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Twenty kilometers north of Calcutta, at Balekpur, the location of the 2nd Anglo-Indian Army. 5.com After receiving orders from Admiral Kitchener, the 2nd Army returned to Calcutta from Napdwip. This order made the officers and men of the 2nd Army very dissatisfied, so much so that many people deliberately slowed down during the march. By the time the Anglo-Indian 2nd Army arrived at Balekpur, the squadron had already entered Calcutta, and the Anglo-Indian 24th Army had been defeated.

Lieutenant General Adrian, commander of the 2nd Anglo-Indian Army, immediately ordered the 2nd Army to deploy at Balekpur and prepare to resist the attack of the squadron. At the same time, a telegram was sent to the commander of the Anglo-Indian army, Admiral Kitchener, informing him of the situation in Calcutta and requesting support!

Admiral Kitchener agreed to Lieutenant General Adrian's proposal to have the 2nd Army preset the battlefield at Balekpur. At the same time, the 18th Army was ordered to speed up and rush towards Barclaybull. At this time, the top brass of the Anglo-Indian army also learned that Calcutta had been captured by the squadron, and that the squadron had invested the approximate strength in Calcutta. When it was learned that the squadron had committed at least half a million troops in Calcutta, both Admiral Kitchener and the chief of staff, Lieutenant General de Freir, were shocked. The worst they had expected finally happened, the squadron had sent a large number of troops to Kolkata in addition to heavy troops in the west and east of India, which meant that China had put much more troops into the Indian battlefield than they expected! The total strength of the Anglo-Indian army appears to be more than 10 million men. But on the battlefield their cousin is just too bad. Admiral Kitchener and others wondered if they could defeat the invading squadron on a frontal battlefield. There's not much confidence left!

On the morning of November 27. The assault force consisting of the 11th Army of the Chinese Army and twenty divisions of the Japanese mercenaries began to drive along the road from Kolkata to Balekpur. Another 10 infantry divisions and 10 divisions of Japanese mercenaries were used as reserves, ready to intercept reinforcements from another Anglo-Indian army group. For this battle, General Zhou Shun is still very cautious, after all, the 2nd Army of the Anglo-Indian Army is completely composed of British, and its combat power is definitely not comparable to those garbage-like Indian Asan. Investing a total of 220,000 troops in the 11th Army plus 20 Japanese mercenary divisions to fight against the 500,000 troops of the 2nd Army of the British and Indian Army was already all the strength in his hands. Of course, if the Japanese mercenaries of another 10 infantry divisions and ten divisions were able to defeat the 18th Army of the Anglo-Indian Army first. Then if you attack the 2nd Army of the Anglo-Indian Army, the strength of the squadron will be much more abundant!

The squadron marched from Calcutta to Balekpur on a large scale, which of course could not be concealed from the 2nd Army of the Anglo-Indian Army. Balekpur is also located on the banks of the Hooghly River, but the river is shallow and cannot be navigated by the battleships of the Chinese Navy's fire support fleet. However, in order to avoid being attacked by naval warships, the British and Indian troops deliberately deployed the defense line far from the river bank to ensure their safety. More than 100,000 remnants of the Anglo-Indian 24th Army, which had fled from Calcutta, also retreated to Balekpur and came under the command of Lieutenant General Adrian, commander of the 2nd Army. It's just that for these troops composed of Indian Ah San, Lieutenant General Adrian is not very pleasing to the eye!

"General. The Chinese have already set out from Calcutta, a total of more than 400,000 people! Judging by their numbers. Including the 11th Army of the Chinese and about 200,000 Japanese mercenaries! Major General Cecil, Chief of Staff of the 2nd Anglo-Indian Army, reported to Lieutenant General Adrian.

"The Chinese set off? How's our line of defense? Can it withstand the attack of the armored forces of the Chinese? Lieutenant General Adrian asked. From the Anglo-Indian troops who fled to Balekpur, they already knew the strength of the Chinese armored forces. The 24th Army of the Anglo-Indian Army can be said to have been defeated by the armored forces of the Chinese Army on a large extent, and the 11th Armored Brigade of the Chinese Army broke through the defense line of the 24th Army of the British and Indian Army several times, inflicting great damage on the British and Indian Army. After the armored brigade broke through their defensive line, the follow-up squadron poured in from the breach, causing the instant collapse of the Anglo-Indian defensive line, and in such a situation, it was simply impossible for the Anglo-Indian army to organize a powerful counterattack!

"General, we dug an anti-tank trench in front of the line overnight. However, our anti-tank guns are too few, less than fifty, and I am afraid it will be difficult to withstand the attack of the armored forces of the Chinese! Major General Cecil said. India's arsenals were unable to produce anti-tank guns, and the 2nd Anglo-Indian Army was armed with anti-tank guns that were all brought from the British mainland. But after the Chinese navy blockaded the Indian peninsula, they no longer had any way to get any weapons from their homeland!

