Major General Yu Cen did not feel the slightest nervousness after receiving the news to prepare for combat on October 7, nor did his emotions fluctuate particularly. For the past six months, the Assam region had been preparing to annihilate the opposing British forces in the Siliguri Corridor. Up to now, all preparations had been completed, and only a single order was remaining. Now that the order had come, Yu Cen only felt a long-lost sense of relief.

The current Burma Theater commanded three Army Groups. The 4th Army Group was located in the Assam region, the 5th Army Group in the Yangon region, and the 6th Army Group on the border. Although the 6th Army Group had to guard a long border line, the 6th Army Group faced mountain ranges and the 'Rain Pole', so the pressure was actually the lowest.

Major General Yu Cen was the Division Commander of the 1st Division, 64th Corps, under the 4th Army Group. Arriving at the headquarters, other Corps Commanders and Division Commanders had already arrived. The Chief of Staff first summarized the recent Air Force reconnaissance reports for the commanders to see. Although land battles had ceased for several months, the Chinese and British Air Forces were still fighting. The Chinese Air Force firmly controlled the sky over the Siliguri Corridor and the nearby 100 kilometers. The British forces had launched air attacks several times attempting to regain air superiority, but ultimately could only be forced to become combat achievements for the Chinese Air Force.

The commanders had long viewed various photos and maps of the British defense line countless times; what everyone focused on was whether Britain had made adjustments to the defense line. After confirming no such changes had occurred, Yu Cen's Corps Commander suggested to the Commander: "Why don't we start the war immediately? Waiting longer, I fear we might suddenly encounter some changes."

The Army Group was not a permanent establishment of the Republic National Defense Force; Army Groups were formed during wartime according to battlefield needs. Seeing everyone's fighting spirit was high, the Commander of the 4th Army Group could only sigh: "I would like to, but Commander Zhong hasn't returned yet. At least wait until he arrives here, then we will make the request to him."

The generals felt this made sense, so they could only agree. After the meeting disbanded, all units began making combat preparations. The generals thought Zhong Yifu would return after the 10th, but they didn't expect Zhong Yifu to actually arrive in Assam at noon on the 9th. He held a meeting as soon as he got off the plane. In the afternoon, the Corps Commanders and Division Commanders gathered again.

This time, the Chief of Staff of the 4th Army Group personally reported the campaign plan to Zhong Yifu. The British defense line in the Siliguri Corridor belonged to the standard British defense system during the Great War in Europe. The entire defense line was divided into three lines of defense, and each line of defense was further divided into several defensive positions. The Siliguri defense line was 30 kilometers long with a depth of over 15 kilometers.

The terrain outside the Siliguri Corridor was relatively flat, suitable for constructing trench warfare positions similar to those in the Great War in Europe. The British army applied their experience from the Great War here. Minefields, barbed wire, bunkers, machine gun positions, and heavy artillery groups behind the defense line. Just analyzing from the photos, one felt that if a heavy troop attack was launched, the Siliguri Corridor defense line would be another meat grinder.

The Chief of Staff of the 4th Army Group looked solemn as he explained the initial breakthrough force of the campaign to Zhong Yifu, "Commander Zhong, we will use an armored unit composed of 103 tanks as the vanguard to guide our infantry into the British defense line. As long as the first layer of the defense line is penetrated by us, we can ensure the battle continues."

Zhong Yifu looked serious; anxiety seemed about to rise in his heart, yet there was always some distance from true anxiety. Using armored clusters to break through enemy field fortifications was a future warfare method proposed by He Rui. As He Rui's subordinate and student, having followed He Rui from one victory to another, even if Zhong Yifu felt pressure, he could not question He Rui.

Of course, psychological effect was only one part of it. Tanks were first invented by Britain during the Great War in Europe, followed by France, Germany, and other countries, and indeed played a role when facing trench warfare. Zhong Yifu did not go to the front line when fighting Japan in the Northeast, so he didn't have the chance to personally witness the Japanese army attacking the Northeast Army's positions with tanks. Judging from subsequent battle reports and specialized research results, the Japanese infantry tactics were backward, so tank application was limited by Japanese infantry tactics and appeared very clumsy. If those tanks were in the hands of the Northeast Army, they would definitely have exerted greater power, perhaps even reversing the situation on the battlefield.

Moreover, the quantity of tanks committed by the Japanese army was small. According to He Rui's plan for future armored warfare, facing a solid defense line, National Defense Force infantry would have to pay a huge price to storm enemy positions; the role of armored troops was to make that price as small as possible. Therefore, armored troops had to be used in concentration to achieve a breakthrough against the enemy defense line, opening a path for National Defense Force infantry to cut into enemy positions.

