At 6:20 in the morning that day, 50 Boeing B29 bombers arrived in Fujian Province on time, and then divided the troops into three groups and flew to the three cities of Minhou, Minqing, and Shuikou.
Defend the Jiang defense fortifications of the 21st Division of Fujian Qingzhi.
The soldiers who were on night duty last night lay lazily in the trenches and yawned, waiting for their rotation.
In the station not far away, the cooking soldiers also started to light fires and cook meals, preparing breakfast for the entire army.
Several soldiers walked out of the tent with their guns in hand, intending to go to the woods to release water and then go on duty.
"Yellow dog, Niu Dahan, have you heard the buzzing sound?"
"Hey, I heard that, where did the bees come from?"
Several people had different opinions, and finally looked up in confusion, "Oh my god, there are so many big iron birds!"
20 B29 bombers flew in from the end of the skyline at high speed, covering the sky and the sun. Their huge engines rumbled, which was naturally the source of the noise.
After locking the target area, the aircraft group collectively lowered their altitude, opened the bomb hatch cover, and prepared to take turns to carry out carpet bombing of the direct army positions on the south bank.
It took more than ten seconds for someone to react, slap their head suddenly, and yell:
"Idiot, that's a plane of the Patriot Army!"
"Brothers, run quickly, the big plane is coming..."
"You idiot, you should find a bunker to hide..."
Although Gankui's troops had already been mentally prepared for the bomber air attack by the Patriot Army.
However, in the face of the fear of this unknown weapon and the sense of powerlessness brought about by the lack of countermeasures against aircraft weapons, the psychological defenses of the Zhili troops were quickly broken, and they fled in all directions in a panic.
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"
Before these direct troops could disperse and run away, huge black shadows quickly passed over their heads like the god of death. The 36 gray-green SC250 aerial bombs in the cabin landed at their feet like meteors.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Countless huge fireballs accompanied by black smoke and dust exploded on the approximately seven-kilometer-long straight army position.
In an instant, the ground shook, mountains collapsed, and the ground cracked, as terrifying as a volcano erupting and the end of the world approaching.
The rocks standing unexpectedly on the riverside were instantly torn into pieces in the explosion, turning into dust and smoke that filled the sky above the river.
Like a dense rain of bullets, the entire south bank of the Wulong River was filled with smoke and sand and rocks. Countless soldiers and trees were uprooted and overturned by the destructive shock waves of thermal weapons, or were torn into pieces by shrapnel. Broken limbs!
Thousands of Zhili troops were still sleeping soundly in their tents. They had no time to react and were silently buried in the fire, shock wave, and dust generated by the explosion.
The same air raid scene is currently taking place on the 26th Division and two garrison brigades responsible for garrisoning the positions of Minhou in the lower reaches and Shuikou in the upper reaches.
Moreover, the Minhou and Minqing stations stationed by the 26th and 21st Divisions received preferential treatment because they were Sun Chuanfang's direct troops. They were bombed by 20 B29s, while the two garrison brigades at Shuikou were bombed by 10 B29s.
Three kilometers away from the west bank of the Wulong River, on a hillside full of trees, thorns, and shrubs, the forward headquarters of the 8th Mountain Division is located here.
"Our Air Force's tactical bombings are as punctual as ever." Division Commander Sun Funeng stepped down from the periscope lookout, glanced at his watch and continued:
"Immediately send power to the frigate task force in Zhuqi Gorge and tell them that the air force has launched a bombing. Let them split into two groups now. The eight ships will each go along the river to Minhou and Minqingcheng. The first and second regiments will seize the beach. During landing, provide artillery suppression.
"Yes, Master!"
After the communications staff officer ordered to leave, Shen Mowen, the commander of the second regiment on the side, couldn't help but asked: "Master, our first and second regiments are attacking Minhou and Minqing with naval gun support. What about the third regiment attacking Shuikou upstream?" What should we do with the group?”
"Commander Shen, do you think that after the Air Force bombing, how many people in the Strait Army on the other side were not frightened?"
"Although there is no frigate support at Shuikou upstream, the terrain is much gentler, so I specially asked Commander He of the 6th Armored Division to second the howitzer regiment of their division. The artillery fire of the third regiment will only be stronger."
