Located in the city of New Delhi, India, in the new headquarters of the Allied Southeast Asia Theater.

Bradley was pacing back and forth in the headquarters, his mood at the moment as uncertain as his steps.

Omar. Nelson. Bradley, now a four-star general in the U.S. Army, was the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States. This famous general of the US military, known as the "general of the American GI", is not much worse than Eisenhower's status in this time and space.

Born at West Point, he is the dean of the Infantry Academy, and he is best at land infantry tactics. He may not have Eisenhower's vision in the overall strategic situation, but in the use of infantry tactics, he is no worse than Eisenhower.

After China stepped on the face of the Western world, Bradley, who was a special adviser to the American Infantry Academy at that time, began to pay attention to China. Learn about Chinese culture and understand Chinese history.

In many places, he even said that the biggest enemy of the United States would not be Germany, but the mysterious country of the East, and according to the tactical ideas that have been passed down in the East for thousands of years, knowing oneself and knowing the other side will not be defeated in a hundred battles. To defeat the enemy, you must first understand the enemy. He called on the US military to strengthen its understanding of Chinese culture and understand the most powerful opponent of the United States in the future.

He said it and did it. In the past ten years, he has been studying Chinese culture, such as "The Art of War", "Thirty-six Strategies", "Three Strategies", "Six Tao"... and a large number of famous military strategy books in Chinese history. For this reason, he is even more determined to learn Chinese, and now he can speak Mandarin fluently.

Among the famous generals in ancient China, Han Xin was also very popular with him. "Han Xin's more soldiers, the better." He also agrees with this sentence very much. Under the conditions permitted, a large number of troops can indeed play a great role.

In order to live up to his ideas, Bradley did exactly that. He brought not only 200,000 American reinforcements, but also a large number of rifle bullets. After entering India, his first order when he took over as commander-in-chief of the Allied Southeast Asian theater of operations was to enlist a large number of young Indian men for military service.

With a huge population base, he didn't have to worry about the soldiers, as many weapons could arm as many troops. The small island nation of Japan, with more than 6 million troops, has not yet armed nearly 4 million puppet troops.

With strong industrial support, Bradley is confident. Able to arm more than a million Indian troops. These Indian troops would be led by American and British officers. Pounced on the Chinese army like locusts. Pile up quality with quantity and consume China's military power.

I have to say, Bradley's idea is really good. India has been ruled by the British for a long time, although there are some groups in the country that are verbally protesting. But under the arms of the Allies. It can only be obedient obedience.

Ancient civilization of the past. Now it has become a slave-strewn colony with no rights, and has become the jewel in the crown of others.

Pacing back and forth, Bradley felt like he had reached a fork in the road. On the one hand, China hopes to use its huge military strength to counterattack those areas in Southeast Asia that are occupied by China. On the other hand, he has his own considerations.

Counterattack on Burma, he has not had this idea since he took over. The combat effectiveness of the Chinese army is obvious to all, and even Mountbatten, a British veteran, was defeated. At this time, it was also the time when the Chinese army was in its prime, and a counterattack was tantamount to self-defeat. This kind of thinking is irrational and irresponsible, and it is a joke on the lives of soldiers.

Today, India has 400,000 allied troops, 200,000 from the United States, 150,000 from Britain and France, and the other 50,000 from Canada and Australia. There was also an army of nearly 600,000 Indians, all of whom had only one rifle and a few base ammunition, except for a small number of artillery pieces. There was a lack of training, and many had just been drafted into the army from home.

He still had faith in the 400,000 Allied Bradley, but when it came to the 600,000 Indian troops, he didn't hold out any hope. Except for crowd tactics, they are not of the slightest use at all.

The most optimistic estimate is that these 600,000 Indian troops may be able to pile up 100,000 Chinese troops. Normally, being able to wipe out 50,000 Chinese soldiers has already reached Bradley's imagination. He really didn't dare to hope for it.

His own ideas are completely contrary to the demands of the United States, and he advocates active defense and takes advantage of India's strategic defense in depth. Let China take the initiative to attack India, and then use the huge number of troops that can be armed at any time to drag down the Chinese army.

China and India are separated by the Himalayas, and even if the supply line can be accessed from Myanmar, it will be very long. An army of tens of thousands can still be maintained, but if it is an army of hundreds of thousands, it will be very difficult. If the war does not go well, it is very likely to be dragged down by logistics.

