“…… Due to the intensification of fighting in the Soviet-German theater and the rekindling of the war in the Middle East, the Indian battlefield in September 1935 did not pay much attention to the world at that time. Probably no one except at the highest level of China and India realized that the Indian battlefield would be a key battlefield that would determine the success or failure of the world. It is a pity that neither the USSR nor the RI recognized this. At this time, the Soviet Union was engaged in a series of fierce battles against the three invading German army groups on the front lines of Minsk, Vilnius, and Nitsa and the Dnieper Plateau, and at the same time was on full alert in Finland and the Barents Sea coast -- Germany, Britain, Sweden, Norway, and the Finnish reactionary army in exile had been planning an attack on Finland and the northern part of the Soviet Union. But they did not expect that the offensive was launched not in 1935, but in 1936. The Soviets began to deploy along the coast of the Barents Sea a full year earlier. And the reason why I will focus on this matter now is because the premature deployment of the Soviet Union on the shores of the Barents Sea was the main reason why we were in trouble in the early days of the War of Resistance against China. Because Trotsky deployed an air force to the Barents Sea coast, which was supposed to support the Indian theater, we had almost no air force available in the early days of the war against China. This is not a trivial matter, because the imperialist planes not only bombed our heroic Red Army soldiers on the battlefield, but they also dropped bombs on major Indian cities, including our capital Delhi, to massacre armed Indian civilians! And what is particularly striking at us and the world is that our main communication route connecting with the Soviet Union happens to be under the threat of the aircraft of the Chinese and German air forces deployed on Bosgshhim Island! This is a very, very serious question, because every month 800,000 people and more than 80,000 tons of military supplies pass through ......" - the above is an excerpt from Comrade Charia's memoir "Written Before the Second World" (aka "The Beginning of World Failure").

On September 11, 1935, at 4 o'clock in the morning, the night sè had gradually faded, and the eastern horizon had already lured out of the white belly of the fish.

Sitting in the cockpit of the plane, Lieutenant Colonel Gao Zhihang, the captain of the 3rd Bombardment Aviation Regiment of the 6th Bombardment Aviation Division of the Wehrmacht Air Force, had an anxious face, and from time to time stretched his neck to look under the wings.

It's hazy and still can't see clearly.

I don't know if there is a marching contingent of Indians below? If the sky is completely bright, most of them will find a place to cat! Therefore, for the Chinese and German air force pilots stationed on the island of Gershm, the dawn of each day is very precious, and if you can find the Indian army marching team or material transport convoy on the ground road that has not yet had time to hide, it will be a great achievement!

But today's Indians seem to be very careful, probably hiding early before dawn, so the road below is quiet, only dense wheel tracks indicate that not long ago, there was a large group of people here!

"Did any other Germans find out?" Gao Zhihang turned his head and asked the navigator and communicator.

"Didn't find it."

"What about the planes on night duty?"

"There is no gain, and now the Indian Ah San is also clear, and he doesn't shoot torches when he marches at night."

"Those who are blind in the dark are not afraid of falling into the ditch!" The pitcher on the side smacked hard. , and cursed viciously. In fact, his curse is quite effective, at present, most of the officers and soldiers of the Indian Red Army suffer from night blindness due to malnutrition, so it is very difficult to march without torches at night, and often people fall into the ravine on the side of the road and fall with a blue nose and swollen face, and if they are unlucky, they will fall to death!

"If you search carefully, I won't believe you can't find it!" Gao Zhihang hurriedly cheered up his two subordinates: "Our JU88A4 plane has a long time to be empty, and it has just come out now, and there are still six hours for us to find it slowly!" ”

The pitcher hummed, took the map from the navigator's hand and looked at it a few times, and then poked his head into the transparent egg-shaped nose compartment and widened his eyes to find something from below, but unfortunately the Indians were really frightened by the bombardment of the past ten days, and they didn't know where to hide before dawn, and there was hardly anything moving on the ground of the gray méngméng.

"Keep flying along the road, they must be hiding somewhere near the road." The pitcher looked around, then pointed to the shadow of the mountain in front of him and said, "The slope here doesn't seem to be too steep, will it hide on the north side of the hillside?" If you don't fly over and look for it, if you can't, you can cast a light. ”

Since it is set off in the early hours of the morning, each "morning shift" JU88A4 has two lights hanging under the wings, if you find a suspicious target before dawn, you can throw a light to try your luck, maybe you can find something?

Small hillsides, valleys or woods along the road that crosses the Belochistan region from east to west are suspicious targets, as Indian marching convoys and convoys of supplies do not hide far from the road. I won't go up a steep hill or sit on a bare wasteland waiting to be fried! In fact, the Beloch region is very desolate, especially in autumn and winter, and there is nothing to hide.

The lighting was thrown down, and the explosion of the lighting, a small sun with a parachute, slowly floated down to the ground, and found a large area of the hillside to be bright.

"Sir, look!" The pitcher seemed to notice something and roared.

Gao Zhihang hurriedly turned his head to look, only to see that on the hillside below, several dense figures were struggling to climb, wanting to climb over the mountain and hide on the back of the mountain.

