Taking an enemy by surprise confers a significant tactical advantage in war, and the invasion inflicted an immense psychological and political shock on India that greatly magnified the initial military advances that China achieved. China’s blitzkrieg created a defeatist mindset in India, forcing its army to retreat to defensive positions.
意外的袭击使中国在战争中获得显著的战略优势，入侵给印度造成了巨大的心理及政治打击，从而夸大了中国最初所取得的军事进展。这种“闪电战”引发了印度人的失败主义心态，从而使得印度的军队后退到防守位置。出于对未知后果的恐惧，即便在中国先头部队缺乏有效空中掩护的情况下，印度依然放弃使用空军力量。