On the morning of 20 February, the battleship Nassau, the flagship of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the German Navy, together with the battleship West**, appeared off the coast of Alibagh with several light cruisers and destroyers.

Because the warships of the German Navy often cruised in this area, the soldiers of the British and Indian troops did not care about it when they saw it.

"The Germans' warships are huge! Those two battleships were like hills. A British and Indian soldier looked amazed.

"Yes! No wonder the Germans were able to defeat the British. Another Anglo-Indian soldier said.

However, their boss, an Englishman platoon commander, was very unhappy about this. He was originally an ordinary soldier in the Anglo-Indian Army. However, because of the frantic expansion of the Anglo-Indian army, there was a lack of junior officers. Therefore, tens of thousands of people were selected from the Anglo-Indian army to serve as platoon commanders and even company commanders in the Anglo-Indian army.

Hearing that two Indian natives dared to say this, the face of the Englishman platoon leader suddenly became not very good-looking.

"Shut up, it was supposed to be a British Empire warship. When the despicable Germans attacked the empire itself, they stole the ships. And now they are brazenly using these battleships, it's just despicable! The platoon leader scolded.

The two British and Indian soldiers were silent for a while, but in their hearts, everyone despised the platoon commander's words, and everyone knew that the British mainland had fallen. Obviously, the warships that the Germans are using now are just trophies of the Germans. The Germans had defeated the British, and it was natural to get these spoils, there was nothing vile or not vile. Blame them for losing the war!

"What are the battleships of the Germans doing here? Normally, they pass through this area of the sea at most. "The platoon commander felt that there were some organs.

"Sir, are the Germans just passing through here, they are going, maybe Bombay." An Indian soldier said. After all, Mumbai was a big city, and if the German battleships were going to attack, it was clearly Mumbai that was their target.

The platoon commander nodded, he also felt very reasonable.

However, soon the platoon commander's eyes widened. Because he found that the two battleships actually slowed down and hit the hull at the same time.

"Oh God! They really want to attack Alibagh! The platoon leader shouted.

"Boom!"

The battleship 'Nassau' opened fire first, and three triple 380-mm guns smashed heavy shells into Alibagh.

At the same time, the battleship 'West**' also began to attack. Two battleships began to ravage the small city with their main guns.

One by one, transport ships also appeared in the distance and began to approach the coastline. The transports were carrying the 3rd Marine Division. Their mission was to support the Army's landing operations in the Indian theater of war, while guarding the port and ensuring the security of the logistics base.

"Boom!"

The shells exploded in the city of Alibagh, and the low houses to the east were blown to pieces in the explosion.

Countless Indians fled for their lives, perhaps never knowing that war would one day befall them.

Garrisoned here was the 2nd Infantry Brigade under the 12th Infantry Division of the 2nd Anglo-Indian Army, and the entire infantry brigade was only more than 4,000 people, and the brigade headquarters was located in the city.

When the explosion sounded, the brigadier brigade commander woke up in shock.

"What's going on? What happened? Where did the explosion come from? Brigadier General Brigadier General put on his pants and rushed out of the room.

"General, shelling! The battleships of the Germans were firing at Alibagh. The adjutant reported.

"What? The battleship town of the Germans was firing? My God! The Germans didn't choose Mumbai as the landing point, so why did they choose us here? Brigadier General's frightened face was announced.

"Also, immediately report to the division headquarters that we are under shelling by the Germans, that the Germans may land at Alibagh and that we are in dire need of reinforcements. Otherwise, the fall of Alibagh would have been prevented only by God. Brigadier General commanded. He knew very well that if the Germans really wanted to land in Alibagh, he would not be able to even stuff the Germans with his thousands of men. If it was a few thousand elite British soldiers, it might be possible to stop the Germans for a while, but a few thousand Indian soldiers would not be able to do it at all.

"Yes, General." The communications soldier turned pale and went to send a telegram.

Everyone knew that the most dangerous time and space for them had arrived.

"Boom!"

A 380-mm shell landed in the British and Indian barracks, and the dilapidated barracks were torn apart in the explosion. Countless British and Indian soldiers were killed while they were still asleep.

There were also many British and Indian soldiers who were awakened, and they ran out of the barracks directly, and they didn't even have time to put on their pants, let alone weapons and equipment.

The Anglo-Indian line on Alibagh Beach was also the target of heavy shelling by two battleships of the German Navy.

Originally, the defense line built by the British and Indian troops was not very strong, and it was just a superficial appearance. The 380 mm guns of the capital ships of the German Navy are even more powerful. The fortifications built on the beach could not withstand the heavy shelling of the German army at all, and were easily destroyed.

"Boom!"

A cannonball exploded on the beach, and a huge shock wave swept through the sand and shot out in all directions. Although the effect of the shelling was somewhat affected by the sands on the beach, all the fortifications around the shell explosion were destroyed. On the beach, there are bomb craters left one after another.

Despite the fact that the shelling of the two capital ships of the German Navy lasted only twenty minutes, the beach of Alibagh had become a mess. There are huge craters everywhere, like the surface of the moon.

Although the attacks on the city of Alibagh have not been few, they have already scared the indigenous Indians living here. Those Indian natives didn't have time to clean up, so they scattered and fled.

The Anglo-Indian troops stationed in Alibagh had not even seen the Germans, but when they saw the craters left by the main guns of the battleships, they were also frightened.

It's just that, after all, military personnel are different from civilians, and they have a certain degree of organization. Although the combat effectiveness of the Anglo-Indian army was relatively poor, in order to ensure that the Germans could be held back at the beginning of the war and buy enough time for the follow-up troops to train, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd armies of the Anglo-Indian army were not split and could still be regarded as elite troops.

Under the pressure of the officers, the soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the 12th Infantry Division of the 2nd Anglo-Indian Army hid in the city tremblingly, preparing to resist the imminent attack of the German army.