"It's the Indian Red Army! , at least tens of thousands of people, these have made a fortune! ”

"They are going to support the Soviet battlefield, there should be no weapons, let's fly to the bottom and then attack!"

"Contact the command first to call for reinforcements!"

"Flying Tiger 1 call, Flying Tiger 1 call, a large number of Indian Red Army infantry, tens of thousands of people, were found about 25 kilometers northwest of Nikshahr!" After the correspondent finished his report, he sent another telegram with the exact same content.

"Alright, it's time to attack!" Gao Zhihang shouted, and pushed the cāo longitudinal pole hard, and the twin-engine medium bomber, which weighed nearly 10 tons and could reach a maximum take-off weight of 14 tons, began to dive towards the hillside full of Indian soldiers at a 60-degree angle!

In this era, there is no such thing as guided bombing, so the accuracy of horizontal bombing has always been tragic, but the dive projection using inertial guidance has a fairly satisfactory accuracy. So the Luftwaffe demanded that all their bombers could dive bomb at an angle of 60 degrees, even their four-engine heavy bomber He-177! In fact, due to the threat of ground artillery fire, the dive-throwing ability of large and medium-sized bombers is of little significance, let alone the He-177, even if the Ju88 will not have the opportunity to dive in most cases. However, the air raids in the Belochistan region seem to be an exception, and the Indian Red Army brigades traveling to and from the Belochistan region are not only not equipped with any anti-aircraft firepower, but even the most basic rifles are only equipped with a few fighters who are tasked with defending them. However, the rifles in their hands were used against the Muslim guerrillas in the Belochistan area and the traitors of the Indian Red Army who tried to escape, and it was a waste to use them.

"Air raids! Air raid! Take cover! ”

Exclamations rang out one after another, and the tens of thousands of Indian Red Army troops on the hillside were all at a loss at once. They are not veterans of battle, most of them only know about the mud of farming in August, and they were coaxed and deceived by the cadres of their villages and towns to participate in the world. After less than a week of training at the top of the team, some of them were sent to the east to Bangladesh to resist the invasion of Chinese imperialism, and some were put on the west train to Karachi, saying that they were going to defend the Soviet Union! After arriving in Karachi, you can only walk to the west, and in order to avoid the bombing of the imperialists, you can only walk day and night, and the miserable thing is that you can't start a fire to cook, for fear of attracting the enemy's bombing! If you give Xing's life for a meal, it's not worth it. But he was so cautious that he ended up being bombed here.

"Boom, boom, boom......"

The explosion exploded through the crowd with each explosion, and with each explosion, dozens of Indian soldiers were engulfed in huge fireballs, tossed high by the impact of the swept wave mixed with tiny metal fragments. And the bombs that fell were not one or two, but a whole and a half tons! Death-defying explosions rang out one after another, and the Indian infantrymen screamed and were swept down and torn apart in a strange way. At this moment, the Indian army bombed the battalion, and the Indian soldiers who had seen the bombing for the first time were scurrying around in the sound of continuous explosions, and the officers leading the team could not restrain themselves in any way, and no one could hear even if they fired guns into the sky.

"Evacuate, evacuate! Don't huddle together! "Commanding this Indian marching column was a divisional officer who had participated in the Second Battle of the Middle East, Bagirao. When he was fighting in the Middle East, he was bombed by American and British planes, so he realized at the first time that there would not be only one JU88 to bomb today! If he didn't hurry out to find shelter, he didn't know how many of his tens of thousands of men would have survived the imperialist bombardment. But where can these Indian soldiers be restrained at this time? The whole mess was like tens of thousands of headless flies, but they didn't know how to spread out in all directions......

……

"Comrade Commander."

Pavlov pushed open the door and handed the telegram to Blyukhel: "The 200th Army of the International Column led by Comrade Bajirao (the Provisional Army was attacked by a Chinese bomber 25 kilometers from Nikshahr, and it is estimated that many Chinese and German bombers will take part in it......"

Blyukhel looked at the map with a deep gaze, after the victory of India, he already knew that the only chance of victory for the world camp in this war was numerical superiority! So when he heard that an international column army had been attacked by an air strike, he did not care, but asked: "Comrade Dmitry Grigorievich, do you know what is the most important thing now?" ”

"Maintain the Indian battlefield and make India the world's barracks." There were only the two of them in this office, so Pavlov didn't think much about talking.

"That's right."

Blyukhel nodded, and a wry smile flashed on his face: "It's a pity that Comrade Lu Yi doesn't understand, and the vast majority of Indian comrades don't understand either!" ”

"They ......" Pavlov was slightly stunned, but when he saw the expression on Blyukhel's face, he understood a little.

Blyukhel has no confidence in winning the battle of Imphal!

Although Blyukhan did not stay in the main battlefield of the Soviet Eastern Front, he could still learn the real combat effectiveness of the squadron through the battle briefing issued by the Guò Command and his own introduction, and in the previous India, the Indian Front and the Indian Red Army under his command still had several confrontations with the Chinese Expeditionary Force, and it was impossible not to know the strength of the Chinese!

