856 Sunset of the Old Empire

Nine Mughal plans

"The report of the battle at the front has been transmitted, and Liu Huan's 1st Army has successfully landed in Kodir Bay without encountering any resistance.

The vanguard is currently advancing towards Trincomalee and is expected to occupy the city this evening or tomorrow morning. However, the South Asian Army of the Chinese G encountered resistance from 1 Anglo-Indian division in Balasol Bay, and was bombarded by artillery for a while, suffering more than 200 ......casualties," Bai Chongxi frowned and said a summary of the battle report to Luo Yaoguo, who was sitting in a chair with a back and staring at a map of the South Seas, India and Australia spread out on his desk. The expression is also a little dignified, although the current situation is good, but the Nanyang Fleet has still not found any trace of the disappeared British and Australian Grand Fleet! Moreover, even the whereabouts of the British Eastern Fleet are unknown, and I don't know if it is going to join the Australian Grand Fleet.

If these two fleets were to meet at once, it would be 6 motherships! The Chinese Western Fleet in the Indian Ocean may be difficult to hold, but the South Ocean Fleet has left the family behind for at least 24 hours! There are also at least 500 nautical miles or more. Although it is now in full force to advance in the direction of Ceylon, it is a bit of a suspense whether it will be able to catch up with the upcoming decisive battle at sea. Although the navy of the British Empire has declined, it seems that it is not so easy for the emerging Chinese navy to clean up people!

However, Luo Yaoguo has long been mentally prepared for this kind of thing. After all, Cunningham is the famous British naval marshal in history! And that General Zhao Zheng Zhao is just an unknown person in another time and space...... It's normal to be tricked by others. Luo Yaoguo slowly raised his head and glanced at Bai Chongxi, with a hesitant look on his face. "Brother Jiansheng, did you say that Chen Si could use four motherships to deal with Cunningham's six motherships?"

Bai Chongxi was stunned when he heard this, he didn't know anything about the navy, and he was thinking about how to answer, but Luo Yaoguo said it to himself. "To be honest, I'm not too worried about those four aircraft carriers, even if they sink two or three! Our mothership sinks, and Cunningham will not be unscathed. And our carrier-based aircraft are better than the British, so I am not worried about the mothership, but about those 200 transports. That's nearly 1.8 million tons! It accounts for almost 30% of the total tonnage of China's transport ships. In the past few months, we have lost 780,000 tons at sea every month, leased 300,000 tons to Japan, and 8 ships of 15,000 tons have been converted into aircraft carriers, a total reduction of more than 800,000 tons, if it were not for the launch of 100 Victory ships...... We are going to fight Australia soon, and our logistical pressure is not light! ”

"Brother Fuwen, do you want Chen Si to concentrate all the transport ships in the Andaman Islands one day earlier?" Bai Chongxi hesitated and suggested.

Luo Yaoguo waved his hand, "Although I think so too, but the Navy and Operations Department, and the Western Fleet Command in front, this decision should be made by them, and I, the Chief of General Staff from the Army, should not interfere!" Speaking of this, Luo Yaoguo stood up, patted Bai Chongxi's shoulder, and said with a smile: "Brother Jiansheng, you have really worked hard these days, soaking in the war room of the General Staff day and night...... Hold on for a while, and when Australia fights, our overall situation will be decided. When the time comes, let's zoom in together and go to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia for a vacation, bask in the sun, and eat seafood. ”

"Defeat Australia and it's over?" Bai Chongxi patted the map on the table and chuckled: "There are also European battlefields, Middle East battlefields, Indian battlefields, and American Pacific theaters!" It's really a long way for our brothers to be relaxed, speaking of which, I really envy Wang Zhongyi, this guy is comfortable to go to Siam to be the governor. Speaking of this, Bai Chongxi seemed to suddenly think of something, he pointed his finger at the French Indochina on the map and said, "Sun Liren has sent me dozens of telegrams, asking for the order to attack French Indochina. Text, you see......"

