At 1:30 pm on August 11, 1937, Zhou Zhirou received a secret telegram from Nanjing. The headquarters had decided: "It has been decided to launch a preemptive strike against the Japanese Naval Command stationed in Shanghai."
Zhou Zhirou had already predicted this. He had a conversation with General Zhang Zhizhong a few days ago. General Zhang said that at first, the Japanese attacked us and we did not fight back. In the middle period, the Japanese attacked us and we fought back. This time, we The Chinese army wants to launch an advance strike against the Japanese stationed in Shanghai to prevent the Japanese from retaliate.
Zhou Zhirou convened a military meeting attended by the highest-level officials of the Air Force Headquarters, and Zhou Zhihan was asked to participate.
At the meeting, Zhou Zhirou proposed that a special air force be formed, led by Zhou Zhihan, as a central reserve force, ready to assist each combat group or squadron at any time.
Zhou Zhihan was very dissatisfied with this. Zhou Zhirou arranged this, which meant that in the early stages of the air force operation, he could only sit on the sidelines and watch.
We cannot say that we are not satisfied for the time being. In this moment of crisis, we must be united.
On the night of August 11, 1937, the Navy dispatched the "Ganlu" ship, the "Qori" and "Qingtian" boats, and the "Suining" and "Weining" boats. Taking advantage of the darkness that enemy reconnaissance planes could not peep, they took advantage of the fact that enemy reconnaissance planes could not peep, and captured the enemy from Hupukou to All the beacons, light poles, lighthouses, light ships and survey poles throughout Longtan Port were dismantled, demolished and blown up, causing enemy ships to lose their navigation marks and dare not easily enter various waters.
At the same time, Admiral Chen Shaokuan called all the main forces of the Navy's 1st Fleet and 2nd Fleet late at night to assemble from Hukou and Xiaguan toward Jiangyin to prepare for a decisive battle with the Japanese fleet.
Although they know they are outmatched, at this time when the nation is at stake, all the officers and soldiers on the ship share the same hatred for the enemy!
The tonnage difference between Chinese and Japanese warships is really huge.
All China's large and small warships, including some fishing boats, total only 20,000 to 30,000 tons, and many of these ships are antiques left over from the Qing government. They can only be used for training and have little combat effectiveness.
This is a tragic, decisive battle with the enemy, knowing that defeat is inevitable.
At 4 a.m. on the 12th, a total of 49 warships of the Navy that were capable of fighting entered the Junshan River in Jiangyin and were on standby.
At 7:50 a.m., Air Force Commander-in-Chief Zhou Zhirou received a personal call from Navy Admiral Chen Shaokuan.
Chen Shaokuan's tone was very sad. After he finished speaking, he and Zhou Zhirou were silent for more than ten seconds before hanging up the phone.
Three minutes later, two Boeing 281 fighter jets from Nanjing Airport took off and headed to the Junshan River in Jiangyin to perform anti-reconnaissance missions.
At 8 o'clock, the main forces of China's two fleets gathered on the Jiangyin River. All naval officers and soldiers held a solemn swearing-in meeting. Everyone had a high fighting spirit and vowed to fight the Japanese aggressors to the death to protect their homeland and country.
More than 20 minutes later, Zhou Zhihan and his wingman flew over the Jiangyin River. Then the two planes separated and each circled the river to establish martial law.
Looking at the dozens of large and small warships and civilian ships on the river, Zhou Zhihan was choked for breath.
He remembered that this was the famous 812 Jiangyin shipwreck in history. This was the most tragic scene in the history of the Chinese navy.
This scene will forever go down in history as the most tragic scene that inspired all the unyielding Chinese people to jointly resist foreign enemies - a suicide shipwreck.
Zhou Zhihan's aircraft mainly defended the airspace in the northeast, and his wingman defended the southeast.
I flew a Boeing 281 to the north at the most economical speed. The sun was shining brightly over Jiangyin, but when I looked around from the air, the surroundings seemed gloomy. I especially felt that there was an unknown natural force gathering here in the distant sky in the south. , even flying at an altitude of three thousand meters, Zhou Zhihan still felt the pressure of nature from the south.
This is going to change!
Zhou Zhihan continued to fly north according to the patrol route. His eyes were very good. In such clear weather, even an enemy plane attacking from several kilometers away could not escape his eyes.
Before taking off today, Air Force Commander-in-Chief Zhou Zhirou ordered that all Japanese aircraft found today be shot down.
Zhou Zhihan really hopes to meet the Japanese plane today and let him bring the flag for sacrifice.
It seemed that the Japanese also sensed some unsafe factor. Zhou Zhihan flew several tens of kilometers further north, but still did not see the Japanese reconnaissance plane. He turned the nose of the plane in a small radius and flew back. He could not leave the Junshan River in Jiangyin. It was too far, because the Boeing 281 he was flying now did not have a communication system. Once an enemy plane was discovered in the direction of Jiangyin, he would not know it even if it was dozens of miles away, so he decided to return to patrol near the river.
