Thunder Strikes Back

Chapter 155 The Bridge
"Well, it's good that you can think ahead, but Sukkur will definitely be lost, and the Indian ground troops will definitely cross the Indus River, within 30 hours." Xu Jingzhe said sadly, completely confused Lin Huaisheng.

"What? Within 30 hours?"

"It's like this. You just got off the plane and you didn't know the latest offensive in the past hour. Not only the progress on the northern flank, but the Indian Central Assault Group has reached the outskirts of Khaipur. It has been found out that it is their main force, the 21st Army. It is now away from Suku 20 km. It is clear that Spanga's offensive in both directions is real, except that the amphibious attack on Karachi was a feint. , Although there are still heavy troops in the direction of Karachi, it is too late to reach Sukkur, and it is impossible for Pakistan to complete the defense line of the Indus River in the next ten hours."

Lin Huaisheng quickly glanced at his watch. It is now 10:[-] in the evening, and the local time in Sukkur is already night. The battle to seize the bridge may have to wait until tomorrow morning.In other words, there are still [-] hours.

"The Indus River is the best geographical barrier. At least the bridge should be blown up. This can delay some time."

"The General Staff has conducted a simulated confrontation. Unless the Indian Army stops by itself, it will not be able to resist anyway. Blowing up the bridge will hinder them for some time. However, the satellite photographed the 475th Engineering Brigade following the 21st Army, which shows that it has been prepared for a long time. , The deployment is very careful. So within 30 hours, the first batch of Indian tanks will cross the Indus River and enter the hinterland of Pakistan."

"Maybe...maybe there will be some miracles?" Lin Huaisheng said.

"There will be no miracles. Obviously, this direction is the main direction of India's attack. The second-line division on the northern wing's offensive campaign is intended to divide the reinforcements going south. Of course, you have also seen that even a breakthrough by the second-line division has penetrated into the With such a large depth, the combat effectiveness of the Pakistan Army must not be overestimated."

"Is it irreparable?"

"Pakistan is understrength in the South. The 18th Division in Hyderabad has to stare at the Indian Marines and be immobilized. If this division is gone, Spanga's false move will become real. It is almost certain. .Only a few mobile troops have been dispatched in the direction of Karachi, and they are currently on the road. Among them are the armored units of the 12th Army, and most of the other directions are unable to maneuver due to road paralysis."

"You mean, those reserve troops?" Lin Huaisheng said.

"That's right, a complete mob with terrible weapons, no match for elite tank divisions."

"Hey, it seems that unless a miracle happens, there is really no other way."

"Intelligence personnel should not expect miracles, let alone staff officers. Our job is to grasp all the situations and make precise operations, not to take it for granted. Mixing subjective wishes is not beneficial to the work."

"I know this, just as you often say that the enemy is lenient when he predicts. However, unexpected situations will inevitably occur in war, and I firmly believe in this." Lin Huaisheng said.

"Believe me, these accidents will only be caught by those who are well prepared. For example, the Lieutenant General Spanga you have studied. At present, his offensive is easy to handle, and he still has a large number of reserves in his hand. He is staring at the front line. Any new, favorable situation for him."

"How about directly using our air force to attack the supply line? This is the most immediate way at present."

"After your report is over, it depends on the determination of the chief. How to use our air force is not a trivial matter. It has to take international politics into consideration. Moreover, even if the chief makes up his mind, it will not be so fast. So, so When you analyze countermeasures, it’s best not to take Sukkur into consideration.”

"So, has the above considered the worst case scenario, I mean once Pakistan's entire defense line collapses and is forced to reach a ceasefire with India, what will happen?"

"Of course there will be," Major General Xu Jingzhe turned around unnaturally, and glanced outside, "The Indian intelligence agency has been cooperating with the separatist forces in Baluchistan. The worst case is that Pakistan loses these areas. Provinces and Balochistan may be divided into independent countries, and the Pakistani government will lose 90.00% of its territory in Kashmir. If these all happen, it means that Pakistan will become a landlocked small country that is completely dismembered and loses access to the sea. nation."

"If this strategic goal is achieved, Prime Minister Kahan can almost become a great leader that India has rarely encountered in thousands of years." Lin Huaisheng said.

"Hehe, it's almost like this. Once Pakistan collapses, India's tentacles will inevitably extend to the Arabian Sea and control the entire Persian Gulf oil channel. They will be more confident in challenging our country, and the army will be more effective. By then my country is bound to face unprecedented challenges in terms of geopolitical structure.”

"How about the United States, are you indifferent?"

"This year is the election year of the United States. The current government is relatively weak politically, and it is their consistent national policy to use India to contain China. You also know that after the war on terrorism, the United States also intends to weaken Pakistan. Pakistan's nuclear power has always been the United States. It’s a big worry. It can be seen that before India’s attack, it should have fully considered these political factors that will add points. You can see that the matter of their destruction of the American submarine has not been followed. This is a very interesting signal of relaxation. It is said that compensation will be paid. .”

