The bombing of Nagoya received very good results, and the final losses were bearable. 665 bombers participated in the operation, only 23 were shot down, of which only 5 landed on the Japanese mainland, and the rest were all forced landings at sea, and most of them were forced landings on the sea very close to Iwo Jima (almost all of them were forced to land because they had to avoid Japanese air defense fighters, and finally did not have enough fuel to return) On the 4th and 5th, the group temporarily stopped bombing Japan, for the simple reason that the aviation crew needed time to thoroughly check the state of the bombers, and the pilots, The service personnel need to rest, and those bombers that have carried out two rounds of bombing in a row and have been flying non-stop for more than 10 hours need to undergo a comprehensive inspection, otherwise no one can guarantee that these bombers will be able to take off safely (mainly because of the engine problem, the engine of the "wolf dove" has always had a small problem) Tan Renhao received the specific bombing results on the morning of 4 July. A modified high-altitude reconnaissance plane took aerial photographs of Nagoya and Nara that morning. The photo is not very clear, but it is established that all important targets were destroyed, the fires in both cities have not been completely extinguished, the city districts have been almost completely burned, and the bombing was a complete success.

On this day, Tan Renhao and Luo Yunchong also made a detailed classification of the targets to be destroyed, according to "A, B, C, and ...... D"

The order divides the dozens of targets provided by Chief of Staff Gan Yongxing, as well as more than a hundred other targets that they themselves identified, into six categories.

Category A targets are mainly military-industrial targets, including shipyards, aircraft factories, ammunition factories, engine factories, tank factories, gun factories, and so on. These military-industrial targets were the direct war motive force of the Japanese army, and as a result, all the military-industrial targets that had been identified were on the number one list of bombing. No matter how great the losses were, it was important to ensure that they were destroyed so that the Japanese army would not have any weapons to use and would not be able to continue fighting.

Category B targets are mainly important basic industry targets, including steel mills, chemical plants, oil plants, rubber processing plants, etc. These industrial targets (almost all of them heavy industry) were, in fact, the most important factories for the production of raw materials for war. Without steel, the Japanese could not build warships, tanks and artillery, and without oil, Japanese warships could not go to sea and planes could not rise into the air. Therefore, as long as these factories were blown up, Japan's war machine would be paralyzed. Such goals are to ensure that the ground is destroyed as much as possible, and great sacrifices can be made for this.

Category C targets are mainly critical national infrastructure, including roads. Railway. Bridges, ports, airports. Command center and so on. The value of these targets is also huge, as Japan's domestic road system is not very developed, the main industrial centers are by the sea, and there are docks nearby, so the main mode of transportation is by sea. Therefore, the main targets of bombing were the docks and the shipyards. If Japan's domestic transportation can be paralyzed, it will be equivalent to making it impossible for factories scattered throughout Japan to work together, and the productivity of domestic industries will be reduced.

Category D targets important industrial facilities and civilian facilities such as warehouses, including light industrial plants. Grain hoarding warehouses, power centers, dams, and much more. Of course, under the conditions of the time, the bombers of the Tang Empire were practically unable to destroy these targets with incendiary bombs, so the bombing of these targets was able to be delayed.

The other two types of targets were civilian targets, cities (according to the standards set by the Imperial Navy at the time, all towns with a population of more than 20,000 were considered cities), villages, and even schools and hospitals were all within the bombing range. In short, as long as the ground can be seen from the air, all man-made structures that can be destroyed with bombs or incendiary bombs are within the scope of bombing, and there is no longer a distinction between civilian and military targets.

In fact, the bombing list drawn up by Tan Renhao and Luo Yunchong at that time was still incomplete, mainly because the help provided by the imperial intelligence agencies was very limited, and it was impossible for them to identify more targets. Later, this became the basis for strategic bombing against Japan and the basis for selecting targets. As the scale of the bombing increases, more and more bombers are thrown into the war, more and more incendiary bombs are delivered to front-line airfields, and more and more Japanese cities will be burned to the ground. The strategic strike force of the Tang Empire also quickly learned from the experience of war in actual combat. Perfect tactics and completely destroy Japan with faster, fiercer, stronger, and sharper bombardment.

