On January 11, the Joint Command of the Taiwan Strait Front ordered the cessation of air strikes on all fronts. The 10-day three-dimensional operation initially achieved the goal of the campaign, and the suffocating fighting surface died down. As usual, it was time to catch a breath, but the atmosphere inside the Joint Command seemed to be more tense and busy. "Commander Ouyang, after 10 consecutive days of fierce battles, the 2nd Corps of the Eighth Route Army lost 35 sea-crossing ships and suffered more than 600 casualties. The 9th Corps of Quanzhou lost 28 ships and suffered more than 400 casualties. The Eighth Route Army's submarine hunting brigade lost 18 ships and 208 people killed. Chief of Staff Bai Chongxi reported.

"Order the decoy fleet in the waters off Taichung to withdraw, so that the Japanese will think that they have suffered heavy losses and are unable to launch a landing operation. The feint fleet in the waters of Penghu continued to confuse the Japanese. Deputy Commander He, how are the preparations? Xiao Feng reported that the 15th Division of the 6th Army under his command was ready as the first batch of attack troops. The 7th Division of the 19th Army under the command of Song Renqiang has been assembled at various docks and is on standby. "Very good, the tsunami operation was a great success, and in 10 days we not only gained air supremacy over the Taiwan Strait, but also successfully paralyzed the Japanese attack submarines in the near sea. The price paid was less than I expected. ”

Ouyang Jian continued: "The headquarters called, agreeing that we should immediately start the second phase of the operation, and not give the Japanese army a chance to breathe. The second phase of landing on the island of Taiwan is the main event, going deep into the tiger's den, and the slightest mistake will be wasted. As soon as the Airborne Forces seize the Dajia airfield, the Japanese will know all our intentions. At that time, the Japanese army will desperately launch a fierce attack on the airfield, and whether the airborne troops and special forces can gain a foothold is the key. Whether or not the landing force can launch an offensive before dawn is very important, and there must be no problems in every link. "According to the battle plan, at dusk, the Navy's Independent Marine Brigade, a brigade of the 15th Division of the 6th Army, took the lead in setting off on 150 wooden boats, and the 2nd batch of two brigades set off at midnight on the collected freighters." He Long reported.

"Air support is particularly important after dawn, General Chennault, I ask that after dawn, the B17 bombardment team concentrate on air strikes on the defensive positions of the Japanese troops on the coast of Wanli to cover the landing force on the beach. All the bombing teams intercepted the Japanese counterattack in batches, and the airborne troops and landing troops had no ground artillery support for the time being, and air support was the key to containing the Japanese army's fierce counterattack. "General Ouyang, please rest assured, I will strictly implement the battle plan to ensure efficient air support operations!" Chennault continued: "Before dusk, 50 transport planes entered the front-line airfield and stood by. According to the battle plan, the B29 bombers continued to carry out night air raids on Taipei after dark to paralyze the Japanese army. ”

At 9 a.m. on January 11, the Japanese Army Command in Taipei received a report from the Taichung Coastal Defense Force that the enemy's sea-crossing fleet had retreated. The chief of staff of the Japanese army, Saeki Fumi, was puzzled: "The enemy landing fleet has retreated, what does this mean." Taiwan's air supremacy has changed hands, and the enemy's submarine hunting has also achieved its goal. "The enemy has invested so much money that it is impossible to give up the landing operation. The first landing force of the enemy suffered heavy losses and was afraid that it would not be able to launch an offensive. Tonight, the enemy's 2nd landing force will definitely be dispatched to order the Taichung coastal defense force to enter combat readiness. ”

Okamura Ninji, including Yamashita Fumi, as well as the base camp, believed that the landing site of the enemy army was Taichung. In the past few days, enemy bombers have carried out frequent air raids on Taichung, and this has already explained the problem, so the Japanese command urgently requisitioned a heavy artillery brigade and an independent light armored regiment to Taichung to carry out anti-landing operations. "It was reported that listening to the radio had detected the appearance of a new unit of enemy troops, numbered 0001, which had never been seen before." A Japanese combat staff officer reports. "There is no doubt that this must be the name of the enemy's sea-crossing force. Immediately send a report to Commander Okamura that the enemy will launch a large-scale landing operation this night, targeting Taichung. ”

