On the 13th, a small-scale conflict broke out between the Japanese Marine Corps and the 88th Division of the Chinese Army. At 2 p.m., Zhou Zhirou, the former commander-in-chief of the Chinese Air Force, issued the No. 1 Air Force Combat Order, requiring the troops to attack before dusk on the 14th.
Be prepared for anything.
At 7 o'clock in the morning on the 14th, five Curtiss BT-32 bombers of the 35th Independent Team of the Chinese Air Force took off from Hangzhou Jianqiao Airport - strong winds and rain, with clouds 300 meters high, under severe weather conditions
, the Japanese army was waiting for the weather to improve, but the Chinese Air Force took off decisively - five bombers formed a wedge formation, and at an altitude of 1,500 meters, braving the Japanese army's intensive ground anti-aircraft fire, they attacked directly at the Gongda Cotton Mill.
The Japanese military positions and armories all returned safely after hitting their targets, and some aircraft fuselages were riddled with bullet holes.
At 8:40, Sun Tonggang, deputy commander of the Second Battalion, led 21 Northrop-2E light bombers, carrying 14 250-kilogram bombs and 70 50-kilogram bombs from Guangde Airport.
Taking off, the troops were divided into two groups to bomb the Japanese Gongda Airport, Huishan Pier and Japanese warships on the sea at Wusongkou.
The planes that bombed the airport and dock dropped bombs at 800 meters, and all hit their targets. The bombers that bombed the Japanese warships in Wusongkou had unknown effects after dropping their bombs due to poor visibility, but the bombed Japanese ships had already begun to flee towards the Yangtze River estuary. When they returned,
, six of the twenty-one bombers made forced landings at other airports due to bad weather, and all returned to the team two hours later.
At 9:20, Captain Ding Jixu of the Fifth Battalion flew a Hawker destroyer, carrying a 500-pound bomb, and took off from Yangzhou Airport. He searched for Japanese warships along the Yangtze River and found a Japanese destroyer on the river near Nantong.
, after the dive bombing, the Japanese ship was hit in the stern and sank immediately.
Kiyoshi Hasegawa did not expect that the Chinese Air Force would be able to take the lead regardless of bad weather conditions. When the flagship "Izumo" of the Third Fleet anchored outside Wusong Pass was attacked, he decided to order the aviation force to attack immediately regardless of whether the weather improved.
In the afternoon, in a new round of bombing, aircraft from the Fifth Group, the Second Group and the Thirty-fifth Group of the Chinese Air Force successively bombed the Japanese Marine Corps Headquarters in Shanghai, the Japanese base at the Grand Airport, Huishan Pier and other places.
The Japanese army obviously strengthened their anti-aircraft firepower. One fighter plane of the Fifth Group was shot down and two were damaged; two bombers of the Second Group were damaged.
The Japanese Marine Corps suffered heavy casualties in the large-scale bombing, so they constantly called the Air Force for assistance. However, most of the Third Fleet's air combat aircraft were carrier-based aircraft. Due to the heavy wind and waves, carrier-based aircraft could not safely take off and land on warships.
Tanigawa Kiyoshi had no choice but to order the Kanoya Air Force stationed in Taipei to take off, intercept the Chinese Air Force bombers, and destroy the main Chinese Air Force airports around Shanghai.
Jianqiao Airport is the location of the Chinese Aviation School and the main base for the Chinese Air Force's operations in Songhu, so it became the first choice target for the Japanese Kanoya Air Force to launch attacks.
There was a violent storm over Hangzhou.
The Fourth Battalion of the Chinese Air Force, originally scheduled to be used in North China operations, flew to Zhoujiakou Airport on August 4th, but received an order on the 13th: the entire team transferred to Hangzhou Jianqiao Airport. On the 14th, heavy rain fell in the middle of the sky
, some of the thirty-two planes in the fleet were unable to take off, and some had accidents because the runway was too muddy. Only twenty-seven fighter planes flew safely to Jianqiao.
