At 13:00 in the afternoon on May 6, 1941, Taiyuan First Army Headquarters, there were still twenty-four hours left before the scheduled attack time by North China Front Army Commander Okamura Neiji.
With the sound of military boots hitting the ground, Huagu walked unhurriedly from the corridor into the combat conference room.
The originally noisy staff officers gradually became silent, as if a poisonous snake was approaching. One by one, they quickly turned sideways to make way for the cold-tempered man in front of them.
Although Hua Guzheng has not been with the First Army for a long time, he often beats and scolds his subordinates unreasonably.
He often bullies mid-level officers who are not from the Army University because he is a graduate of the Army University. Everyone in the entire First Army, from the lieutenant generals to the soldiers, disliked him. He was a serious man who made a bad name for himself by relying on his strength.
Ignoring those fearful looks, he came to the map in the conference room.
"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, do you have any plans for coming to me?"
Hearing his partner's voice, Yoshio Iwamatsu put down the document in his hand and turned around. After seeing the other party's posture, the old devil frowned and was very dissatisfied.
Although the other party has his feet together, it looks like a subordinate is reporting work to his superior.
But if you look closely, you will find that there is a lack of respect for himself in his eyes, which is absolutely unforgivable in a hierarchical army.
Knowing that now was not the right time to teach him a lesson, Yoshio Iwamatsu suppressed the anger in his heart and started talking about business:
"Commander Gangcun's arrangement has worked. The defenders at Zhongtiao Mountain have completely lost the ability to judge our strategic intentions."
"According to the intelligence from T&G, the enemy's Fifth and Fourteenth Group Armies have been deployed in a chaotic manner. It is not difficult to see that the enemy has fallen into a predicament of uncertainty."
After finishing speaking, Yoshio Iwamatsu handed the document on the table next to him to the other party.
The purpose of this battle was to expel the preserved fruit troops in the Zhongtiao Mountain area. With an attitude of picking on the weak, after finishing the Zhongtiao Mountain garrison, they concentrated their forces to deal with the Eighth Route Army operating in North China.
In order to prevent the strategic purpose from being seen through by the defenders at a glance, the First Army did a lot of preparation work in the preparation stage.
Guo Preserved also cooperated very well and fell into the trap, thinking that the enemy was going to cross the Yellow River west to attack Tongguan, and then detoured southward and approached the southwest capital.
Due to misjudgment of the enemy's situation, the defenders of Zhongtiao Mountain completely missed their last opportunity in their hesitation.
The First Army has successfully deployed a large number of troops on the Western Front. The 36th, 37th, and 41st Divisions and the 3rd and 9th Independent Mixed Brigades are already in place. War is inevitable.
As the chief of staff of the First Army, he was aware of the above information, but this was the first time he received the summary version.
He contributed a lot to the planning of this battle, and his military exploits will definitely be indispensable after victory. Hua Zhenggu couldn't hold back his excitement at the thought of getting promoted and making a fortune.
But at this moment, Yoshio Iwamatsu directly interrupted the spell casting.
"I have applied for the command of the Fourth Independent Cavalry Brigade on your behalf. Congratulations in advance. You will definitely get a lot of results this time."
As soon as he finished speaking, Hua Zhenggu showed a surprised expression on his face. The sudden news left him speechless.
This effect made Yoshio Iwamatsu very satisfied, and he even couldn't help but raise his lips.
As the chief of staff, he bribed bandits and set up a spy network. The job of spying on intelligence is okay, but since taking charge of the First Army, he has begun to lose sight of his position.
In just a few months, a lot of good things have been ruined. If we don't fix it, it won't make it to heaven.
As for the safety issue, Yoshio Iwamatsu has also thought about it. This battle is a sure win and there will definitely be no accidents.
What's more, the opponent is famously afraid of death. Whenever they take a break during the march, they will ask their subordinates to dig special air-raid trenches and artillery-proof holes.
Although the overall situation was decided, Hua Guzheng still wanted to struggle. He pretended to think for a moment and then said:
"Otherwise, I would still be based in Taiyuan. The work of the staff department cannot be separated from me. Moreover, this battle is based on divisions, so there must be lieutenant generals like clouds on the front line."
"As a major general, my abilities are limited, so I might as well not join in the fun."
Looking at Hanatani Tadashi, whose face remained calm and his heart did not beat, Yoshio Iwamatsu showed a contemptuous expression.
"Don't belittle yourself. I know your abilities. It's just a cavalry brigade. With your level, it's more than enough to command a division."
"The ones attacking the Nakajo Shantung Line this time were the main force of the 35th Division commanded by Lieutenant General Harada Yukichi, the 21st Division commanded by Lieutenant General Tanaka Kuichi, and the 4th Independent Cavalry Brigade."
"The brigade commander of the Fourth Independent Cavalry Brigade was seriously injured some time ago. This is the position I applied for on your behalf. After all, our First Army is responsible for the security of Jin Province. It is not good to let the front army's direct-controlled corps do too many things. "
As soon as these words came out, Hua Guzheng completely gave up struggling.
In the final analysis, the plan to attack Zhongtiao Mountain was his own idea.
In order to cooperate with this operation, the superiors directly transferred two divisions from Central China, regardless of the deterioration of security conditions in the guarded areas.
Taking into account the number of defenders and the special terrain, the Kwantung Army also transferred 300 fighter planes of various types. Army Airlines operates at two airports, Yuncheng and Xinxiang, responsible for air cooperation.
