Wind spy

After the US army occupied Iwo Jima, the dispatched army headquarters also became nervous. Whether the enemy will attack Taiwan or Okinawa next is something that requires close attention.

But just as the Summer Army in China was thinking about it, an extremely important event occurred in history. On the night of March 9, the commander of the 20th Bomber Wing under the US Army Air Force 21st Bomber Command Li Major General May used 334 B-29 long-range heavy bombers to take off from the airfield in the Mariana Islands to carry out the second large-scale night bombing of Tokyo.

This was a repeated carpet bombing. At 24:15, two navigation bombers arrived over Tokyo and dropped flares in the predetermined target area, followed by incendiary bombs, indicating the target for subsequent aircraft.

Afterwards, a large number of bombers then threw incendiary bombs in the way of separate entrances in turn, and the fire spread quickly.Each long-range heavy bomber carries six to eight tons of incendiary bombs, also called napalm bombs, with a burning area of ​​up to 6,500 square meters.

In the two-hour continuous bombing, the 20th Bomber Wing dropped a total of more than 2,000 tons of incendiary bombs. Forty-one square kilometers of the city center was razed to the ground. The high temperature generated was enough to burn all combustible materials in the city. About a quarter of Tokyo is razed to the ground, of which 18% are industrial areas, 63% are commercial areas, and the rest are residential areas.

The 22 industrial targets to be destroyed in the bombing plan were all destroyed. More than 267,000 buildings in downtown Tokyo were burned, leaving millions of people homeless, with 83,799. Thirteen people were burned to death, and more than 100,000 people were burned or choked.

In this air strike, only nine bombers were shot down. Five bombers were seriously injured and forced to land on the sea. Forty-two injured bombers and the rest returned to the base safely.

It is the second time because on the night of the 23rd and 24th of last month, the US bomber group took the first large-scale incendiary offensive against Tokyo.

That night, one hundred and seventy-four B-29 bombers dropped a large number of napalm bombs in Tokyo, burning an area of ​​2.56 square kilometers in Tokyo.

Less than 30 hours after the American bomber group fired on Tokyo, 317 B-29 bombers attacked Nagoya at night, turning the city's aircraft manufacturing center into a flame.

On the 13th, Japan’s second largest city, Osaka, was also bombed by 300 B-29 bombers. One thousand seven hundred tons of incendiary bombs burned an urban area of ​​20.7 square kilometers within three hours.On the 16th, the US military bombed Kobe again, destroying the naval shipbuilding center.

"Everyone, I naturally feel sad about the large-scale and barbaric bombing of the empire's homeland, but now that something has happened, don't be so low-willed. The empire still needs you to keep fighting." Chen Mingxiang said in the small restaurant at home.

For half of March, Chen Mingxiang was listening to the good news of various U.S. forces bombing Tokyo, Japan. Although some people said that a large number of incendiary bombs were dropped directly on residential areas, causing a large number of casualties of Japanese civilians. This is a typical crime, but he did not. I think so, those who say such things have never seen the miserable scenes of the Chinese people in the bombing of the mountain city.

The time has been pushed to the 22nd. News of heavy bombing losses in Tokyo and major cities has also spread to China’s Japanese dispatch army. Upon hearing this result, a group of officers from the Gendarmerie Command and Yoshitaro Kawamoto Compared with Nagjinzuo, he ran to the Mala Villa to drink, feeling extremely sad.

"Fighting? No matter how smooth our war in China is and how important the results are, it is of no significance to the current empire. Japan is the life sustenance of all the imperial troops. Toss and toss and adjust the troops. Turning around, as a result, the next offensive target of the US military is Okinawa!"

"But our base camp transferred the most elite 9th Division of the Army from Okinawa to Taiwan. It’s no wonder that the staff of the various armies, the staff of the general headquarters, and the staff headquarters have made the most idiot in history. Behavior!" Yoshitaro Kawamoto said angrily.

There is nothing wrong with preventing the U.S. military from landing in China. However, the geographical position of Okinawa is too critical. It is equivalent to Japan’s national gate and also the mainland. When the situation is unclear, the main division is transferred to Taiwan. This mistake is simply Unforgivable!

The Ninth Division of the Japanese Army belongs to the permanent horse division, also known as the so-called Class A division. Each division has two brigades, and each brigade has two infantry regiments, engineer regiments and cavalry regiments. There are eight wing wing, artillery wing and heavy wing wing, plus the non-combatants of the division and two brigades and regiments, and the total number is 28,200.

The Division A has 7,630 horses, 14,900 rifles, 144 grenadiers, 288 light machine guns, and 54 heavy machine guns. , 16 mountain artillery, 36 field artillery and other equipment, is a multi-arm combat unit.

"Speaking of the two recent attacks to be launched by the dispatch army headquarters, they are not of much significance and will not help the domestic situation. The U.S. bombers took off from Guam and Saipan in the Mariana Islands. There is Iwo Jima. The airport serves as a transit station and does not need Huaxia's airport as a base at all." Sifang Lianger said.

"This is not the meaning of the General Staff Headquarters, but the meaning of General Gangcun. The U.S. Air Force's air force in China uses the airport of the Shancheng government to continuously bomb our railways and waterways, which brings great difficulties to transportation. At present, the Fifth Aviation Army of China only has more than 100 aircraft capable of taking off and combat, which is not an opponent at all." Said Nagatsu Hike.

"I heard that the supply of military supplies for the dispatched army is very difficult, and there is a serious shortage of food and ammunition. The country has been bombed again, and industrial production has been greatly affected. Under such a situation, is it necessary to launch large-scale operations?" Chen Mingxiang asked.

"It's not a large-scale combat, mainly the 110th Division, the 115th Division, the Third Chariot Division, the Fourth Cavalry Brigade and the 117th Division under the 12th Army. The mission of the 87th Infantry Brigade of China is to occupy Nanyang and destroy the Laohekou Airport of the Shancheng government."

"As for the 20th Army's attack on the western part of Hunan Province, it will not work in a short period of time. The 47th Division transferred from the country, the main force of the 47th Division, has been stranded in the Northern Dynasty and has not yet come to the designated area. It will probably be in mid-April. Launch an attack." Kawamoto Yoshitaro said.

The 47th Division of the Japanese Army was organized in Japan, with three infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, one engineer regiment, one mountain artillery regiment, and one heavy soldiers regiment under its jurisdiction. It is a relatively complete organization.