November 25th, 1937, Afternoon:

Jiangyin section of the Xicheng Highway, within the Jiangyin defense circle.

Taohara Mitsuo, the Japanese tank squadron commander, was facing the indiscriminate bombing of the four fortresses of the Jiangyin Fortress.

His tank continuously dodged the newly formed craters on the road ahead.

These craters were more than two meters deep, covering an area of over forty square meters.

These were created by the explosion of shells fired from the large-caliber fortress guns.

Even the tank driven by Commander Taohara Mitsuo would struggle to climb out if it accidentally fell into such a crater.

Commander Taohara Mitsuo looked at the mud inside the craters and doubted whether he could even climb out if he really got stuck.

But he was not alone!

Around him, more than thirty tanks of the entire squadron were struggling in the Nationalist army's artillery fire.

The tanks that were still able to struggle were lucky; their luck lay in not being hit by the defending army's artillery fire.

The unfortunate tanks each had their own misfortunes: some were directly hit by shells and had no chance of escape, being blown apart by a single shot.

Some tanks, just as Commander Taohara Mitsuo had imagined, fell into the craters and were tragically sent on their way by subsequent shells.

Others were not directly hit by shells, but were unlucky enough to be passing by when a shell exploded.

Regardless of what they encountered, the outcome was the same: they lost their ability to move and became sitting ducks for the artillerymen in the distance.

Taohara Mitsuo's squadron was not alone either. Beside them, the infantrymen of the Japanese 13th Division's 58th and 65th Regiments were also fighting for survival.

Sasaki Michiichi, the commander of the 58th Regiment, was fortunate, as he strictly adhered to battlefield discipline.

As a senior Japanese officer, he did not charge at the forefront of the队伍.

Therefore, he luckily avoided the chance of eternal life in the artillery fire and avoided the struggle for survival in a desperate situation.

Nakayo Tatsuya, the commander of the 65th Regiment, was also a lucky charm, sticking to Sasaki Michiichi like a Siamese twin.

Now, the two of them stared wide-eyed at the scene of artillery fire ahead: "This is unscientific!"

Regiment Commander Sasaki Michiichi roared, "It's impossible for the Nationalist army to have such powerful firepower. After preparing so meticulously for so many years, the Shanghai battle they launched used two main divisions and two heavy artillery regiments equipped with 150mm howitzers.

They attacked the Japanese Shanghai Naval Landing Force headquarters, which was defended by only three thousand men, and they didn't succeed.

And they didn't just attack for one day, but for a full half month.

If they had firepower like this now, the entire Shanghai battle wouldn't be like this."

Indeed, if there were cannons of such power firing directly, the reinforced concrete buildings of the Shanghai Naval Landing Force headquarters built by the Empire in Shanghai would not be able to withstand it either.

In fact, the explanation for this was very simple: the Nationalist army's commanders and soldiers at the time simply didn't know that cannons could be fired like this.

Especially those 150mm howitzers: they could actually be fired directly!

The battlefield ahead, filled with smoke, was a completely one-sided massacre.

Neither Commander Taohara Mitsuo's tank unit nor Regiment Commander Sasaki Michiichi's infantry regiment, nor the firepower of Regiment Commander Nakayo Tatsuya's 65th Infantry Regiment could pose a threat to the several fortresses that appeared in their field of vision.

At this time, the eyes and hopes of Sasaki Michiichi's regiment were all pinned on the airmen who had just been black dots in their field of vision but were now large birds.

He wasn't the only one with this idea, and not just those devils standing at the rear of the队伍, out of range of the Nationalist army's artillery fire.

Those devils who were being ravaged by artillery fire were even more eager for it.

The joint Japanese army and air force attack made the officers and soldiers on several fortresses of the Jiangyin Fortress very nervous.

They had never encountered such a situation before.

Commander Xu Kang believed that they had endured the bombing from the sky many times before.

Even if the air defense was slightly weaker and they suffered some losses, it was acceptable.

