Although before the Second Parachute Division airborne, after receiving reports from the forward reconnaissance forces and before the airborne operations began, the aviation force dispatched a group of bombers to carry out a carpet strike on the identified fire points and fortification groups in the mountainous areas around Benxi Lake.
type of bombing.
A large number of high-explosive bombs and napalm bombs were used to clear the mountainous areas in the north and south of Benxi Lake City, as well as the identified anti-aircraft gun positions. However, as an important stronghold on the Anfeng Railway, the Japanese defenses in Benxi Lake were
The building is quite solid.
Most of the fortifications on the mountains on both sides of Benxi Lake are semi-underground fortifications built on the mountain. Some rely on the rich power resources in the Benxi Lake area to install electric lifts. And not only have a large number of fortifications been built on the periphery,
Considering the need for street fighting in the event of street fighting, a large number of internal fortification groups were also built in the surrounding mountains.
The main core fortification groups are covered with five layers of iron plates and more than two layers of pine wood. Bombs under 200 kilograms cannot be destroyed unless hit continuously. And a bomber cannot be on a permanently prepared fortification group.
It always remained in the air, and it was impossible for all the bombs to continuously hit a permanently prepared fortification group.
Although they encountered intensive bombing and a considerable part of the surface fortifications in the north and south mountains were destroyed, the main body of these fortifications suffered little damage. Especially those anti-aircraft gun positions equipped with electric lifts, at least half of which are still intact.
Napalm bombs are very powerful, but they don't have much effect on those semi-underground fortifications.
When the Second Parachute Division began to airdrop, the ground anti-aircraft firepower that greeted them was still quite dense and accurate. Especially during the entire airdrop process, the transport aircraft was restricted by the terrain, and coupled with the need for airdrop, it could only fly from west to east.
Passing through the urban area at a height of 500 meters, it fell right into the firepower network deployed by the Japanese army in the mountains on both sides of the north and south.
Nearly two-thirds of the transport aircraft participating in the airdrop to Benxi were temporarily modified British Stirling bombers. Although these bombers were tough and thick-skinned, they were much more resistant to beating than ordinary transport aircraft. The machine gun shooters on board were conducting the airdrop.
At that time, they were also desperately firing at the mountains on both sides, trying to suppress the intensive firepower coming from the mountains on both sides.
However, under the fire net composed of the mountain firepower on both sides of the Japanese army, the losses were still heavy when airborne. Although during the airborne landing, the accompanying anti-alliance bomber group also suppressed the Japanese firepower points in the mountains on both sides with all their strength, but
It still failed to completely stop the Japanese anti-aircraft firepower.
The height of 200 meters required for airborne operations is also the best time for the Japanese army to exert its ground firepower. The Japanese army deployed a well-classified anti-air firepower network on both sides of the mountains and the urban area of Benxi Lake. It can only be used between the two mountains.
The anti-connection group that conducted airdrops during the airdrop period definitely suffered heavy losses.
Especially the Type-1 37mm anti-aircraft gun, in this environment is the best time for it to exert its firepower, and it will also cause the greatest damage to the anti-aircraft group participating in the airdrop. This mobile anti-aircraft artillery with the best performance of the Japanese army has been used in a large number of
20mm anti-aircraft guns and the cooperation of several twin 25mm anti-aircraft guns.
Ignoring the cover of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, the Blenheim light bombers continued to throw high-explosive bombs and rockets to suppress them, and desperately fired ammunition into the air. In the early morning night sky over Benxi Lake, there were clusters of Japanese ground anti-aircraft firepower everywhere.
, the ballistic trajectory brought out by the string of shells fired.
The first batch of transport planes that entered the city from west to east at an altitude of 200 meters were shot down as soon as they entered the airdrop route. The paratroopers on these five planes were shot down together with their passengers before they could leave the plane.
The plane crashed to the ground together. In other words, the 2nd Paratrooper Division participating in the airdrop lost a company before it could even land.
Although the remaining planes dropped paratroopers, two more C-47 transport planes were shot down during the airdrop, and one Sterling was destroyed. After the airdrop was completed, when the fleet was pulling up, two more were shot down by the Japanese.
This loss was definitely a considerable loss for the anti-allied transport aviation force.
On the ground, the Japanese troops fired volleys of guns into the air, as well as intensive light and heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft machine guns, regardless of the illumination provided by the searchlights of the anti-alliance air raids. The paratroopers had no room to fight back in the air, and the paratroopers could only be beaten passively before landing.
It brought heavy casualties.
A considerable number of paratroopers died in mid-air before they even landed. Some paratroopers were hit by Japanese anti-aircraft machine guns and upward-firing heavy machine guns before their parachutes could even open. Even those who were lucky enough to land safely were still injured.
As soon as we landed, we were heavily attacked by Japanese troops.
These paratroopers of the ordinary combat troops have not learned the high-low jump of the Anti-Japanese Special Reconnaissance Command troops, which can jump from a carrier aircraft in an airspace above two thousand meters and open a parachute at a height of more than 100 meters or even dozens of meters.
Use the parachute method. This airborne operation can only be carried out according to the conventional parachute method.
In order to ensure this airborne operation, the paratroopers were airdropped to the designated area as much as possible and casualties were reduced as much as possible. Although the Japanese army knew that the mountains on both sides of Benxi had deployed a large amount of firepower, the aviation forces participating in the battle were under special terrain.
, still chose to start airborne at an altitude of 200 meters to reduce paratrooper casualties as much as possible. They did not choose to increase the altitude of the airborne due to the intensive Japanese ground firepower and complex terrain.
And looking at his comrades, they suffered heavy losses in the air under the intensive ground firepower of the Japanese army. The eyes of the escorting fighter pilots were red. Under the leadership of a captain, except for leaving some to cover in the air.
