80,000 Troop Preparing to Attack Houthi in Yemen

The Houthi anti-aircraft missile force in Yemen successfully shot down the 19th MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance drone. In the first round of the Middle East war, the Houthi armed forces in Yemen shot down 14 Reaper drones in a year and a half.

However, this time, the Houthi armed forces in Yemen shot down four MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance drones within about two weeks. This itself is unusual. The high-density shooting down of large reconnaissance drones may indicate that ground warfare will soon begin.

High-density reconnaissance by large drones means higher-density reconnaissance and search, which is a signal that the intensity of the war will quickly escalate. A greater crisis is coming.

According to a report by The Jerusalem Post, Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Sager, chairman of the Gulf Research Center of Saudi Arabia, revealed that the ground war has entered the countdown stage.

After nearly a month of coordination, the U.S. Central Command has reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, and Yemen. The pro-Saudi Yemeni government forces have mobilized 80,000 ground troops, which will launch the first phase of the ground war under the support of U.S. air force, Saudi Arabia, and U.S. navy.

The Yemeni government forces have approximately 150,000 regular troops, organized into 8 armored brigades, 6 mechanized infantry brigades, 16 infantry brigades, 2 air assault brigades, 3 artillery brigades, 1 special forces brigade, 6 anti-aircraft brigades, and 1 ballistic missile brigade.

In this battle, the Yemeni government forces will be the main force engaged in combat. The armored forces include 450 T-54 and T-55 tanks, 200 T-62 tanks, 60 T-72 tanks, and 50 M-60A3 tanks.

The armored vehicles consist of 60 M-113 armored personnel carriers, 60 BTR-40 armored vehicles, 100 BTR-60 armored vehicles, as well as a large number of Humvee military vehicles, Sardinian light armored vehicles, and Western mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles.

The main artillery firepower includes 75 Soviet-made M-46 130mm howitzers, 150 BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers, 2S1 122mm self-propelled howitzers. There are also over 800 SAM-3, SAM-6, and other surface-to-air missiles, 300-plus ZU-23-2, ZSU-23-4, and 61-K anti-aircraft guns, as well as Fajr, Scud, and Mars ballistic missiles.

The main small arms equipment includes 5.56x45mm AR-M9 and AR-M9F automatic rifles ordered from Bulgaria by the UAE, priced at around $1,450 per rifle. As well as AK-47 assault rifles, Type 56 submachine guns, AKS-74U assault rifles, etc.

The first batch of U.S. A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft, over 300 pilots and maintenance personnel, have already arrived in the Middle East region. They will be responsible for aerial ground strikes and supporting the Yemeni army's ground offensive against the Houthi armed forces in Yemen.

Analysis indicates that the U.S. side is preparing to support the Yemeni army in directly seizing the largest port of the Houthi - Hudaydah Port, cutting off all external contacts of the Houthi in Yemen, and confining them to the mountainous areas in northwestern Yemen, losing control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Abdulaziz Al-Sager, chairman of the Gulf Research Center of Saudi Arabia, also publicly stated that the operation has entered the final preparation stage, with the goal of seizing Hudaydah Port.

The U.S. military will only deploy special forces to participate in the ground war, mainly responsible for contacting and commanding air strike operations, as well as logistics support. Ground combat will primarily be handled by the Yemeni army. It is estimated that funding will be provided by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, among other countries. Striking the Houthi in Yemen aligns with the interests of the Gulf states. The Gulf states do not want a powerful Shia armed group, out of their control, right at their doorstep, waving weapons.

New information shows that Trump will meet with Putin in May. There is a possibility that Putin and Trump will reach a settlement. The U.S. will continue to pressure Ukraine to surrender, while Russia will ease tensions with the U.S. and Israel in the Middle East.

Houthi Faces Existential Threat

The Houthi armed forces in Yemen are indeed facing an existential threat, but it will be difficult for the U.S. and the Gulf states to completely defeat the Houthis. The Houthi armed forces are a theocratic and militaristic organization, which is very difficult to thoroughly defeat.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was bled dry by the theocratic organizations in Afghanistan. In the Afghan War, the U.S. also exhausted its energy in front of the theocratic Taliban.

Moreover, the Houthi armed forces are further evolved theocratic organizations, a faith-based and organized armed force. The highest decision-making body of the Houthi is the Standing Committee, which directly organizes topics, discussions, and decisions.

This morning, the Houthi armed forces in Yemen announced that they had shot down the 19th U.S. MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance drone in Hajjah Province in western Yemen, and launched a Balad-2 hypersonic missile to strike an Israeli military missile base east of Ashkelon in Israel.

They also fired a Zolfaqar ballistic missile to strike Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. The U.S. launched three THAAD system interceptors to intercept it. These three interceptor missiles are worth $70 million. The U.S. military really doesn't count costs when fighting.

The U.S. military also announced that it recently launched ten large bunker-busting bombs to strike the Kashra triangular fortress underground base, namely the Nukhum Mountain underground base near the Houthi capital Sana'a.

This large underground base actually has a history of several centuries, existing since ancient Yemen, and was expanded during the North-South Yemen War. Since 2014, the Houthi armed forces have, with the support of Iranian experts, carried out another large-scale expansion. Unless the U.S. military deploys tactical nuclear bunker-buster bombs, it will be difficult to completely destroy such a mountainous and solid underground stronghold.

In conclusion, if the U.S. supports the Yemeni government forces in launching a ground war, the Houthis are likely to suffer severe losses. However, the U.S. and the Yemeni army cannot completely defeat the Houthi armed forces. The fighting will soon enter a mountainous stalemate.

A prolonged Yemen war will greatly consume U.S. long-range attack and anti-missile ammunition, which is also a form of de-militarization for the U.S. Such consumption ultimately benefits any action we take in the Asia-Pacific region.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493080672119079463/

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