With Blyukhel's talent, it is impossible for him not to know that the Indian Red Army is no match for the Chinese Defense Forces! But knowing that he is not an opponent, he still wants to provoke a big war between China and India.

The reason is simple.

The prime minister Chang Da is not stupid, he also knows the importance of India's cannon fodder to the Soviet Union and the world, so before the establishment of the People's Republic of India, he asked Mao Zd, chairman of the Chinese government, to come to India to make secret contacts with the Indian g, hoping to win over and buy the Indian g. And such attempts have not stopped until now!

If the war between China and India does not break out, and if China and India do not become enemies that are incompatible with each other, India may betray the Soviet Union and take refuge in China under a situation in which the world is in a very bad situation. Therefore, Blyuhel sent troops to attack Xizàng when he knew that the Himalayan campaign could not be won, and after paying the lives of 250,000 Indians, he finally angered Chinese Premier Chang Ruiqing and ignited the fire of the previous all-out war between China and India. So Blyukergen doesn't care if the Chinese kill more Indians, because the more Indians are killed, the deeper the hatred between China and India, and the more difficult it is for the two sides to reconcile.

Thinking of this, Pavlov felt a chill on his back, it turned out that Blyukhel, who seemed to be an old friend of the Indian people in his bones, was so ruthless in his bones, and he didn't regard the life of the Indians as his life!

It seems that Blyukhel's previous ideas of "going deep into the enemy", "clearing the wilderness" and "scorched earth resistance" were all Méng, and his real purpose was only to maintain the northeastern battlefield of India, to make the hatred between India and China grow deeper and deeper, and at the same time to save most of India from being ravaged by the Chinese army -- only in this way can the Soviet Union continue to provide cannon fodder, which may be the core of the Soviet Union's India policy!

"Comrade Pavlov, do you know what to do?" Blyukhel looked at Pavlov with burning eyes, and it seemed that the message in this look was very unusual!

Blyukhel means...... Pavlov was also a smart man, and if you think about it, you understand. "Comrade Blyukhel, are you leaving India?"

Blyukhel nodded and smiled bitterly: "I really don't want to leave, to be honest, there is no one in the Soviet Red Army who is more suitable for this position than me." As long as I'm in India, don't think about Chinese having a good time, don't think about spreading the flames of war outside of northeastern India......"

"Has it already been decided?" Pavlov whispered.

"It should be said that it has been doomed for a long time...... The Himalayan campaign was defeated. India's capital, Delhi, was hit by a series of air strikes, resulting in heavy casualties. With the Battle of Imphal as it is now, it seems that it is only a matter of time before the crushing defeat is achieved. The country is also refusing to provide air force and more munitions. Comrade Lu Yi's evil anger must have a place to spread! I don't leave India in disgrace, can this great leader of India be in good spirits? Blyukhel sighed, picked up a telegram from the table and handed it to Pavlov: "This is a telegram from Comrade Trotsky asking me if I would like to lead the East Siberian Front. ”

Pavlov took the telegram, and when he looked at it, his heart sank to the bottom, because at the end of the telegram Trotsky asked Blyukhel to recommend a successor, and this successor seemed to be himself!

Knowing that the errand was hot, Pavlov could only remain silent. Blyukherr looked at him and said with a smile: "Comrade Dmitry Grigorievich, I understand that you are not willing to stay in India, which I can understand, after all, our homeland, the Soviet Union, is being invaded. But I really couldn't find a suitable candidate, Comrade Borodin could not bear such a responsibility, he was not a professional soldier. Comrade Berzin is responsible for the defeat of the Himalayan campaign, so he will go with me to Eastern Siberia, and Comrade Konev will go to the Western Front to command a tank group...... Moreover, Comrade Tukhachevsky believes that you are the most suitable comrade to stay in India and help the Indian Red Army in its fight against Chinese aggression. ”

"Comrade Commander, when will you leave India?"

Hearing that Tukhachevsky also wanted to keep himself in India, Pavlov knew that the matter was irreparable, and he had to accept his fate. However, the responsibility for the defeat of the Battle of Imphal cannot be borne by himself, otherwise he will have to leave in a few days.

"After the Battle of Imphal, of course." Blyukhel smiled and patted Pavlov on the shoulder: "I will report to the Indian Military Council tomorrow and ask for an end to the Battle of Imphal, and at the same time submit my resignation." He also recommended that you succeed you as commander of the Northeast Front of India, and that Comrade Charia be appointed as a member of the Military and Political Committee of the Northeast Front of India. ”

"Comrade Chalia is a member of the government?" Pavlov was stunned for a moment, such a promotion speed is too much! Moreover, the political commissar is the nominal number one of the Red Army troops!

"What's not." Blyukhel smiled: "After returning from the Middle East, all India knows that he is the successor of Comrade Ruyi. Now that you are a member of the military and political committee of the front, you will be able to build up your prestige in a few more victories, Comrade Vlov, and your most important task after becoming the commander of the Northeast Front of India is to help Comrade Carya build up his prestige. Of course, I will also do some arrangement, which is not difficult to complete. "To be continued!.