bestfiction Chapter 557 This battle concerns the survival of our armored regiment. The air force battalion must
Chapter 557 This battle concerns the survival of our armored regiment. The air force battalion must
At 12:42 noon, 156 fighter planes from the Zhaojiayu base reached the sky above Erchaling, and the air force battalion commander Liu Haishan immediately used the airborne radio to contact Lin Zhenhua. At this time, the armored regiment was less than nine miles away from Erchaling, and the communication between the two sides was very smooth and was not affected by the mountains on both sides.
"College student, my name is Liu Haishan. The air force battalion has arrived above Erchaling. Please give the order to attack!" Liu Haishan asked with a serious face.
Lin Zhenhua couldn't help but tighten his left hand holding the intercom, and said with some worry: "Captain Liu, before the attack, I have a few more words of advice. The Fat Baby Ground Attack Aircraft Squadron is responsible for suppressing the firepower of the Japanese ground forces, the bomber unit is responsible for blowing up the Japanese concrete anti-tank piles first, and then blowing up the Japanese anti-tank trenches, and the fighter unit is responsible for air alert to block the Japanese aviation reinforcements."
"This battle concerns the life and death of our armored regiment. No matter how great the cost, you must hold on. Before I give the order to retreat, no fighter plane is allowed to leave the battlefield in advance!"
"It is now 12:46 noon. The attack will start at 12:52. We will arrive at Erchaling around 12:58. You must launch a bombing operation against the devils before the A Regiment arrives."
Liu Haishan remembered Lin Zhenhua's instructions and was ready to sacrifice his life for the cause. He replied in a firm tone: "College students, all the pilots in our air force battalion are ready to sacrifice. No matter what the cost, we must help the armored regiment to withdraw smoothly to the base."
After expressing his determination, Liu Haishan ended the communication between the two parties, tuned the radio, connected to the communication network of the entire fleet, and ordered excitedly: "The college students have just given us the order to attack. I emphasize again the mission this time. The fighter unit is responsible for escorting the fleet. At the same time, two squadrons of fighters must be dispatched to suppress the firepower of the Japanese ground forces to reduce the pressure on the armored regiment to break through."
"The bomber units will focus on bombing the Japanese anti-tank piles and anti-tank trenches, followed by the Japanese garrison positions, and finally the Japanese artillery positions hidden in the mountains."
"The ground attack aircraft unit has two main tasks. The first is to destroy the Japanese heavy artillery, and the second is to suppress the Japanese ground force firepower. You will be the main force to cover the armored regiment's breakthrough!"
"Launch the attack in three minutes. All units must immediately adjust the attitude and heading of their fighter planes. No matter what the cost, we must win this air battle!"
As soon as the independent regiment's air force battalion arrived, Yoshihara Jiro immediately notified the Taiyuan Command of the news. Upon learning the news, Yoshio Shinozuka quickly contacted the 17th and 18th Flying Divisions and demanded that they must arrive at the battlefield within half an hour and stop the armored regiment's breakout no matter what the cost.
"Your Excellency the Brigade Commander, we have just received an urgent telegram from the headquarters. The 17th and 18th Aviation Divisions will arrive at Erchaling in 25 minutes. The headquarters requires us to intercept the enemy armored regiment's breakout at all costs!" Communications staff officer Jiro Onogawa reported anxiously.
Yoshihara Jiro confidently gave the order: "Yoshi! Order all troops to strictly defend their positions and not to retreat a single step. Those who disobey the order will be subject to military law!"
A hundred kilometers away, Fujiwara Ichiro and Sato Ichiro had very gloomy expressions on their faces after learning about the situation on the front line. The disbanding of the 16th Flying Division had a great impact on Sato Ichiro. He never dreamed that he would become the biggest loser. He wanted to provoke infighting between the Army and Navy Air Forces, but because of the discovery of the Shuiquan Oil Field, the Japanese Army and Navy had to compromise. If it weren't for the face of the Navy Air Force, I'm afraid Sato Ichiro might really be sent to the most tragic battlefield to be cannon fodder.
It is precisely because of this that Ichiro Sato felt a huge crisis. He had to prove to the Navy Department that he, Ichiro Sato, was not an insignificant little character and that he was worth the Navy Department's huge price to pay to protect him.
In order to wash away the past shame, Ichiro Sato did not let his naval aviation force preserve its strength. He directly took out his most elite pilots and planned to teach the independent regiment air force battalion a good lesson.
"Miura-kun, this battle is the battle for the survival of our 17th Flying Division. We need to prove the strength of our naval aviation to the headquarters and tell them clearly that our naval aviation is stronger than the army aviation. I don't care how your subordinates fight this battle. I have only one request for you, that is to destroy the tanks and armored vehicles of the enemy armored regiment, as well as their heavy artillery at all costs. This is our biggest goal at the moment."
