Chapter 213 Let the Japanese See What a True Elite Is

Xinxiang Airport, in front of the ammunition depot.

Ground crew member Ohira Nobuaki pushed a cart, and he carefully moved the bombs and machine gun bullets out and put them on the cart.

This is not an easy job. If you don't follow the rules, your life may be in danger. What's more, those pilots are hard to talk to, and they make things difficult for themselves before every departure.

Just as he was working diligently, he was suddenly awakened by a noise.

This honest man finally couldn't hold back his anger, lowered his head and began to curse in a low voice. Almost all ground crews didn't like those arrogant Army Air Force pilots.

When he raised his head to find the source of the sound, four planes he had never seen before flew over the airport at a very low altitude.

"Baga! Don't you need time to prepare and load ammunition? Why are you back so quickly?"

"Is this a new aircraft from the Kwantung Army? It looks very advanced. I wonder if I will have a chance to get close to them later."

As soon as the voice fell, one plane after another roared and flew past them at low altitude.

A sharp-eyed ground crew finally noticed the difference. He stood up and pointed at the wing and reminded loudly: "Look! That's not our plane! There is no plane emblem!"

At the same time, the piercing air defense alarm sounded through the sky.

On the way to Xinxiang, Captain Wang Hai was still worried about whether he would encounter the flying fleet of Japanese Army Aviation. After all, the Air Force 1st Division was delayed on the road, giving the enemy ample time to prepare.

The main reason was that they had an unexpected gain and discovered the enemy's cavalry brigade.

In a sense, this type of troops is a greater threat to the defenders of Zhongtiao Mountain, and must be dealt with first, otherwise there will be endless troubles.

But the facts proved that all worries were unnecessary.

When the huge airport appeared in front of everyone, all the pilots were shocked, because there was not a single Japanese plane taking off to intercept in the sky over Xinxiang.

When the attack was about to begin, the radio silence was lifted, and the communication channel was immediately filled with everyone's surprised voices.

"Captain, what's going on? Not only is there no enemy plane, but the air defense alarm just went off? Didn't the dive bombers return?"

Wang Hai was also a little confused. He had already prepared for the battle and thought it would be a tough battle.

But he never expected that Xinxiang Airport was not prepared at all.

This was mainly because the Japanese had never thought that the Republic of China had an air force. They didn't even have anti-aircraft guns. The so-called garrison was just defending against guerrillas.

As for those Type 97 light aircraft? They knew that the enemy planes would not give up Xinxiang Airport and had already landed somewhere else.

"All crews! Free attack! At least one-third of the bullets for the aircraft machine guns must be kept, and everyone retreats after ten minutes!"

With Captain Wang Hai's order, the entire formation began to attack in groups of four, and flames spurted out from under the wings of the fighter planes.

Ammunition depots, oil storage areas, and all movable Japanese were targets. Under the rain of bullets of various calibers, the entire airport was like hell on earth.

There were several neatly parked Type 97 fighters in the hangar, and dozens of Japanese soldiers rushed out of the dormitory fearlessly, wanting to take off and meet the enemy in their fighter planes.

But they were taken care of by Wang Tianbao, and all the remaining Western artillery bullets were given to these brainwashed enemies.

A moment later, the whole road was full of red debris and broken limbs.

The soldiers of the First Air Division swept away everything in a whirlwind, and completely destroyed the Xinxiang Airport in just five minutes.

Because of the explosion of the oil storage area and the ammunition depot, not only was there a raging fire here, but even the runway and some unimportant buildings were destroyed.

After the battle, Captain Wang Hai looked at the scene and shook his head with some dissatisfaction.

"It would be great if we had Mosquito B or Lancaster. Compared with tactical/strategic bombers, fighters' ground attack capabilities are still a little lacking."

"All crews, retreat! We don't have enough fuel and ammunition!"

"Target, the base in southeastern Shanxi."

······

On the evening of May 7, 1941, the Second War Zone Headquarters in Ji County, Shanxi Province.

Although it was already dinner time, the combat meeting room was still busy, and no one left their post.

Staff officers of all sizes ran around the room, scrambling to sort out the intelligence sent back from the front.

Since strengthening the counter-espionage capabilities, the intelligence network of the Shanxi faction is no weaker than any organization.

Yan Laoxi knew about the Japanese troop movements. After all, the joint operations of the North China Front Army and the Kwantung Army were very noisy and it was impossible to hide it from others.

