As the sun shines on the walls of low-rise houses next to Dagon Airport.
The first to take action was the Air Force Assault Group of the Expeditionary Force Group.
"Gao, I'm setting off, waiting for my good news. This time, I have to shoot down at least two Japs' fighter planes before I come back." Gao Jianwu's headquarters actually received Smith's departure telegram.
These international friends in this beautiful country are actually quite cute sometimes.
Gao Jianwu could imagine Smith's expression before setting off.
At Dagon Airport, as Colonel Smith took off, fighter planes took off one by one and soared into the sky. Then they lined up and flew over the Po Valley battlefield, waiting for the arrival of the Little Japanese fighter planes.
Almost at the same time, the Shanmana Lu Xingguo Flying Group had received the order to take off for combat. Fighter planes flew one after another towards the coordinate area provided by Gao Jianwu.
Their combat mission today is to destroy the Japs' heavy artillery brigade.
But with the expeditionary force's air force appearing over the battlefield. The fighter planes of the pilot regiment on the Little Devil's side have begun to take off towards the Po Valley area, preparing to fight.
The elite pilots from the Allied Forces were flying fighter planes ahead one by one. Even though the number of fighter planes of the Japs nearly doubled, these elite pilots from the Allied Forces showed no fear.
The little devils who appeared in front of them were all flying old-fashioned Type 97 fighter jets. For Allied pilots, this kind of fighter is simply garbage. Compared with the Mustang fighter, there is a generational performance difference.
Therefore, Colonel Smith led 40 Mustang fighter jets and dared to appear directly in front of the little devil's flying division.
Lu Xingguo and his flying brigade, according to Gao Jianwu's coordinates, lowered their altitude and searched for the Japs' heavy artillery brigade within 20 kilometers on the east bank of the Xidan River.
After all, they still had some idea in mind. Facing the elite pilots of the Little Japs, as a group of pilots who had just started, even if the performance of the fighter planes was much ahead, it was okay to surround them, but if they singled out the Little Japs pilots, they felt that It is more appropriate to leave this combat task to professionals.
No one is trying to do this. After all, their lives are not their own, but belong to this team and this country.
Now they all know how much it costs to train a pilot, and they will never throw away their lives easily.
15 Mustang fighter jets quickly swept through dozens of square kilometers on the east coast.
"Boss, I saw it." A pilot suddenly reported in surprise on the public channel of the flying group.
"My current location coordinates are xx, xx."
"Received, No. 13, please keep the altitude above 2,000 meters and hover on standby to guard against enemy anti-aircraft artillery attacks. Brothers, pay attention to the order, we will fly to the airspace of No. 13 in groups of two to carry out bombing!" Lu Xingguo happily said ordered.
There are Allied pilots to block the fighter jets of the Little Japanese Flying Division.
Lu Xingguo's flying brigade basically has no danger in the air.
So Lu Xingguo lined up 15 fighter planes and began searching at low altitude. Following the target area commanded by Gao Jianwu, they quickly found the target.
After all, the target of a heavy artillery brigade is too big, and Gao Jianwu has locked their area, not to mention that they must have a powerful towing fleet and a huge logistics support force to support it.
In this way, even if you hide in the woods and cover the vehicle with branches, you won't be able to hide it.
What's more, an artillery position covers a large area, and the roads required by the Japs' heavy artillery are also very demanding. They can be found along the main road.
When Lu Xingguo rushed over, the Jaap's heavy artillery brigade had just packed up the cannons and prepared to move them.
"Brothers, I'm going to attack first. Pay attention to the height of the dive, don't let the Japs' anti-aircraft guns bite you." Lu Xingguo looked at the Japs' heavy artillery convoy on the ground, and began to lower the height and dive towards them.
While supplementing, he also directed the subsequent sequence of fighters. Fifteen fighter jets were in the air and soon formed two lines.