Miura Heiichiro replied excitedly, "Your Excellency, the division commander, I have been waiting for this day to come. In previous air combat operations, we only dispatched a very small number of pilots, and most of them were flight trainees. Otherwise, our casualties would not be so great. This time I want to restore the reputation of our naval aviation force."
The same conversation also happened in the 18th Air Division. Compared with the confident Sato Ichiro, Fujiwara Ichiro was full of worry. He had fought many air battles with the Air Force Battalion and knew that the strength of the Air Force Battalion was not weaker than that of his airmen. On the battlefield, the strong ones were afraid of the weak ones and the desperate ones. The Air Force Battalion demonstrated this point. If it was a competition of driving skills, there was really no way to compare with the little devils. The only thing they could do was to fight the little devils desperately. Only in this way could they beat the master with random punches.
"Nagata-kun, this interception operation will be extremely brutal. Many of our pilots are cowards. They simply don't have the courage to fight to the death for the empire. The Bushido spirit has little effect on most of them. These people are more shrewd than each other."
"In the past, I could turn a blind eye, but this time I really can't let them fool me. This battle is the first battle of my 17th and 18th Aviation Divisions. If we can't achieve a good result, my position as the division commander will not be stable at all. If things go wrong, new and old accounts will be settled together. By then, even if I want to return to the mainland and transfer to the reserve, it will become a luxury. I guess I will be sent to the most tragic battlefield to be used as cannon fodder."
"In order to save my own life and not to implicate my family back home, I decided to fight to the death. Immediately give orders to each squadron, asking them to be prepared to die together with the enemy. If anyone tries to play tricks like before, don't blame me for being ruthless. Not only will I punish him by military law, but I will also take action against his family back home. Let them choose one of the two. Anyone who dares to disobey orders will be killed!" Fujiwara Ichiro gave the order with a gloomy face.
In the past, Colonel Nagata would have jumped out to persuade them, but now he had no intention of persuading them. Because the past record was too embarrassing to bring out, in order to wash away the previous shame, it was indeed time for a do-or-die battle.
"Fujiwara-kun, I will give orders to all squadrons right now, and have them strictly follow the combat missions. If anyone dares to fish in troubled waters like before, I will never let them off lightly, and I will not plead for them. If we don't fight well in this battle, our 18th Flying Division will become a laughing stock. We must restore the glory of our Army Aviation Corps and take back everything we have lost."
Colonel Nagata knew that Fujino Ichiro had been forced into a dead end. The harsh telegram that Shinozuka Yoshio had just sent did not give the 18th Aircraft Division any face, which showed how disappointed Shinozuka Yoshio was with them. In order to get the support of the 12th Army again, Fujino Ichiro and his men had no way out, and only a fight to the death could solve the current dilemma.
Precisely because both the enemy and us are determined to fight to the death, a most intense air battle is about to begin, attracting the attention of many people.
Shentouling, the base of the Matsuda Corps.
"Colonel, Chu Yunfei's 358th Regiment has come out in full force this time. Its total strength is 7000 people, which is twice our strength. More importantly, it is equipped with a large number of new weapons with extremely fierce firepower. It will be extremely difficult for my regiment to defend Shentouling." Lieutenant Colonel Yamashita said cautiously.
Colonel Matsuda put down the telescope in his hand, his face was very solemn. He did not expect that the weapon in Chu Yunfei's hand was better than his own. This was completely beyond his expectations. Before this, he did not take Chu Yunfei's 358th Regiment seriously, but now he has completely lost his original idea and has completely regarded Chu Yunfei as a strong enemy.
"Chu Yunfei still has two fighter squadrons, and we can't get air support from the aviation force. This battle will be very difficult. Let the warriors prepare for air defense. I remember that our company still has two anti-aircraft guns. Immediately let the anti-aircraft gun squad take over them, and mobilize the two squadrons and the anti-aircraft gun squad to carry out air defense together. We must ensure the safety of our heads no matter what."
"In addition to the threat from the air, the real threat to us is Chu Yunfei's armored battalion and heavy artillery battalion. We are short of anti-armor weapons. We only have anti-armor grenades and 30 rounds of armor-piercing shells. It is not a problem to destroy the enemy's armored vehicles, but if we want to blow up the enemy's tanks, I am afraid we will suffer huge casualties."
"As for the 358th Regiment's heavy artillery battalion, it poses the greatest threat to us. The longest-range gun we have is the 75mm mountain cannon, which is simply not enough to compete with the enemy's heavy artillery battalion. But we can't solve it with our strength. The only thing we can do is to use the terrain advantage to defend our position, look for opportunities to launch night attacks, and prepare for a long-term tug-of-war!"