The sun never sets.

Influenced by the Battle of Sri Lanka and the threat posed by the Allied Navy in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea, the German government decided to send a fleet consisting of three super-dreadnoughts to Mumbai. At the same time, the German government also suggested that Italy send a fleet to East Africa.

Although many Germans hated Italy, it was undeniable that the Italian Navy was very important in the Mediterranean. Due to the importance attached to the Italian Navy and other reasons, Germany had to pretend that Italy's repeated changes had not happened and readily accepted the fascist Italian government led by Mussolini.

The Alliance was very opposed to the German Navy entering the Indian Ocean and even deploying a fleet in the Pacific Ocean. The two sides had reached a tacit understanding that the Alliance would not allow the main force of the German Navy to cross the Suez Canal and the Red Sea regardless of Germany's expansion in Egypt and East Africa.

Now that the tacit agreement has been broken, the German government announced that it would send a fleet into the Indian Ocean, and the Union Foreign Ministry immediately protested. But if the protest was useful, why would Germany, the Union, and other powers spend so much money on the military every year?

The German government made an impassioned speech, finding an excuse for their deployment of the fleet in India. If you look for an excuse, you can always find one. If there is really no excuse, you can use a tube of washing powder as an excuse. For the European and American powers, the truth is only within the range of the cannon. It has always been so and will not change in the future.

The Alliance and Germany argued endlessly about the navy, but the main focus of both sides was on the battle of the army. The German army had fought against the People's Army at the end of the World War. The battle took place in Ukraine. The scale of the battle was small and the duration was not long. Li Dayan gave a high evaluation of the German army, believing that the German army was well-trained and had a high level of technical and tactical skills, and was worthy of being the world's number one army.

At that time, most of Li Dayan's troops were Mongolian cavalry and Central Asian nomadic cavalry. They had guaranteed mobility and strong impact force, but the German army was equipped with a large number of heavy machine guns, and it was difficult for the cavalry to break through the German defensive positions.

Even though they surrounded one or two positions, the cavalry under Li Dayan did not gain much advantage. Li Dayan personally went to the front to observe the German army's fighting skills and believed that a large number of infantry divisions and armored units must be added to defeat the German army on the plains of Ukraine.

However, the Alliance Central Committee did not send him reinforcements, because the German government had signed an armistice agreement with the Alliance at that time. The People's Revolutionary League needed Germany to weaken the power of the British Empire, and provided Germany with a large amount of weapons, equipment and food after the armistice. It was not until the German army launched a desperate counterattack and overturned the British and French coalition forces that the Alliance stopped providing assistance to Germany.

More than a decade later, the German army finally fought the People's Army again, on Indian soil. Germany urgently needed to know the real combat effectiveness of the People's Army, and the Alliance also needed to know the current level of the German Army, so they fought.

Of course, even without these factors, the two sides would still fight.

Germany has invested a lot of money in India, and so has the alliance. After spending so much money, they always want to get something. If they can get more on the battlefield, the German army will definitely not be soft-handed. Not only have they invested a lot of resources, but they have also suffered a great deal of casualties. They will never stop at the border of Madhya Pradesh.

The commander-in-chief of the Madras Republic Army and the German Volunteer Army was Hans von Seeckt, a traditional Junker officer who had gone to a military academy since childhood. After serving in the army for a few years, he went to military academy again. He had been in the field troops, in the general staff, served as a general leading troops, and served as chief of staff of the army. He had achieved brilliant results in the world war.

The commander-in-chief of the United Nations Army is Xu Wuji, who is a generation younger than Secker, but equally experienced in combat, having fought as many battles as Secker. Xu Wuji has participated in most of the People's Army's internal and external wars, and has experience in leading troops in battles, summarizing army tactics, and compiling military textbooks. He is a well-known general in the People's Army.

When the Allies and the Central Powers were fighting fiercely, Xu Wuji spent a long time in Berlin with a military observation group, and was very familiar with the German army's mobilization system, logistics supply, and strategic tactics. During his time in Berlin, he was most impressed by Germany's strict logistics supply system. The railway network across the country ensured that the front-line troops could get the necessary supplies in real time, which was the guarantee of the German army's combat effectiveness.

