At the same time that the main force of the Anti-Japanese Union was advancing towards Petropavlovsk, there was also a fleet in the Pacific quietly approaching the Japanese mainland.

After the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941, the Japanese army attacked the Pacific theater in many ways, occupying Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. And the U.S. military and its allies collapsed and behaved even worse than the Chinese army. Not to mention that there is no light on the face, even the foundation is about to fall off.

As a result of the successive defeats in the war, there is a sense of defeatism in the United States and in the military, with the people panicking and the army timid. This made the US high command realize that in order to reverse the situation of being passively beaten, it must first strike a blow at the arrogance of the Japanese army and boost its own morale. To put it simply, no matter what, you have to win. It's the same as Pingxingguan, you don't need to get many big results, you just need to be able to slap the girl.

But at that time, if they wanted to win the war, the U.S. military was really a bit of an old man in the cave room - powerless. Like the recent Battle of the Coral Sea, the U.S. military once again unsurprisingly lost (worse than in history), another aircraft carrier was sunk, and the Japanese lost only one small aircraft carrier converted from a merchant ship.

The main force of the Japanese army is all elite drawn from the Chinese battlefield and has extremely rich combat experience, but the US army is an out-and-out rookie. Moreover, the U.S. military also felt extremely uncomfortable in front of the Japanese bushido. As the saying goes, those who are horizontal are afraid of being stunned, and those who are stunned are afraid of dying. The U.S. military has been rampant in the Western Hemisphere for so many years, and I have never seen the Japanese army so unafraid of death.

Roosevelt thought about it and decided to take a relatively costly and successful step by bombing the Japanese mainland first. In order to psychologically shock the Japanese army and thwart the enemy's edge.

At an operations meeting of the U.S. Army High Command in January 1942, Roosevelt told his army, navy, and air force generals: "The Japanese monkeys are so rampant, you have to find a way to bomb Tokyo right away, and fuck the sons of a bitch." Luo Dayuan's words may be more elegant than those of the mountain people, but that's what it means.

The generals looked at each other, and General Marshall, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: "Your Excellency, the closest of our remaining bases to Tokyo is tens of thousands of miles, and no plane can fly such a long distance. ”

So some people proposed to use aircraft carriers to get close to the Japanese mainland. Then use carrier-based aircraft to bomb. But there was an immediate objection. Originally. As a maritime nation and a veteran of sneak attacks, Japan takes threats from the sea very seriously. Radar sentinel boats patrol 700 nautical miles from the Japanese mainland, and a large number of patrol planes in the sky are constantly searching for possible threats on the sea. Meantime. Japanese fishing boats are also equipped with radio systems. Any anomalies found can be reported to the country at any time.

This means that aircraft on an aircraft carrier must take off from a distance of 750 nautical miles. so as not to be discovered. After the mission, it will fly back and forth, with a round-trip range of more than 1,500 nautical miles. Such a long distance was impossible for the carrier-based aircraft of that time. Worse. What if Japanese planes attack an aircraft carrier waiting to return from an air attack while a carrier-based aircraft is on a mission? You must know that the U.S. Pacific Fleet has suffered greater losses in this time and space, but it really can't afford to lose.

For a time, the generals were stumped. And it's a dead knot that can't be untied, you can't win a battle, you can't improve morale, you can't win a battle, you can't improve morale......

Dangdangdang...... At this critical juncture, someone finally stepped forward, who, Zheng Huzibei!

According to the American thinking, there will always be a hero wearing underwear to save the world in times of crisis. It's just that what Uncle Sam didn't expect was that it was a Chinese who helped them this time. After the end of the war with Japan, President Roosevelt personally awarded Zheng Weiguo the Congressional Medal of Honor for bringing light on the darkest night in the United States of America.

Zheng Huzi's method is very simple, and in history, an operational staff officer named Sam thought of it. Even if the Army's B25 long-range bombers were used to take off from the deck of the aircraft carrier, so that they could be lifted off outside the Japanese radar sentry boat warning network, it would not be a problem to bomb Tokyo. So how do you go back after completing the mission? The answer is that you don't have to go back, go directly to Chinese mainland, so you save a lot of flights.

