The tragic loss casts a shadow over everyone's heart. Some are even beginning to wonder how much of a point strategic bombing really makes. Some pilots also resisted, believing that large-scale bombing would only bring them greater sacrifices and losses. Tan Renhao and Luo Yunchong still firmly believe that strategic bombing can speed up the course of war and make the enemy perish faster, but they are about to be unable to withstand such tremendous pressure.

"Now we've run out of incendiary bombs, and we're going to throw rocks unless we use ordinary bombs."

Hao Dongjue smiled bitterly and lit a cigarette again, adding another bit of smoke to the already smoky air in the room. "I've figured out a way to contact the logistics department, and the next batch of incendiary bombs has been loaded onto the ship, and there is no definite news yet."

Tan Renhao extinguished the cigarette butt. "That means the bombing of the Japanese mainland had to be stopped temporarily?"

Hao Dongjue nodded slightly, and then sighed.

"Team 6 has already boarded 6 this morning." bsp; Luo Yunchong picked up the battle report sent by the liaison officer of the 6th Combat Team: "General Yan Guozhong personally called over, hoping that we can provide a more powerful strike force. Now the bombing of Japan had to be temporarily stopped, so we could get the bomber unit to participate in the bombing operation on Hachijojima. ”

"There's no need to let the pilot rest."

Tan Renhao sighed: "There are still bombers that can be repaired, try to repair them, let the service personnel work hard, and try to ensure that all the bombers are in the best condition." Immediately after the next batch of incendiary bombs arrived, the bombing of Japan was resumed. Yun Chong, you have to come up with a new bombing plan in time. According to the list of strikes provided by General Gan, we will arrange the bombing order in combination with our actual situation! ”

"I'll hurry up and wait to find the staff officer......"

Before Luo Yunchong's words were finished, a staff officer pushed open the door, stood by the door, and said to the three of them: "Sir, it seems that General Liao Hanxiang has arrived." ”

The three of them were stunned and arrived. There was something "like", and then the three of them stood up and walked out the door. When they came to the outside of the staff headquarters, they saw Liao Hanxiang and his adjutant walking towards this side.

"When did General Liao arrive?"

Luo Yun glanced sideways at the staff officer.

"We didn't know that it seemed to be a plane carrying the wounded on the ground, and we didn't receive any news that someone was starting to ......."

"Forget it, go get busy!"

At this time, Liao Hanxiang had already approached. Tan Renhao greeted him first, and Luo Yunchong and Hao Dongjue also followed.

"I heard that you guys were in a little trouble, so I rushed over early."

Liao Hanxiang nodded at the three of them, "Let's go, let's go inside." ”

Tan Renhao and Luo Yunchong glanced at each other, and then followed Liao Hanxiang into the room, Hao Dongjue also followed, and Liao Hanxiang's adjutant consciously stayed outside.

"Sit down, I flew straight from Naha."

Liao Hanxiang turned against the guest and took this place as his headquarters. "Originally. I wanted to come with the fleet carrying the ammunition, and as soon as I arrived in Naha, I received your battle report and suffered heavy losses. ”

Tan Renhao and the three lit cigarettes. looked at Liao Hanxiang without saying a word.

"The losses are really heavy."

Liao Hanxiang sighed: "I don't know what Marshal Nie Renfeng thinks, but I will continue to support you." War has sacrifices, and the sacrifices we make are worthwhile. At first, I went to the hospital and the pilot to find out what was going on. The pilot's mood was not small, especially Colonel Jiang Shikuan's failure to return, which had a great impact on the pilot. But you've all overlooked one thing. ”

Tan Renhao frowned slightly. I didn't understand the meaning of Liao Hanxiang's words.

