afterglow

Chapter 17 The British Counterattack Plan
As of 24 o'clock on the [-]th, the Ming army's military operations in the southern part of Uzbekistan had been carried out for six full days.

On the nine-hundred-kilometer-long front, the strength of more than [-] British and Indian troops can be described as stretched. They can only choose tactical or strategic points to deploy defenses.

Perhaps their calculations were shrewd at the beginning, but the rapid progress of the battle situation has completely exceeded the expectations of most officers-now the Ming army has entered the territory of India and Du, and the Assam region is in danger.

The British will not sit still, and the British Indian Army Command immediately began to make emergency adjustments and deployments, trying to stabilize the front and launch a counterattack.

After dispatching the British-Indian No.16 Infantry Brigade and the Bogra Regiment for immediate reinforcements, the [-]th Royal Tank Battalion, which arrived in Mumbai by sea only a week ago, is also approaching the Assam area by rail transport.

In the theater command in Calcutta, Major General Claude, who had just arrived by plane, rushed straight out of the airport.

As the deputy chief of staff of the British Indian Army Command, he made a special trip this time to save the Assam region.

Facing the dozen or so officers in the hall, he raised his fist, "The current situation is very bad. Relying on passive defense alone cannot stop the Chinese attack. We need a large-scale counterattack."

Lieutenant General Vidal, the commander present, was expressionless, "Counterattack? My army is just a patchwork of junk."

"Army" is a strategic unit, and many countries do not regard it as a fixed establishment. Most of the time, it is actually like a temporary headquarters, which can be large or small. It may have several brigades and divisions under its jurisdiction, or it may have many under its jurisdiction at the same time. The case of an infantry division and an armored division.

【比如历史上的第4军，下辖英印步兵第17师、第20师、第23师，第254装甲旅，皇家炮兵第7团，后来又新增步兵第5师和第36师。】

Major General Crowder picked up the baton and walked steadily to the map, "Your Excellency, the No.16 Brigade, Bogra Regiment, and the Fifth Tank Battalion are already on their way. We just need some time for them to deploy."

"The Chinese have already invested in two divisions, and there is still a motorized brigade on the way. I think it is God's favor that the 5000 reinforcements can help stabilize the front line." Lieutenant General Vidal said lightly.

"No, sir, we should try a more daring campaign deployment." Claude opened his briefcase, took out a confidential document seal, and then took out the plan drawn up by the headquarters.

The initial conceiver of this counterattack plan was actually Claude himself. He planned to use the British-Indian No.16 Infantry Brigade and the Fifth Royal Tank Battalion as the main force, attach to the British-Indian Fourth Artillery Regiment, and add a Gurkha regiment to form a task force.

They will take advantage of the mobility of their own railway transportation, quickly deploy to the north, break through the flanks of the Ming army that penetrated into the territory of India and Du, cut off their retreat, and fight a beautiful battle of encirclement and annihilation of the salient.

He stretched out his index finger and drew a circle on the map, "According to the current advancing speed of the Chinese, they will soon form a dangerous salient. If this trap works, we can at least eliminate one of their divisions."

"But according to intelligence, a brigade that they will follow up will join the battle soon, and will arrive in Medog in about five days." A colonel reminded with doubts: "If this plan is followed, this task force will will run into them head-on."

Someone on the side immediately echoed, "That's the imperial guard of the Chinese emperor, I don't think the impromptu task force can resist them."

Claude, who thinks he understands Chinese history very well, smiled and said: "80 years ago, under the city of Nanjing, their imperial guards fled in all directions, and they could only rely on armed civilians and other troops to defend their capital. Such guards The army is just a place where some descendants of nobles play and gild, how much threat can it have now?"

His words made the atmosphere a little more relaxed, and several staff officers also smiled heartily.

"Sir, I think this plan is feasible. The torrential rain in the past few days is too abominable, and our air force is unable to provide effective support." A staff officer took out a report, "The weather forecast team estimates that there is a high probability that the next week will It will be sunny, and even if it is rainy it will be just light rain that will not affect the air strikes."

Lieutenant General Vidal was not in a hurry to express his attitude. The officers present discussed for a while, and even conducted a simple sand table deduction.

In the end, it was a piece of secret information that prompted the lieutenant general to make up his mind—a team of his own agents attacked a bridge, and the mixed third brigade on the way might not be able to reach the battlefield in time.

His idea was about to be put into practice, and Claude, full of a sense of accomplishment, left the headquarters contentedly, planning to go to the hotel where he was staying for a good rest.

After arriving at the Elsa Hotel by car, they realized that the place had been surrounded by journalists holding umbrellas in the rain. There were at least dozens of journalists and their assistants as far as the eye could see.

Seeing the arrival of the general's convoy, the reporters became even more excited, and the crowd suddenly became agitated. Dozens of military police were struggling to maintain order.

A lieutenant walked to the side of the car and saluted: "For your safety, I suggest you take a detour and enter the hotel through the back door."

"No, evading in the eyes of the public now means that cowards are evading the truth." Claude opened the door and got out of the car while speaking.

When the reporters saw this, they became even more excited. Some of them couldn't wait to hold up their cameras, and the white light of the magnesium strips burned one after another.

A tall male reporter tiptoed and shouted: "Your Excellency, how is the situation on the front line now? Are the Chinese still attacking?"

"Yes, they are still attacking." Crowder replied.

"Do you think this is an act of aggression?"

"They claim they are retaking territory, but we have always considered this an illegal and brazen invasion."

"I'm Catherine, a reporter from The Times, how much is the loss of both sides?" A female reporter squeezed to the front with an umbrella and asked loudly.

"About a few thousand people."

"Is this the sum? Or theirs?"

Claude shook his head, "Sorry, I can't reveal more."

"Hello General, I am Annika, a reporter from the Washington Post. Will the British and Indian troops actively respond next?"

"Of course we will do everything we can to defend the lands of the British Empire, and we will be victorious."

Claude communicated with the hungry reporters for a quarter of an hour before finally being able to enter the hotel.

This seemingly unknown major general is not extraordinary, at least in the history of another plane, he was finally promoted to marshal.

A graduate of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, Crowder participated in World War I and advanced at the Quetta Staff College, where he was known for his agility and innovation.In World War II, he was excellent both offensively and defensively, and performed well.Rommel thought he was much better than the titular Montgomery and worthy of respect.

It can be said that a storm is about to hit the Assam region.

　[PS: If there is no scene change in a chapter, the dialogues are all in simplified Chinese; on the contrary, the dialogues of foreigners are in traditional Chinese, so that you can subconsciously identify which side the sentence is from when you read the book quickly. 】

　　
　
(End of this chapter)