"Any news from Europe?" Luo Yaoguo thought for a while and asked, "Where did Xu Yunlong's First Armored Group Army go?" Is it still going well? ”

"It didn't go well

wen

Word txt

Bai Chongxi shook his head, and his expression became solemn again. He found a military map of Western Europe from the bookshelf on the side, spread it out on the table, and said directly to the line of the Maas River in Belgium: "Although the Germans are making good progress in the Netherlands, they are not fighting well in Belgium, and their attack seems to be blocked by the Liège line on the Maas River!" Yesterday, Admiral Hoth's Panzer Army was used to attack, but it was still repelled by the Anglo-French-Belgian forces that were holding the defensive line, and it may be transferred to the defense today and tomorrow. ”

Hearing that Hitler was unlucky, Luo Yaoguo didn't look a little anxious, but smiled, "It's a little interesting, this group of Germans must be playing some tricks, maybe they want to trick the 14 armored divisions of the British and French forces into Belgium to launch a counteroffensive...... Then the plan to sneak up on France through the Ardennes would have been foolproof. ”

"Tricked into Belgium?" Bai Chongxi pointed to the Ardennes plateau on the map and said, "Is it convenient for the Germans to sneak attack?" However, the mobility of the British and French armored forces is not weak, they have a lot of heavy trucks to transport tanks, and the traffic between Belgium and northern France is good, so the distance is not difficult for the British and French, right? ”

"Mobility? Hehe, under the bombardment of Hitler's 10000 planes, where did those tanks have any mobility? Luo Yaoguo slapped the location of Belgium on the map and sneered: "The Germans desperately promoted the power of the armored forces after the anti-Soviet war, as if the millions of Soviet troops were crushed by tanks, but they deliberately downplayed their air force. Moreover, during this time, there was not a single air raid on the cities of France, Belgium and the Netherlands, which was obviously to hide the strength of the air force, just waiting for the 14 armored divisions of Britain and France to march into Belgium, which was more than 200 kilometers closer to the German airfields, and those Stukas could be loaded with less gasoline and more bombs...... The French Indochina would have waited until France had collapsed before attacking, and it would have been possible to do so without a fight. ”

Bai Chongxi nodded noncommittally, stood up and said to Luo Yaoguo: "Brother Fuwen, since you are already sure, then I won't say anything." I'm going to the war room and keep watch! Why don't you go back and rest first, and when the 1st Army defeats Trincomalee, I'll hang up the phone again. ”

Luo Yaoguo thought about it, also stood up, picked up his briefcase and military coat, and just wanted to leave with Bai Chongxi, the door of the office was suddenly pushed open, and it was Natalie who came in. The door of the office of the Chief of the General Staff is the only one she can enter and exit casually.

"News from India," Natalie said in a heavy voice, handing over a telegram that had just been translated. "Mahatma Gandhi of India has just issued a statement calling on all the peoples of India to unite against our invasion, calling us colonizers who seek to enslave the Indian people...... Moreover, the Indian self-government also announced the admission of Jinnah and the Muslim League of India to form a coalition government! Text, it seems that India's battle is not very easy to fight. ”

Luo Yaoguo took the message and glanced at it a few times, and then threw it into the wastepaper basket on the side. He snorted lightly and said, "A piece of nonsense!" If those Ah San want to fight, I don't believe that the words of this 'half-naked liar' can stop the GCD from liberating the Indian people? ”

……

At this moment, the beach that stretches for dozens of kilometers in and around Barasol has become a huge place for army gatherings and material stacking. The spirit of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party has been most embodied in this time and space and in this place, and the officers and men of the Wehrmacht Navy and the Chinese Army have been working tirelessly for more than 24 hours in a row, and all of them are working like crazy, carrying out super-heavy physical work. But even the 1st Army of the GC International South Asian Army did not complete the landing, let alone the 72 152mm Russian-made howitzers and tens of thousands of shells assigned to the GC International Artillery Division, as well as the horses that towed these cannons. Because there were no perfect port facilities available, this landing could only be carried out on the beach, large ships could not enter the shallow water, all the materials could only be transported by small boats, and there was no way to transport the Russian-made howitzers weighing several tons to the shore, and only six light artillery battalions equipped with 75mm mountain guns were transported.

