Black Flag Army

Chapter 149 Fighter Planes vs. Warships

Lan Jinping said: "To take down Vladivostok, we must first eliminate the threat to the two ports of Dali and Laza. We don't have a navy, but we have an advantage in the number of air forces. We can transfer two more squadrons of fighters and two more squadrons of bombers from Beitang City to first defeat their air force and then blow up a few warships. Let's see if they dare to act so arrogantly again! If they can't bear such heavy losses, they will honestly withdraw from the Outer Northeast coastline."

Wu Chunlei said: "We don't have a navy. This is the only way to drive away the enemy's warships. After driving them away, the planes will also patrol the port regularly. If they find the enemy landing, they will resolutely attack them so that they can't go back."

Di Xiong said: "Currently, the enemy has more than 200 aircraft on the Outer Northeast battlefield. We have more than 200 aircraft, which does not give us an advantage. Feng Ru has already worked overtime to produce more than 200 aircraft, so we can transfer more than 100 aircraft over."

After the telegram was sent, a reply was received soon. Air Force Commander Gu Yuan requested to personally lead the reinforcements to Outer Northeast China, and Di Xiong agreed. A few hours later, Gu Yuan rushed to the headquarters despite his fatigue.

Di Xiong asked, "Commander Gu always likes to command from the rear, why did you come to the front this time? Tell me!"

Gu Yuan said, "Some time ago, Martin recommended a German air combat expert to me, named Hoffman. He told me a lot of air combat tactics, such as decoy tactics, upper cut tactics, lower cut tactics, ladder tactics, and air bunker tactics. I want to use these tactics in this air battle, because these tactical tests are related to the lives of pilots! We must be very cautious. So I came here in person, anyway, Deputy Commander Feng Yi is at home."

Wu Chunlei said: "The Air Force should have used tactics long ago. Most of the previous air battles relied on numbers. After an air battle, the enemy and our side suffered similar losses. In fact, our losses were greater because our aircraft manufacturing speed could not match that of Japan. In the last air battle with Tsarist Russia in Khabarovsk, the method of ambush in the clouds was quite effective."

Gu Yuan said: "The tactic of diving down from the clouds to attack is the downward cutting tactic. We didn't understand it before, but after listening to Mr. Hoffman, we realized that this is also a tactic."

Wu Chunlei asked: "Then what about the cutting-in tactic?"

Gu Yuan said: "When the ground is the same color as the plane, you can ambush at low altitude, wait for the enemy plane to fly over, and then suddenly charge up to attack. This can also catch the enemy off guard."

Lan Jinping asked, "The aerial bunker tactic wouldn't involve lining up dozens of planes to form a battle wall, right?"

Gu Yuan looked at Lan Jinping in surprise and said, "Lan Juzi is indeed a female Guiguzi. She can deduce tactics just from the literal meaning. It is true, but the positions of the planes will be constantly changed during flight to prevent being attacked from the flank and rear by enemy planes."

Lan Jinping said, "The female Guiguzi and the like are all just Di Xiong's nonsense. Don't take them seriously! The aerial bunker tactics can be recognized by everyone. How can they be so magical? Commander Gu is going to test these tactics himself this time?"

Gu Yuan said: "Yes! I want to test these tactics myself."

Gu Yuan thought: You are the only one who dares to say that the commander-in-chief is talking nonsense. This is the advantage of being an aunt.

At the Japanese military camp in Laza Port, the brigade commander Taro Abe was about to pick up his lunch box to eat when suddenly there was a loud "bang" and a flash of fire. The guard standing at the door was blown away, and blood sprayed all over Taro Abe's face. The lunch box was also covered with blood, so the meal was inedible.

Abe Tairo asked loudly, "What's going on?"

A staff officer came in and reported: "The Black Flag Army has sent out bombers to attack us. Your Excellency, the Brigade Commander, please get out of the way!"

Abe Tairo asked angrily, "Where is our plane?"

The staff officer said, "Half an hour ago, a group of enemy planes came to provoke us. Captain Kojima personally led the main force of the planes to fight. Unexpectedly, those planes fled to the north without firing a single shot. Captain Kojima led two squadrons to chase them, and then they disappeared. They might have been ambushed. Then a very scary scene appeared in the sky. Dozens of Black Flag Army planes formed a battle wall and rushed straight towards us. Our remaining planes were unable to resist. We attacked one of the planes, but it was immediately attacked and destroyed by other planes. We had to retreat, and the bombers following the battle wall began to bomb."

Abe Tairo said angrily: "Damn it! The air force is full of idiots. Why can't we use a battle wall against a battle wall?"

