Chapter 7, World of Conflict: The King of Curry Ocean
The Curry Ocean, which is hot all year round, um, no, it is the northern part of the Indian Ocean, the east side of the Arabian Sea, a natural deep-water harbor, Mumbai
——The word "Bombay" comes from the Portuguese "Bom Bahia", which means "beautiful bay". Originally a Portuguese colony, it was later given to Britain as a dowry for a Portuguese princess. After hundreds of years of operation, the Port of Mumbai, facing the Arabian Sea, has become the largest seaport city on the west coast of India, an important trade distribution center, and a key bridgehead for British colonists to maintain their rule over India.
However, at this time, Mumbai has completely lost its bustling and prosperous past, and is covered by mountains of corpses, seas of blood and smoke of war.
While the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans were raging with war, the South Asian subcontinent located in the center of the Indian Ocean, the ancient country with a long history of India, was also engaged in a vigorous war of national liberation. Although its choice of combat targets and allies seems to run counter to the main theme of the "anti-fascist war" of World War II, no one can deny the justice of Indians' struggle for national liberation and national independence.
After three years of chaotic war, the Indian colonial empire that the British gentlemen had worked so hard to build had basically collapsed. From Peshawar, which borders Afghanistan, to Assam, which is rich in black tea, and Calcutta, which guards the outlet of the Ganges River, the Union Jack flags are falling one after another.
However, India, "the most brilliant diamond in Queen Victoria's crown", was of great significance to the British Empire.
There are not only economic considerations, but also extraordinary political implications - without India, there would be no British Empire!
You know, the reason why the British kings at this time were able to call themselves emperors, not just kings, was because they had the title of "Emperor of India" plundered from the Mughal Dynasty. Once India is lost, the title of emperor will also go with it, and it can only be downgraded to king again.
Although the territory under actual control became smaller and smaller, and the Indian soldiers under his command continued to mutiny and defection, the Governor-General of India, the Vice-President of India, and the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in India, who guarded this rich colony for the British King, once beat the Italians in North Africa. Marshal Archibald Wavell, who almost died and was beaten half to death by the German Afrika Korps led by the Desert Fox Rommel, never lost heart in the face of adversity, let alone succumbed to fate.
Relying on a little maritime assistance received intermittently from the Port of Bombay, as well as the strong fortifications and years of operation in the capital Delhi, and taking advantage of the internal conflicts of the various Indian rebel armies, the tens of thousands of British troops stationed in India under the command of Marshal Wavell have been Struggling and struggling in this kind of adversity, which is like a stormy sea, is just like when the Indian nation encountered the great uprising nearly a hundred years ago, gritting its teeth and fighting endlessly against the rebels swarming from all directions.
Of course, the Port of Mumbai, which still flies the Union Jack flag, has become a thorn in the side and flesh of the Indian rebels...
——Because the towering Himalayas block the abundant water vapor from the Indian Ocean, forcing them to be unable to enter the Tibetan Plateau, they can only fall as heavy rain before that, making India one of the regions with the highest rainfall in the world. It is now the rainy season in India, and a tropical storm is quietly approaching. Therefore, at this time, the port city of Mumbai was enveloped in a torrential rain.
Because the high tide blocked the drainage system, the city streets were flooded with knee-deep water, and the sea was also covered with clouds and strong winds and surges.
However, even the overwhelming torrential rain, like the pouring of the Milky Way, cannot extinguish the "passion" of human beings to fight and destroy each other.
On the land outside Mumbai Port, the roar of artillery, the sound of machine guns and thunder intertwined. Thousands of Indian National Army soldiers wearing yellow-green uniforms and turbans were fighting with each other in desert camouflage. The British troops who had just arrived from the Middle East for emergency reinforcements fought to the death. The two sides fought fiercely one trench after another. The two sides were soaked by the heavy rain, rolling in the mud, roaring, and fighting.
Although the Indian National Army was never able to break through the core fortifications of the British army, it also cut off the land connection between the Bombay defenders and the remaining areas of British India. The terrain is somewhat similar to Macau or Xiamen. Bombay was originally a city not far from the mainland. The island was later continuously dredged and filled to become a peninsula, and bridges and causeways were built to connect it to the mainland. Therefore, when the enemy's army presses on the border, the land passage between the city and the outside world can easily be cut off. However, the British army had already been prepared for this. They had set up positions and fortifications on the city's land passage, preparing to let the Indian rebels bleed out the blood.
But the problem lies in the sea behind them - at this time, the control of the sea in the Indian Ocean no longer belongs to the British Empire.
Therefore, for the port city of Mumbai, a more deadly knife has been quietly inserted from the sea behind them!
