[Anti-Japanese Iron Blood King] Chapter 187: The Great Air Battle at Hukou

Wangjiadun Airport!

The 44 pilots were already ready to go, and Liu Zhesheng, the captain of the Fourth Brigade, who arrived later, came to everyone and said loudly: "I just received a call from the Aviation Committee, a Japanese bomber group is flying west along the Yangtze River under the cover of a fighter squadron, and the Aviation Committee has judged that the target of the Japanese army this time is not Wuhan, but Jiujiang, where the war is fighting, and the specific target is the ships of our army anchored on the Jiujiang River!" So our mission this time is to intercept the Japanese bombers and ensure the safety of the naval ships! Do you have confidence! ”

"Yes! Yes! Yes! The pilots shouted.

"Okay, get on board!" Liu Zhesheng then said loudly.

The pilots of the 3rd and 4th Brigades boarded the plane and took off to meet the Japanese air force!

Since the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, we have always paid attention to the gains and losses of the ground forces of the army, and have paid little attention to the battles between the naval and air forces! In fact, although these two arms of the armed forces are indeed very weak compared to their enemies, they fought exceptionally bravely, the navy has the tragedy of the Jiangyin naval battle, and the air force also has the pride of the air force.

Since the outbreak of the war, as far as the navy, army, and air forces under the command of the Nationalist Government are concerned, the best performance is the air force. Although China was subjected to internal and external shocks before the outbreak of the war, the social systems of all countries collapsed due to serious disconnection with the times, and the warlords in various places fought each other, so China did not build a complete aviation industry to start the war of resistance.

As far as the air force is concerned, its strength is still extremely weak, and more importantly, it does not have a complete development plan. In fact, judging from the gap in national strength, there can be no plan! In any case, the Nationalist government, like the corrupt Manchu government, believed in the idea that it was better to build than to buy, and almost all the planes needed to be imported. In addition to the import of aircraft, it is necessary to purchase anti-aircraft guns, searchlights, equipment, transportation and communication facilities, as well as the support and maintenance of all aircraft, aviation gasoline, and lubricating oil. Therefore, before the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the Chinese Air Force had only 9 brigades, 35 squadrons, 600 pilots, more than 230 mechanical maintenance, and 305 combat aircraft.

The number one military god of the Chinese Air Force is Liu Zhesheng's most elite 4th Brigade, the captain of the brigade studied in France to learn to fly, and everyone knows the story of the Japanese army in the first battle of 8.14. On September 26, Gao Zhihang led Liu Cuigang, Le Yiqin, Liu Zhesheng, and Mao Ying to shoot down three Japanese 96 ships in one fell swoop, capturing Captain Shichiro Yamashita and his No. 126 landline, one of the four kings of naval aviation.

However, by the end of September 1937, due to the increase in battle damage, the 4th Brigade was exhausted. Retreat to Lanzhou, ready to pick up the I-16 fighters purchased from the Soviet Union. In November, the Japanese air raid on Zhoukou Airport, Gao Zhihang set sail urgently, the Yi 16 could not be started, the armorer desperately turned the propeller of the plane to no avail, Gao Zhihang's plane and other 7 planes were blown up by the 96 land attack that dived down, and Gao Zhihang died heroically.

In the entire Battle of Songhu, the air force heroes emerged one after another, and first Shen Chonghai, the commander of the Second Brigade, and Chen Xichun, a bombard, drove planes to crash into a Japanese ship from an altitude of 2,000 meters. Die with the enemy. The two of them were also the first pilots in the world to fly an airplane to carry out a suicide attack, setting a precedent for the Japanese army to carry out suicide attacks in the Pacific theater in the future. Set an example!

Then there was Yan Haiwen, who was wounded and forced to land, surrounded by the Japanese army, resisted with a pistol, and kept the last 1 bullet for himself! Li Wenyun of the 9th Brigade was injured and fell, and wrote a blood book on the windshield with his own blood, and returned my rivers and mountains.

In the three months since the start of the war, the Chinese Air Force shot down and damaged 271 Japanese planes. The record is impressive. However, its own losses were also extremely heavy, 202 planes were shot down, 112 were damaged, and 122 pilots were killed. The four heavenly kings of the Chinese Air Force were all killed in battle, how heroic this is.

Liu Zhesheng and others flew all the way to the east with the **** three fighters, and flew to Jiujiang at 9:20 in the morning, at which time the Duqi Division and other troops had been loaded. On the front line of Guniuling, the 23rd Division of the 13th Army had also exchanged fire with nearly 4,000 people from the 149th Wing of the 101st Brigade and the 149th Cavalry Wing of the Japanese Army.

Liu Zhesheng and the others did not stay in the sky over Jiujiang, they knew that their mission was to escort the naval fleet, so the plane continued to fly eastward, so that the Japanese fighters could be intercepted outside Jiujiang City.

At 9:40, the plane arrived over the mouth of the lake and met the Japanese bombers, and a bloody battle began in the air.

