Chapter 1137: Preparing for the Attack
On the afternoon of 7 July, the Chinese Air Force once again bombed the US defense line, and when dozens of HB' Hongyan bombers dropped dozens of tons of bombs on the US defense line, turning the US military position into a sea of fire. However, the fighters of the US Army Air Force did not appear for a long time, so that the Chinese Air Force, which was waiting for the fighters of the US Army Air Corps to come out for a decisive battle, waited in vain.
Not only on the afternoon of October 7, but on the morning of October 8, the Chinese Air Force continued to attack, but the US Army Aviation Corps seemed to really be a shrunken turtle and did not dare to fight the Chinese Air Force. The U.S. military at least used anti-aircraft fire from their positions to attack fighters and bombers of the Chinese Air Force. But this is not much of a threat to fighters that drop bombs at high altitudes.
After learning of the predicament that the Army Air Corps was facing, Admiral Pershing, commander of the US Rio Grande River Defense Line, wanted to avoid the loss of the Army Air Corps' fighters. Therefore, the army aviation was ordered to stop fighting with the Chinese air force in order to preserve its strength. He is well aware that the reason why the Chinese Air Force has continuously launched provocations against the US Army Air Force is to exhaust all the fighters of the US Army Air Force. By that time, the Chinese Air Force, which has completely mastered air supremacy, will be able to launch indiscriminate bombardment of the US defense line. And the offensive of the Chinese Army will definitely be launched at that time. When the time comes, the Rio Grande line will suffer a great blow. Although Admiral Pershing had strong confidence in the Rio Grande Line, he still did not want that to happen.
"General Feng, congratulations on the success of the Air Force! Now the Yankees are completely scared and don't dare to fight you anymore! Marshal Zhao Bowen personally rushed to the Air Force Headquarters to congratulate Lieutenant General Feng Yong, deputy commander of the Air Force. After a few days of fighting, the Air Force had successfully defeated the US Army Air Force and almost destroyed their will to resist, making the Americans willing to act as shrunken turtles, which undoubtedly created extremely favorable conditions for the next operation.
"Marshal, this is what we should do. However, if we were to say that we had completely defeated the main force of the U.S. Army Air Force, we had not yet done so. According to the information we have received, there are at least about 400 fighters deployed by the US military on the Rio Grande Line, which still have very strong combat effectiveness. It's just that the Americans deliberately avoided the war in order to preserve their strength! Lieutenant General Feng Yong, deputy commander of the Air Force, said.
"And four hundred fighters? That's really a big threat to us. Is the Air Force sure that it will be able to completely solve the threat posed to us by the American fighter planes in the next week? Marshal Zhao Bowen frowned, and then said. The various units of the army are already making final preparations for the attack, and the assembly of troops will soon be completed. The time for an attack on the U.S. line of the Rio Grande has also been tentatively scheduled, on October 5. And the position of the main attack is in Nuevo Laredo. When the time comes, the 7th Army will force its way across the Rio Grande here.
The attack on Reynosa in the lower Rio Grande will begin on October 16 or 17. After the attention of the American forces was drawn to Nuevo Laredo, the 8th Army launched an attack from Reynosa in an attempt to gain a foothold and break through the American defenses. As long as they were able to secure a strong position on the north bank of the Rio Grande, the squadron would be able to quickly build a pontoon bridge and send a large number of heavy equipment and soldiers across the river. At that time, if the U.S. military wants to block the squadron's plan south of the Rio Grande, it will have to go bankrupt!
"Marshal, while the Americans want to preserve their strength, we will not let them succeed. Starting tomorrow, we will launch an attack on the airfields of the Americans. If the Americans continue to avoid the war, we will destroy all their airfields. When the time comes, let's see what else they have to fight us! Lieutenant General Feng Yong said. Aircraft must rely on airfields for combat, and the airplanes have a limited amount of time in the air, and they have to return to the airfield to replenish after they run out of fuel and ammunition. There are only a few dozen airfields in the US Army Air Force, and now the Chinese Air Force has more than 200 fighters and more than 300 bombers and dive bombers, which is enough to carry out large-scale strikes on US airfields. The U.S. Army Air Force will undoubtedly meet the Chinese Air Force, and if they avoid the war, they will destroy their airfields one by one. When the time comes, the US Army Aviation still has nothing to do!