"Baga, hurry up, hurry up, the anti-aircraft guns are ready for anti-aircraft shooting, the enemy fighter planes are coming!" On the heavy artillery position of the Little Devil, a regimental captain looked at the fighter jets roaring in the sky and couldn't help but turn pale with horror.
He quickly began to direct the anti-aircraft gunners who had just entered the marching state to hurriedly re-deploy and prepare for an anti-aircraft counterattack.
Unfortunately it's a bit late.
Lu Xingguo swooped down first. Seeing the Japs on the ground panicking, he simply lowered his altitude to below 500 meters. He aimed at the anti-aircraft guns that the Japs were deploying and dropped two bombs.
After two loud bangs, the four anti-aircraft guns of the Japs were immediately blown into the sky. Dozens of Japs serving the four anti-aircraft guns were turned into a pile of rotten flesh and flew around in all directions.
"Young man! Captain, you're really good. The kid is in bad luck this time." Unit 2, who was following Lu Xingguo, saw the mess on the kid's position, shouted loudly, and also lowered his height to face the kid. The heavy artillery went away.
This time he played harder, accurately throwing the bomb next to a heavy cannon at an altitude of less than 300 meters.
This time, the truck being towed by the heavy artillery belt was overturned directly to the ground.
Fighter planes aimed at the Japs' heavy artillery positions roared in one after another. Some aimed at the anti-aircraft anti-aircraft guns, and some aimed directly at the Japs' heavy artillery.
But no matter what, they dropped heavy aerial bombs on the position.
When the remaining anti-aircraft and anti-aircraft guns of the Little Japs finally deployed, they began to fire desperately, but their numbers were not large enough. A 12-gun anti-aircraft artillery brigade had basically been disabled by Lu Xingguo and the others.
In addition, the hit rate of anti-aircraft guns is extremely low, and there are not enough numbers to weave an air defense net. For a single anti-aircraft gun to hit a fighter plane flying at high speed, it is basically a lucky draw. Activity.
But this time, luck was not on the side of the Little Japanese. Lu Xingguo led the flying brigade to dive bomb and strafe the Little Japanese heavy artillery position. One after another, heavy aviation bombs exploded on the Little Japanese heavy artillery position.
Although some pilots' bombing deviations were a bit large, dozens of heavy aerial bombs were dropped, basically covering the entire Little Japanese heavy artillery position.
In this position, neither humans nor heavy artillery had any chance of surviving under such heavy aerial bombs.
The little devils were a heavy artillery brigade. Except for the logistics and baggage team, they threw away their things and ran away. The rest of the cannons were basically blown to death on the battlefield. Many of the little devils were truly shattered this time!
"Nani? The enemy's air force attacked our heavy artillery position?" General Kimura couldn't believe his ears at the Little Japanese Forward Command.
"Yes, General, 15 enemy fighter planes bombed our heavy artillery position indiscriminately. According to the telegram they sent, our heavy artillery brigade was basically wiped out." The communications staff reported with his head lowered.
"Baga! How abominable! What are the Ninth Flying Division and the others doing? Are these idiots that their fighter planes are just decorations?" General Kimura had a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat at this moment, but he couldn't spit it out or swallow it. Going down, his face turned red.
"A large number of your Excellency the Ninth Flying Division has been dispatched, but they have encountered the enemy's flying team and are fighting in the sky at the moment. According to the latest battle report, our situation is not optimistic. Since the battle, we have already had 10 fighter planes Shot down by the enemy!" The communications staff reported another bad news.
"What about the enemy's battle losses? How many were shot down?" General Kimura asked.
"According to reports, the enemy has not been shot down so far." The communications staff officer lowered his head even further.
"Baga! Poof!"
This time, General Kimura couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.
Although he did not have great expectations for the air force, he did not expect that they would be so ineffective and unable to block the enemy's attack.
Now that the heavy artillery brigade is finished, and General Kimura's air dependence is about to die, how can General Kimura endure it.
"Your Excellency, General, our current situation is very dangerous." Chief of Staff Shimodasaku said solemnly from the side.
