Thunder Strikes Back

Chapter 629 Spanga's retreat

Sammy must admit that this battle involved some elements of luck, but in general, the strategy of fighting more and fighting less was successful. He guessed the general rhythm of the opponent's deployment very well. In fact, the routines that the opponent can implement are indeed Not much, which gave him a chance to speculate.

Now he bets that the Americans will be afraid for at least a while. Such an exchange ratio between the third-generation and fourth-generation aircraft is enough to make them fearful in the decision-making of whether to carry out the next attack as planned; Rationally, you should know that recklessness on such an unfavorable terrain that is enough to offset their technological advantages will not save the crumbling India.He knows the fate of New Delhi, and the result will be drawn within the next ten days. Now, the United States, which is the most variable, may no longer be able to intervene.

After night, the search forces of both sides took helicopters to carry out rescue operations in their respective favorable areas. The U.S. military dispatched 6 Seahawk helicopters and Navy Seals from the sea to break into the Central Mokran Mountains and successfully rescued a member of the vulture formation. The pilot, another Raptor pilot, was found by a US military helicopter that broke into the tribal area from the direction of Afghanistan and escaped safely, but they failed to rescue the most critical person, Colonel Hammond.

Hammond fell in the northern part of the Baluchistan Desert and was seriously injured after landing. Unfortunately, he was caught by pro-government guerrillas. Through the help of a tribal elder, the guerrillas eventually paid $20 to the The US Air Force colonel was handed over to the Pakistani Internal Affairs Forces.

On the other hand, the rescue team sent by Pakistan only found a Su-35 pilot who parachuted, but Zhao Lin was not found yet.The position where Zhao Lin parachuted was closest to the government-controlled area, but his radio station seemed to be damaged, and he has not been effectively contacted.

The wreckage of the F22 driven by Hammond is mostly complete. The Pakistani search team brought back some debris and has already negotiated a price with the local tribal armed forces on the preservation of the engine and the main body. We just wait for the Chinese side to send one. The Mi-26 heavy-duty helicopter tried to dismantle it, transport it and bring it back.The wreckage of the other two American fighter planes fell all over the mountain, basically losing their research value.

In the early morning of the next day, when Lin Huaisheng's troops had just begun to attack the periphery of Chandigarh, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, as a special envoy, had already boarded a special plane and secretly flew to BJ. In addition to the serious warning that he is misjudging the situation", he also conducted necessary consultations with China on some urgent matters; after Lausanne was shot dead, the United States began to snub China, and the tone of criticism continued to increase. Political foreshadowing; but this military setback forced them to re-examine their original strategy in order to seek a second-best solution that is more conducive to advancing and retreating. Of course, due to deep-rooted geopolitical considerations, this only It may be some kind of delaying strategy; Xu Jingzhe's intelligence unit analyzed that it is impossible for the United States to give up India right now, unless the war situation has reached a really hopeless point, such as the fall of New Delhi.

For the U.S. government, the reality is almost in the worst situation, because satellite reconnaissance shows that the Chinese army has the possibility of capturing New Delhi within a week, but the Kahan regime refuses to retreat to other areas for long-term confrontation Prepare.Kahan is still looking forward to the battle outside New Delhi, which may turn the whole situation around. He is very worried that if he does not sit in charge, the 50 reserve troops that have just been assembled around New Delhi will lose their will to fight and collapse in an instant.

For Lin Huaisheng, who is only 240 kilometers away from New Delhi for his forward team, the two major constraints in the rear have been temporarily lifted.At 2 o'clock in the morning, Xu Jingzhe woke up the bleary-eyed Lin with excitement, and told him that a major commander who participated in the formulation of the U.S. Air Force plan might have been caught. On the same helicopter returning from Balochistan; if the intelligence is true, it can be concluded that the US military will suspend the next air strike.As for another hidden danger, Admiral Meneam's troops have been completely confined to the half of Kashmir, and they only need to monitor for the time being. Xu Jingzhe hinted that perhaps Meneam will surrender when the time is right.

