Volume 1: Entering the War of Resistance Chapter 33: International Shockwaves

  No. 36, Zhongshan 4th Road, Chongqing, formerly No. 101, De'anli, was originally built by KMT general Xu Shaozong. Because Xu Shaozong's courtesy name is "Yaoting", this house is also called "Yaolu". Now this villa near Cengjiayan has been borrowed by the Military Affairs Commission of the National Government as the official residence of its chairman Chiang Kai-shek, and the first and second offices of the attendants are also located here.

  At 2 am, Chiang Kai-shek had just fallen asleep for a while when he was startled awake by the sound of knocking on the door. The head of the first section of the attendants' room, He Yanzhu, shouted loudly outside the door: "Good news! Chairman, good news! Operation 'Spicy Chicken' is successful!" Chiang Kai-shek immediately sat up, actually he hadn't slept deeply, his heart had been hanging on this airbase's attack action all along. He quickly put on his outer garment and walked out to receive the telegram from He Yanzhu's hand.

  "The enemy commander, Lieutenant General Taizi, and many officers and pilots were captured. Many Japanese pilots were shot down. Ten Zero fighters, 18 Type 96 carrier-based fighters, 36 Type 96 land-based attack aircraft, reconnaissance planes, and liaison planes were seized. A large number of fuel, ammunition, and maintenance equipment were also seized. The Japanese military's Hankou airport has nothing left. Our army suffered minimal losses."

  Chiang Kai-shek read the telegram with excitement, pacing back and forth. It had been three years since the Japanese invasion, and Chinese troops had never effectively counterattacked a city occupied by the Japanese, nor had they achieved such brilliant results.

  "Go! Today, no more sleep. Go to the Bishan No. 1 base and wait for the triumphant return of our victorious generals!" Chiang Kai-shek could no longer bear the thought of sleep; he had to see the results with his own eyes before he could rest easy.

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  At this time, the road from Chongqing city to Bishan was not as good as it is now. When Chiang Kai-shek and his party arrived at Base No. 1 on the outskirts of Bishan County, the floating base had already arrived first and began to land.

  After entering the heavily guarded base, Chiang Kai-shek happened to see a plane being towed by soldiers of the 1st Marine Division onto the floating airbase. The commander-in-chief of this operation, Mao Bangchu, and the "administrator" of the floating airbase, He Junci, learned that Chairman Chiang had arrived and hurried down to greet him.

  "Reporting to the Chairman, Operation Spicy Chicken has ended smoothly and yielded a bountiful harvest. This is the freshly compiled list of spoils!" Mao Bangchu walked up two steps to stand before Chiang Kai-shek, saluted, and respectfully handed over the list after reporting.

  "Congratulations to you both, Xincheng and Pengfei! This unprecedented feat will surely go down in history!" Chiang Kai-shek said after quickly scanning the list. "Last time we launched a surprise attack on Europe and won a great victory, but we couldn't make it public. This time, with the surprise attack on Hankou, we must do a good job of promoting it to boost the morale of our anti-Japanese soldiers and also to gain international support." Chiang Kai-shek turned to Chen Bulei, the director of the Second Department of the Presidential Palace, who was in charge of handling matters related to the National Government's politics, economy, diplomacy, and party affairs.

  "Yes! Mr. Chairman, I will start preparing right away." Chen Bulei replied immediately, and as a veteran writer, he also realized that this would be an excellent propaganda material.

  "Director Chen, I have some photos taken here that should be helpful to you." He Juncai smiled and handed over a stack of materials. He had long thought of using this surprise attack to launch a propaganda campaign, not only to shock the domestic defeatist atmosphere and threaten the Japanese army, but also to win international status for China.

  Chen Bulei flipped through a stack of photos in his hand, which clearly reflected the details of the attack on Hankou Airport and some captured materials. Of course, some sensitive information had been filtered out by He Junci. After all, how long could the secret of the floating base be kept? "Great, with these first-hand materials, there are many articles to write." Chen Bulei quickly thanked He Junci, and the two committee members got close to each other.

  "Oh! Is that Taisho Sugano on the stretcher? And are those others, with their heads covered, Japanese prisoners of war?" Chiang Kai-shek pointed at a group of people wearing Japanese military uniforms being escorted down from the floating base by soldiers.

