diymy Chapter 740 Taking Dhaka?
Chapter 740 Taking Dhaka?
Lin Huaiyuan continued, "The 1st Marine Division is ready. Five thousand men and twenty-four landing ships are ready to depart at any time."
Li Te finally put down his binoculars and looked at him.
"Have the British discovered us?"
"Probably not. Our fleet has maintained radio silence, and our reconnaissance planes have been flying overhead at high altitudes. The British probably thought we were a merchant convoy."
Li Te sneered.
"A merchant fleet? A merchant fleet with more than forty warships?"
He turned to look at the increasingly clear coastline.
"Order all ships to prepare for battle. Landing ships, begin launching boats."
The order was given, and the signal lights on the Zhenyuan began to flash. One landing ship after another sailed out from beside the mother ship and rushed toward the coastline.
The soldiers of the 1st Marine Division huddled inside the landing ship, rifles in hand, silent. Waves crashed against the bow, splashing water everywhere. Some were seasick and vomited on the gunwale. A comrade patted him on the back and handed him a water bottle.
A young soldier asked the veteran next to him, "Squad leader, is this our first amphibious landing operation?"
The veteran glanced at him and lit a cigarette.
"First time? This is my third time."
The young soldier's eyes lit up: "Where were the first two times?"
The veteran exhaled a puff of smoke.
"The first two training sessions."
He paused.
"Kid, remember this: the worst thing in a landing operation isn't the enemy, it's nervousness. If you get nervous, your hands will shake, and you'll miss your shots. If you miss, you're dead."
The young soldier nodded vigorously, but his hands were still shaking.
The landing ship jolted violently and ran aground on the beach.
The hatch slammed shut.
In that instant, seawater rushed in, icy cold, reaching above my ankles, above my knees, above my thighs.
"Rush!"
The soldiers jumped into the sea, guns in hand, and rushed toward the beach.
On the shore, a British sentry had just spotted movement on the sea. He hesitated for three seconds, then turned and ran, shouting, "Enemy! The enemy has landed!"
But his shouts were quickly drowned out by the gunfire.
Machine guns on the landing ship began firing, bullets striking the rocks on the shore and sending up shards of rock. Mortars began shelling, shells landing near the British fortifications and exploding into plumes of smoke.
Soldiers from the 1st Marine Division rushed onto the beach, lay prone on the ground, and fired their guns at the shore.
A British soldier poked his head out of the trench, raised his gun, and was hit in the forehead by a bullet, falling backward.
Another British soldier tried to set up a machine gun, but before he could pull the trigger, he was blown away by a mortar shell.
The battle ended faster than expected.
Karachi's garrison consisted of only one company, a little over a hundred men. Faced with a landing force of five thousand, they couldn't even hold out for ten minutes. Some died in battle, some surrendered, and some threw down their guns and ran into the city.
At 8:00 a.m. sharp, the golden dragon flag of Lanfang was raised in Karachi Port.
Li Te stepped off the landing ship and onto the land of Karachi.
He looked around—the docks were intact, the warehouses were intact, the port facilities were intact. The British hadn't even had time to sabotage them.
Chief of Staff Lin Huaiyuan walked over and handed over a telegram.
"General, Division Commander Wang Guojian called: Grad has been captured and is currently resting. Division Commander Yang Guoyan called: Mokran Port is under attack and is expected to be captured this afternoon."
Li Te took the telegram, read it, and then nodded.
"Reply to Wang Guojian: Karachi has been captured. Tell him to advance eastward with peace of mind; we've secured his rear."
Lin Huaiyuan nodded and turned to relay the order.
Li Te continued to look at the well-maintained port facilities.
In the distance, the residents of Karachi City stood by the roadside, watching the soldiers in unfamiliar uniforms with curiosity. Some were afraid and hid inside their houses, too afraid to come out. Others stood at their doorways, peeking out furtively. A few bolder children ran behind the column, shouting as they went.
Looking at the children, Li Te suddenly thought of his own son.
My son is seven years old and goes to school in Dubai. I don't know what he's doing now.
He shook his head, dismissing the thought.
Now is not the time to be homesick.
He turned to the officer beside him and said, "Order all units to advance into the city after capturing the port. Eliminate any resistance encountered. But do not harass the civilians."
The officer saluted: "Yes, sir!"
The 1st Marine Division began its advance towards the city of Karachi.
Shops along the street were closed, windows shut tight. Occasionally, a few locals would peek out, glance inside, and then quickly retreat back inside. A few gunshots rang out in the distance, then silence fell again.
A soldier asked his squad leader, "Squad leader, have we captured it?"
The class monitor nodded.
"We've taken it."
The soldier scratched his head: "That easy?"
The squad leader looked at him and suddenly smiled.
"Easy? Kid, do you know how long we prepared? Three months. Three months of landing training, three months of firepower preparation, three months of reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. It's easy now because it wasn't easy before."
He patted the soldier on the shoulder.
"Let's go, let's keep going."
At 2 PM, the entire city of Karachi was occupied.
One hundred and twenty-three British soldiers were killed and forty-seven were captured. On the Lanfang side, eleven were killed and twenty-three were wounded.
Li Te stood in front of the former British colonial government office building, watching the British flag being lowered and the Lanfang Golden Dragon Flag being raised.
He suddenly remembered a question.
The British stayed in India for two hundred years. Two hundred years, and it's over just like that?
He shook his head.
Not yet. India is too big, and the British are still there. There are still 200,000 British troops in Dhaka and eight capital ships in Mumbai. It will take time to take over the whole of India.
But at least, Lanfang gained a foothold in India.
He turned and walked into the office building.
The new command post is here.
February 11, Myanmar-India border.
The sun cannot shine into the jungle.
The dense tropical rainforest blocked out the sun, with only a few rays filtering through the leaves and casting dappled shadows on the ground. A damp, putrid stench permeated the air—the smell of rotting leaves, moldy wood, and the carcass of some unknown animal.
Mosquitoes buzzed around, leaving me covered in bites. Leeches fell from trees and burrowed into my collar to suck my blood. The soil beneath my feet was as soft as a swamp, making each step a struggle.
Kazuo Yamamoto stood under a huge banyan tree, holding up binoculars and looking at the dense, impenetrable green expanse in front of him.
I can't see anything. Only trees, trees, and more trees.
Chief of Staff Kenta Doihara walked over, soaked to the bone, his face red and swollen from mosquito bites. He held a reconnaissance report in his hand, his expression grave.
"General, scouts report that the outer defenses of Dhaka are 30 kilometers ahead. The British have been building fortifications there for three months, and there are at least 50,000 men guarding it."
Kazuo Yamamoto remained silent.
Kenjiro Doihara continued, "The jungle was full of bunkers, minefields, and traps. The British cut down the trees and set up machine guns in the open areas. Our men couldn't deploy at all."