"I thought we would be back in the U.S. anytime soon."

Qin Wei didn't stay with Doolittle for long, only said a few words, and left after getting a letter from Doolittle. However, after he left, Doolittle was still in a trance: he was actually going to stay in China to fight?

"You should feel honored." Chennault put his arm around Doolittle's shoulders without any flattery, "This is an invitation from a first-class general who has personally come and sent you an invitation. In terms of rank, he is at least equivalent to our four-star general! ”

"It doesn't matter." Doolittle said with a smile: "Originally, after we completed the bombing mission, we had to directly obey the orders of the air contingent in China. Since you, the commander, have already agreed, of course I have no choice but to obey orders...... And I am sure that our comrades-in-arms will be very happy to continue fighting against the Japanese. ”

"These words sound a little insincere to me." Chennault shook his head and patted Doolittle on the shoulder again, "Man, if it weren't for this damn war, I should have saluted you right now." And if the Chinese had found you and invited you to China as an air force adviser, you would have at least been a full-fledged major general by now. But now the problem is, you're not as lucky as I am! ”

"It seems so." Doolittle laughed. After a few days, he had come to know Chennault better. This former US military captain, who was forced to retire at the beginning, is more realistic, and also has many qualities that a rapidly promoted officer should have, such as straightforwardness, or the inability to hide words. Now, since this guy has directly spread out his words, there is no need for him to hide it. Indeed, he had a little resistance to helping the Chinese fight. According to the procedure, they should return to Washington in a few days, where they will be personally commended and awarded a medal by the president in Congress. And even if the war requires it, he would prefer to go to the Philippines and fight for the interests of the Americans under the leadership of an American general. And not to submit to the command of the Chinese, as is the case now.

"Man, when our Military Observer Mission was still in China, I had a conversation with Colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was the head of the mission...... Well, I think you know him. That guy was better than me, I was a lieutenant when I was 46 years old, and he was already a lieutenant colonel. Chennault grinned, "But the most interesting thing is that this not-so-accomplished colonel was actually our most famous Douglas. Assistant to General MacArthur. He followed General MacArthur for many years. ”

"What does this have to do with us?" Doolittle asked.

"MacArthur was very proud, or rather proud." Chennault said, "This is what Eisenhower revealed in his words when we talked about whether the Chinese army would send troops to the Philippines to help us." And that's exactly what Eisenhower said. MacArthur more than once refused the request of Chinese troops to enter the Philippines to help in the war. ”

"I heard that there were only 200,000 Japanese troops. Well, with a force of 120,000 men. Defend various coastal forts in the Philippines. I believe that with General MacArthur's ability, it should not be difficult to do. Doolittle thought for a moment and defended MacArthur.

"Although I have served China, I am still an American. You don't have to think about where I stand. Chennault only smiled when he heard this, "That's right, we all know very well that MacArthur refused to allow the Chinese to enter the Philippines." In addition to his own self-confidence, confident that he could keep the Japanese at sea with the forces at hand, he was worried that the Chinese would play some tricks, and after arriving in the Philippines, he would never leave. It's very close to China after all. And several combat experiences of the Chinese Air Force have confirmed their great capabilities. Once they find a base in the Philippines where they can stay, then there will be a steady stream of Chinese soldiers crossing the ocean and setting foot on Philippine territory! This is unacceptable to the United States. ”

"That's right." Doolittle shrugged, "But what does this have to do with us?" ”

"Of course it does." Chennault exhaled helplessly: "Just because of this, we can only stay in China and fight for the Chinese." ”

"As long as it's against the Japanese, it's the same for whomever you're fighting." Doolittle said.

"I'm glad you think so. But the Japanese are not so easy to deal with, and ......" Chennault hesitated, and a strange smile crossed his face, "According to the words of the Qin general who just left: we are not afraid of god-like opponents, we are only afraid of pig-like teammates." So, you have to be careful. ”

“…… Are you reminding me? Doolittle was stunned.

"Yes." Chennault smiled wryly, "Although I don't want to say much, for an American hero, I still feel the need to tell you: in this upcoming battle, the opponents we face, as well as the partners we fight together, will not be normal!" ”

"You...... Can you be more elaborate or clear? Doolittle licked his lips, he still didn't quite understand Chennault's words.

"I can't." Chennault shook his head directly.

"But you've already said that, what are you ...... for?"

"According to Chinese, there are some things that you can only comprehend for yourself, but not in words...... Because it's too complicated. ”

“……”

*************************

reconnaissance aircraft, fighters, bombers; destroyers, cruisers, battlewinters, aircraft carriers; Cars, tanks, armored vehicles......

The United States was like a trumpeter, sounding the clarion call for an all-out battle in World War II with the bombing of Tokyo.

