Chapter 43: The Gap

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  After dinner, Little Horse found me and said, "The divers want to go again tonight to make up for what they didn't finish last night."

  "No way! That's suicidal!" I flatly refused, "The Yoshino is sunk at the stern and now stranded on the shore, the water by the riverbank is so shallow, and there are over a dozen enemy ships outside, as well as many merchant ships and small boats. You can't get in at all!" I sighed and said: "Although we're just as disappointed as you that the Yoshino didn't sink, whether or not it sank does indeed affect the outcome of our attack. But we can't just send you to your deaths! The war of resistance is a long-term and arduous one, and China only has this one qualified underwater assault team!"

  "Well, can't you give me some other tasks then?" Little Horse was already pleading, it seemed the diver's pressure on him wasn't small either!

  "Looking for something to do? Go to Jiangnan Factory and find Chen Shaokuan's deputy, you know him; have a good rest tonight, prepare tomorrow day, and pull out the floating thunder tomorrow night!"

  "Yes!" The little horse ran happily and excitedly.

  He was delighted, but I looked at the intelligence from Riben with a worried heart.

  The Hosho, Ryujo and Kaga aircraft carriers, the Kinu and Kuma cruisers, escorted by about 15 destroyers, have set sail in an emergency; The air squadrons of the First Combined Air Corps are moving to Taipei Airport.

  Second, formed the Shanghai Expeditionary Army, with General Matsui Iwane as its commander, it consisted of the 3rd and 11th Divisions, the 10th Heavy Artillery Regiment, the 5th Tank Battalion and other units; the vanguard had already boarded ships.

  "I quickly calculated and said: 'Wen Bai, at the speed of the Japanese fleet's warships, this place will be under the threat of the Japanese fleet's carrier-based aircraft in two days! If the Japanese army divides into two fleets, the fast Kaga and Ryūjō can even launch a wave of attacks on our army tomorrow afternoon or later! But I don't know how much time it takes for the army to board ships and form fleets? At the speed of the Japanese transport fleet, they will arrive in Shanghai after 50-60 hours."

  Phoenix served for 22 years, 7,500 tons, 25 knots, 140 guns 4 doors, 76 high shè gun 2 doors, 21 aircraft on board. (Due to serving for 15 years and no major repairs or modifications, the estimated speed at this time is approximately 19-21 knots, and the actual load is 18 aircraft)

  Ryūjō served for 33 years, 10,600 tons, 29 knots, twin 127mm high-angle guns x 6, 25mm high-angle guns x 23, 40 aircraft on board. (Actual speed 27-28 knots, actual aircraft carried 36)

  Kaga served from 1928, rebuilt in 1935, 38,200 tons, 28 knots, 203 guns, 10 doors, twin 127mm high-angle gun 8 doors, twin 25mm high-angle gun 11 doors, aircraft carrier 90 aircraft. (Actual speed 27-28 knots, actual load 72 aircraft)

  The famous Akagi was still under refit at this time.

  Zhang Zhizhong was also worried, "If we can attack tomorrow, we should be able to wipe out the remaining enemy; if we attack again after tomorrow, we will have to pay a heavy price to wipe out the remaining enemy; if we drag on for three days, the situation is worrying!"

  I thought about it carefully and felt that I should take a gamble, "Younger brother heard that the chairman wants to give Mu Yin brother a new position, does Wen Bai brother want to yield?"

  "Brother! What do you mean?"

  "Little brother sees that Brother Wen's efforts today are outstanding, and his achievements in one day have already surpassed the total of China's decades-long campaign to eliminate Japanese pirates. With such merits as a foundation, no matter how angry Chairman Mao gets, he won't be able to do anything to Brother Wen, right? At most, he might just arrange for Brother Wen to take up a position like Director of the First Division of the Imperial Guard!"

  Zhang Zhizhong finally understood, "Brother Xian's meaning is that I should disobey the Chairman of the Committee and continue to attack tomorrow?"

