Chapter 218 The Disastrous Indian Landing Operation (Part 1)
The fuselage trembled violently, Genda Minoru secretly screamed, but when he looked back, he saw that the fuselage was smoking, and the plane was trembling continuously. Minoru Genda decisively opened the shield and jumped out of the cabin. When the parachute opened, the plane in front was whining downwards. A Mustang fighter jet roared past. After pulling it up, Minoru Genda was no longer concerned. Continue to join the battle group.
Genda Minoru was a little embarrassed and angry, staring blankly at the fierce battle in the air that was still going on, but he couldn't use any strength.
The most thrilling scene occurred at this time. Two British torpedo planes passed through the fire net of the task force and fired two torpedoes at the Akagi aircraft carrier before the fighters were shattered by anti-aircraft fire. Because the distance was only one thousand meters, the Akagi avoided one but was unable to avoid the other. At this critical moment, the old destroyer "First Frost" accelerated hard and used its body to block the torpedo that was enough to severely damage the "Akagi". Right in front of Nanyun's eyes, the "First Frost" exploded violently, and the ship's hull bounced more than one meter into the water. Two British torpedo planes were hit by anti-aircraft fire and turned into two balls of flames in the sky.
Nan Yunzhong looked solemn and stood at attention to salute! All the Japanese naval officers raised their hands and saluted!
The fierce air battle lasted for more than an hour. The Hurricanes and torpedo planes flown by the British suffered heavy losses. The torpedo planes were mainly shot down by the Zero, and the Hurricanes were mostly hit by ship gunfire. When the Hurricanes and torpedo planes all withdrew from the battlefield, the fierce battle in the air gradually stopped. The victorious Mustang fighter group did not show off its power, but turned around and left.
? 1 plane, 2 planes, 3 planes, 4 planes, 12 planes, the Zero fighters landed on the deck of Akagi one after another, when the count reached 12. There is no after. 62 Zero fighters took off, but only 12 returned to the aircraft carrier. The total results of the entire task force were to damage 1 Mustang, shoot down 16 Hurricanes, and 20 torpedo planes. It seems that this result is quite good, more or less acceptable. Unfortunately, as the fleet commander, Nagumo Chuichi knew very well that the result of this air battle was really disastrous. As the main force of fighter jets. One Mustang fighter was not damaged, but the downed Hurricane and torpedo planes caused the task force to sink a freighter, damage three freighters, damage the deck of the aircraft carrier Soryu, and sink the First Frost.
After the war, the sea was a mess. The lowered boats were searching for pilots and army officers and soldiers who fell into the sea. Before the war even started, we lost a tank regiment of tanks and still had air superiority. Will the Battle of India continue?
Nayun's emotions were complicated. At this time, the commander of the army, Commander Honma Masaharu of the Indian Seal Army, came down with his men. Nayun saw Honma with a solemn look on his face and bowed slightly to express his apology. Honma returned the greeting: "Your Excellency Nagumo. For the army, the battle can continue without air supremacy, but for the task force, it is difficult without air supremacy. I think we should report the issues here to the base camp truthfully. The Chinese are already participating in the war in another way. There is no doubt that the Chinese do not want us to get India and do not want the empire to grow and threaten their interests."
Maybe it¡¯s because of the pain from being beaten by the Chinese army. Today's Japanese navy and army will no longer open China and shut up China. Only civilians still call it that.
Thinking of the conflict between the Japanese Navy and Army, this sounds like irony. Nagumo Chu did not change his expression and said seriously: "The results of the air battle are dissatisfying. I will report this matter to the base camp and destroy the enemy's airport on the ground. I leave it to Honma-kun and the warriors of the empire."
Honma Masaharu was also annoyed when he heard this. He had indeed been gloating before. The problem was that a chariot regiment under his command also entered the sea. Everyone was in the same boat. Just tell me a few words, where did the belly fat go? Little did they know that the grievances between the Navy and the Army were too deep, and the slightest words could provoke disputes.
"In that case, it's up to the Army to decide next. Farewell!" After a few words, Honma Masaharu turned around and left. Nan Yunzhong had a frosty look on his face, watching him leave, secretly cursing in his heart that this guy was killed by a plane bomb.
