"Drag the Soviet-Indian army and the Japanese army with Langpur and Sirjar, and go south to the steel city through the Jodhanagpur plateau?" Fei Wenhua is not an excellent officer with a natural intuition for the battlefield like Zhuo Fan, looking at the straight line drawn, it took a long time to realize the meaning, but at the same time, he was also taken aback by Li Zongren's thoughts. From the distance, it is only two hundred kilometers from Beguserai, east of Patna, to the steel city south. But more than 200 kilometers is not easy to walk, first of all, the Ganges River is difficult to cross! The water here is a kilometer wide, and there are no bridges within a hundred kilometers of the vicinity, only ferries can cross it. Even if you cross the Ganges, the Al Jodhanagpur Plateau, which is the only way to cross the Ganges, is densely vegetated with narrow cattle and horse tracks. Moreover, now there is a serious lack of transportation capacity on his side, and if he is retracted by four Soviet divisions due to delays on the road, I am afraid it will be difficult to even retreat.

The last difficulty is the troops, since it is a crossing of the plateau, the 16 Mountain Brigade will definitely go. The 166th Division can be divided into parts, and only one regiment of the 153rd and 154th Divisions has arrived at the moment, and the main force will take at least ten days. As for the Fifth Division, he didn't think about it, and a group of rabble couldn't help it. On the other hand, in Gangcheng, there is one division of the Soviet and Indian Army and two divisions of the Indian Communist Party's puppet army, and there are also two or three international columns, with a total strength of more than 50,000! Once the offensive begins, if the follow-up troops can't keep up, they will inevitably fall into a bitter battle.

While worried, he felt that this was the best way to break the encirclement and suppression. It is clear to everyone that the biggest obstacle to limiting the Indian army group is logistics. Although Assam has an airport and a railway, it is still an extremely poor area compared to the whole of India, and it cannot support a large army to fight. Pokaro Steel City is different, located in the heart of Calkembong, with well-established steel, copper and small machinery factories, West Bengal to the east and Chettisgarh to the south. All of them are grain-producing regions in India. If this place can be captured, plus the oil of Digboi, it is completely possible to maintain the self-sufficiency of several army groups. Moreover, if it was stuck here, it would be equivalent to cutting off the connection between the Japanese army and Nehru, and also connecting northeastern India with Bihar in Chandra.

What's more! Pokaro is not just about steel, 30 kilometres to the northeast of Danbad, home to India's largest Anglo-Indian copper smelter. It can produce 100,000 tons of raw copper per year! It is the second largest copper mine in the United Kingdom after South Africa, and it is also the most important raw material that currently supports the arms production of Nehru and the PKI! If it is taken, it is equivalent to controlling seventy percent of India's military materials! There is also Jamshedpur to the south, which is the headquarters of Tata Steel. It can also produce 500,000 tons of crude steel per year. And that's not all! The whole state of Jharkhand, where the Three Cities are located, is the only coking coal, apatite and kyanite producing region in India, with mica, bauxite, china clay, limestone and iron ore accounting for half of India! There are also important resources such as soldering irons and diamonds. If it can be captured, when the railway from Jiangxinpo to Digeboy is opened, it will be equivalent to transporting 3 million tons of crude steel, 100,000 tons of pig copper and other hundreds of thousands of tons of resources to China every year. In less than a year, the full cost of this dispatch will be recovered! And it's useless for the British to protest unless they can fight all the way from Mumbai.

Li Zongren looked at him and smiled silently, in fact, from the first day of the war, he wanted to seize Pokaro and the entire state of Jharkhand. Because only in this way can we reduce the logistical pressure, reduce our dependence on the country, and do a good job of cooperating with the Third Fleet as quickly as possible. Preparations for the attack on Burma and the Andaman

At this time, Wu Huanxian, commander of the 16th Brigade Plateau Mountain Brigade, and Lin Diannan, commander of the 166th Division, walked in together. After understanding the situation, they put forward their opinions. "The highest kilometer on the Jodhanagpur plateau is 600 meters below. Two hundred kilometers. Give me three days to make sure I can pass. The difficulty is how to cross the Ganges! Moreover, we are lightly armed mountain soldiers, and we must have heavy fire support to attack cities. But the railways here are occupied by the PKI, and there are not enough mules, horses and cars. "As the only two special mountain brigades in China, the 16th Brigade was stationed in Sichuan and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau before the war. Therefore, Wu Huanxian is full of confidence in the "Indian Plateau", which is only 600 meters on average and exceptionally flat. The river crossing, supplies and the Japanese army that worried him. Said: "And the Japanese army. If I were Shojiro Iida, I would definitely not fight Langbul to the death. Instead, let the PKI Soviet army contain Lampur, take the right flank and attack Sirjal and Imphal along the railway line, and directly threaten our Digboy supply center. ”

