06:45, Northwest Suburb of Tetric.
The dry wind stirred up dust, hitting the windshield of the Humr.
Major Mahmoud, commander of the First Battalion, Third Brigade "Freedom Fighters" of the Kurd, stood on the roof, observing the front with binoculars.
Thirty-five years old, having fought with the 1515 Ard for 4 years, two shrapnel scars on his face.
His battalion was one of the main attacking forces today.
Behind him, over three hundred vehicles ford a kiloter-long convoy along the dry riverbed—twenty Humrs, fifty off-road vehicles, the rest all Toyota pickups, each with a PKM general-purpose machine gun or RPG-7 gunner mounted in the back.
The soldiers wore mixed camouflage uniforms, so with Arican-made helts, others only with headscarves.
The weapons were primarily AKMs, but M16s and even German G36s could be seen—acquired through various channels over the years.
The car stereo played Kurdish folk songs, the stirring lodies faintly audible amidst the engine roars.
The soldiers' morale was high, many standing on the vehicles, waving fists towards Tetric.
Last night, they watched the spectacular scene of airstrikes—fireballs rising continuously on the horizon.
This morning, before setting out, images transmitted by drones showed that the front seed deserted.
"Allah bless, today we will drive those Black Flag bastards out of Tetric!" a young soldier shouted, eliciting a cheer.
Major Mahmoud did not stop them.
Having morale is a good thing, but there was a faint unease in his heart.
Because...
It was too smooth.
He pressed the intercom: "All units, remain vigilant. The Tetric city industrial area is complex, with many buildings, there may be ambushes. Stay alert!"
"Understood, Major."
The convoy continued forward, raising clouds of yellow dust.
The three Humrs in front, the DShK heavy machine gunners on the roofs turned their guns with caution.
07:00, On the outskirts of the abandoned brick factory.
This was the first line of defense marked by the satellite—a five-hectare old brick factory, kilns, workshops, warehouses, mostly destroyed in airstrikes.
Mahmoud's Humr stopped 300 ters outside the plant area.
He raised his binoculars again.
The brick factory was quiet.
So buildings were still smoking.
No human figures, no vehicles.
The drone flew over ten minutes ago, the thermal signal scan found only sporadic small animal heat signatures.
"First Company, send a platoon to scout inside."
Three pickups left the convoy, carrying fifteen soldiers as they slowly drove through the factory gate.
The soldiers crouched in the truck beds, pointing their guns in all directions.
The pickups navigated through piles of broken bricks, rolling over debris.
The sunlight began piercing the horizon, casting long shadows on the ruins.
The radio transmitted the scout platoon leader's voice: "No enemy found. Buildings are empty, with lots of empty ammunition boxes and abandoned personal belongings, seems they retreated hastily."
Mahmoud breathed a sigh of relief.
It seed the airstrikes indeed disrupted the enemy's deploynt.
"All battalion, advance! First Company occupy the brick factory, establish defense. Second, Third Company, continue advancing towards the second line of defense!"
The convoy engines roared, flooding into the brick factory area.
The soldiers jumped off the vehicles, quickly occupying various buildings and high points.
The engineers began checking for trap mines.
Mahmoud's command vehicle drove to the front of an old warehouse in the center of the factory.
He got off, stepping on broken bricks and shell casings.
The air was filled with the scent of smoke and dust.
"Report to brigade headquarters: I have occupied the first line of defense without resistance. Consolidating positions, preparing to advance."
"Yes, Major."
Mahmoud looked around, taking a deep breath of the refreshing morning air.
The invigorating sll felt very good.
It seed today would indeed go smoothly.
Those Thunder Defense rcenaries hadn't even mobilized, yet his Kurd people were going to claim the first victory.
He looked towards the southeast, where the main city still had smoke columns rising in multiple places.
Suddenly, his ears pricked up.
What sound?
Like...
Engines?
Many engines, coming from the direction of the city.
He grabbed the binoculars, looking towards the south side of the brick factory—where a damaged road led to the city.
At first, there was nothing.
Then, in the heat haze on the horizon, appeared shaking shadows.
Many shadows.
07:15, Sa ti, Thunder Defense observation post.
Mike lay at the edge of the roof of a three-story building, AN/PVS-14 night vision set up in front of him.
He was the Alpha Company commander, assigned to establish the observation post here.
His position was two kiloters northeast of the brick factory, offering a good view.
Through the night vision, he watched the Kurd forces smoothly enter the brick factory and spread out to deploy. Everything was normal.
Then, he saw shadows appearing from the direction of the city.
"Command, this is Alpha-1. Observing suspicious activity. Multiple vehicle targets appearing from the city direction, moving towards the brick factory. Counting ongoing."
He adjusted the magnification.
Thermal imaging showed those vehicle engines were very hot, clearly just started recently.
The main vehicle type was pickup trucks.
The number kept increasing.
Ten trucks, twenty trucks, thirty trucks...
"Warning! Warning! A large number of ard pickups appearing south of the brick factory, advise Kurd forces to raise alert."
But he wasn't too worried.
Even if the enemy counterattacked, the Kurds had one battalion of five hundred n, relying on the brick factory ruins for defense, plus air support, holding should not be a problem.
Moreover, Apache Ard Helicopters were in the nearby airspace.
He continued to observe, watching those vehicles spread out about a kiloter away from the brick factory, seemingly regrouping.
Strangely, they didn't charge imdiately but were waiting for sothing.
Rosenberg frowned.
This was unlike the 1515 Ard style—they usually either held positions or launched frenzied but disorganized suicide charges.
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