[Anti-Japanese Iron Blood King] Chapter 186: The Air Force Appears

At the same time that Okamura Ninji dispatched troops to try to turn the tide of the battle, the temporary combination of the Seventh Division and the 13th Army also took active action, and Ma Zheng's battle plan was actually not complicated, that is, to take advantage of the favorable opportunity when the troops of the 101st Division were scattered everywhere, and use tactics to fully mobilize the units of the 101st Division, and then annihilate them one by one.

The specific tactic was that the 23rd Division changed into the uniform of the Duqi Division to block the 101st Brigade Headquarters and the 149th Wing of the Japanese army advancing westward outside Jiujiang City, but it was necessary to control the strength of the blockade and make the Japanese army believe that the combat effectiveness of the defenders in Jiujiang City was not very strong, so as to firmly attract this Japanese army outside Jiujiang City.

At the same time, the 89th Division, the 35th Division and the Duqi Division went down the river and the strength was divided into two, one directly landed on the tidal flat position near Xingang, and then directly captured Xingang Town, cutting off the rear road of the 101st Brigade, and at the same time attracting the main Japanese force at Hukou to come to reinforcements, and the remaining troops were taking the opportunity to seize Hukou.

Although the 101st Division is now scattered in various places, it can reassemble at any time because it occupies Hukou, a transportation hub and a strategic location. But as long as Ma Zheng's division occupied Hukou, the 101st Division would be completely scattered and could not be gathered together in a short time, and it would be much easier to clean up this Japanese army at this time.

However, this operation could not be completed by the Duqi Division and the 13th Army alone, and at least the support of the air force was needed, mainly because the threat of the Japanese air force to the warships was too great. Moreover, it was still daytime operations, so the air force was necessary to contain the Japanese aviation.

For this reason, Ma Zheng and Wang Zhonglian jointly sent a report to the Ninth Theater Command, requesting reinforcements from the Air Force to ensure the safety of the Navy's ships.

In fact, if Ma Zheng and the others don't say it, the Military Commission will not stand idly by, after all, those naval ships are too precious. The Japanese must not be allowed to sink it. What's more, Ma Zheng's territory is in the north, where there are no large inland rivers, and even the Yellow River cannot meet the conditions required for such a large warship to sail.

In addition, from Wuhan to Chanan, there are thousands of miles, and the coast is the territory of the Japanese, so although these warships are now in the hands of Ma Zheng's department, they will inevitably be handed over to the Nationalist Government in the end. Ma Zheng understood this, and the Nationalist Government also knew it, so it could not be sunk by the Japanese air force under any circumstances.

In fact, before Ma Zheng and Wang Zhonglian's telegrams were sent to the Ninth Theater, the Military Commission had ordered the 3rd and 4th Destroyer Brigades stationed in Hengyang to urgently transfer to Hankou and be ready to reinforce the Jiujiang battlefield at any time.

After receiving a definite answer, the two armies in Jiujiang City began to act, those who should change their uniforms changed their uniforms, and those who should board the ship boarded the ship, a busy scene.

Meanwhile. The main force of the 101st Brigade of the 101st Division has arrived in Wujialing, and there is only less than 10 kilometers left from the Jiujiang urban area. And two squadrons of bombers of the Japanese Aviation Corps, under the cover of 12 fighters, took off from the airfield controlled by the Japanese army and went up the river in search of the main force of the 11th Sentai of the Third Fleet.

According to the orders they received, if the 11th Sentai was still fighting the China, it would do whatever it took to reinforce it. However, if the battle is over, whether the 11th Squadron is completely annihilated or captured, the air force will blow up and sink these ships on the Yangtze River as quickly as possible.

The Central China Front Command is not stupid. Although it is a pity that so many warships were sunk, it was much better than falling into the hands of the Chinese. The most important thing is to guard the water level of the Yangtze River and the influence of the waterway. Large cruisers and battleships simply could not get in, let alone aircraft carriers.

Therefore, the dozen or so light cruisers of the 11th Squadron can already be said to be the largest ships that can be accommodated in the Yangtze River waterway, and even if the Central China Front mobilizes fleets from other places, their performance will be at this level at most. Once these warships fall into the hands of the Chinese government, the consequences will be unimaginable, and at least the navy will no longer be able to easily crush the Chinese navy.

