Wanquan, the temporary command post of the Third Flight Group.
Looking at Yasuhiko Kuroe who was like a bereaved dog, the newly appointed Lieutenant General Sugawara Michichi angrily threw the battle report to the ground. He only felt an unknown fire burning in his heart.
Before taking office, the old Japanese made a special appointment with Kinoshita Toshi, who had been demoted back to China, and learned in advance about the situation of the North China Front and the general strength of the enemy's air force from his mouth.
But I never expected that even though I was fully prepared, I still underestimated the strength of the Eighth Route Army.
When he thought of the bigger and more mess that was waiting for him in the coming days, Michio Sugawara's expression became extremely ferocious.
Why?
Obviously he was doing well in the First Aviation Group and was about to go to Southeast Asia with the army to pick the fruits of victory. Why did he have to come to the Republic of China to wipe the butt of others.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, so the old Japanese simply poured out the anger in his heart on his subordinates.
"Major Heijiang, I need a reason for you to escape without fighting, otherwise no one can save your life."
"There are five squadrons, and not even half of the fighters have successfully returned home! Our third flight group only has a total of eighteen squadrons! If we continue like this, sooner or later we will be reduced to a flight group by our superiors!"
"As the frontline commander of this operation, how can you have the nerve to return to the command post to report? Why didn't you lead your team to launch the Jade Break Charge?"
Faced with a barrage of scoldings from his superiors, Kuroe Yasuhiko could only lower his stance again.
He first returned the documents on the ground to the other party's hands, and then carefully explained to his general:
"Your Excellency, Commander, at that time, dozens of Spitfires of the Eighth Route Army attacked my formation. The warriors were at a disadvantage in both quantity and quality, and they were really helpless!"
"This message contains information we collected at the cost of our lives."
"Those key data are very important to the entire Third Flight Group. Please check them carefully first."
As soon as these words came out, Sugawara Michio immediately became extremely serious.
Unlike Kinoshita Satoshi and others who became a monk halfway, he is one of the few senior generals in the army aviation system who came from aviation, so he naturally knows the importance of the information in his hands.
After a while, the old devil finished reading.
At the same time, a feeling of powerlessness still arises from the heart.
"Damn it, what's going on? Why are the performance of Type One and Type Two combat aircraft still inferior to the Eighth Route Army's fighter jets?"
"Those are not Spitfires at all. The British planes cannot be so advanced! If Dai Ying had such strength, Hermann Göring would have changed his name to Meyer."
"Based on my experience, the enemy must be trying to blind us with a similar appearance."
After analyzing it thoughtfully, Michio Sugawara began to think about ways to break the situation.
In order to support the southward policy, the First and Second Flying Groups and even the Red Deer Navy dispatched a large number of troops and fighter planes to Southeast Asia.
At present, their North China Front Army can be described as isolated and helpless. The existing fifteen squadrons are the entire bargaining chip of the Third Flying Group.
When the troops are insufficient and the individual quality is lagging behind, launching a group attack is self-destruction.
If you still want to break the situation at this moment, you can only bring the Eighth Route Army's air force to the same starting line.
"Major Heijiang, I don't have to execute you. But in the following days, you must personally lead the team to carry out the mission and complete the tactics I arranged with quality and quantity."
"I will divide the remaining squadrons into forty-five groups and attack small and large counties with high frequency and low number of sorties, except for military important places."
"The Eighth Route Army has a lot of planes, so let them experience the feeling of being exhausted. The Sixteen-Character Guerrilla Warfare Technique is very good, and we can use it too."
In fact, Michio Sugawara's tactical arrangement can be seen as an upgraded version of Toshi Kinoshita a few months ago.
At that time, in order to contain the energy of the First Air Division, the latter sent nearly three flying squadrons to attack Luoyang City over a long distance, in an attempt to use the lives of ordinary people to make the Eighth Route Army surrender.
It's just that the old devil never expected that the new air force would be able to defeat the First Flying Group head-on.
Michio Sugawara's plan was a bit more ruthless. He dispersed all the troops and dispatched them throughout Shanxi, with the intention of changing teams if they disagreed.
