The plan of the Kwantung Army was just as Yang Zhen expected. They mobilized such unprecedented aviation forces not to carry out large-scale bombing of the Anti-Alliance base areas. Their real plan was to mobilize a large number of bombers and use the entire Songhua River to attack the enemy. Taking advantage of the flood season, they use the power of floods to achieve goals that they cannot achieve on the battlefield.
The Kwantung Army built four secret large-scale cavern-style airports in Hailong, Jilin, and in the mountainous area of Xi'an. These four large-scale cavern-style airports can not only store more than 200 combat aircraft, but also have, A runway for aircraft to taxi directly from inside the cave.
When needed, the aircraft can be refueled and loaded in the cave. At the same time, it can complete taxiing directly in the cave. It can take off directly after leaving the cave for a short distance. These airports have secret railway lines to connect with the outside world. Contact, the fuel and ammunition required for combat can be transported directly into the cave warehouse by train.
These cave airports were built by the Kwantung Army in three to five years with a huge investment, as well as a large amount of manpower and material resources. They are part of the entire Dongman fortress group. These hugely expensive secret airports are used as Used by the second-line combat airfield of the Dongman Fortress Group.
Originally, after last year's battle, due to the so-called East Manchurian border fortress group having been completely lost, the eastern front of the two armies had been pushed to the China-North Korea border. At least until the Anti-Japanese Alliance was eliminated, even if the Germans occupied Moscow , even if they hit Siberia, the Kwantung Army would not be able to go north to add insult to injury.
Facing the current war situation, senior staff officers of the Kwantung Army have repeatedly proposed to stop the construction of this airport, which has lost its original meaning and cost a huge amount of money. It has become a heavy burden for the Kwantung Army. Even if it is built, once the Anti-Japanese Alliance hits Hailong, These secret airports are very likely to become the forward base for the Anti-Alliance to deal with the Kwantung Army.
Only under the insistence of General Umezu Yoshijiro, who had no idea what his motives were, and personally supervised the progress, the construction of these airports and the attached railway lines were finally completed at the beginning of this year, although they had not been put into actual use before. , but many advance personnel and ground staff have already entered and started preliminary operations.
These secret airports, together with the two Kwantung Army field airports located in the western Hailong area and the Yongbei Airport in Jilin, constitute the largest aviation base of the Japanese army in Jilin Province. During wartime, when necessary, it can accommodate more than 600 people. Combat aircraft of various types.
In order to keep it secret, when the Kwantung Army built these airports, they all used prisoners of war escorted from the Kwantung Pass and did not recruit a single local laborer. The supervisors were all military engineers transferred from Japan, instead of using a local People or Koreans.
All Manchurian civilians within thirty kilometers around the airport were relocated. In order to strictly keep secrets, everyone, including Japanese civilians, could be killed on the spot without warning if they entered without warning. The materials and materials needed to build the fortifications were The food was all secretly delivered by train at night, and the train drivers and maintenance workers were all dispatched by the Kwantung Army themselves.
After the construction of the airport was completed, all the remaining nearly 10,000 workers were shot or poisoned by the Kwantung Army. Their bodies were thrown into a rain-cracked ditch in a mountain, and explosives were used to blow up the mountain and bury them. Except for a few high-level and top-secret workers, Outside of the map, even on the ordinary Northeast military map drawn up by the Japanese themselves, these secret airports have no markings.
At the same time, in order to maintain maximum secrecy, all Japanese aircraft participating in this battle were first mobilized from the Chinese battlefield or Taiwan and the mainland to North Korea. Afterwards, the naval aircraft remained in North Korea to prepare for combat, while the Army Air Forces The transfer was done at night, and all transfer routes were chosen in the sparsely populated Changbai Mountains. After arriving at several secret advance bases, no adaptive training was conducted.
All army aircraft participating in the war were stored in caves upon arrival. All pilots were not allowed to enter Hailong County for vacation. They were required to be on standby at the base 24 hours a day. It was precisely because of the Japanese army's strict confidentiality measures that this was also The reason why the Anti-Japanese Alliance has been unable to obtain this information.
However, the Japanese army's logistics transportation relied too much on railway lines, so these airports would not be too far away from the railway lines. In particular, the large amount of fuel and ammunition required for large-scale operations could not be separated from the railway lines, so Yang Zhen eventually A rough judgment was made on its location.
Hailong is located at the intersection of Fenghai Railway, Jihai Railway, Sihai Railway and Haiji Railway. The transportation line is extremely convenient. At the same time, it produces high-quality coal and has sufficient power resources. It is not too far from the eastern border of China and the Soviet Union. , when the Kwantung Army chose to build a second-line secret airport, they took a fancy to this place at a glance.
It was only after considering the current transportation capacity of the Japanese army and the results of reconnaissance and bombing of the previously identified Japanese airports that Yang Zhen analyzed that several secret airports of the Japanese army were likely to be in this area, and The Anti-Alliance Air Force has been ordered to formulate a targeted plan.
