Chapter 1176: The Battle of Bengal
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The 71st Regiment of the Chinese Army, along with Lì, occupied the first line of defense of the British and Indian forces, and the second line of defense was two kilometers away. In the process, they did not encounter a single resistance, and there was no living British and Indian officers and soldiers on the position. To be precise, when the 71st Regiment of the Chinese Army occupied the defensive line of the Indian army on LinkedIn, there were still some wounded Indian Asan, and their companions abandoned them and fled for their lives. Later, however, the 71st Regiment reported that there were no prisoners at all. As for the whereabouts of these Indian Ahsan, who were injured by the explosion, it has become a mystery.
In fact, India's population of nearly 300 million is a very big problem for China. When formulating the battle plan, the General Staff of the squadron demanded that all units eliminate the Indian A-3 as much as possible, and all the Indian A-3 who dared to resist should be eliminated. This was very advantageous for the Chinese generals to occupy India, or rather the most fertile part of the Indian peninsula. Otherwise, India's Asan, which has half of China's population, will also be in big trouble if it goes toe-to-toe with China everywhere. Wang Yuze did not want China to be hit by suicide from time to time in the future. Therefore, only the dead Indian Ahsan is the best Indian Ahsan.
It is precisely because of this guiding ideology that the squadron is killing on the battlefield in India, especially those mercenaries, who are even more unscrupulous. India paid a heavy price in this war. Although until the end of the war, China did not disclose how many Indians were killed in the war. But according to the speculation of third countries. India lost at least 100 million people in the war. And most of them are Hindus!
The Chinese Army took the first line of defense of the Anglo-Indian army without much effort. The 266th Army of the 26th Army of the British and Indian Army, which guarded the first line of defense, paid a heavy price for this, with more than 50,000 troops and nearly 20,000 people killed in this terrifying shelling. The British and Indian troops were unprepared when they were bombarded, and the defensive line they built was basically a tofu scum project, so the losses were very heavy. However, even if the British and Indian troops seriously built fortifications, it is estimated that they will not be able to withstand the terrifying fire of the battleship's main guns. The rest of the Anglo-Indian soldiers. They all ran away, and they didn't dare to continue fighting with the squadron at all. This allowed the 71st Regiment of the Chinese Army to take the positions of the Anglo-Indian troops with only one charge. And that's just the beginning!
At 8:40 a.m., the squadron began to advance and attack the second line of defense of the Anglo-Indian army. The 10th Army of the Chinese Army concentrated 500 heavy artillery pieces and began to attack the Anglo-Indian defensive line. Subsequently, the detachment of fire support ships of the Chinese Navy anchored in the Bay of Bengal also began to launch heavy artillery bombardment on the British and Indian lines. A qiē began to repeat itself, and the Anglo-Indian troops suffered heavy losses under heavy shelling. When the 266th Army was heavily bombarded by Chinese artillery, the 267th Army of the British and Indian Army, which was guarding the second line of defense, did not have an intuitive feeling. Even the soldiers of the retreating 266th Army described to them that the Chinese attack was like sending them to hell. But they didn't believe it. And at this moment, when those shells weighing hundreds of kilograms fell on their positions. After blowing up huge craters and taking away lives. These Indian Asans also panicked, and despite the obstruction of the British officers, they abandoned their positions, turned and fled, and even the Warlords could not stop them. At this time, escape is the most important thing, and the Indian Asans are eager to give birth to a few more legs.
After half an hour of shelling, the squadron attacked again. This time, the British and Indian forces still did not organize any powerful counterattack. The fierce shelling of the Chinese army's artillery and the navy's support fireship detachment completely dampened their fighting spirit. In the eyes of those Indian Ah San, the Chinese are too terrifying, not at all like those British officers advertised to them, tied with pigs' tails, cowardly as rats, but can easily kill them, as if they are devils.
On October 27 alone, the three lines of defense laid by the 26th Army of the British and Indian Army were broken through by the squadron. Especially in the third line of defense, the squadron had not yet begun to attack, and when the shells had just fallen on their positions, the British and Indian soldiers ran away. The miserable appearance of the two lines of defense in front made those Indian Asans very frightened. Therefore, in order to avoid heavy losses like their compatriots on the two lines of defense in front, they retreated on their own initiative. Although those British officers punched and kicked them, and even organized a team to stop them, this was of no use at all in front of the surviving Indian Ah San.