  "Haha, I didn't say that!" You dare to give the order to attack, but Old Chiang is a 'rifle commander', and within an hour you'll be relieved of your duties! I chuckled, "Wenbai, look at this: the Chairman's orders are to 'suspend the attack and switch to defense'. Tonight our frontline troops will build fortifications and switch to defense, but the enemy doesn't know that. Tomorrow they'll definitely launch artillery attacks against us to disrupt our preparations and delay time; since the Chairman ordered a 'switch to defense' rather than retreat, if the enemy uses artillery to 'attack' us, we can naturally use artillery for 'defensive' counterattacks - it's just that infantry won't be deployed in an attack, haha!"

  "Fire at will!" Zhang Zhizhong suddenly came to his senses!

  "Hahaha!"

  Zhang Zhizhong immediately examined the map and, after a brief analysis, said: "The current situation is that the enemy army is centered on Gongda Fabric Factory, with Fuxing Island to the east, some factories and residential areas to the south and west, and Hujia University protruding to the north. The main force consists of more than 2,000 people from two newly arrived special marine brigades, followed by more than 1,000 people from the Shanghai Marine Brigade, several hundred engineering soldiers building airports, and the remaining non-military personnel including port workers, sailors, and overseas Chinese who were temporarily organized; these forces have already lost hundreds of men in today's battle. On the river, there are over 10 small warships, including the stranded Yu Lianghao as the core, with small destroyers, gunboats, etc., as well as 2-30 merchant ships and military auxiliary ships." At this point, Zhang Zhizhong asked me: "Can the Yu Lianghao be repaired?"

  "Unable to move, both torpedoes exploded, the transmission system, aft boiler room and aft main gun turret were all damaged. Fortunately, the two explosions occurred near the stern of the ship, and with the help of a tugboat, Nagato was able to be towed ashore in time; currently most of its firepower is still intact, but it is absolutely unable to move."

  "That's good, you see, tonight move the 8th artillery regiment to the southwest and disperse them to avoid most of the firepower from the Yoshino. Rely on the angle of fire to limit the number of heavy guns that can counterattack to below 3 main guns; tomorrow when the enemy ships start firing, use the name of counterattacking to long-range bombard these places and blow up everything that can be blown up! Tonight we can also move the 1st battalion of the 10th artillery regiment to Pudong, it's best to add the 88 cannons. Tomorrow during the day prepare, at night pull them to the riverbank and use direct fire to destroy the remaining ships of the Japanese army! Fight to the end!"

  "I'll go talk to Director Zhou of the Air Force about the 88 cannons; tomorrow we can still vaguely reveal the contents of this order to the masses and media through our officers, putting some pressure on Chairman [Chiang]. I think by the day after tomorrow we can resume our offensive!"

  July 15th at 8:30

  The artillery harassment of the Japanese army is still going on, but it seems that only 2-3 mountain guns and a few small guns on warships are firing, with longer intervals.

  "Early riser" me ate and drank enough, walked into the forward command post, "Wen Bai brother good morning! Why hasn't artillery battalion 8 started acting yet?"

  "Good sleep, brother!" Zhang Zhizhong smiled and replied: "Didn't you say last night that we should let the public and media know that the Chairman has ordered a temporary halt to the attack? Now is the stage of spreading the news, if the 8th artillery regiment starts firing early in the morning, wouldn't it be inconsistent with what was said? Haha!"

  What a surprise! Zhang Zhizhong has also learned how to brag?

  After a few words, the air raid siren sounded. A short while later, the air defense command center called to report: "Southeast direction, medium altitude, enemy planes in two bomber formations, totaling about 55-60 aircraft, speed approximately 280 kilometers per hour, heading towards the city, already flying over Pudong."

  We looked at each other in shock, "Are they sending so many bombers at once? The little devils are going all out!"

  Messages kept coming in, "Southern, I temporarily assembled a large team of fighter jets to go and intercept."

  "Ordering the 3rd Fighter Squadron to take off and provide reinforcements."

  "Towards Hangzhou, our 4th fighter squadron is heading out for reinforcement and is approaching."

