Just when Xu Huaide and Guderian, the old enemies, were preparing to score another point on the battlefield, the German eastward expansion group had launched an attack in advance, and India, known as the most important colony of the British Empire, the South Asian subcontinent that provided a steady stream of raw materials and markets for the development of the British Empire, was finally about to fall into a baptism of blood and fire! More than 700,000 German troops and more than 400,000 Austro-Hungarian and Turkish regiments poured into this rich land like a flood that broke through the dikes!

Under the cover of more than 4,000 aircraft of the four air armies, the sharp spearhead of 12 armored divisions and mechanized infantry divisions easily tore apart the border defense system of the British. After the initial breakthrough, the German offensive was divided into three, with the Germans on the northern front, guided by two mechanized infantry divisions, attacking northward, with the front directed towards Islamabad. On the southern front, the Germans attacked Karachi under the guidance of 1 armored division and 2 mechanized divisions, striving to control the most important port city on the Arabian Sea coast in the shortest possible time, while the remaining 4 armored divisions and 3 mechanized infantry divisions formed a central assault group and began to attack the Indus Valley. Facing the German army like a tide. The defense of the British can simply be described as weak. The Germans didn't even bother to divide the encirclement, and the Germans in the vanguard swept it away. And the Germans in the back even joked that they were on an armed parade. Just carry the gun and go forward.

In just a few days, more than 400,000 German troops entered what would become Pakistan, and finally three German armies formed a coherent front along the Indus River. And the reason why the Germans paused here is not that the British resistance was strong. Rather, it's because after crossing the Indus River, there is a narrow desert strip. The German Army needs to wait for the pace of logistics and air force, and then launch a centripetal attack on New Delhi, the political and economic center of India!

In addition to the terrain and supply reasons, there was another reason for Manstein's temporary halt. That was Operation Desert Storm that was about to break out. Whether Guderian could successfully defeat the Huaxia Army was directly related to the flank security of the German Eastward Advance Corps. If Guderian succeeded, then the corps deployed on the northern front to defend Huaxia could be transferred. This adds at least 4 Panzer Divisions or Mechanized Divisions to the Striker. And the infantry legions in the back will also be replenished, if they can't repel the Huaxia legions. That would mean that Germany would need to deploy more defensive forces on the northern front. And this will lead to the weakness of the eastward marching army.

In line with the principle of concentrating forces in one place, Manstein launched the eastern offensive first in order to stagger the time of Guderian's northward attack. And when Manstein gained a firm foothold in the South Asian subcontinent, logistics supplies and air support were tilted towards Guderian, in other words, how far Manstein can go in the future depends entirely on what effect Guderian plays in this battle!

While the German army was advancing rapidly, Britain and the United States were also actively preparing for war. However, compared with the powerful German legions, the strength and position of Britain and the United States in the South Asian subcontinent at this time were not ideal. Nearly 400,000 British and native Indian troops were cowered in the Gangetic Plain. The U.S. Expeditionary Force, of about 300,000, was concentrated in the central part of India's east coast.

In terms of troops, the United States and Britain are already at a disadvantage, and this is even more true in terms of equipment. The British though won the Battle of Britain. However, it suffered heavy losses, and it is useless to want to replenish the Indian Corps with equipment from the mainland. The Americans were not able to give much equipment to the British while trying their best to arm themselves, so at least half of the 400,000 British troops entrenched in the Henghe Plain were underequipped, and the other half were even worse than the British army at the beginning of World War II.

The Americans are in a better situation. But the good thing is that compared with the beginning of the war, although with the entry into service of the Pershing tank and the arrival of the Type 29 tank destroyer equipped with new artillery, the Americans are at least less afraid of the German tiger, but the number of these equipment is still limited, although the United States has increased the production capacity of the Pershing tank as much as possible. But at present, even the most advanced regiments in India have only one-third of their armored units reequipped.

