In just one night, the Pakistani army tore through the Indian army's defense line from the south and the north.

To the north, the Pakistani mountain troops are less than 50 kilometers away from Jammu, and at last night's pace, it will take another half a day to advance to the outskirts of Jammu.

Although the situation in the south was slightly better, and the Pakistani armored forces launched the offensive too late, only breaking through the Indian defense line before dawn, and the breakthrough was not very large, Sialkot was just south of Jammu, less than 50 kilometers from Jammu.

At this point, the situation could not be more obvious.

The intention of the Pakistani army is to capture Jammu, and as long as it captures Jammu, it can sweep the whole of Kashmir and thus control the whole of Kashmir.

For the Indian army, the loss of Jammu is equivalent to the loss of Kashmir.

Why?

The Indian troops deployed in Kashmir have all been deployed in Jammu as the rear.

In addition, Jammu is the second administrative center of Kashmir outside of Srinagar and the most populous city in the entire Kashmir region.

All in all, Jammu must be kept.

But how?

At that time, the first reaction of the Indian army was to withdraw the mountain troops deployed behind the ceasefire line, or at least some of them.

Unfortunately, when the Indian army tried to contact these mountain troops, they found that they could not be contacted at all.

Why?

Before the war, the Indian army had put the garrison in Kashmir into combat readiness, so the mountain troops deployed in Kashmir were scattered.

Many scattered mountain troops can only use radio stations to communicate with the rear.

Obviously, in wartime, radio stations are the most unreliable means of communication, not to mention that many of the radio stations used by the Indian army are decades old.

Faced with strong electromagnetic interference from the Pakistani army, the Indian troops deployed on the front line were unable to get in touch with the rear at all.

Of course, even if you get in touch, it doesn't make much sense.

Why?

The assault Pakistani mountain troops are not only advancing rapidly, but also with the assistance of special forces, controlling the commanding heights along the way, many of which are actually the positions of the Indian army.

In order to support these strongholds, the Pakistani army sent all the helicopters that could be used.

Of course, most of the time, it was still up to the officers and soldiers to transport ammunition to the mountains.

In some relatively open locations, the Pakistani army also dispatched a small number of C-130 transport planes to airdrop supplies to the mountain troops that had seized the commanding heights.

In fact, this was also the key to the Pakistani army's stop attacking during the day.

If it's just an assault, then there's nothing to worry about.

However, the purpose of the Pakistani army is to occupy the entire Indian-administered Kashmir region, so it must control the commanding heights along the way and besiege the Indian army in Kashmir.

Arguably, this was also the most difficult part of the entire assault.

You must know that in Kashmir, the strength of the Indian army is several times that of the Pakistani army.

As long as the Indian army reacts in time, organizes the troops to break through the encirclement, and even launches a counter-assault, it will be able to make the Pakistani army taste the bitterness.

Fortunately, the Indian army was not so powerful.

The point is that after a sudden attack and the loss of communications, it is simply impossible for the Indian army to organize all its troops in a timely manner.

In fact, on that day, some Indian troops had already collapsed.

After daybreak, the Indian army on the outskirts of Srinagar began to retreat towards the city, and the nearby Indian army was also moving towards Srinagar.

Why?

Srinagar is the richest man in Kashmir and the largest city in the central region.

After discovering that communications had been disrupted, the first thing that the Indian army in the vicinity thought of was to retreat to Srinagar and hold the vital city.

Of course, if you can, it's better to be able to retreat from there.

Why?

Srinagar is home to India's only airport in Kashmir.

Even a small airfield is enough for tactical transport aircraft to take off and land, and the Indian Air Force has dozens of C-130 transport aircraft with decent performance.

What's more, there are satellite communication stations in Srinagar and a direct telephone line to New Delhi.

All in all, only Srinagar could get in touch with the rear.

In fact, at this time, the Indian army missed a very valuable opportunity to counterattack.

What chances?

At that time, the Indian army had already obtained relatively reliable information, and judging from the information released after the war, this information came from American intelligence agencies.

What intelligence?

The Pakistani army has broken through to the west and east of Srinagar, and the three-way assault force has advanced dozens of kilometers.

Although the two Pakistani armies in the west are attacking south, most likely towards Jammu, the Pakistani army in the east is likely to encircle Srinagar.

Unfortunately, the Indian army did not believe that the Pakistani army would be able to assault tens of kilometers overnight.

If the Indian army believed the information provided by the United States at that time, it should have commanded the army in Srinagar to launch a counterattack and first crush the Pakistani army that was assaulting on the eastern road.

As a result, India did not believe this information, believing that it was only a small special unit of the Pakistani army.

According to the judgment of the Indian army, the main force of the Pakistani army was in the south, that is, the armored force that had been killed from Sialkot, and the north was only a feint.

To put it more bluntly, the Pakistani army's feint in the north is to hope that the Indian army will send troops to Srinagar, rather than to strengthen Jammu's defensive deployment.

Of course, there is some truth in the Indian army's judgment.

What is the truth?

The assaults in Kashmir were all mountain troops, and the mountain troops were almost all infantry, so even if they hit Jammu, it would be difficult to pose a threat to Jammu.

Attacking the first military town of the Indian army in Kashmir with infantry?

Obviously, that's absolutely impossible.

It is also so, until the situation is clarified, that the Indian army did not prevent the mountain troops in Kashmir from converging towards Srinagar.

In any case, it is much more important to hold Srinagar than to hold a few valleys.

As long as you keep Srinagar, it's easy to say anything.

In fact, the Indian army once believed that the Pakistani army wanted to capture Srinagar by sneak attack, and sending armored troops to attack Jammu was just a feint.

Why?

Srinagar is in the heart of Indian-administered Kashmir, and if Srinagar is captured, it will be able to quickly sweep away other Indian-administered Kashmir except Jammu.

If the Pakistani army feels that it is impossible to take Jammu, it is possible that Srinagar will be the main offensive target.

In fact, none of these judgments of the Indian army were wrong.

The key point is that the speed of the Pakistani army's assault was too fast, which completely disrupted the Indian army's operational deployment and made it impossible for the Indian army to adjust its deployment.

It can be seen that this is the importance of assault speed.

However, the Pakistani army did not stop there.

In the morning of the same day, the main force of the Pakistani army appeared.

The same armoured force, but not from Sialkot, but from Jhelum, a key Pakistani border town west of Jammu.

At this point, the combat operation against Jammu could be regarded as the real beginning.