Fei Wenhua also agreed: "Even if the naval garrison brigade in West Bengal does not move, the Japanese 31st Division in Bangladesh has more than 20,000 people, my fifth division is less than 20,000, and the 166th Division of Commander Lin will definitely take half of it to Gangcheng, so that there are at most 30,000 left, and it is difficult to defend the east and west defense lines." ”

After listening to his words, Lin Diannan thought that they had underestimated the combat effectiveness of their troops. Although the 166th Division is a new division formed after the war, it has been training hard for the past year, and has recently enriched hundreds of officers who have fought in the northwest, so his battle seeking is very high. said: "The logistics are simple, just let Chandra send a division to follow behind Brigade Commander Wu." They can't fight, but they can always carry food and ammunition, right? As for the Japanese army, I am not sure that they will be defeated head-on, but if you want to delay the 31st Division, as long as you give me four regiments, I will dare to make a military order! ”

Li Zongren narrowed his eyes, this was what he was waiting for. said with a smile: "The military order will be exempted, two regiments will be drawn from your 166th Division, and then the Bengal Regiment of the Fifth Division will be left to you." And the Chendi Brigade at Wingate just now is also under your command. Didn't he want to fight the Japanese? Just let him toss. The Air Force can now send one regiment a day, and it will take about three or four days for Huan to go around Chandra first, which is enough for us to raise four more regiments. ”

"What about crossing the river? From Patna to Beguthrai, Nehru had four divisions. Fei Wenhua asked the question that everyone wanted to know.

Li Zongren has long been confident: "In ancient times, Zhuge Wuhou borrowed arrows from grass boats, can't we borrow a pontoon bridge?" ”

"Borrow a pontoon?" Everyone looked at each other, and they didn't know what Li Zongren meant. Only Wu Huan looked at Patna first, and a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind: "Commander, do you want Chandra to build a bridge from Begusharai to attack Beria on the other side, and we will follow behind and use him as a cover to quietly cross the river?" ”

"Okay, you Wu Huanxian!" Li Zongren laughed and immediately looked at Fei Wenhua: "Wenhua, immediately send a telegram to the Air Force, and ask them to divide the remaining troops into three waves, one wave to be sent here, and one wave to Chandra's side to be commanded by Huan Xian." The last wave was sent to the refinery, as a reserve in the south of Dian. Tell them that the refinery's airfield is already ready to take off and land large transport planes, and let them send as many motorcycles and Type 12 (T2 as European) personnel carriers as possible in three days. These two types of cars are small, and they can be loaded with a conveyor without dismantling. Then prepare the train and send it to Beguthera as soon as the equipment arrives. Huanxian, you can lead the troops to cooperate with Chandra now, and let him prepare more supplies and mules and horses. and urge him to attack Nehru on the spot. Don't let him be lazy, play hard, so that Nehru can't tell the truth from the fake! But remember, don't be too ruthless, if Nehru scares away the open passage. The Soviets would have retracted first. ”

After saying everything, Li Zongren glanced at everyone and said with a smile: "Just take a look first, if it can't be violated, it's a big deal to shrink back." What do you think? Hearing him say it in such detail, Fei Wenhua knew that he had probably been thinking about it for many days. The last sentence of "fight and see" actually reassures everyone, so he gritted his teeth and said: "I'll guard Langbull." Look at how much stronger the Soviet Indian division of the PKI was than the British Indian division. ”

Fei Wenhua has never fought in the northwest, nor has he experienced a vicious battle, and this time he dared to grit his teeth and lead three regiments to block the four Indian Communist Soviet divisions, which can really be said to be out of the way. I saw that he was gritting his teeth and looking tragic. Wu Huan laughed first, and Li Zongren couldn't help laughing. First asked: "Where is the vanguard of the CPI-Soviet army?" ”

"Already forty kilometers away on the Gorodoya River, the Air Force is about to depart." Wu Huan made a gesture and pointed out the position of the Soviet army.

