Chapter 1 Lin Fan's Summary

Lin Fan presided over a quick summary meeting. Each squad, platoon, and battalion took turns speaking, summarizing their experiences. Everyone looked excited and spoke with loud, clear voices.

Today's battle had gone exceptionally well: the devils who boasted about their invincible fleet had an entire one wiped out.

How could such a victory not make Lin Fan happy?

When Guan Guohao reported, Lin Fan heard him say that two waves of air squadrons had been dispatched from the sea. The first wave was entirely fighter planes, and the second was a mixed squadron of fighters, bombers, reconnaissance planes, and seaplanes.

After he finished speaking, Lin Fan suddenly asked Chen Ce, "Commander Chen! Where are the bases for the devil's squadrons coming from the sea?"

Chen Ce replied without hesitation, "They can only take off from Wan Island. It's possible they came from Penghu Airport or Taoyuan Airport."

Lin Fan pointed at the map and said, "I agree with Commander Chen's opinion. Judging from the fact that the devil air squadrons even dispatched seaplanes, they must have sent out all the planes they could.

And they were all shot down by us, so Wan Island should be where the devil's air defense is currently weakest."

As soon as he said this, everyone present understood what he wanted to do.

"Therefore, now is the best time to bomb the devil's airports, ports, and docks on Wan Island."

As soon as Lin Fan finished speaking, Guan Guohao immediately said, "I agree with the brigade commander's opinion. Let's bomb the devils!"

"Agreed!" "Agreed!"

…

The entire meeting was buzzing, everyone even more excited than during the summary.

Lin Fan gently pressed his hands down, signaling everyone to be quiet. Once the voices in the meeting died down, he said:

"This morning, we bombed the devil's Fifth Naval Fleet and their airport in Guangzhou. Next, we must continue our efforts and launch an attack on the devil's airports on Wan Island.

Everyone should note that the round trip from here to the bombing targets is at least a thousand kilometers, and at most fifteen hundred kilometers.

This mission is no problem for bombers, but such a distance is too far for fighters."

Lin Fan's words immediately made everyone's excited expressions turn somber.

Jin Tieyu stood up and said, "Brigade commander! Anyway, the devil's planes have already been destroyed. This time, we should send only bombers."

This was typical of his style. Otherwise, he wouldn't have shot down five enemy planes this morning and ended up falling into the sea himself.

Lin Fan nodded and looked around the meeting. "Any other suggestions?"

Chen Ce looked at the map and thought for a while, then said to Lin Fan, "Brigade commander Lin! Without fighter escorts, I'm afraid there will be accidents!

My suggestion is to contact Quanzhou Airport and have the fighters divide into two groups. One group will escort the bombers directly to Wannan Airport, and the other will go to Quanzhou Airport to refuel.

The fighters that refuel at Quanzhou Airport can then escort the bomber squadrons to Taoyuan Airport."

According to Chiang Kai-shek's latest demarcation of the war zone defense area on November 25, 1938, Quanzhou now belonged to Gu Zhutong, commander of the Third War Zone.

Lin Fan's Special Operations Brigade had never dealt with him before. Would there be any difficulty in suddenly wanting to use his defense zone's airport?

Lin Fan didn't know, but he was clear in his heart: "Chen Ce's suggestion is the most appropriate."

If they could refuel in Quanzhou, all the fighters could refuel there first and then set off to provide escort.

Thinking of this, he said to Mao Wenxing, "You preside over things here for a while. I'm going to send a telegram!"

At the headquarters of the Third War Zone Command in Tunxi, they had just received a notification from the Chongqing headquarters that hundreds of planes from the Special Operations Brigade had made a demonstrative flight over Guangzhou today, and had bombed the headquarters of the devil's 21st Army.

Commander Gu Zhutong was lamenting why the Special Operations Brigade wasn't under his command when an urgent telegram was presented to him.

It was really speaking of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives! He had just finished lamenting why the Special Operations Brigade wasn't under his command.

Now, a telegram from the Special Operations Brigade had actually arrived. The content was simple: "To Commander Gu Zhutong of the Third War Zone: The Special Operations Brigade's air squadron wishes to borrow Quanzhou Airport. Request approval."

Gu Zhutong immediately thought of the hundreds of planes flying over Guangzhou. So many planes wanted to land in Quanzhou. What was his purpose?

He had seen how well the Special Operations Brigade's base in Jurong was run. He had long wanted to seize Jurong, but he had always been wary of the Special Operations Brigade's military strength.

Now they wanted to borrow Quanzhou Airport. Could it be that they wanted to seize Quanzhou?

Gu Zhutong never even considered that the Special Operations Brigade would go and bomb the devil's airports on Wan Island across from Quanzhou.

For a moment, he hesitated and simply sent the Special Operations Brigade's request to the Chongqing headquarters and the commander of the Fourth War Zone for them to decide.