"Pilots complain because they don't know what they're getting in exchange for their sacrifices. Pilots are terrified because they simply don't know if the next time they die on the battlefield. But these can actually be used as well. ”

Liao Hanxiang took the cigarette that Luo Yunchong handed him: "Why don't you announce the results of the battle?" You must know that these two bombings almost destroyed half of the city of Tokyo, and half of Tokyo has disappeared from the ground, leaving only ruins. According to the most conservative estimates of the intelligence services, two bombings down. At least 130,000 Japanese were burned to death, and millions were left homeless. Forty percent of Tokyo's industrial areas, eighty percent of commercial areas, and forty percent of residential areas were burned to ashes. Isn't such a great result worth boosting morale? ”

Tan Renhao smiled bitterly, because they were restricted by the secrecy regulations, so they never announced the results to the pilots. Coupled with an investigation incident, Tan Renhao has been very cautious in dealing with the results of the battle, and would rather underreport and omit than give others a handle to criticize.

"You have to take advantage of that, and as for the rest, give me a headache."

Liao Hanxiang sighed, "And the fear of soldiers is actually easy to solve." You should find a way to turn the fear of the pilots into anger and hatred for the enemy. In this way, there may be no need for you to say anything at all, I believe that every emperor ** person will rush to the enemy one after another, trample the enemy under his feet, and win the final victory! ”

"We'll arrange that, but now ......"

Tan Renhao touched his forehead, "We have other difficulties......"

"There's no arson material left?"

Liao Hanxiang laughed: "The marshal has long considered this, when you sent the first battle report, the marshal asked me to go back to Zhoushan, that night, a group of ships that were supposed to wait until the beginning of next month to set sail have been out in advance, and the fleet will arrive in Naha this evening, and they will be able to come over about the third." This time we used fast carriers. Both the marshal and the chief of staff of Gan have given a death order to the factory and the logistics department, put the strategic bombing of Japan in the first place, and make every effort to meet your needs! ”

Tan Renhao, the three of them were all happy in their hearts, if this was the case, it would naturally be the best. With plenty of ammunition, they were confident enough to turn Japan into an archipelago on a crater.

"The fifth batch of bombers has been rolled off the assembly line, and now the final debugging is being done, and I have already sent the pilots directly."

Liao Hanxiang really has a set of logistics, which is probably the experience he accumulated when he formed the Fifth Fleet. "In addition to the bombers that need to be replenished by the various units, this time it can be newly organized into four regiments. We will have twelve regiments of bombers. This is the entire armament of the First Army. The four new regiments will be deployed on Jeju Island to bomb the southwestern part of the Japanese mainland, and they will also use incendiary bombs, of course. The bombing will be postponed until mid-May. By then, we'll have at least three new regiments of bombers in the sixth batch. I am preparing to build a strategic strike second army, and if all goes well, the first army will be mainly responsible for bombing the major cities of Japan's main island of Honshu from the south, while the second army will be mainly deployed on Jeju Island and will be responsible for bombing western Japan. End. At the latest, by the beginning of next year, we will have a third army, and these three armies will form the First Army, which will be fully responsible for the strategic bombing of Japan. Nearly 4,000 bombers are deployed around the Japanese mainland, and when the time comes, we can wipe Japan off the map! ”

The first to get excited was Hao Dongjue. "General Liao, I'm afraid Japan won't be able to hold out until the middle of next year!"

"Yes, but our task is to force Japan to surrender before the end of the year!"

Liao Hanxiang gritted his teeth, "Maybe." This period will be extended. But it depends on our results. The marshal is already working on it, and originally this year's production plan was 25oo bombers, which could be carried out at the current pace. The three aircraft factories are able to provide us with at least 3ooo bombers, and perhaps even 32ooo. There will be no problems with ammunition, and the five arsenals that supply the Navy with ammunition are now working at full capacity to produce incendiary bombs. As long as we have enough bombers, enough ammunition, Japan is doomed! ”

"That would be the case."

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, he didn't show joy on his face, "As long as the 6th Sentai can capture Hachijo Island as soon as possible, and there is enough ammunition, we will carry out two shifts of bombardment day and night." Of course. It is best to have half more flight crew, and the pilot also needs to rest. ”

"I am solely responsible for the training of pilots, rest assured, there will be enough pilots, at least the Empire will never be short of soldiers."

Liao Hanxiang was only halfway through his words when there was a knock on the door. Luo Yun rushed over and opened the door, whispered a few words to the staff officer outside the door, and then he walked back quickly. The door didn't close either.

