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Text Chapter 954 The First Battle on the Subcontinent (7)

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    The Sino-Japanese War has just begun in September, and the world is once again thundering in October.  In order to curb the rapid expansion of the Communist Party of India, Nehru and the Japanese army in the South Asian subcontinent and prevent the fall of India, Yang Qiu began to rapidly increase troops to India at the request of Churchill and the British government.  After learning the news, in order to nip China's troop surge in the bud, Ranadivi, Nehru and Shojiro Iida reached an agreement to dispatch ten divisions with a total of 160,000 troops to launch an encirclement and suppression from three sides!  Just as the Darlan Holdout War began, Chuikov and the Mediterranean crisis followed one after another.

    From India to the Middle East and North Africa, two distant but closely connected battlefields are in trouble at the same time.  On the 17th, Greece announced that it would join the alliance. Churchill and Yang Qiu issued statements in London and Beijing respectively, saying that they would do their best to support the Greek people in resisting the fascist invasion, and promised to invest more troops and give priority to ensuring the strength of the Allied forces in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean.

    The crisis in the alliance also made Roosevelt suddenly alert. He understood that if Britain failed at this time, the situation would completely tip back to the axis.  Therefore, in the "Daily Presidential Broadcast" that night, he changed his tune for the first time, saying that the United States could no longer stay out of the matter. The war in Europe and Asia had seriously damaged the interests of the United States. He called on the army, navy, and the people of the country to be prepared. In the end, he also  Criticized the German Navy's Atlantic submarine warfare, revisited the USS Athena incident, and claimed that the East Coast of the United States had suffered a virtual "invasion."

    As soon as the speech came out, the whole country was stunned.

    No one expected that Roosevelt, who had vowed to avoid involving the United States in war in his election speech a few days ago, would suddenly change his tune!  Lindbergh and Gerald Nye, the most staunch isolationist members of the Republican Party, immediately attacked Roosevelt in reporters and the media, believing that he was leading the United States to a "dangerous cliff"!

    Rumors of the United States' participation in the war spread for a while, but it was obviously too late to save the Mediterranean, so Britain had to once again dispatch troops from the dangerous Indian battlefield to reinforce the Middle East and North Africa.  But the telegram had just reached Bombay, and Chuikov, who had just arrived in India, led six infantry divisions.  Taking advantage of the insufficient strength of the British and Indian troops and the slack and paralyzed railway lines, they suddenly launched a surprise attack on Nagpur in the center of the peninsula.  Although the 17th British-Indian Division resisted vigorously and used the streets to block the attack, it was still unable to stop the impact of 80,000 Soviet and Indian soldiers.  Under Chuikov's command and control, the Communist Party of India completely occupied Nagpur in only fifteen hours.  More than 30,000 rifles, hundreds of machine guns and cannons were seized and stockpiled here, as well as at least 21 BT7 and T26 tanks sold by China, and hundreds of trucks, which were captured by the Soviet army.

    After receiving the news, Auchinleck and Quinan were shocked.  The plan to reinforce Wavell was canceled overnight.  Deploy three infantry divisions and dispatch an armored brigade consisting of 12 Matilda 2 tanks, 22 T26s, 21 Vickers light tanks and 17 Bren machine gun vehicles, hoping to recapture Nagpur  .  The Royal Air Force also bombed the Soviet and Indian troops in Nagpur the next day.  But Auchinleck didn't expect that this place would become his Waterloo.

    The day the British Armored Brigade arrived at Volta, south of Nagpur.  It was ambushed by 15 T34/57s and 7 T26s. It was beaten by the Type 36 Siberian Tiger tank in Central Asia and almost ordered to stop manufacturing the T34/57 tanks, but it became a nightmare for British tank soldiers.  In just half an hour, 23 tanks were destroyed, and even the newly equipped Matilda 2 tank, which was difficult to penetrate even the German 88 gun, was not spared.  The remaining armored vehicles and tanks were either captured by the Soviets or blown up by the British themselves.  Without the protection of tanks, the following infantry division and the retreating 17th British-Indian Division were unable to fight, and were pursued continuously for 30 kilometers by Chuikov's tank troops.  More than 2,000 people were killed or injured, and more than 10,000 people were captured!