On the night of the 6th, bombers of five regiments were again dispatched, this time bombing the city of Shizuoka. More than 600 bombers dropped nearly 2,000 tons of incendiary bombs, completely destroying the city with a population of 500,000 (the actual population in the city is about 300,000) with an area of 15 square kilometers. And during the bombing that night, only six bombers did not return.

On the 7th, the bombing was suspended, and Luo Yunchong organized all the pilots to practice new bombing tactics in order to improve the bombing efficiency and reduce the loss rate.

On the night of the 8th, a group of bombers "visited" Yokohama and dropped more than 1,000 tons of bombs, burning the largest shipbuilding port in Tokyo Bay to ashes.

On the night of the 9th, more than 600 bombers bombed Osaka for the first time, dropping more than 1,000 tons of bombs, destroying one-third of Osaka's urban area and burning at least 80,000 Japanese to death.

On the night of the 10th, the group of planes went out again and bombed the shipyards in Kobe. Japan's most important shipbuilding base was almost completely burned down, several dockyards were burned to the ground and only empty shelves remained, and the battleship Musashi, which was being reloaded at the time, was also affected, and finally had to be moved to Takamatsu to complete the final perching work.

This is the end of the bombing, and the reason for this suspension of bombing is simple, the incendiary bombs are used up! The third batch of 20,000 tons of incendiary bombs will not arrive until 17 July. Therefore, the bombing had to be stopped. Six bombings in a row, starting with three days and nights, have already taught the Japanese what fear is. This time, the intelligence agencies of the empire quickly sent new information, information from within Japan. In fact, this information is no longer a big deal, because the submarines operating off the coast of Japan have been listening to the radio in Japan, and it is enough to understand from the Japanese radio how frightened the Japanese were in the face of strategic bombing at that time.

"The Japanese government is stepping up the evacuation of residents in large cities."

Luo Yunchong gave a piece of information to Tan Renhao, "The residents of more than 20 large cities with a population of more than 500,000 have been forcibly evacuated to nearby small cities and villages. According to intelligence estimates, the Japanese government intends to evacuate 25 million city dwellers. And this includes at least eighty percent of skilled workers. In addition, the Japanese government is also seizing the time to relocate industrial facilities in the cities, preparing to disperse factories to the countryside. Perhaps, without any further bombing, Japan's industrial production capacity will be reduced by more than half. ”

"Damn, if only we could have a few more tens of thousands of tons of incendiary bombs, and take advantage of the dog's day evacuation to blow up a few more cities. Let's see how the dog fights! ”

Hao Dongjue punched his fist on the table, "It's a pity, it's a pity!" ”

"There is nothing to regret, the effect of the bombing has far exceeded our pre-estimates."

Tan Renhao handed Luo Yunchong the information he had read, "The battleship 'Shinano' under construction has also been bombed, I heard that the Japanese side is preparing to transform this battleship into an aircraft carrier, I am afraid that when Japan surrenders, they will not be able to complete the construction of this battleship." There is also the 'Musashi', which has now gone to Takamatsu, and the perching work was originally planned to be completed in July. Now it seems that it will be delayed at least until the end of the year! ”

"It's better to never make it well. When the time comes, tow this battleship back, this will surely be the biggest trophy in the history of the Empire! ”

Heard Hao Dongjue's words. Tan Renhao and Luo Yunchong both laughed, a warship of tens of thousands of tons must be a record-breaking trophy.

"The Japanese have already produced a great bombing panic. This is the latest intelligence provided by the Intelligence Agency. ”

Luo Yunchong just glanced at this information, "There has been looting in Tokyo, and millions of citizens from Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, and other places have fled to the countryside to escape our bombing. Now, I'm afraid that even the emperor won't be able to control the scene. Our bombardment went on for another two or three months. All cities in Japan will be turned into ghost towns. ”

"Then we'll have to have enough bombs!"

Hao Dongjue shook his head as he spoke.

"Don't worry, there will be a bomb."