For Liu Zhesheng and the entire Fourth Brigade, it was not the first time that they had engaged the Japanese air force in the Wuhan area, and compared with the attack on land, the Battle of Wuhan was actually fought in the air at the earliest.

As early as 18 February this year, the Japanese army sent a large number of planes to bomb Wuhan, and the Fourth Brigade was ordered to intercept the Japanese planes. Millions of people watched the 4th Brigade on the ground against the 1st Air Force of the Japanese Navy, the so-called annihilation of the enemy in space, millions of soldiers and civilians looked up, 11 Japanese planes were shot down in this battle, and 10 planes were lost, that is, in this battle, Li Guidan, the 2nd captain of the 4th Brigade with 8 shot down records, and other 5 people were killed.

April 29 is the emperor's birthday, Japan's Tencho Festival, in order to pay tribute to the emperor, the navy and the 2nd Air Force 45 96 land attack and 96 ship battle joint air force to launch an air attack on Wuhan. This time, the 3.4th and 5th Battalions and 64 I-16 planes of the Soviet Air Force were facing the enemy, and they were still fighting a bloody battle with the Japanese Naval Air Force under the watchful eyes of millions of soldiers and civilians. In this battle, the Nationalist Government announced that it had shot down 21 Japanese planes and lost 12 of its own, achieving a great victory.

Unlike the Navy and Army, which were so pessimistic and disappointed when facing the enemy, the Air Force, despite its weakness, was confident against the Japanese Air Force, believing that they were the strongest and most fearless pilots in the world, and this time was no exception.

At the first moment of seeing the Japanese fighters, Liu Zhesheng gave the order to attack, and 22 fighters rushed towards the Japanese army in a battle formation, and at this time, the Japanese air force also discovered the Chinese Air Force, and the 12 96 ships quickly changed formation, protected the bombers in the middle, and launched a bloody battle with the Chinese Air Force.

Liu Zhesheng took a fancy to the Japanese plane in the lead, first a rapid lifting of the fighter, and then quickly turned around and dived, and the fighter was instantly placed above the head of the Japanese plane, and at the same time Liu Zhesheng pressed the fire button.

"Da Da Da"

When the Hukou air battle began, Ma Zheng took the Duqi Division, the 89th Division, and the 35th Division to board the boat and go downstream, while Wang Zhonglian took the 23rd Division to stay in Jiujiang.

Outside Jiujiang City. Guniu Ridge!

In the field fortifications, Ouyang Di, the commander of the 23rd Division, looked at the military map in front of him with a frown, and the chief of staff on the side asked puzzledly: "Division, what does that surnamed Ma mean, why do you want our people to wear their dog skins, they are poor and have no clothes to wear before they wear Japanese dog skins, we are a dignified Central Army, even if we die, we have to die in our Chinese military uniforms, what's the matter with wearing this dog skin?" ”

Ouyang Di shook his head and said, "Gongming, don't talk nonsense, you don't know Master Ma's tactics, so naturally you don't know what he thinks!" ”

"Tactics, what bullshit tactics require a change of clothes?" Li Dengming, chief of staff of the 23rd Division, asked in a deep voice.

"Gongming, Master Ma means to let us stay here and pretend to be his Duqi Division, and the Duqi Division is to march east with the 89th and 35th Divisions to seize Hukou!"

"Why do we want to stay here, is our 23rd Division not as effective as their Duqi Division? I think they clearly want to take our 23rd Division to the top cylinder, and the victory in this battle is the credit of their divisions, and the defeat is due to the poor defense of our 23rd Division! Defend the city, defend the city, and let us resist for an hour and then retreat five miles, is his Ma Zheng's head flooded. Lee Teng-ming said again.

"Gongming, don't be impatient!"

Then Ouyang Di pointed to the map and said: "Look here, Guniuling, Maple Ridge, Wuli Bridge, these three places form a straight line, which is the only way for the Japanese army to attack Jiujiang, according to Ma Zheng's idea, the first two places hold on for one hour each, then when the Japanese army arrives at Wuli Bridge, it will be nearly eleven o'clock." At this time, Commander Ma and they have also taken Xingang Town, and at that time, this Japanese army will become a sandwich biscuit, as long as we are willing, we can swallow it back and forth at any time. ”

Li Tengming said again: "In that case, why do you still order us to retreat as far as possible, and even abandon all positions outside the city if necessary, even including a part of the city? ”

This is Ma Zheng's cleverness, although he has the advantage, he shows weakness everywhere. In this way, the Japanese army can think that the troops in the city are already at the end of the crossbow, and they will feel that they can beat Jiujiang down with more efforts, and only then can they create favorable fighters for the large army! ”

Speaking of this, Ouyang Di looked at his pocket watch, and then said: "When the hour is up, let the 120th Regiment withdraw, and the division headquarters will withdraw to Wuli Bridge with the 232nd Regiment!" ”

"Yes!"

(To be continued.) )