After leaving the railway line for 100 miles, the German army's combat effectiveness declined rapidly. This was clearly demonstrated on the Eastern Front. The German Army emphasized the use of firepower advantages, with a large number of artillery and support weapons in the organization of infantry divisions, and more heavy howitzers at the army level, which made the German army very dependent on logistical supplies.

The more powerful the army, the more it needs stronger supplies. Xu Wuji deeply agrees with this. The situation of war has changed a lot from the World War. Tanks have become the new core of the land battlefield, which requires stronger supplies. Because tanks have become the main force of land warfare, the tactics of the People's Army have been modified many times.

德国

The army has also undergone many reforms. Who is truly the world's number one land power will be revealed on the Indian battlefield.

Chapter 794 Discovery

The battle between the People's Army and the German Army began with an air battle. When the front line was repairing the airport, a large number of wood-covered biplanes were used for aerial reconnaissance.

Both Germany and the Allies had more advanced aircraft, including fighters and bombers, but those weapons of war required built airports before they could be used. Old-fashioned aircraft were not very picky about the location and could take off and land as long as a piece of land was leveled.

In particular, a two-seat trainer aircraft produced by the Alliance has temporarily become the most efficient aircraft on the Indian battlefield because of its simple operation, easy take-off and landing, and easy repair and maintenance.

The Germans also used a large number of old-fashioned aircraft for reconnaissance, and inevitably encountered the Allied reconnaissance aircraft. Planes painted with iron crosses and planes painted with red five-pointed stars crossed each other in the air, and when they were closest, each side could see the appearance of the other side's pilots.

After several encounters and the discovery of enemy aircraft appearing in the sky many times, the planes sent by the Allies were not just equipped with cameras. Biplane propeller fighters appeared in the sky over places such as Gelwa and Daltonganj. The Germans who were on the march often saw dozens of biplanes circling, chasing, shooting at each other, and from time to time there were planes falling to the ground with long black smoke trailing behind them.

Sometimes you can even see the pilot's parachute opening after jumping from mid-air.

The increasingly fierce aerial combat made the commanders of both sides realize that the main force of the enemy was nearby. Two days later, the vanguard of the Madras Republic Army encountered the Muslim cavalry of the Alliance in the village of Lagma. After a fierce exchange of fire, the Muslim cavalry of the United Nations Army suffered more than ten casualties and retreated in embarrassment.

The Madras Republic Army did not pursue, but occupied the village of Lagma and used the houses in the village to build a defense line. The Madras Republic's reorganized 1st Division rushed to the front. This unit was the ace unit of the Madras Republic. Most of the officers were Germans. The weapons and equipment were the same as those of the German light infantry division. The supplies and personnel replenishment were at the forefront. In addition, the military pay was half higher than that of other units, so the combat effectiveness was quite good.

After exchanging fire with the UN cavalry, the German officers ordered the construction of a defense line around the village, partly to resist possible attacks and partly to prepare to use the village as a starting point.

Because of the vast grasslands, the People's Army has a large number of cavalry, and the United Nations Army is the same, with three cavalry divisions in the combat sequence. Neither Germany nor the Republic of Madras has formed such a large-scale cavalry unit. It is not because of the lack of horses. Germany has more than 600,000 horses. Although it is not too many, it is enough to form one or two cavalry divisions.

The main reason why there are no large-scale cavalry divisions is that the role of cavalry has been replaced by tanks, and the firepower output of cavalry units is not as good as that of infantry. Considering the cost-effectiveness, it is unnecessary to form a division-level cavalry unit.

But the alliance is different. The alliance not only has a division-level cavalry unit, but also has a corps-level cavalry in the Central Asian Military Region. In Central Asia, Saudi Arabia, Mobei and other places, cavalry is more useful than tanks.

In India, the efficiency of cavalry deployment is much higher than that of tank troops. Xu Wuji has two armored divisions, but because the traffic conditions in India are too bad, he has to place an entire armored division in Kolkata, and the other armored division is deployed in Ranchi, waiting to refuel and conduct the final inspection before the war.