"Without the air protection and artillery support, the gap in firepower between us and the enemy becomes larger. According to intelligence, the expeditionary force group has at least 100 heavy artillery pieces of 105 mm or above. So far, they have not appeared on the battlefield, but I dare They must be near us.
According to the previous battles, the enemy is simply superb in the use of artillery. Basically, it uses long-range artillery to destroy our defensive firepower one by one. With these 100 heavy artillery pieces of 105 mm or more, after we lose the heavy artillery brigade, there will be no Method of restraint, then our troops will not be able to withstand the enemy's artillery attack! "
Lieutenant General Shimodasaku and General Kimura were both trained in the Army. Of course they knew the power and role of artillery on the current battlefield. At this moment, Shimodasaku pointed out the huge difference between the enemy's and our artillery, and General Kimura also looked bitter.
"Shimoda-kun, we still have two tank regiments. We ordered the artillery observation posts and scouts to find the enemy's heavy artillery positions. We use the tank regiments to destroy them. This is our only chance." Kimura The general said in a deep voice.
At this moment, they did not know that the long-range heavy artillery used by the expeditionary force group this time was not just 100, but more than 200.
But now, the difference between 100 doors and 200 doors is no longer big for him, and the fate of failure is already in front of them.
The news that the artillery position of the heavy artillery brigade was bombed was directly transmitted to Gao Jianwu's headquarters through the walkie-talkie.
"Everyone, the Japs heavy artillery brigade is finished. Now I announce that the encirclement plan will be implemented immediately!" Gao Jianwu gave an order on the walkie-talkie.
The three standby attack groups of Chu Yunfei, Xu Shida and Zhang Dabiao started taking action almost at the same time. The tank battalion opened the way first, followed closely by the infantry, and finally the 75mm howitzer battalion of the attack group.
They each rushed to the pre-confirmed positions, preparing to cut off the little Japanese from behind!
"Heavy artillery regiments, fire according to the planned target and bombardment range!" After Gao Jianwu commanded the infantry assault group, he began to direct the heavy artillery group in combat.
On the map in his mind, he gathered all kinds of intelligence from all the observation posts, including the main artillery regiments of each division of the Little Devil!
This is the intelligence obtained by the scouts who took advantage of the late night and risked their lives to go deep into the enemy's interior.
This time Gao Jianwu didn't have time to work on the map, so he directly marked the map in his mind and personally directed and deployed each heavy artillery regiment.
The four heavy artillery regiments took advantage of the night to enter the artillery positions designated by Gao Jianwu, and then aimed at their target division artillery wing.
Within a few hundred square kilometers south of the valley, the four divisions of the Little Devils formed an arc-shaped attack formation and prepared to launch a full-scale attack on the second line of defense of the expeditionary force cluster!
But they never thought that the second line of defense built by Gao Jianwu under the command of Ding Wei and the others was not to stop the Japs.
Instead, he led the little devils by the nose and asked them to line up in such a formation, so that heavy artillery could be deployed to launch a full-scale attack on them!
Sure enough, the little devil obediently followed Gao Jianwu's deployment and lined up the offensive formation along the second line of defense, just within the attack range of the heavy artillery regiment that had been deployed long ago.
Following Gao Jianwu's order, nearly a hundred 155mm howitzers roared almost simultaneously. It was difficult for them to maneuver the 155mm heavy artillery in fixed artillery positions, so they were all lined up along the second line of defense. This time, their targets were all aimed at the artillery regiments of each division of the Little Devils.
When they heard the heavy artillery bombardment of the expeditionary force group, General Kimura and Chief of Staff Shimoda changed their colors on the spot. Of course, they could distinguish the sounds of several types of artillery in the expeditionary force group.
Now it is heard that the number of 155mm howitzers alone far exceeds the expected 50.
Even if they don't know the target of the enemy's attack yet, with such a large number of 155mm heavy artillery, they will suffer heavy losses no matter where they attack.
At this moment, the artillery regiments of the various divisions of the Little Devils had just deployed their positions. When they heard the whistling of artillery shells in the distance, all the color drained from their faces.