Lieutenant General David, commander of the Anglo-Indian 26th Army, also had to accept this reality, and the defensive line he had painstakingly built collapsed in a single day. In the three lines of defense in front, a total of 250,000 troops of 5 armies were deployed, and the real loss was less than 50,000, but most of the remaining troops were demoralized. The weapons and equipment of the British and Indian armies were not enough, and these lost weapons were already considered to have completely lost their combat effectiveness.
Lieutenant General David, in addition to laying out three lines of defense on the narrow coastal plain, also deployed a line of defense on the Madamuho River. Here, the forces of the 26th Army of the Anglo-Indian Army were assembled. The defensive line is also longer, stretching for 30 kilometers from the mouth of the Madamukho River to the Rakhine Mountains. Originally, Lieutenant General David thought that it would be enough to defend a line of defense of 30 kilometers with the troops of 4 corps. But now it seems that this line of defense also has very big holes. At least the coastal section, he is not sure that he will be able to hold it now. If the Chinese navy warships opened fire, the natives of India would surely flee.
Lieutenant General David briefed the 25th Army on what was now happening to the 26th Army, and at the same time reported to the Anglo-Indian command in Delhi. The commander of the Anglo-Indian forces, General Kitchener, and the chief of staff, Lieutenant General de Freel, were also somewhat caught off guard by this question. It was no surprise that the squadron would launch an attack on the Anglo-Indian army's eastern defence today. However, the collapse of the 26th Army of the Anglo-Indian Army was such a rapid surprise. Originally, they thought that with the deployment of four army groups in the eastern region, with a total of 2 million troops, they would have to hold out for several months. But now it has only been a day before the squadron has broken through the defensive line, and how long the remaining troops can hold out is something only God knows.
"General, what should we do now? The Chinese used their navy to attack our coastal positions, and we simply could not resist them. The Royal Navy of the British Empire was stuck in the Atlantic Ocean and could not travel to the Indian Ocean to support us through the Mediterranean. Besides, after the victory of the Chinese Navy in the Battle of Sicily, the Navy guys did not have the courage to fight the Chinese Navy again. Lieutenant General de Frerell, Chief of Staff of the Anglo-Indian Army, said.
"Now almost the entire Indian Ocean has become an inland sea for the Chinese, and we have nothing to do about it." Admiral Kitchener also lamented. The current British Empire is no longer the world hegemon it once was, and the vast ocean is no longer ruled by Britain. Among the four major seas of the world, except for the unseaworthy Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Indians have been controlled by the Chinese Navy, and the Chinese Navy is still actively infiltrating the Atlantic, if they cannot contain the Chinese, they will sooner or later become the new maritime hegemon who is the world hegemon.
"General, how can we solve our predicament in Bangladesh?" Lieutenant General de Frell asked.
Admiral Kitchener looked at the map of Bengal and was silent for a long time. The Bengal Plains is one of the three most important grain-producing regions in India, and the dense rivers provide the plains with good irrigation conditions. But now, these rivers have become an important loophole for the Anglo-Indian army. The large and small warships of the Chinese Navy could rampage through these rivers, throwing shells on the heads of the British and Indian troops, and it was absolutely impossible for those timid Indian natives to fight against the fierce artillery fire of the Chinese. When the time comes, the indigenous Indians will surely flee faster than the rabbits.
It was only after a long time that Admiral Kitchener made up his final mind, and he instructed Lieutenant General de Frere.
"Send a telegram to the 25th Army and the 26th Army, telling them to abandon Chittagong and Dhaka and retreat to northern Bengal. Caine. In the area south of the Jeintia hills, fight a battle with the Chinese! If the 27th and 28th armies are not in a good situation, they can also retreat to this area and join the battle. We have gathered two million people, or even more, while the Chinese are only a few hundred thousand, and many are mercenaries, and it is still unknown who will win in the end! Admiral Kitchener said. Now, the only thing he can rely on is probably the numerical advantage! North Bengal, Caro. Caine. The area south of the Jaintia Hills is vast and has poor terrain in the northern part of the Bengal Plain. The Anglo-Indian army, which is completely pure infantry, will not be affected, but the squadron, which is more dependent on transportation conditions, will definitely be greatly affected. In addition, it is far from those wide rivers, and it is almost impossible for the squadron to use the power of the navy. Therefore, a decisive battle with the squadron in this area is not a loss for the Anglo-Indian army! (To be continued......)