  "That's right! This time, we captured the commander of the Japanese Navy's Second Combined Air Wing, Lieutenant General Daichi Taketora, as well as the commanders and staff officers of the 12th and 13th Air Wings, including Major and Lieutenant Colonel, totaling over 10 people. In addition, almost all the commanders, pilots, and logistics personnel of the Second Combined Air Wing were killed at Hankou Airport, which is also recorded in the photos. This time, we took them down together!" Mao Bangchu said excitedly, after all, the Chinese air force, or even any country's air force in the world, had never achieved such a brilliant result. "The Zero fighter plane was captured, and all the Zero pilots were killed or captured, it will be difficult for them to pose a threat to our country in the short term!" He Juncai added, this is the most crucial purpose of this plan.

  "A great revenge!" Chiang Kai-shek exclaimed, knowing that the Japanese Navy's First and Second Combined Air Fleets were the culprits behind the devastating bombing of Chinese cities, especially Lieutenant General Toshizo Nishio, who was the mastermind behind Operation 101. This counterattack was a revenge for blood debts. Chiang walked to the stretcher, where Nishio was still unconscious, which also showed how much force Liu Xun had used in that one shot, apparently leaving some aftereffects. However, until the end of the war, he would spend his time in prison, with plenty of time to rest.

  Others may not know, but He Juncai understands. The capture of Taichi Oda is another loss for the Japanese Navy. Taichi Oda was not only a trusted subordinate of Isoroku Yamamoto, but also a renowned master of naval aviation tactics, alongside Minoru Genda. Known as "Ashura's outsider path", he not only devised the plan to attack Pearl Harbor, but also implemented the "Kamikaze" suicidal attacks. He Juncai wonders if Japan can still follow its original historical trajectory without him.

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  The next morning, citizens began a busy day. Although it was a time of war, their lives had to go on. However, they clearly found some unusual things today. There were banners on the streets saying "Public Trial of Japanese War Criminals", and newspaper boys on the street were shouting "Great Victory of the Air Force". Quick-witted people hurriedly bought a copy of the newspaper.

  "What? Our air force launched a surprise attack on Hankou, annihilating the Japanese Second Joint Aviation Brigade? Capturing enemy commanders and seizing several enemy planes? The war criminals will be publicly tried at Jiaochangkou!" A citizen who bought the newspaper read aloud.

  "Wow!" A large crowd of citizens rushed to a few newspaper boys, and the newspapers that were supposed to be sold until noon were instantly snatched up. Then a large crowd surged towards the city center, Chengguan Gate.

  The scene was set up early, and a Type 97 command reconnaissance aircraft captured from Hankou was also put on display. The bright red paint on the wing indicated that it had been recently captured. At 9:00 am, before the public trial began, Chiang Kai-shek, Chairman of the Military Affairs Commission of the National Government, arrived to deliver a speech.

  "Gentlemen, today is a good day! Just last night, the Air Force launched a surprise attack on the Japanese-occupied Hankou Airport and achieved a great victory. On behalf of the National Government, I would like to commend them." Chiang Kai-shek then publicly awarded medals and announced rewards. Commander-in-Chief Mao Bangchu and Fourth Flying Group Commander He Junci received the Order of Blue Sky and White Sun, Chief of Staff Hu Baixi and Deputy Commander Zheng Shaoyu, and First Land Warfare Group Commander Li Hanping received the Order of Cloud Banner, while many other commanders received the Medal of Revival Honor. Chiang Kai-shek also announced that He Junci and Li Hanping would be promoted to Major General, the First Land Warfare Group would be expanded into the First Land Warfare Brigade, and the Fourth Flying Group would add a bomber squadron, designated as the 12th Squadron, with Xu Huan-sheng, known for his "paper plane bombing", appointed as its commander.

  What followed was the climax of this public trial, as the President of the Supreme Court, Ju Zheng, commissioned by the Military Commission, established a military tribunal. The first to be brought in was none other than Daqishi Zhilang, who was sitting in a wheelchair. This shocked the specially invited foreign envoys and journalists from abroad. Shouldn't he have been in Hankou? How did he suddenly arrive here overnight? Moreover, he looked quite unwell, with his head wrapped up like a rice dumpling.