He didn't continue to dwell on this topic, and after Lin Fan's reply,

Yu Hanmou also had the content to reply to Gu Zhutong. Gu Zhutong knew that the Special Operations Brigade was capable!

This had been proven by countless battles. He hadn't expected how capable the Special Operations Brigade could be: it had actually wiped out the devil's Fifth Naval Fleet in one morning.

The Special Operations Brigade didn't even report such a battle report?

The National Army was searching from all sides for the truth about the Special Operations Brigade's operation this time.

The Special Operations Brigade's air squadron meeting was temporarily adjourned, and everyone went to attend today's celebration meeting at noon.

The ordinary pilots who had participated in the battle discovered one thing: today's lunch was very sumptuous, but there wasn't a single drop of the usual celebratory wine.

When Lin Fan raised his glass to speak, he was holding juice. These people had milk, cola, and juice to choose from.

There was no wine at all. These pilots were all veterans who had been through many battles and knew that there must be another mission coming up.

Just now, after getting off the plane, they had been wandering around the airport, each with a victorious smile on their faces, telling the logistics personnel and nurses from the field hospital who were inquiring about the news about the thrills of bombing the devil's warships.

Without exception, the final result was that the devil's warships were sunk.

Ke Xiangtong was also among the nurses listening to the stories. Her face was a little pale.

Jin Tieyu was by her side. Jin Tieyu was a fighter pilot who had been patrolling the coast and hadn't seen the destruction of the devil's Fifth Naval Fleet.

He only talked about shooting down enemy planes, while the bomber pilots explained in detail how big the devil's aircraft carriers were and how many planes were on them.

They described how the devils struggled in their death throes and how they were eventually destroyed and fell into the sea.

They spoke animatedly, and everyone who listened was fascinated.

Ke Xiangtong didn't expect that the devils had suffered such a great loss this time. Thinking about the consequences, she even felt a little unsteady.

Jin Tieyu had been carefully observing this beautiful girl. Seeing that she was frail and about to fall, he quickly reached out to support her and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I suddenly feel dizzy. I was probably too tired last night. I'll be fine after resting for a while," Ke Xiangtong said in a low voice.

After the pilots' lunch, they received orders for all the planes to refuel, full tanks!

Replenish ammunition, to the maximum amount!

But no mission was issued!

Lin Fan was still waiting!

Dai Li's intelligence came the fastest. He had already received the complete battle results of the Special Operations Brigade's operation this morning. Chiang Kai-shek saw that Lin Fan had gathered more than three hundred planes, and with the advantage of air superiority, he had suppressed and wiped out the devil's Fifth Naval Fleet in one fell swoop.

He excitedly stood up, walked around his desk a few times, and then stopped and began to think.

He began to think, "If I had concentrated all my planes at the beginning of the Battle of Shanghai and bombed the devil's fleet stationed in Shanghai, would the result have been the same as the Special Operations Brigade's attack this time?"

The answer was yes. The air squadrons under his command were no worse than the Special Operations Brigade's air squadron, whether in terms of technology or fighting will.

What was the reason why they were eventually slowly worn down by the devils?

Chiang Kai-shek seemed to understand something from the Special Operations Brigade's combat style today: the best defense is offense.

The air squadrons under his command had all been consumed while defending!

Thinking of this, he had already made up his mind: "Tell Gu Zhutong! Give full cooperation to the Special Operations Brigade's operation this time."

The Special Operations Brigade's proactive attack and bombing of the devil's Wan Island, which had been painstakingly managed for many years, was very helpful to the entire war of resistance.

Especially Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, these places were often ravaged by the devil's planes. They were like entering an uninhabited place in the airspace controlled by the National Army, coming and going as they pleased.

It was a pity that the plan that the Special Operations Brigade made this time was too rushed. If there was more time, they would be able to bomb some of the devil's military facilities on Wan Island.

When Dai Li heard his master sigh like this, he added, "They were just blindly bombing when they bombed the devil's homeland. If we had known in advance, we could have given them some pointers on where to bomb.

It could have been done with half the effort."

Chiang Kai-shek thought for a while and said, "That kid has always been worried about our confidentiality work. In that case, you should sort out the information we know and send someone to him.

Next time they want to launch a bombing raid against the devils, they can bomb with a specific target in mind."

Dai Li quickly agreed. The purpose of what he said just now was to send the Special Operations Brigade some locations of the devil's military factories and oil refineries in the homeland, so that Lin Fan could bomb these places by the way the next time he went.

As far as Chiang Kai-shek was concerned, he had always adhered to the "five no's" principle of using the Special Operations Brigade: no publicity, no rewards, no money, no promotion, and no establishment.

He was 100% supportive and in favor of the Special Operations Brigade's bombing operations against the devils, like today's. He was happy to see either side suffer heavy losses.

Lin Fan finally received a telegram personally sent by Gu Zhutong, commander of the Third War Zone: "Agree to the Special Operations Brigade's planes replenishing fuel in Quanzhou!"