Not to mention that the main forces of the two sides are still some distance away from each other at this time. Even if they can meet, the American and British legions may be more than lucky in the face of the fierce German army. The situation is better on the Air Force's side. With the help of Huaxia, the Entente deployed more than 5,000 aircraft of various types from six air armies throughout India, and it was precisely because of these planes that they continued to strike at the German transport lines. It greatly hindered the German offensive.

Face the fierce German army. The United States and Britain diverged on strategy. The British meant to focus on the defense of the Ganges Valley, with Tibet and the Germans in the back of China. The fundamental reason why the British made such a plan is that the Ganges valley is almost the essence of British India. Moreover, it is a key business area of the British Empire, and its transportation, fortifications, and economic status are very superior. The British did not want to throw it away.

The Americans, on the other hand, meant to abandon the north of India and evacuate to the south. Then it will take on the Germans on the Deccan plateau. The Americans were realistic, and instead of running over and fighting the Germans, it was better to use northern India to dilute the Germans' power and stretch their supply lines at the same time. And southern India is gradually narrowing. The battle front is relatively short, which is conducive to defense. More importantly, it is relatively close to the US naval base in India, so it is relatively easy to obtain supplies and support.

"It's not good to defend the southern front, don't forget, the German Navy hasn't done it yet!" In a conference call, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill voiced his concerns. The Luftwaffe and Army have already gotten their hands dirty, but what about the German High Seas Fleet? Although the Chinese and American fleets were victorious in the battle for the North Atlantic, the loss of 4 aircraft carriers was not a big deal for Germany. The main force is still there! According to the estimates of the British Royal Navy, the German Navy can be re-established in a maximum of 3 months! I'm afraid that the high seas fleet will turn the entire Indian coast into its own hunting ground, right?

"This is indeed a problem, neither the fleet of the United States nor the Chinese fleet can face the combined fleet of the Central Powers alone, and this time, their superiority in fighting on the inside line is fully manifested." And Roosevelt quickly realized the crux of the matter! The Entente fleet, though in general, was strong. But the fleet must be divided into two main parts, in which the American fleet and the British fleet are responsible for the security of the sea transport routes in the North Atlantic. And the Chinese and Italian and French fleets will be in charge of the Indian Ocean theater of operations.

And the dismantled Allied fleet was at a disadvantage in the face of the Allied fleet that was huddled. And the result of the fleet being at a disadvantage. The Germans could easily attack any node off the coast of India! The Ganges valley in northern India was safe from German naval attacks, but the farther south it went, the more affected it was. Before the Huaxia fleet stabilized the Allied fleet. This strategic disadvantage will not change!

Although the Americans acknowledged that there was some truth in what the British said, the U.S. Army was still hesitant. After a series of vicious battles on the battlefields of France. The U.S. Army really needs a good rest. Therefore, the front-line commanders of the US army, including Patton, Bradley and others, tried their best to avoid a large-scale battle with the Germans prematurely. According to their words, at least wait until half of the armored forces are redressed for Pershing. So in the end, the Americans made a compromise plan, and sent part of the American army north to the Henghe Plain to assist the British army in defense, while the American army on the southern front began to establish a coherent defensive line.

And while the United States and Britain stepped up preparations for war, they also took China into account. In a telephone conversation between Roosevelt and Xu Jie, the former demanded that China launch a tentative attack in northern Iran and send a powerful expeditionary force to India. And a proposal was also made to create a joint command of the Indian theater of operations of the Entente countries.

As for Roosevelt's request, Xu Jie's answer was very simple. First. Huaxia is under tremendous pressure in northern Iran, and the Germans will soon be on the move, and Huaxia needs to ensure the security of its own bridgehead in the Middle East first. Second, Huaxia really wants to fulfill its obligations. However, due to logistical supply problems, Huaxia can currently send relatively limited troops, but even so, Huaxia will still transport nine divisions of troops and equipment to southern Indian ports within a month.