Now Lin Huaisheng urgently needs to solve it. There is only the last armored force in India that can fight. This is almost the only obstacle to his way to New Delhi.However, these days, the Indian army has retreated one by one and constantly harassed the rear strategy, allowing him to experience the difference between Spanga and other Indian generals. An elite paratrooper unit is in the mountainous area, constantly carrying out all kinds of harassment and sabotage from the rear of the Chinese army, some of which have achieved considerable results.At present, his main force relies on a more than 300-kilometer-long supply line starting from the border. Behind this thin supply line, there are thousands of kilometers of various railway and road transportation, as well as air transport transit.Spanga clearly saw the weakness behind the strength of the Chinese army. At the same time, he was more aware of the firepower superiority of the Chinese army than other Indian generals. He had always dispersed his tank troops beyond Lin Huaisheng's long-range firepower.

At this time, New Delhi has already fallen into chaos. Almost everyone in the city who has a vehicle and gets gasoline is trying to escape here before the last moment.A large part of these people used to be staunch supporters of the BJP and believed that staying in New Delhi was the best support for the Kahan government.

In addition to a large number of government officials, even the most right-wing TV presenter Dr. Rani among those who fled, although Rani's family had fled the capital four months ago, he himself remained with him out of faith. Beside the spiritual leader Kahan, he tried his best to advocate all kinds of reasons that the war must be won.Even 4 days ago, he claimed on TV that the apparent defeat in the border area was just a tactic by the invincible General Spanga to lure the enemy in, and that the enemy had fallen for it.But when the battle broke out outside Chandigarh, Dr. Rani's firm belief also began to shake. The refugees who escaped from Punjab brought terrible news. Those Pakistani troops full of hatred were far more powerful than the Chinese army. The Chinese army always gave them some difficult towns to conquer, and they would turn the towns into a sea of ​​​​flames.

In the end, when his old friend needed him the most, Dr. Lani took advantage of his personal relationship to take a pick-up plane with an important member of the Secret Service Squadron from Safford Joan Military Airport, quietly fled to the south, and then transferred to the United States to meet with the family reunion.

Lin Huaisheng could observe through satellites that a large number of vehicles and people escaped from New Delhi. Together with the people fleeing from Punjab, they merged into a mighty team and headed south.Since the railway is still controlled by the military, civilians can only flee by roads heading south or east.After the news of the attack on the Sigurd Corridor came, the Chinese army was heading from Yadong, and there was obviously no way out to flee eastward.On both sides of the road are a large number of temporary tents, abandoned vehicles, and piles of various garbage. As for the fallen dead bodies, they are almost everywhere.In such a cold January, which is not often encountered in India, such a tragedy is almost inevitable.

Lin Huaisheng noticed that the fortifications in New Delhi were progressing fairly quickly. Hundreds of bulldozers were operating day and night, initially completing the outer trench system, and engineers even built a wall around the city; Xu Jingzhe’s intelligence showed that New Delhi The surrounding troops are mainly composed of reserve troops, plus some security forces, military police and police from various states. The number is as many as 50, but there are no tanks and a lack of heavy weapons.These people temporarily suppressed the riots and all kinds of destruction in the city, but the supply of these troops was very difficult, and there were often cases of looting civilians or looting the houses left by the fleeing rich in the city.Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency sent hundreds of spies to sneak into New Delhi, and a lot of news came quickly and accurately. According to them, many of these security forces are still using weapons from the era of Indian independence, listed in Caliber 7.7 mm caliber British rifles and machine guns.

There is no doubt that the only strong enemy standing in front of Lin Huaisheng is Spanga's armored force. Currently his group army is scattered around Chandigarh, consisting of the last few elite Indian air force units stationed at New Delhi and Bareilly Air Force Base , to provide air cover, and if the Air Force can free its hand from Pakistan, it is sure to quickly eliminate the last remnants of the Indian Air Force.

