Chapter 400 Yoshio Shinozuka: The Eight Routes have lost their ability to attack!
"Xinei!"
"Kill me!"
At about 3 p.m., Japanese pilots launched the fourth wave of air attacks on the artillery positions of the 2nd and 3rd Attack Groups of the Eighth Route Army.
The scale of this air attack was larger than the previous three. The Japanese army used more than 160 aircraft to simultaneously attack the artillery positions of the Eighth Route Army in the east and west of Taiyuan City.
However, the headquarters of each attack group had already ordered the artillery to withdraw to a safe position in advance.
All that was left was various anti-aircraft firepower and unattended artillery.
The Japanese aircraft work in a divided and coordinated manner, with reconnaissance aircraft and liaison command aircraft responsible for reconnaissance, coordination and command at high altitudes.
Fighters were responsible for attracting and attacking the Eighth Route Army's attacking anti-aircraft firepower.
Since the reconnaissance aircraft and liaison command aircraft only marked the approximate location of the Eighth Route Artillery position, the Japanese bombers had to use carpet bombing.
The ground-to-air war is happening again.
The sky was filled with densely packed Japanese aircraft and orange-red ballistic tracks that filled the sky.
After three rounds of attacks, both sides suffered losses on each other. Only some Japanese reconnaissance planes and liaison command planes remained, and almost all the remaining bombers and fighters flew away.
In this wave of fighting, more than 40 Japanese aircraft were shot down.
The Eighth Route Army did not take advantage. Almost all 44 cannons were destroyed, and a total of 42 machine gun positions were destroyed.
The Eighth Route Army soldiers also suffered more than 100 casualties, most of whom were hit by machine guns or aerial bombs. Most were killed on the spot, and those who were not killed were basically seriously injured.
At about 5 o'clock, the fifth wave of Japanese air attacks arrived.
This time, the Japanese army dispatched about 100 aircraft, targeting the artillery positions of the new regiment.
Among them, more than 20 are reconnaissance aircraft and liaison command aircraft, and more than 80 fighters and bombers.
In the previous waves of attacks, more than 20 aircraft were hit and injured and are currently unable to take off to participate in the attacks. Several more aircraft were hit and crashed on their way back.
This wave of attacks on Japanese aviation was not as lucky as the previous ones.
Because the new regiment is equipped with more anti-aircraft firepower, more than 200 machine guns and more than 50 large-caliber heavy machine guns, as well as hundreds of light and heavy machine guns.
Moreover, the soldiers of the new regiment, who had gone through countless drills and fought ground-to-air combat with Japanese aircraft, had richer air defense experience.
The Japs were still doing the same thing, with various types of aircraft cooperating to attack, and the Eighth Route Army's anti-aircraft firepower below was ready.
As the Japanese dive attack began, the firemen of each company and platoon were ordered to press the pressure iron in front of the Japanese plane's dive direction and pull the trigger.
"Da da da…"
"Everything..."
"Chew, gnaw, gnaw..."
At this moment, all kinds of anti-aircraft firepower fired at the Japanese aircraft almost simultaneously and began to shoot rapidly.
Densely packed anti-aircraft firepower of different calibers poured into the sky like raindrops, and dark red ballistics filled the entire sky.
Li Yunlong saw through the field of view through the telescope that a Japanese fighter jet had just dropped an aerial bomb. Before it could pull up, it was instantly torn to pieces by a machine gun. The plane exploded in the air, and the Japanese pilot was exploded before he could parachute.
It was torn into pieces and fell down together with the aircraft parts.
Before another Japanese bomber had time to drop its bomb, the pilot was beaten to pieces. The plane fell down and hit a hill with a ball of orange-red sparks. Then, accompanied by the shaking of the ground, there was an explosion like a landslide.
Then the sound came, and the aerial bomb carried by the plane exploded, and the Japanese crew members in the bomber were killed in the explosion.
Of course, it was not just the Japanese planes that were passively beaten, the new regiment was also suffering losses.
The aerial bombs dropped by the Japanese bombers blew up the cannons of the New Regiment one by one.
The machine gun shells and cannon shells sprayed out by the fighter jets smashed the new group of soldiers operating anti-aircraft weapons into sieves or minced meat.
The aerial bombs dropped by the fighter jets blasted a large crater into the machine gun position, and the soldiers and machine guns were thrown high into the air.
But overall, the new group has the advantage, and the advantage is relatively large.
In the previous waves of attacks by Japanese aircraft groups, whether it was Ding Wei's 1st attack group, or Kong Jie and Cheng Shifa's 2nd attack group and 3rd attack group.
Each of them only has about 100 machine guns, and there are not as many other weapons as the New Regiment.
In terms of anti-aircraft firepower alone, the new group currently has two to three times theirs.
The more than 80 aircraft dispatched by the Japanese were on par with their individual counterparts, but naturally they were not enough in the face of the new regiment's anti-aircraft firepower.
In this wave of attacks, although the Japanese aircraft destroyed the artillery positions of the new regiment, they also paid the price of shooting down nearly 40 aircraft.
As all the remaining Japanese aircraft flew away, the ground-to-air war ended.
"The staff immediately gave me statistics on the downed Japanese planes and their losses. Not one of them should be missing."
Seeing the Japanese plane gradually getting smaller in the telescope until it completely turned into a black spot and then disappeared from the horizon, Li Yunlong put down the telescope.
There was no fluctuation in his tone.
Soon, the staff statistics of the number of Japanese planes shot down in this wave were completed.