In the past few days, the headquarters of the Chinese Dispatch Army has been covered with clouds, and the focus of all attention has been on the Taiwan Strait. "Report, Yamashita Fengwen called, judging that the enemy army is going to launch a large-scale landing operation tonight, and the target is Taichung." Okamura Ningbo frowned and was silent. "Your Excellency General, the enemy's repeated bombing of Taichung with very obvious intentions, what else are you worried about?" "Ouyang Jian is very cunning, and the landing target is so obvious that it makes me suspicious." "Your Excellency, General! Are you worried that the enemy army is targeting Hsinchu? The chief of staff of the Japanese army was puzzled. I'm not worried about Hsinchu, I'm worried about Wanli! ”

"Wanli is a shallow water harbor, and the reef is dense and not suitable for large-scale landing." "Don't forget that the enemy is using wooden boats, and reefs and shoals cannot be stopped. The Wanli defense force only had one brigade, plus coastal artillery and the 12th Division of the Taiwan Army, with less than 20,000 troops, so we had to defend. Yamashita Fengwen was ordered to order the 41st Division in Yunlin to be transferred to Changhua to strengthen the first-line defensive operations in Wanli. "General, the 41st Division is responsible for the in-depth defense of Taiwan in the direction of Penghu, is it inappropriate to transfer the 41st Division?" "Penghu is a suspicious tactic of the enemy, so don't worry too much."

"The depth of the land in the Penghu direction can be handed over to the Taiwan army for defense, and even if the enemy forces capture Penghu, we will have time to redeploy defenses. Wanli's defense is weak, and we must strengthen it. There is a saying in China called "taking precautions", which means that the possible unfavorable factors should be stifled in the cradle, and we cannot turn a blind eye, otherwise it will be too late to regret it. Okamura Ningji's shrewd deployment has added unimaginable difficulties to the airborne troops' foothold and landing operations, and Ouyang Jian is ignorant of the new situation that has emerged. It can be said that Okamura Ninji is not shrewd, but the sad thing is that he did not know that the enemy army was carrying out airborne operations, and if he had been aware, the entire Taiwan Strait campaign would have been aborted.

At dusk, Xiao Feng, chief of staff of the 2nd Corps of the Eighth Route Army and concurrently commander of the 6th Army, sent the officers and men of the Marine Brigade and the 42nd Brigade to the Fuzhou Military Port Wharf. On the pier, the motors of the sailboats roared, and the propellers stirred the waves of the sea, forming continuous ripples. Wooden boats laden with soldiers kept moving away from the docks, and there was a slight confusion. Li Dabao, the commander of the Marine Brigade, was preparing to board the ship, perhaps often training at the beach, and his face was black and red. "Chief of Staff Xiao, we have been training in Fuzhou for two years. Since the formation of the Marine Brigade, it has never left Fuzhou. Today is finally the moment to strike, and I am very excited. Li Dabao was moved.

"Brother Li, Commander Mu asked me to tell you that he will land in Taiwan with the special operations group tonight, and said that you will see you in Taiwan." "Time flies, I haven't seen my master for more than two years, I won't let him down." Li Dabao shook hands with Xiao Feng and said goodbye. Looking at Li Dabao's vigorous posture, Xiao Feng waved his arm and secretly thought, brother, take care! See you in Taiwan. Mu Shixiong did not come to the dock to see him off, and he understood his feelings. This time, the Marine Brigade will shoulder the heavy task of rushing to the beach and landing, and as a sharp knife assault force, a vicious battle is inevitable. In such a large-scale battle, especially the sea-crossing operation, not to mention brigade-level generals, even division-level generals will inevitably suffer casualties.

As night fell, the Mawei military airport in Fuzhou was brightly lit, and transport planes were on standby on the tarmac. Soon, a convoy formed a string of lights on the road in the distance. On the side of the tarmac, under the shadows, Air Force Commander Liu Yalou and Special Forces Commander Mu Shixiong, wearing camouflage combat uniforms and steel helmets, stood side by side. The lights flickered, and the radar at the high point of the airport terminal swayed left and right, revealing a ghostly figure. When the convoy enters the airport, it stops on the apron side in turn. The soldiers got out of the car one after another, and the officer gave a low order, telling the soldiers to get out of the car and line up. An American-style military jeep stopped in front of Liu Yalou, and Meng Fei, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the Independent Airborne Division, and the instructor got out of the car quickly.

The two ran to Liu Yalou and raised their hands and saluted: "Report to the division commander, the 1st Regiment and 1st Battalion will arrive on time." Please instruct! "Battalion Commander Meng, where is your regiment commander?" "Report to the division commander, the regiment commander is behind!" "There are still a few hours, let the soldiers board the plane quickly, hurry up and get some sleep!" "Yes!" Meng Fei and the instructor ran towards their troops, and the whole battalion had already been assembled at this time. The figures of the officers and men were blurred and slightly bloated. In addition to carrying their own weapons and ammunition, the soldiers also carried umbrella bags behind them, showing that this unit is different.