At this point, there was nothing more to say. Whether it's a mule or a horse, bring it out for a walk.

After listening to the campaign report, Zhong Yifu answered immediately: "I will take full responsibility. When can the 4th Army Group start the attack?"

"Noon tomorrow at the earliest," the Commander of the 4th Army Group answered immediately.

Zhong Yifu didn't even think and answered immediately: "Noon is not suitable. According to meteorological observations, how is the weather tomorrow and the day after?"

The Chief of Staff of the 4th Army Group answered immediately: "According to meteorological observations, tomorrow and the day after should be sunny. And the rainy season has ended, ground conditions are passable."

Zhong Yifu immediately ordered the Chief of Staff: "Prepare to record!"

Several staff officers responsible for recording combat orders came over immediately. When they were ready, Zhong Yifu stood up, "Burma Theater Command, Order dated October 10, 1926. Copy to Military Commission, and various units of the 4th Army Group, convey to regiment level. Top Secret.

According to Operational Plan No. 015 already formulated by the 4th Army Group, the Burma Theater Command orders the 55th, 58th, 60th, 61st, 64th, and 65th Corps under the 4th Army Group to launch an attack on the British Siliguri Corridor defense line in the early morning of October 12, 1926.

The purpose of this operation is to annihilate the British forces on the British Siliguri Corridor defense line. After completing this operational objective, the 4th Army Group is not to launch further attacks unless British reinforcements are encountered arriving quickly at the battle line.

Among them, the 3rd Division of the 55th Corps and the 1st Division of the 65th Corps are responsible for launching feint attacks from the junction of the British Siliguri Corridor defense line and the mountainous area, creating the illusion that our army is attempting to bypass the British defense line and enter the West Bengal region behind the British defense line for harassment raids. These two units may launch attacks in advance.

Afterwards, the 58th Corps and 64th Corps will launch a surprise attack on the British army under the guidance of armored units. The 55th, 60th, 61st, and 65th Corps will use traditional infantry offensive methods to attack. Each unit need not coordinate with or wait for other units; launch attacks based on your own unit.

Once a breakthrough is completed, each unit must reserve troops for continued infiltration to ensure the troops can sustain the attack. The attack continues until the British defense line is thoroughly broken, then begin counter-encirclement.

..."

As soon as Yu Cen returned to his unit, he immediately began making preparations. The first preparation was undoubtedly to first break through the minefield laid by the British army. Currently, means to deal with minefields included demining and marking.

Demining could be done by manual demining or direct firepower clearing, but both methods easily attracted British attention. Another method was for engineers to plant warning signs in the passage, usually small flags.

Yu Cen decided that in addition to these two means, he would also adopt earthwork operations to make the distance to the enemy defense line closer when the troops were exposed in front of the British defense line as much as possible.

These were all plans that had been planned many times long ago, including on-site detection which had already been completed.

On the morning of October 11, the two units feigning to bypass the British defense line were 'unsurprisingly' discovered by the British army. As the British army began shelling, the 4th Army Group also began returning artillery fire.

Not only that, the Chinese Air Force also carried out bombing on British artillery. Compared to artillery dueling blindly, with the Air Force directly observing and guiding from high altitude, the accuracy of Chinese artillery was much higher. While bombing and guiding artillery fire, the Chinese Air Force suddenly discovered thick smoke appearing on the British artillery positions.

The Air Force initially thought this was some British artillery being hit. However, as the smoke spread and gradually hid the figures of the British artillery, the Chinese Air Force had to conclude that this was a method used by British artillery to screen Chinese Air Force observation.

Releasing smoke was originally a traditional craft of the British Navy. Compared to the wind on the sea and the distance of several kilometers often between two warships of the same unit, the effect of releasing smoke on land was much better. With clouds of thick smoke on the positions, the Air Force's observation ability was indeed greatly affected.

The intelligence was urgently reported up, and the Army Group Command's answer was simple, "Continue to execute orders according to plan."

At 23:00 on October 11, after arranging a piece of work, Yu Cen slept fully clothed on his camp bed. After nearly two days of sleepless work, he was indeed tired. The subsequent battle would also require Yu Cen to consume a large amount of energy. Moreover, Yu Cen also wanted to reassure the troops through his own actions that this battle was not that dangerous.

At this time, the artillery of both sides, which had bombarded all day, fell silent. The battlefield was quiet, as if under the darkness was just a peaceful land.