bookrandom Chapter 113: Battle of Kursk in East India (1)
Chapter 113: Battle of Kursk in East India (1)
The distance between Gyurajindpur and Silchar is approximately 100 kilometers, but this is only a rough estimate and the exact distance may vary. The terrain in this area is very distinctive, with low-lying land, numerous mountains, and dense forests. It has remained largely untouched, undeveloped, and largely untouched. Consequently, suitable roads are almost nonexistent, and transportation is very limited.
The Japanese, advancing from Gyurajindpur and crossing the region, inevitably created temporary mountain roads to facilitate the passage of their mechanized forces. West of the valley lay a high, mountainous area with difficult terrain. The Allies deployed a Sikh infantry brigade along this route, equipped with a small number of artillery pieces. As command arranged, the Allies held a commanding position, enjoying a geographical advantage. Without heavy firepower, the Japanese, even with a division, would have struggled to penetrate the Sikh brigade's defenses.
However, the area has many rivers along the low valleys and many extended valleys hidden in the primitive dense forests. The valleys are steep, but if they are excavated, it is entirely possible to open up many convenient roads and advance to Silchar!
As Sun Liren and Yang Hong explained, Lieutenant General Slim suddenly remembered that a few months ago, when the Japanese 18th and 31st Divisions were encircled outside Silger, a large number of Japanese troops had apparently suddenly disappeared from this line. The Japanese must have found a shortcut between the two places!
Mountbatten and Wedemeyer immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and, without further delay, ordered the Indian Air Force to send reconnaissance planes to search along the river valley. At the same time, they ordered the 19th Army on the Silchar front to advance immediately and establish defensive positions along the Sikh Brigade's position.
John Strang, commander of the 7th Tank Division, believed that if the Japanese army had already taken action, the 19th Army's light infantry group would be unable to stop the Japanese mechanized cluster. Since the original plan to lure the enemy and annihilate them on the Aizawl line had failed, the First Army, which was hiding and on standby on the Telmanagar line, should immediately take the train north to Silchar and deploy along the Silchar line. If the Japanese army broke through the 19th Army's defense, the Allies should launch a decisive battle with the Japanese army in the hilly area east of Silchar!
Sun Liren and Yang Hong nodded calmly, agreeing with Stellan's opinion. At this point, there was no need to hide anything. They should openly launch a battle—the Battle of Kursk in East India!
The Allies immediately sprang into action, even the newly formed 28th Division at Chittagong began loading and moving, and a new British-Indian force took over their defenses. Wedemeyer, through communication with Stilwell, also transferred three tank regiments from the Indian Army to the Silchar front. He believed that this battle must be decisive in completely destroying this heavily mechanized Japanese force.
The next day, news arrived from the Sikh Brigade of a large-scale Japanese mechanized force. Despite their bravery and tenacity, the Sikh Brigade suffered heavy losses under the heavy Japanese firepower, losing several key positions in less than half a day. The Japanese 1st Division's tank regiment had already surged onto the flat, hilly terrain of Silchar.
In the air, the US and British air forces engaged the Japanese 3rd, 5th, and 11th Air Arms in a massive skirmish, the largest air battle of the Eastern Front. Leveraging their superior Zero aircraft, the Japanese quickly seized air superiority in the region. Although the Allies had begun deploying P-47s and a small number of F6F Hellcats, later considered the Zero's nemesis, the numerical disparity still put them at a disadvantage. Japanese bombers even began appearing in areas like Silchar, railway stations, and transit centers. Fortunately, the Allies, having learned from the lessons of the First Battle, deployed numerous anti-aircraft weapons along this front, rendering the Japanese bombing campaign ineffective.
That night, at a secret train station west of Silchar, the Allied First Army's heavy mechanized units, including the 7th Tank Division, the 5037th Mechanized Brigade, its subordinate Armored Regiment, and its subordinate Rocket Artillery Regiment, began unloading their vehicles and moved overnight toward the Silchar front. Soon after, the 112th and 113th Brigades, the 28th Brigade of the new 114th Division, and the new 1st Brigade also arrived. Throughout the night, the hidden train station was brightly lit, and the roar of engines continued. The First Army, the main Allied force on the southern front, once again bared its fangs.
At dawn, three armored regiments and one rocket artillery regiment of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in India, advancing south from Sardinia, also arrived at Haflon. Zheng Dongguo personally led the task force, with Kuang Zhengqi temporarily appointed as its commander. According to Wedemeyer's orders, they would secretly advance southward, encircling the Japanese from the flank and joining forces with the First Army's frontal attack to pincer attack the Japanese heavy mechanized cluster.
Major General Kenzo Takahashi, commander of the 1st Tank Regiment of the 1st Division of the Japanese Army, was sitting arrogantly in his command vehicle, looking at his tank armored column through a high-powered telescope. They were using the steel behemoths to forcibly tear open the fragile defense line of the East India Army.
The 1st Division was one of the few Japanese divisions to have a complete tank regiment. This regiment had 112 Type 97/95 tanks, over 80 armored vehicles known as "Iron Turtle," and a small number of self-propelled artillery and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, a rare sight for the Japanese. The regiment consisted of over 4500 soldiers, making it a massive organization.
Accompanying the 1st Tank Regiment was a 2mm mountain artillery battalion of the Japanese 120nd Division, all of which were carried by vehicles and could basically follow the actions of the 1st Division. At this moment, 18 120mm mountain artillery pieces were continuously bombarding the positions of the 19th East Indian Army.
Behind the Japanese 1st Tank Regiment, an even larger Japanese tank unit, the 4th Tank Division, was slowly climbing up the Silchar Hills along the winding road opened up by two Japanese engineering regiments.
"Hello, hey, hey—artillery? We need support, we need fire support! The Japanese tanks have rushed into our position, we can't hold on any longer!"
"Commander Dougs, please send reinforcements as soon as possible. We need heavy artillery and anti-tank weapons!"
"Hill 593 has been lost, Area 277 is in danger, we need support, ammunition, artillery, and anti-tank weapons!"
The British-Indian 19th Army headquarters was a scene of panic and tension, with the constant cries of the front lines echoing throughout the hall. Lieutenant General Douglas looked helplessly at General Mountbatten, who had come to supervise the battle. He knew very well that at this moment, with no Allied reinforcements, the 19th Army's role was now cannon fodder. Even if all of them died, they had to hold their positions to buy time for the battle zone to adjust its deployment.
Including Mountbatten, the Allied forces in Southeast Asia were completely unaware of the scale of the Japanese operation. An entire reinforced tank regiment and a division (the 2nd Division), about 3 people, actually jumped out of a narrow valley and broke the Allied defense line in one fell swoop.