Wang Dehou took the notebook with records and reported to Li Yunlong: "Report to the commander-in-chief that the number of enemy aircraft shot down has been completed."
"how many?"
Li Yunlong narrowed his eyes and asked.
Zhao Gang and Xing Zhiguo also stared at Wang Dehou, with a look of anticipation on their faces.
Wang Dehou picked up his notebook and read: "Ding Wei's 1st attack group shot down 31 enemy planes, Kong Jie's 2nd attack group shot down 23 enemy planes, Cheng Shifa's 3rd attack group shot down 18 enemy planes, and the Xin group shot down 18 enemy planes.
38, totaling 110 enemy aircraft shot down."
Kong Jie had more machine guns than Cheng Shifa, so Kong Jie's second attack group shot down 5 more Japanese aircraft.
"What? Shot down 110 enemy planes? What a good boy!"
Xing Zhiguo couldn't help but gasped when he heard this, his tone was horrified, he couldn't believe this was the number of enemy planes shot down by the Eighth Route Army.
Zhao Gang was shocked in his heart, but his expression was very calm: "Where is the loss?"
Wang Dehou continued: "Our mountain artillery and howitzers were basically destroyed, leaving only 3 mountain artillery and 2 howitzers. In addition, 85 machine guns were lost, and the number of soldier casualties was close to 300. The specific casualty data are still being tallied."
Zhao Gang breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this: "Fortunately, the loss is not big."
This time, 110 Japanese aircraft were shot down at the cost of losing 83 cannons, 85 machine guns, and nearly 300 casualties.
But these 83 cannons and 85 machine guns can be reimbursed.
Moreover, the business price of every plane shot down and every pilot killed is the real big deal.
Because destroying Japanese aircraft and killing pilots is a long-term business, no matter whether Taiyuan is finally captured or not, the transaction price of killing these 110 Japanese aircraft and 110 pilots can still be pocketed.
At this time, Captain Li's smile grew stronger as he thought about the lucrative transaction price.
110 aircraft and 110 pilots were destroyed, and the trading price was 330 mountain guns, 110 howitzers, 550 radios, and 1,100 tons of grain.
earned a lot.
Of course, Ding Wei, Cheng Shifa and Kong Jie also made a lot of money.
As for casualties...how can there be no casualties in a war?
A commander who cries just because he sacrifices some soldiers will not become a leader.
…
At the same time, on the northern wall of Taiyuan's outer city wall, Lieutenant General Shinozuka Yoshio witnessed this ground-to-air battle with his own eyes.
Although the Eighth Route Army's artillery position is not visible on the south wall, the sky above the artillery position can be seen through the telescope and artillery scope.
In this wave of ground-to-air battles alone, Shinozuka Yoshio saw at least 30 aircraft shot down in his artillery scope.
The scene was shocking and the Imperial Air Force suffered heavy losses.
The corners of the old devil's mouth twitched with distress.
Just the loss of these planes and pilots would leave him with nothing to lose after the battle.
However, he had no choice.
If we don't do this, Taiyuan will not be able to defend it no matter what.
By then, not only will Taiyuan be lost, but Yoshio Shinozuka will also become the soul of Li Yunlong's sword.
Under the escort of security personnel, Yoshio Shinozuka walked down the north city wall and returned to the inner city headquarters by car.
Although the Eighth Route Army's mountain artillery and howitzer positions were destroyed, the mortars and infantry artillery equipped by the Eighth Route Army could also pose a threat to targets on the city wall.
As soon as he entered the combat hall, the communications staff came forward and lowered his head to report: "Report to the general, the 3rd Flying Group reported that all eight-way artillery positions have been destroyed!"
"Yoshi!"
Hearing this, Yoshio Shinozuka breathed a sigh of relief: "The last artillery position has been destroyed. The Eighth Route Army has lost its ability to attack fortresses. It is impossible to capture Taiyuan again."
The city walls of Taiyuan have been blasted with more than a dozen gaps by artillery from the Eighth Route Army.
But these dozen gaps were not enough for the Eighth Route Infantry to attack the city.
Moreover, while the planes were attacking the Eighth Route Artillery position, the Japanese and puppet engineers in the city had already stepped up their efforts to seal and repair the gap.
The Eighth Route Army also had artillery such as mortars and infantry artillery, but trying to knock down the Taiyuan city wall with these two types of artillery was nothing more than a dream.
"Kasai-kun, how many aircraft did the empire lose in total?" Shinozuka Yoshio asked.
"Including the aircraft that were shot down during the battle and those that crashed on the way back, there are no less than 110 aircraft. The specific data are still being compiled!" Kasai Toshimatsu gave a rough figure.
There are no less than 110 aircraft, which means that Yushang has no less than 110 pilots.
Shinozuka Yoshio's eyes were sinister, but after thinking about it, his brows quickly widened.
Although the loss was huge, judging from the results...
The loss of more than 110 aircraft and more than 110 pilots not only destroyed the artillery of the Eighth Route Army, but also saved Taiyuan and the First Army Headquarters.
The price paid is worth it.
Before that, as soon as the Japanese planes flew away, artillery from the Eighth Route Army immediately began to bombard the city wall.
Now that the plane has been flying away for more than ten minutes, there is still no movement, indicating that the Eighth Route Army's artillery has indeed been destroyed.
A sneer suddenly appeared on the corner of Shinozuka Yoshio's mouth. Without the mountain cannon and howitzer, what kind of attack will you, Li Yunlong, use?