Because of the air and the navy deliberately slowly cleaning up the messy scene, it was already afternoon when the army landed. The transport ship anchored, and the soldiers disembarked and boarded the small boat. As they struggled to paddle to the shore in various ways, the sky began to buzz again, and the air defense siren sounded again. This time, there was no navy carrier-based aircraft to cover the landing. The army is still more than a hundred meters away from the shore. This is really life-threatening. The fleet's anti-aircraft artillery will definitely be out of reach. There are only a few machine guns on the transport ship, which won't have much effect at all. The small destroyers came forward bravely, with their anti-aircraft guns set up.
There were not many aircraft coming back this time, only two groups of Mustangs and two squadrons of Hurricanes, a total of 48 aircraft. The purpose is not to completely annihilate the Japanese army, but to create trouble for the enemy troops who land.?Trouble.
After the previous air battle ended, when Fang Ping returned to the airport, Alexander was waiting on the ground full of hope. When he saw Fang Ping, he couldn't wait to step forward. He reached out to help Fang Ping get off the plane and asked: "Colonel, what was the result of the air battle?" ?¡±
This British guy has always been quite arrogant, but since the day I met him, this British guy has been losing weight day by day. This was all the result of the suffering of the war. Fang Ping felt that he was quite pitiful. For the battlefields in Europe and Africa, the British government transferred the fleet away. Of course, even if it was not transferred, it would not be able to change the outcome. Churchill was determined to rely on China. Anyway, India was right on the edge of Myanmar. If that didn't work, he would just retreat to Myanmar. Compared to India, Egypt is worse.
"We basically have air superiority. I suggest that we immediately divide the aircraft into three groups and take turns to bomb the Japanese landing sites."
Fang Ping¡¯s suggestion was supported by Alexander, and he immediately started to arrange it. The British fighter planes suffered considerable losses, but there were still three squadrons of Hurricanes and two squadrons of attack aircraft. After being organized into three groups, the Mustang fighters mounted two 225-kilogram bombs and set out on the road. The pilots of the other groups took the time to rest. Anyway, we didn¡¯t plan to let the Japanese troops land smoothly.
In fact, it was very stupid to force a landing at this time, but the relationship between the Japanese army and navy was so bad, and the army also wanted to show its strength, so the landing was destined to be difficult from the beginning.
Without the threat of ground anti-aircraft fire or the nuisance of enemy aircraft, the fighter planes flying over the landing site were a blast. The bombers stared at the transport ships and bombed them, while the Mustangs and Hurricanes dived and dropped bombs against the small amount of anti-aircraft fire. The first thing to be hit was a transport ship loaded with infantry. The Japanese troops on board even used rifles, and several Mustang fighter jets were indeed hit by rifle bullets. But for the Mustang, this injury is really nothing, as long as it doesn't hit the pilot directly, it will be fine.
The bombs fell one by one, and the transport ships on the sea no longer had time to put soldiers in. They lifted anchors, lit fires, and moved to evade. But this does take some time, or it is already too late. One bomb after another fell on the ship. Half an hour later, even after the bombs were dropped, the Mustang began to dive. The 12 and 7 mm machine gun bullets were not sparing at all, and they focused on shooting at the soldiers who boarded the beach. Anyone who was hit was killed on the spot. By the time the plane fired all its bullets and flew away, water was leaking from the three transport ships on the sea. Basically there is no way to save it. There were Japanese soldiers who fell into the water everywhere, and there were a lot of floating corpses. There were corpses everywhere on the beach, and the sea water was dyed red.
In just half an hour, one brigade suffered more than a thousand Japanese casualties. This made Masaharu Honma want to cry, but also gave up the thought of continuing to land during the day. The transport ship quickly retreated. Accepting the protection of the naval task force, Honma was too embarrassed to go to see Nayun, and hid in the cabin and sighed.
It should be said that Honma Masaharu¡¯s choice was wise. When the second wave of planes came, Honma cheered after hearing the news. You didn¡¯t have to explode, right? Soon the Chinese pilot told Honma with actions: "You have a beautiful idea!" The two 225 kilogram bombs carried by the Mustang fighter planes were not intended to be taken back. Relying on its excellent performance, the Mustang began to dive. They no longer bomb battleships, but only transport ships. In less than twenty minutes, the Mustang fighters called it a day, leaving behind a task force with three more transport ships severely damaged.