    In the sky, Auchinleck also lost troops and generals. Many of the Royal Air Force pilots stationed in India were rookies who had just learned to fly airplanes.  There was no way to compare with the elite Soviet pilots who had experienced fierce battles in Central Asia and had more than 300 combat flight hours alone. They assembled 15 BF109C and 8 IL2 fighter attack aircraft overnight, taking advantage of the British army without their knowledge.  Fifteen Hurricanes were shot down in just one attack.  Seven of them were due to unfamiliarity with il2.  It attacked head-on rashly, but was destroyed by the thick armor and 23mm cannon.

    Before Auchinleck could recover from this sap, the Narmada River defense line also fell.  Two Soviet veteran divisions led by Cherevinov, using the Indian National Army (abbreviation for the Congress Party troops) as cover, suddenly appeared in front of the 15th British-Indian Division stationed in Burhanpur.  Although half of the 15th British-Indian Division were Canadian soldiers, the weak Indian National Army was suddenly replaced by the sophisticated Soviet Army, catching them off guard.  By the afternoon of the 21st, it was surrounded by 30,000 Soviet veterans and 50,000 Indian National Army. The 15th British-Indian Division, which suffered heavy casualties, was led by division commander John Wickop. Only 6,000 men successfully broke through, and the rest were all captured.

    Before the outcome of the Battle of Rangbull came out, the British and Indian troops at Auchinleck suffered heavy losses.  In just four days, up to two infantry divisions and one armored brigade were lost, as well as 1,200 artillery pieces of all types and tanks.There are 132 armored vehicles, 3,100 cars of various types, 61 trains, 41 aircraft of various types, and tens of thousands of tons of arms, oil, and supplies!  The disastrous defeat at the Battle of Nagpur immediately caused Auchinleck and Quinan to lose all offensive capabilities.

    Just as Chuikov was actively deploying his troops to take over Bombay in one go, the Battle of Rangpur in the north was also in danger.  The four Soviet Indian divisions led by Kozlov continuously attacked Rangpur. During the three days and three nights of fighting, Fei Wenhua relied on attack aircraft and artillery, and several regiments took turns to be able to stop them.  After receiving the good news, Nehru couldn't wait to order 60,000 national troops to cross the Ganges from Patna and attack the Indian Democratic Alliance Army of Chandra.  But he was obviously happy too early!  Just after his Fifth Division of the National Army crossed the river, Li Zongren immediately asked the air force to blow up the Patna Bridge. At the same time, he asked the 123rd Division of the Indian Army to attack from three sides, annihilating Nehru's 5th Division in just one day.  , and captured more than 12,000 people.

    Then Li Zongren asked Chandra to set up a pontoon bridge at Begusarai downstream, and assumed a right-wing posture to outflank the Indian National Army.  After learning the news, Nehru was so frightened that he immediately sent two divisions to intercept. After the forward troops of both sides encountered each other 30 kilometers southwest of Begusarai, they fell into a stalemate.

    News of Chuikov¡¯s capture of Nagpur arrived.  Shojiro Iida also immediately used the 31st Division stationed in Bangladesh as an arrow, and at the same time mobilized the 15th Division stationed in Myanmar to attack Silgar and Imphal from two directions, trying to cooperate with Kozlov to seize Northeast India and attack China and India.  The group army carried out a large-scale siege.

    The situation in the South Asian subcontinent has changed. After the temperature in the north plummeted, which was unfavorable for large-scale military operations, the humid and warm South Asian subcontinent instantly became the second battlefield.

    "Roosevelt is going to take action!"