The Japanese tanks posed too great a threat to the entire Jiangyin defense line and could not be allowed to run rampant.

Therefore, Commander Xu Kang used all the artillery fire that could reach the Japanese army.

Including those newly imported 88mm anti-aircraft guns, but for insurance, he specifically ordered He Hesong, the staff officer, to relay the order: "The special company's anti-aircraft gun will not participate in the bombing of the Japanese army, focus on air defense."

With the special company's anti-aircraft gun for air defense, it would be able to give the devils in the air a great deterrent.

Commander Xu Kang watched the Japanese tanks and infantry coming from the Xicheng Highway being blown over and over, and while he was happy, he was still a little regretful.

If those four 150mm cannons imported from Germany could be used at this time, even more devils could be hit.

Unfortunately, these cannons had been dismantled some days ago in preparation for being transported back to the rear.

Later, they received orders to defend the area, so they reassembled them.

Although the reassembly was completed, they were still being debugged and could not be used.

The Nationalist army's 613th Regiment of the 103rd Division was arranged to defend the Xicheng Highway after Commander Liu Xing received news that the Xicheng line had been breached by the devils.

Luo Yibin was the commander of the 613th Regiment, and at this time he was in the temporary command post on the front line, watching the devils more than a thousand meters away being bombed and routed.

He felt very regretful: if he could charge forward now, the effect would be even better.

Unfortunately, the Japanese air force had already appeared in the sky, and launching a charge at this time would result in the Nationalist army being routed by the Japanese planes.

Such a charge would not be worth the loss.

Therefore, he could only stand in the command post, watching the Japanese tanks explode one after another in the artillery fire, and then smile happily.

Then he turned his gaze to the sky, looking at the enemy planes that came out at the wrong time, and the hatred in his eyes could knock the planes down.

Those enemy planes would have been knocked down long ago.

The two anti-aircraft machine guns that had been assigned to the special task force this morning were now ready.

After all, its range was only 2,500 meters, and it could not reach the distant Japanese tanks.

Now they were aiming at the Japanese planes constantly approaching in the air.

These enemy planes that flew over in the afternoon, the ones flying in the front, were all the ones that had flown over the north bank of the Yangtze River once in the morning.

The pilots of the more than fifty planes had all been specially taken care of by Commander Hasegawa Kiyoshi: he wanted them to charge at the front.

All the pilots were unwilling to go to Jiangyin to carry out bombing missions, so Commander Hasegawa Kiyoshi of course had to understand the situation.

When he learned the inside story, he had already decided the fate of those pilots who had played clever tricks in the morning as cannon fodder.

Let these cowards charge at the front to resist the artillery fire, followed by the bravest warriors of the Empire.

Takaki Rintaro was one of the pilots arranged in the first echelon.

In fact, the Takaki family was very famous, at least in Nagoya, where three members of his family were high-ranking officials in the city.

And they also had their own family company. His family was powerful, wealthy, and influential.

It was just that all of this was useless in the 13th Division today.

Takaki Rintaro's behavior this morning had shamed the entire family.

Now Takaki Rintaro being alive was a disgrace to the family. Only if he died, died in battle, could he wash away the stain he had smeared on the family crest.

These were the original words of Division Commander Hasegawa Kiyoshi, because the division commander had hugged Takaki Rintaro when he was a child.

Takaki Rintaro was trembling all over, tears streaming down his face, muttering to himself, "Yuka, my dear sister! From now on, you must protect yourself and live well.

Your brother is about to become a shooting star in the sky and go to another world."

Takaki Rintaro never thought that he could come back alive from this mission.

Just as he was shedding tears and secretly slowing down, trying to eke out a few more seconds in this world.

A stern warning immediately came from the earphones: "Sergeant Takaki Rintaro, what are you doing?"

This was Flight Commander Shimokata Sho, who was following behind their suicide squad.

Today he had received orders: if the pilots in front deviated from the航线.