"Quick, quick, move, move positions immediately!" The quick-reacting little Japanese artillery commander began shouting orders to move.
The Type 41 mountain cannon that can be moved by two people has become the highest priority rescue target at this moment. The little Japanese artillerymen push the mountain cannon around like their butts are on fire, but how can manpower outrun the speed of the shells? Very fast, howling. The incoming 155mm artillery shells landed on the Little Japanese position. The killing radius of one shell was as high as 50 meters. A heavy artillery regiment had more than 20 shells, directly covering the entire position seamlessly!
After one round of artillery fire, the artillery regiment of the little devil was completely wiped out!
Only a handful of fast-moving Japanese artillerymen slipped through the net. Soon, General Kimura and Chief of Staff Shimodasaku received the bad news from their subordinate divisions. One by one, the artillery regiments were gone!
Each piece of bad news was more deadly than the last, making both General Kimura and Chief of Staff Shimodasaku paralyzed.
These artillery regiments were destroyed one by one by the heavy artillery bombardment of the expeditionary force group before they even found the attack target.
Such a weird thing, no one dares to believe it even if it is told.
The heavy artillery brigade is finished. Although General Kimura feels uncomfortable, he can still bear it. After all, the heavy artillery brigade has completed the suppression of enemy artillery fire and achieved the goal of successfully crossing the river. There are not many places they need to attack next. In addition to confrontation, the heavy artillery brigade The opponent's heavy artillery unit doesn't seem to be of much use.
Next, the Air Force pilot regiment had a bad start and directly hit a 0 bar and 10!
It shattered General Kimura's dream of exchanging quantity for the quality of the Allied air force, indicating that in the air, the technical differences are basically unsolvable.
It's even worse now. Under Gao Jianwu's precise command, the artillery regiments of each division were completely wiped out!
How can we fight next? At this point, even gods can’t save us.
General Kimura and Shimodasaku looked at each other speechlessly, their eyes filled with a gloomy look of death at this moment!
Frankly speaking, after the artillery regiment is killed, each of the little Japanese divisions will be like having its claws pulled out by a tiger. Such a unit still has some advantages against the guerrillas.
But facing the expeditionary force group that was armed to the teeth, the enemy still had a large number of air force fighters, tanks and heavy artillery group artillery firepower to use. Shimoda thought from his perspective, even if he pushed it directly, it was basically a sure thing.
Facing Sherman tanks, the Japs certainly learned a painful lesson. On the Pacific Islands, there were no heavy weapons and they relied on primitive weapons such as grenades and Molotov cocktails. If they could kill a Sherman with a hundred people, that would be fine. .
】
"Your Excellency, General, now that our 100,000 locust army is in danger, we must ask for tactical guidance from the Southern Army. In terms of artillery, we have no way to supplement it for the time being, but in terms of the air force, I know that the Southern Army now has a Zero fighter flying team. This is the Empire's The latest model of fighter jet is no less inferior to the enemy's P51 Mustang fighter. We must regain air superiority, otherwise we will not be able to compete with the enemy." Faced with the extremely unfavorable situation, Chief of Staff Tiansaku finally put forward a constructive opinion.
According to the establishment of the Little Devil Air Force, a flying team has about 30 to 40 fighter jets. If they invest in a Zero fighter flying team, it will certainly be a huge challenge for the air force of the expeditionary force group.
General Kimura thought for a while and finally agreed with Chief of Staff Shimodasaku.
"Gentlemen, an urgent request for help has been sent from the Burmese and British Fronts. So far, the heavy artillery brigade of the Burmese and British Fronts has been completely wiped out. All the artillery wings of each division have been shattered. The Type 97 fighter jets of the Ninth Flying Division are also no match for their opponents. The situation is very dangerous, and according to Kimura-kun's request, we are expected to immediately send a Zero fighter flying team to reinforce, regain air superiority, and cover the retreat of the troops back to Maodanmian."