The "Type 24 Tank" produced by the Alliance is more reliable and easier to maintain than the German "Panzer III Tank", but various faults will still quickly occur in combat.

This powerful armored force will remain in Ranchi on standby until the enemy's main force is discovered.

"Ding-ling-ling—"

"Hello, is this the front-line headquarters? Have we encountered the enemy? Where are they? How many enemies are there? What is their equipment like? Send a reconnaissance plane to investigate immediately!"

After a while, the operations staff hung up the phone, put down the pen in his hand, and then said to Guo Songling: "The enemy was found in Lagma. According to the description of the soldiers, it should be the main force of the enemy!"

Guo Songling was 45 years old this year, in the prime of his career as a general. His physical strength was still enough to support long marches and battles, and he had accumulated a lot of war experience in the past years. "Is it the German Volunteer Army?"

"Probably not. Although the enemy in Ragmar has light machine guns, submachine guns, and mortars, they are probably not genuine German troops. General Seckt is very valuable to the German army and will not use them easily. According to his previous practice, the one sent out to lead the charge should be the so-called reorganized division."

The "reorganized divisions" were Indian troops trained according to the German military organization, using the same weapons and equipment and regulations as the German army. Most of the officers were Germans, and their combat effectiveness was very good. There were four "reorganized divisions" like the First Division of the Madras Republic Army, numbered from the First Division to the Fourth Division.

It is said that more reorganized divisions are being trained in the rear, but due to the lack of weapons and equipment and qualified officers and non-commissioned officers, the new reorganized divisions have not appeared under General Seckt's command.

Since most of the soldiers in the reorganized division were Indians, Sekt did not care about their casualties.

Whenever there is a tough battle, the reorganized division will be sent to fight first. As long as the supplies are sufficient and the military pay is not in arrears, the combat effectiveness of the reorganized division is guaranteed. Sometimes when there are too many casualties, they will withdraw to rest and replenish the combat personnel and special forces, and the combat effectiveness will recover quickly.

Guo Songling looked at the map for a while and found the location of Lagma Village. He measured it with a ruler for a while, then looked up and asked his chief of staff, "What do you think? Should we wait for them to attack us, or take the initiative to attack them?"

"I think we can have a fight. From Bhopal to Kerwa, the enemy's supply line is stretched for at least 700 miles, while our supply line is much shorter than theirs. Even if the German army's combat effectiveness is equal to ours, we still have the upper hand."

"I think so too." Guo Songlin put the ruler back on the table. "Seckt is a famous German general. I think he is just so-so!"

"Perhaps the German army did not expect that our country would actually send troops. Even if they knew that we would send troops, they could not have imagined that the scale of our army's deployment would be so large and the action would be so fast."

"Fast? I think it's still too slow! How far have the engineers built the railway? There's still an entire armored division stuck in Calcutta!"

"What? We can't fight if we lose an armored division?"

Guo Songling glanced at the chief of staff and said, "Of course the more cards we have, the better."

Chapter 795: Raid

The People's Army's attack was sudden and fierce. At dawn, infantry guns and mortars deployed in the woods opened fire on the village of Lagma, and the shells fell on the positions of the Madras Republic Army. Fire and steel tore through the morning mist, and the explosions were mixed with human screams.

During the day, when the plane came to scout, it took a panoramic photo of the village. After urgent development and analysis, the photos were sent to the commanders and fighters on the front line for review. What the position looked like, where the machine guns and artillery were placed, where they might be, etc., were all marked.

After the commandos arrived outside the village, they conducted another reconnaissance, and combined with the annotations on the photos, they had a good understanding of the enemy's military strength and heavy weapon deployment. The commandos' shells first eliminated the enemy's heavy machine guns and cannons, and also blew up all the places where machine guns and mortars might be hidden, and then bombarded the houses inside the village.

Those houses may be empty, or they may be where the enemy sleeps at night, or they may store ammunition and food. Whatever it is, it is always a good idea to bomb them first.

The People's Army is no longer the force that lacked weapons and ammunition 25 years ago. Behind this force stands the world's first industrial country, and they are no longer so stingy when firing artillery.