Shen Mowen suddenly realized that no wonder he heard news from Pingnan City behind him yesterday.
It was said that 60 155mm howitzers were transported by railway, which turned out to be weapons of the armored division.
"Hehehehe, Master, it seems that Commander Shen's third regiment can get better artillery support than us. As long as we cross this Wulong River, we will be very close to capturing Sun Chuanfang."
As the bombing was in full swing, the headquarters was located in Jianglin, one kilometer away.
Soldiers from the Second Regiment of the 8th Mountain Division of the Patriot Army have checked their weapons and equipment and are ready to go, waiting for orders.
"Chirp! Chirp!" Battalion Commander Qiao Yu carried an MP40 submachine gun. As the whistle blew, the three battalions quickly lined up and assembled in the open space.
"Brothers of the Third Battalion, after the bombing and artillery bombardment is over, our battalion will be the main attacker. After setting foot on the south bank, we have only one mission. Under the cover of the amphibious tank group, we will quickly capture Minqing City."
"As the battalion commander, I am very confident in completing this mission, but I don't know if you have the confidence?"
"Yes! Listen to the command and obey the order. We will resolutely complete the mission with confidence and determination!"
Qiao Yu nodded with great satisfaction. When he saw that the 40 LVT-4 amphibious landing vehicles needed to cross the river and the 15 LVT(A)-1 amphibious tanks needed to cover the beach, they had already parked in the open space in the distance. He also waved his hand. .
"Okay, bring your respective weapons and equipment, and now the whole battalion will board the amphibious armored vehicle and stand by."
The LVT-4 amphibious landing vehicle is specially designed for crossing rivers and landing on beaches. Each vehicle can carry 30 soldiers and can transport 1,200 troops to the south bank in a single trip.
In addition, there is an M1919A4 machine gun and an M2HB heavy machine gun on the cockpit of this amphibious landing vehicle, which can provide fire support for landing soldiers.
After the bombing, the artillery of the division, regiment, and battalion of the 8th Mountain Division deployed on the north bank also continued to pour artillery shells towards the hole-riddled Strait Army positions on the opposite bank.
More than two hundred artillery pieces of various types roared one after another, throwing hundreds of shells towards the other side.
"boom!"
"boom!"
Besides, the Zhizhi Army on the other side had not yet recovered from the fear of the meteor bombing by the bombers. As a result, they seamlessly encountered fierce fire from the land artillery of the Patriot Army on the other side and the naval guns of the frigates on the river.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Two kilometers behind the 21st Division's river defense fortifications, Gan Kui staggered up from the collapsed headquarters. He felt dizzy and his ears were ringing.
The adjutant, who was also reduced to a beggar by the artillery fire, ran over in a hurry when he saw this: "Master! The bombers of the Patriot Army are too powerful. What should we do now?"
After that, the adjutant pulled Gan Kui into a nearby shell crater and continued: "The brothers on the front line were blown to pieces. As a result, before they could take a breath, they were hit by artillery fire from the other side. The front line may not be able to withstand it. …”
"Ah! Adjutant Long, what are you talking about?" Gan Kui shook his head and regained consciousness a little, but his ears still couldn't hear any sound, so he could only convey the order hoarsely.
"Hurry up and ask the war team to go to the front line and organize soldiers to repair the fortifications. The Patriot Army should take action!"
"Also, send someone to see how many guns our division's mountain artillery battalion still has..."
"Uh-huh!"
Lieutenant Long heard the roar that ripped through the air and reacted quickly, pulling Qian Kui down to hide in the pit.
An AA-type 127mm grenade roared and hit the muddy ground about 15 meters away from them.
"Boom!"
A fireball about 5 meters in diameter exploded violently. Fortunately, the two of them were not bad luck. They were not hit by the shrapnel and gravel carried by the hot shock wave, but they were also shocked and fainted to death with blood gushing out.
The four demon-class frigates in the Minqing River Basin of the Wulong River are also very busy at the moment.
Under the command of the range finders, calculation soldiers, and surveyors, the loaders operating the Mk12 127 mm main gun on the ship almost turned their arms into electric fans.