As a result, the Kongyi Division must allocate a large number of troops for defense. After all, the Eighth Route Army cannot ignore the life and death of the people.
What's more, airplanes are not that easy to encircle and suppress. Even if the performance of the North China Front Army Air Force's fighter planes is lagging behind, more than a hundred of them will definitely cause damage to any force in the Republic of China.
Hearing this, Kuroe Yasuhiko's eyes immediately lit up.
The above plan can allow all pilots to reduce the probability of encountering the enemy as much as possible. If you are lucky, you can even find a chance to blow up a few field airports to vent your anger.
"Hi!"
"I will not let you down this time, and I will definitely obey your orders!"
After solving the urgent task, Michio Sugawara took out a folder from the drawer in front of him, which contained a long-planned plan.
According to common sense, this relatively confidential thing should not be shown to a major who specializes in combat.
But now the Third Flying Group is in dire straits. The middle and high-level generals were almost beaten to pieces by the Eighth Route Army. Even the First Flying Group does not have a major general commander.
In desperation, the old devil could only discuss it with the ace pilot in front of him.
"Heijiang Lord, I am going to make a formal proposal to the base camp in the near future. Let several flight schools in the rear train a group of quick pilots to support the North China battlefield."
"The current situation of the Army Aviation is very embarrassing. In terms of technology, there is a generation gap between us and the enemy. Moreover, the number of enemy fighters has always remained more than twice that of ours."
"Under the circumstances, sooner or later we will be driven to death by the enemy."
As soon as these words came out, Kuroe Yasuhiko, who was an elite of the Army Aviation, felt a chill go down his spine. He never expected that his general would make such a decision.
What the other party wants to express is very simple, that is, to cultivate a group of cannon fodder to assist the frontal battlefield.
After all, in the circle of air combat, there has always been a generally accepted theorem.
That is, there may be a gap in performance between fighter jets of the same period, but this gap can be made up by the pilot's personal ability or sophisticated tactics.
But once there is a generation gap, it can only be piled up with human lives.
Seeing that his subordinates were silent, Sugawara Michio simply continued to explain his plan.
"If one replacement doesn't work, then we will replace three with one. If three cannot be replaced, then we will replace five with one."
"After the Type 1 and Type 2 fighters are put into service, we will have a large number of idle Type 97 fighters. Rather than letting them grow moldy and infested in warehouses, it is better to bring them to the battlefield to use their remaining heat."
"It is not difficult to train quick pilots. One month of cramming education is enough for soldiers with no basic knowledge to learn to drive and shoot."
The "five for one" mentioned by the old devil does not mean that five Type 97 fighter jets fight one Spitfire. Instead, four old-fashioned fighter planes were used as decoys to give one Type 1 or Type 2 fighter a chance for a surprise attack.
After hearing what his superior said, Kuroe Yasuhiko's mood can be described as mixed emotions.
This is not because his conscience has revealed that he cannot bear to use his own compatriots as cannon fodder. But Sugawara Michio's idea was a bit ahead of his time and even went against the training purpose of Army Aviation.
After all, from the early days of their establishment, they have been following the elite route, focusing on quality over quantity.
Now that troops are suddenly about to explode, this change is somewhat unaccustomed to people.
However, Kuroe Yasuhiko knows one thing very well, that is, any opportunity advocated by Lieutenant General Sugawara Michichi to be implemented will definitely receive support from the base camp.
This man had served in the Army Aviation Headquarters and as the principal of Shimojin Army Flight School. He was inextricably linked to all the top brass of Army Aviation.
Coupled with Lieutenant General Toshita Kinoshita, who serves as the principal of the Tokorozawa Army Flying School, it is estimated that the entire project will be approved at an incredible speed.
Those at the base camp don’t care about the lives of ordinary soldiers.
If you can use old-fashioned fighter planes and a negligible cost to defeat the Spitfire of the Eighth Route Army, the top brass of the Army will definitely approve of it.
"Hi!"
