Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1445 is too bullying!

"Please be informed, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, that our supply has been cut off. If the Empire does not provide further support, we will launch a final charge against the enemy before we are exhausted in two days!" On the evening after running out of food, Major General Itsahara Hariya sent a desperate farewell message to the 11th Army Headquarters.

In fact, Itsuhara Hariya never gave up hope of getting out of the mountains alive. He believed that Isamu Yokoyama would not give up the 231st Infantry Regiment and his Hariya Detachment, whether for himself or the Imperial Army.

But as time went by, all the hope turned into despair, until the chief officer of the baggage troop reported to him that the last rations carried by the baggage troop were gone.

But the support was still far away, and Yokoyama Isamu's reply to his telegrams was always "Wait a little longer, the support will arrive in a few days!".

Jingu Yiyuan was not as furious as imagined, but instead accepted everything very calmly.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the weather was a bit gloomy, and there were some rare snowflakes floating in the sky. Looking at the snowflakes flying all over the sky, Jingu Yiyuan seemed to have seen his own ending.

He would be starving to the point of skin and bones, crawling like a mummy in the mountains of China in winter. Perhaps the snow would freeze his body and it would gradually rot in the spring breeze of March. Or perhaps it would not take that long before hungry wild wolves in the mountains would dig out his corpse, which had little meat on it, and feast on it.

He couldn't help but shudder. For Jingu Yiyuan, he didn't want to choose either of these two endings.

Therefore, Hariya Itsuhara sent a telegram to Yokoyama Isamu to force him to abdicate.

If they do not receive any more supplies, the last 2000 officers and soldiers of the Jingu Detachment will launch a final charge on the Chinese defense line two days later until all of them are killed in battle.

  Between starving to death and dying in battle, Yiyuan Jingu chose the latter!

And Hariya Itsuhara sent more than one such telegram. He also sent another to the 34th Division Headquarters.

This is actually the real purpose of Yiyuan Jingu. He wants more people to know that the main reason why he chose to push 2000 people into a dead end is that the commander-in-chief of the Imperial 11th Army, Lieutenant General, did not rescue them.

And he also believed it, but many people were happy to see this, including Yokoyama Isamu himself.

In order to avoid being affected by this, Yokoyama Isamu had only one way, which was to provide supplies to the Jingu Detachment with all his strength.

  As for whether he had offended Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, how could this be something that a dying man would consider?

Although Yokoyama Isamu's reply was still the same few words: "Wait a little longer", only the Japanese China Expeditionary Army Headquarters knew that Yokoyama Isamu even put aside the face of a lieutenant general commander and personally called the Chief of Staff of the China Expeditionary Army, Lieutenant General Shiro Itagaki, and asked him in an almost pleading tone to negotiate with the Commander of the Imperial Navy's Third Fleet, Hasegawa Ao, and ask the Navy to dispatch a transport plane formation to carry out airdrops on the two trapped Japanese troops.

It's not that Yokoyama Isamu didn't have enough face, but after the Battle of Shipai, the Japanese Navy stationed in Jiangxia lost more than 30 fighter planes of various types, and their strength was only half of what it was before the war. They had lost the ability to fight the Chinese Air Force again.

Faced with the earnest pleas of several high-ranking army generals, Hasegawa Ao, the highest-ranking admiral of the Japanese Navy on the Chinese side, finally decided to help these unfortunate guys.

30 Zero fighters and 12 Type 97 bombers took off from Songhu and arrived in Jiangxia at noon on the second day of the Chinese New Year. All kinds of supplies with parachute bags that had been prepared in advance were loaded onto the planes. Together with the bombers from Jiangxia before, a total of 24 bombers carrying nearly 24 tons of supplies flew to Shipai under the escort of 46 Zero fighters.

This was probably the first time that the Japanese Navy used so many Zero fighters to escort a purely "transport" aircraft formation.

It also fully demonstrates the importance the Japanese Navy attaches to the Chinese Air Force. Not to mention looking down on it, it even regards it as an extremely formidable opponent.

All the attention is earned on the battlefield.

In the Battle of Shipai, the Chinese Air Force participated in a total of 13 battles, dispatched nearly 400 sorties, shot down or damaged 26 Japanese planes at the cost of 47 losses, and still had the upper hand.