What a word to wake up a dreamer! The U.S. military quickly began to act as if they had taken a shot in the arm. This legendary operation immediately attracted a large number of adventurous young people.

The big question now is to see if the B25 bomber can take off from the deck of a 500-foot-long aircraft carrier, which has never been such a large aircraft before. If you can fly, then the rest will be easy.

The USAAC (American Army Airlines) began to look for such a person, and eventually they found a Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle at Eglin Airport in Florida, who had broken flight records several times and was extremely skilled.

When Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle heard that Tokyo was going to be bombed, he was extremely excited, and immediately said: "Okay, there is no problem, as long as the bombers are slightly modified and the operating procedures of the aircraft carriers are also changed, I promise that it will be done!" ”

Thus, the task of bombing Tokyo was quickly decided. However, compared with history, it was three months late, because the Pacific Fleet suffered heavy losses in the battle of Pearl Harbor while it was "waiting for the rabbits," and several aircraft carriers were sunk or wounded, and they could not be made up for a while. On the other hand, the US military's "super cloud burst bomb" has already been developed, and Luo Dada said that if he wants to blow it up, he will blow it up ruthlessly, which will make the Japanese hurt to the bone.

In July, everything was finally arranged, and the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, carrying 16 B25 bombers, officially set off under the escort of the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier formation (including 1 aircraft carrier, 2 cruisers, and 4 destroyers). Because the Japanese did not expect the US fleet to dare to approach the Japanese mainland, they were not prepared at all.

Walk you!

On July 18, 1942, 16 B25 "Flying Fortress" bombers produced by Boeing, each carrying four 230-kilogram bombs, took off from the aircraft carrier "Hornet" and flew towards the Japanese archipelago.

Interestingly, at the same time that the Doolittle squadron flew away from the Hornet, air defense exercises were underway in Tokyo, Japan. Despite repeated warnings. However, no one in the Japanese high command believed it, and as a result, these bombers successfully broke into the sky over Tokyo.

At that time, the citizens of Tokyo were in the middle of their fun, and suddenly they saw a large number of twin-engine planes appear overhead. It's just that no one thought that this was a US military plane, and everyone thought it was a new type of aircraft of the Japanese army.

"Onboard!" The citizens happily waved the small colored flags in their hands and cheered loudly to these uninvited guests.

"1, 2, 3...... There are 16 in total, and it is 16, which is carried by the Great Japanese Empire! ”

Rumble! The plane circled for a while and finally began to drop the bomb, and a cloudburst bomb the size of a fat pig fell from the sky in an instant, and then there was a loud bang. It turned into a mushroom cloud in a violent tremble. In an instant, it engulfed the building of the Japanese diesel engine manufacturing company.

"Oh my God, look!"

"It's just a drill, can it be so realistic?"

"Ahh This bombing is terrifying. Bombs should be allowed to fall on the heads of the Americans! ”

……

Except for the citizens of Japan near the impact point. Citizens who were far away thought that the air raid was just the culmination of a realistic air defense exercise. Then, a series of bombs fell, and mushroom clouds bloomed over Tokyo.

"Oh my God. This is not a drill, this is an enemy bombing! ”

"Run!"

The citizens finally got scared and ran away......

Japan's new Prime Minister Hideki Tojo was on a plane to inspect the Mito Aviation School, preparing to cut the route of the US plane and land at a nearby airport. Seeing the rows of twin-engine planes, Tojo's secretary, Daisa Nishiura, thought they "looked weird."

"Prime Minister, those planes look so weird, I've never seen them before!"

Hideki Tojo said with a dark face: "Those bastards in the Navy are so unspeakable, they didn't even notify me when they developed a new aircraft!" ”

The plane flew closer and closer, and soon even the pilot's face could be seen, and Nishiura suddenly woke up and shouted: "Oh my God, it's an American plane!" American planes! ”

Tojo was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "Yaga, what's going on!" ”

Count Hideki Tojo lucky, the bombers didn't attack them, otherwise the 18 0.5-inch machine guns on it would have been enough to send Tojo into Kudanzaka! Afterwards, the pilot said in annoyance: "Who knew that there was a Class A war criminal sitting in that toy plane in the road!" ”

……

The bombs were finally dropped, and Doolittle Squadron quickly withdrew over Tokyo and began to fly west. Historically, their destination was Quzhou Airport in Zhejiang, but it was too far from Tokyo. In order to maintain secrecy before the operation, the National Government was not notified in a timely manner, so it was not effectively received. The plane had not yet found the airport at 9 p.m., and it encountered heavy fog, so they had to abandon the plane and parachute, with the result that almost all the planes crashed, and two crew members were captured by the Japanese army.