"Report to the battalion commander, there are 520 officers and soldiers in the battalion, and there are 520 people, and the report is complete." Deputy battalion commander Cheng Hao stepped forward to report. "Order each company to check equipment, parachute, and board the plane in 10 minutes!" "Yes!" The political commissar said: "After each company boarded the plane, I arranged for the officers and men to seize the opportunity to take a rest, and they could sleep for about three hours. Meng Fei nodded and looked in the direction of the airport gate, waiting for the regiment headquarters to arrive. Before setting out for the expedition, the regiment commander should once again explain the airborne area and combat missions, and report on the enemy situation in the airborne area. At this moment, Meng Fei's mood was very high, and the desire to fight rose in his chest.

At about midnight, Meng Fei held an operational meeting at the regiment headquarters, and after returning, he briefly briefed several company commanders on the situation, and then boarded a transport plane with deputy battalion commander Cheng Hao. "Brother Meng, the instructor asked me to tell you that he went to the 4th Company and didn't return to the battalion headquarters." "The old troops of the instructors of the 4th Company Division, understandable!" Meng Fei glanced at his watch and said, "There is still an hour, you can squint for a while!" "So excited, where can I sleep! You see, they all stared, and each of them looked like they had been beaten with blood. "Since you and I can't sleep, let's study how to fight after landing at Dajia Airport." Meng Fei took out the map, and the two of them pointed and pointed, looking extremely focused.

At 1 a.m., two red flares flew into the sky, and the transport planes entered the runway in turn. After forming a formation over the airfield, the group roared towards the other side of the strait. In the Fuzhou Headquarters, Ouyang Jian stood in front of the window, looking at the direction of the airport and was silent. "Brother Ouyang, the first batch of airborne troops has set off, and it is very smooth. It is estimated that you will arrive at Dajia Airport in half an hour, and there are still a few hours before dawn, so you can sleep for a while, and if there are no special circumstances, you will not wake up. Chief of Staff Bai Chongxi said with concern. Brother Bai, it's too smooth, I'm not at ease, I'm afraid you and I will lose sleep tonight! "All the measures are carried out according to the plan and meticulously, as for what unexpected situations will happen in airborne operations, you and I really can't help them!"

At this time, He Long walked in and said: "The landing fleet called, it has passed the center line of the strait, the submarine hunting team did not find the Japanese submarine interception, about 4 o'clock in the morning, the landing force arrived at the Wanli attack area." "Order the landing fleet, keep the radio silent, and turn on the radio on time at 4:30."

The group of transport planes crossed the strait and soon reached the airfield over Dajia. At this time, the Japanese army's Dajia airfield was in total darkness. At present, the number of Japanese fighters at the airport is only a handful. There were two reconnaissance aircraft, a dozen bombers and transport aircraft. At this time, the red light on the nose door flashed and flashed, and the US military pilot reported in English that he had arrived at Dajia Airport and was lowering his altitude. 3000m skydive, last 5 minutes to prepare. Meng Fei walked to the cabin door and looked at his watch to calculate the time.

After the plane stabilized, the lights in the cabin turned green, and Meng Fei slammed the hatch, and a stream of cold air blew in his face. Cheng Hao's figure appeared in front of the door, stretched out his hand and pulled out the umbrella buckle and said, "I'll jump first, see you on the ground!" "I'm repeating, you're going to face a fight when you land, be prepared to quickly cut the parachute line with a dagger, do you hear me?" "Clear!" Cheng Hao shook Meng Fei's hand, and his figure flew into the night sky in a flash. Meng Fei stood in front of the door and saw everyone away, then jumped and his body soared into the air. The cold wind at high altitude was biting, the pitch-black earth rushed to the face, and the sound of Japanese anti-aircraft artillery fire sounded in my ears.

Meng Fei calculated the time, felt that it was almost over, and suddenly pulled the parachute line. The parachute opens quickly to form a parachute flower, and the rapidly descending body slows down and becomes slow. Meng Fei took the submachine gun on his chest off his neck and opened the safe. The outline of the house seemed to appear below, and Meng Fei realized that the area where he landed might be the living quarters of the Japanese army. Suddenly a fiery snake erupted from the ground, and the Japanese soldiers began to shoot into the air.