Friday, April 7, 2017

Speaking of Syria...

I wrote Israel Strikes in 2012. Back then Syria's civil war was not the nihilistic bloodbath we see now. As such I imagined the nation cobbled back together under the rule of a military dictator.

When said dictator needs a way to rally and unify his people, he see's Israel's war with Iran and chooses to jump in. There follows a massive air battle and ground campaign for the Golan Heights culminating in the 'Highway of Tears':

As the platoon slowly made its way through the wreckage, Gonzo looked to his right, back toward the Golan. There were explosions in that direction as Israeli forces engaged the Syrian rear echelon elements. To the east, toward Damascus, he could make out the rest of Division 162, two brigades, as they pushed toward the city. The Beirut/Damascus highway was just ahead of them.They emerged on the other side of the now wrecked missile battery to see a vast open plain, dotted by only a few small ridges and the Beirut/ Damascus highway.‘Holy crap!’ said the gunner.Gonzo looked forward. About a kilometer away was the highway. From east to west it was packed with tanks, trucks, and armored vehicles - crawling along the road bumper to bumper to the Golan.‘Target, dead ahead!’ shouted the gunnerWithout waiting for the order, the gunner fired. A few seconds later a Syrian APC exploded in a ball of flame. The other tanks in the platoon fired, destroying three more Syrian vehicles in quick succession. The gunner looked at Gonzo. ‘Get down there and load!’ He pushed Gonzo down into the turret.‘AP!’ the gunner shouted at Gonzo.‘Huh?’‘A-P!’ he shouted again. The loader pointed to one shell storage locker. ‘This holds AP rounds!’ He pointed to the next. ‘This holds HE. This one over here holds Frag. Got it!’‘I don’t know anything about loading it.’‘Like this!’ In frustration the gunner pressed a lever on the turret floor which opened the AP storage locker, took a shell out, and slammed it into the breach of the main gun. ‘It is not rocket science, see!’‘I see.’’The gunner got back in his seat, lined up a Syrian tank, and firedThe gun breach flew back and spit out a spent shell.‘AP!’ the gunner shouted.Gonzo hit the floor peddle, grabbed an AP shell and slammed it into the breach.‘There you go.’Gonzo heard the company commander on the radio, ‘What is going on down there?!’The platoon commander responded. ‘We just found half the Syrian army in front of us!’‘Do not exaggerate.’‘Come see for yourself.’‘I am coming down to your position now.’‘Good, Captain, bring the whole company, and then the battalion. And whoever else you can find.’Minutes later, when the company commander had joined the platoon’s skirmish line, he reported back to battalion. ‘Yes, that is right, hundreds, thousands of vehicles here. Must be a division or more.’‘Do you want to retreat?’ the battalion commander asked.‘Hell no, we’re tankers.’‘You’re too weak to defend against them.’‘Then we’ll attack!’


The 'Highway of Tears' makes a cameo in War of the Red Sea:

Lovy ordered an aide to get Matti. He returned with him a few minutes later. He was the opposite of the burly, barrel-chested Nagid. Matti was a slight, thin man, well short of Nagid’s six feet. He had curly black hair and wore trendy, rectangular black glasses. Matti saluted and then extended his hand.            ‘Minister, we never met, but I’d like to say I was at the Highway of Tears. Thank you.’            Nagid shook the man’s hand. It too was small but his grip was like iron. ‘What are you thanking me for?’            ‘For allowing us to do our job. Sometimes, I close my eyes and see those Syrian vehicles on the highway, just before we shot the shit out of them. Sir, I wish you could have seen it. It was beautiful, like having a blonde laid out on the bed.’            Lovy laughed, Nagid smirked.            ‘Of course, we weren’t gentle with the Syrians, were we, Minister?’

Read 'em now, before they get Overtaken by Events!

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