While the 3rd and 4th companies of the 1st Airborne Division of our army fought bloodily with the Indian army on the Saktiga Bridge, the 5th Company and 6th Company also stubbornly resisted a crazy attack of the Indian army at both ends of the Shirkar Highway Bridge.

After occupying the county seat of Siliguri County, Geng Zhi, deputy division commander, and Liu Feng, deputy commander of the 1st Regiment of the 1st Airborne Division, exchanged information and visited the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd companies. Then he returned to the Hilkar road bridge from Siliguri County, and he saw that the 5th and 6th companies had eliminated a reinforced platoon of the Indian army defending the bridge and occupied the road bridge. The 5th and 6th companies are working on the construction of fortifications at both ends of the bridge.

Geng Zhi really did not dare to compliment the war capability of India, such an important strategic point as Siliguri, the Indian army only set up a local armed militia and some armed police to defend it, and after the loss, the response was really too slow and inefficient. The assault on the Hilkar road bridge did not begin until the morning of 20. This gave the 5th and 6th companies ample time to carry out battlefield construction, so that the 6th Company established a deep defensive position in the village of Durga on the east bank of the bridge, and the 5th Company calmly established a solid bridgehead on the west bank overnight.

At both ends of the Hilkar road bridge, 5 and 6 companies of well-placed machine guns, 40 rocket launchers, 107-mm rocket launchers, as well as Red Arrow 54 anti-tank missile positions. The 5th Company also established a consolidated bridgehead position 150 meters west of the bridge, burned the woods at the front of the position, and completed the clearance of obstacles within 150 meters of the front of the position. Anti-tank mines were laid on roads and in relatively flat areas.

At 8 o'clock in the morning of the 20th, the 9th Division of the Indian Army began an offensive on all fronts. In order to recapture the two bridges of the road and the railway on the Teesta River, the Chinese airborne forces were pulled out of the nail in the throat of India. Under the cover of tanks and artillery, the Indian army, which was still in a state of flux, launched a fierce attack on the positions of our troops. After 30 minutes of artillery preparation, under the cover of 36 tanks of the captain of the hundred, more than 500 officers and men of the 8th Battalion of the Madras Wing of the 9th Division of the Indian Army launched a frantic attack on the bridgehead at the western end of the Shirkar Highway Bridge, which was guarded by the 5th Company of our 1st Airborne Division.

In a small hill in Durga Village, Geng Zhi personally drilled the Red Arrow 54 anti-tank missile on the paratrooper infantry combat vehicle, he locked on a 1500-meter Captain Centurion tank that rushed to the front 1500 meters away through the sight, and in the process of tracking the target, the missile launch rail on the roof of the car moved synchronously with the sight, so that the launch direction and the aiming direction were always consistent, after he pressed the launch button, he carefully observed the red light emitted by the tracer tube on the missile body that flew out, and his right hand was ready to adjust the direction of the missile's movement at any time. Thirteen seconds later, the single-cone warhead of the Red Arrow 54 anti-tank missile accurately hit the front deck of the storage compartment on the left side of the front of the Indian Centennial tank, and after the Red Arrow 54 anti-tank missile warhead broke through the armor, a fierce explosion occurred in the tank, and at the same time detonated more than 60 rounds of 83 mm shells carried in the storage compartment. The conical cast turret body of the Captain 100 main battle tank was lifted more than two meters high, and more than 60 rounds of 83-mm shells carried by the tank flew in all directions, causing secondary damage to the infantry attack group following behind.

An Indian centurion tank hidden in the woods suddenly ripped off its camouflage and rushed out of the woods with a loud roar, followed by an Indian infantry attack group. Zhao Dekui, the bazooka player of the 5th Company and 1st Platoon, put down the automatic rifle in his hand, quickly picked up the 40 bazooka placed beside him, he stared at the tank that was constantly rushing towards his position, and with a blank face, he took out an anti-personnel armor-piercing bullet from his back and put it into the bazooka, and then put down the bracket in front of the bazooka unhurriedly, with a terrifying murderous aura on his face. He aimed at the cockpit on the right side of the Indian tank through the infrared sight and pulled the trigger. With a loud bang, the rocket hit the tank, and the rocket body was under the action of the tank collision, and the two ends of the ceramic piezoelectric crystal produced a high potential difference, which was connected by the electric detonator of the wire and the tail fuse, like an electronic lighter, and burst out of an electric spark to detonate the electric detonator, so that the fierce explosives contained in the warhead exploded, and the blast wave pushed the cover body to form a metal jet, penetrated the steel armor, and sprayed it on the chest of the Indian tank driver who poured blood mold. The scorching metal jet instantly evaporated the pilot's chest, and the huge high temperature and pressure generated by the explosion threw the double-leaf hatch in the cockpit that opened left and right into the air

In just 10 minutes, under the blows of various anti-tank weapons of our army, the position of the 5th Company of our 1st Airborne Division at the western end of the Shirkar Highway Bridge became a graveyard for Indian tanks. Of the 36 centenarian tanks dispatched by the Indian army, only 4 tanks that followed behind saw the fate of their accomplices and turned around and ran to avoid being buried here.