Or if any abnormal situation occurred, he could attack those cannon fodder.

Therefore, when Commander Shimokata Sho saw Takaki Rintaro's plane slowing down, he immediately issued a warning.

His warning was not only aimed at Takaki Rintaro alone, but was intentionally shouted out on the entire channel.

This was a warning to all the pilots: don't think about playing tricks anymore, the eyes of the Empire are watching you from behind.

Takaki Rintaro, with trembling hands, pushed the plane's afterburner lever; he had already given up on himself.

He was going to accelerate and rush down, to break free as soon as possible:

In the next life, he would no longer be a person from the island!

The air raid alarm on the Jiangyin Fortress was constantly sounding.

The equipment responsible for observing enemy planes was operating normally, and the observer's voice was calm and accurate: Thirteen thousand meters!

Twelve thousand meters!

……

……

Six thousand meters!

Five thousand meters!

Ji Wudi held her breath, watching the approaching enemy planes nervously.

Now she could distinguish some of the different enemy planes.

Not everything flying in the sky was a bird, some were planes.

The planes in the sky were not all the same either, just like people, some were narrow, short, and squat, some were wide and slender, and some were pot-bellied.

The narrow, short, and squat ones were fighters, the wide and slender ones were attackers, and the pot-bellied ones were bombers.

Now Ji Wudi could see that a pot-bellied bomber suddenly accelerated and swooped down.

Lin Fan looked at the bomber that took the lead in diving and sneered: A reverse routine?

Generally speaking, in this kind of bombing, the attackers would lead, the fighters would patrol the空, and the bombers would only appear after the attackers had strafed a wave.

Now this bomber suddenly accelerated and rushed to the front, either wanting to steal the credit or wanting to die.

Combining the fact that the devils' planes had been intentionally or unintentionally avoiding the Jiangyin Fortress these days.

Lin Fan was sure that the pilot flying this plane was deliberately seeking death.

Lin Fan guessed correctly, this bomber was flown by Takaki Rintaro.

He was indeed here to seek death.

Lin Fan liked such devils.

Since they sought benevolence, he would let them achieve it!

The first shot fired by Lin Fan made those pilots who came to bomb the Jiangyin Fortress today desperate:

They saw Takaki Rintaro's bomber explode in mid-air, falling apart.

The outcome was that there was nothing left to salvage.

They also saw the fate that awaited them.

According to general air defense firepower, even if the bomber was fat and clumsy.

It was not something that air defense firepower could easily hit with a single shot.

The scene unfolding before them completely disappointed those pilots who still had a glimmer of hope.

These people would either die in silence or erupt in silence!

Chiyo Fuji Ryota was one of these pilots. His fear was no less than Takaki Rintaro's.

It was just that he was not as timid as Takaki Rintaro, so he could not muster the courage to die early and be reborn early.

However, when he saw Takaki Rintaro's bomber disintegrate in mid-air.

Chiyo Fuji Ryota's psychology completely collapsed: he suddenly turned to the north.

Wanting to escape this cursed sky.

In his ears, he immediately heard Commander Shimokata Sho's stern questioning: "Chiyo, what are you doing?

Return to the formation!

Return to the formation!"

Chiyo Fuji Ryota listened to the commander's stern questioning, but did not dare to answer.

"Return to the formation! This is the last order!" Commander Shimokata Sho's voice was more and more stern each time.

More and more cold.

Chiyo Fuji Ryota was flying a fighter, which was light and agile, and moved quickly.

Commander Shimokata Sho ordered, "Enforcement team! Destroy Chiyo Fuji Ryota."

Three fighters immediately accelerated to chase after him.

Faced with the pursuit of the Imperial fighters, Chiyo Fuji Ryota was obviously much more courageous.

He steered the fighter towards the Yangtze River and plunged down, the whole plane seeming to have suddenly lost power and was accelerating to fall.

The three fighters following behind him could not keep up with the speed of his fall for a while.

