bookrebus Chapter 711: Air Force Joins the War
Chapter 711: Air Force Joins the War
711th Air Force joins the war
"Hey, Commander-in-Chief, you are wise."
After hearing what the old devil Nishio Hisazo said, Itagaki Seishirō also breathed a sigh of relief.
His persuasion was successful.
He was just about to leave to tell Tanaka Hisaichi the good news.
But just after taking two steps, Itagaki Seishirō came back.
"What's wrong? Is there anything else?"
The old devil Nishio Hisazo asked.
"Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, I am worried that Anami Korechika is getting too stubborn and unwilling to give up the Xiangxi battlefield.
I think it would be best for me to fly to the 11th Army Headquarters in person and have a personal talk with Anami Korechika.
If he still refuses, I will remove him from command on the spot.
I will take over the command of the 11th Army and carry out the operation of marching south to protect Guangdong and eliminate Ye. "
"Ok.
You have a point.”
After hearing what Itagaki Seishirō said, the old Japanese soldier Nishio Hisazo nodded in agreement.
The old devil Nishio Hisazo also understood Anami Korechika's stubborn temper.
This guy really dares not to carry out this order, or to pretend to obey it but actually disobey it.
That would be a big trouble.
It would be safer to let Itagaki Seishirō fly over there.
"Okay, Itagaki-kun, then you should take the trouble to go to the 11th Army Headquarters."
"Hi!"
…………
On the 13th, the New 1st Division and the New 3rd Division rested for a night in eastern Guangdong.
The next morning, the two main divisions set out and marched westward.
Two days later, they completed the rendezvous with the New 2nd Division in the Chacheng area.
Here, Ye Qingshan gathered together the officers at the three main division level and above and held a pre-war meeting.
"Commander, just after you annihilated the 19th Mixed Brigade of the Japanese in Chaozhou.
The Japanese 108th Regiment that attacked us stopped the attack, retreated more than miles, and began to build a defense line.
According to the report from the scouts sent out by our division.
After the Japanese retreated along the Dongjiang River, they arrived at Echeng and began to build a new defense line.
The commander of the new Second Division reported.
"Haha, the devils are ready to be turtles."
someone said.
"Hahaha."
This immediately caused everyone to laugh.
"I wanted to send troops to chase the Japanese, but they were bombed by their bombers.
I had to give up the pursuit."
The commander of the new Second Division continued.
"Commander, according to the news sent by the Tenth Army.
The 104th Regiment of the Japanese 170th Division and a Japanese cavalry battalion fighting in northern Guangdong.
They have also retreated from northern Guangdong.
It seems that the old devil Tanaka Hisaichi has already decided to withdraw all his troops.
Playing defense around Yangcheng."
Deputy Commander Wu also spoke up immediately.
"Commander, when do we start the attack?"
Many people can't wait.
The battle to annihilate the Japanese 19th Mixed Brigade in eastern Guangdong was very short and did not cause much casualties to the New st and rd Divisions.
Eight thousand men of the 19th Mixed Brigade of the Japanese were annihilated, and the two divisions lost more than three thousand soldiers.
For the three main divisions of the 89th Army, this is not even a serious injury.
In addition, the victory in this battle in eastern Guangdong greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers of the 89th Army.
At this moment, everyone from the division commanders to the ordinary soldiers of the three main divisions were full of fighting spirit and wanted to attack Yangcheng.
“The attack is scheduled for two days later.
It was still our pre-war deployment. The New 1st Division took a detour to the north and launched an attack along the Fengcheng line.
The New Second Division and the New Third Division took the attack route westward from Echeng.
As for how to fight specifically and how to break through the Japanese positions, you can discuss it yourselves after you return.
Once the fight starts, I only look at the results.”
"Commander, when will our air force arrive?
The Japanese have two airports in Yangcheng, and the bombers taking off will pose a huge threat to our attacking forces and artillery."
"I have ordered the reserve regiment stationed in Chaozhou to use the captured puppet soldiers to expand the airport left by the Japanese.
Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, the aviation team of our base will fly over to join the battle.
You guys can attack with confidence, and leave the matters in the sky to our aviation team pilots to handle."
Ye Qingshan spoke.
It is necessary to dispatch the air force to participate in the war.
When they fought in eastern Guangdong before, the scale of the war was not large, so Ye Qingshan did not send the aviation team over.
However, when they attacked Yangcheng next, they would face the main force of the Japanese 23rd Army, which had a complete air force.
We have fighter jets and bombers.
If the Japanese gain air superiority and allow their bombers to bomb the 89th Army's offensive forces at will.
There is basically no hope of taking Guangzhou.
Therefore, it is necessary to seize air supremacy over the airspace around Guangzhou.
Ye Qingshan was well prepared for this.
After hearing what Ye Qingshan said, Deputy Commander Wu and others were also very happy: "That's great.
If our air force comes to join the battle, we won't have to worry about the Japanese bombers."
The meeting ended before dark and officers from each unit returned to their respective units.
At dawn the next day, the New 1st Division left Chacheng with enough weapons and ammunition, and headed north to open up a second direction of attack.
In the next two days, the 89th Army was preparing for battle, and the Japanese were also preparing for battle.
During these two days, the aviation team that Ye Qingshan transferred from southern Zhejiang successfully arrived at the Chaozhou airport.
“Commander, I’m Leng Tiancheng.
All 40 pilots of the aviation team, all flying P fighter planes, arrived at Chaozhou Airport.
Ye Qingshan heard a loud voice on the phone.
"it is good.
From now on, it’s up to you.”
Just as Ye Qingshan was transferring his air force to eastern Guangdong, preparing to participate in the subsequent operations.
In Yangcheng, Tanaka Hisaichi was also at the Chengxi Airport to welcome the Japanese Seventh Flying Regiment.
"Lengshui-kun, thank you for your hard work."
When Tanaka Hisaichi saw the Japanese major general of the flying regiment who led the team personally, he also gave him a warm welcome.
After all, with this flying regiment, the air strike capability of their 23rd Army was greatly enhanced.
This will allow Tanaka Hisaichi to be confident of gaining air superiority around Yangcheng.
Now that they have control of the air, this battle will be easier for them.
However, although the ones coming here were from the Japanese 7th Flying Regiment, it was not actually all the flying squadrons of the 7th Flying Regiment.
This time, only three flying squadrons from the Seventh Flying Regiment came.
Otherwise, if the entire Seventh Flying Regiment were really sent over.
The Japanese have no fighter planes to use in North China.
Being able to dispatch three flying squadrons to support the south is the greatest support the Japanese in North China can provide.
The three flying squadrons include a bomber flying squadron and two fighter flying squadrons.
A total of seventy-six fighter planes.
In addition, the fighter planes originally owned by the Japanese 23rd Army in Yangcheng brought the number of Japanese fighter planes to more than .
This is far more than the forty-five aircraft that Ye Qingshan transferred.