Of course, this does not mean that the Chinese Air Force has surpassed the Japanese Navy in terms of aircraft performance and pilot level, but is caused by several factors.

First of all, the main target of the Japanese Navy was the Chinese Army. The aircraft formations were basically Zero fighters escorting bomber formations, while the Chinese Air Force did not focus on dealing with the Japanese troops on the ground at all, and dispatched Wildcat fighters that were mainly used for air combat.

Secondly, the Wildcat fighters of the Chinese Air Force are thick-skinned and can often continue to fight vigorously after being hit by dozens of bullets. Even if they are severely damaged, they can make emergency landings in open fields in the mountains with a success rate of more than 60%.

The Japanese were in a different situation. Needless to say, their large and thin Type 97 bombers were basically doomed once they were engaged by the latest Wildcat fighters equipped with 20mm machine guns. Their Zero fighters would often be on fire, but they had to grit their teeth and fly to the nearest airport, and they did not dare to make an emergency landing on the spot.

Practice has proved that pilots who make forced landings in Japanese-occupied areas are more likely to be in danger, not to mention forced landings in territory controlled by the Chinese army. Once surrounded by Chinese mountain people holding hoes and hatchets, pilots will be unable to survive, let alone a Type 14 Nambu pistol or even a light machine gun.

  When people died, they were dragged away like wild boars, and the Chinese even dismantled the planes completely!

It would be very difficult for a burning fighter plane to run for dozens of kilometers in the air! This is also one of the main reasons for the high damage rate of Japanese aircraft.

Therefore, under the coordination of high-ranking generals of the Japan China Expeditionary Army and the threat of 2000 lives of the Imperial Army by Itsuhara Hariya, the Japanese Navy dispatched the largest fighter formation since the Battle of Shipai, just to drop 24 tons of rations and urgently needed medicines to the thousands of Japanese troops in the two encirclements.

On average, each Japanese soldier didn't get much food. Even if they got all of it, it would only last them for another week.

As the Chinese saying goes: It was really a waste of effort, but the result was just like a monk buying a comb - only a bastard could use it.

The 46 Zero fighters were full of murderous intent. On the one hand, they were here to escort the 24 transport planes, and on the other hand, they were here to avenge their fallen comrades and seek a decisive battle with the Chinese Air Force.

The Japanese are not stupid. They know that the Chinese have imported a batch of new fighter jets from the United States, but China lacks the ability to produce aircraft. It will be difficult to replenish these new fighter jets if they are lost. Through the battle with the Chinese Air Force in the past six months, they can basically infer that the Chinese Air Force has lost about 50 aircraft.

With the combat effectiveness of 46 Zero fighters, the Chinese Air Force must deploy at least an equal number of fighters to compete with them. That may be the last strength of the Chinese Air Force.

In the hangars of Yiling Airport and Jingmen Airport, where the runways had just been repaired, there were still 24 Zero fighters hidden. They were waiting for the news of the appearance of Chinese fighter planes. In 30 minutes, they could all arrive at the battlefield and deal a fatal blow to the Chinese Air Force after the fierce battle.

On the surface, it was a full escort, but secretly, it was actually an air ambush.

If the Chinese Air Force's new fighter fleet can be severely damaged, leaving it with little combat effectiveness within three to six months, it would be a compensation for the defeat in the Battle of Shipai.

All I can say is that the Japanese naval and army generals are not completely stupid, they still have some brains.

It’s a pity that the Chinese Air Force did not take action, not because they couldn’t afford it, but because it was not cost-effective.

The current Chinese Air Force is much stronger than the Japanese estimated. The latest modified Wildcat fighters equipped with 20mm machine guns were put into service as early as January. Although forty or fifty Wildcat fighters have been lost in the past six months, after replenishment, there are eight squadrons of Wildcat fighters distributed at six airports in Sichuan Province, with nearly a hundred aircraft again.

If there really was a decisive battle with the 70 Zero fighters dispatched by the Japanese Navy, it would be hard to say who would win or lose.

But in the later stages of such a battle, risking one's life for the 20 tons of supplies and dozens of Zero fighters that the Japanese army was about to airdrop was really too much of a loss.