But they didn’t know at the moment that their rival, Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Teiichi, had roughly guessed their rough plan and the rough location of the secret airport. He didn’t care about the stunned subordinates who heard the plan he announced. Instead of staring at it. Lieutenant General Yoshitoshi Tokugawa and Major General Onishi Takijiro might as well have looked at Onishi Takijiro alone and said: "If this battle plan fails to succeed, it will lead to the failure of the entire battle."
"I think His Majesty the Emperor attaches great importance to Manchuria and will not easily forgive those who caused the failure of this plan due to their own reasons. As for the performance of the two in this battle, the Kwantung Army will also have a special detailed review Report, submitted to His Majesty the Emperor and the headquarters."
"Whether you two commanders in charge of this battle can gain the approval of His Majesty the Emperor and whether you can take on more important responsibilities in the future, I think the main thing to look at is your performance in this battle. It’s up to you whether you retire and go home to retire, or you take advantage of the victory in this battle and get a medal to advance further.”
The last words of Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Teiichi seemed to be addressed to Lieutenant General Yoshitoshi Tokugawa and Major General Onishi Takijiro, but in fact, his words were specifically addressed to Major General Onishi Takijiro. The famous prick heard that in order to suppress this guy from obeying this plan, Yoshimoto Teiichi and even the Emperor moved out.
Lieutenant General Yoshitoshi Tokugawa is a humble person with a strong sense of responsibility. Now he is the commander of the Kwantung Army Air Force. He will definitely go all out. This Army Lieutenant General who commanded the Army Air Force's air strikes on the rear areas of China has his own abilities. It was enough, not to mention that to a certain extent, General Umezu Yoshijiro was kind to Lieutenant General Tokugawa Yoshitoshi.
In fact, Lieutenant General Tokugawa Yoshitoshi has now reached the age of retirement. Originally, the base camp had decided to let him retire from active service. Even if he did not retire, according to the emperor's consistent approach to the descendants of the shogunate after the Meiji Restoration, he basically did not rise. In this space, it is simply impossible to change careers and become a division commander.
Descendants of the Tokugawa shogunate can join the army, but there are almost no opportunities to directly lead troops, and there is almost no possibility of being promoted to general. If it is not in the aviation force, which does not directly control the army, he just wants to be promoted to the military. There are not many possibilities for a general. Although the direct successor of the Tokugawa Shogunate is more low-key, the emperor is still quite wary of this family that has controlled the real power in Japan for hundreds of years.
However, when Lieutenant General Endo Saburo was unable to undertake the heavy workload due to illness and was transferred back to the base camp to serve as a casual post waiting to retire, and the position of Kwantung Army Aviation Commander became vacant, it was General Umezu Yoshijiro who repeatedly made special requests to the base camp, even alarming the situation. He was transferred to the position of commander of the Kwantung Army Air Force only after the Emperor.
As a rare talent among the Army Aviation, the Kwantung Army is gradually losing its air supremacy and is in urgent need of a capable man to save the defeat. As a rare talent among the Army Aviation, it is rare to have commanded joint air operations, and because it has been commanding on the battlefield in the Kwantung for a long time Lieutenant General Tokugawa, who had rich experience in actual combat but was about to retire at this time, became Umezu Yoshijiro's first choice.
Lieutenant General Tokugawa, who was pulled back from the bench by Commander Umezu, who was definitely about to retire from active service, although he never said anything, as a person, he must be grateful to Commander Umezu in his heart. For this Commander Umezu The battle plan drawn up by oneself will naturally not be slacked off at all, and there is no need for others to worry about it.
So with these last words, Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Teiichi was actually reminding the arrogant Major General Onishi Takijiro. In order to make this guy honestly implement the Kwantung Army's plan, Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Teiichi even threatened him. I've told him everything, I just don't want him to cause any trouble again.
In this operation, General Umezu Yoshijiro may have wanted to give Lieutenant General Tokugawa Yoshitoshi a chance, or he may have wanted to firmly control the command in his hands, or he may have been uneasy about the navy, so when discussing the candidate for command in advance, he repeatedly requested This commander must be Lieutenant General Yoshitoshi Tokugawa.
As for the rear admiral, since most of the fighter jets are produced by the navy, let him command the fighter fleet and seize air supremacy. Admiral Umezu Yoshijiro's attitude was very clear, and he showed that he was not negotiable, and emphasized that this It is to defend the honor of the Kwantung Army and even the Army.
It is precisely because of the attitude of General Umezu Yoshijiro, and the fact that the Navy sent a thorn in the side, that Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Teiichi made this last paragraph, just to use the Emperor to suppress or warn this arrogant guy, Let him stop finding fault with the Kwantung Army's arrangements.
After all, the current Japanese military, especially senior officers at all levels of major general and above, are still quite afraid of the emperor, and the actual power to promote generals at all levels is ultimately in the hands of the emperor. If the emperor is removed, this guy should be It has a certain degree of deterrence, allowing him to obey the Kwantung Army's arrangements honestly.
It cannot but be said that Yoshimoto Seiichi took great pains to do this, but whether the guy opposite can appreciate it is another matter. According to this guy in the navy, it is called an alternative character. Yoshimoto Seiichi's intimidation He himself had no idea whether the method would work or not.