The staff officer said, "We haven't trained beforehand, so we can't form a formation! Besides, we are outnumbered by the enemy. The enemy has obviously added reinforcements, and the number of aircraft far exceeds ours."

Abe Tairo said: "Pass my order! Retreat to the transport ship at the seaside immediately..."

Before he could finish his words, another bomb fell. With a loud bang, Abe Taro and the staff officer flew into the air.

Japanese Navy Commander Kada Hidetada was drinking with his old friend Doihara Kenji on the warship. When he heard the explosion, he hurried out of the warship's hatch and saw the military camp on the shore not far away, which had caused heavy casualties.

Doihara Kenji looked at the land through a telescope and said expressionlessly, "Abe-Taro is finished. An entire brigade is gone! With such a huge loss, someone will have to commit seppuku when they return."

The bomber may have run out of bombs and started to return. Kada Hidetada just breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly saw another group of black planes rushing over from a distance, heading straight for the Japanese warships at sea. He couldn't help but shout: "Sound the alarm! Prepare for battle!"

More than 30 Japanese warships all sounded the alarm, and the sailors ran to various positions. At the captain's command, the machine guns and machine guns on the ship opened fire. The Black Flag bombers flew very fast, and it was difficult for the Japanese machine guns and machine guns to hit them. A Japanese transport ship was hit by a bomb, and after a loud bang, it caught fire. The people on the ship jumped into the sea to escape! Then two more warships were blown up and caught fire, including a battleship.

Kada Hidetada lost his patience and gave a loud order: "All warships withdraw from the coastline and retreat to the high seas."

The adjutant beside him asked, "What about the army at the port? Are we going to just give up? Someone in the country will hold the commander responsible."

Kada Hidetada slapped his adjutant hard and said, "The Black Flag Air Force has an absolute advantage now. If we don't retreat, are we going to die here? I have to be responsible for all the navy officers and soldiers. As for the army, let them fend for themselves!"

The Japanese Navy and Army have always had conflicts, and it is not the first time that the Navy has abandoned the Army. After the Japanese warships retreated to the high seas, the Black Flag Army fighters did not pursue them, because this place was very close to the Japanese-occupied Sakhalin Island, where there were Japanese airports. In order to avoid encountering Japanese reinforcements, the Black Flag Army fighters, which were running low on fuel, returned to their own airports.

As the 2nd Division of the Black Flag Army, under the command of its commander Zhang Zhongzhi, advanced toward the port of Laza, more than 3,000 remaining Japanese troops of the Abe Brigade surrendered in despair.

After the air battle at Laza Port, Gu Yuan immediately rushed to Temple Street Market. He also had to command the air force to drive away the Japanese-American coalition forces at Dali Port. This time he used the bait tactic plus the trapezoidal tactic to severely damage the Japanese air force, but the Japanese army at Dali Port was more tenacious than that at Laza Port, mainly because the Japanese brigade commander Takeda Shinichi was still alive. When the warships at sea could not withstand the bombing and fled, the Americans also fled. Takeda Shinichi ordered his soldiers to dig trenches and air-raid shelters, intending to defend for a long time.

Jiang Hongyu did not give them a chance to hold out. He first sent out planes to bomb repeatedly, and then sent out three heavy artillery regiments to bomb. Dali Port was almost flattened. When a division of the Black Flag Army infantry entered Dali Port to wipe out the remaining enemies, there were less than a thousand Japanese soldiers alive. It was these less than a thousand Japanese soldiers who used trenches and air-raid shelters to fight desperately, causing more than 2,000 casualties to the Black Flag Army. Liu Ruming, who was also the division commander, angrily proposed to Jiang Hongyu: No prisoners should be taken, and all captured Japanese soldiers should be executed! Jiang Hongyu refused.

With the killing of Takeda Shinichi and several wing commanders, the Japanese resistance collapsed and the Black Flag Army took full control of Dali Port. An hour after the battle, Jiang Hongyu stood at Dali Port and looked at the sea, and sighed to Gu Yuan beside him: "The coastline of Outer Northeast is too long. It is unrealistic to rely entirely on your air force to defend it. When can we have a navy!"

Jiang Hongyu returned to the headquarters, and Di Xiong asked, "Did the Bu Party troops in the north attack?"

Jiang Hongyu said: "No! Although they shouted slogans loudly, they did not actually take action. Our scouts disguised themselves as Bu Party soldiers and went in to see them. They were short of food and clothing, weapons and ammunition were seriously insufficient, and many of them were starving and skinny. I doubt whether they have the ability to launch an attack."

Di Xiong said: "If they attack, our battle against the Japanese-American coalition forces was their best opportunity. Now the Japanese-American coalition forces have been defeated. They will not attack unless their commanders are extremely stupid. When we fought against the Japanese-American coalition forces, we have shown strong combat effectiveness. As long as their commanders are not blind, they will definitely not attack."