——Although the waters of the Arabian Sea were already in turbulent waves and heavy rain, the three Japanese super battleships Musashi, Mino, and Shinano, flying the Rising Sun flag, were completely fearless and sailed between the crests and troughs of the waves. Walking steadily while slowly rotating the turret... Then, the 460 mm caliber cannon sprayed out a long dazzling flame and spit out steel projectiles weighing nearly a ton. The fatal bullets traced arcing trajectories in the air and landed on the urban areas and fortifications of Mumbai, immediately setting off clumps of dazzling flames. A full minute later, a rumble of explosions came from the shore.
The rumbling sound of cannons echoed across the Arabian Sea. Even the torrential rain could not extinguish the fires that were rising in the city of Mumbai. Every time a shell hits, it can create a huge crater at least half the size of a football field. The British merchant ships, ammunition depots, and oil depots caught fire and exploded one after another. Facing the Bombay Bay, the 46-meter-high landscape building India Gate also collapsed during the bombardment. The solid city defenses were blown to pieces, and the war situation quickly took a turn for the worse. .
Under normal circumstances, the British army would have already dispatched all bombers and torpedo planes on hand to drive away Japanese warships at all costs. However, in this bad weather of heavy rain and thunderstorms, it is difficult for ground planes to take off, and all the field airports outside the city have been captured by the Indian National Army. As for the urban airport behind the defense line, it was the first wave of focused bombardment targets by Japanese battleships. At this moment, the sky was already scorched with smoke and fire waves were dancing wildly. The pilots running around looked like beetles on a hot iron plate, or like paper figures caught in a typhoon, blown up to a height of more than ten meters by the hot air waves. height, and then suddenly fell into a pulp. The planes that had no time to take off were like dragonflies made of wax, melting rapidly.
Under the attack from both sea and land, the British army, which was already at an absolute disadvantage in terms of strength, gradually became unable to support itself. The mobile troops and ammunition supplies that were being urgently dispatched on various fronts were blown to pieces by naval artillery. Most of the city defense headquarters was destroyed by the aftermath of a high-explosive bomb. Although it was not completely destroyed, it lost contact with the front line because the phone line was blown... Citizens were running around like headless flies, or hiding. Shivering in the cellar.
But even if the situation was so desperate, the gentlemen of England did not choose to give in - in the midst of a roaring storm, ten PT torpedo boats assisted by the United States rushed out of the port infinitely tragically, like boy scouts challenging a giant. He rushed towards the huge battleship regardless of his own safety!
The overlord of the seven seas, the empire on which the sun never sets, now has only this little maritime power left on the Indian subcontinent.
However, "Fight the enemy when you see it" is a creed that the Royal Navy of the British Empire has adhered to for hundreds of years and has been engraved in its bones. Now we are no longer meeting the enemy, but the enemy has already arrived at our doorstep, no, has already entered our home. There is no longer any excuse to avoid fighting.
However, despite the bravery of the British torpedo boat formation, it could not change the desperate balance of strength-almost as soon as they were dispatched, they were discovered by Japanese naval sentries, and then sounded a sharp alarm, and the destroyers guarding the battleships Step forward to attack... After a short melee, only half of the British torpedo boats had time to fire their torpedoes, and none of them hit. Nine of the ten torpedo boats that attacked sank, and one drifted to a beach controlled by the Indian National Army after an engine failure and stalled, and was captured by an opponent who had been waiting for a long time.
With the destruction of the British torpedo boat formation, the Japanese artillery fleet approached the coastline even more arrogantly, using all the artillery in the fleet, except for the anti-aircraft guns, almost all of them poured firepower crazily towards downtown Mumbai. In a very short period of time, the British army's coastal defenses and munitions warehouses suffered devastating blows. The core urban area was also blown up like the surface of the moon. There were serial explosions everywhere. The scene was very spectacular...
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"...This is really...what a spectacular sight! The legendary final battle weapon!"
Behind the Japanese artillery formation on the shore, on a 10,000-ton fast armed merchant ship, Indian National Congress Chairman Chandra Bose held high-powered telescopes with both hands and looked greedily at three Yamato-class battleships and more than 20 battleships. The magnificent scene of cruisers and destroyers bombarding Bombay together.
Especially the three steel behemoths with a displacement of 65,000 tons made Chairman Bose's eyes brighten and he couldn't take his eyes away.
Japan's Yamato-class battleships, especially the No. 1 ship Yamato as the flagship of the combined fleet, have given the Allies a nightmare for four consecutive years.
At the beginning of the Pacific War, during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the battleship Yamato carried out an extremely brave single-ship assault, almost annihilating the entire U.S. aircraft carrier fleet cruising outside the harbor, and forcing the last remaining aircraft carrier, the Enterprise, to wash ashore. It was stranded and almost scrapped.