    Mishan County, northwest of Xingkai Lake, has been blocked by army regiments, with thousands of local farmers and engineering soldiers.  Traveling back and forth between the train station and the three new airports.  This is the main airport for the Air Force's bombing of Japan. It is 1,250 kilometers away from Tokyo. The H-7 long-range bomber can carry four tons of bombs, covering the entire Japan and North Korea.  Moreover, the newly built airport has a total of five runways and can accommodate 400 H-7s at a time.  Shuangchengzi and Vladivostok are in front.  Jixi on the left, Hulin and other places on the right are closely protected by six fighter groups.

    The chaotic war in India did not affect the war plan against Japan, and bombing preparations are still proceeding in an orderly manner.  Standing on the track, breathing in the cold mist, a cool feeling instantly penetrated Yang Qiu's whole body.

    Yue Peng and Murong Han stood on his right, the latter looking at the long transport convoy.  But his thoughts drifted to the distant United States: "Otherwise, I would never have changed my tune when the voting was four days away."

    Years of political career have made Murong Han much calmer.  But his ideas are still more radical than those of progressive reformers such as Gu Weijun. In the ten years since he became the Minister of Justice, he established the five-in-one police, taxation, Independent Commission Against Corruption and Security Bureau.  However, they supervise each other's huge judicial institutions that belong to different countries.  These ten years were also the toughest in the country in combating crime. Thousands of people were shot dead every year, which greatly deterred criminal activities.  Sweeping away the loose legal environment during the Li Yuanhong period, he was also ruthless and iron-blooded.  Known privately as the "cold-faced tiger".

    Yang Qiu likes Murong Han very much, because Li Yuanhong adopted a loose governance strategy during his period, which allowed the country and its people to speed up their cultivation after the turmoil. However, this policy also spawned a lot of crimes.  Therefore, after he came to power, he accelerated legislation to crack down on crime and initially established the legal framework of a modern country.  However, he will definitely not be able to complete these things. He needs to be perfected by those who come after him. What he can do is like this airport, which lays a solid foundation. Victory or failure depends on the people and soldiers.

    "Hao Yu, where do you think Roosevelt will attack first?" Yang Qiu asked Murong Han while walking towards Air Force One on the tarmac, wanting to hear his opinion.

    As we all know, the biggest problem that has troubled Yang Qiu recently is not Japan or India, but how will Roosevelt fight after he intervenes?  From a broad perspective, it is certain to put Europe first and then Asia. Otherwise, Churchill would not have risked the biggest scandal of the century to help him break through the constraints of Congress.  But no one is sure now. The Pacific Fleet, which has not lost any strength, is like a thorn in the neck of China, which has not completely controlled strategic points in the southwest Pacific.

    But this question was obviously too difficult to guess, and Murong Han could only shake his head.  Yang Qiu smiled and simply stopped thinking: "Forget it, the answer to the mystery should be revealed in two days, I'm too lazy to guess." After saying that, he got into the plane, sat down and asked: "Zian, have you read the Indian war report?  ?Do you feel something is wrong?"

    "There's something wrong." Air Force One is a Meteor-5 Stratosphere passenger plane (resembling a Boeing 307), with the Air Force number Yun-8.  Yue Peng sat on the sofa opposite Yang Qiu, fastening his seat belt and nodding: "Nagpur was definitely not commanded by Yabyshev and Kozlov. These two fought with us in Afghanistan for three years.  The command style is steady and solid, but slightly lacking in aggressiveness. The previous sneak attack on Steel City was due to Auchinleck's negligence.Several divisions were placed in Steel City, but they didn't dare to move at all!  Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have been hiding in India for half a year.  "

    "Could he be newly promoted?" Murong Han asked.

    "Unlike, the Soviet troops entering India were all broken down troops from the Soviet Afghan Front and Central Asia. After several failed attacks, ordinary people would definitely have to fight steadily. So Yabyshev is most likely to capture Eluru first.  Then attack Hyderabad, and finally Nagpur. In this way, the southeast can be connected, and there will be no worries. Now, if we attack Nagpur first and let go of Hyderabad, it is equivalent to letting the southeast of Nagpur go.  . If Auchinleck has enough troops, it can go straight north from Hyderabad and cut off the connection between Eluru and Nagpur. If you are lucky, you can not only relieve the siege of these two places, but also regain them in one go.  Chhattisgarh and Orissa, threatening the Steel City.