When the artillery fire shifted towards the village, the soldiers picked up their weapons and rushed forward. When charging, the soldiers strictly followed the three-three infantry squad tactics, using rifles, submachine guns and light machine guns to knock down the panicked enemy. In this process, the soldiers not only needed to avoid the enemy's attacks, but also had to avoid the firing range of their own heavy machine guns. It would be too unfair if they were killed by their own bullets.

The enemy fell into panic after being attacked. By the time the officers and non-commissioned officers had finally organized some troops, the People's Army soldiers had already rushed to them. The enemy barely resisted for a few minutes and then fell into complete collapse.

Many people shouted "retreat" in German, and the enemies in the village threw away everything and fled to the west in a panic. The soldiers chased them for a distance, but were called back by the call to stop the pursuit.

The cavalry units have infiltrated behind the enemy's front line. The pursuit can be left to the cavalry. What they need to do now is to deal with the remaining enemies, count casualties, treat their own and enemy wounded, strengthen their positions... and so on.

This was a textbook raid. The preliminary reconnaissance, the approach, the suppression by artillery and heavy machine guns during the battle, the assault by the soldiers, everything was done in accordance with the training, without any deliberate nitpicking. It could be called perfect, except that it was not very friendly to the soldiers.

Marching more than 20 miles at night and then lying in the wild for several hours is a very bad experience. In the mountainous areas, the winter in India is also very cold. As for the final battle, it is actually easier than the marching and lurking in between.

The battle did not take place only in Ragma village. The People's Army launched an attack on a front line of more than 20 kilometers. While attacking from the front, it also sent a large number of cavalry and infantry to infiltrate the enemy's rear, preparing to split up the enemy's front-line troops and then eat them all up one by one.

This is the [Infantry Infiltration] tactic that the People's Army has used many times. It doesn't sound very clever, but this tactic requires a high level of quality from soldiers and officers. Penetrating behind the enemy's defense line is certainly possible to cut off the enemy's retreat, but it also puts oneself in the enemy's encirclement.

The use of [Infantry Infiltration] tactics requires strong intelligence support and a full understanding of the enemy's troop distribution, traffic conditions and weather conditions in the combat area.

Even with intelligence support, it is likely to suffer heavy casualties. The German army used the "infantry infiltration" tactic in the Battle of Verdun, and the elite troops who served as commandos and carried out infiltration missions suffered heavy casualties every time.

The same is true for the People's Army. The casualty rate of the spearhead troops has always been high.

Soldiers, everyone has written a suicide note.

Although the [Infantry Infiltration] tactic would cost a lot of casualties, it would also bring very high returns. The full-scale attack of Army Group B broke through the enemy's defenses and surrounded two so-called "reorganized divisions" in pieces on the plains near the mountains, including the Madras Republic Army's ace unit "Reorganized First Division".

The proportion of German officers in the reorganized 80st Division exceeded %. After discovering that several roads leading to the rear were cut off, the unit did not panic, but gathered its troops, moved closer to friendly forces on the edge, and established a new line of defense relying on rivers and hills.

Instead of breaking out, they adopted a posture of "blooming in the center".

This behavior was very abnormal. Even if the German officers had high combat literacy, they would have panicked to some extent after discovering that their retreat was cut off. However, the actions of the First and Second Reorganized Divisions seemed as if they had already prepared for being surrounded.

If we analyze the aerial photos taken by the reconnaissance aircraft, we can easily come to the following conclusion: the baggage and artillery units of the reorganized 1st and 2nd divisions were deployed near hills not far from each other. After the front-line combat units suffered a blow, the two divisions only needed to slightly mobilize their troops to curl up and form two defensive circles.

"The Germans' fishing skills are not good. They use straight hooks. Are they trying to learn from Jiang Taigong?"

"It doesn't matter whether he uses a straight hook or a curved hook, as long as it can catch fish, it's a good hook. Seeing that the enemy is in such a posture of being beaten, can't we go up and take them all?"

Guo Songling certainly would not watch the opportunity to annihilate the enemy slip away. The "center blossom" tactic is very similar to the "elastic defense" tactic that the People's Army is studying. However, the more advanced the tactics, the higher the requirements for officers and soldiers. If they are not used properly, the sophisticated tactics will become a joke full of mistakes and omissions.