In the subsequent Battle of the Philippines, Battle of Singapore, Battle of New Guinea and Battle of Australia, Yamato and the battleship Musashi that later served, all performed well. Whenever the Yamato-class battleship appears on the sea level, it means that some unlucky ship or city will be reduced to a sea of flames.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet, which did not believe in evil, regained its strength after the crazy ship explosion, and was gearing up for revenge. Unexpectedly, in the first naval battle of Noumea in 1943, the battleship Yamato was forced into the aircraft carrier group, and then there was a massacre like a hungry wolf attacking a sheep. Four self-proclaimed cutting-edge US military Iowa-class battleships rushed to the rescue, but were also torn to pieces by the Japanese battleships. In the end, all large ships were destroyed, and only a few cruisers and destroyers escaped from the battlefield. Following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Pacific Fleet was once again wiped out.
By the time of the Second Battle of Noumea in 1944, the Americans had invested in the Montana-class battleships with larger tonnage and thicker barrels, as well as more aircraft carriers, and finally roped in British allies, which could be described as a build-up. They sank all the essence of the Allied forces at sea in an attempt to complete the victory in one battle, but the result was nothing but a nightmare. Although they sank several old Japanese battleships, including the old flagship of the United Fleet, the Nagato, they failed to capture the Japanese and Japanese warships. There was nothing the No. 1 and the Musashi could do. The overwhelming swarm of bombers seemed to tickle them. Direct hits from the battleship shells could only wipe off a little paint. Desperate British battleships even rammed them, but unfortunately it was still useless. After the Allied battleships were destroyed, the two Yamato-class battleships caught up with the retreating US aircraft carrier formation at an incredible speed of 42 knots, and started another massacre... In one day and one night, six battleships from the United States and Britain A rear admiral and a vice admiral were killed in the battle, and President Roosevelt almost suffered a myocardial infarction in the White House after receiving the news.
At this point, the U.S. Pacific Fleet was completely wiped out for the third time, and it has not regained its courage until now, while the British Royal Navy even bid farewell to the Pacific in tears.
Today, even in the Indian Ocean, the British Royal Navy, which has just eaten two Soviet atomic bombs, is simply unable to compete with these giant steel ships that seem to be favored by the god of war. It can only sit back and watch the final fall of the Indian colony.
Such giant ships and cannons, so domineering... Chandra Bose was fascinated by them when he first saw them.
"... Such a majestic steel giant is the symbol of a truly powerful country! It is not so much the masterpiece of the God of War as it is the masterpiece of the God of Industry... Unfortunately, only the most powerful industrial countries can own it, and India now...hey!”
Thinking of Gandhi, the old man shaking a hand-made spinning wheel, who kept chattering all day long in Calcutta about "deindustrialization", "returning to the traditional peaceful pastoral life of Indians", and "letting everything go back to the state before the arrival of the British", Baos couldn't help but feel depressed... What era is it now? Even if you really want to get rid of industry and modern technology and return to the pastoral life of the past, will the imperialist powers agree?
Unfortunately, in India, where there are many feudal states, the trend of thought that supports Gandhi's "environmental protection theory" is extremely strong, which makes Bose very difficult.
In fact, although Chandra Bose took advantage of the Japanese army's "return of the king" and once again became the chairman of the Congress Party. However, there are still many veteran factions in the party, and his power as chairman is not stable. Gandhi, who has the highest reputation, has been based in Calcutta in recent years, based in the densely populated Ganges Delta. He also relied on the anti-modernization theory of "de-industrialization" and "return to yesterday" to win over a large number of feudal feudal princes. From the beginning, there was a tendency that the tail would be too big to lose. Nehru was entrenched in the middle reaches of the Ganges and controlled a huge and heavily armed group to confront the British army in Delhi.
However, Chandra Bose, who led the "Indian National Army" to land in southwest India and used Goa Port as his base camp, was the weakest among the three parties. In order to keep up with Gandhi and Nehru, Bose They had no choice but to find a way to negotiate with Mr. Jinnah, the chairman of the Muslim League who was entrenched in Karachi. to form an alliance and persuade him to temporarily shelve the idea of establishing a 'halal country' - Pakistan, and make the struggle for the independence of the entire India and liberating from the colonial hands the priority goal of the Muslim League, and start anew with the Congress Party, to be precise Cooperation with Bose's faction. Therefore, relying on the unity and cooperation with the Muslim League and the assistance from Japan, Bose has currently assembled 11 divisions and several affiliated troops near Bombay Port, totaling nearly 200,000 people, as well as the assistance of the Japanese naval fleet. . The number of British troops defending the city on the opposite side does not exceed 20,000 at most... If he fails to win, he, the chairman, will be embarrassed.
