Even if everything you said is true, I want to know why the regime fell in 12 freaking days.
A massive win, with barely any casualties to speak of. On either side.
Whole cities given up without a fight.
I can only arrive at the following possible conclusions, some combination thereof:
- the SAA was absolutely useless
- The generals and/ or Assad did their own deals with the enemy
- Iran and Russia ran out of stamina/ patience/ finances/ willpower/ manpower to support Assad
- The rebels were very well prepared, and supported. Plus their military strategy was excellently planned and executed
But nothing by itself would be reason for SAA folding like a cheap suit.
I note that Assad’s behaviour was extraordinary. First thing a ruler does is to come on TV at a time like this. To show strength, reassure supporters. This man though was mostly missing from the public eye, from the outset.
I think this performance will be studied more in the future.
Assad's army was mostly conscripts, whom after fighting on multiple fronts were pretty much depleted in both morale and equipment.
The rebels didn't actually plan this out all that well. It's clear that even they were surprised by this.
Initially, what happened was that Assad was planning a final assault on Idlib, and was launching shaping operations. HTS under pressure from the population they were ruling over (whom were getting killed from Assad regime strikes) launche an operation to push back the Assadists, and perhaps take Aleppo....
....and that's where everything went wrong for Assad. His forces simply disintegrated when the rebels out even a slight bit of pressure.
As soon as that happened, it was clear to everyone that Assad was finished. HTS, while surprised initially, quickly smelled blood in the water, and launched a rapid offensive on Hama, Homs, and Damascus.
Assad then had to deal with an rebellion uprising from the south, and SDF forces attacking his forces in the east.
With all these crises cropping up, and his army performing poorly, his regime just....disintegrated into dust.
Iran, Hezbullah, and Russia couldn't do much, as they all were busy dealing with their own crises, on top of just hating Assad's guts.