Meanwhile, the remaining combat aircraft ignored the danger of crashing into the mountains and continued to circle over the mountains on both sides, using their airborne machine guns and cannons to continuously fire at the Japanese troops who were constantly firing on the mountains on both sides.
The addition of the fighter group also relieved a lot of pressure on the paratroopers. The airborne machine guns fired by these fighters were even more effective than high-explosive bombs in this situation. Even though it cost two
The fighter jet crashed into a mountain and two fighter jets were shot down, but it also gave the paratroopers a lot of assistance. To a certain extent, it reduced the firepower endured by the paratroopers.
Although the paratroopers suffered heavy casualties due to the intensive firepower on the ground during the landing process, their aviation comrades almost ignored the damage from the Japanese artillery fire on both wings and risked their lives by lowering the flight altitude to shorten their flight as much as possible.
The time spent in the air was protected by the desperate cover of the fighter force.
Although the casualties of the first batch of airborne troops were heavy, they were far from fatal. However, although the losses of the troops were basically within the expected range, the losses of the cadres were not small. The two regiments of the first wave of airborne troops
, the commander of the Fourth Paratrooper Regiment was hit by Japanese anti-aircraft fire and died while jumping out of the plane.
The deputy political commissar of the fifth regiment was also seriously injured before landing. Of the six battalion commanders who led the team, one was killed and one was missing. Half of the six instructors were casualties. Of the front-line commanding cadres of the two regiments, only the fifth regiment remained.
The commander and the deputy political commissar and chief of staff of the fourth regiment, which means that there is only one regiment left in the command structure of the two regiments.
However, the speed of the Japanese army's counterattack was also quite fast. As soon as the parachute troops landed, before they could complete their assembly, they faced a rapid counterattack by the surrounding Japanese troops who rushed towards the parachute area regardless of the group of anti-alliance fighter jets. The first
The first batch of airborne troops fell into a bitter fight on their own as soon as they landed.
The losses of the cadres leading the command were heavy, but fortunately Yang Zhen specifically considered this situation when he formed two paratrooper divisions. At the same time, the Anti-Japanese Alliance's own strict regulations on the replacement of cadre casualties also caused the troops to lose their command.
members, but also ensured that the command was not interrupted.
The most important thing is that the deputy commander of the Second Parachute Division who led the team quickly resumed command of the entire landing force after landing, relying on the Anti-Japanese Alliance's complete communication system. Although they were in a situation of fighting on their own, they continued to communicate with
The Japanese troops were engaged in a melee inside the city.
After all, as the war situation developed and after a hard battle, the first batch of troops to land gradually gathered together. The Japanese troops in Benxi Lake City were only one regiment, plus a brigade-level depot guard team. The landing troops
Although the losses were heavy and they lacked heavy weapons, they still had an advantage in terms of military strength.
Under the cover of their hard-fought battle, the two special operations squadrons that served as leaders merged together and cleared many Japanese fortification groups along the ridge north of the city. They also solved almost all the anti-aircraft attacks deployed by the Japanese army north of the city.
firepower, and a considerable portion of the artillery.
At the same time, although there were heavy casualties during the parachuting process and the two-hour fierce battle, it also entangled the Japanese troops in the city and caused considerable losses to the Japanese troops in the city. It also attracted the Japanese troops in the city.
After arriving in the east of the city, they also controlled an open area of about two kilometers in the west of the city.
After the first wave of airborne troops landed and fought hard for two hours, the transport aircraft group of the second wave of airborne troops had arrived over Benxi Lake. Compared with the first batch of transport aircraft groups, when they arrived over Benxi Lake, they encountered
Intense anti-air firepower was received. The anti-aircraft firepower needed to be faced in the second round of airborne landings has become sparse.
Compared to the two regiments that landed in the first batch, the second batch of paratroopers only had one regiment. Although the number of troops was not as large as that of the first batch, there were seventeen transport aircraft in the transport group that carried the second batch of paratroopers.
Italian SM 82 transport planes and twelve Junkers 52 transport planes were loaded with heavy equipment.
Twelve Junkers 52 transport aircraft were loaded with four German-made SIG 33 150mm heavy infantry guns, plus four Type 94 mountain guns and six 120mm mortars.
The seventeen Italian transport planes carried twelve tanks equipped with the first batch of equipment of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, a 2.5-ton TKS ultra-light tank made in Poland, and five American-made jeeps equipped with 82 recoilless rifles.
.
These transport planes are forced to land, and these tanks and artillery are directly delivered to the second batch of airborne paratroopers of the Sixth Regiment. When transporting this batch of heavy weapons, Fang Ziyi was somewhat distressed by these transport planes. The surrounding areas of Benxi can be used for landing.
There are very few plain areas, and forced landing itself will cause certain damage to the transport aircraft.
Although there is no problem loading these 2.5-ton tanks made in Poland into these Italian transport planes, these planes transporting these tanks will easily lose the transport planes if they forcefully land on plains without an airport to rely on. At present, the transport planes
It is not possible to produce it on its own for the time being, so losing one is one less machine.
Fang Ziyi's somewhat painful thoughts were severely criticized by Yang Zhen. In Yang Zhen's words, as long as Benxi Lake and the Benxi Lake Coal and Iron Factory can be completely captured, let alone the loss of these transport planes.
Even if all the aircraft participating in the war were lost, it would still be worth it.
Be willing to give up, be willing to give up, and you will get something if you are willing to give up. When doing big things, you must not be petty. The price you have to pay will have to be paid sooner or later. We have lost more than 20 transport planes. If we can completely capture hundreds of thousands of tons of iron produced every year,
For the Benxihu Iron Works, which produces hundreds of thousands of tons of steel, the price is worth it.