Episode 87 Failed Airdrop

On the night between the 7th and 8th, the Ming troops in Andong City relied on their superiority in firepower, especially in light weapons, and the Japanese troops of the 4th Division were unable to advance a single step all night. And the Japanese army of the 10th Division behind it also failed to land.

But on this day and night, a worrying problem has always hung over the Ming army in the city, and it is becoming more and more obvious. That is: ammunition is tight.

There was also a shortage of ammunition for the heavy weapons of the Ming army, but the problem was not too serious. The greatest threat from ammunition shortages is light weapons. The Ming army's light weapons had a large proportion of automatic weapons, submachine guns, general-purpose machine guns, and light machine guns, all of which were bottomless pits for eating bullets. When they withdrew into the city, they were relatively hasty, and did not have a complete set of logistical reserves. That is, relying on the fourth division of the Japanese army on the opposite side, and did not attack very hard, the Ming army relied on this ammunition to hold on for a day and a night.

On this day and night, the Ming army in the city repeatedly called the rear, reported the shortage of ammunition in code, and asked for support. However, throughout the day on the 7th, the entire command system of the Ming army was still in a rather busy state, and tens of millions of telegrams and telephones flew to Nanjing. On the contrary, it is Xiang Xiaoqiang of the People's Guard, who has always maintained a high degree of concern for Anton Mingjun. It was only on the afternoon of the 7th that Lu Hang, under the intervention of Xiang Xiaoqiang, began to arrange airdrops and supplies for Anton's Ming army.

At about 4 o'clock in the morning of the 8th, 15 DC-3 transport planes that took off from Shenyang Airport, loaded with ammunition, food, and medicine, roared over Andong City. The Army Aviation considered that the losses of the night airdrop would be small, because it would not be intercepted by Japanese fighters. Moreover, after the airdrop at this time, it was just dawn over Shenyang, which was convenient for landing.

But the cup scene happened. When the group flew over Andong City, it found that there were scattered flames burning everywhere below, and the smoke of gunpowder was filled, and all kinds of flares and tracer shells were flying back and forth, and the Japanese anti-aircraft artillery units were also shooting into the sky, and the searchlights illuminated the sky so brightly that nothing could be seen below......

The flashlight signal agreed with the Ming army in the city is useless at the moment. The crew members in the sky couldn't tell where the Ming army-controlled area was below and where was the Japanese-controlled area. After circling in a circle, they had to guess and throw things down blindly, and then return to the voyage.

When the Ming army in the city heard the roar of the planes in the sky, they immediately used more than a dozen flashlights to line up in a specific shape and wave them into the sky in the agreed way. But they watched as the planes in the sky, under the searchlights and shelling of the surrounding Japanese troops, quickly flew overhead and dropped nothing. The Ming soldiers on the ground shouted, jumped and waved their flashlights desperately, but it was useless, and the planes in the sky flew over one after another. The faint glow of the flashlight in their hands had been completely submerged in the countless flames, searchlights, flares, and other strong light sources around them.

After a few moments, the swarm flew over their heads again, but this time it seemed to be an airdrop. A burst of cheers immediately erupted from the Ming army's position. However, they soon found out that they were rejoicing too soon.

They found that as soon as the swarm flew above them, it stopped the airdrop and gradually moved away.

With the help of searchlights and the light of the ground fire, the Ming soldiers saw hundreds of parachutes, fluttering and descending in the air. But if they are within their control, I'm afraid it would be good to have a dozen.

In this airdrop, most of the supplies were dropped on the Japanese position. It can be described as a failure.

……

The news was transmitted back to the Nanjing Command, and Xiaoqiang was angry with the seven tricks. He also counted on Anton's regiment to hold on, and it was best to keep the two divisions of the Japanese army in check. This is good, maybe one more day of fighting, and all the ammunition will be exhausted.

He almost scolded Li Guoliang, the commander of the Army Aviation.

