sjar Chapter 675: Let the Air Force Regiment attack immediately to seize air superiority on the battlefie
Chapter 675: Let the Air Force Regiment attack immediately to seize air superiority on the battlefie
The sudden ammunition crisis cast a shadow over everyone's mind. The reason they were able to hold their positions was entirely due to their firepower advantage. Once they lost their firepower advantage, their positions would be breached by the Japanese in an instant. Lin Zhenhua had no choice but to start the air battle in advance to change the current unfavorable situation.
"Old Li, the decisive battle in the air can't be delayed any longer. Only by achieving an unprecedented absolute advantage on the battlefield can we airlift ammunition during the day and mobilize fighter planes to provide air fire support for the troops."
"I originally planned to delay for a while before having a decisive battle with the devils, but the situation is pressing and the decisive battle must be brought forward."
"If there is a shortage of troops, we can still make up for it from other places, but if there is a problem with the supply of ammunition, the consequences will definitely not be something we can bear."
After careful consideration, Li Yunlong agreed to the proposal to start the air battle in advance: "College students, since we have no choice, let's start the air battle in advance. First, seize the air supremacy on the battlefield, and then deal with the devil's infantry!"
The two men who reached a consensus immediately issued military orders to the Air Force Regiment. The Air Force Regiment, which received the attack order, did not dare to delay and urgently dispatched two bomber squadrons to bomb the Japanese front-line airport.
The news of the bomber's deployment was quickly learned by the Japanese intelligence personnel and was immediately transmitted to the 12th Army Headquarters. Upon receiving the news, Chief of Staff Ippei Mitsui did not dare to hesitate and immediately forwarded the information to the 18th Air Division.
"Fujiwara-kun, the enemy has dispatched two bomber squadrons, most likely to bomb our frontline airport. You need to move the fighter planes in the airport immediately and don't let them be destroyed by the enemy!"
"I have also urgently notified the troops on the front line to prepare for air defense in advance. However, the effect of night bombing is very poor. The enemy's air force should not bomb the front line at this time. The real target should be our airports distributed in various places."
Fujiwara Ichiro's voice came from the phone: "Your Excellency Chief of Staff, I have issued alert orders to all airports. Fighter planes have begun to take off urgently, but since most pilots are not capable of flying at night, they are very likely to get lost."
"In order to avoid this, I need the 12th Army Command to issue orders to all places to provide us with lighting guidance to ensure that we do not lose our way."
Chief of Staff Ippei Mitsui readily agreed to Fujiwara Ichiro's request and immediately arranged for the troops under his command to light a huge bonfire near the camp to provide target guidance for night-flying aircraft.
Under the order of Ichiro Fujiwara, the Japanese ground crew carried out emergency refueling for the fighter planes. The pilots were hurriedly called up, put on their flight suits, and immediately rushed to the airport runway.
Half an hour later, a Zero fighter successfully took off from the runway and began to circle near the airport. Soon after, more and more fighters took off successfully, and the number of aircraft groups increased. Under the leadership of elite pilots, they began to leave the vicinity of the airport and fly towards the direction of the fire.
When the two bomber squadrons of the Air Force Regiment arrived over the target, there were only a dozen fighter planes on the runway of the Japanese airport, which made the bombing results tonight not very significant, and they also encountered fierce anti-aircraft fire interception by the Japanese.
Fortunately, it was night time now, and even though the Japanese anti-aircraft forces had made preparations in advance, they did not achieve much success and only damaged six bombers.
"Bagayalu! Open fire! We must shoot down an enemy plane tonight!"
Under the command of Captain Ichiro Hirai, the Japanese anti-aircraft artillery unit once again increased its firepower output and fortunately hit an engine of a bomber, but still failed to achieve the goal of shooting down a bomber.
After destroying all the fighter planes on the Japanese airport runway, they attacked the Japanese ammunition and fuel depots. After blowing them up, the two bomber squadrons began to return.
On the way back, we did not encounter any interception by Japanese fighter planes. The Japanese pilots did not have the ability to fight at night, and the airport was not equipped with air defense radar, so they could not guide the fighter planes to engage in air combat, making tonight's sneak attack relatively successful.
"Brothers, the mission has been completed. We must hurry back! We are now starting to receive radio signal guidance. All aircraft must follow closely and never leave midway to avoid getting lost!"
Liu Haishan, who was in charge of the exercise at Maoershan Airport, smiled with relief when he learned that the airstrike was successful. Compared with destroying the Japanese fighter planes, he was more concerned about destroying the Japanese ammunition and fuel depots. Without ammunition and fuel, the Japanese fighter planes would become toothless tigers. Tomorrow they could dispatch a large number of fighter planes to provide air fire support for the Niangziguan front to relieve the urgent needs of the independent regiment.
"Captain, college student, I just received a telegram from Captain Liu of the Air Force Regiment. Two bomber squadrons successfully bombed the Japanese ammunition and fuel depots, and destroyed 17 Japanese fighter planes."
"After dawn tomorrow, the Air Force Regiment will be able to dispatch hundreds of fighter jets to provide us with air fire support. This can save us a lot of ammunition and we will be able to hold out until the new regiment arrives!" Zhang Dabiao reported excitedly.
Lin Zhenhua was not as excited as everyone imagined. From the telegram, it could be heard that only the ammunition depots and fuel depots at two airports were destroyed, and the combat objectives were not achieved at all.
"Immediately send a telegram to all the airports, asking them to send out all their bombers to carry out air strikes on the enemy's frontline airports. The goal is to recover the enemy's fuel and ammunition depots. We must complete the mission no matter how great the cost!"
"Order the fighter units to form eight attack formations and start the attack at 5:30 a.m. to prepare to ambush the Japanese fighter planes returning to the airport!"
"Order the armored forces near Niangzi Pass to conduct round-the-clock patrols to ensure the safety of the logistics transportation lines!"
"Old Li, arrange for the rocket artillery troops to fire a round of salvos at the enemy's camp. Also arrange for small units to conduct exercises. We must not let the enemy get a good rest tonight!"
Li Yunlong had no objection to Lin Zhenhua's arrangement. Instead, he expressed his strong approval.
"College students, just go for it! The most important thing for us now is to delay time. As long as we can delay until tomorrow night, all crises will be resolved. We can even take the opportunity to launch a counterattack and eat up two divisions of the Japanese in one gulp!"