They tightly trailed him in mid-air, with Chiyo Fuji Ryota's plane controlling the rate of descent of their own planes.

Such a reckless descent like Chiyo Fuji Ryota's, if he was not careful and could not pull up the nose of the plane, would continue to plunge into hell.

The three planes chasing behind him, of course, did not want to be like Chiyo Fuji Ryota.

After all, the positions of the two sides were very different: from the moment Chiyo Fuji Ryota left the队伍, he was already a dead man.

Dead people, of course, were not afraid of the plane plunging into hell.

The four planes gave it their all to chase, and both sides forgot their original intentions.

However, the air defense teams of several fortresses on the Jiangyin Fortress never forgot their duties.

They saw four enemy planes constantly decreasing in altitude, skimming across the surface of the Yangtze River at about the same altitude as the fortresses.

This was an operation that no one knew the reason for, but the reason was not important.

What was important was that at such an altitude and at such a distance, all the anti-aircraft firepower could hit them.

At such a distance of less than 500 meters, not to mention anti-aircraft machine guns, even heavy machine guns, light machine guns, and even Type 38 rifles could hit planes that were so close.

So the light and heavy firepower on the entire fortress opened fire together.

Not only that, but even the infantry brothers of the 112th Division below the fortress also joined in with heavy and light machine guns.

The plane flown by Chiyo Fuji Ryota had already reached such a low altitude that the airflow generated by the plane stirred up the river water on the surface of the Yangtze River.

The water splashed up from the nose to the tail, as if Chiyo Fuji Ryota was deliberately showing off his skills to everyone, or he was deliberately flying down to wash the plane in the river water.

The three planes that chased after him had different altitudes and received different treatment.

The three planes encountered the most rigorous net of bullets composed of various ammunition in history.

This net was not tight, but the net of heaven was vast, with meshes wide, but nothing escapes!

The first to be hit was the fighter flown by Miju Yujo, whose tail was hit by an anti-aircraft machine gun.

A puff of black smoke immediately came out of the tail, and in the blink of an eye, the black smoke turned into a ball of fire.

The fire was burning, and the river water was right under his feet.

Miju Yujo's plane began to shake violently.

Just now he had seen Chiyo Fuji Ryota flying the plane to take a bath in the river water.

Now, the tail of the plane flown by Miju Yujo was set on fire by the Nationalist army's artillery fire.

Whether he wanted to or not, whether he could or not, he could only go to the river water to wash it.

Miju Yujo also accelerated the speed of the fighter, lowered the angle of the nose, and recorded the plane falling down at a faster speed.

Close!

The river was very close!

At this time, Miju Yujo began to pull up the nose, he needed to pull up the nose, and then fly close to the surface of the river.

In this way, the compressed air generated in front of the nose could push the water on the river surface to splash up, allowing the plane to pass through the splashing river water, and then the fire on the tail could be extinguished.

The plan was very perfect, and Miju Yujo also felt that he was doing a very good job when he executed it.

It was just that plans were always not as fast as changes.

His nose could not be raised at all!

This was fatal, watching the river surface rapidly expand in front of him, and feeling that the entire field of vision was full of river water.

Miju Yujo finally had time to let out a loud shout: "Ah! ..."

This was the last sound he left in this world, and this sound startled many people.

Including the two fighters that were falling with him at this time.

Pilot Aji Tetsuya also came to chase Chiyo Fuji Ryota.

His luck was a little better than Miju Yujo's, he was the second to be hit among the three who came to chase.

Therefore, he also witnessed with his own eyes Miju Yujo's fighter disintegrating the moment it touched the water surface.

The hard fighter touched the soft, satin-like surface of the river, and it was like hitting a mountain, and it fell apart in an instant.

The only difference was that the fighter after hitting the mountain would have some traces of burning, but now Miju Yujo plunged into the water.

Leaving only some floating objects and oil stains on the water surface.

Aji Tetsuya also did not have much time to comprehend his feelings.