At the same time as the troops landed, the four regiments of the 3rd Division of the GC International South Asian Army, except for the 1 regiment that occupied the various heights around the town of Barasol and guarded the beachhead, the remaining 3 regiments were already attacking and advancing in the direction of Jeraiswal. They were held back by about 1 division of the Anglo-Indian army, probably because Mahatma Gandhi's speech made those Indian Asans know why they were fighting, and the resistance of this Anglo-Indian division was quite stubborn.

The battle line is just outside the city of Jerryswall in a place called Su

ama

The river area of the Ekha spread out, and the artillery fire on both sides was dark. Although the GC International Army lacks heavy artillery and does not have much ammunition, the support of carrier-based aircraft of the Chinese Defense Forces Navy is solid.

The Anglo-Indian army held on to the choke point to Calcutta, while the GC International Army attacked desperately, doing whatever it took to open the way to the northwest.

The bridge that was originally erected over the river had already been blocked by the British and Indian military machine guns at this time, and the 1st Division of the GC International Army was organized several times and was not able to break through. Several 6-inch cannons deployed by the British and Indian troops in the city of Jeraiswall continued to fire at the starting positions of the GC Army on the west bank of the river. The Anglo-Indian army had obviously built artillery observation posts on several high ground on the east bank of the river, so those 6-inch cannons were shooting very accurately at this time, and every time a shell fell, some of the assault boats that had been painstakingly transported were broken to pieces. You know, no vehicles have been unloaded from the transport ships yet, and the transport from Barrasol Beach to the front line is carried by manpower on the shoulder! These cannons of the British and Indian armies have indeed caused a lot of trouble to the cause of the international liberation of the Indian people!

General Ji Zhentong, commander of the 3rd Division of GC International, was at SU

ama

On the west bank of the Ekha River, an advance headquarters was set up in a landlord's mansion, the main building of which was three stories high, no more than three kilometers in a straight line from the riverbank, and there was no shelter in between. This former division commander from the national army system is on the balcony on the third floor of the mansion at the moment, holding a telescope to observe the battle on the front line.

His chief of staff, Dong Zhentang, and political commissar Xiao Jguang were inside the room, talking in a low voice around a map table spread out in several ammunition boxes, and writing and drawing on it with red and blue pencils. On the east bank of the river, the mark of the Anglo-Indian puppet army has appeared, which is the symbol of the regimental troops in three triangles, but the number has not been identified, perhaps because it is too lazy to check. Anyway, these Anglo-Indian divisions were about the same, each division was 10,000 men, with an artillery battalion, 4 6-inch cannons, and 8 20-side or 17-pounder guns. Most of the artillery officers were British, so the artillery techniques of the Anglo-Indian army were quite good, at least not under the Chinese Defense Forces. However, their infantry is very ordinary, they don't have too strong will to fight, and they can make do with holding on to their positions and firing, but if they intersect with white blades, it must be the Zhongg army. At least that's what the information provided by the Indian GCD says, and after a day and a night of incessant fighting, the officers and men of the 3rd Division of the GC International Army have come to a similar conclusion.

However, these "garbage troops" are still more difficult to deal with than imagined, especially when the heavy artillery of the GC International Army cannot be used, and the carrier-based aircraft of the Wehrmacht and the infantry of the GC Army lack cooperation, in the face of the British and Indian troops defending the danger, Ji Zhentong suddenly felt that there was something to be done.

If you have enough time, you can use two regiments to attract the other's fire, and the other with the help of the navy at the lower entrance of the river, and then detour back to the rear of Jerryswall. Or wait until the 122nd Heavy Artillery Battalion of the military can come up, and then also suppress the opponent's four 6-inch guns with firepower...... But now I don't have much time, if I can't open the situation in two days, the Wehrmacht aircraft carriers will be transferred, and then there will be no more than the least air cover, let alone use those bombers that make strange noises to suppress the opponent's artillery!