  Over the southern Huangpu River, 9 Hawk III fighter planes of the 32nd Squadron of the Jianqiao Aviation School were climbing from south to north. They gazed at a dense formation of enemy bombers flying from east to west. The squadron leader gave a hand signal commanding his team to dive and attack the enemy planes from the side; immediately, the Hawks began diving from the rear of the enemy planes. As they approached, the enemy planes' machine guns opened fire together, forming a dense defensive net with dozens of tracers. Without hesitation, the 9 small Hawks charged into this death net, one after another, and fell to the ground in flames. With a loud explosion, an enemy bomber loaded with bombs and gasoline blew up in mid-air, causing fragments to fly everywhere and hit many surrounding bombers. Another loud explosion occurred when a Hawk collided with an enemy plane, dispersing the enemy bomber formation. Not a single man or machine survived; the 32nd Squadron of the Jianqiao Aviation School was completely annihilated! With their lives, they fulfilled the oath of the Jianqiao Aviation School: "Our bodies, planes, and bombs will be destroyed together with the enemy!"

  Their sacrifice cost the 96th Bomber Squadron two bombers exploding on the spot, and three wounded returning at the cost of reorganizing for five minutes, which also led to the subsequent squadron catching up and attempting to overtake the previous squadron, causing new chaos. This precious, decisive five-minute period allowed the Chinese Air Force's 4th Wing's 27 Hawk fighters to enter the battlefield from the rear of the enemy planes! The weak area in the rear of the 96th Bomber Squadron was exposed without a doubt in the chaotic formation and inability to cover each other! Dozens of machine guns on the Hawk fighter jets sprayed out flames of revenge, and the heavily loaded bombers were blown up one by one from back to front! Unable to recover their formation, the chaotic enemy planes abandoned their bombs and fled in all directions, with the pursuing Hawks shooting down plane after plane, causing them to crash and explode. The remaining planes escaped in disarray, with the Hawks pursuing relentlessly until they reached the sea, shooting down several more; when the fighter jets from Suzhou took off and arrived at the battlefield, they couldn't find any enemy planes. The three squadrons split into two routes, chasing from the southeast and south, and finally caught up with one wounded bomber that had fallen behind in Hangzhou Bay.

  "The latest air force battle report, the 4th squadron broke through the enemy bomber formation under the cover of the temporary squadron's sacrifice, and it has been confirmed that more than 30 enemy planes were shot down; our army is still continuing to pursue and attack the remaining enemy planes." The air force staff officer excitedly reported to Zhang Zhizhong.

  "Temporary Squadron? Aviation School Fighter Squadron?"

  "Yes, the 32nd squadron charged into the enemy formation, disrupting their lineup at the cost of being completely wiped out, allowing the 4th squadron to successfully break through and gain a complete victory; currently searching for missing personnel on the ground."

  Everyone spontaneously faced Pudong and bowed their heads in mourning, paying tribute to these brave martyrs who sacrificed for the country.

  After a long time, Zhang Zhizhong sighed, "It's our turn now. How is the preparation work on the Pudong side going?"

  "The heavy artillery of the air force and army have all entered their rear positions; the parts that can be concealed in front have been completed, and the rest will be done after dark."

  "The preparations on the Puxi side are also ready, and the 8th Artillery Regiment can fire at any time!"

  "It's all up to the Chairman now!"

  Waiting, or waiting, the sumptuous lunch provided by Shanghai tycoons is tasteless. I listlessly gaze at the blue sky. Although July's weather is much cooler than several decades later, I almost forget about air conditioning and now feel so irritable and hot.

  Finally, facing a dozen or so division and brigade commanders who were either present in person or on the phone "attacking" him, Zhang Zhong couldn't bear it any longer. "I order that at 1 o'clock this afternoon, the 8th Artillery Regiment will launch a barrage against each predetermined target; tell all artillery observation posts, especially those in Pudong, to pay attention to concealment!"

  Watching the battalion commander and staff rush to make arrangements for execution, Zhang Zhizhong let out a sigh to me again, "Listen to heaven's will!"

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