The enraged Japanese did not wait for winter to come completely before launching an attack on Southeast Asia. They did not split into three attacks at the same time, attacking the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia at the same time, as they had done in the original imprint. This time, they concentrated all their forces and struck a hard blow at the Philippines first.

Originally, the main attacker in the Philippine battlefield was the Japanese known as the "poet general" Masaharu Honma, who defeated MacArthur, who also performed poorly, in a clumsy way, but the Japanese army had to pay an extra three months, and was finally deliberately retaliated by MacArthur and was shot after the defeat. And this time, the Japanese used Seishiro Sakagaki!

At the very beginning of the campaign, the Japanese army and naval aviation attacked the US airfield and the Krabi (Luzon) naval base. and at the southern tip of Luzon Island, Legazpi, Lingayan Bay, Ramon Bay and other places launched indiscriminate bombardments, and at the same time launched landing operations. In the face of the Japanese attack, the US and Philippine troops were quite calm under the command of MacArthur, and not only did they hold their tidal flat positions to the death, but the air force units also fought to the death against the invading Japanese fighters.

The fighting was extremely fierce. In the air war in particular, because of the "delay" of the Japanese, the United States seized the opportunity to send a number of additional air units to the Philippines, so that MacArthur, who originally had only about 140 backward planes, had nearly 300 excellent fighters, and in particular, the "Hellcat," which was claimed to be specialized in restraining the Japanese Zero carrier-based aircraft, had more than 80 planes. The Japanese thought they had bombed Grumman. It is simply a dream to stop the production of this fighter that has made them suffer for an unknown amount of suffering. Because there is no Grumman, there is no information in the company, and there are workers! As long as these workers are still there, then. Airplanes can still be built. What's more, it was impossible for the Japanese to bomb the entire Grumman by sneak bombing, and there were always some technical personnel who survived. Again. What if you can't produce a new "Hellcat" for a while? Not long after the start of World War II. Roosevelt ordered the construction of 50,000 planes to protect the airspace of the Western Hemisphere. Hellcat's track record is enough to make it the object of the U.S. government's attention, and it will not only produce those for China. The U.S. still has a lot of stock, enough to supply the Philippines. Moreover, in addition to the "Hellcat", the "Wildcat" fighter is also an excellent fighter that can fight the "Zero". And this one is more in stock in the United States. This is also the reason why MacArthur even the Chinese Air Force has to refuse. He is not lacking!

And precisely because both sides were prepared, on the first day of the battle, each suffered heavy losses. The Japanese lost more than 70 fighters of various types, and more than 50 American troops.

But Seishiro Sakagaki did not stop attacking. It was as if there was no plane that fell like a dumpling in the sky at all. Under his orders, the Japanese army launched an attack on land as if it were not destined for it. In this way, two days later, the "raw melon and egg" soldiers of the United States who had not gone through the war could not hold on and retreated to the second line of defense. By this time, the Japanese casualties had exceeded 12,000.

But that's the end of it.

The Japanese submarine force transported a number of small groups of Japanese troops to infiltrate Luzon Island, attacked the US airfield in Manila, and wreaked havoc, coupled with the surprise attack of the Japanese air force, the US and Philippine air forces suffered heavy losses, and in this battle, they lost more than half of the heavy bombers and 2/3 of the fighters. At this time, Japanese bombers also threw a large number of napalm bombs at the US positions, allowing the Japanese to easily open the gap in the US-Philippine defense line and break into Luzon. Soon, MacArthur and his troops were surrounded. Before that, MacArthur wanted to lead the U.S. and Philippine troops to withdraw to the Bataan Peninsula, but was cut off by Seishiro Sakagaki and could not retreat.

The fall of the Philippines is imminent.

But at this time, few people cared about the Philippines, and even the Americans themselves had to devote most of their energy to Europe.

The Germans launched the "Barbarossa" scheme.

And perhaps because it was already winter in Northern Europe, the Soviets had relaxed their vigilance against the Germans, so they were even worse than they had been in Siberia.

While almost 3.2 million German ground troops, as well as hundreds of thousands of Romanian, Hungarian, Slovak, and Italian troops, launched an offensive against the Soviet Union from the Western Front, not a single Soviet force was put on alert. As a result, on the first day, the Germans destroyed 1,489 Red Army fighters and lost 35 of their own; And two days later, their results reached 3,922 aircraft! But that's just the beginning. Over time, the Germans advanced almost crushing. According to some accounts, the Germans showed a "brilliant" art of war. In what may have been the largest war in history, they repeatedly used encirclement tactics to annihilate hundreds of thousands of Soviet Red Army troops or force them to surrender. The Battle of Kiev was particularly bloody, as Germany's Army Group South captured it five months after its attack, capturing more than 650,000 Soviet Red Armymen.

And that's just the beginning. (To be continued......)