The first thousand one hundred and ninety-first chapters are exhausted
The distance from Dhanbad to Calcutta is a full 240 kilometers. At the British speed, it would take at least 6 days. However, General Kitchener gave a death order to the 18th Group Army of the British and Indian Army.
They are required to arrive in Calcutta within 4 days. Otherwise,
All generals of the 18th Army will be subject to military law. Under the order of General Kitchener, the officers of the 18th Army had no choice but to order the entire army to speed up and at the same time collect a large number of livestock to haul logistics supplies.
, to speed up the march.
The 2nd Army, the main force of the British and Indian Army, was ordered to hold firm at Nabodwip and stay there until the British and Indian Army's headquarters was issued. Wait until the situation in Calcutta becomes clear before making the next plan. In Base
In Admiral Chinna's opinion, if the Chinese attack in Calcutta was just a feint, then
So the 2nd Army can quickly rush to the middle and lower reaches of the Ganges to participate in the battle. Even if the Chinese launch a large-scale attack in Calcutta, then the 2nd Army will be the main force, plus the 18th Army and the 24th Army originally stationed in Calcutta.
The group army can also resist the attack of the Chinese army.
The 24th Army of the British and Indian Army, which replaced the 2nd Army in Calcutta, was also strictly ordered by General Kitchener to hold Calcutta until reinforcements arrived. If there were not many troops attacking Calcutta, the 24th Army would destroy the invading Chinese.
.However, this order is completely unacceptable to the 24th Army.
Possible. The Chinese Navy's fire support ship squadron has entered the Hooghly River, and the activities of the 2nd Chinese Marine Division are also within the range of the naval guns. The British and Indian troops will risk the threat of the Chinese Navy's naval guns to eliminate them.
It is absolutely impossible for the Chinese troops to land. The power of naval guns has been tested on the battlefield of Bangladesh!
Lieutenant General Benjamin, the commander of the 24th Army of the British Indian Army, immediately cursed after receiving the telegram from General Kitchener. He originally expected the 2nd Army to rush back to Calcutta quickly. However, Kitchener did not expect that
However, the general ordered the 2nd Army to stand by at Nabodweep. If the Chinese really launched a large-scale operation in Calcutta, it meant that the 24th Army had to resist the Chinese on its own.
The main force of the army has been out for at least two days. This is undoubtedly a disaster for the 24th Group Army of the British and Indian Army. Lieutenant General Benjamin does not think that half a million Indian Asan can withstand the attack of the Chinese army. On this point,
It has been proven on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Bangladesh that the army composed of Indian Asan has a numerical advantage, but it is simply vulnerable to the elite troops of the Chinese Army!
At 10 a.m. on November 25, the Chinese Navy's fire support ship squadron covered the 2nd Marine Division, sailed upstream from the Hooghly River and arrived at Diamond Port. At this time, the 243rd Army of the 24th Group Army of the British and Indian Army stationed at Diamond Port
Having entered the position, tens of thousands of British and Indian troops are ready to resist the Chinese army.
attack. However, among the tens of thousands of officers and soldiers of the 243rd Army of the British and Indian Army, no one wanted Diamond Port to become a landing point for the Chinese. When the Chinese Navy's warships and transport ships stayed about ten kilometers away from Diamond Port, they stopped and continued.
After advancing, the officers and soldiers of the 243rd Army of the British and Indian Army were dizzy and very depressed!
"There are so many cities along the Hooghly River. Why did the Chinese choose to land here?" Major General Harrison, commander of the 243rd Army of the British-Indian Army, burst into tears. However, he still had to order the ministries below to do a good job.
Get ready. Lieutenant General Benjamin, the commander of the 24th Group Army, has issued a death order, requiring all armies to strictly defend their positions. If they are broken through by the Chinese, they will all be severely punished.
As an important port in southern Kolkata, Diamond Port has complete port facilities. If the Chinese army can capture it, the large forces behind it will be able to directly enter the port area. By then, the speed of troops disembarking and equipment loading and unloading will be much faster.
"Order all ships to prepare to fire! Be careful not to shoot at the port area. We want to occupy an intact port area!" Rear Admiral Lei Hua, commander of the Chinese Navy's fire support ship squadron, issued the order on the battleship "Northern Xinjiang."
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The battleship North Xinjiang opened fire first. Then other battleships also opened fire. For a time, the British and Indian army's position turned into a sea of fire. The large-caliber naval guns one after another were extremely powerful.
, almost every one of them can leave a huge crater on the ground. The positions of the British and Indian troops in Port Diamond are defense fortifications with civil structures and are not poured with reinforced concrete. Therefore,
The Chinese Navy's fire support ship squadron uses high-explosive bombs. High-explosive bombs are more lethal to personnel. The British and Indian soldiers on the position could not survive even if they hid in anti-gun holes. British and Indian soldiers
For a 5mm-caliber naval gun, the gun-proof caves built by the army can be blown down as if they were made of paper. The British and Indian officers and soldiers hiding in the gun-proof caves were often buried alive in whole rows.