However, his think tank did not expect that the Japanese army was openly going to cross the Yellow River to attack Baili Qinchuan, but in fact it was a feint to the east and attack the west to eat up the preserved fruit troops in Zhongtiao Mountain.

Even though the two sides were hostile, Yan Laoxi had to admit that Okamura Ningci's trick was powerful enough to fool almost everyone.

Although the preserved fruit troops had been defending the Zhongtiao Mountain defense line for more than three years and even repelled the enemy's thirteen attacks.

But he still did not look favorably on the current situation and felt that the defenders were in danger. After all, the devils were too fierce and sent out six divisions.

However, this battle also made Yan Laoxi feel a sense of crisis. If the 200,000 preserved fruit troops were gone, the whole Shanxi Province would be in a state of great change.

At that time, it would be difficult for the Eighth Route Army alone to withstand the four divisions of the First Army with full firepower.

This means that once the devils successfully take over Zhongtiao Mountain, he will have to surrender even if he doesn't want to. Who knows if their policies will change.

Perhaps after surrendering, he can take back the Taiyuan he longs for, but that is a gift from Xiaoshi. And it means that he will become a puppet of others, which is not the future he wants.

Just as Yan Laoxi was thinking hard, a staff officer hurriedly ran into the combat meeting room with a telegram. He looked so anxious that he even forgot to salute.

"President, there is an urgent telegram from the southwest capital!"

As soon as the voice fell, his own leader snatched the telegram and began to read it. During this process, Yan Laoxi looked worried, as if he had encountered some difficulties.

"If I had known this would happen, why would I have done it in the first place? If that bald guy hadn't put the commander of the First War Zone under house arrest and hadn't transferred the Fourth Army, Zhongtiao Mountain wouldn't have fallen into the passive situation it is now."

"Let me send troops? I want to help too! But I only have 50,000 people!"

"What can this amount of troops do? It's not even enough for Yansong Yixiong to fill his teeth. What can I use to support him!"

After venting his powerlessness, Yan Laoxi walked to the strategic situation map and began to think about how to break the situation.

In the past, he was dancing on three eggs, and stepping on any one of them would not work.

But now one egg is about to be crushed, one egg has an unclear attitude towards itself, and one egg is almost abandoning itself.

Thinking of the last negotiation, when Hua Gu was talking and gesturing without paying attention to others, Yan Laoxi made a complete decision. He wanted to fight for a future for the Jin faction.

But in principle, he still had to drive the tiger to swallow the wolf. After all, his family background was too shallow, and rashly sending troops might lose everything.

But at this moment, two more staff officers ran in, and the two brought different choices to Yan Laoxi.

"Report to the president! Good news from the front!"

"According to the news from the defenders of Zhongtiao Mountain, the Eighth Route Army Air Force defeated the Japanese Army Aviation with more than 300 fighters and destroyed the two airports in Jincheng and Xinxiang."

"Now the enemy has lost air supremacy in the east, west and northeast lines of Zhongtiao Mountain. Except for the main battlefield on the west line, all units have stabilized their positions."

After listening to the report, Yan Laoxi took a breath. Damn it, how come there is an air force after not seeing it for a few months? The development speed is too fast.

As a person who has been in the air force, he naturally knows how difficult it is. Apart from other things, the planes and fuel alone have stumped 90% of the forces.

After reading the first report, the staff officer directly read out the second report.

"President, the Japanese sent an envoy. Notified us to accept some counties in the province. What do you think about this matter?"

This news was a bit unexpected. Yan Laoxi thought that Yansong Yixiong had completely given up the idea of ​​​​talking to him.

However, after a careful inspection, he found that the geographical location of these counties was not very good. Either they bordered the northwest of Shanxi, or they were close to the base of the Eighth Route Army in the southeast of Shanxi.

The devil's idea was very simple, nothing more than using these awkwardly located occupied areas to buy himself off.

Now the First Army has mobilized a large number of troops, and the entire province relies on two independent mixed brigades to guard the house. Once the Eighth Route Army starts to make trouble in the rear, they will definitely not be able to defend it.

After taking these counties, both the Central Army and the Eighth Route Army will be suspicious of the Shanxi Suiyuan Army.

What's more, the final ownership of these territories still depends on the face of the Japanese. If you don't serve the devil as a dog, you will still have to spit out how much land you eat.