The Indian infantry group, which followed behind the tanks, lost the cover of the tanks and made it impossible to advance at all in the face of the powerful firepower of our airborne troops, and the Indian soldiers suffered huge casualties. The situation is awkward, there is no way to advance or retreat, and the situation is desperate. There are always heroes in times of crisis, and Lieutenant Colonel Konaire, commander of the 8th Battalion of the Madras Wing of the Indian Army, acted as the hero this time.

Hero! What is Hero? A hero is a person who knows what he can't do.

The commander of the 8th Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Konel, resolutely ordered the Indian soldiers to put on their bayonets and prepare to storm our positions and engage us in a white-knuckle battle. Completely disregarding our firepower and his own safety, he was the first to charge ahead and lead his men in the charge with his pistol. After picking up an Indian soldier who had fallen beside him, Lee. Enfield rifle, he rushed with the remnants of his troops into the open field 150 meters in front of the bullet-ridden positions of our troops. His heroic feat greatly boosted the morale of the Indian soldiers. They howled in unison and rushed towards the position of the 5th Company. But the brave people's ** is not able to compete with bullets, shells. Lieutenant Colonel Cornell's unparalleled courage was put to an end by Geng Zhi, deputy commander of the 1st Airborne Division. Geng Zhi saw this scene through the binoculars, and he immediately used the 14,5 mm high-level dual-purpose machine gun on the infantry chariot to put the head of this Indian lieutenant colonel, who dared to pretend to be a stupid hero in front of the Chinese airborne troops, into the scope, and just when Major Knell stopped and was ready to shoot, Geng Zhi pulled the trigger. After flying 1200 meters in the air, a 14,5 mm bullet mercilessly drilled into the head of the Indian hero and instantly smashed his head to pieces.

The Madras United is said to have a martial tradition, showing tenacity and indomitable spirit in battle, even to the point of killing. The 1st Chinese Airborne Division greatly satisfied the strong desire of all the officers and men of the 8th Battalion of the Madras Wing, known as the "Red" and "Yanba" Wing, to commit suicide en masse. Steel ball anti-personnel shells fired by 40 rocket launchers exploded in this group of soldiers of this Indian army, which has a long history in the Indian army, and is composed of many Indian nationalities; In the rain of bullets from the Type 51 automatic rifle, these heroic and dedicated Indian army elites fell in pieces.

The Madras Wing, founded in 1746, was recruited by the British in 1746 as soldiers, and was called "Aboriginal soldiers" by the British at the time. Because in the early days of its formation, the soldiers of the wing wore red pants with blue trim, so it quickly became famous as the "Red Jacket Team". Because of their dedication and the appreciation of the British colonizers, the army was rapidly expanded. During World War II, Madras United fought in Burma, Italy, and North Africa. The Madras Wing is made up of soldiers of all ethnic groups in India, whether Hindus, Christians or Muslims, who pray in the same prayer hall of the Wing. There is basic harmony among the various sects, and there are not many prominent contradictions. Regardless of the denomination, they all gather in a large cafeteria to eat and eat the same food. And because of the unique tradition of the recruits who participated in the Madras Wing to eat a bite of salt on a silver platter after the oath-taking ceremony at the end of training, the wing was also called the "Salt Wing".

It doesn't matter if it's called the "Redcoat" team or the "Yanba" team. After 40 minutes of extremely tragic fighting, more than 500 Indian officers and men of the 8th Battalion of the Madras Wing of the 9th Division of the Indian Army were thrown into this open field, except for 180 who fled back into the woods. This is another stroke of color for Ah San's heroic troops.

After the disastrous failure of this offensive, the Indian army concentrated artillery fire to bombard our army's bridgehead fortifications, and our army's 107 single-barrel rocket launchers immediately suppressed the Indian army's artillery positions with steel ball anti-personnel shells, and soon the Indian army's artillery fire was sparsely reduced. The tank regiments of the 9th Division and the 3rd Heavy Armored Division of the Indian Army hastily launched several assaults on the positions of the 5th Company of our 1st Airborne Division without adequate artillery preparations. Nothing was found, except for the loss of dozens of tanks, hundreds of corpses and almost a thousand wounded. The gates of the two passages to northeastern India were always firmly in the hands of the 1st Airborne Division.