Just after landing, the combat alarm sounded for enemy planes approaching the airport. Captain Gao Zhihang ordered the entire team to refuel urgently. Before all the planes had finished refueling, nine aircraft of the Kanoya Air Force had already entered the Hangzhou airspace. These Japanese biplane bombers were flying in the wind and rain.
They tried hard to maintain the formation, and finally found Jianqiao Airport through the gap in the rain clouds. Suddenly, they saw the Chinese Air Force plane coming towards them. The first ones to take off in an emergency were Captain Gao Zhihang and the 21st Team.
Captain Tan Wen and the two men immediately shot down a Japanese aircraft. The Japanese aircraft realized that the Chinese Air Force was prepared and quickly climbed into the clouds to avoid it, but the aircraft launched by the Fourth Group had already pursued them. Zheng Shaoyu, captain of the 22nd Group,
They caught up with a Japanese plane over the Cao'e River and shot it down. Team 21 Captain Li Guidan and team members Liu Zhesheng and Wang Wen also worked together to shoot down a Japanese plane.
3 to 0, in this first air battle between Japan and Japan in the air above Songhu, which was later named the "Jianqiao Air Battle", China won a complete victory.
On the 15th, the Chinese and Japanese air forces once again launched a large-scale air battle in Nanjing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and other places. The Chinese Air Force launched a full-scale attack, withstood the attacks of more than 60 Japanese aircraft and shot down 17 enemy aircraft. On the 16th, the Chinese Air Force in East China
The impact of the typhoon was basically eliminated, and aircraft from Japanese aircraft carriers participated in the battle in large numbers. The Chinese Air Force encountered greater challenges. On this day, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Destroyer Groups of the Chinese Air Force continued their efforts and shot down 8 enemy aircraft.
The young Chinese Air Force actually wiped out more than half of the two world-famous Japanese main air fleets, Kisarazu and Kanoya, which were equipped with the latest bombers. This caused shock in Japan. Wing Commander Ishii Yoshi was forced to commit suicide by caesarean section.
At the beginning of the National War, the Chinese Air Force, which used most of its air force strength, made Japanese newspapers lament: "Today's China is no longer the China of the past!"
At this time, the "Aviation Volunteer Army" located at Chengdu Airport in Sichuan is still waiting for military orders from the government. All aircraft have been filled with fuel and are waiting to transfer to the battlefield at any time.
In the first few days of the war, the air force dominated the battlefield, but suffered miserably on the ground battlefield.
On the 14th, the 88th Division began to attack the Marine Corps headquarters with 4,000 troops in Hongkou. The 264th Brigade of the 88th Division was responsible for the main attack. Brigade Commander Huang Meixing came to the front line to command. By noon, the enemy invaders were defeated and the brigade headquarters moved forward.
Near the Patriotic Girls' School, they were unexpectedly bombarded by the Japanese army. More than 30 people, including brigade commander Huang Meixing and brigade chief of staff Deng Yu, were martyred.
On the second day of the National War, China sacrificed its first general.
On the 15th, Japan officially announced the formation of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force, with General Matsui Iwane as its commander, leading two divisions to Shanghai for reinforcements and further expanding its war of aggression against China.
The national army, which has already deployed 300,000 troops in Songhu, did not know that they would face a steady stream of reinforcements of 280,000 Japanese invaders. The Japanese also did not know that elite troops from various provinces in China were gathering in excitement. In the next three years,
For months, they faced China's 750,000-strong army.
As the elites of the Central Army entered the Songhu battlefield one after another, people from all over the country sent troops to participate in the national war.
The Red Party sent out nationwide telegrams several times, hoping to send elites to participate in this ethnic war. The Red Party Office in Nanjing and the Kuomintang Military and Political Department held emergency consultations with the Red Army on reorganization.
The Guangxi Army, Yunnan Yunnan Army, Guangdong Guangdong Army, Hunan Hunan Army, Guizhou Guizhou Army... all actively organized their armies and prepared to march to Songhu in the southeast.