    But this man had his sights set on Auchinleck and deliberately avoided Hyderabad.  They made the British army mistakenly think that they were still in Eluru, then detoured north to raid Nagpur, and also came up with the clever trick of passing through Nehru's war zone to sneak attack on Burhanpur.  It was like digging out a big piece of fat from Auchinleck's chest and stabbing Nehru twice.  In this way, Auchinleck could not take care of Hyderabad, and had to defeat Nehru first before he could free his hands to deal with him.  "

    Yue Peng squinted his eyes and analyzed the Battle of Nagpur.  In just one sentence, the whole scene of the battle was outlined, as if the entire plan was made by him.  "This man is very bold in his use of troops. The penetration and advancement is the essence of Tukhachevsky's theory of great depth. He dares to boldly penetrate despite insufficient troops, uneven combat effectiveness, and difficult logistics, which shows his courage. So he will never do it.  He was a member of the troops entering India, otherwise the intelligence would not have missed such a capable officer. Plus before I came out, Xiao Jinyun called me and said that four South American cargo ships had secretly arrived in India, so I can be sure that this person is  Stalin just sent us!"

    "Such a big victory must be reported to Moscow. I have asked Yan Baohang to strengthen radio and intelligence monitoring. We will definitely be able to figure it out in a few days."

    It was rare for Murong Han to see him attach so much importance to an enemy officer.  Worried about the situation in the Indian war, he asked: "I changed the coach on the spot and still achieved such a great victory. I'm afraid there will be a lot of pressure on Li Zongren."

    "Hao Yu, don't worry." Yue Peng narrowed his eyes like a knife.  He looked at Yang Qiu and said with a smile: "Li Zongren, you are holding a knife to his seven inches!"¡ª¡ª

    The transport aircraft group landed in the compacted dry mud next to the ruins of the ancient city of Begusarai.  After leaving deep tire tracks, it slowly slowed down and stopped at the field airport.  The plane is transporting ten.  But it looked very strange. A large gap several meters long was cut out of the rear hatch, and the surface was covered with canvas during flight to keep it aerodynamically smooth.  Anyone who didn't know about it would definitely think that the aircraft fleet had been severely attacked and that it was injured like this.

    But when the canvas skin is pulled away, everyone will know why the Air Force wants to waste its own transport aircraft like this.  Because there is a T2 tracked armored vehicle (resembling a Bren machine gun vehicle) weighing more than four tons in the cabin.  The T2 armored vehicle was a combat vehicle used by the Wehrmacht during the European War. It became famous in the Battle of Rennevale.  Therefore, after the war, various countries used it as a template to vigorously develop light tanks. At that time, due to problems such as insufficient military expenditures and technical reserves for medium tanks, a large amount of equipment was also used for armored training, with a total output of 3,000 vehicles.  Before the war began, the Army had completely replaced Type 25 and Type 31 medium tanks, and the T2 armored vehicles were listed in reserve.  Until recently, the Army discovered that light armored vehicles are still useful in Southeast Asia and special terrains, so they handed them over to several southwestern automobile factories to resume production.

    Although the T2 armored vehicle is not heavy in weight and has a low body, its length exceeds the width of the transport aircraft cabin door.  The Y-8 and Y-9, which can be transported without modification, cannot land at field airports, so the Air Force temporarily opened the rear fuselage door of the Y-10.  In order to support India, the Air Force spent a lot of money this time and specially modified thirty Y-10s in this way, specifically for transporting large materials.  You know, after such damage, the life of the aircraft will be greatly reduced.

    With the efforts of hundreds of soldiers, eleven T2 armored vehicles and hundreds of bicycles were unloaded from the transport aircraft. The pilot finally threw out dozens of boxes of condoms before walking away.