"Fifty anti-tank guns, if properly handled, may be able to inflict heavy damage on the Chinese!" They certainly don't know that we have this weapon too! What about the Chinese navy? Lieutenant General Adrian asked. The Chinese Navy's fire support ship detachment showed a strong attack force, which also made them panic. The Chinese actually used as many as 9 battleships as fire support ships, which made the British very envious and extreme. Even when the British Royal Navy was the first in the world, they did not have the luxury to this extent! Now the Chinese Navy's table xiàn can be described as a loser! If it were the British Navy, at such a critical juncture, the battleships of the Navy would certainly not have been used like this!

"General, the Chinese fleet is still stuck in Calcutta, and only a few light warships are swimming against the current, but it should not pose much of a threat to us!" Our line of defense is outside the range of the main guns of the Chinese fleet! Major General Cecil replied!

"Order all departments, get ready for battle, this time we want to let those yellow-skinned monkeys know how powerful we are!" Lieutenant General Adrian ordered. He firmly believes that the combat effectiveness of the British will definitely not be worse than that of the Chinese, even if the Chinese have powerful arms such as armored troops, but the British are not free to bully, and the final victory will definitely belong to them!

At 9 a.m. on November 27, the main force of the 3rd Group of the Chinese Army arrived in Balekpur and stopped five kilometers away from the Anglo-Indian line. The artillery began to build positions, and the armored units began to overhaul tanks and armored vehicles in preparation for the offensive. The 1st, 6th, and 15th Divisions continued to advance, forming forward positions just two kilometers from the Anglo-Indian lines. The cavalry brigade began fire reconnaissance of the Anglo-Indian troops.

The Anglo-Indian line stretched twenty kilometers from Barclaybull to the plains to the east. In front of the Anglo-Indian lines, an intermittent anti-tank trench caught the attention of the squadron. Obviously, the 2nd Army of the Anglo-Indian Army had learned of the strength of the armored forces of the Chinese Army and had taken precautions. However, it would be naïve to think that only an anti-tank trench would be able to withstand the armored forces of the Chinese Army!

Two hours later, the artillery brigade of the 11th Group Army of the Chinese Army and the artillery battalions of the eight infantry divisions below, with a total of more than 600 heavy guns of more than 105 mm caliber, began to launch artillery bombardments on the Anglo-Indian defense line.

"Whew! Shout! Shout! "With the sound of shells piercing the air, shells exploded on the positions of the 2nd Anglo-Indian Army. In a hurry, the Anglo-Indian 2nd Army merely built a defensive line. A trench more than a meter deep plus some fire points for civil structures. Such fortifications simply could not withstand the bombardment of heavy artillery. Fortunately, the Anglo-Indian 2nd Army left only a few observers on the defensive line, and the rest of the troops were withdrawn to their positions, otherwise they would have paid heavy losses in the shelling.

After the artillery bombardment of the Chinese army began, the artillery of the 2nd Anglo-Indian Army also began to counterattack. As an army group, which consisted entirely of the British, they were much better equipped than the army group, which consisted of Indian Asan. With more than 100 mm of heavy artillery, the 2nd Group Army of the British and Indian Army has more than 500 guns, and there is no need for the 11th Army of the Chinese Army to be much less.

The target of the heavy artillery bombardment of the Chinese Army was the Anglo-Indian defensive line, and the target of the artillery position bombardment of the Anglo-Indian Army was also the forward position of the Chinese Army. At this time, quite a few squadrons had already entered the forward position, preparing to launch an attack on the defensive line of the Anglo-Indian 2nd Army after the artillery bombardment was over. After the dense artillery shells fell, the forward positions of the Chinese army were suddenly shrouded in gunsmoke. The troops on the front line did not expect that the British and Indian troops would have so many heavy artillery, and for a time many soldiers were killed or injured in the shelling of the British and Indian troops!

"Dog's day! Order the troops at the front to withdraw first! Artillery suppressed the artillery of the Anglo-Indian army! Admiral Zhou Shun ordered. If you have the support of the Air Force, it will be simple. The fighters of the Air Force can easily take out the artillery of the British and Indian armies. But now, only the artillery of the army can be relied on to suppress the artillery of the Anglo-Indian army.

The 155mm heavy howitzers and 155mm heavy cannons on the artillery positions of the Chinese Army began to fire at the artillery positions of the British and Indian troops, and under the guidance of observation balloons in the air, the shells were accurately dropped on the artillery positions of the British and Indian troops. More than a hundred 155-mm heavy howitzers and heavy cannons played an extremely important role at this moment.

In less than half an hour, several artillery positions of the British and Indian troops were destroyed, and dozens of artillery pieces were lost. (To be continued......)