12:17 PM, direction of Ozham.
The first sound of artillery finally shattered the heavy silence.
The artillery positions of two brigades of the Iliko Government Army simultaneously opened fire, and the storm at the muzzle of 155mm howitzers raised walls of smoke several meters high from the surrounding sand.
The shells, with a shrill whistle cutting through the air, poured towards the forward positions of the 1515 armed forces, fifteen kilometers away.
The heavy tracks of the M1A1 "Abrams" main battle tank crushed the dry, cracked land, trailing a long dragon of dust.
They deployed in standard wedge formation, each tank followed by three to four BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, with machine gunners on top tensely scanning the hills on both sides.
"Hound group, advance as planned. Watch the flanks, maintain spacing."