This time there was no fixed target to bomb, and the results were obviously not as good as the last time, but it also caused more than 100 Japanese casualties.
A task force that loses air supremacy is doomed to be in trouble. Nagumo Chuichi made an emergency call to China. Request air reinforcements, otherwise this Indian landing battle will not be fought.
When the news reached Tokyo, the cabinet began to quarrel again. This time, Mitsumasa Yoneuchi and Moto Sugisugi, the two ministers of the navy and army, came together to cause trouble for Hirota Koki. protest! We must protest strongly! Protest against China¡¯s sale of new fighter jets to Britain! Ask China to also sell Mustang fighter jets to Japan! Well. No, it¡¯s the transfer of Mustang fighter technology.
Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro almost spit on these two! Isn¡¯t this seeking skin from a tiger? Why are we building so many warships if the protest is useless? If protests are effective, can we still run rampant in Nanyang? How to do it? After arguing all night, we finally came up with three solutions. First, an additional aircraft carrier was sent to reinforce the Indian task force, and fighter jets deployed by Thailand and Singapore were urgently supplemented to the task force. Well, this is thanks to the Singapore oil depot left by the British, otherwise the fleet would be worried about running out of oil and returning. Second, protest against China's violation of the Neutrality Law and the sale of new fighter jets to Britain. You still have to protest, otherwise people will really think you don¡¯t exist. Third, urgently contact our ally Germany to request the transfer of new fighter aircraft technology. Japan, which has suffered so much from its air force, finally no longer dares to regard the Zero as the best in the world. It is better to quickly introduce the German BF190, otherwise it will be miserable when facing the Chinese Air Force in the future.
The Japanese government urgently called Beijing and requested a foreign minister-level meeting on Sino-Japanese relations. ChinaHe responded positively, but also said that the Chinese government is now in a state of war with the Soviet Union. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, the meeting between foreign ministers should be held at sea. A secret meeting is fine, but an open meeting will inevitably lead to the collapse of the British, American and Soviet Union. don't understand.
The Japanese government accepted the suggestion of this secret meeting and decided to send the cruiser Shentong to escort Hirota Kogi to the sea off Lushunkou, while the Chinese side sent the cruiser Dongting Lake to escort Foreign Minister Wang Chonghui to sea.
After receiving domestic instructions, the task force began to retreat. Warships are not easily bombed, but transport ships cannot. Before air supremacy is seized, don't think about landing in India. It's quite heartwarming to say that such a large fleet was blocked from landing by one or two hundred planes. It's really embarrassing to say it out loud.
Originally, Masaharu Honma was still thinking about landing at night, but when she saw the domestic telegrams, she lost her temper. Japan is too small, has few resources, and cannot afford losses. The equipment of a tank regiment almost made Masaharu Honma jump into the sea.
Germany¡¯s diplomacy was not so smooth. Hitler handed over this issue to the people below for discussion. As a result, no one agreed to transfer technology to Japan. Field Marshal Bob also strongly objected, saying: Promising Japan is tantamount to forcing China into the British and American camp. Doing so is undoubtedly unwise. Others mean the same thing. Anyway, everyone looks down on Japan and thinks that Japan is really lucky to defeat the US fleet.
After careful consideration, Mustache decided to reject Japan's request. The reason was that the current war between China and the Soviet Union was just a unilateral war, and they were still neutral towards the war between the two major military groups. Considering the needs of allies, BFW-190 is not suitable for transfer, but the technology of BF-109 is. Can be transferred to Japan.
German military industry experts also believe that the biggest problem with the Type Zero is that its protection is too poor. When faced with the 12- and 7-caliber machine guns of the Mustang fighter, it will fall down even if it touches the edge. Moreover, Type Zero is simply unable to dive to the limit, and it will fall apart if the speed is too fast. Only Japan dares to use this kind of irresponsible aircraft.
Alexander learned that the Japanese task force was withdrawing. He was overjoyed and called London urgently to ask for greater diplomacy. The best thing is to get China to join. We cannot ask China to add one or two wings of air force volunteers to reinforce India even if we pay a certain price.
Churchill, who had temporarily overcome the crisis, breathed a sigh of relief and urgently called Beijing to ask Ambassador Johnson to facilitate China's early alliance. Zhuang Sen's running around undoubtedly didn't have very good results, but in the end he got a result that wasn't too bad. China promised to send an additional torpedo aircraft wing and a fighter wing to reinforce India.
