"I will try to convince the Army Headquarters to give the order to retreat. ”
Major General Niranjan Prashad, commander of the 4th Division of the 4th Army of the Indian Army, should decisively put forward his opinions and suggestions in the face of a national leader like Nehru.
However, under Nehru's gaze, Kaul lowered his head. He was very conflicted, because he knew that the proposal he was about to make could have a major impact on the "Livorno Plan".
Kaul was anxious, and he pondered what to say. Should he admit that there was a major problem with the plan he had previously made? Should the resignation of the brigade commander be revealed?
Should there be any mention of bad weather, the lack of logistical supplies and the pleas of Division Commander Prashad? Or should he tell about the fortified fortifications and reinforcements of the squadron?
Kaul, however, didn't know how to speak. Unexpectedly, Nehru interrupted him and asked eagerly, "My mountain eagle, how is the 'Livorno Project' going?"
Can you attack the day after tomorrow? ”
Nehru was intoxicated before Kaul answered, and he danced and said: "Imagine how joyful and cheering our people must have been when the news of the victory reached New Delhi!"
They will forget about poverty and hunger, go out into the streets hand in hand, beat cowhide drums, shake wind chimes, and dance colorful katakari dances, and I will be forever grateful to you. ”
Kaul looked up, and through the glow of the fireplace he saw Nehru's eyes filled with tears of joy. Kaul saw Nehru's picture as beautiful as the Milky Way in the night sky, and while he felt heavy about the responsibility of changing India's destiny on his shoulders, he could not allow Nehru to indulge in such fantasies.
He realized that the reality of the situation on the front could no longer be ignored by Nehru and that he had to be made to see the gravity of reality. Kaul whispered: "Uncle, there are many difficulties in carrying out the 'Livorno Plan', and the original date of the attack may have to be postponed for quite a long time. ”
Hearing Kaul's words, Nehru suddenly came to his senses, and he asked suspiciously, "Why?" In the face of Nehru's panic, Kaul listed four major difficulties word by word: first, the harsh climate of the alpine snowfield, the Indian army troops could not reach the designated position on time; Second, the Indian soldiers at the forward posts did not have enough warm clothing, nor enough food and ammunition, and the logistics were very poor; the third is that the heavy ** cannot be transported to the mountain; Fourth, there are difficulties in coordination within the Indian army.
Lieutenant General Kaul faced three major problems: First, due to the unclear affiliation, Lieutenant General Lipson openly ignored Kaul and secretly opposed Kaul everywhere. Second, neither the commander of the 33rd Army, Lieutenant General Singh, nor the brigade commander of Dalvi, seriously carried out Kaul's orders.
Third, Kaul, the commander of the Fourth Army, is just an empty shelf, and not a single soldier can be transferred. Nehru feigned uneasiness and asked, "Is there such a thing?" In fact, Nehru himself knew this, because Kaul's Fourth Army was an empty shelf from the beginning.
In order to carry out the Livorno operation as soon as possible, Nehru found a man who did not have any doubts about the battle plan, that is, Chief of Staff Kaul, who had never led troops to command troops in battle, as the commander of the Fourth Army.
Although Kaul didn't know these facts, he didn't want to make any mistakes in front of this opportunity to become famous. Therefore, when talking about the fourth difficulty, Kaul said with trepidation: "The squadron is clearly prepared for our attack.
Will they rally forces to fight back? Even if we were able to break through their defenses, we would not be able to annihilate their main forces. Once the war starts, if they fight back, the consequences will be very serious. ”
Kaul's statement proved to be correct. Judging by the situation in the vicinity of the Kejielang River, if the Indian army carried out any river crossing operation, the reaction of the squadron would go beyond the Kejielang River line.
Dalvi's 7th Brigade was in fact in an extremely dangerous situation, and it was wise to stop its advance and withdraw to the Hadong Pass in the rear. Kaul spoke his confusion without reservation, and suddenly felt much more relaxed.
In response to Kaul's question, Nehru stood up and paced slowly around the living room. After a short period of thought, Nehru said to Kaul earnestly: "Well, my mountain eagle, you can rest assured that I will do my best to help you solve your problem." ”
Then, Nehru announced: "Tomorrow I will appoint you as the commander of the Northeast Military Region, responsible for the unified command of the border forces, let Lieutenant General Singh go to Kashmir, and let Lieutenant General Repsen take a temporary leave."
As for logistics, I will talk to Menon and ask him to do his best to solve it. I will transfer all the *** and transport planes to be delivered by the United States and the Soviet Union to you. ”
Nehru insisted that there was no need to worry too much about the counterattack of the squadron. With China's domestic contradictions and its strategic focus in the east, there is no reason why and it will not mobilize heavy troops to seize the deserted Gobi and snow-capped mountains.
Nehru stressed that the Livorno Plan must be implemented, otherwise our prestige will be lost and we will fall. As the commander-in-chief of the war, you should show your courage and intelligence, and the date of the attack is up to you.
Snow began to fall in the Himalayas in late October, and the long winter was just around the corner, and it was clear that Nehru would not have agreed to take half a year to prepare for it.
Kaul did not want to miss this opportunity and decided to launch an offensive on all fronts on 20 October, and until then he made all preparations to dedicate the final victory to Nehru.
Nehru nodded in satisfaction and applauded Kaul's decision.
In the view of Brigade Commander Dalvi and Division Commander Prashad, the 7th Brigade could only take on the responsibility of the offensive if more troops were deployed. However, this required a month's worth of food for the 7th Brigade, a field artillery battalion and enough shells, as well as a large amount of light and heavy machine gun and mortar ammunition.
These supplies add up to 580 tons, and it is simply impossible to complete the preparation of the supplies in a few days by relying on airplanes to airdrop them in unreliable places. Unfortunately, Kaul was overly optimistic and did not adhere to the correct opinion, but still took the risk of launching an attack, laying the groundwork for the later crushing defeat of the Indian army.