"Well, let's do it according to the Air Force's plan! I have only one request, that is, when the army launches a river-crossing attack, the air force should provide the most complete fire support for the army! Marshal Zhao Bowen said. What he was most concerned about was the attack that the army would launch in a week's time. This time, it was the most important attack launched by the squadron on the continental United States. If blocked, it will have a profound impact on the entire battle plan for the rest of the day. The Americans also know the importance of this line of defense and will definitely strengthen the defense. And Grande's blocking undoubtedly increased the difficulty of the squadron's attack. Therefore, air-to-air support for landing operations will play a very important role.
"Marshal, please rest assured, the Air Force will definitely fully support the Army at that time, and will clear the obstacles for the Army to land!" Lieutenant General Feng Yong is coloring.
Marshal Zhao Bowen was very satisfied with the promise of the Air Force. After cheering up the Air Force, he returned to the command. He was about to launch an attack on the American line of the Rio Grande, and he still had a lot of work to deal with. The assembly of the main attack force, the reserve of war materials, and the reinforcement of the follow-up troops, etc., all need him to make the final decision. During this time, he can be described as very busy.
On the 9th of the month, the Chinese Air Force once again dispatched a large-scale fleet of aircraft to launch an attack on the US military. It's just that the target of this bombing is no longer the US Army's Rio Grande Line Line, but the aircraft group of the US Army Air Corps. The Chinese Air Force dispatched 200 FB Hai Dongqing fighter jets and 200 H5 Hongyan bombers and FH5 Falcon dive bombers, divided into five groups, to attack five US airfields near Laredo.
After discovering the large-scale attack of the Chinese Air Force, the US Army Aviation did not choose to take off to meet the battle, but chose to avoid the battle. However, when they discovered that the Chinese Air Force had directly skimmed the Rio Grande Line and continued to penetrate deep into the US mainland, they immediately judged that the target of the Chinese Air Force was no longer the US defense line, but their airfield.
At this time, Lieutenant General Kevinson, commander of the US Army Air Corps, had no choice but to order the US Army Air Corps to take off to meet the enemy. It's just that they weren't well prepared. In order to preserve their strength, the US fighters have been evacuated again. The total number of fighters left on the airfield near Laredo was only about 100.
In this operation, the fighters of the Chinese Air Force scattered the US fighters in one fell swoop and entangled the US fighters.
Bombers and dive bombers took the opportunity to bomb the US airfield, turning all five US airfields into ruins. The runway was bombed and potholes, and the airport's supporting facilities were destroyed. Oil depots and ammunition depots are the focus of bombing. After the bombers returned home from their mission, the fighters of both sides were still engaged in fierce fighting. It's just that in the face of the 200 'Haidongqing' fighters deployed by the Chinese Air Force and the hundreds of 'Hurricanes' of the US Army Air Force, the fighters could not hold on at all, and most of them were shot down in half an hour of air combat, and the rest of the fighters scattered and fled. And the fighters of the Chinese Air Force are in hot pursuit. In the end, the Chinese Air Force lost 9 F5 Hai Dongqing fighters in this air battle, and two HB Hongyan bombers and three FH5 Falcon during the bombing, and the dive bombers were destroyed by anti-aircraft fire on the ground. But the results were also very impressive. The U.S. Army Air Corps lost 73 fighters in this air battle, and five airfields were completely destroyed. This further dealt a blow to the strength of the U.S. Army Air Corps.
In the face of such an attack by the Chinese Air Force, the US Army Aviation is completely in a state of difficulty. If they meet the enemy, their fighters will gradually be lost. If they avoid war, when the airfields of the US Army Air Force are completely destroyed, they will eventually have to face the Chinese Air Force, and they will pay a huge price for it.
On the afternoon of the 9th, the Chinese Air Force did not continue to attack, but made a transition. The U.S. Army Air Force near Laredo has been almost wiped out, and it's time to attack the U.S. Army Air Force airfields in other areas.
On the 10th, the Chinese Air Force launched a large-scale attack on the US Army airfield near McCarron, opposite Reynossa. More than eighty U.S. Army Air Force 'Hurricane,' fighter jets took off to meet the fight. However, in the face of the hundreds of FB'Hai Dongqing escorting bombers, under the siege of fighters, it was still a heavy loss. Of the more than 80 fighters, all but a dozen escaped, and the rest were shot down. And the Chinese Air Force only paid the price of 6 FB Hai Dongqing, fighters, one HB Hongyan, bomber and two FH5 Falcon dive bombers were shot down. Also, several airfields near McCarron were destroyed by US Army aviation.
In the following days, the Chinese Air Force frequently dispatched bombers to bomb US airfields, and each time it sent a large number of fighters to escort the bombers. In such a situation, the US Army Aviation had to meet it. In the end, the fighters of the US Army Air Corps suffered heavy losses, and even most of the airfields were destroyed!