Originally, Fang Jianxiong was not going to agree, but Chen Shaokuan took the initiative to propose that the Navy's torpedo planes had still been tested in actual combat and could use India's war to practice their skills. The domestic torpedo machine is named Osprey and carries a domestic Swordfish electric torpedo. The speed of the modified torpedo aircraft is greatly improved compared to similar products. After the torpedo is hung, it can fly at a maximum speed of 480 kilometers.
Fang Jianxiong was persuaded by Chen Shaokuan, and then he made a plan to reinforce India. However, this plan is a bit troublesome to implement. HNA's ground staff have to set off from Yunnan and take various supplies by land. Entering India via Burma. Chen Shaokuan patted his chest and said that these were not problems, as long as the navy could fight the war. To be honest, if Fang Jianxiong hadn't relented, Chen Shaokuan would have wanted the submarine force to attack Japan's maritime transportation lines.
After the Japanese army entered the Indian Ocean, the biggest trouble it caused to China was the transportation of U.S. aid supplies. It is definitely not possible to use the American fleet. Japan and the United States are at war. It can only be transported by China's fleet, and this time the foreign ministers will meet. Fang Jianxiong asked Wang Chonghui to make Japan agree and not to affect the safety of China's maritime transportation lines.
Of course, this kind of security is only temporary. When China joins the allies, that will be a thing later. Let¡¯s deal with it for a while first.
Chen Shaokuan left happily, not thinking that there was anything wrong with President Fang Da professing friendship to Japan while sending planes to fight the Japanese army. They are all volunteers anyway. China is a democratic country. If anyone wants to go abroad to fight, others can¡¯t stop him, right? We have gone to England, which is thousands of miles away, so why can¡¯t we go to India, which is thousands of miles away?
When Churchill learned of the results of the negotiations, he pumped his fists excitedly, which showed that China would never sit back and watch Japan land in India. At the same time, it also shows China's determination to join the allies. The difference is whether it is sooner or later. In order to make this time earlier, Churchill called Roosevelt and said that the transportation of aid supplies to China should be accelerated, so as to encourage China to form an alliance as soon as possible.
Roosevelt knew very well that China is not the United Kingdom. One is a small island country and the other is a large continental country. Once China becomes the climate, there will naturally be conflicts of interest with the United States after the war. Even though they are allies now, it is really hard to say in the future. It's a pity that Roosevelt can't care so much now. The defeat of the navy pushed Roosevelt into an embarrassing situation. The domestic opposition is already questioning Roosevelt's ability to govern.?If an alliance between China and the United States cannot be promoted as soon as possible, the US military will not be able to form sufficient combat effectiveness for a while, and Japan's attack on India and even Australia is imminent. There are also technical problems with new fighter jets, etc., which are all tormenting Roosevelt.
Roosevelt ordered the staff in his office to urge the transportation of aid supplies to China, and at the same time called Hurley, asking him to step up diplomatic activities and promote China's alliance as soon as possible.
Dongting Lake left Lushun and went to sea, and soon encountered the Japanese cruiser Shentong. The former had a displacement of 4,800 tons, and the latter had a displacement of 5,100 tons. The main guns were two twin 155s, but the anti-aircraft guns were different. The Shentong, which was launched in 2025, is equipped with 127-caliber anti-aircraft guns. The Dongting Lake, which was launched in 35, uses 105-caliber guns, and the number is larger than that of the Shentong. It can be seen that the two navies had different guiding ideas when building ships.
According to the usual practice, Guangtian Hongyi, who proposed the meeting, took a small boat to the Dongting Lake and was greeted by Wang Chonghui at the side of the ship. After a brief exchange of greetings after the meeting, Hirota did not mention any words of protest. He was targeting the Indian issue and hoped that the Chinese government would stick to its neutrality and not sell new fighter jets to the UK.
Wang Chonghui said that although China remains neutral, it does not have a corresponding neutrality law to restrict arms sales. Capitalists are all profit-seeking. As long as the profits are sufficient, beheadings will be carried out. It is difficult for the government to truly restrict these behaviors. Furthermore, there are deep conflicts between China's military and political circles. Especially during the economic crisis, the country has repeatedly disarmament, and the military has deep grievances.