Chapter five hundred and fifty seventh: Seizing air supremacy
Early the next morning, as expected, the news that Xiaobenzi's largest military airport in China had been bombed made the front page headlines that day.
Everyone was more excited than yesterday. For two consecutive days, the two largest Japanese military airports in China were bombed, and nearly 500 aircraft were destroyed. Every Chinese who heard the news was excited.
Since the Anti-Japanese War, air supremacy has been firmly controlled by the Japanese. Our troops often have to fight under Japanese bombings and have suffered enough from their aircraft.
Now, in just two days, nearly 500 planes were destroyed, which was a traumatic experience even for the little devil.
Especially for the troops on the front line, without the threat from the air and the constant bombing every day, the morale and combat effectiveness have been directly improved.
However, Li Mu still did not give up. In the southern region, apart from Jinling and Shanghai, the only larger military airports further down were Hangzhou.
Hangzhou fell on December 14 last year, only one day later than Jinling. The original civil aviation airport was occupied by the Japanese army and turned into a large-scale military airport.
Although this airport is not as good as Jinling and Shanghai, after the other two have been destroyed by Li Mu, it is already the largest airport in the southern region.
Li Mu naturally didn't intend to let it go.
At two o'clock in the morning the next day, at Huoshan Airport, under the dim moonlight, the Yin-16 slowly started up and quickly rushed into the night sky, flying all the way towards Hangzhou.
More than an hour later, they arrived near Hangzhou. Li Mu took out his telescope and observed it from a distance. The place was extremely noisy, especially the airport, which was strictly guarded. There was even an anti-aircraft artillery unit deployed nearby.
However, visibility was not high at night, and the role of the air defense force was greatly reduced.
In addition, Li Mu is not a bomber group, but only one fighter. The target is too small and flies high. It is difficult to say how useful these anti-aircraft guns can be.
However, Li Mu could not just watch these threats indifferently. The next moment, he flew directly over the anti-aircraft artillery troops.
Within two seconds of flying over the anti-aircraft artillery unit, three three-ton gasoline bombs fell silently; then the fighter jets passed over the airport again, and three seconds later, four more one-ton aerial bombs dropped.
fall.
At this time, the planes above were also noticed below, and a shrill air defense siren sounded.
The soldiers of the anti-aircraft artillery unit hurriedly ran out of the barracks and looked into the dim night, looking for targets. Three three-ton gasoline bombs fell into the air several hundred meters above the ground.
The next moment, after three consecutive explosions, nine tons of gasoline turned into a rain of fire and rained down on the anti-aircraft gun position.
The little book below stared blankly at the rain of fire in the sky, and began to hide in all directions with howling ghosts and wolves.
Although these specially made gasoline bombs could not cause damage to the anti-aircraft guns, they could cause damage to the Japs operating the anti-aircraft guns. The anti-aircraft guns became mere decorations for a while.
On the other side, Li Mu did not stop at all. He circled for half a circle and passed over the airport. Within three seconds, he dropped four one-ton aerial bombs again. Then he passed by the anti-aircraft artillery unit and also dropped three three-ton aerial bombs.
of petrol bombs.
Although Hangcheng Airport is not as small as Jinling and Shanghai, it is not too small. There are hundreds of fighter planes, bombers, transport planes, reconnaissance planes... plus one.
However, after only five rounds of bombing, there was only a piece of debris left in the airport, which was the position of the anti-aircraft artillery unit. Although there was a fire, the anti-aircraft artillery was fine.
So Li Mu changed the targets and dropped aerial bombs on the anti-aircraft artillery positions and petrol bombs on the airport. After several more rounds, the airport was ablaze, and he finally felt relieved.
Looking at the little notebook with howling ghosts and wolves below, Li Mu did not stop and returned directly.
The next day, in Yu Garden, Li Mu was eating breakfast and reading the newspaper brought by the servant.
Like the previous two days, the front pages of major newspapers were all about the news that the small military airport in Hangzhou was bombed again.
The excitement can be felt through the newspaper.
Many literati even excitedly published articles in newspapers, saying that the War of Resistance was promising and that the War of Resistance would usher in the dawn...calling on everyone to unite as one, stand up together and fight the little book to the end.
Many reporters excitedly pointed out that after this battle, all the planes flying in the southern region were destroyed. Given the extent of damage to these airports, even if the planes could be redeployed, they would not be usable without one or two months of repairs.