  Do you think that the Japanese troops in the encirclement can easily get the supply packages that fall from the sky?

Take the example of the Hariya Detachment, which was surrounded in a mountainous area of ​​only 0.3 square kilometers. If bombs were dropped, the hit rate on the Japanese positions in this small area would be estimated to be higher than percent.

But the supply bag is not a bomb, right? In order to prevent it from breaking, a parachute must be hung on the supply bag. If it is a parachute, it must float, and that depends on the wind direction.

Wushan is located next to a big river, so the wind is quite strong.

Moreover! This kind of "pie in the sky" operation was the first time for the Jingu Detachment, but for the officers and soldiers of the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the Four-Line Regiment, it was already a piece of cake.

The Japanese used this trick last year when they surrounded the 1st Division's 1000-plus devils at Zishan. They had fought with the Japanese for things many times and had enough experience.

Therefore, when the Hariya Detachment received the order from Yokoyama Isamu: air support will arrive around 4 pm!, they immediately lit bonfires on the sides of the highlands or on the tops of the mountains, and used flames and smoke to instruct the aircraft formation. Leng Feng, who received the unusual behavior of the Japanese in the encirclement, thought for a moment and judged that the Japanese army might receive airdrops, and immediately ordered the highlands to play the same routine as the Japanese army.

Looking down from the sky, there were bright spots of fire and columns of smoke rising into the sky everywhere, and it was impossible to tell where the Chinese high ground was and where the Imperial Army's high ground was.

Want to lower the altitude to make the drop more accurate? Sorry, there are 40mm anti-aircraft guns and 12.7mm heavy machine guns on the ground that can form a fire net at low and medium altitudes.

All 40mm anti-aircraft gun positions have received military orders. If the Japanese fighter planes drop missiles at an altitude of 4000 meters, they will do so. If they descend in altitude, we will get rid of them.

"Damn the Chinese! All squadrons prepare to receive supplies!"

Seeing the transport plane formation circling in the air for several circles without daring to descend, and finally only dropping strings of white "mushrooms" at an altitude of 4000 meters, Jingu Yiyuan, who was eager for the supplies, almost broke his back teeth.

When the Chinese followed the detachment's example and lit a bonfire, the real Li Kui who met the fake Li Kui naturally knew what the Chinese were planning, but he really had no way to fight against the fake. Even if he could establish a live connection with the fighter formation, he could not provide manual navigation for the pilots at an altitude of 4000 meters.

If the transport aircraft formation could lower its altitude, for example, to about 1000 meters, he could also use military flags to provide guidance, but the small white mushrooms that kept appearing in the sky destroyed his ambitions.

  The Chinese used anti-aircraft guns to constantly remind the aircraft groups in the sky: Don’t descend in altitude, or we will beat you up if you dare!

How can a jiba be accurate in dropping a parachute pack from an altitude of 4000 meters? It can only rely on luck.

Looking at the hundreds of parachutes floating in the sky, Zhengu Yiyuan's eyes were full of hope. It would be enough if only one third of them could land on his position!

No, Amaterasu bless you, one fifth is acceptable.

Seeing most of the parachute bags swaying and drifting away under the influence of the mountain wind above his head, the painful Major General Yiyuan Jingu quickly changed his wish.

It’s a pity that although Amaterasu may bless you, she definitely won’t provide free shipping.

Hundreds of parachutes, when descending to an altitude of 800 meters, seven or eight out of ten had already flown over the heads of the Japanese and landed on the Chinese positions.

One tenth of it would be enough! That would at least be enough to feed 2000 people.

Only those who have experienced hunger know how terrible it is.

Even though they had been out of food for less than two days and had even had a small amount of wild vegetable soup to fill their stomachs, the human body responded quickly to the lack of energy.

For example, when the blood sugar supply decreases, the brain will often feel dizzy. For another example, in order to maintain normal physiological activities, the human body increases the metabolic rate. At this time, the sympathetic nervous system will help dissipate heat by regulating the secretion of sweat glands. Sweating can lower body temperature and is a self-protection reaction of the body to cope with hunger.

The vagus nerve may even be stimulated, causing diaphragm spasm and hiccups.