Zheng Weiguo naturally would not make this mistake, and he is not selfless, he is fighting the idea of these planes and pilots, how can he let them go to Zhejiang? So the location was changed to Shandong.

With the cooperation of Master Lin and Yu Xuezhong, Shandong has also formed eight relatively stable base areas such as Jiaodong. Among them, Jiaodong is the closest to Tokyo and much closer to Quzhou, Zhejiang, and the landing site is chosen here.

Prior to this, Commander Xu Shiyou had led his subordinates to secretly build a large airfield in a farmland in Jiaodong, and the ground was rammed extremely firmly, which was paved with a large number of bowl stones, and then a thick layer of cement was laid. This kind of cement is a specialty of some islands in Shandong, and it is said that after hydration (that is, the process of cement hardening), it is harder than artificial cement, but it dries more slowly. For this reason, the military and civilians in the base areas have also put a lot of thought into it.

"Kitty, Kitty, please answer when you receive it, please answer when you receive it!"

On the coast of Shandong, the liaison radio stations deployed on several hills called again and again, but there was no response.

"Commander, I still can't get in touch!"

Commander Xu angrily ordered: "I don't believe that the plane has all fallen into the sea, continue to call, and don't stop without an order!" ”

"Yes!"

Fortunately, in the past few years, the radio training courses have been very prosperous (preparing for radio stations to companies), and some of the military sub-divisions are communications talents. Everyone took turns listening and calling in front of the radio station until 8 o'clock in the evening.

"Kitty, Kitty, please answer when you receive it, please answer when you receive it!" The liaison shouted in a hoarse voice.

Suddenly, there was a murmur on the radio. Then someone asked in English, "HereisChinaplease?" ”

The liaison officer cautiously asked, "Where are you from?" ”

"Shangri-La!" This is the connector code.

"Great, this is China, I welcome you on behalf of the Chinese people and Commander Zheng of the Second World War Zone!"

"Oh God, we're safe!"

"Well done, Colonel!"

……

There was soon a burst of cheers from the plane.

Under the guidance of the liaison officer, Doolittle Squadron finally entered the sky over Jiaodong and accurately found the hidden airfield. Although it was nighttime, the place was already lit up, and the entire airport was lit up as if it were day. These pilots are all cattle men who can land on the undulating 270-meter deck of an aircraft carrier. This is not a problem. Soon. A full twelve planes lined up around the airport.

The military and civilians inside and outside the airport, both Chinese and Americans, cheered loudly and excitedly. This marked the Doolittle raid. A perfect success!

The airstrike. Let's be honest. The symbolism was far greater than the actual meaning, and even if it was replaced by a cloudburst bomb, the damage caused by the long-range bombing of the twelve planes was insignificant. However, the bombing dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese people mentally. For this people, who for generations thought that Japan itself would not be attacked, it caused an indescribable psychological shock. For the first time, many Japanese realized that this war may be lost!

War maniac Hideki Tojo lost his temper at the failure of the Navy and Army to take precautions. He considered it "a disgrace to the imperial army." Admiral Yamamoto was shocked and ashamed of this, and he entrusted the task of pursuing the US ship to Chief of Staff Yu Huan to command. He was locked in his room and refused to come out. The attendants had never seen him so pale and so depressed. General Woo Huan wrote in his diary that night: "We must find out the type and number of enemy aircraft so as to improve countermeasures against enemy attacks in the future." In short, today's victory belongs to the enemy.

