Thunder Strikes Back

Chapter 85 Blockade
In the early hours of the morning, Singh walked out of the meeting room as a victor, and the commander of the 11th Army, Lieutenant General Spanga, walked out with him.Together they had persuaded most of the officers present that the campaign was absolutely necessary and was bound to be won.

"Your Excellency, the most urgent task at the moment is to have a new chief of staff to coordinate the entire operation of the army. This work is very important."

"It really surprised me that you were unwilling to take up this position. I originally wanted to appoint you to take over Pasade's position. Because you are the creator of the entire plan."

"Mr. Minister, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I just want to be an officer of the Forward Commando Group. Too much political and administrative work is not suitable for me; in fact, I can't wait to join the 1st Armored Division in Pakistan. Those flashy Khalid tanks fought. I heard their army hasn't gotten any new army weapons from China lately."

"You'd better keep Charmain's information in check. His sources have always been unreliable; but the Ministry of Defense also has its own informants," Singer said, looking around in a godlike manner. The crowd had already dispersed, only His chief of staff, Lujad Nahan, stood far away, "We have our own sources at the Karachi Port Authority. The first batch of old equipment that the Pakistan Army gets will be unloaded at the new port in eastern Karachi within a few days, mainly Anti-aircraft weapons, and some backward 152mm self-propelled howitzers, these heavy weapons are difficult for them to transport from the Hongqi Lapu Pass or by air, in addition, there are some anti-tank weapons that they are about to eliminate, you may be interested.”

"Oh? What strange weapon?"

"A 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun, which was originally designed to deal with the T72 cluster in the Far East, is full of Cold War characteristics."

"I know that this weapon, in large numbers, would be a nuisance to the Armored Corps."

"Of course I know this, but after hitting their cargo ship by mistake last time, the Prime Minister did not order the navy to intercept these ships due to political considerations. At present, the first ship has passed the Andaman Islands, and our navy has been monitoring these ships. It is expected that these weapons that have not been registered with the United Nations will continue to be unloaded in Karachi in the next few months. The Prime Minister intends to lodge a formal protest before his visit to the United States this month, which can also offset some criticism from the United States.”

"Your Excellency, if we try our best to cut off Pakistan's north-south transportation line, but Karachi can continuously obtain heavy weapons, it will have a negative impact on the overall war situation. I don't understand politics, but I don't want to cut off the enemy's external aid. , Our soldiers will pay more blood on the battlefield, such a simple truth, I think the Prime Minister also knows."

"You're right...Of course the prime minister knows, and I'll make another suggestion to the prime minister. But in any case, within a month, they can only form a reserve division in the south...it's nothing special. By the way, When are you going back to headquarters?"

Singh hesitated and hawed, and then suddenly brought up the topic. Lieutenant General Spanga's request gave him a headache. He knew that the prime minister was under great political pressure, and it was unlikely that he would send the navy to blockade the port of Karachi before his visit to the United States.And the size of the Indian Marine Corps is not large enough to launch an amphibious attack on this damn port with the Army.

"Leave tonight. My plane has been waiting at Safford Jones Airfield. All deployments must be carried out intensively starting tomorrow. You know that the 11th Army and the 1st and 2nd Army have completed their secret buildup. Anytime It can be put into battle, but those divisions in the eastern area will need at least 15 days to advance to Jammu according to my plan. Are the troops deployed, slower."

"It's a problem indeed. Those mountain divisions in the Northeast were broken up by the old guy and scattered in a 600-mile arc of defensive positions. Pasade has always been proud of this waste of public money. Depth defense system , but right now, it will take a long time for us to fully assemble any of the divisions."

"However, we can make full use of the Lucknow to Chandigarh railway line, and fully requisition this railway line under the Act of War, so that we can continue to strengthen the illusion in the enemy's mind and let them focus more on Kashmir."

"You are right. The people will forgive us for expropriating the railway, even though it is the month of Amanat's pilgrimage. We can first transfer the six artillery brigades from the east." Singer nodded to himself, He suddenly realized that getting rid of Pasade was only the first step, and there were still many troubles ahead.

"Hopefully the Air Force will be able to destroy the Jhelum Dam in time before all the movements are done."

"I don't have much confidence in Biafrata now, although he is much more reliable than Pasad. He told me that some attack aircraft squadrons have reached the point where they urgently need to be replenished, otherwise they will have to go into the air."

"I also know the difficulties of the air force, but this is the key to the whole plan. Pakistan lacks foresight, and building the road in a low-lying area near Lahore is a godsend opportunity."

"Well, I'm trying to convince Biafrata to send some fresh, highly motivated forces to join the attack."

"The new power?" Spanga was a little puzzled.

"That's right, the newly established 43rd Squadron. Their pilots have been actively asking for a fight. Your Excellency the Prime Minister has also kept mentioning the new glorious fighter jets that make the people of the country proud. It's time for them to come out and try their skills."

Spanga nodded slightly noncommittal, and did not make any comments on the Tejas Fighter and 43 Squadron.

"They told me that the Tejas fighter has a certain stealth performance and can take into account the ground attack capability, which is very suitable for this mission. It's just that there are still some problems with the ammunition. At present, only laser-guided bombs can be used. What about the range? One problem; the other is the problem of insufficient ammunition. Of course, the pilots are all good, drawn from other squadrons, but the training time is still too short." Singer said to himself, and There are some inconsistencies. It seems that there are great hopes for this squadron, which has only been established for more than a month, but at the same time there are considerable doubts.

"By the way, what did the intelligence say about the dam?"

"It's still the same. From the analysis of satellite photos, most people think she is on the verge of complete collapse, but they said so last time. Specifically, the widest part of the crack on the surface has increased to 3 meters, and there are new cracks on the east side Appeared, it is judged that the internal structure has been damaged. And the water level is still rising, it is estimated that about 120 billion cubic meters of water has been accumulated upstream, maybe we don’t need to send planes, the dam itself will collapse.”

"I hope these are all true. If the air force's attack does not work by then, we must rely on the northern attack to hold back the enemy's main force, and take Fort *** if necessary."

After Spanga said this, he saluted the minister, turned and left. He hurried back to the army to plan the attack, and left all the troublesome things to Singer.

(End of this chapter)