Ji Zhentong put down the binoculars and walked into the room, and coldly asked the officer in the command headquarters who was in charge of maintaining contact with Barasol, "Is the 122 howitzer up?" And how is the southern front going? ”

The staff officer could hear that the division commander was in a bad mood now, and he was busy standing up respectfully. "Comrade division commander, the military department said that they had disassembled eight 122 howitzers and were now on land. In addition, the advance of the 2nd Division to the southern port of Paradip was very smooth, and the Anglo-Indian army did not have heavy forces in that direction, and it was estimated that the port would be captured in two days. ”

"Palladib Port ......" heard another awkward name, Ji Zhentong couldn't help but smile bitterly, this time to go abroad to do revolution is really ...... Not even in one direction! If only someone could lead the way. Thinking of this, Master Ji suddenly felt that his eyes lit up, and he turned his head to Political Commissar Xiao Jiguang and said, "Comrade Political Commissar, where is Comrade Sen of the Indian GCD now?" Can you invite him to the division headquarters? ”

"Comrade Sen?" Xiao Jguang thought for a moment, "Oh, it's that Severden. Comrade Mori, right? He was now organizing the struggle of the poor middle peasants in the village, and the family of the Brahmin caste, the old man of Bend. ”

"Okay, ask him to come along, preferably with a few of the activists of the village, and I'll ask them if there are any shoals or ferries nearby. Also, Lao Dong, you go and pick the death squad! I'll personally lead the raid tonight! ”

……

And at this time, on the side of the Anglo-Indian army, the commander of the Anglo-Indian First Army, Harold . Lieutenant General Alexander also felt the time was tight and the pressure was enormous. Because, after gaining the support of the Indian bourgeoisie represented by Gandhi, Admiral Dill, commander-in-chief of the British Indian theater and commander-in-chief of the Anglo-Indian army, is ready to fight a good fight in India!

A "Mughal plan" to cooperate with the sea and land to inflict heavy damage or annihilation on the Chinese troops landed was drawn up by the staff officers of the headquarters in New Delhi in the shortest possible time. The Anglo-Indian First Army, which was responsible for the defense of the fortress of Imphal in East and West Bengal and Imphal, would take on an important role in this plan.

According to the plan, Alexander's First Army had to block the squadron heading north on the one hand, and on the other hand mobilize the main force of the army group from the fortress of Imphal to the west of Calcutta, and set up a battlefield there to meet the squadron. At the same time, the 150,000 troops of the five armies of the Anglo-Indian Fourth Army will advance east from Madhya Pradesh and counterattack the Balasol Bay area captured by the squadron, cutting off the Chinese's support and retreat. Then, the two armies of nearly 300,000 troops will fight a decisive battle with the squadron on the plains south of the Ganges River and west of the Hooghly River! Strive to annihilate this squadron that rushed to land and lacked heavy weaponry and air support, and teach the Chinese a lesson that will never be forgotten.

Of course, this is only the land battle part of the whole decisive battle plan. The naval battle part is more ingenious, although Vice Admiral Alexander doesn't know much about it. It is only known that the Australian Grand Fleet will travel 3,000 nautical miles to the Indian Ocean south of Ceylon, where it will join the Eastern Grand Fleet.

This operation would be partially exposed to the Chinese navy in order to lure the Chinese fleet in the Bay of Bengal south to join another Chinese aircraft carrier fleet near the island. At the same time, the 36 Gabrenheim bombers assigned to the three bomber squadrons in the Indian theater of operations will all be mobilized to Kolkata to bomb Chinese ships in the Bay of Bengal, not to sink many ships, but to expel them to the Andaman Islands in order to completely isolate the 10 to 150,000 squadrons that have landed!

I'm afraid that the Chinese high command would never have dreamed that the real target of the British ** team in this battle was neither the four aircraft carriers nor the 200 transport ships, but the Chinese army that hastily went ashore!

Closing the copy of the "Mughal Plan" in his hand, Lieutenant General Alexander sighed softly, looked up and asked his adjutant: "Where is Major General Brown's Second Army now?" When can I arrive in Kolkata? ”