In the afternoon, the Pakistani army launched another offensive.

Although it was not so violent this time, the intention was more obvious, that is, to cut off the retreat channel of the Indian army and complete the encirclement of 200,000 Indian troops.

In the vanguard, there are still 2 armored brigades.

At this time, the Indian army also reacted, focusing on strengthening the defensive deployment on both sides of the highway.

Of course, the front-line commanders of the Indian army knew very well that if that road was lost, not a single one of the 200,000 Indian officers and soldiers would be able to escape.

No matter what the cost, it is necessary to hold the road, to be precise, to block the armored forces of the Pakistani army.

To this end, the Indian army threw in the last few armored battalions.

The battle was extremely fierce, even tragic.

Only in the armored encounter at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, more than 40 T-90S tanks of two armored battalions of the Indian army were all damaged.

Although the stubborn resistance of the Indian army has caused a lot of trouble for the Pakistani army, it is only trouble.

Relatively speaking, the losses of the armored forces of the Pakistani army can be almost completely ignored.

According to the battle report released by the Pakistani army, no "Khalid 2" was damaged in the battle that day.

Of course, there must be a lot of moisture in this battle report.

Judging from the situation of the battle at that time, the armored forces of the Pakistani army must have suffered considerable losses, but they certainly not so serious as to lose their offensive capability.

In addition, there must have been "Khalid 2" destroyed in battle.

However, most of the damaged "Khalid 2" was dragged back, and after a few days it was repaired and put into battle again.

As for the Indian army, let's not talk about it.

The Indian army did not announce how many casualties they suffered on the ground, and the Pakistani side did not give statistical results, or there was no way to count them.

The only thing that is certain is that the Pakistani army captured more than 3,000 Indian officers and soldiers that afternoon.

In the evening, the Pakistani army finally completed its set goal, occupied the road east of Lahore, and cut off the last retreat route of the Indian army.

Only, it's still a little late.

Prior to this, at least 4 Indian brigades had been withdrawn, and they were the main forces.

Of course, it was mainly officers and soldiers who were evacuated, and almost all of the main battle equipment was abandoned on the battlefield by the Indian army, some of which were destroyed by Pakistani fighters on the way to retreat.

When the Pakistani army arrived, the entire road was filled with tanks, armored vehicles and transport vehicles of the Indian army.

At this point, there are still about 180,000 Indian troops in the vicinity of Lahore, that is, in the encirclement of the Pakistani army.

When night fell, everyone knew that the Indian army had been defeated.

However, the Indian authorities still refuse to admit defeat.

According to the information disclosed later, in the evening of the same day, the Indian prime minister instructed the chief of the general staff to immediately draw up a battle plan for rescuing the besieged Indian troops.

To this end, the Indian Prime Minister also approved a plan of the General Staff of the Indian Army, that is, to send two ace armored brigades guarding New Delhi.

Trump card?

Of course, it's just the trump card of the Indian army, or the face troops.

Why?

These two brigades are equipped with India's self-made "Arjun 2" main battle tanks!

Of course, the so-called "Arjun 2" is actually an improvement on the basis of "Arjun", and it is not a new tank that has been re-produced.

"Arjun" tank?

You know, this tank is so "good" that even the Indian Army refuses to purchase it.

In fact, it is precisely because the "Arjun" did not meet the tactical performance indicators proposed by the Indian Army that India spent a huge amount of money to purchase more than 1,000 T-90S from Russia.

Later, it was at the behest of the Indian authorities that the Indian Army received dozens of Arjun.

After that, all these tanks were handed over to the garrison in New Delhi.

Why New Delhi?

Quite simply, too heavy, only deployed near New Delhi, since bridges in other parts of India simply could not withstand such tanks weighing more than 60 tons.

Of course, the Indian authorities are still refusing to give up their own tanks.

Since then, these "Arjun" have been upgraded and improved, and then renamed "Arjun 2", forcing the Indian Army to purchase another batch.

As for the performance of these tanks, perhaps there is no way to say at all.

Why?

Just looking at the tonnage, the "Arjun" is a heavy tank of the same level as the "Challenger 2" and M1A2SEP3, and it is much heavier than the main battle tank of more than 40 tons such as the T-90S, so it stands to reason that it should have better protection performance and have greater value in defensive operations.

Of course, if it is equipped with a powerful engine, the maneuverability will not be too bad.

Where is the firepower, where is the tonnage, where can it go?

It's a pity that the protection, maneuverability and firepower of the "Arjun 2" are very bad, to be precise, very bad, not even a main battle tank.

The Indian Army has tested it itself, and the protection performance of the "Arjun 2" is comparable to that of the T-72M1, which is a lot worse than that of the T-90S.

Because the engine is not up to par, it is common to lie down in the middle of the road.

Firepower?

This tank had no firepower at all, because the 120-mm rifled gun that was attached to it came from the "Chieftain" tank, and even the British did not use it.

What is the value of these tanks?

Actually, that is, it is pulled out and turned around during the parade.

Because of the frequent breakdowns, at military parades in India, "Arjun 2" climbed more on the pallet of a tank transporter.

Of course, the Indian Army gave good reasons to protect New Delhi's roads.

Put two armored brigades equipped with such tanks into battle?

To be honest, the audacity of the Indians must be admired.

Perhaps, when making this decision, the senior generals of the Indian army felt that the "Arjun 2" could scare off the tankers of the Pakistani army with its huge body.

In fact, how to send these two brigades to the front is a problem.

Why?

It's still too heavy.

Road transport will definitely not be possible, and the maximum load-bearing capacity of many bridges along the way is only 50 tons, and the turret of the "Arjun 2" can only be passed.

Railway?

This is the only option, the problem is that India's railway network is also terrible, and many tunnels simply cannot allow Arjun 2 to pass through.

Of course, the Indian Army also came up with a solution, which is to combine rail and road.

To put it simply, you mainly rely on the railway, but when you encounter a tunnel that you can't pass, you take the road to the next station, or a temporary parking point, and then take the railway.

Obviously, after such a toss, I am afraid that in less than ten days and half a month, these two brigades will not be able to reach the front line at all.

In fact, the Indian Army did not intend to send these two brigades to the front line, but the Prime Minister's order seemed to prove the value of "Arjun 2" through actual combat.

Whatever one may say, real combat has proven that the T-90S, imported from Russia, is not at all an opponent of Pakistani tanks.

Of course, whether "Arjun 2" can defeat "Khalid 2" or not, we will only know on the battlefield.

It's just that the Pakistan Army obviously won't give the Indian Army ten days and a half months to prepare, and it won't stop the offensive in order to prove that "Arjun 2" is rubbish.