Next, the airspace rights on the front line of Wuhan officially changed hands.
Li Mu knew that things were not as good as imagined. In addition to Jinling, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, there were also some small military airports in other cities in the south. There were also many planes parked at these small airports.
In this case, let's continue and completely destroy all Xiaobenzi's airports in the southern region and deprive them of their air supremacy.
The strength of Xiaobenzi lies in equipment and firepower. Without air superiority and air threats. Relying on fighting between ground troops, the battlefield situation will be very different.
Li Mu did not believe that with several times the force, without the threat from the air, and without the danger of being bombed at all times, it would be impossible to stop Xiao Benzi from advancing along Jiangxi.
For the next half day, Li Mu continued to study intelligence and maps. In addition to the several large airports that had been bombed, there were seven small airports in the south.
In order to completely deprive Xiaobenzi of its air superiority, these seven small airports must also be destroyed.
Fortunately, these airports are all within the combat radius of Huoshan Airport.
In the next few days, Li Mu successively attacked small airports, and the firepower for prevention and control was even more limited. He could only watch helplessly as bombs continued to be dropped from the sky, destroying airports one after another, and blowing planes into pieces...
Sometimes, along the way, two airports can be bombed at one time.
In just five days, all the airports in the southern region under Xiao Benzi's control ceased to exist.
Even if planes are transferred from the north or from the mainland, there must be airports to accommodate them. It will take at least more than a month to repair these airports and build oil depots and other supporting facilities.
During this period, Guofu, which still retains some air power, will rarely have air superiority. This is the only moment since the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War.
Such a good situation was created, and even Li Mu became free to fly a plane. In the past, he was afraid of being chased and intercepted by Xiao Benzi, so he rarely wandered around enemy-occupied areas during the day; now he is no longer afraid of Xiao Benzi's fighter planes suddenly jumping out, allowing him to fly the plane everywhere.
Free to wander around, scout and take photos.
However, with such good external conditions, we really shouldn’t do anything.
After just two days of peace, that night, taking advantage of the good moonlight, Li Mu went out again.
He followed the Yangtze River, starting from Wuhu, passing through Jinling, Zhenjiang, Wuxi, Suzhou, Shanghai...
Along the way, Li Mu could fly freely and boldly without having to worry about enemy planes coming out of nowhere.
He stayed at an altitude of more than a thousand meters and flew forward along the Yangtze River while observing the ships on the river. All ships belonging to Little Japan, whether warships, transport ships, or patrol boats, could not escape his bombing.
Along the Yangtze River, flying and bombing all the way.
Xiaobenzi has occupied the Yangtze River waterway for such a long time, and there are so many ships parked at various ports and docks. In order to cooperate with the war on the front line, even warships often travel back and forth.
This also gave Li Mu countless targets to bomb. Just on the waterway from Wuhu to Jinling, which was more than 100 kilometers long, Li Mu circled back and forth over the Yangtze River for three hours, dropping hundreds of tons of aerial bombs and hundreds of tons of
Petrol bombs.
Directly destroy hundreds of warships, patrol boats, transport ships, surface gunboats, troop carriers...
Seeing that there was not much gas left, Li Mu returned to the flight. Returning to Huoshan Airport, Li Mu took a short rest, ate some snacks, replenished water, and then drove another fighter jet along the Yangtze River waterway toward Jinling again.
This time, even though it was night, the water was much more lively and so many ships had been bombed. It was impossible for the little book not to miss the news.
All the various warships and ships docked in the Yangtze River were frightened and began to flee. Some transport ships and troop carriers, which were not so distinctive, disguised themselves as merchant ships to avoid possible bombings.
There is nothing we can do about those warships, patrol boats, and river gunboats. At first glance, these are small surface armed forces.
But it is not easy to hide. The air superiority is in the hands of others. They are thousands of meters above the ground and can launch attacks at any time. You are floating on the water and you are not an aircraft carrier, so you can only be used as a target.
These warships, patrol boats, gunboats... had no choice but to head east along the Yangtze River in the dark to avoid possible bombings.
Unfortunately, half an hour later, Li Mu caught up from behind. Seeing targets everywhere on the river, he smiled silently.
Originally, due to limited vision at night, every time he found a target during a meeting, he would use a telescope to observe it for a while before bombing, so as not to damage civilian ships and merchant ships.
This is one of the reasons why his bombing efficiency is so low.
It's better now. We no longer have to worry about civilian ships or merchant ships. Those that escape at this time are all living targets anyway, and every one can be blown up.