Upon receiving the telegram, Lin Fan ordered: "Fighter squadrons, take off immediately!"

A hundred fighters took off from Huiyang Airport and flew northwest.

Ke Xiangtong, who was originally resting at the nurse station in the temporary field hospital, suddenly saw a large group of fighters taking off from the airport and flying towards the northwest.

This time, all the doctors and nurses were unable to find out where these planes were going.

Not to mention them, even the airport ground crew didn't know where these planes were going.

The pilots knew what they could say and what they couldn't say.

After they bombed the devil's Fifth Naval Fleet, their mission had been completed. At this time, they could talk about their combat exploits. Not only would they talk about it,

The Special Operations Brigade's various companies would soon receive a collection of stories about this battle, and the instructors of each company would also specifically tell the soldiers the legend of this battle.

But now they were on the offensive, and the mission had just begun. In any case, they could not reveal the mission.

Half an hour later, Ke Xiangtong found that the bombers at the airport began to take off. One bomber after another roared and broke free from the earth's gravity, flying into the sky.

The people of Huiyang had already seen this scene this morning, and then at noon, they heard the news that the Special Operations Brigade had wiped out the devil's Fifth Naval Fleet.

Now they were setting off again, and he didn't know which devils were going to be unlucky.

Standing in the small courtyard, Chen Ce, Pu Xueliang, and the others watched as the Special Operations Brigade's planes flew batch after batch towards the northwest.

Chen Ce said with a smile, "Let's go! Let's take a walk around Huiyang! We've been here for half a month and haven't even been to Huiyang City."

Pu Xueliang also asked with a smile, "Commander! Why didn't Brigade commander Lin have anyone protect us this time?"

Saying it was protection was actually surveillance. For the past half month, they had been completely imprisoned, restricted to activities only in the small courtyard where they lived.

Chen Ce said with a smile, "The target this afternoon has no power to resist, and this attack is no longer a conspiracy, but a completely open plot.

Even if the devils knew that the Special Operations Brigade was going to bomb Wan Island, they would not be able to stop or counterattack it for a while.

Moreover, the Special Operations Brigade is also going to use Quanzhou Airport this time. The Third War Zone already knows about this plan, and the Chongqing headquarters also knows about this plan. Maybe Quanzhou Airport also knows about this plan.

If there is any leak, it will be impossible to find out where it was leaked from this time. That's why Brigade commander Lin allowed us to move freely."

"Will they be successful this time?" Wu Han asked with some concern.

In fact, his concern was not unfounded. The devils had been painstakingly managing Wan Island for decades, completely wanting to take it for themselves.

The Special Operations Brigade's rash attack was a bit too bold.

Chen Ce thought for a while and said, "The chances of success are very high! The devil's Fifth Naval Fleet has suffered a devastating blow. As a result, Wan Island, which is not far away, should have tried its best to send planes to support it.

These planes have been completely wiped out. At this time, the devils should not have any planes on Wan Island, and there are no devil bases near Wan Island.

Even if they wanted to support Wan Island, they could only send fighters from the homeland. Even so, they would not be that fast.

Therefore, Brigade commander Lin's choice of timing is very important, speed is of the essence! This is speed!

Taking advantage of the fact that the devils have not yet reacted, all the targets that can be hit should be hit."

That's what Lin Fan thought!

In the devil's homeland, their naval headquarters had received the latest battle report: all the warships of the Fifth Naval Fleet had sunk, without exception.

However, the commander of the Fifth Naval Fleet, Koichi Shiozawa, had survived.

This news excited Vice Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who said loudly, "We should take action immediately to rebuild the Fifth Naval Fleet. The commander will remain unchanged, and no matter how the outside world reports it, those are all rumors.

We only need to insist that the Fifth Naval Fleet is in Guangzhou. When the country has completely rebuilt all the warships of the Fifth Naval Fleet and they make their debut, that is when we will break the rumors."

He continued, "This is to stabilize the vast number of people in the country who support the war, and at the same time to prove to the world that the empire's navy is invincible.

If we admit that the Fifth Naval Fleet has been wiped out, then after the myth of the army's invincibility is shattered, the myth of the navy's invincibility will also be shattered.

This will have a fatal impact on our image in the world, and at the same time, it will make the people in the country doubt the meaning of this war. Therefore, it is necessary to replicate the Fifth Naval Fleet as soon as possible."

His suggestion caused a fierce discussion within the naval headquarters, divided into two factions: one faction believed that the money to rebuild the Fifth Naval Fleet could be used to build the latest warships and rebuild a new fleet.

Such a fleet would be even more powerful.

The other faction believed that the rebuilding of the Fifth Naval Fleet could be done by using existing large oil tankers for conversion, so that there would be aircraft carriers and cruiser fleets.

Building a new fleet is the substance, rebuilding the Fifth Naval Fleet is the facade!

Facade or substance, that is a difficult choice!