Liu Xiang, who is located in Sichuan, was even more angry this time. Since the July 7th Incident, he asked for military leave on July 10th. On July 13th, he issued a telegram to the whole country, asking for nationwide mobilization to fight to the death against the Japanese invaders. On July 25th, he ordered Sichuan to
The whole army rushed back to the original defense within three days and made an all-out effort to reorganize the army. On August 7, Liu Xiang went to Nanjing and attended the national defense conference. He made an impassioned speech for nearly two hours: "In the war of resistance, Sichuan can send 300,000 troops and provide 5 million strong men. Supply
The amount of food is tens of thousands of stones!"
On August 25, Liu Xiang, who returned to Chengdu, issued a "Message to the Soldiers and People of Sichuan Kang", calling on Sichuan soldiers and civilians to make huge sacrifices for the war of resistance: "In order to consolidate its own survival, the Chinese nation must actively resist Japan's atrocities of aggression! All of us must
The Chinese people must go through hardships and fight for the final victory from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood! Sichuan is the national base for rejuvenation that the Chinese people hope for and an important rear area during the war. With dangerous mountains and rivers, a large population, and rich products, Sichuan's 70 million people are
The responsibilities they should bear are particularly important compared to other provinces! "
All the generals of the Sichuan Army asked for help to fight.
Also on August 25, the last day of the Luochuan Conference, the Red Military Commission issued an order to reorganize the Red Army into the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army, changing the former enemy headquarters of the Red Army into the Eighth Route Army Headquarters. On that day, the Eighth Route Army Commander-in-Chief Zhu
General and deputy commander-in-chief Peng issued a telegram to announce his inauguration and announced that the troops had been reorganized and were about to march eastward to kill the enemy.
Seeing that the Japanese army was about to march from the Japanese mainland to Shanghai, Liu Lang, who was anxious, called for a fight and marched to the Songhu battlefield. Liu Xiang did not reply yet, and the Ministry of Military Affairs replied that all military orders would be followed.
Liu Lang and the Independent Regiment could only wait. In this battle, anyone who disrespects military orders will be killed. Liu Lang understands this truth better than anyone else.
In early August, various Sichuan armies gathered in Chengdu to discuss the matter of the war of resistance. They were determined to put aside their old grievances and reorganize their elite troops into 14 divisions to form two group armies. Liu Xiang was personally appointed as the commander of the 23rd Group Army, under which Tang Shizun was under the command.
The 21st Army, Guo Xunqi's 50th Army, Zhang Yan's New 61st Brigade and the Northern Sichuan Security Regiment. Deng Xihou was appointed commander of the 22nd Army, under the jurisdiction of Sun Zhen's 41st Army and his own army commander.
The 45th Army, Li Jiayu's troops and Liu Lang's Guangyuan Independent Regiment.
In the past, two armies of the Sichuan Army, with a total of 150,000 people, came out of Sichuan to fight against the Japanese. This time, there were a new 61st Brigade and a security regiment, and an independent regiment of 10,000 people, all of whom were elite.
That time, they carried old sleeves and single rifles, hung the rifle bolt with a hemp rope, wore bamboo hats and straw sandals and walked out of Sichuan. This time, they carried Springfield rifles, wore steel helmets and rubber soles
Although the standard shoes and equipment are still not comparable to the Japanese invaders with heavy artillery, they are much stronger than in the past time and space.
The soldiers have made final preparations and are waiting for the military order to go out.
The people didn't just cheer and encourage, they also took action.
Faced with the destruction of their country and their family, all Chinese people burst out the most glorious side of their humanity.
It was a China of suffering, but it was also a China of brilliant humanity.
The war is about to rage, but it is also the beginning of the Phoenix's Nirvana. Everyone firmly believes that. Because behind the passionate men who left suicide notes and picked up guns, there are them...
PS: I would like to dedicate this chapter to my great motherland and nation, and to the ancestors who have worked hard to fight against the broken mountains and rivers. The future generations will never forget everything you have done.