The 9th Division of the Indian Army and the 3rd Tank Regiment of the 3rd Heavy Armored Division scolded the commander of the 4th Indian Division, Major General Prashad, for not being a thing. Obviously, it was said that the east and west would advance on both sides, and the few airborne troops of China would be attacked from both sides, but there was no movement of the 4th Division in the east for a long time.

Major General Prashad, commander of the 4th Division of the 4th Army of India, to the Acting Commander of the Eastern Military Region, Commander of the 33rd Army, Umraou. Lieutenant General Singh ordered his 4th Division to attack and advance to the Siliguri area with the 9th Division of the Southern Military Region and the 3rd Tank Regiment of the 3rd Heavy Armored Division of the Central Military District to open up the Siliguri Corridor from north to south. After returning to the Fourth Army in Tesspur, he had wanted to send a telegram to the Ministry of Defence and the Army General Staff complaining that he could not accept the acting commander of the Eastern Military District, Umraou. Rationale for the order of Lieutenant General Singh. At the tactical command of the 4th Army in Tezpur, he saw that the entire headquarters was panicked and the headquarters was in chaos. Everyone was preparing to escape, but no one knew where they were going.

Panic spread like a plague among the Indian army, and Major General Prashad's psychology was greatly tested. He kept reassuring himself that maybe the situation wasn't as bad as the legend suggested. Sitting at the temporary headquarters of the 4th Division in Tezpur, Major-General Prashad wrapped himself in a long-collared overcoat waited anxiously for his two remaining brigades, the 4th and 5th Artillery Brigades. He spent the night in a state of extreme panic. In the cold night, he was constantly awakened by nightmares.

On the morning of the 21st, Major General Prashad finally waited for the 4th Artillery Brigade, which had withdrawn from Bangshan Pass and Tawang area in a very disorganized manner. In the temporary headquarters of the 4th Division, Brigadier General Rai Kuwasinghe, commander of the 4th Artillery Brigade, took the milked black tea handed over by the lieutenant general's orderlies with a trembling hand, and after greedily drinking a few sips, he still said with some trepidation: "As soon as we left Tawang, the Chinese caught up, and they have been chasing after us, and our rearguard troops have been constantly exchanging fire with the Chinese pursuing troops, and it is estimated that the [***] team will be able to arrive here this evening at the latest." ”

"Are there big troop losses?" Prashad asked with concern.

Brigadier General Rai Kuwasinghe, commander of the 4th Artillery Brigade, tilted his neck and poured the last bit of tea into his mouth and said: "The 3rd Battalion, which served as the rearguard, will definitely not come back." Almost all the heavy equipment was discarded on the road'" Why not destroy it! You are an enemy," Prashad angrily interrupted Brigadier General Rai Kuwasinghe and asked, "Do you want the Chinese to use our equipment to fight ourselves?" ”

Brigadier General Rai Kuvasinghe, commander of the 4th Artillery Brigade, replied with a wry smile: "Major General Prashad, do you think the Chinese will want our rags, I have seen them pile up the weapons they captured us together and blow them up with explosives." General Prashad, don't you really know that their 122-mm rocket launchers can be put up on their shoulders alone? Their weapons are so advanced that we can't think about it."

"Report," a staff officer walked in and reported loudly, "the 5 battalions of the 5th Brigade and the 3 battalions of the Assam Infantry Wing, which had been withdrawn from the areas of Luo Yu and Lower Chayu, have also arrived in Tezpur. The commander of the 5th Brigade, Pudia, is just outside."

Major General Prashad waved his hand and said, "Let him in," and then said to Brigadier General Rai Kuwasinghe in a very depressed mood. "Looks like we're really going to go"

After listening to the brief reports of the two brigade commanders under his command, Major General Prashad said: "Okay, you go back to organize the troops immediately, and we have decided to set off immediately and march to Siliguri." ”

At this time, he was very glad that Umraou. Lieutenant General Singh gave his 4th Division the "job" of opening up the Siliguri corridor, otherwise it would really be thrown here. Although his 7th Brigade was completely annihilated by the [***] team, he still believes that the problem is that India is too indifferent to China. The total annihilation of the 7th Brigade by the [***] squadron was a failure under certain conditions, an accident. He has always believed that the Chinese are also people, and they are not superhuman, that is, they can fight again, and how can a paratrooped force of more than 1,000 people, without heavy equipment, fight for several days in a row, how can it resist the two-sided attack of two divisions and a heavy armored tank regiment in the east and west? He is still confident enough to open up the Siliguri corridor.

(To be continued)