"Commander, should we keep fighting?"
Hassan was silent for a long time. Then he stood up, walked out of the tent, and stood by the lake.
On the west bank of the lake, the lights of Tiberias City were still on. Sparse, dim, but still on.
"No more." He said.
The staff officer was stunned, "Commander—"
"No more."
Hassan repeated, "We have no pontoon bridges left, no tanks, no time. The Mexicans will arrive tomorrow. The Americans the day after. If we keep fighting, it's not the soldiers who will die, it's Syria's future."
He turned around, walked back into the tent, and picked up the casualty report. The 5th Division, with two thousand three hundred killed.
The 7th Division, with one thousand eight hundred killed. The Republican Guard Armored Brigade, with six hundred killed.
"Tell Damascus," he said, "we've reached the lake. But we can't cross."
Cairo, Egyptian Ministry of Defense.