On August 12, 1937, all the officers and soldiers of the navy, army, and air force stationed around Shanghai felt a sense of murderous aura that was about to come.
As the war approaches, there is an invisible murderous aura in the air that is gradually spreading and approaching, making people's adrenal glands surge.
Looking at the Chinese warships on the river swearing to prepare to sink themselves, many officers and soldiers secretly shed tears.
Navy Commander-in-Chief Chen Shaokuan looked into the distance with deep eyes, his angular features etched with sadness, watching his flagship "Pinghai" light cruiser take the lead in the flag-raising ceremony.
At this moment, there was deathly silence on the plywood of all the warships. The last flag-raising ceremony was completed on each warship that was about to sink. Then several soldiers slowly lowered the flags, folded them up, and put them away.
The officers and soldiers of each ship stood on the side of the ship to pay tribute to all the ships that were about to undergo a tragic and tragic self-sinking.
After the ships arrived at their positions, Chen Shaokuan stared at the water in a daze, while all the sailors looked at him quietly.
The Huangpu River is filled with tragedy.
"Shipwreck!" Chen Shaokuan stood up and said with a wave of his hand. A few seconds later, an adjutant behind him helped him sit down, and a few tears fell from the corners of Chen Shaokuan's eyes.
After the order to sink the ship was issued, many soldiers were already crying.
"Woo..."
On the river, the ships that were about to be scuttled sounded their horns, sobbed, had their underwater doors opened, and slowly sank.
Zhou Zhihan piloted a Boeing 281 fighter jet and circled over the sunken ship. He watched with tears in his eyes as he watched the old warships that were full of Chinese naval history sink slowly.
Chen Shaokuan has been sitting on the bridge of the "Pinghai" ship, feeling sad and speechless, silently watching the ships sinking into the water.
After performing air security work, Zhou Zhihan and his wingman flew back to Nanjing Airport to land.
At around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, dark clouds came over the sky, and strong winds of magnitude 5 and 6 appeared in Nanjing. According to news reports from Shanghai, due to the passage of the typhoon, it has now started to rain heavily and strong winds are raging in Shanghai.
When it was almost 6 o'clock, there was a call from Shanghai. The Japanese Marine Corps stationed in Shanghai was abnormal. Every place where the Japanese army was stationed had strengthened fortifications. On the roof of the Marine Corps headquarters, there were also Anti-aircraft heavy machine guns deployed by the Japanese.
After listening to the combat staff's report, Zhou Zhirou stood up: "The Japanese are planning to take action. Now I order all combat commanders at the headquarters to go to the operations department for a meeting. During this period, all participants are not allowed to leave the Air Force headquarters at will. Those who disobey the order will be sentenced for collaborating with the enemy and treason."
Not long ago, the incident of Huang Jun's collaboration with the enemy and his country had just been discovered. The principal did not expect that the person he trusted turned out to be a Japanese spy. This made him very angry. Huang Jun's collaboration with the enemy and his country had ruined the sinking ship that had been brewing and arranged for a long time. The plan to seal the river was to allow the Japanese fleet and Qiao people to escape.
Therefore, Zhou Zhirou ordered that any personnel who leaves the Air Force Headquarters without permission during the meeting will be punished with treason.
In extraordinary times, the military must be strictly managed. It is better to kill by mistake than to let the air force's action plan be known to the Japanese.
Before dark, it rained heavily in Nanjing.
As the typhoon passed through, cities around Shanghai were ravaged by the storm.
According to reports from the air force from various places, due to heavy rain, some airports are seriously flooded, let alone fighter jets taking off!
The heavy rain is raging, the wind is blowing, and the dark clouds are pressing down on the sky. Zhou Zhirou looks up at the sky. God, please protect the Japanese plane from taking off during the heavy rain and strong wind!
At 9:30 a.m. on August 13, a second lieutenant officer hurried into the Air Force headquarters.
From last night to now, everyone in the headquarters has not slept. They have conducted countless sand table deductions throughout the night, and have deduced countless emergencies that may arise during wartime.
"Commander-in-Chief!" the second lieutenant saluted.
Zhou Zhirou looked at the second lieutenant who was running towards him in a hurry.
The second lieutenant handed a telegram to Zhou Zhirou: "Just 10 minutes ago, my 88th Division, 87th Division, and 20th Independent Brigade stationed in Shanghai began to attack the Japanese troops stationed in Shanghai from between Tiantong'an and Yokohama Road. The Marines launched a fierce attack.”
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Brothers and sisters, the Battle of Songhu has begun on land, sea and air. Please cheer for the author!