  The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Ju Zheng, asked the prosecutor to file a lawsuit. A batch of materials and transcripts were made public, which surprised Takihiro, shouldn't these be Japan's secrets? How did they get so clear? The person who knew this matter best was Soviet Ambassador Bogomolov. This morning, Sun Ke, who had a good relationship with him, came to find him and explained some of the situation about the surprise attack on Hankou. He told him that this time it was a surprise attack using paratroopers with the help of long-range bombers (without exposing the floating airbase). Several of Japan's latest fighter jets were also captured during the surprise attack. For Sino-Soviet friendship, the Military Commission decided to give one intact Zero fighter jet to the Soviet Union for analysis and research. At the same time, Sun Ke also stated that this new type of fighter jet had caused significant losses to the Chinese Air Force in recent battles. He hoped that the Soviet Union could provide a matching fighter jet; otherwise, China would gradually lose air superiority over Chongqing, which would have a very unfavorable impact on the war of resistance.

  The public trial in the morning was actually just a gesture, and there was no specific result. The prisoners of war were still taken back to the prisoner-of-war camp, where they would spend the rest of the war time.

  After the envoys of various countries returned, they hastily telegraphed this astonishing intelligence back to their home countries. Meanwhile, reporters from various countries were busy writing news articles. This time, the National Government provided a lot of pictorial material for free, enough to help them write an attractive article that would attract readers.

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  A few days later, the international community was shocked by this surprise attack. It is worth noting that Germany and Italy have begun negotiations on the basis of the original "**agreement**" to form a military alliance, signing a tripartite alliance agreement. Germany and Italy originally thought that Japan, as an ally, could effectively hold back the Soviet Union, but after this defeat, they had to re-examine the "Axis Pact" currently under negotiation.

  The UK and France are being battered by Germany, with France having actually lost the battle, while the UK is engaged in an intense dogfight with Germany in the Battle of Britain, with both sides deploying thousands of aircraft every day. The Chinese military's victory has had a significant impact on the UK, although Germany's paratroopers made their debut in Europe earlier, this surprise attack by the Chinese Air Force on Hankou is a classic example that will go down in history. The UK needs to consider many things, such as establishing its own airborne troops, defending against German air raids, and considering whether to continue blocking the Burma Road.

  The originally difficult US aid seems to have taken a turn for the better, as US Secretary of State Hull told Ambassador Hu Shih that the US government is carefully studying plans for assistance to China.

  The shock to the Japanese government was the greatest. The Chief of Staff of the Japanese Navy's China Fleet, Nobuyoshi Ike, rushed back to Japan and reported to the Imperial General Headquarters on the details of this defeat, explaining the reasons for the consecutive loss of two aces in air combat tactics. The losses suffered by the Japanese were huge, with a group of experienced pilots being captured or shot down, including the commander who was also captured, and the new fighter planes that had just been put into use were all seized, which was truly a loud slap in the face to the Great Empire of Japan.

  The Emperor convened an Imperial Conference to discuss the impact of this matter, and Lieutenant General Inoue Seiichi attended this meeting exceptionally. However, the gaze of Navy Minister Yoshida Zengo and Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet Yamamoto Isoroku made him feel very uncomfortable, as the Japanese Navy had lost a lot of face in front of the Army.

  "Your Excellency, that's the whole story. According to a ground crew member who survived by hiding in an airport toilet sewage pit, he heard the sound of large machinery landing and when he came out, it seemed like a huge flying object rose into the sky." Inoue Narumi explained the entire process as grasped by Japan. "This seems to explain how the Chinese Air Force was able to transport so many things in complete silence, our subsequent search yielded no results."

  "This son of a bitch must have been driven mad by the smell of his own shit!" Army Minister Tōjō Hideki, who had just taken office, said with a sneer at the Navy's defeat. It is unknown whether he was referring to the surviving ground crew or hinting at Inoue Shigeyoshi.

  "Your Excellency, our ground personnel in places like Yichang also seem to have seen a huge object in the clouds." Inoue Shigeyoshi made excuses for this defeat, which needed some justification.

  "That's enough, it's not proper to quarrel in front of the Emperor! I think that no matter what, we must strengthen our intelligence and get to the bottom of this. Also, at airports and logistics bases in China, we must take strict precautions to prevent similar incidents from happening again and increase patrols."

  "Your Majesty, since the start of Operation 101, the results have not been great, but the losses are not small. If this continues, it will be difficult to achieve our strategic goals. The Great Japanese Empire has invested too many troops in China, but gained too few resources. We should shift our focus to Indochina and Southeast Asia." Chief of Staff Sugiyama said. At that time, the army had already begun to enter Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia), and after France's de facto surrender, it was impossible to retain this colony.

  "It shall be done according to your wishes, may military fortune last forever!" The Emperor closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before speaking in ambiguous terms.

  Have a great weekend!

  Period, receive, push, thank you!