There are now troops and generals of the First Army in both the west and north directions, but there are no people from our own side on the eastern front.
Sending a major general as a chief of staff to command an independent cavalry brigade was reasonable and justified, and I had no ability to refuse.
In desperation, Hua Guzheng could only nod. He walked up to Yoshio Iwamatsu and took the appointment letter listlessly.
"Thank you, Commander, for your cultivation!"
"You're welcome. You and I are both prosperous. What can we thank you for?"
"You should take a plane now and go to the Fourth Independent Cavalry Brigade to take office. The battle on the Eastern Front will begin in less than a day, and time waits for no one."
"Don't worry about safety issues. There are dozens of planes on the Eastern Front, and more than a hundred combat, automobile, and armored vehicles. There are few safer areas in the entire Republic of China than there."
Hua Guzheng suddenly stopped his head and stood at attention, bowing to the other party.
"Hi!"
"Iwamatsu-kun! See you after the battle!"
·····
At twelve o'clock in the morning on May 7th, Border Airport.
Under the urging of our own intelligence network and Baldhead, both the border area and the Eighth Route Army headquarters received news that the Japanese had launched a massive attack.
Since Yuncheng and Xinxiang have become the footholds of the Kwantung Army Army Aviation, a large number of enemy fighter planes may appear over Shanxi and Henan Provinces at any time.
Considering the above situation, Principal Chang decided to set off directly from the border airport to catch the Japanese by surprise.
After all, even the fuel tank of a fighter jet is enough to support an air battle plus a return trip to a field airport.
As usual, pre-war mobilization will be carried out by the top brass of the army before departure. Considering that the establishment of the Kongyi Division was inseparable from the director and Huang He, Principal Chang called the two to the scene.
Standing on the airport that has been expanded three times, looking at the 339 fighter jets of various types under preparation, a feeling of pride welled up from the bottom of Huang He's heart.
The director next to him also had the same expression. This was a sense of accomplishment unique to military workers.
"According to the current development momentum, it won't be long before our number of aircraft exceeds that of Guo Preserved. If we continue to develop in the next year, we may have more aircraft than the Japanese Army Airlines."
Hearing the words "preserved fruit air force", Huang He shook his head speechlessly.
This force can be divided into two parts, one part is the aristocratic young master of the direct line of the air, and the other part is the local miscellaneous pilots.
The vast majority of the former are from related households, and they can hold important positions just after graduating from aviation school. Their ability to suppress local bastards is the same as that of the army.
They don't take care of the precious and rare aircraft. They are frequently driven violently and poorly maintained, and they will immediately crash at the critical moment.
Even those hard-won new aircraft will be vandalized if you are not careful. After all, without the aircraft, there is no need to go on missions, and if you do not go on missions, you will be safe.
The latter was the main force in air combat in the Anti-Japanese War. Among the Four Heavenly Kings, three were from Northeast China and one was from Sichuan, but they did not directly belong to the Central Army. This explains everything.
The saying that the air force of the Republic of China did not surrender is even more classic. After all, all the brave ones died in battle, and the spineless ones were also very capable of running away, so it was normal that none of them were captured.
After talking about pilots, it’s time to talk about buying a plane.
When we launched a nationwide fund-raising campaign, we didn’t want to look too ugly when eating. If you want to directly donate airplanes, they won't accept it. All you need is cash and no airplanes. It's called unified procurement.
The money donated by the whole country could obviously buy two hundred Hawker 3s, but in the end, only one hundred were obtained.
We can't say that people swallowed the money. After all, they have to deposit the money in the bank to earn interest and wait until the 21st century to buy F22.
After a series of classic methods, before the war began in 1937, Guo Preserved had only more than 600 aircraft, and a large part of them were lying down.
The most outrageous thing is that there are only 179 fighter jets, which do not have the strength to seize air supremacy with the Japanese.
Later, we had to look at the pilots who aided China. They brought 1,091 aircraft and 1,250 pilots. The number of fighter jets accounts for half of this, almost giving it to a complete air force.
The arrival of this team gave the Japanese aerial power in the first half of the War of Resistance Against Japan, otherwise the airspace of the Republic of China would have been lost long ago.
Just when Huang He was still distracted, Principal Chang came to him.
"Director Huang, the First Air Division cannot be what it is today without your help. From the very beginning of rescuing students from the border aviation school to now bringing in all kinds of fighter planes, every step cannot be without you."
"Let me say a few words to everyone, comrades are all waiting."
Huang He stood in front of the crowd nervously. Facing the expectant eyes, pride suddenly surged in his heart.
"They talk about benevolence, justice and morality, and talk about building a large East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, but in fact they just want to annex our land. Today, we must defend this land that gave birth to miracles and not be tainted by nationalism."
"When the whole world stands by and watches with complaints, only we can protect ourselves! There is never a savior!"
"Giving the Japanese Army Air Force a head-on blow will make them difficult to move forward. A steady and accurate attack will be the key to victory this time."
"If the enemy attempts to resist stubbornly, then beat them until they surrender. Use the force of thunder to catch them off guard, and use the enemy's blood to irrigate every inch of Zhongtiao Mountain until it bears the fruits of victory."
"Your assistance will be remembered and praised! It's all down to you, have a safe journey!"
After the pre-war mobilization ended, 339 fighter jets rushed to the battlefield!
I can't stand the fourteen-day shift anymore. I'll take a day off tomorrow and write at home all day!
(End of chapter)
