Glorious Mission 1937

Chapter 666: Response from the Japanese Army

The Japanese can see the changes in China. Since the Japanese army has long regarded China as the biggest opponent in Asia, it has long started the layout of the war against China.As the vanguard of the Japanese army's invasion of China, the intelligence department of the Japanese army was very powerful in infiltrating the political circles of the Chinese Communist Party.

Although after taking over the military and political power of the Nationalist Government, Chen Feng integrated the resources of the Nationalist Government's military command department, the intelligence agency of the former Eighth Theater, and the intelligence department of Yan'an, and uncovered a large number of enemy and puppet spies during this period. Even so However, Chen Feng still firmly believes that there are still a large number of Japanese and puppet spies inside the KMT and the Communist Party.

In fact, this is exactly the case. The military and political orders issued from Chongqing will soon hear some rumors from the Japanese side. Although sometimes they will only find out the slightest bit, but this makes many things on the Chinese side no longer secrets.

The more they learned, the more surprised and worried the Japanese side became.Although they successfully assassinated Lao Jiang and Yan Xishan, China did not become chaotic as they imagined. Although there was some chaos in the frontline troops earlier, it also caused the loss of many troops and territories in various theaters in China, but the Japanese army The attempt to capture Chongqing and completely eliminate the Chinese government failed.

What disgusted the Japanese side even more was that after all their hard work, the biggest beneficiary in the end turned out to be their deadly enemy, Chen Feng.This famous anti-Japanese general in China, the largest warlord in the Saibei region, has become the leader of China in one fell swoop, beating He Yingqin, a general of the pro-Japanese faction.

However, after Chen Feng came to power, he quickly struck out with heavy blows, subduing warlords of all sizes in China in just one month.China's military and political power was successfully settled, and the Yan'an side, which had always been at odds with the Nationalist government in the 1 type, also expressed its willingness to accept the leadership of Chongqing, which really made the Japanese vomit blood.

It has been 3 months since Lao Jiang's death. Although China has retreated hundreds of kilometers across the board during these 3 months, it has gained a firm foothold and quickly completed the major reorganization. The newly established Eleventh War The district is developing at a jaw-dropping pace.

On March 1942, 3, the Japanese government and the headquarters held a joint meeting in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. At the meeting, the Minister of War, Hideki Tojo, submitted an assessment report on the situation of the war against China on behalf of the Army. According to this report.The Japanese base camp judged that China's military strength reached at least 20 million.Among them, the army accounted for 500% of the total force.

In addition, China's economy is rapidly recovering, and social order is also being restored.The Chinese government seems to have reached some kind of agreement with the US government and the Soviet government, and the US and the Soviet Union seem to be planning to transform China's industrial base.According to reliable information obtained by intelligence agencies.The Chinese government plans to build dozens of large steel plants in Panzhihua in Sichuan and Anyang in Henan.The Hanyang Arsenal, which was originally the largest armory of the Chinese government, is undergoing transformation.

All of this shows a worrying problem. The national power of the Chinese government is growing rapidly, and China's national defense power is also rapidly improving.This is an intolerable provocation for the Great Japanese Empire, so the headquarters of the Army Department believes that it is necessary to launch a large-scale campaign against China on the entire front of the Chinese battlefield. It is of course good if the Chen Feng regime can be defeated in one fell swoop. Then it can also hinder its development to a certain extent.

Hideki Tojo's report quickly caused a shock in Japan. Originally, since Niichi successfully assassinated Chiang Kai-shek, the Japanese troops stationed in China successively captured more than half of Hunan, and drove the troops in the fourth war zone out of Guangdong. This made the Japanese high-level I saw an illusion that the capture of the entire territory of China is just around the corner, but I didn't expect this to be the case. Therefore, many people agreed with the strategic vision proposed by the base camp and concentrated their forces to fight against China.

However, at this time, the Ministry of the Navy raised objections. Since the Empire of Japan suddenly transferred the main pathology back to the Chinese battlefield, it gave the American and British remnants on the South Pacific battlefield a chance to breathe. After half a year of rest, the U.S. Army now The navy is continuously being transferred from the mainland of the United States to Australia, and the US Pacific Fleet, which was hit hard, has also been replenished. Coupled with the mysterious Chinese fleet in the South Pacific, this has caused serious damage to the imperial army and navy in the South Pacific. The huge threat must be eradicated immediately, otherwise it may affect the security of the Great Japanese Empire.

Although the Ministry of the Army also agrees with the objections raised by the Ministry of the Navy, the rapid growth of US military strength in the South Pacific region has indeed worried the Japanese Army. The military power in the world has basically been destroyed, so it is impossible to launch even a small battle in a short period of time, so it is reasonable to resolve the war on the Chinese battlefield first.

However, the Admiralty believes that the attack on New Guinea and Australia should be launched because the U.S. military has no counterattack capability for the time being, because according to the Admiralty's estimate, only 12 divisions are required to launch an attack on the last stronghold of the Allied Forces in the South Pacific. The strength of the regiment will not take more than 4 months, and it will be able to solve the future troubles with one sentence.

On the other hand, if a full-scale war against the Chinese government is carried out according to the plan of the Ministry of War, with the fighting power and strength of Chen Feng's troops, this battle will definitely not end in a short time.If you wait until the battle on the Chinese battlefield is over before launching an attack on Australia, then Australia is likely to be already full-fledged, and it may not be as easy to eliminate as it is now.

