Chapter Fifteen: The True Enemy

  Santos took over as Prime Minister of the Provisional Government of India, both unexpectedly and logically.

  When the sun rose again, all those who still had a glimmer of hope that the Indo-Pakistani crisis could be resolved through talks were disappointed. At this time, there was no Indian who wanted to solve the problem by resorting to war more than Santos, and there was no Indian who was more capable of involving India in war than Santos.

  After putting down the microphone, Ji Youguo let out a sigh of relief.

  "Have we reached an agreement?"

  Ji Youguo nodded, glancing back at Peng Maobang who looked anxious. "The five permanent members of the UN have reached an agreement and will make a last-ditch effort through the United Nations. Additionally, the Russian President's special envoy will fly to New Delhi tomorrow in an attempt to turn the tide. The US President will also send a special envoy to try to resolve the crisis."

  "Probably not to resolve the crisis?" Peng Maobang's expression became even more solemn.

  "The United States will neither make an effort to resolve the crisis nor make any commitment to India at the risk of being drawn into war." Ji Youguo sat down in his chair, "It can be certain that both Russia and the United States will put pressure on India, and Britain and France will also put pressure on India. Huang Guowei flew from Islamabad to New Delhi in the afternoon, and even if India takes the initiative to go to war with Pakistan under the joint pressure of the five nuclear powers, it will not rashly use nuclear weapons."

  Hearing this, Peng Maobang finally let out a sigh of relief.

  The most pressing issue at the moment is whether India will use nuclear weapons in the war. Ji Youguo has made a commitment to Sharif, stabilizing Pakistan and making Sharif promise not to use nuclear weapons until the capital is directly threatened. If India does not use nuclear weapons in the war, no matter how intense the Indo-Pakistani War becomes, it will only be a local war and will not pose a threat to global security.

  "But... " After a moment's thought, Peng Maobang said with great concern, "Will it work?"

  "Do you think the US wants to see India drop nuclear bombs?" Ji Youguo smiled faintly and said, "Nuclear weapons are sticks used to scare tigers, not sticks used to hit tigers. In the 70 years since the war, the US has been able to manipulate Japan at will, becoming the world's only superpower, precisely because it dropped two atomic bombs on Japan and is the only country in the world that has used nuclear weapons in war. If India breaks the US monopoly, it would cause the global order established by the US after the war to collapse, posing a threat to its hegemonic status. Given our attitude towards Russia and several countries that have crossed the nuclear threshold, the US will definitely put pressure on India, making it clear that if India uses nuclear weapons in war, it will lose the support of the Western world. Without the support of the Western world, even with many more nuclear weapons, India would still be a third-rate country."

  After hearing Ji Youguo finish speaking, Peng Maobang let out a sigh of relief once again.

  "Don't worry, Santos is a typical pro-Western element, no matter how arrogant he is, he has to consider the will of his master. And we have many more and bigger sticks in our hands than India does, Pakistan also has several sticks. As long as we control the scale of the war and don't push India to desperation, India won't use nuclear weapons, at least not before its own territory is directly threatened."

  "In this way, we can only focus on the ocean battlefield."

  "Isn't this exactly what we planned?"

  Peng Maobang nodded and said: "In the next three or four days, India will create a border conflict and then declare war..."

  "We won't declare war." Ji Youguo stroked his chin and said, "If we declare war, it would be a full-scale war between nations. This crisis came too suddenly, India is not fully prepared for a full-scale war. Even if India could defeat Pakistan in a full-scale war, or even eliminate Pakistan, India would have to pay a heavy price that would be difficult to bear. India will launch a border counterattack, and even an anti-terrorist operation without declaring war, and control the scale of the war, striving to destroy Pakistan's air force within two to three days, and crush the enemy's combat effectiveness within a week. The ground war will mainly focus on the Kashmir region, aiming to annihilate the main combat forces of the Pakistani army. When Pakistan is unable to resist, someone will come forward to mediate, and India will take advantage of the situation to end the war with a ceasefire."

  "It definitely won't turn out like this."

  Ji Youguo nodded and said, "Let's get ready. Once the war breaks out, we are no longer spectators. The final outcome depends on the performance of the Republican Army."

  "I'll go back and deploy immediately, I'll give you a reply early tomorrow"

  After leaving the Presidential Palace, Peng Mau-bang went straight back to the General Staff Headquarters.

  Before the outbreak of the crisis, the General Staff had drafted dozens of operational plans for a war between India and Pakistan, including Chinese military intervention. After Ji Youguo made his decision, the General Staff only needed to select one of the most suitable operational plans, revise the details according to the actual situation, and obtain a complete operational plan.

  Upon returning to the General Staff Headquarters, Peng Maobang immediately convened a campaign planning meeting.

  The person in charge of introducing the campaign deployment is Colonel You Hongjun, Director of the Operations Plan Department.

  "The combat operations will be divided into three directions, the southern battlefield led by the Navy, and the eastern and western battlefields led by the Army and Air Force.

  Yu Hongjun is a senior staff officer responsible for campaign planning, also an old subordinate of Peng Maobang. The original plan of this operation was drafted and formulated by him.

