The sudden counterattack launched by the independent regiment caused huge losses to the Japanese. When the old Japanese soldier Hengshan got the loss list from Suzuki, he no longer had the calmness to control everything in front of the chessboard...
"Bagayalu, Chu Xiong is too ignorant of martial ethics!"
The casualties exceeded 700, and the material losses exceeded a quarter, especially the explosion of artillery shells. The subsequent artillery preparations had to be sparing.
"Bagaya Road, the imperial army must retaliate. Concentrate all artillery fire and fire on the Eighth Route! Fire! Fire!!!!"
The last one fired, shouting almost at the top of his lungs. Chu Xiong was stunned and beat a Confucian general into a manic.
The Japanese's revenge came soon. Violent artillery shells hit the areas controlled by the Eighth Route Army as if they were free, and houses were blown into ruins.
This was not over yet. The Hengshan old Japanese also called for air support. Two hours later, the Japanese planes visited Liu Town again and dropped a large number of aerial bombs on Liu Town, blowing the remaining blocks of Liu Town into rubble.
Liu Zhen had lost the meaning of holding on. In fact, as soon as the counterattack ended, Chu Xiong took the opportunity to withdraw all the troops in Liu Zhen, leaving an empty city to the Japanese to vent their anger.
The Japanese artillery and planes' indiscriminate bombing achieved minimal results except for blowing the adobe houses in Liuzhen into a pile of mud. There were not many people inside, and Chu Xiong only left one squad of observation posts inside.
The consequence of the Japanese's revenge was that the location of their airport was exposed. The Tigers, who had been looking for the location of the Japanese airport, finally locked their location.
After Chu Xiong led the mobile battalion to withdraw from Liuzhen City, they retreated to Shenxian Ridge under the eyes of the Japanese. They didn't hide at all. They just told Hengshan Yiyong that I am in Shenxian Ridge. If you have the ability, come over!
"Baga! Chu Xiong is too bullying and arrogant! Kill the chicken and send troops to the Immortal Ridge!"
Upon hearing this, Chief of Staff Suzuki quickly advised:
"Your Excellency, General, General Ushijima suffered a loss from Chu Xiong in the Shenxian Ridge during the last security war. This time he repeated his old tricks. Chu Xiong is cunning and cunning. General, think twice."
"Suzuki-kun, this general naturally knows that this is Chu Xiong's trick, but this is his conspiracy. Everything is on the chessboard, and the imperial army has no other choice but to accept his invitation!
That's Chu Xiong's lair. If we don't even dare to attack his lair, then what's the point of encircling and suppressing them? "
Suzuki thought about it. The Eighth Route Army hid when they saw the imperial army. It would be troublesome to drill into the mountains. Chu Xiong at least dared to fight with the imperial army in his lair.
Your Majesty the General is right. If you don't even dare to attack the Eighth Route Army's lair, why come here to sweep them away?
"Your Excellency General, Suzuki has learned a lesson. You are indeed a famous general of the empire. You can see through the true nature at a glance. Since Chu Xiong has issued a letter of challenge to the imperial army in his lair, there is no reason for the imperial army not to fight!"
Suzuki's chest has been ignited with flames of war...
"Suzuki-kun, I have felt the raging war in your chest. The warriors of the empire are never afraid of any challenge. Go fight and wipe out all those who dare to resist. Long live the imperial army!"
"Long live the Imperial Army!"
After Suzuki finished shouting the slogan, he began to arrange troops to pursue, first surrounding Shenxianling.
Chu Xiong led the remaining 1,000 people of the mobile battalion, fought and retreated, and retreated to Shenxian Ridge in a leisurely manner. The Japanese followed them like hanged ghosts. They were simply fighting a tacit understanding...
Guizi Zezhou Temporary Airport
The planes that had just bombed Liuzhen were returning one after another. The airport ground crew was busy refueling the planes and replenishing ammunition. They were about to bomb the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army.
Zezhou Airport is located on an open space in the west of Zezhou City. It is a temporary airport. The aircraft are all transferred from Taiyuan Airport. There are more than 40 aircraft of various types;
Among them, there are 12 "Falcon" fighter jets, 24 Nakajima Type 97 bombers, 3 reconnaissance aircraft, 5 transport aircraft, and more than 60 pilots.
At a hidden observation point about one kilometer away from Zezhou, Shitou was using a telescope to observe the defense of the Japanese airport from a distance. Next to him was Chen Yan, the leader of the "Siberian Tiger" team.
They are both old brothers from Chenjia Village in the Dabie Mountains. They grew up naked together. They can tell what the other is thinking just by looking at each other. The two brothers have been here for three days, and they have also figured out the situation at the Japanese airport.
Shitou motioned with his eyes to Chen Yan to evacuate first and discuss the sneak attack plan after returning. He already had a draft in mind.
Returning to the temporary foothold, this place is an intelligence station of "Ghost". The location is very hidden. The Tigers are all lurking. Shitou and several team leaders gathered together to discuss the attack plan.
The first person to speak was Chen Yan:
"Captain, through our on-the-spot investigation and the ghost's intelligence, the Japanese have a squadron of guard troops at the airport, and there is also a brigade outside. Once a fight breaks out at the airport, the Japanese outer troops will arrive in 20 minutes at the latest."
He Gui, the leader of the Central China Tigers team, continued:
"The defense of Zezhou Airport is not tight. It is not difficult for us tigers to infiltrate. The Japanese only installed a barbed wire fence around the airport. The key is how to blow up this big thing like an airplane with the highest efficiency? Old Chen also Having said that, we don’t have much time left.”
Shitou thought for a while and said:
"Just use cluster bombs. I heard from the regiment leader that there is no problem with this. Remember, we must eliminate all the Japanese pilots, as well as the Japanese aviation gasoline, and use ten-minute time bombs. Now I will divide the work for everyone. Chen Yan, your mission is..."
Shitou distributed the tasks and made it clear who would be the main attacker and who would be responsible for the response. Which group of the main attackers at the airport would be responsible for blowing up the plane and which group would be responsible for destroying the Japs' pilots? Every detail needed to be considered. This was the first time. Attacking the Japanese airport, there is no room for error!
After dark, the planes that were out on combat missions have all returned, and the airport has become busy;
The pilots dragged their exhausted bodies and prepared to return to their dedicated dormitories to rest. The maintenance of the aircraft was the responsibility of the pilots. The noble pilots were going to enjoy their delicious dinner.
The pilots and ground crew began to add enough fuel to the plane and unload the bombs. In order to prevent accidents, the planes generally did not carry bombs at night, and unused bombs were sent back to a special warehouse.
After taking care of these most basic matters, the pilots will also conduct technical inspections of important parts such as engines and propellers, tighten screws, and replace damaged parts.
In the pilot club, their carnival has just begun. With fine wine, delicious food, and beautiful women, it makes people feel like they are at a celebrity cocktail party in Shanghai. There is no atmosphere of war at all.
Pilots in this era are governed by elites, not just the Japanese, but also other countries. As long as they leave the cabin, their lives are surrounded by fine wine, beautiful women, and delicious food, which is the envy of other military services.
What they don't know is that this may be their last act of madness!