Japan's navy and army have always been fighting each other. One side said it was going east and the other said it was going west. No one was willing to take half a step back, and it was the same this time.The joint meeting went on for a whole day, and none of the navy and army could convince anyone. Instead, the smell of gunpowder in the entire palace became more intense. If the emperor was not present, the army and navy might have already started. Anyway, this is the case Things they've done more than once.Just when the two sides were at a stalemate, an unexpected event broke the balance.

On the evening of March 1942, 3, the United States sent a formation of 20 bombers, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, to bomb several cities in mainland Japan, including the capital Tokyo.The plane took off from an aircraft carrier 16 kilometers away from Tokyo and landed in China.

Air raids in Japan killed 50 people; injured 252; and damaged or collapsed 90 buildings.Those bombed include the Japanese Diesel Engine Manufacturing Company.Nippon Steel Corporation Daiichi Steel Works, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Corporation, Substation of the Ministry of Communications, National Textile Garment Corporation, Yokohama Manufacturing Company Warehouse, Nagoya Aircraft Factory, 1 Military Factory, 1 Naval Laboratory, 1 Airport, 1 Temporary munitions supply station. 9 power buildings. 6 large oil tanks, 1 clothing factory, 1 food storage warehouse, 1 gas company. 2 other companies.Nagoya Second Temporary Military Hospital. 6 primary and junior high schools perform tasks.

The air strike caused little damage to the Japanese side, but it shocked the Japanese government and the opposition.Because before that, only the super fighters under Chen Feng of China were capable of bombing the Japanese mainland.According to the comparison of the wreckage of the fighter jets shot down by the Japanese side, it was discovered that Chen Feng's troops were using a super huge new type of bomber. Kilometers, you can easily take off from a city in eastern China, and stay in Tokyo for two hours before returning to China.

There is nothing Japan can do about this powerful bomber, it can only continue to expand the warning radius for passive defense.But I didn't expect to be bombed by American fighter planes outside of China.What is even more embarrassing to this side is that by comparing the Girod US fighter jets, they found that the American pilots were only flying the most common b-25b Mitchell medium bomber.

The performance of this kind of medium-sized bomber is average, and the United States can assemble thousands of them in a short period of time. If the United States finds out the rules and concentrates thousands of these fighters to carry out air strikes on the Japanese mainland, it will be nothing. A catastrophe no less than the Great Kanto Earthquake, so the Japanese ruling and opposition parties unanimously decided to launch an attack on the U.S. military first, completely destroying the last stronghold of the Allied forces in the South Pacific. .

In late March 1942, the Japanese army decided to advance to the Southwest Pacific Ocean, capturing Port Moresby in New Guinea and Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands, in order to gain control of the sea and air in the area and cut off the sea line of communication between the United States and Australia.

3月25日,日本第4舰队司令井上成美海军中将派高木武雄海军中将率领“翔鹤号”和“瑞鹤号”航空母舰及重巡洋舰2艘、驱逐舰6艘从特鲁克岛出发,原忠一海军少将率“祥凤号”轻型航空母舰和重巡洋舰4艘、驱逐舰1艘从拉包尔启航,掩护登陆船队驶向目标。

But what the Japanese don't know is that their actions have already been known to the US military.After the U.S. military intercepted the intelligence of the Japanese army, Admiral Nimitz, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, ordered Rear Admiral Fletcher to lead the 17th Task Force to stop the attack in the Coral Sea.

美军太平洋舰队第17特混舰队是由2艘航空母舰、5艘巡洋舰、9艘驱逐舰组成,并且配以144架舰载机。

In the morning of the next day, the aircraft carrier "Yorktown" attacked the Japanese fleet off the coast of Tulagi Island, sinking one destroyer and several small ships.

On the 27th, Japanese aircraft carriers "Xianghe" and "Zuihe" sank one American oil tanker and one destroyer each.At the same time, the US carrier-based aircraft attacked the Japanese landing fleet and escort formation, sinking the "Xiangfeng" aircraft carrier.On the same day, Japan sent 1 torpedo planes and dive bombers capable of flying at night to bomb the US aircraft carrier. 27 of them were lost due to the loss, and another 15 were shot down by f8f-4 "Wildcat" fighter jets.

On the morning of the 28th, the two aircraft carrier formations dispatched carrier-based aircraft groups at a distance of 200 nautical miles to start a fierce battle.The U.S. military dispatched about 70 sorties to attack the Takagi Fleet. The "Suihe" aircraft carrier fled into the thunderstorm area to avoid being attacked; the "Xianghe" aircraft carrier was shot and lost its combat capability.Japan dispatched about 90 aircraft sorties to attack the US ships. The "Lexington" aircraft carrier was hit and sank, and the "Yorktown" aircraft carrier was damaged.The United States lost about 70 aircraft and Japan lost about 100 aircraft.

In this battle, the U.S. Navy sank a large aircraft carrier, the USS Lexington, an oil tanker, a destroyer, 65 aircraft, and 543 people died, and another aircraft carrier, the Yorktown, was injured; the Japanese Navy lost a light aircraft carrier, 69 aircraft, 1074 dead, and another aircraft carrier was injured.From a numerical point of view, the Japanese navy clearly achieved a tactical victory in the Coral Sea naval battle.However, what happened next made the Japanese navy's joyful hour of victory disappear without a trace. (To be continued..)

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