In short, the whole person showed an extremely abnormal state. Even the Japanese Army Major General who secretly ate rotten rice balls to fill his stomach did not sleep much last night. The gurgling sound from his empty stomach was clear and creepy in the dark.

Being able to have a full meal is the biggest wish of the 2000 people in the besieged Jingu Detachment.

But even such a wish was shattered by the Chinese.

"Boom boom boom!" The Chinese anti-aircraft guns actually fired at this time.

What they were hitting was not the fleet of aircraft that had completed the airdrop and were returning, but the parachute packages that were only a few hundred meters above the ground.

After judging the wind direction and landing point, the Chinese side launched an air strike on the parachute packs that were stubbornly falling towards the Japanese positions.

The main point is that if you can't get it yourself, you can't get it either, which will harm others and not benefit yourself!

Yes! The Chinese lost precious artillery shells, which were much more valuable than the rice and canned meat tied under the parachutes.

But for Leng Feng and Cheng Tieshou, they could make new shells or buy more if they ran out of them, but the Japanese could kill people when they were full.

Then let them continue to starve!

The wooden box containing the supplies was only one cubic meter in size, so it was a small target and difficult to hit, but the parachute bag was large enough, and its descent speed was nothing compared to that of a speeding fighter jet.

不仅40毫米高射炮在不断炮击，到500米高度左右时，射程达2500米的20毫米高射炮和就部署于前线的12.7毫米高射机枪也参与进来。

"Baga! Order the infantry guns and mountain guns to fire back at the Chinese anti-aircraft artillery firing area!" Jingu Yiyuan watched helplessly as a wooden box was blown up by a shell in the air and the supplies inside scattered before his eyes. He was completely mad.

"Your Excellency the Captain," the Lieutenant Colonel Chief of Staff swallowed his saliva, but ultimately did not dare to remind the Imperial Army Major General who was almost going crazy.

Given the depth of their current position, once the mountain artillery opens fire, the rising smoke will be immediately observed by the Chinese, and the mortars that the Chinese have been waiting for will surely wash the artillery position area with a hail of bullets.

Unfortunately, the Japanese Army Lieutenant Colonel guessed right.

The remaining artillery pieces of the Japanese army have always been a thorn in the side of China. Without destroying these remaining artillery pieces of the Japanese army, Leng Feng, who was unwilling to further lose his own troops, would never attack.

The bombardment of the Japanese airdropped supplies was not only to prevent the Japanese from easily obtaining supplies, but also to hope that the Japanese artillery would not be able to resist counterattacking.

足足8门150重迫和6门80毫米榴迫炮扯下炮衣在等着他们，另外各连配备的82迫也被要求进行一个基数的投射。

No one expected that an airdrop of supplies, which was originally intended to quench a thirst, would eventually become the fuse that led to the complete destruction of the last eight 8mm mountain guns of the Jingu Detachment.

It would have been fine if the Japanese artillery positions, which had no depth at all, had just hidden themselves, but once they opened fire, the smoke rising into the sky could be seen for miles.

Nearly 500 artillery shells were fired in half an hour, plowing three Japanese artillery positions back and forth five or six times. No living creature can survive this level of artillery fire, not even steel.

Looking at the total harvest of less than 600 kilograms of supplies and listening to the report that 8 mountain cannons of the artillery battalion were destroyed and 148 artillery soldiers were killed, Major General Hariya Itsuhara cried.

A major general of the Imperial Japanese Army squatted in front of a pile of supplies that was pitifully small for the entire detachment, crying like a child who had suffered enough grievances.

  Really, I’ve seen people being bullied before, but I’ve never seen people being bullied like this!

. . . . . . . . . . .

ps: My daughter finished her last exam at 6:15 yesterday. I originally wanted to go home and write some code, but my classmates said that they wanted to celebrate that my daughter has finally escaped from suffering and I don’t have to worry about her every day, so they asked me to treat her to a drink and they would provide the food. Because of this, I didn’t update yesterday.

  2 bottles of Wuliangye vintage liquor, I only drank 2 liang, but those people were drinking happily. I was in charge of buying the liquor, but I always felt something was wrong.

(End of this chapter)