Han Xin's "Fight with His Back to the River" is famous throughout the ages. In later generations, many people imitated Han Xin and formed a battle line with their backs to the river, but almost all of them ended up being annihilated, and many were driven into the river to feed the fish and turtles.

"The enemy's tanks must have reached the vicinity of Gerva, and are waiting for us to step into the trap. But........."

"Wait, Lao Guo, you said that German tanks have arrived at the front line? But aerial reconnaissance found no signs of armored forces moving!"

Chapter 796: The Center Blossoms

"The enemy has anti-aircraft guns and fighter planes, and the planes can only detect from a distance, which provides an opportunity to advance covertly. If I were a German general, I would take the approach of resting during the day and marching at night to move the armored forces to the required position."

Guo Songling said: "Aerial reconnaissance is not omnipotent. There are many ways to approach secretly, and we will figure it out sooner or later. The most important thing now is not to know how the enemy came, but to find a way to eat the bait put out by the enemy and then defeat the enemy's armored forces."

He paused. "We should immediately transfer the armored division from Ranchi and strengthen the anti-tank capabilities of the front-line troops. Send the self-propelled anti-tank artillery regiment to Golwa!"

The "Type 24 self-propelled anti-tank gun" and the "Type 24 tank" use the same chassis, which is convenient for production, repair and maintenance. According to the plan of the General Staff, two self-propelled anti-tank gun battalions should be incorporated into the mechanized division. However, there is no sign of a mechanized division yet. The troops are still mainly mule- and horse-drawn, and even motorization only exists on paper. In addition, India's poor transportation conditions mean that the self-propelled anti-tank gun is temporarily organized at the regiment level as a direct unit of the group army.

The chief of staff disagreed. "These are just your guesses. What if we send out the self-propelled anti-tank artillery regiment and the enemy's armored forces attack us from other directions?"

Guo Songling said: "It is possible, but I still think that the German tanks are most likely to come from Gerva. Even if I guess wrong, it doesn't matter. We still have the First Armored Division as a backup."

The People's Army's First Armored Division was once a corps-level unit with a total strength of 30,000. Later, it was split several times, from one armored division to four, and the strength was reduced from 30,000 to 17,000, which is the size of an armored division. Although it was a division before, its actual strength was almost that of an army.

Although the number of troops was reduced by half, the 1st Armored Division was still the ace of the alliance. The same equipment could play a better role in their hands. During the military exercises, the 1st Armored Division performed extremely well in marching, attacking and defending, and was the ace of aces.

Hearing Guo Songling talking about the First Armored Division, the Chief of Staff also felt that there was no problem. If the self-propelled anti-tank artillery regiment directly under the army was sent out now, if the guess was right, the benefits would be great; even if the guess was wrong, there was still the First Armored Division, so there would be no problem.

"Then do as you say!"

The army commander and the chief of staff reached a consensus, and the new combat order was immediately issued to all units. Army Group B attacked the enemy's reorganized first and second divisions with the strength of three divisions. The troops that infiltrated the enemy's defense line dug fortifications on the spot. A large number of anti-tank guns and artillery, as well as other technical weapons were sent to Gelva and Borhadi.

At the same time, the 1st Armored Division set out from Ranchi, hiding during the day and moving at night, and moved to the vicinity of Daltonganj to wait for orders.

As the battle in the middle of the route suddenly intensified, the UN Command adjusted its transportation plan.

, 70% of the transport capacity was given to the middle route, a large amount of ammunition and supplies were transported to Army Group B, and the siege heavy artillery division was assigned to Army Group B in the middle route.

Guo Songling is an old subordinate of Xu Wuji. Twenty-five years ago, when fighting against the Russian army in the three northeastern provinces, Guo Songling was the head of a regiment under Xu Wuji. Twenty-five years later, Xu Wuji is the commander-in-chief of the United Nations forces, and Guo Songling is the commander of Army Group B.

Xu Wuji was well aware of Guo Songling's ability to lead troops in battle. The chief of staff of Army Group B had also been in the army for decades. Since he and Guo Songlin both believed that the opportunity for a decisive battle was ripe, Xu Wuji would naturally believe their judgment.