If Spanga continues to retreat and take the initiative to give up Chandigarh, Lin Huaisheng can use the runway facilities there to transport domestic troops and supplies directly to his eyes. , and the actions of the rear destruction, Spanga is very sober, and will not give up such a critical location easily.Of course, in the past few days, Lin Huaisheng has acquired a sharp weapon, that is, the long-range rocket launcher that has just been deployed in the Ladakh area.

Spanga has always been afraid of Chinese rockets in Pakistan and kept his distance.When retreating, he destroyed a large number of roads and bridges, and even left paratroopers behind. He specifically blew up many irrigation systems behind the Chinese and Pakistani troops, turning the already messy Indian roads into a muddy swamp. Blocking the transportation line to weaken the transportation capacity of the Chinese army allowed him to stay away from these ineffective heavy firepower. In fact, the various methods he designed did play a role. Some of Lin Huaisheng's motorized troops were really blocked by mud and could not be rushed. to fight.For Lin Huaisheng, a usable airport is what he needs most at this moment.

Thanks to the smooth progress of the battle around Aksai Chin, Lin Huaisheng can now receive the support of long-range firepower from the northern Ladakh region. With its range and height advantage, it can just cover Chandigarh. These firepower are currently They are still in a state of secrecy. They hide under the snow-capped mountains to prevent them from being seen by satellites from various countries. Lin Huaisheng can't wait to give the insidious Spanjia a big surprise.

In the headquarters of the 21st Army to the east of Chandigarh, General Spangja is deploying the final details of the offensive and defensive battle around Chandigarh. The commander of the White Tiger Division, Makani, walked in from the outside with an expression of unease.

"Commander, there is bad news. Yesterday the 50th Parachute Brigade carried out 70 sabotages to their main lines of communication, but today the American satellite found that most of the roads were opened by their engineers. Their ability to repair the roads It's progressing very quickly." After he finished speaking, he grabbed a cup and took two sips of water.

"As expected, the Chinese engineering troops are indeed very efficient, far superior to our engineering troops," Spanga continued to draw circles on the map with a red pencil, as if everything was calculated by him Nei, "As long as their backup troops don't arrive in time, I can win a battle here, and then swing west to eat the motorized troops behind them."

Markani walked aside to watch the old superior's deployment being revised, and his troops were placed in the back position again, obviously to make a heavy blow.

"I've heard people from the Ministry of Defense say that the prime minister doesn't trust us anymore, he thinks we've retreated too far. Giving up too much land."

"Don't worry about that stubborn old man, let's take a look at our achievements in luring the enemy into depth. It is the new comprehensive report on the enemy's situation made by the staff department."

He nodded to the staff officer next to him, and immediately someone came over with a notebook.

"In January, the enemy advanced a total of 270 kilometers from their starting position in Gujranwala, but they also paid a high price in the poor road conditions and in the planned retreat of our counterattacks one after another. The staff department has summarized and investigated the situation of both the enemy and us, and has found out that the enemy has lost more than 4 trucks and a large amount of luggage and equipment; although the main force of the tank force has been largely preserved, those who are hesitant to march on motorized vehicles must not Avoiding wear and tear, as well as lack of maintenance and engine overhaul, the dispatch rate of front-line tanks has dropped to a dangerous level. The air force's attack on its transportation lines has also been effective, and a large number of tankers have been taken by us..."

"Okay." Spanga raised his hand to signal that there was no need to read.

"Look, they need an airfield." Spanga said, throwing the pencil on the map. "Their supply lines in the mud are already too long, and the rear is not stable, so this time, they will definitely To take Chandigarh at all costs. And we..."

As he said that, he used both hands on the wings of Chandigarh and made a gesture of closing.

"This time we were able to put in 900 tanks at one time, and there are enough reserves in the second line, and they only have about 250 to 400 tanks. This is the number assessed by the Americans. I think the reliability is very high. Here is a distance from New Delhi Airport, It's only 250 kilometers away, and it's about 450 kilometers away from their nearest front-line airport. To some extent, our air force's dispatch rate can make up for the lack of aircraft."

(End of this chapter)