The width of the river in the Xiaojiang section of the Aojiang River is about two hundred meters at its narrowest point. The water flow is strong and it is very difficult to build a pontoon bridge. Moreover, the aviation force of the Combined Fleet and the 11th Aviation Regiment have been severely damaged. The student army has been completely Having mastered the air superiority in this area, Matsui Iwane did not dare to even think about rebuilding the pontoon bridge. The troops directly under the headquarters he led were originally at the forefront, but because the way forward was dead, the old Japanese had no choice but to order the construction on the spot. line of defense, and at the same time, he sent a telegram to Okuichiro to catch up immediately. The telegram stated that he had important matters to discuss.
Okuichiro has always been a strategist and was originally Iwane Matsui's ideal candidate for frontline commander. However, Hisao Tani was unreasonable and demanded that the 6th Division be the first to attack. Well, more than 12,000 people were killed in the first attack. , the second strike cost another two thousand, and the third strike completely wiped out the entire army. Not only that, but also caused heavy losses to the aviation force of the Combined Fleet, ruining the strategic advantage that had been achieved in more than a week in one fell swoop. Now, Matsui was not only disappointed with Hisao Tani. , even very resentful. The old devil regretted not insisting on letting Okuichiro serve as the frontline commander. Unfortunately, there is no regret medicine in the world. Otherwise, the old devil would definitely be willing to buy a bottle at a sky-high price and pour it all into his mouth.
Okuichiro heard the call and rushed to Matsui Iwane. When the old Japanese explained the reason for calling him over, he felt like he was struck by lightning. He was stunned and speechless for a long time. It was so shocking. You know, since the capture of Cannan, the 9th Division It can be said that the 9th Division has fallen into such a situation before it has even fought a good battle. It can be said that it is entirely thanks to Hisao Tani. Therefore, Okuichiro was already depressed enough. Now he heard that the way back was cut off and the division might be destroyed. The Xuebing Army was surrounded and annihilated in the Xiaojiang Town area. His reaction seemed to be understandable.
"You know the terrain in the Xiaojiang Town area. Once the Huangdu Floating Bridge is broken, our army will be in a desperate situation. Oku-kun, it seems that we have to deal with it from the worst angle." Matsui Iwane said with difficulty, his face His face is full of worry,
Okuichiro frowned deeply, thought for a few minutes, raised his head and said to him: "Your Excellency, I never expected that the war situation would develop to this point. Now, if our army wants to get out of the predicament, it has no choice but to turn to the United Fleet for help. However, the Xuebing Army now has complete control of the air, so I don’t know if Mr. Yamamoto is willing to take risks."
Matsui Iwane also thought about asking for help from the combined fleet, but when he thought that the opponent had almost lost all its fighter planes in order to cooperate with Hisao Tani's third attack, he gave up the idea. The old Japanese smiled bitterly when he heard this and said: "It's hard to talk. , I think it’s better to rely on your own efforts to find a way out of trouble.”
"Your Excellency, I am not attacking you. The air supremacy lies in the hands of the cadet army, and their artillery is particularly strong. We have to rely on ourselves." Okuichiro said, shaking his head: "I don't have any confidence in this humble position. I think it's better to send a telegram to Mr. Yamamoto. Give it a try."
Matsui gritted his teeth, looked up at the sky, exhaled for a while, and said slowly: "Then I'll give it a try."
Matsui sent a message to Yamamoto Isoroku in his own name to ask for help, which was considered a shame. But he didn't know that Yamamoto was furious at this time.
Yamamoto was angry because of a telegram sent back by Arima Masabumi.
However, it was said that Qi Minghao, deputy commander of the Dongshan Fleet, led four torpedo boat brigades with a total of more than 50 high-speed torpedo boats starting from Quanzhou Bay and heading southeast along the coastline. It took two and a half hours to reach the southeast of Fuzhou at about 12 noon. About two hundred kilometers across the East China Sea, we caught up with Masafumi Arima's landing fleet.
The "Swordfish" type high-speed torpedo boats installed by the Dongshan Fleet can reach a maximum speed of about 90 kilometers per hour. Quanzhou Bay is only about 150 kilometers away from the coast of Fuzhou. Qi Minghao set off around nine o'clock along the coastline. After traveling for about an hour, they received a report from the coastal defense radar station in front. After hearing that the Japanese naval landing fleet had given up the landing operation and should instead sail to the southeastern sea, Qi Minghao immediately ordered to leave the coastline, change the sneak attack into a strong attack, and directly pursue them.
Arima Masabumi's landing fleet gave up the landing operation because the aviation force led by Yamabekawa Sankashi unexpectedly suffered a devastating blow. The combined fleet lost air superiority along the Fujian coast. He was worried that the Gakuin Air Force would take advantage of the situation to launch an attack. If he did not withdraw, originally, if he led his troops to retreat immediately after receiving the reminder from the rear radar detection ship, Qi Minghao and the others would not be able to catch up. However, the combined fleet's battle plan did not provide specific guidance for such a situation. An unexpected response plan, so Arima Masafumi took it upon himself to use the battleship "Ise" and two heavy cruisers to bombard the coastal defenses along the coast of Fuzhou before retreating. Arima may have done this just to learn from his classmates. Bingjun tried to prove that they had been here before, but he didn't know it. Just because he delayed for an extra twenty minutes along the coast of Fuzhou, he gave Qi Minghao and other students from the Bingjun army a chance to show off their emerging navy.
The "Swordfish" type high-speed torpedo boat has a full load displacement of only about 90 tons. This type of torpedo boat is equipped with four torpedoes and one 30mm machine gun at the front and rear. The combat effectiveness of a single ship is limited, but once it forms a scale, it will definitely be the size of the Japanese army. fleet nightmare,
The Swordfish, which has a displacement of only ninety tons when fully loaded, is like a sampan in the sea. Therefore, when they sail into the 120-kilometer radar monitoring range of the Arima landing fleet, it means that the Japanese ship's radar On the surveillance screen, there were just dozens of tiny black dots. The target was so small that the Japanese radar soldiers were stunned and didn't notice it at first.
Then, when they were only fifty or sixty kilometers away from the enemy fleet, although the Japanese radar soldiers noticed it, they still did not pay attention to it.
And if it weren't for the captain's staff officer named Qingquan Mingfeng on the "Ise", it is estimated that Qi Minghao's strong attack would have become a sneak attack.
At this time, Qi Minghao and the others were only about thirty kilometers away from the enemy fleet.
The swordfish flew about eighty yards per hour. This speed was definitely considered a lightning speed at the time. Qingquan Mingfeng walked to the radar monitor screen out of boredom. He stared at the screen for a few seconds and immediately screamed. :"What's this."
Qi Minghao was very "treacherous" because he was worried that the enemy fleet would sail directly to the Japanese-controlled Taipei military port. After he led his team to leave the coastline, he did not pursue the enemy fleet in a straight line. Instead, he first headed southeast, and then he After receiving new information from the coastal defense radar station, they adjusted their course and headed straight for the enemy fleet. When they appeared on the Japanese radar monitor screen, their position was at ten o'clock. The Swordfish's target was too small. The combined fleet was in Fujian and Guangzhou have been operating off the coast for so many years and have never encountered an enemy ship. The Japanese radar soldiers are inevitably negligent to some extent, and even if they pay attention to the monitoring screen, they only pay attention to the coast of Fujian, so they gave Qi Minghao and the others an opportunity to take advantage of.