Faced with the overwhelming superiority of the Anjia Army's air force and the dense mines, almost everyone in the Japanese fleet had such questions in their minds.
Before the trip, the Japanese commander, Lieutenant General Tsukahara Tsukahara, received a secret order from the Minister of Military Affairs Nagano Shushen to "act according to the situation and preserve the fleet first." He immediately ordered the fleet to maintain an air defense formation, and then summoned the army and navy generals to hold an emergency meeting.
"Gentlemen, what is happening in front of you is enough to prove that the Chinese people have been prepared for our landing. Under the current situation, if we continue to struggle here, we will probably lose more than the gain. I suggest we return immediately!"
Lieutenant General Tsukahara 243 made his attitude clear from the beginning.
The army commander in charge of this landing operation was Lieutenant General Kato Torajiro, who was a loyal follower of Hideki Tojo. After Hideki Tojo became the chief of staff, he immediately appointed the former Hokubashi military police commander who was idle at home as the commander of the army.
The commander of the Seventh Army led his troops to be specifically responsible for this landing operation.
Kato Tomarijiro, who was eager to make meritorious deeds, spoke out against it:
"If we retreat even if there are some difficulties, how will the Chinese people view us? How will His Majesty the Emperor, who has high hopes for this trip, view us? Since the mines are troublesome, then we will clear the mines, let fighter jets cover the mine clearance, and then send out air defense destroyers for protection as appropriate.
If you don’t believe it, the Chinese have three heads and six arms. As long as we fight steadily and advance step by step, even a turtle shell will be broken by him.”
Tsukahara 243 reluctantly asked: "If the empire's precious battleships are lost because of your willful actions, can you bear the responsibility?"
Kato Torajiro sneered: "How can you do things without risks? The base camp has a very firm attitude towards this battle, that is, to capture the camp entrance at all costs and get a good start for the next stage of the war. It is rare for the Germans to beg us.
If it starts but ends at the end, wouldn't it make an international joke?"
Tsukahara thought carefully and finally compromised: "Okay, as you wish, but if the situation is critical, I have the right to bring my fleet back safely!"
...
Witnessing six Japanese minesweepers, under the cover of dozens of fighter jets and four anti-aircraft destroyers, once again heading towards the minefield to begin clearing mines, the Anjia Army Air Force immediately dispatched, with more than a hundred fighter jets covering an equal number of dive bombers and attack aircraft, heading towards
Japanese minesweepers rushed towards them.
Soon, the A28, A29 and GII fighter jets were entangled with the Japanese Zero and Gale fighter jets. Judging from the scene, the Anjiajun fighter jets, which had an absolute advantage in numbers, had the upper hand. From time to time, the Japanese fighter jets caught fire and crashed into the sea.
, of course the sacrifice is on both sides, Anjia in the melee
Many fighter planes of the Army and Air Force have crashed. However, since the Anjia Army Air Force's aircraft model development concept has followed the characteristics of strong skin and thick flesh from the beginning, the chance of survival on the battlefield is much greater than that of its opponents. Some fighter jets that emit thick smoke,
We flew back to the airport unsteadily, and after emergency fire fighting and repairs, we were able to fly into the sky again soon.
Taking advantage of the fact that the fighter jets successfully suppressed the Japanese fighter group, the dive bomber group had already arrived over the Japanese minesweepers and anti-aircraft destroyers.
"Attention everyone, get ready for dive bombing!"
Listening to the captain's voice coming from the headphones, Second Lieutenant Zhang Xiaoou, a female pilot from Dali, Yunnan, raised her head. There were only a few clouds in the blue sky. This was a great opportunity for dive bombers to kill and set fire!
Before the dive bomber group entered the attack position, the Japanese anti-aircraft destroyer below had already opened fire violently. The sound of "bang bang bang bang" sounded when the 100mm twin anti-aircraft guns were fired, resounding in the sky. Zhang Xiaoou looked down through his window.
Looking at it, clusters of black fireworks bloomed enthusiastically in the sky.
"Okay! That's it! 'Qiuyue' class destroyers... four destroyers cannot completely block the airspace. Now I will arrange the tasks. The first squadron is responsible for attracting anti-aircraft firepower, and the second and third squadrons are each responsible for two destroyers.
Enemy ship, the fourth squadron is in reserve!"
Upon hearing the captain's order, Zhang Xiaoou was slightly disappointed, because she happened to belong to the fourth squadron in reserve, and now she could only observe the battle.
When Zhang Xiaoou looked down through the aircraft window again, he found that the Japanese destroyers' anti-aircraft firepower was mainly concentrated at an altitude of two to four thousand meters. The enemy ships were constantly adjusting their positions to maximize their anti-aircraft firepower.
The fifteen B2 bombers of the First Squadron, responsible for attracting the opponent's anti-aircraft firepower, quietly disappeared in front of Zhang Xiaoou. About a minute later, the Japanese anti-aircraft firepower was indeed transferred from directly above to other directions. A B2 bomber was unable to avoid it and was hit by artillery fire.
When hit, the aerial bomb it carried, together with the aircraft, turned into an exploding fireball.
Zhang Xiaoou lamented for her comrades in her heart, but she also knew that although the Japanese army achieved results by doing this, they fell into a trap because the power of the B2 bomber could only be truly demonstrated through precise bombing from a high-altitude dive. The Japanese army gave up the blockade.
At high altitude, I undoubtedly made a big mistake.
As the time came, thirty B2 bombers from two squadrons responsible for attacking enemy ships disappeared from Zhang Xiaoou's eyes, leaving only Zhang Xiaoou's squadron and two squadrons of attack aircraft following closely behind.