As the commander-in-chief of the United Nations Army, Xu Wuji could not go to the front to lead troops to fight. All he could do was to do a good job in logistics and assist the various troops. In addition, his main job was to build railways, roads and ports in Bengal and East India.

The United Nations Command Headquarters provided Army Group B with maximum support. Trains shuttled back and forth on the railway line, transporting carloads of artillery shells and other supplies to train stations near the battlefield, and then transporting the wounded back to the rear.

The last section from the train station to the front line has always been the most difficult journey. In the past, the logistics troops would use a large number of mules and horses for transportation, but this time, Army Group B used large trucks, which increased the efficiency of transporting ammunition and other supplies several times, effectively ensuring the combat effectiveness of the front-line troops, but it consumed a lot of gasoline.

But this is not a big problem. With the oil resources in Baku and Nanyang, the Alliance has no shortage of gasoline and diesel. It is more cost-effective to transport the oil to the front line for trucks and cars to use. The transportation efficiency of horse-drawn carriages is not as good as that of trucks. Horses and other livestock eat a lot of food every day. Those fodder and beans also need to be transported from the rear, which will take up some transportation capacity.

The use of trucks for supply was very efficient and could keep more troops fighting on the front line. The troops surrounding the enemy's First and Second Reorganized Divisions increased from three divisions to five divisions, and the battle became increasingly fierce.

However, the reorganized 105st and nd divisions had a strong fighting spirit, and their weapons and equipment were no worse than those of the People's Army. The German-made mm howitzers caused heavy casualties to the attacking troops.

The soldiers needed to first take down the hills and high ground outside the enemy's main position, and then advance step by step. During this process, the enemy's light and heavy machine guns, mortars, and field artillery opened fire together. Even though Army Group B had advantages in manpower and firepower, it was still beaten badly.

To attack a strong enemy that was ready to fight, one needed to have three times the troops and firepower advantage. The commanders and fighters on the front line asked for more reinforcements or more time. The combat effectiveness of the reorganized 1st and 2nd divisions was very good, but they were surrounded after all. Even if they brought a lot of weapons and ammunition, they would have one less round to fire. As long as they slowly consumed the enemy, they would not have to suffer a lot of casualties to annihilate the enemy.

"No, we don't have that much time. German tanks are showing up at Gelva."

Guo Songling rejected the siege method. He thought it was not a good idea to encircle a powerful enemy. If things went wrong, it would really turn into a "central explosion".

"I can give you another division and two field heavy artillery regiments, but we don't have time. I'll give you two more days at most. You must annihilate the Reorganized First Division and the Reorganized Second Division within two days!"

Not only the German armored division appeared in Gerva, but also the main force of the German Volunteer Army. Under the fierce attack of the German army, the troops used to block the enemy suffered heavy casualties and lost many positions in succession. If the last line of defense was broken, the German tanks would be able to reach the encirclement in just one day.

Chapter 797: Defeat

"Boom!" "Boom!"

"boom!"

The German attack continued. The tank painted with the Iron Cross slowly climbed up the hill, and its tracks crushed the barbed wire set up by the UN forces. The commander's half body was exposed, holding a telescope in his hand, looking for new prey.

The battlefield is filled with all kinds of noises, explosions, the sounds of rifle and machine gun fire, and the roar of tank engines. These noises often prevent tank crew members from hearing the shouts of the accompanying infantry. If they want to find targets worth attacking, the most reliable way is to rely on the commander to search with his naked eyes.

Something in the burning village not far away began to move, like a floating flame? The commander frowned, thinking that this was not a simple matter. He moved the telescope back to take a closer look. Where was the moving flame? It was clearly a tank destroyer!

No, not just one, but at least three... The commander screamed in fear, and there was a flicker of fire in the corner of his eyes. Then, the "Panzer III" was hit. The 73-caliber 57mm anti-tank gun, equipped with a tungsten core armor-piercing bullet, penetrated the tank's armor, and the shell exploded inside the vehicle. The high temperature of thousands of degrees ignited the combustibles inside the tank, and flames spewed out of the tank's hatch, accompanied by high-pitched screams.