"I've found Jiang Shikuan."

Luo Yunchong smiled: "It's a submarine patrolling the waters of the Izu Islands, and now Jiang Shikuan and several other surviving crew members have already boarded the submarine, and tomorrow the submarine will send them directly back to Iwo Jima." ”

"Jiang Shikuan is not dead? This kid is too big, this is the second time! ”

Hao Dongjue jumped up suddenly: "Could it be that he is a cat and has nine lives?" ”

Tan Renhao shook his head, and the cat has nine lives is a Western statement.

"Then it couldn't be better, when Jiang Shikuan comes back, first determine his situation, if he is willing to stay, promote him to the commander of the first division, of course, it is best to let him recuperate for a while."

Liao Hanxiang stood up: "The transport fleet No. 3 arrived, and the bombing began on the fourth. Chief of Staff Gan has repeatedly told you to focus on bombing Japan's industrial cities, you should have a relevant plan, right? ”

"This ......"

"Yes, we have come up with a plan, and we are ready to return to the Navy Command in the next two days."

Tan Renhao rushed in front of Luo Yunchong and said, "Tokyo is no longer of much value, at least until the Japanese who fled the city go back, we will not continue to bomb Tokyo." In the next step, we will focus on bombing Japan's industrial targets, especially military industries and basic industries. ”

"Then I have nothing to worry about."

Liao Hanxiang nodded at the three of them: "Do a good job, the marshal is ready to give you a collective reward." In addition, some outstanding flight crews will be awarded in person. We have found the right path, so let's keep going and finally see the enemy fall at our feet! ”

In the afternoon of the same day, Liao Hanxiang, on behalf of the Strategic Strike Force of the Navy Command, expressed his condolences to the disabled servicemen and encouraged the other servicemen to continue fighting. Then, that night, Liao Hanxiang left Iwo Jima and returned to Naha to arrange the transport fleet.

It was a fleet of clippers that delivered incendiary bombs to Iwo Jima. And in the Imperial Navy, the main task of the clipper fleet (referring to the maximum voyage of more than 24 knots) is to provide combat supplies for the fleet, after all, there will not be many fast transports in any country, and even the 6th Sentai is not qualified to call these fast transports. In order to ensure the supply of ammunition to the Japanese strategic bombing ground, the navy will use all the fast transport ships it can collect to transport incendiary bombs. From this point, it can also be seen that the Navy has shifted its focus to strategic bombing.

In the evening of the same day, Tan Renhao and the others received good news: the 6th Squadron, which had gone ashore in the afternoon, had occupied a beachhead in the southeast of Hachijojima, and had repelled two Japanese counterattacks in the first half of the night. The battle was still raging, and HNA shore-based fighters were dispatched the next night to provide support for the 6th team. The heavy cruisers of the Third Task Force almost rushed to the beach, bombarding the Japanese positions with heavy artillery, while six battleships lined up eight nautical miles from the islands, raining a ton of shells onto the Japanese positions. As more and more 6 Sentai ascended to 6 Hachijo Island, the Japanese troops did not live long.

"This is a telegram from Yan Guozhong."

The news that the 6th team landed on Bazhang Island is probably the best news now, otherwise Luo Yunchong would not have come to Tan Renhao early in the morning, "The 6th team will sweep the flat area of the island as soon as possible, and then besiege the Japanese army on Hachizhang Mountain." When the time comes, the Engineer Corps will first build an airstrip in the southeast of the island for fighter jets. By the end of May at the latest, we will be able to send escort fighters to Hachijojima. ”

Tan Renhao glanced at the telegram sent by the commander of the 6th team. "That's the best, it seems that we have to contact Lei Shaoqing and let them support the 6th team to fight first, as long as we take Hachijo Island, then we can bomb Japan day and night!"

Luo Yunchong smiled and nodded, if he couldn't take down the bombers of Hachijo Island, he could only go out at night, and crawl in the nest during the day to sleep. And the service personnel have promised to let the bombers be dispatched once a day and once a night. So taking Hachijojima is a sign of the beginning of a full-scale bombing!