Soon, Zhang Xiaoou saw two squadrons of dive bombers rushing straight towards the sea like waterfowl that found food. The dive angle of nearly seventy-five degrees carried huge potential energy, and a shrill whistle came from the air.
.
When the shooters on the four Japanese anti-aircraft destroyers and the surrounding minesweepers realized that something was wrong and hurriedly turned their firepower back above, the roaring dive bombers had already lowered to an altitude of nearly a thousand meters, and before the Japanese
Before the artillery fire hit them, each fighter plane dropped the bombs they carried in turn. Within just a few seconds, all thirty dive bombers dropped their bombs at once.
These dark and round bombs fell from the sky almost silently. The moment they hit the deck of the destroyer, everyone on the ship held their breath. Half a second later, there was a loud bang from below the deck.
came, and then, explosions sounded one after another, the sound was so dense that the sound of anti-aircraft artillery was completely covered up.
Although more than half of the bombs fell around the four destroyers and became near-misses, the rest of the armor-piercing bombs that hit these destroyers gave these four destroyers a gut-wrenching blow with thick smoke and flames.
It poured out from breaches all over the ship.
As the anti-aircraft destroyers fell silent, the remaining minesweepers were once again attacked by rockets from attack aircraft following the dive bomber group. The six minesweepers sank one after another amidst the shrill cries of the Japanese sailors.
The Japanese army was silent. Even the tough-talking Kato Tomarijiro had to admit that the fleet was in big trouble. It didn't seem that easy to get close to Yingkou Port under such tight air protection.
At this time, the sun was already rising, and it was obviously unwise to attack under the eyes of the opponent's superior air force. Tsukahara 243 had no choice but to issue an order. The fighter jets returned and hid under the protection of their own air defense fire network. The fleet deployed its anti-aircraft formation and withdrew from Yingkou waters.
, waiting for nightfall, then clearing mines under the cover of night, and approaching the fort for shelling.
...
Seeing the Japanese navy slowly retreating, Colonel Zhang Junbao, the commander of the Navy's shore-to-ship missile regiment, drove to the headquarters. As soon as he saw Yang Guan's face, he said: "Commander, we are ready, why should we let the enemy go?"
Yang Guan smiled slightly and said: "Xiao Zhang, I understand your mood, but do you think it is better to keep all the enemies here, or to kill a few ships cleanly and scare the enemies away? You guys?
But the trump card in our hand, as long as we do it
If we drop two or three enemy warships, the enemy will inevitably flee in panic. On the contrary, if we let the enemy in, and then use bombers and torpedo planes to mine the enemy's rear, the enemy will not be able to advance or retreat. Wouldn't it be possible to catch a turtle in a urn? Think about it.
Isn’t that true!”
Zhang Junbao looked puzzled: "Then why didn't you let the enemy clear mines from the beginning, but sent fighter planes to do so much useless work?"
Yang Guandao: "If the enemy advances too smoothly, there will definitely be doubts. It is just right now. Although the enemy has lost four destroyers, more than ten minesweepers and more than a hundred fighter planes, his vitality is not damaged, and he will definitely try every means to defeat him.
Break in and complete the tasks assigned by the Japanese base camp."
Zhang Junbao suddenly understood, happily saluted Yang Guan, turned around and left.
...
Ten hours later, the Japanese third aircraft carrier task force, which had made contact with the base camp, was forced by Tojo Hideki with the emperor's order to return to the Yingkou waters and dispatched all minesweepers to clear mines.
This time, the Japanese ships were not obstructed and opened a narrow channel in the minefield. The huge fleet was divided into two, and the aircraft carriers and escorting destroyers were all left in the open sea. The battleships, cruisers and landing fleet quickly passed through
This passage leads towards Yingkou Port.
However, mines are not very easy to clear. The fluctuation of waves and the rise and fall of tides may bring mines from other areas at any time.
Just as the Japanese fleet was slowly passing through the minefield, a loud noise suddenly sounded on the sea surface, and a Japanese ship hit a mine that had not been cleared.
This was a magnetic mine that blasted a large hole in the bottom of the "Tianlong" light cruiser with a full load displacement of 4,350 tons, which was extremely important in the fleet. The "Tianlong" soon began to take in water and slowly sank to the bottom of the sea.
Although the Japanese naval officers and soldiers on the ship conducted
They tried to rescue him, but the gap was too big and water continued to inevitably enter. Just when the deck of the "Tianlong" was submerged in the water, the steam boiler exploded violently when it hit the cold water. The huge explosion detonated the ammunition in the ship, and the "Tianlong"
The ship broke into several pieces and sank to the bottom of the sea.
The wreckage of the light cruiser "Tianlong" quickly disappeared on the sea, leaving only a large whirlpool more than 20 meters deep, which sucked all the Japanese sailors who had no time to escape into the whirlpool, leaving no corpses.
About half an hour later, a 4,000-ton transport ship loaded with Japanese soldiers hit a mine. The ship was crowded with more than 3,000 Japanese soldiers. After hitting the mine, the thin-skinned hull broke into two pieces on the spot, and the people on the ship
The lights went out immediately, and the Japanese soldiers in the cabin, from officers to soldiers, all let out shrill screams, but it was all in vain. Soon both hulls sank into the sea and disappeared from the sea within two minutes.
Of the more than 3,000 Japanese officers and soldiers, except for more than 700 who were rescued, the rest all sank to the bottom of the sea with the ship's hull.
Finally, the Japanese fleet fearfully passed the minefield and entered the range of the battleships and heavy cruisers. The war was about to break out.