Moreover, the Japanese military top brass reacted excessively out of anger: 500 fighters were transferred back from the front line of the Pacific Theater to defend the homeland, disrupting the previous strategic steps, and prompting them to urgently divide their troops to march to the southwest Pacific and the Central Pacific, sowing the seeds of defeat after defeat in the future. As far as the United States is concerned, this move has greatly boosted the morale of the US military, which has been depressed since the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Didi ...... The news of the successful bombing of Tokyo by Doolittle's squadron quickly spread around the world, and the Allied powers, which were struggling to hold on, were in high spirits. The cheers spread from the shores of the Arctic Ocean to Oceania, Washington, London, Chongqing...... Parades and celebrations were held in all major cities.

On the merchant ship Brave Brave, who was heading south along the west coast of the Bering Sea, Captain Geller excitedly waved a telegram and shouted: "Boys, our air force bombed Tokyo, Japan yesterday!" ”

"Oh, well done!"

"Ahha, the chrysanthemum that exploded the Japanese monkey!"

……

The sailors on board threw their hats in such excitement that quite a few fell into the sea. But at this time, everyone didn't care about fishing, they jumped and screamed, and even took out champagne and began to celebrate.

Chief of Staff Zhao Jiaxiang, who accompanied the Brave to the south, hurriedly dissuaded: "Hey, everyone listen to me first, now is not the time to celebrate, our mission has not been completed!" ”

Captain Geller agreed: "You are right, Vice Admiral! I have a suggestion, but it needs to be supported by the majority of the crew. I'm going to take the ship to the port of Ust-Kamchatsk, I think that victory will come a little faster. What do you think, boys! ”

The port of Ust-Kamchatsk is also an important port on the Kamchatka Peninsula and the second largest city in Kamchatka after the capital Petropavlovsk. It is very close to Petropavlovsk, and there is an improvised road in between, so if merchant ships come here to provide supplies, it will undoubtedly be very important to support the anti-coalition forces.

Because of the lack of transport for the anti-union forces, even heavier artillery could not be carried. Even if you move one or two guns, you won't be able to carry many shells. But if the merchant ships could sail directly to the port of Ust-Kamchatsk, then at least there would be no need to worry about supplies.

Chief of Staff Zhao Jiaxiang hesitated for a moment and said, "But this will be very dangerous, according to our intelligence, the port of Ust-Kamchatsk is likely to have been captured by the Japanese army." ”

"But Colonel Doolittle is more dangerous, and we have no reason to hide in the safe rear cowardly!"

"That's right, Michael! I am ready to take part in the operation to go south to the port of Ust-Kamchatsk! ”

"Count me in!"

"And me!"

……

Originally, these sailors were still a little hesitant, but now they rushed to express their position and asked to participate, and some even suggested that the ship should be driven directly to Petropavlovsk and let the Japanese monkeys there eat!

Captain Geller glanced at everyone with satisfaction, and said to Chief of Staff Zhao with a slight expression: "Mr. Lieutenant General, I know that you are all the bravest people, but you see, our American lads are not bad!" ”

Chief of Staff Zhao nodded and smiled: "You're right, they are all great young men. However, I think the plan needs to be revised, and it would be too risky to sail the Brave directly to the port of Ust-Kamchatsk. We should take a more prudent approach. ”

Captain Geller asked, "What do you mean?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhao explained: "We first set up a mooring outside the fishing village in Kagara Town as originally planned to replenish supplies and ammunition for the large army. Then our army will continue to move south, and go straight to the port of Ust-Kamchatsk, and the Brave will hide near the port of Ust-Kamchatsk, and wait for our army to take the port before supplying our army. ”

Captain Geller thought for a moment and said happily, "You're right! Lads, I think we should trust the professionals! ”

When the sailors heard this, they also felt that Chief of Staff Zhao's plan was more reasonable, so they agreed. Only one Russian-American, Ulyanov, expressed a desire to go south with the coalition forces and take part in the fighting.

Chief of Staff Zhao thought for a moment and said with a smile: "Great, we just need a liaison with the merchant ship!" ”

The Brave was a fast merchant ship that could reach 35 knots at its fastest, so it was soon on the waterfront in the town of Kagaara. The main forces of the 1st and 2nd Divisions of the Anti-Japanese Union (now it should be said that the 1st and 2nd Divisions of the Northern Front) have been waiting here for a long time. (To be continued......)

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