"Let's get ready." Li Zongren and the others, Wu Huan and the others left. Only then did he pat Fei Wenhua on the shoulder, and said to him: "Don't be nervous." The Soviet army of the PKI, like us, lacked heavy equipment, and the infantry was not much stronger. I will leave you some people, all of whom have been fighting with me in the northwest for a year, and are good at dealing with the Soviet army, so you might as well listen to their opinions. In addition, I also transferred a regiment from the Seventh Army with a total of 48 107 rocket launchers, and the day should be approaching. With them, plus artillery and the air force, as long as the air force continues to send reinforcements, if you want to rely on four infantry divisions, you can gnaw away Lambour! Yabyshev was not afraid of breaking his teeth. In the end, he snorted coldly, and his self-confidence after the Northwest series of battles was undoubted.

The Seventh Army is Li Zongren's old unit, and it is really not a big deal to transfer a 107 rocket artillery regiment. But it's too important for Fei Wenhua. In the past, because of the difficulty of aid, not to mention rocket artillery, even mortar shells, they had to be used sparingly. Now there are 48 107-mm rocket launchers all at once, and in India, it is definitely a big deal. When I thought of the scene of the Soviet army being smashed by the "steel rain" and crying to the ground, the little worry in my heart also came to naught.

After the two finished speaking, the sound of the engine of the attack plane came from outside the window.

"Bang boom."

Over the Gorodoya River, 40 kilometers southwest of Rambull, four H-10 attack planes continuously sprayed 90-millimeter air-to-ground rockets under their wings and belly. The unique twin pylons can ensure that the H-10 can be mounted with 24 such anti-personnel rockets at a time. Each one contained hundreds of steel balls and fragments, which wrenched a rain of blood among the Soviet sappers who erected the pontoon bridge. Before the rockets could be fired, the nose of the aircraft sprayed out another ball of fireball, and the 40-mm rapid-fire gun under the nose continued to whip on the pontoon, and in a few clicks, the three wooden pontoons were all blown up.

If the H-10 attacking pontoon bridges and sappers was a truck loaded with bombs, then strafing the two transport-3 gunboats that followed up the large force was a "torrential rain." The ju52-like gunboat was improved after repeated use, each equipped with four 12.7mm heavy machine guns, two 25mm chain cannons, and thick protective armor welded to key locations such as the belly. Four machine guns and two cannons, peeking out of the design windows in the front and rear of the wings, constantly strafed the ground.

The gunboat aircraft are not very useful in the northwest and North Korea, because both sides still have air counterattack capabilities, but the fire of several I-16s on the ground in India is a clear proof of who has air supremacy. Absolute air supremacy, coupled with the lack of anti-aircraft artillery for the Soviet troops in India, caused terrible casualties on two transport-three gunboats, and every second soldiers were hit by a rain of bullets from a high level of zero, and blood and corpses paved the roads.

Major General Dedayev, who was hiding in the woods, gritted his teeth, no one he knew better about these two "devils in the air".

In the tank battle of Kurgarsen, the H-10, which made its debut, blew up the pontoon bridge with rockets, causing his friend Baranov and the Fifth Tank Army to be unable to cross the river and annihilated. He personally participated in the Battle of Kyzylorda, and it was precisely because of the destruction of an entire aviation regiment by gunboats that the airfield was lost and the enemy used to transport a large number of troops, and finally achieved the prestige of the "gasoline butcher", so that Moscow could not effectively support Tashkent. Finally lost the whole of Central Asia!

Now they're here again.

Dedayev is furious when he thinks about it! Originally, after successfully breaking through and coming to India, he and the officers were quite comfortable. If it weren't for the heavy equipment lost during the breakout, the support of Moscow and GC International would not be intermittent, and it would not be difficult to sweep half of India with hundreds of thousands of veterans who had fought in Afghanistan for three years.

Unexpectedly, it was difficult to stock up a little material and was about to completely expel the British army to liberate all of India. China has actually stepped in again! He won't understand that China is also practicing the road of national socialism, although it is different from Berlin, but it is all socialism, and it is all about narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor. Promote democracy and modernization of the country. Since German socialism can come together with the Soviet Union, why can't Chinese socialism get along with itself?