"Your plan is perfect, we will definitely defeat all enemies."
After a brief period of grief over the death of a rabbit and a fox, the long-term brainwashing of militarism occupied the high ground of Heijiang Yasuhiko's IQ. There was some fanaticism in his eyes, and he vigorously promoted the leader's plan.
It seemed that they were having a good time chatting, and Michio Sugawara had an idea to give the future unit a name.
"Let's call it the Army Volunteer Air Assault Team! This name will definitely leave a mark in the history of the world's military!"
At this moment, Kuroe Yasuhiko suddenly thought of the Spitfire fighter jet engraved with more than forty red stars.
As the super ace pilot of the Eighth Route Army, that monster shouldn't use a quick rookie to improve his record, right? Why shouldn't a master have his own pride?
should?
No way?
······
Fengzhen, the command post of the Cavalry Group and the 26th Division.
"Hi!"
"General Okamura is right. I will definitely not hesitate this time and will definitely launch an attack within the specified time!"
In the communications room, Lieutenant General Otonzaburo Yano and Lieutenant General Itachi Nishihara held the phones and kept bowing.
Because the two were reluctant to launch an attack, Okamura Neji, who was extremely angry, finally decided to take action personally and rushed from Peking to Jining to supervise the battle.
"I don't want to say anything unnecessary a second time."
"I have fulfilled all your requests one by one. Basically, I have given you people and cannons."
"If something goes wrong in the next battle, Yoshio Iwamatsu will be the best fate for you. I won't even give you a chance to go to the reserves!"
"Hi!"
After hanging up the phone, Issaku Nishihara transformed into a face-changing master, changing his previous groveling attitude. He raised his head and puffed out his chest, like a peacock who had successfully courted a mate.
"Yano-kun, look what I'm saying. Only children who cry can get candy."
"If we keep putting it off, our superiors will find ways to eliminate our worries. You see, now, the headquarters has not only replenished our troops and some artillery, but even the enemy's air force has a solution."
"If the Army Air Force hadn't been able to hold on for too long, I would have really wanted to delay launching a general offensive until December."
Hearing his colleague's words, Yano Otonzaburo nodded happily.
The previous worries are now solved, and the only thing that needs to be dealt with is the city wall of Datong County.
Although we don't have the pipes big enough to knock down the city wall, the free Imperial Army and the loyal warriors can do it. As long as you bring enough explosives, there is always a chance to break through the city wall.
As if thinking of something important, Yano Otonzaburo solemnly reminded:
"Nishihara-kun, your cavalry group often focuses on mobile warfare and lacks experience in attacking fortresses and large-scale positional warfare."
"In this battle, you must strengthen the defense of the artillery positions. The Eighth Route Army is extremely proficient in penetration and penetration tactics. The opponent will most likely send troops to detour and attack your artillery positions."
"One more thing, we must widen the warning circle and deploy security forces several kilometers around the field command post. Don't make a mistake because of carelessness."
Strictly speaking, this battle was the first time the cavalry group fought against the Eighth Route Army.
Considering the other party's performance in the previous battle with Qilu and a half, Yano Otonzaburo was still a little worried and warned him again and again. After all, the two of them are now grasshoppers on the same rope, and both will suffer.
The earnestness of his comrade made Issaku Nishihara nod solemnly.
Half an hour later, the two Japanese lieutenant generals once again checked the battle plan and detailed attack route.
"Pass my order! The 14th Cavalry Regiment, the 71st Chariot Regiment, and the 1st Cavalry Artillery Regiment will launch an attack on the Datong left wing position as planned!"
"The directly affiliated chariot fleet and rapid-fire artillery squadron are reserve forces!"
While Nishihara Issaku issued the order, Yano Otonzaburo was not willing to follow suit.
"Instruction, the 11th, 12th, and 13th Independent Infantry Regiments, the 26th Independent Field Artillery Regiment, and the 27th Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment, launch an attack on the main position of Datong."
"Give me a break through the Eighth Route Army's defense line! We must capture Datong within three days!"
"Hi!"
(End of chapter)