    "What the hell! What I want is bullets, why are you giving me this thing?!" The logistics officer couldn't laugh or cry when he saw the words on the carton clearly.  Several veterans were very happy when they saw this, stuffing a dozen of them into their pockets at once, and then happily inspected the armored vehicle.  "You're not afraid of losing money!" When he saw an officer coming up to take a few, Li Zongren tilted his lips and shook his head before walking towards Wu Huanxian who was inspecting the equipment.

    "Huanxian, how far are you here?"

    Hearing the shouting, Wu Huanxian, wearing a turban and Indian clothes, quickly jumped out of the armored vehicle.  "Reporting to the commander, including Digboy, there are a total of twenty-five 25 tanks. One hundred and eighteen T2s, as well as two thousand bicycles and four hundred motorcycles. We also raised a thousand mules.  I returned all the cows that Chandra sent because they were too slow.  Two regiments from the 154th Division have also arrived. Together with my 16th Brigade, there are now a total of more than 11,000 people.  "He was probably not used to the headscarf wrapped around the helmet. He kept holding on to it with his hands as he said this, as if he was afraid it would fall off.

    In order to prevent Nehru and the Communist Party of India from discovering the difference, more than 10,000 soldiers had already put on this costume, and even Li Zongren was not spared.  He looked at the good-looking Wu Huanxian and said with a smile: "Huanxian, you look really good like this. It seems that you need to prepare a few more condoms in your pocket to be able to deal with Indian girls."

    "Haha" The officers around him laughed. Wu Huanxian waved his hands quickly: "Commander, don't be joking. I have another one at home."

    "Haha, it seems that Brigadier Wu's family is quite democratic." Li Zongren couldn't help laughing.  Because I was embarrassed to say henpecked, I used family democracy instead.

    After chatting and laughing with everyone, Li Zongren walked to a T2 and looked at the steel folding chairs welded to both sides of the vehicle in order to increase the number of troops it could transport. He found that there was a layer of black ash on it. He murmured to himself,  I don¡¯t know where the Air Force found them.  After explaining to the mechanic that each vehicle must be tested to ensure that it can be used after driving, he asked: "Is the reconnaissance company back? When can we leave?"

    "Back." Wu Huan first waved and called two National Socialist Party members in their twenties, who were tall, dark-skinned, and with full beards that looked more Indian than them: "This is Zhang Cheng, and this is Ji Wenjie.  The National Socialist International was sent to help Chandra in India. They also led the scouts to find the road this time."

    Li Zongren himself is a member of the National Socialist Party. Of course, he didn¡¯t know what the National Socialist International was doing.  In fact, there are many, many people like them. There are hundreds of national social organizations in India alone, and there are countless more in Southeast Asia.  And they are the most important mouthpieces of the National Socialist Party in expanding its influence in the world and the spokespersons of Chinese cultural traditions.

    It seems that the two of them have been in India for several years, so they were a little excited to see Li Zongren, and it took them a long time to explain the specific route.  Ji Wenjie, who was dressed as a Sikh, even patted his chest and assured: "General, don't worry, the road we chose is not close to the river, so no one lives there. There are woods along the way, making it difficult for planes to find. And Jodanag  The Buer Plateau is said to be a plateau, but in fact it is not as high as our mountains in the south of the Yangtze River, and the road is not too rough, ensuring that these cars can pass through it smoothly."

    Wu Huanxian also said: "I sent a telegram to the Air Force. They will bomb the Steel City non-stop tomorrow morning. Chandra is also ready. As soon as we leave, he will immediately pretend to be defeated and take the initiative to withdraw to the Ganges.  Nehru thought that our main force was blocked on the other side of the river, so that the Soviet army could be paralyzed."

    "Let's set off when it gets dark." Li Zongren looked at the setting sun and took a deep breath: "I'm afraid Wenhua and Lin Diannan can't hold on much longer."

    (To be continued)
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