General Terauchi, the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army, looked relatively calm when he heard the bad news. After all, he was responsible for the entire Nanyang area. Although the Burmese-British battlefield was critical, it was not the whole story.
"Your Excellency, Commander, I believe that a Zero fighter fleet must be dispatched immediately for reinforcements." Chief of General Staff Numata of the Southern Army Command said.
"If we lose the British Burmese territory, then Siam, French Annan, and the Malay Peninsula will all fall under the threat of the expeditionary force. In Siam, our troops are not enough to stop them."
As the chief of staff of Admiral Teruchi, Numata Takazo knew the strength and weakness of the Southern Army very well. Since the British-Burmese territories had always been in their hands and served as the front line for the Allied Forces of the Little Japs, the southeastern peninsula was equivalent to the hinterland, and the defensive forces deployed were far away. It is much less than the British territory in Burma.
For example, Siam only had one division and one independent mixed brigade in total. The entire French Indochina (equivalent to the three countries of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam in later generations) was such a large territory, that is, there were 4 divisions and two independent brigades. Calculate the average according to later countries. A country cannot afford two divisions.
Facing the attack of the expeditionary force group with this little strength, with their current combat effectiveness, even four divisions can't stop it. Then you can imagine the result after they enter the southeastern peninsula.
Today, among the senior officials of the Southern Army, who dares to look down upon this sudden rise of the Second Theater Expeditionary Force Group?
"But, Lord Numata, we don't have many Zero fighter fleets. In the Pacific battlefield, our air pressure is even greater. We will fight against the elites of the beautiful country in the Dutch East Indies and Luzon Island. Relatively speaking, we I think those places are more worthy of our reinforcements." A major general, Gao Shen, stood up to express his objection.
In fact, what he said was correct. What the little devils encountered in the Pacific battlefield was the main air force of the beautiful country, and they needed advanced Zero fighter jets for reinforcements.
"Takada-kun, things are urgent. Now Mr. Kimura is in trouble. We didn't know enough about the enemy's air force in advance. The fighters of the 9th Flying Division have fallen behind. We didn't even think that they couldn't deal with the Allied Mustangs. Fighter. This is a serious dereliction of duty by our staff." Chief of General Staff Numata educated Major General Takata unceremoniously.
Obviously, it should be Major General Takada's handiwork that the Ninth Flying Division went to support the British Burmese territory. When he brought it up at this time, Major General Takada's face was naturally slapped.
Sure enough, Major General Takada blushed but didn't know how to refute, so he could only sit down in despair.
Wherever there are people, there are rivers and lakes. Major General Takada is the most promising person to succeed Chief of General Staff Numata. Usually the two of them are a bit at odds with each other. Now when he sees the opportunity, Major General Takada naturally wants to stand up and pour cold water on Chief of General Staff Numata's plan.
But he didn't expect to shoot himself in the foot.
"That's enough. I don't want to hear things that have nothing to do with the war situation in British Burma. Numata-kun, Takada-kun, you are all the pillars of the empire, and the pattern should be bigger," the general in the temple waved his hands with a headache, and said to the people below He couldn't control the infighting, but he couldn't let them affect the entire team.
"Now it seems that we have underestimated the combat effectiveness of the Allied Forces in the British Burmese Territory. Whether it is the 9th Flying Division in the south or the 5th Flying Division in the north, they have suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Allies. The entire British Territory in Burma The air superiority has long fallen into the hands of the opponent.
This led to the reversal of the situation in the British-controlled Burma. We must solve this problem. Mr. Numata, please immediately request 100 Zero fighter reinforcements from the base camp after the meeting. Order the remaining fighters and pilots of the Fifth Flying Division and the Ninth Flying Division to temporarily retreat to the Siam Air Force Base, waiting for the arrival of the Zero Fighter Flight Team, and then mix the Zero Fighters to fight again! "
The general in the temple gave the final word.
"Hey!" Chief of General Staff Numata and Major General Takada stood up at the same time and responded.
...