The car soon arrived at the place. Lin Huaisheng was very familiar with the intelligence command in the base, but it was the first time he arrived at the command post on the 4th floor of the basement that he was going to go to today.

This meeting will be held in the early morning, completely in video mode.The participants were all over the country, and Lin Huaisheng couldn't see them.The process is very simple. First, Lin Huaisheng talked about his overall concept, which is the part he ignored in the first meeting.Then there is the question section.

Before the meeting, he has two hours to rest.The major general sent someone to lead him to a room with a bathroom so that he could wash himself well.Lin Huaisheng hasn't bathed for a long time, but he is quite reluctant to wash away the dust brought back from southern Tibet.

Sukkur, a city in south-central Pakistan.

Soldiers retreating from the front line, either by car or on foot, are retreating westward from the Lloyd Dam across the 700-meter-wide Indus River and the adjacent newly built Sukkur Bridge.The column was noisy and noisy, and the military appearance was in a mess.It can be seen that the army of different units is scrambling to cross the bridge. The only thing they have in common is that they do not have heavy weapons or any baggage.

After sunset, citizens who still hadn’t fled the urban area gathered near the Grand Mosque. They felt very scared. The communication in the urban area was cut off. No one knew how the battle would develop. Only Indian fighter jets flew over the sky from time to time, casting demagogic bombs. of paper.These pieces of paper persuading surrender read: Sindh is about to become a new free and independent country, so there is no need to run away in any direction, just sit at home and wait for the liberators to arrive.Compared with the indiscriminate bombing of the Indian Air Force in the north, their bombs did not fall on this central and southern town.Perhaps politically, the Indian decision makers have indeed planned to set up several puppet regimes for their use after the phase of holding Pakistan in the middle, so they have adopted some differentiated treatment in tactics. Of course, this may also be just another illusion. A dangerous faux pas that confuses local commanders.

The common people are at a loss now, and the faces of the soldiers who evacuated from the streets saw complete failure.Most of the soldiers fleeing from the east were unarmed, many without shoes, and that was how they escaped all the way from Khalpur and beyond.Before nightfall, gunfire from the direction of Haierbull continued, and after nightfall, you could even see the flames soaring into the sky across the river.Anyone can tell at a glance that there may be no security there.

The troops guarding here are only one independent infantry brigade and one engineer battalion.The brigade commander, Majid Mahmar, has been waiting for reinforcements and supplies to arrive.The tasks given by the superiors were contradictory. One was to defend the bridge, and the other was to never allow the Indian army to use the bridge.It just doesn't mention whether the bridge can be destroyed.

As a backup measure, he decided to let engineers arrange explosives on the bridge, and set up several observation posts on the approach bridge on the west side. Once the Indian army wanted to cross the river from the bridge, they would block the Lloyd Dam and the middle part of the Sukkur Bridge. Blow up a hole 30 meters wide each.Majid has studied engineering courses, and he knows that this will cause the least loss and consume the least explosives. The Indian engineers will definitely not be able to repair the bridge in a short period of time, but if they want to erect a pontoon on the river, it depends on their prior planning. get ready.Of course, blowing up the bridge is not enough, because Indian tanks have the ability to swim, if they sneak over to build a landing site, they will immediately tear a hole, and the engineers who follow can build a pontoon bridge (although it is very difficult).For this reason, he dispersed the direct subordinate company to the river bank to watch closely, and photographed the brigade guard platoon on the approach bridge to check whether there were any spies among the defeated soldiers mixed into the west bank.

At 8 o'clock in the night, the stragglers coming from the east gradually became rare.The sound of Haierpur's guns also gradually stopped, and the riverside gradually returned to calm. Those with good ears could hear the sound of the rumbling convoy in the distance. I don't know if it was the last retreating army or the Indian vanguard had arrived.

A platoon guarding the bridge is responsible for keeping an eye on the opposite bank. They have several searchlights responsible for illuminating the opposite side. If the approacher is unkind, they will issue an alarm at the first time, and then the brigade will decide whether to blow up the bridge.

Two rickety trucks are coming from the opposite side, and they can be seen from a distance. The windshield of the first car has no reflection and is obviously broken. This day, most of the trucks coming from the opposite side are so sloppy Untidy, incomplete look.

"Parking. That part?"

The platoon leader standing on the bridge shouted.The machine gunner beside him pulled the handle of the MG3 back. In the quiet night, the sound of the bullet being loaded was clearly discernible.The truck stopped immediately 25 meters away.

"Don't shoot, we are from the 25th Division's supply battalion, and we fell behind. Let's go over, the Indians are behind." Someone in the car shouted.

"Division 25? But the morning of Division 25 has passed."

"Of course, those bastards in the division headquarters left us and ran away, and we foolishly ran eastward with a load of shells, almost hitting the muzzle of an Indian tank."

"Do you know today's password?"

"Of course I don't know," the driver said confidently. "All the radio stations all day. Indian jamming equipment screaming. I'm really fed up, hurry up, I have 6 more wounded behind me."

(End of this chapter)