Fortunately, the worst case did not occur after all, and the current battle in Mumbai has been determined. Next, it was time to go north to compete with Nehru for Delhi. However, before that, there was one more thing that had to be arranged... He thought so and turned to look at the girl sitting behind him.
This is a girl with a very distinctive appearance. She has a pretty face, wild wheat-colored skin, and gray-white hair sticking out on both sides, but she does not have that sense of decadence that leads to premature aging. What is even more eye-catching is the pair of swaying huge breasts...
To put it in later generations' terms, she looked like a dynamic, athletic, carnivorous lady who haunted a tropical beach.
According to Indian aesthetics, this is also a very coveted beauty.
Even though Baos thought he was not a lecher, he still couldn't help but swallow a few mouthfuls of saliva when he saw this girl.
But he didn't dare to show his lustful look on his face at all, because he "very well knew" the "true identity" of the girl opposite him - the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, Marshal Yamamoto Isoroku, who was sent to the Indian Ocean front line. Personal representative, most likely his illegitimate daughter.
At this time, she was talking eloquently: "...As promised before, the combined fleet has provided you with maximum fire support. There are also 10,000 rifles, 20,000 grenade launchers, and 600 grenades to support you. A radio station and two million rounds of ammunition were also unloaded at Goa Port..."
"...Thank you very much for Marshal Yamamoto's support." According to Japanese custom, Chairman Boss bowed his head in greeting, and then took out a stack of brand-new banknotes from his suitcase, "...Ms. Musashi, according to the pattern requested by the Marshal, The new version of Indian rupee banknotes after the independence of the country has been printed and will be put on the market from today. In addition to Goa, it will also be circulated in Kolkata, Dhaka, Karachi and other places..."
Then, looking at the majestic appearance of the Yamato-class battleship on the banknote, the wheat-colored Miss Musashi showed a pleasant smile.
Speaking of which, in previous contacts, Bose had always felt that the people in the Japanese Navy were a little nervous and not serious. The biggest characteristic is that he seems to like fame very much - of course, there are basically few people who don't like fame. However, the people of the Japanese Navy did not seem to care much about their own reputation, but they particularly liked to make their warships famous, which posed one embarrassing problem after another for Bose.
In past cooperation, the Japanese Navy first asked Bose to mobilize the Indians under his command to offer models of Japanese warships in each shrine, praying that the combined fleet would defeat the American and British monsters and prevent the British colonists from coming back. So Boss pinched his nose and assigned this matter as a political task. Although the people below were embarrassed and thoughtful, they probably thought it was good to get a toy warship model for free, so they just agreed.
Next, the United Fleet posed an even bigger problem for Bose - hoping to enshrine the warship model in a temple in India! Even Bose, the chairman of the Congress Party, was not enough for this kind of thing. After all, those Brahmin priests were very arrogant and were not even willing to listen to the British in the past. In the end, Bose had to build a memorial hall in the city of Goa and put up a model of the battleship of the Japanese Combined Fleet for people to see, and barely managed to get over it.
Recently, Marshal Yamamoto Isoroku sent another message, hoping that the designs on Indian banknotes and stamps would all use famous ships of the Japanese Navy... So this batch of Indian rupee banknotes nicknamed "warship coins" was released. ...Although it seems a bit humiliating, at least I wasn’t asked. The Japanese Emperor's face was directly printed on it, and Bose felt that warships were dead anyway, so he just made a few nonsense words: "This is to emphasize the importance of developing a navy to the people, and India must have a strong navy in the future." "Fleet" can probably be explained to the country.
As a revolutionary who once traveled around the world in Germany, the Soviet Union, and Japan seeking foreign aid, Bose knew very well what it means to be flexible and flexible.
Compared with this trivial face, Boss valued actual interests more. At this time, seeing that the young lady in front of him seemed to be in a good mood, he asked tentatively, "...can your fleet's artillery support really only last two days? Although our army is making good progress at present, the weather is really bad after all. Tomorrow Whether it can break into the center of Mumbai is still unknown. Can you please stay in the nearby waters for a while?”
"...The main force of our fleet can bombard the shore for two consecutive days in Mumbai Port and provide fire support to your army. This is already the limit, Mr. Bose." Miss Musashi, who had wheat-colored skin, put down the new banknotes in her hand and said A piece of news that left Boss with mixed feelings, "...to be honest, according to intelligence, the U.S. Pacific Fleet has been making frequent movements recently, and it seems that it is once again heading westward in a large scale, with The empire's intention for a decisive battle. Therefore, after completing the mission of bombarding Bombay, the fleet will leave the Indian Ocean and return east to the Truk anchorage to prepare for the next decisive battle against the United States. At the same time, in order to shrink the front, the empire will move to Ceylon Island and other places. The garrison will be withdrawn one after another, and the affairs on the Indian side will be entrusted to friendly people headed by you..."