Wu Chunlei said: "When can we attack Vladivostok? We have already wasted too much time dealing with the US-Japan coalition forces."

Di Xiong said: "I know you are anxious, but I am actually more anxious than you!"

Di Xiong knew that World War I ended on November 11, 1918, when Germany surrendered. It was already October, and he had to end the Battle of Vladivostok before Germany surrendered, otherwise the foreign powers would be free to intervene.

Di Xiong ordered a meeting of the deputy commanders and above of the army group, including Wu Chunlei, the commander of the First Army, Leng Hanbing, the chief of staff, and Liu Zhendong, the deputy commander; Jiang Hongyu, the commander of the Second Army, Feng Anbang, the chief of staff, and Liu Ruming, the deputy commander; Di Xiong, the commander of the Third Army, and Subuda, the deputy commander; and Gu Yuan, the commander of the Air Force. In addition, Lan Jinping also attended the meeting. She made meritorious suggestions in the battle against the US-Japan coalition forces and was promoted from combat staff to chief of staff of the Third Army.

Di Xiong said: "The US-Japan coalition forces and the remnants of the Tsarist Russia that came from the sea have been defeated. The battle to retake Vladivostok has to be put on the agenda again. Everyone knows that this is a tough nut to crack, but we have to chew it. If we don't fight now, our descendants will definitely complain about us in the future. Let's talk about it! How can we retake Vladivostok at the lowest possible cost?"

Jiang Hongyu said: "Vladivostok is different from Blagoveshchensk and Miaojie. It is a port city and can get support from foreign powers from the sea. In addition, it is too close to the Xinjin Airport in North Korea. Japanese planes can support operations from the Xinjin Airport at any time. Therefore, attacking Vladivostok requires facing the enemy's reinforcements from the sea and the air at the same time."

Lan Jinping said: "The key this time is to seize air superiority. According to intelligence, there are more than 100 enemy planes in Haishengwei and Shuangchengzi, and more than 80 enemy planes at Xinjin Airport. Adding them together, there are only more than 200. We have more than 300 fighters, and the various air combat tactics that the Air Force has just learned. We will definitely be able to defeat the enemy planes."

Gu Yuan said: "These tactics are not invincible. The Japanese are not fools. After they suffered a loss, they must be studying how to crack it. We must attack quickly before they crack it. We can't waste time."

Wu Chunlei asked, "Shuangchengzi is in front of Haishengwei. Should we attack Shuangchengzi first and then Haishengwei?"

Di Xiong said: "No! In order to save time, we must bypass Shuangchengzi this time and attack Haishengwei first. If we take Haishengwei, Shuangchengzi will fall without a fight."

Jiang Hongyu said: "The commander-in-chief is right! This time we must attack Vladivostok first. If we take Vladivostok, we will close the door for the enemy troops in Shuangchengzi to escape from the sea."

Leng Hanbing, Feng Anbang and others also supported attacking Vladivostok first. Di Xiong said, "Since we have reached a consensus, let's set off tomorrow. Leave three divisions to guard Miaojie and Boli, and the remaining nine divisions will attack Vladivostok together!"

Everyone agreed, and the decision was made. At this time, a staff officer reported to Di Xiong: "Commander-in-chief! Su Chui from the Bu Party is here again, saying that their army is seriously short of food, and many people have starved to death. They asked us to lend them 100,000 dan of food, potatoes, wheat, and sorghum!"

Lan Jinping said angrily, "How dare this Su Chuizi open his mouth? A few days ago, he wanted to take advantage of the situation and force us to withdraw from Temple Street. Even after issuing an ultimatum, he didn't even think about it. We lost more than 15,000 lives and injuries in order to recapture Temple Street. How could we possibly return Temple Street to him?"

Wu Chunlei smiled and said, "If a person is thick-skinned enough, he can say anything. He can tell himself that he is not borrowing food for himself, but for his brothers who are starving to death. This way he won't feel ashamed."

Leng Hanbing said, "I noticed that he borrowed instead of buying. It seems that he wants to use the same trick of getting something for nothing. He used this method to cheat a batch of weapons and ammunition from us last time. After he became stronger, he immediately became fierce to us and forced us to hand over Chita Province to us. I said at the time that we can't cooperate with such people. Don't say that they don't have money to buy food. Even if they have money, we won't sell it to them."

Jiang Hongyu asked, "Does the Commander-in-Chief want to meet him?"

Di Xiong said, "I don't have time to talk nonsense. I'm going to Vladivostok. Let Lan Jinping and Li Laoshi who stayed behind talk to him!"