"Comrade General, the enemy's plane is gone." After the guards reminded the attack planes to leave, Dedayev immediately walked out of the bunker, and when he saw that the pontoon bridge was broken and the sappers were suffering heavy casualties, he simply asked the Sikh soldiers recruited by the PKI to build the bridge. "Let those Indians mend the pontoons. Hurry up! Ask Major Kraft to personally lead the overseer team and help them with the queen. Like the British, the commander-in-chief of the PKI, Yabeshev, knew that it was impossible to liberate India with only a few hundred thousand Soviet veterans, so in addition to retaining a few elite all-veteran divisions. Break up the rest of the Soviet and PKI soldiers in order to expand the size of the force as much as possible. However, even though the recruits were poor children of the northern Sikhs who had a martial tradition and fought bravely, the combat effectiveness of the troops was seriously reduced. In order to bring out the combat effectiveness of the Indian soldiers. He had no choice but to raise the banner of the Overseer again, and keep a Superintendent Regiment in each Su Yin Division.

A third of Dedayev's two divisions were Sikh soldiers. After receiving the order, more than a thousand burly and bearded Sikh soldiers wrapped in turbans rushed out of their hiding places and, under the shouts of Soviet officers, carried Mosinagan or Lee Enfield on their backs, carrying planks to the pontoon bridge, which had been blown up.

The Gorodoya River was originally a rushing river, and this river was described in detail in the introduction of the Bennavadana country in the "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty". But after thousands of years of diversion and flooding, the river is now less than 50 meters wide and less than two meters deep. So as soon as the Sikh soldiers appeared, they were seen by the Chinese soldiers who had just arrived from Afghanistan in the wooded positions on the east bank. "Squad leader, who are those? Why don't you wear a steel helmet? "The private from Guizhou had never seen a Sikh soldier and aimed his crosshair at the turban.

"It's Indian Ah San, and in the past, our Shanghai concession was full of people, and it seemed to be called the Xi tribe. Mahbid! I can't remember clearly, it's not a good product anyway, relying on the support of foreigners, beating and scolding us all day long. After the squad leader from Shanghai recognized these Sikh soldiers who helped the colonizers and served the tigers in the early years, he remembered that when he went to the concession when he was a child, he was supported by their masters, and chased them all over the street with batons. Aim for me and hit me hard in the chest! ”

"Squad leader, you're not a personal vendetta, are you?"

"Haha."

"Little bunny, save you a lot of nonsense, machine guns, machine guns? Made, why are you still stunned? Get ready! The squad leader's shout, like an alarm clock, woke up the entire position, and black muzzles bounced out of the pit.

The muzzle of the gun suddenly poked out from the woods on the opposite bank, and the heart of Major Kraft, who was holding a telescope and supervising the construction of the bridge by the Sikh soldiers, jumped and immediately shouted: "Come back!" Come back, there's an ambush! But his shouting was only half effective, because he was in Russian. Except for half of the Soviet soldiers, the Sikh soldiers, who were busy repairing the bridge, did not understand at all.

"Fire!"

"Boom, boom."

With a loud shout, six 80-mm mortars opened fire first, and the shells smashed on the surface of the river, stirring up columns of water. Dozens of HJ32 general-purpose machine guns also sprayed a dense rain of bullets at the same time, and at a rate of 900 rounds per minute, five tracer bullets were connected into a line of fire. With just a few pulls on the trigger, the bullets can stir up a rain of blood among the unsuspecting Sikh soldiers. The universal machine gun based on the MG3 had such a fast rate of fire that every fallen Sikh soldier could count several bullet holes.

Patches of Sikh soldiers were killed, the river was dyed red, a layer of corpses soon floated on the surface of the river, and the pontoon bridge, which had not yet been repaired, was destroyed again. "Damn yellow-skinned bastards!" Dedayev's face was gloomy, and his hands were clenched tightly. However, he will not be frightened, compared to the northwest, this kind of casualty is not worth mentioning at all. What he hated was the sound of tearing oilcloth! A voice that made all Soviet veterans hate to the bone! "About two battalions, Comrade General." The commander of the reconnaissance regiment, who had been on the battlefield for a long time, quickly analyzed the number of blocking troops by comparing the number of machine guns.

"The artillery opened fire, organized assault teams to swim across the river and set up positions on the east bank. Get the Indians ready to continue building bridges! Tank companies are ready. Comrades, Comrade Lieutenant General Kozilov is coming soon, we can't stop here! Major General Dedayev looked at his watch and gave the order with a black face.