Seeing his superior hesitant, the staff officer on the side suddenly became a little anxious: "Chairman, do you think we should take these counties or not!"

"Take it! Why not! There is no reason not to eat the meat that is delivered to your mouth."

Thinking of the scene of being humiliated that day, Yan Laoxi was furious.

"Pass on my order! While taking over the county, the troops must be prepared for battle. If the Japanese ask, just say we must guard against the Eighth Route Army!"

"Anyway, in the eyes of outsiders, our relationship is not very good."

"Let the men keep a close eye! Once the devils show signs of decline! We will press on immediately! I, Yan Baichuan! Not only will I take revenge! I will also avenge my previous shame!"

After everyone left, Yan Laoxi clenched his fist.

The situation in North China is very chaotic now. This is the only chance to recover lost territory. If you don't seize it, you probably won't be able to touch Shanxi in the future.

······

For this Zhongtiaoshan Campaign, the deputy commander-in-chief made a lot of arrangements.

On the one hand, it is naturally a raid. The enemy not only mobilized six divisions, but also dispatched a lot of armored units. If such troops cannot keep up with the supply, their combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced.

In the deputy commander-in-chief's plan, he intends to use the basic regiment, militia and the masses to destroy the Baijin Line, Zhengtai Line, Tongpu Line, Pinghan Line and Pingsui Line.

Since the deputy commander was preparing to launch a major operation in Shanxi Province before the Japanese attacked Zhongtiao Mountain, there was no difficulty in the personnel dispatch.

In addition, the raid was actually a smaller version of the Hundred Regiments Campaign, so it can be said that the comrades were familiar with it.

On the other hand, it was natural to send the main force to support the defenders of Zhongtiao Mountain. Such a military operation is much more difficult than raiding in the rear.

What our side can think of, of course, Okamura Yasuji and Iwamatsu Yoshio can also think of.

In addition to attacking the western line of Zhongtiao Mountain, the 36th Division and the 37th Division also have the purpose of strictly guarding against the Eighth Route Army's southward support.

If an unexpected situation occurs, these two divisions may stop the attack at any time and cooperate with the 41st Division on the east side to eat up any troops that come to support.

Considering that the next battle is very difficult, the deputy commander can only wait until the troops are gathered before issuing the order to attack.

······

Let's move our perspective to the southeast of Shanxi, the airborne force training base of the Eighth Route Army.

"Captain! When will our First Marine Regiment be dispatched? Aren't the transport planes and gliders parked in the base? When will it be our turn?"

"Are we going to let them eat meat while our direct troops of the headquarters stand stupidly on the side? Half of the 129th Division has been dispatched. Isn't this a joke for the brother troops to see us?"

"What are you afraid of? Why don't you dare to fight with the deputy commander?"

Looking at the anxious monk and Duan Peng, Li Yunlong put down the book in his hand and spread his hands helplessly to the two.

Although he was also anxious, after all, the First Marine Regiment occupied the best resources of the entire army, and it would be unreasonable not to achieve some results. But the parachute operation requires a lot of intelligence support, and it would be useless if we act rashly.

"What are you doing? Your eyes are wide open like cow eggs. Why are you glaring at me? You are disorganized and undisciplined!"

"I know you are anxious, but don't worry. The superiors must have their own considerations. Good steel should be used on the blade. It would be bad if the comrades heard you two complaining like this."

"I understand that you are emotional, but if you really can't, find a place where no one is and bang your head against the wall."

At this moment, the phone in the base rang.

Li Da, who was still giving instructions, immediately jumped up from the stool and took a few big strides to pick up the receiver.

"Li Yunlong! You must be cursing again"

Before he finished speaking. The brigade commander on the other end suddenly remembered something. His beloved general is no longer the idiot he used to be. Now he can barely be regarded as a good boy who loves to study.

After a few seconds of silence, Li Yunlong bowed his head and tentatively said, "Which bastard reported me?"

"Hahaha! Come on, stop talking nonsense to me. You can start making preparations before departure. The deputy commander is formulating your regiment's offensive plan."

"Listen carefully, kid! Although you are going out to work alone, as long as you fight well, I will also be proud!"

"Be careful! I wish you a successful start!"

The concerned tone on the other end of the phone touched Li Yunlong. He adjusted his mood and answered loudly, "Brigade Commander! Just watch! I will lead my regiment! Let the little devils see what a real elite is!"

I wish you all a happy May Day holiday!