As a result, that night, the Yangtze River waterway became the most lively place. There were explosions everywhere, fires everywhere, and the wreckage of warships and gunboats that had been bombed and sunk in the Yangtze River.
The whole night, Li Mu also stayed up all night, changing three fighter jets in succession. The last time, watching Little Japan's warships escape into the sea, Li Mu directly faced Little Japan's military port, pouring 80 tons of aerial bombs and hundreds of
Tons of petrol bombs.
A military port that Xiao Benzi had been operating for a long time was bombed into a burning ruins, and then he returned with satisfaction.
The impact of this incident was greater than Li Mu imagined.
The little book has been running rampant in the Yangtze River waterway for many years, and now it has occupied half of the mountains and rivers and controlled most of the river surface.
Under such circumstances, there is not even a single vessel flying the flag of the Japs on the entire Yangtze River today, let alone the warships of the Japs.
Even the transport ships of those little devils only dared to display the merchant ship logo and did not dare to display the small book logo for fear of being used as a target for bombing.
The next day, the bombing of Xiaobenzi's warships in the Yangtze River waterway undoubtedly made headlines all over the world, even around the world.
In just one night, nearly a thousand ships were blown up, and the warships that roamed the Yangtze River waterway were wiped out overnight.
Countless newspapers began to cheer, and countless people began to publish articles. This was a major victory. While we gained air supremacy, we also demonstrated a huge deterrent on the Yangtze River waterway.
This incident not only made the people happy, but the Guofu government was also celebrating the New Year, not to mention having just gained air control over the battlefield. This major bombing on the Yangtze River waterway also had a huge impact on the small army on the front line.
The supply of weapons, ammunition, food, and personnel, as well as the replenishment of personnel, will become much more difficult, and their combat effectiveness will inevitably decrease. However, Guofu's combat effectiveness has become correspondingly stronger.
Next, Li Mu cruised over the Yangtze River for two consecutive nights, bombing any military and transport ships that appeared in front of Xiao Benzi. After sinking dozens of ships again, Xiao Benzi seemed to have a better memory.
On the third day when Li Mu was cruising the Yangtze River, he didn't find a small warship or transport ship, but there were more merchant ships.
Li Mu also understood that the transport ship used by the Japs to transport materials, ammunition and wounded soldiers was probably disguised as a merchant ship.
There was nothing he could do about it. He was thousands of meters above the ground, so he couldn't cover everything. He couldn't tell the difference between real and fake merchant ships.
Li Mu could only strengthen the inspection work from Wuhu to the front line. The distance from Wuhu to the front line has entered the war zone, and basically no merchant ships will come here.
If any merchant ship comes here, there is a high probability that it is a small transport ship disguised as a small book.
Li Mu sent out many times to bomb any merchant ships that dared to approach Xiaobenzi's front line along the Yangtze River waterway, trying to cut off their illusions of supplying through waterways.
After being bombed several more times, Xiao Benzi finally became honest and began to unload the cargo in advance, preparing to complete the supply work to the front line through land routes.
If you can push a small book to this level, it's pretty good.
Of course, the principal will not let go of such a rare and good situation. This is also the best situation he has faced since the Anti-Japanese War, and it is also the time when he has the greatest chance of winning.
So, they simply sent Xue Laohu, who was stationed in eastern Henan, and hundreds of thousands of his men to go south, hoping to launch an attack from the flanks and catch him by surprise.
When Li Mu heard that Xue Laohu and his hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses had been transferred to the front line, leaving only tens of thousands of miscellaneous troops, he couldn't help but sigh that the principal was too impatient.
Just like Guangzhou, its defense is heavy, and it also needs to guard against threats from the sea. In order to fight this battle in Wuhan, the principal transferred several divisions from Guangzhou, which greatly weakened Guangzhou's combat effectiveness. The result was that the small book was in Daya Bay
After landing, it fell quickly.
This time, East Henan also needs to be heavily guarded, not only to protect the hinterland of the Central Plains, but also to ensure that the little devils do not penetrate directly into Wuhan from here, and at the same time, to guard against dangers from Xuzhou.
In such an important place, the only garrison was transferred away, leaving behind tens of thousands of miscellaneous troops.
These tens of thousands of miscellaneous troops, plus the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces, only amount to 50,000 to 60,000 people. How can such a large territory in eastern Henan be defended with these 50,000 to 60,000 people?