Of course. This is not to say that with these warships, the Chinese Navy can compete with the powerful Japanese navy, in fact, the gap between the Chinese Navy and the Japanese Navy is at least 50 years. One is already the third largest naval power in the world, and the other is a third-rate navy with only a dozen small ships left, and the two are not at the same level at all.

However, due to the hydrological conditions of inland rivers, large ships cannot enter the longsword. As long as the value of these warships is fully developed, then the Chinese Navy can compete with the Japanese Navy in the Yangtze River Valley.

Once such a pattern is formed, it will be impossible for the Japanese army to beat the Chinese navy back to its original shape again without a year or two. In the next two years, the three-in-one combat tactics of the navy, land, and air that the Japanese army is now using will be unusable, and this will be a heavy blow to the Central China Front. Therefore, the Central China Front would rather these naval ships sink into the Yangtze River than see them become spoils of war for the Chinese in shame.

However, as soon as the Japanese plane took off, the Chinese side received the news.

Hankow. Air Force Command!

A cadre of senior generals in the combat command room are busy analyzing the battlefield situation and responsible for scheduling fighter transfers! But at this moment, a second lieutenant stood up very abruptly and said: "Report to the commander, I received a telegram from the Xishan observation post that 12 Japanese Type 96 fighters and more than 30 bombers have flown over from the direction of Nanjing, and they are expected to fly to Wuhan within two hours!" ”

"The target of the Japanese planes this time must be the group of battleships on the water surface of the Jiujiang River, immediately call Wangjiadun Airport, and let the three and fourth teams take off immediately to intercept the Japanese army, and the Japanese planes must not be allowed to get close to the warships!" Zhou Zhirou, director of the Aviation Committee, ordered loudly.

"Yes!"

At the Wangjiadun Airport in Hankou, the air force ladies of the three major groups and the four major teams of destroyers had just transferred to Wangjiadun, and before they had time to drink their saliva, the airport remembered the harsh siren, and everyone knew that this was a combat alarm, and they had to board the plane immediately, and no one complained, and they all quickly sorted out their personal belongings and gathered in front of the airport, waiting for the captain to announce the combat order.

The reason why the Chinese side was able to receive the news of the take-off of the Japanese plane so quickly is thanks to one person - an American! This person is still just an obscure air force officer, but he will be a big man who will shock the world in the near future, this person is none other than Chennault, the founder of the US Air Force for aiding China, and the air force he created is the "Flying Tigers" that we are familiar with.

At this time, Chennault was not as beautiful as people imagined, due to Chennault's personal temper and other reasons, the relationship between Chennault and his superiors and colleagues was not very harmonious, so Chennault was not very happy anymore.

Although his flying skills were very high, he was the best among all the Navy, Air Force, Army Air Force, and even full-time combat air forces in the entire United States of America, but he was never promoted, and when he reached his old age, he was only a second lieutenant in the Air Force, which is extremely rare in the entire American army.

However, when Chennault was in a difficult situation, he was favored by the Nationalist Government Observation Group during an air show and was poached to China with a high salary. He directed the training of the Chinese Air Force and also became the personal adviser to Madame Chiang, who was in charge of the Air Force.

In view of the weakness of China's air force, Chennault suggested that the Nationalist Government establish an effective air defense early warning system, so that it could give early warning of enemy aircraft attacks.

Jiang Qianli and Chen Cheng, who were extremely keen, agreed with Chennault's suggestion, and finally ******decided to establish an air defense early warning system throughout the entire Jiangnan region starting from the front line in Shanghai, which played a great role after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War.

It can be said that this air defense early warning system of the Nationalist Government was built against Japanese imperialism from the beginning, and it was not until the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War that this air defense early warning system really played a role. As soon as the Japanese planes flew together, the observation posts built on the high mountain cliffs would know about it, and the news would be transmitted back to the headquarters at the first time, and through the observation posts throughout South China, the Nationalist Government could quickly determine the targets of the Japanese bombing, and then it could send planes to intercept them. (To be continued.) )

PS: PS: I didn't have time to write a manuscript last night, so I can only write it today!