Xu Jie's view of the Indian battlefield is similar to that of the Americans, and he is reluctant to fight the Germans in the Ganges Valley, in addition to the same reasons as the Americans, another important reason is that the Ganges River Valley is about to enter the rainy season. The Indian traffic in later generations can be called a tragedy, and it is said that the Indian traffic during the Second World War was said. If a 60-ton Dragon tank is put into this battlefield, it will definitely be quite a troublesome thing. Although the southern part is called the Deccan Plateau, this so-called plateau is compared to the Henghe Plain, and the altitude is not high as a whole. Moreover, the terrain is flat, which is very suitable for armored group operations in China.

And in addition to the tactical reasons of the campaign, there are 2 other reasons. One of them is that Xu Jie wanted to use the Indian battlefield to consume the potential of the allies, and the other party ran thousands of kilometers from Europe for an expedition. The war was almost on the doorstep of China, and it was a large colony of the British. This battlefield is simply amazing! I'm sorry if I didn't make good use of it. Anyway, it's the territory of the British, and it doesn't hurt to fight no matter how you fight. Therefore, Xu Jie is also willing to burn the flames of war to the deep regions of the South Asian subcontinent.

The second reason is that Huaxia's current focus is on northern Iran, in which Huaxia has concentrated more than 400,000 elite troops, but Xu Jie believes that it is still insufficient, on the one hand, because it is necessary to deal with the imminent German attack, and on the other hand, because in Huaxia's plan, the northern region of Iran will be used as a springboard for Huaxia to cut off the German Indian army in the future. In this case, Huaxia continued to increase the number of troops stationed in northern Iran to more than 600,000 in 3 months. And then slowly increase the strength of the army to 1 million! When the German Eastern Advance Corps fell into decline, when the Chinese Navy inflicted heavy damage on the German High Seas Fleet, the Chinese Army stationed in northern Iran would cut off the Germans' return route!

And just as the Allies and the Entente were preparing for a major war around the Middle East and South Asia, an empire that was gradually fading from the eyes of the world was calmly watching. In the eyes of the Russian top brass in Moscow, the world war will be the last chance to change the world pattern, and whether Russia can rise from the decline after the defeat in World War I depends entirely on the outcome of this war!

"On the whole, the era of the German offensive is over, the fighting has entered a protracted war of attrition, and it is a war of attrition in the areas and regions where the Germans are not good at, the strategic bombing of Germany by China has begun, and when the British have recovered their breath, the strategic bombing of Europe will also be launched, and the German Army is launching an offensive in distant South Asia. In this case, the stronger Allies would gradually gain the upper hand, and unless the Germans could win a shocking victory in a series of battles and negotiate peace with the Allies, the Germans would surely be the last to fall. If we can, I hope we can catch this last train. Blyukhel said at the meeting.

"But this should not be a reason for us to enter the war, the Germans are not defenseless against us, and their legions in Europe are still an irresistible presence for us. We should not prematurely show hostility towards Germany until the Entente had depleted the German Army in large quantities. The Allies were at a disadvantage in terms of national strength to the Entente, but they were still a behemoth to Russia now! There is no benefit to premature hostility, and by this time Germany has already controlled all of Western Europe, and the Entente has no place to use it! And Budyonny had reservations about Blyukhel's words.

"It is true that now is not the time to enter the war, but our preparations must start from now, and in the end how much we can obtain is determined by our own strength, China and the United States have only pushed the German wall, but how much we can snatch from the Germans is completely up to us, neither China nor the United States wants a strong Russia to appear in the world again. Especially Huaxia! In the end, Trotsky, who had become the president of Russia, concluded.

Just when a series of major wars in the Middle East and South Asia were about to begin, Russia in the north no longer hesitated, they were very unoptimistic about the Germans, and decided to use this opportunity to regain everything lost in World War 1! Of course, given Russia's current national strength, their preparations will be very long. But from this moment on, the situation in which Germany would finally fall under siege was determined, and the only thing to think about was only a matter of time!

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976 for the reward~~~, and the book friend He Miaomiao's monthly ticket support ~~~. (To be continued.) )