"Master Li! It's not me talking about you! He was patient, holding back his anger, and said in a respectful tone as much as possible, "It's not the first time that Lu Airlines has airdropped at night, when I volunteered for the Taihang Mountain Column, how many times did I drop it at night before and after?" When you supported the resistance groups behind enemy lines in the Northern Qing Dynasty, how many times did you drop them at night? There have been countless times, right? How could this result still happen? There is light interference on the ground, okay, then why do you have to make an appointment with the people of the 66th Division for such a signal? The people of the 66th division are laymen and don't understand airdrops, are you also a layman? Don't you understand airdrops? ”

Although Li Guoliang's military rank is the same as Xiang Xiaoqiang, he is a lieutenant general, but when Xiang Xiaoqiang trained him, he was still like a subordinate, his face was red and white for a while, but he didn't dare to get angry with Xiang Xiaoqiang. Now in Li Guoliang's eyes, Xiang Xiaoqiang is already His Royal Highness the Prince.

After a while, seeing that Xiang Xiaoqiang seemed to have eased up, Li Guoliang sighed:

"Lord Xiang, I used to be airdropped at night, but I never dropped it on the battlefield! The ground was all black, as long as our people didn't care about flashlights or bonfires, we could see it more than ten kilometers away. This time the ground has been shattered, and all kinds of strong light interference, those flashlights can't see it at all. …… It's also our fault, this situation should have been thought of. ”

Li Guoliang said the reason, but he didn't say anything, so Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't say anything about him. He sighed and said:

"Can it be remedied? When will I be able to airdrop it next time? ”

Li Guoliang hesitated:

"It's dawn now...... In fact, if you want to airdrop again, you can immediately reload and refuel, and you can take off again within two hours. However, if you throw in the sky during the day, you need fighter escorts, and there will be a lot of losses. In short, the price will not be small. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang thought for a moment and said:

"It's a big cost, and it has to be airdropped. The cost is great, and the benefits are greater. If the airdrop is good this time, the 66th Division is estimated to be able to hold out until the friendly forces in southern Liaoning respond. In a few days, a large number of troops in the customs of our army will enter Liaodong, connecting Liaodong, southern Liaoning, and western Liaoning. Now the loss of a few planes can be exchanged for one regiment of Anton to contain two divisions of the Japanese army, it is worth it. In addition, you see, Andong is so close to Dadonggou Port, and if the nail of Anton is not removed, even if the Japanese army lays down Dadonggou Port, it will not be able to use this port in a down-to-earth manner. Dadonggou is very important, it will speed up the transportation of troops and goods by the Japanese army to Mukden. ”

Li Guoliang pinched his chin and nodded. Then he hesitated:

"This ...... I have not yet reported the results of the airdrop to General Staff Lu, and General Staff Lu has not given me the order for the second airdrop...... Even if I go for instructions now, I'm afraid I won't be able to take off until noon at the earliest. ”

Wave your hand to Xiaoqiang:

"Master Li, you are really...... General Staff Lu's order to you is 'airdrop support for Andong's 66th Division'. Have you completed the order? No. Did he revoke the order? Nor did it. Therefore, it is serious for you to hurry up and prepare for the second round of airdrops. What a report! ”

Li Guoliang thought for a moment and nodded:

"Well, yes."

……

Li Guoliang hurriedly arranged the second airdrop. And Xiang Xiaoqiang also walked out of the lounge, entered the command hall, came to the place of the Navy General Staff, and began to select and form his own "Aircraft Carrier Combat Planning Staff".

Xiang Xiaoqiang has already talked to Xiong Dingming. Of course, Xiong Dingming is also a giant ship artilleryist, and he almost scoffed at Xiang Xiaoqiang's plan, thinking that it was nonsense. But he didn't show it too much after all. Xiang Xiaoqiang is still the object of his best relationship, and he is also a person he must respect very much. What's more, this plan was supported by Her Majesty the Empress. In addition, in Xiong Dingming's view, although this plan is a bit absurd, it does not interfere too much with the current stage of maritime operations, so he reluctantly cooperates.

Xiong Dingming recommended a few people to Xiang Xiaoqiang, and they were all staff officers who were usually not very successful in the General Staff of the Navy. However, these staff officers have a common characteristic, that is, they are all relatively young, and they like to advocate "crooked and evil ways" -- that is, aircraft carriers are the main force in naval warfare, and air supremacy is used instead of sea supremacy. Because of this, these people are usually not taken seriously and are more marginalized. This time, Xiong Dingming took the opportunity to send them to Xiang Xiaoqiang.