.

"My people are in position. Eighty-six tanks, one hundred and twelve infantry fighting vehicles, forty-eight artillery pieces. Front width three kilometers, planned strike depth five kilometers, up to the edge of the Old Town."

The upper right screen shows Colonel Nasim. He sits in a concrete room, the walls unpainted, with clear marks from the template.

A charcoal stove in the corner of the screen has a copper kettle boiling steam.

"The western blockade will be completed within ten hours."

Nasim's English carries a strong Persian accent.

"But the desert terrain is too open, I need more sensors and patrol vehicles. Now there is only one interception point every ten kilometers, too much of a gap."

In the lower left screen, Abu You is adjusting his headset.

On the console behind him, an AK-74U short assault rifle is laid across the map.

"The northern line is ready." Abu You speaks briefly, "All forty-two tanks have entered firing positions, each vehicle with forty-five rounds. I have shared the coordinates of the three tunnel exits I found. I request a precise artillery strike on the exit areas two hours before the general assault begins, using concrete-penetrating shells to seal the openings."

The lower right screen is government army Major General Khalid Jassim. He sits in a formal command post, with the Iliguo and military flags behind him, intentionally lit to make the stars on his shoulder shine brightly.

"The government army units are fully prepared."

His voice is the clearest: "We have established a civilian reception center in Samara that can accommodate twenty thousand people, with medical teams and sufficient food and water supply for three days. Civilian safety route signs have been made and will be deployed six hours before the general assault starts."

The central screen is Song Heping himself.

He waits for everyone to finish speaking, then slowly starts: "Everyone, this is the last full meeting before the general assault. I'll be brief."

The command center falls silent, even the keyboard sounds stop.

"First, fire control." Song Heping's voice is not loud, but each word is like a chisel striking concrete, "Residential areas, hospitals, schools, mosques, these sensitive zones must have double confirmation, absolutely no firing permitted without it. What does double confirmation mean? Frontline observer visually sees the target, simultaneously verified by drone or satellite imagery. Without one, the shell stays in the barrel."

He pauses for a second to let the interpreter catch up.

"Second, engagement rules. Prisoners captured on the battlefield will be handled according to the Geneva Convention and sent to joint POW camps. For extrajudicial executions, I will personally send them to military court."

The four faces on the screen remain expressionless.

These men are seasoned veterans and know that rules are rules.

"Third, humanitarian corridor. At six o'clock tomorrow morning, we will use every means possible to inform the civilians in the city about how to leave—drone broadcasts, leaflets, social media. Four safety routes, with clear fluorescent markers every five hundred meters along each route, lit at night. If a refugee wave escapes from Titrick during combat, each unit must assign personnel to form escort teams to help evacuate elderly, children, and pregnant women."

"Fourth," Song Heping glances at Jiang Feng, the latter nods: "Battlefield supervision. The Musician Company will dispatch twelve discipline teams, each with three members, equipped with law enforcement recorders and satellite phones. They will randomly follow major assault units forward. The discipline teams have the right to disarm violators on the spot, and if necessary, can open fire."