lovenovelstory Chapter 56 Arrival of Japanese Carrier-Based Aircraft Group
Chapter 56 Arrival of Japanese Carrier-Based Aircraft Group
The huge reconnaissance balloon slowly descended not far from him, eventually crashing to the ground and being quickly engulfed in flames.
Chief of Staff Saburo Isoda naturally witnessed this scene and was so surprised he couldn't close his mouth.
After all, according to previous intelligence, the enemy should not have any anti-aircraft firepower, yet they were able to fire on and destroy the reconnaissance balloons they had released.
This means that the enemy's deployment map, which they had painstakingly obtained, was destroyed in flames after the reconnaissance balloon crashed.
"It seems we can no longer obtain the defense map. Should we continue the attack?"
Saburo Isoda inquired.
"Continue the offensive. Air force support will arrive soon. At the same time, increase the density of artillery fire. As soon as air support arrives, we will immediately launch a new offensive."
Shigeharu Suematsu said without the slightest hesitation.
In his view, these enemies were only able to win a victory by chance because of the fortifications they had built earlier.
The victors of this battle will still be them.
Under the orders of Shigeharu Suematsu, the Japanese heavy artillery bombardment resumed.
On the city wall of Zhonghua Gate, Sun Yuanliang, commander of the 88th Division, was hiding behind the battlements, looking at Yuhuatai covered by artillery fire, his eyes filled with a hint of sadness.
Gao Zhisong, the brigade commander of the 264th Brigade, whispered to himself:
"Commander, the Japanese artillery fire is really fierce. Shouldn't we do something about it?"
Sun Yuanliang said coldly:
"What can we do? We lack manpower, ammunition, and weapons. What else can we do besides defend the Zhonghua Gate city wall?"
Gao Zhisong lowered his voice.
"Commander, if Yuhuatai is lost, Zhonghuamen will inevitably fall as well. With the Japanese artillery fire so intense right now, if Brigade Commander Zhu and Regiment Commander Li are short of troops, I hope that some troops can be transferred to their aid."
But Sun Yuanliang had his own plans.
He actually only had the 264th Brigade left, while the 262nd Brigade had already been deployed to Yuhuatai.
If this brigade is also thrown in, will he then have to escape Nanjing alone?
In fact, Sun Yuanliang expressed his positive stance at the meeting, saying that he would live and die with Nanjing.
But he knew perfectly well that Li Jianghe was right; Nanjing was impossible to defend, and he couldn't die here.
It's a pity that this Regiment Commander Li was too young. Without any backing, he still dared to speak his mind. No wonder Commander-in-Chief Tang wanted to leave him to die at Yuhuatai.
"No, we need to leave some troops to defend the city. Yuhuatai is difficult to hold, and the subsequent street fighting will better delay the Japanese army."
Sun Yuanliang's words sounded grand, but in reality, he decided to preserve some strength to facilitate his escape across the river later.
After all, he had also received information that Japanese attacking forces had been discovered in the Jiangbei area.
If you don't have any troops at all, you might not be able to escape later.
As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn. Sun Yuanliang considered himself a smart man, and a smart man shouldn't lose his life here.
After the shelling ended, the Japanese infantry charged again.
Li Jianghe once again commanded his troops to deploy defenses at the front line and once again implemented the "Three Flowers" tactic.
The Japanese army was somewhat stunned by the previous attack and had not yet discovered the intricacies of this tactic. They continued to use the same tactics as before, attempting to break through the center while suppressing the flanks with firepower.
As a result, after another ten minutes of fighting, the Japanese army was forced back to the central position by mortars, anti-tank guns and other firepower.
Suematsu Shigeharu observed the battlefield and then realized something was wrong.
He felt like he had seen this scene before. During the previous attack, the troops, which were originally scattered, were forced to the center by the enemy.
Finally, the machine gun fire from both flanks, combined with the frontal assault gun and machine gun fire, inflicted heavy losses on the attacking force.
"Order the forward troops to disperse to the flanks!!!"
Suematsu Shigeji said coldly.
"At the same time, tell them not to retreat, to hold their ground firmly, and that air support will arrive soon."
As he spoke, small black dots indeed flew in from the distant horizon.
At the same time, a buzzing sound could be heard in the air, the roar of Japanese aircraft engines.
That was a Japanese air force squadron, with five fighter planes and ten bombers, rushing towards the Yuhuatai position.
They mainly carried incendiary bombs and high-explosive bombs, either of which could cause massive casualties to ground personnel.
The officer in charge of leading this air squadron was Lieutenant Colonel Hyakume Egawa.
His squadron took off from the aircraft carrier Ryujo, and its main aircraft were the Type 96 carrier-based attack aircraft produced by Mitsubishi Corporation and the Type 94 carrier-based bomber produced by Aichi Corporation.
On the radio communication channel, Hyakume Eikawa's tone was relaxed.
At that time, the Chinese Air Force was almost completely wiped out in the Battle of Shanghai, so the threats they might encounter when carrying out missions in the air were almost zero.
As for ground-based air defense firepower, they rarely encountered it during the later stages of the Battle of Shanghai.
The so-called anti-aircraft firepower mostly consisted of enemy Maxim machine guns, or even Czech machine guns, as well as rifles firing at the air. While it wasn't entirely ineffective, it was better than nothing.
"Speaking of which, this bombing mission is quite historically significant. We are bombing the capital of the Chinese."
While operating the Type 96 carrier battle group, Hyakume Egawa spoke over the communication channel.
A Japanese bomber pilot said:
"The only regret is that we cannot see the Chinese soldiers being blown to pieces in the bombing; this is destined to be a regret."
"Haha, what's so interesting about that? I'd much rather see the pretty girls of Nanjing. I've heard that these Chinese women have very fair skin and are quite tall."
"Sasaki, why is your mind always filled with thoughts of women?"
"Kojiro, stop pretending to be serious. Last night you were telling me how beautiful and alluring the women on the Bund in Shanghai were, and how you used to linger there."
Throughout the communication channel, after the mention of women, an ambiguous and cheerful atmosphere filled the air, as if they were on a picnic rather than fighting.
After all, the enemy's air defense capabilities, which were practically nonexistent, posed very little threat to them.
At this moment, Hyakume Eikawa said coldly:
"We've arrived! Prepare for combat! Reduce altitude!!!"
The noisy chatter in the channel disappeared, leaving only a unified "Hai!!"
Inside a bunker, Li Jianghe observed through his binoculars that a group of Japanese aircraft was rapidly approaching.
"Long Wenzhang, take 10 machine gun squads, switch them all to anti-aircraft machine gun mode, and shoot down all the Japanese planes!!!"