Tan Renhao put down the documents in his hand, "After the No. 17 transport fleet arrives, we will immediately organize the next round of bombing. By the way, have you contacted the Marines? ”

"General Yan Guozhong called yesterday, and the marines are sweeping up the Japanese troops in the plain area."

Luo Yunchong took out a cigarette and lit it for the other two first, "The resistance of the Japanese army is very tenacious, and they almost hollowed out Hachijo Island. The ground was full of fortifications, and the Marines had already begun to deliver cement and bulldozers to the island, apparently preparing to bury the recalcitrant Japanese alive this time. ”

"Dongjue, is there any news from the fleet?"

Tan Renhao looked at Hao Dongjue.

"The Third Task Force had engaged in a skirmish with a small Japanese fleet the night before, and the fleet carrying about 3,000 Japanese troops had been driven back. Now that the 3rd Task Force has moved to the waters north of Hachijojima, it will continue to provide artillery support to the marines while also undertaking the task of blockading Hachijojima. ”

Hao Dongjue slowly spit out the cigarette, "There is Lao Lei watching over there, there is nothing to worry about." I heard that the Second Task Force is also taking this opportunity to train the pilots in night combat ability. In the past few days, they have been dispatched at night to bombard the Japanese positions on Hachijo Mountain. If the Marines advance fast enough, they will be able to reach the vicinity of Mt. Hachijo by the end of the month. ”

"In other words, it is possible that we will deploy escort fighters to Hachijo Island by the end of the month."

Luo Yunchong added next to him.

Tan Renhao nodded slightly. "It's great, if we can arrange escort fighters at the end of the month, then we can arrange daytime bombing next month. General Liao Hanxiang also has news from his side, a new batch of bombers will arrive soon, and you should prepare for it in the next few days. The pilots came together, and the additional pilots were about to arrive. After the next batch of ammunition arrives, we will continue to take the important cities of Japan! ”

On the 15th, 200 bombers and more than 400 crews that had been replenished to Iwo Jima arrived. On the same day, the Marine Corps also handed over the two airfields on the home island to the Strategic Strike Force, and Luo Yunchong first deployed the two regiments to relieve the pressure on the side of Iwo Jima. And five airfields can actually deploy at least eight regiments of bombers. Tan Renhao quickly got in touch with Liao Hanxiang and asked for three additional regiments of bombers to come over. As a result, they received only two regiments of bombers, and the other two regiments were deployed on Jeju Island.

On the night of the 16th, the convoy transporting ammunition arrived at Iwo Jima, and a group of transports went to the home island to supply the bombers there. This time there was no need to mobilize all the manpower to unload the ammunition. The whole loading and unloading work continued until the afternoon of the 17th, and the first batch of unloaded ammunition was delivered to the airport on the morning of the 17th.

The two islands are bustling with activity. Luo Yunchong came up with a new bombing plan in the afternoon of the same day. The five regiments of bombers will be divided into two groups, and the three regiments that will take off from Iwo Jima will focus on bombing Kobe to completely destroy the shipbuilding facilities in Kobe. Two regiments of bombers taking off from the home island (each of which carried two more 250-kilogram incendiary bombs) were going to bomb Tokyo for the third time, spreading another handful of salt on the wounds of the Japanese.

To reduce the risk, the bombers on Iwo Jima will depart two and a half hours earlier to bomb Kobe at midnight. Bombers taking off from the mother island will bomb Tokyo by the early hours of the morning. In this way, the Japanese side will certainly be the first to notice the situation on the Kobe side, and Tokyo's defenses will be somewhat relaxed, so that the bombers of the two regiments will be able to break through Tokyo's air defense network more smoothly.

How to arrange the bombing operation, this is Luo Yunchong's business, and Tan Renhao never asks. He is now Luo Yunchong's deputy, and what he is concerned about is when the fourth batch of 50,000 tons of incendiary bombs will arrive, when the bombers of the two regiments promised by Liao Hanxiang will be deployed, and when the marines will be able to control Bazhang Island, so that the escort fighters of the HNA can be deployed and the bombers can carry out daytime bombing missions.