  "The main battlefield is in the south, focusing on attacking India's naval military strength. We will form a special mixed fleet from the South Sea Fleet, consisting of four air defense destroyers, four multi-purpose destroyers, and six multi-purpose frigates, with two large comprehensive supply ships providing logistical support. In addition, we will also draw two attack nuclear submarines from the East Sea Fleet, together with two attack nuclear submarines and four conventional submarines from the South Sea Fleet to form a submarine group. The 'Swordfish' number will execute combat missions independently.

  The two heavy fighter aviation regiments of the Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Test Force will be stationed in Sanya, with eight large tanker aircraft from the Air Force providing logistical support.

  In the operation, submarines are the main force, and the 'Swordfish' is the main force among them. The main task of the special mixed fleet is to go to the Arabian Sea, lift India's naval blockade on Pakistan, and protect our sea transportation routes in the Indian Ocean."

  Peng Maobang listened while smoking a cigarette, occasionally glancing at Admiral Hua Ding'an.

  Fighting at sea, Peng Maobang is not good at it, because he is a general of the land army. From the expression of Hua Ding'an, the major general in charge of naval warfare planning, this plan has been approved by him and is feasible.

  "The eastern battlefield will play a role in pinning down the enemy, and in the later stages of the war, we will decide whether to launch an active attack to recover the southern Tibet region. We will deploy one infantry division and two mountain infantry brigades on the eastern battlefield, as well as two fighter aviation divisions.

  Yu Hongjun picked up his command baton and pointed to the northwest end of the sand table. "The western battlefield is the main land battlefield, where we will deploy three mountain infantry brigades, one airborne assault brigade, and one land-based assault brigade. The army's experimental troops will also be deployed here.

  In the early stages of the war, our primary strategy will be defensive, combined with local counterattacks to pin down the Indian Army's right-wing attack forces and alleviate pressure on Pakistan's left-wing defense lines. If the situation develops unfavorably for us, we will launch a rapid deep thrust in this direction, aiming to cut off the logistical supply lines of the Indian right-wing army and join forces with the Pakistani Army to annihilate the Indian right-wing attack troops and disrupt India's offensive operations in Kashmir."

  "Are four battalions enough?" Peng Maobang asked the first question.

  "Our main tactics are local counterattacks and rapid thrusts, the mountainous terrain of Kashmir is not suitable for large-scale warfare, limited troops are more conducive to logistical support."

  Peng Maobang nodded slightly. "What about the Air Force?"

  "The Air Force will deploy five fighter aviation divisions and one support aviation regiment in this direction." You Hongjun quickly wiped away the sweat on his forehead, he had actually overlooked such an important issue. "In addition, we will deploy three fighter aviation divisions and two rapid reaction brigades as reserve troops in the rear."

  "Can logistics support keep up with combat needs?" Peng Maobang asked the most critical question.

  Soldiers and horses have not moved, but grain and fodder have gone first. Modern warfare has higher requirements for logistics, and if the logistics guarantee cannot keep up, no matter how many troops there are, they will be useless.

  "If large-scale combat operations are concluded within a month, the combat supplies we have stockpiled at the front line will be sufficient to meet the needs of combat. We have also drawn three logistical support units from Lanzhou Military Region and Sichuan Military Region. The Air Force will concentrate 120 large and medium-sized transport aircraft, while the Army Aviation will dispatch 450 transport helicopters to provide support for frontline troops."

  "It seems we've dug up all the old stuff." Peng Maobang smiled slightly and asked his final question. "According to our campaign plan, and our expectations, how long will the war last?"

  You Hongjun hesitated for a moment before saying, "At the earliest twenty days, at most three months. The speed or slowness depends mainly on the development of the southern battlefield. As long as we heavily damage the Indian Navy, India will beg for peace."

  "We can't afford to be complacent and underestimate the enemy." Peng Maobang knocked on the table, stood up, and swept his eyes across the high-level staff in the room. "I can understand your thoughts, because during the last external war, you were just a few years old, completely unaware of the cruelty and unpredictability of war. But I will not allow anyone to be complacent and underestimate the enemy, nor will I tolerate deliberate mistakes. We have not fought for over 20 years, while the Indian army is always on high alert. In this battle, we must not only win but also achieve a brilliant victory. What we need to defeat is not just India, but also our own shortcomings and weaknesses. If we cannot forge an elite army through this war, even if we win, we will still be losers. From now on, you all must remember that our greatest enemy is ourselves. If we can't correct our attitude and take the enemy seriously, we will lose miserably!"

  Peng Maobang's words were powerful and sonorous, every word like a heavy hammer, striking the hearts of everyone present.

  Senior staff officers all knew that Peng Maobang was a hero in the counterattack on the southern border, and he was a warrior who crawled out of the cat's ear cave. In their minds, Peng Maobang was not only a leader but also a teacher and commander.

  After Peng Maobang sat back down, the senior staff began to introduce the detailed parts of the battle plan one by one.

  At dawn, a complete battle plan was already presented in front of Peng Maobang.

  ****

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