.
"General, the Chinese attacked the positions of the 3rd Division. The losses of the 3rd Division were very heavy. Their defenses could not withstand the Chinese attack at all. The commander of the 3rd Division requested to retreat!" A brigadier general officer asked Harry.
Major General Mori reported.
"No! Order the 3rd Division to hold its position and not retreat without permission! In addition, report to General Benjamin that we have been violently attacked by the Chinese and we need sufficient reinforcements. Otherwise, we will not be able to stop the Chinese from Diamond Harbor
Log in!" Ha
Major General Leeson said with a serious face. Although the Chinese army has not yet begun to land, using the navy's large-caliber naval guns to bombard the British and Indian army positions is undoubtedly clearing obstacles for the landing troops. With the British and Indian army's defense line,
There is no way it can compete with large-caliber naval guns.
"Yes, General!" The brigadier general nodded and walked out quickly.
The bombardment by the Chinese Navy's fire support ship squadron lasted for half an hour. Nine battleships fired thousands of 5mm naval gun shells at the British and Indian army's positions. The British and Indian army's positions were completely destroyed, one by one.
Huge craters were scattered across the position, just like the surface of the moon. The British and Indian troops guarding this position suffered heavy casualties.
"Tell General Peng that we have destroyed the British and Indian army's defenses, and it will be up to them next!" said Major General Lei Hua, commander of the Chinese Navy's fire support ship squadron. He put down the telescope in his hand and looked at this time.
He was very satisfied with the bombardment. The fire support ship squadron composed of 9 battleships was very powerful in attacking the ground. No army of any country could resist it.
On the transport ship behind the fire support ship squadron, Major General Peng Jiantong, commander of the 2nd Marine Division of the Chinese Marine Corps, received the message from Major General Lei Hua and immediately ordered the 2nd Marine Corps Division to start landing operations.
The transport ship began to sail towards Diamond Harbor, and they did not encounter any resistance until the transport ship was only two hundred meters away from the shore. At this time, dozens of landing craft were released from the transport ship, and a battalion
The Marines began to row toward the shore. The warships of the fire support squadron were still shelling the British and Indian positions with small-caliber secondary guns to provide fire support for the 2nd Marine Division.
The 3rd Division of the 243rd Army of the British and Indian Army stationed in this position suffered heavy losses during the shelling and was unable to organize a powerful counterattack. Facing the landing of the Chinese Marine Corps, although they organized thousands of troops to intercept,
Facing the elite of the Chinese Marine Corps
, they were basically defeated in one blow. At 11:30 in the morning, all soldiers of the 21st Regiment of the 2nd Marine Division of the Chinese Marine Corps had landed, and thousands of troops launched an attack on the British and Indian troops. After an hour
After a fierce battle, the British and Indian troops occupied the position.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the entire 2nd Chinese Marine Division landed. The 243rd Army of the British and Indian Army did not dare to risk the Chinese Navy's naval guns to launch a counterattack. The 2nd Chinese Marine Division began to attack the port area of Diamond Harbor.
The 243rd Army of the British and Indian Army resisted, but their resistance was not active, and the port area soon fell.
At 4:05 pm, the transport fleet transporting the first wave of troops of the Third Group of the Chinese Army arrived at Diamond Port. The transport ship drove directly into the port area and began loading and unloading the heavy equipment of the troops through the port equipment. At this time, the British
The Indian army also learned that the Chinese army was preparing to conduct a large-scale landing at Diamond Port.
Lieutenant General Benjamin, the commander of the 24th Group Army of the British-Indian Army, on the one hand mobilized reinforcements from the two armies and marched towards Diamond Port in an attempt to drive the Chinese army down the river before its foothold was stable. On the other hand, he
He reported the news to General Kitchener and asked for support. He knew that if the Chinese Army carried out a large-scale landing in Calcutta, his army alone would never be able to hold it!
After being informed of the relevant situation, General Kitchener, who was far away in Delhi, ordered the 2nd Army of the British-Indian Army, which was staying at Nabodweep, to return to Calcutta. This made these British soldiers very dissatisfied! At the same time, he ordered the British-Indian Army to return to Calcutta.
The 18th Army Group rushed to Calcutta, preparing to fight a battle with the Chinese army in Calcutta to defend this most important city in eastern India.
On November 26, after a night of hard work, the first wave of landing troops of the Chinese Army's Third Group all disembarked. The four infantry divisions plus the artillery brigade, cavalry brigade and armored brigade affiliated to the group army were all deployed and ready to attack at any time.
The British and Indian troops launched an attack. The subsequent second wave of troops would arrive at Diamond Harbor in the afternoon.