This is not alarmist, this is not China, there is no strong transportation network, and there is no railway to use like the northern Siberian plain. On the one hand, there are jungles, which are difficult to access, and on the other hand, mountains, which are even more difficult. This is enough to make it difficult for the Chinese side, and if it were not for the many aspects, the Chinese would have already launched an offensive against India. Where would Bradley still be in the mood to consider which path to take here.

Bradley's idea was that India was not far from Jasker, where China was in the Persian Gulf, and which had previously been the territory of the British. First, it was leased to China, so that China had the right to exploit here. Unexpectedly, it is rich in oil and has become the most important oil transportation place in China.

Later, it evolved into Chinese territory, and renting land became land sales, and the British had completely lost control of it. Bradley has more than once scolded British decision-makers for being pig-brained, and such an important place can be sold to China.

But what Bradley didn't know was that Britain was not full of helplessness, and if there was a choice, the British would not do it.

Attack and occupy Jask and cut off China's oil supply. Now in Bradley's mind, the idea kept popping up. As for whether he would disobey his orders, he didn't think much about it.

In the words of an old Chinese saying: "The general will not be subject to the life of the king abroad." ”

He understood the situation on the battlefield very thoroughly, and he also found more and more that the domestic order for him to go on a counteroffensive was purely looking for death. Passive defense is also not his consistent advocacy. That's why the idea of attacking Jask kept flashing in his mind.

In fact, his predecessor, Mountbatten, had already considered this idea. And there are also some deployments, but Mountbatten has already gone to play chess with Satan, and the idea has been aborted. However, the appearance of Bradley happened to have such an idea, and the two just happened to be combined. Mountbatten's deployment has saved Bradley a lot of time and steps, which is more conducive to acting.

There is another person who supports this practice, Matthew. Bunker. Ridgway, U.S. Army Lieutenant General, is currently a military advisor to the Allied Forces in the Southeast Asian Theater. Together with Bradley, he commanded Allied forces in India.

He also supported Bradley's attack on the Chinese Jasque oil base and cut off the Chinese oil base from Jask. At the same time, Ridgway thought further, occupied Jask, and turned the passive into the active.

Just as Bradley's footsteps stopped, Ridgway came over with a telegram and said beside him: "Commander, the intelligence department has sent a telegram that a Chinese integrated infantry division has boarded the train, and the destination is Jask. China's Indian Ocean Fleet also left the port of Yangon and its whereabouts are unknown for the time being. ”

Bradley frowned, took the telegram and read it, and then said: "It's strange, we only have a little idea, how could China know that we were going to do something to Jasker." It's also incredible. ”

Li Qiwei shook his head and said, "In my opinion, this matter is just a coincidence. According to the speed of the train, and the destruction of the railway by our small detachment along the way, this infantry division of China would have to walk for at least five days. If we were to attack Jasker, it would be best to start now, in five days' time, to completely occupy Jask, and build fortifications in preparation for a Chinese counteroffensive. ”

"According to intelligence, the size of the defense of only one infantry division in Jask, plus a few warships and a small air force, numbered only 20,000 people. According to the deployed forces, 100,000 against 20,000, how long will it take to capture Jask? Bradley asked, turning to look at the tactical map, thinking for a moment.

"I'm not worried about the infantry, Jask, which is defended by 20,000 people, can be taken in three days at most under the attack of our 100,000-strong army. And China also has an aviation group in Jask with more than a hundred fighters of unknown models. In the Persian Gulf, there are also four Chinese cruisers and destroyers, capable of fire support on land. That's what gives us a headache. ”

Three days is actually a conservative estimate of Ridgway. Because as soon as the attack begins, the Allied troops in the rear will continue to march into Jask, and then the attack will not be 100,000 troops, but 200,000 or even 300,000.

However, the navy and air force are a bit of a headache. In the Indian Ocean, apart from a few small warships that could not be used, the Allies did not have the slightest naval power at all. In terms of the air force, since the war in Southeast Asia began, more than half of it has been wiped out by China. In India today, the remaining strength of the Allied air force is only four or five hundred, which cannot be replenished in a short time. Destroy one and one less.

"If the offensive on Jask begins, it is not time to think about whether to keep the Air Force. The Chinese Air Force must be wiped out as soon as possible, and as for the four warships, they will also be handed over to the Air Force to deal with. "Bradley was well aware that from the beginning of this fight, there was no need to keep it any longer. The idea that these air forces should be kept to defend against the Chinese army attacking India is good, but it is more in line with the role of the air force when they are used for attack. (To be continued.) )