Chapter 1 The First Counterattack on Nanchang

The first counterattack against Nanchang was launched at six o'clock in the morning on April 21st, after discovering at twelve o'clock on April 20th that the Japanese devils had suddenly increased a large队 (battalion)-sized force in Gaoan.

This intelligence put Wang Yaowu in a difficult position. His 51st Division's regiments had already been deployed, just waiting for the designated time to begin the attack.

Now that more than a thousand Japanese devils had suddenly appeared in Gaoan, would the forces originally assigned to attack Gaoan – one regiment from the 51st Division and two regiments from the Special Operations Brigade – be too few?

Wang Yaowu couldn't spare any more troops to reinforce the Gaoan offensive. He couldn't possibly send the entire 51st Division's reserve force to participate in the attack on Gaoan before the counterattack had even begun.

With no other options, Wang Yaowu had to call Ji Wudi for reinforcements: "Captain Ji! The Japanese devils just now suddenly increased a large隊 (battalion)-sized force in Gaoan.

"Now, the Japanese devils in Gaoan City have at least two infantry battalions, plus their artillery and machine gun teams, as well as collaborating puppet troops. The entire force in Gaoan County is at least five thousand.

"The 51st Division's units are all in position, but we can't send any more troops to reinforce Gaoan beyond the original regiment.

"Can you increase your forces attacking Gaoan to ensure that we capture it?"

Ji Wudi's four regiments had already moved into position today, and she had also heard the news reported by Regiment Commander Shi Junxia.

Regiment Commander Shi's intelligence was not as detailed as Wang Yaowu's. He didn't know the prior military strength of the Japanese devils in Gaoan.

After receiving the news from the Gaoan front about the discovery of the Nationalist army's heavy artillery regiment, Division Commander Inaba Shiro immediately dispatched the entire aviation brigade.

The entire aviation brigade had eighteen aircraft, nine fighters and nine bombers. After receiving the order to launch a full-scale attack, Brigade Commander Myoken Yuma immediately led his team into the sky.

Kogawa Taro was a bomber pilot who had fortunately escaped during the bombing of Jurong Airport.

After the 6th Division was equipped with new aircraft this time, he was assigned to them immediately. It felt great to be piloting the latest bomber.

The aircraft had plenty of horsepower, and Kogawa Taro felt excited enough to fly just hearing the roar of the engine during refueling.

The new bomber's weaponry had undergone a major transformation. It not only had four machine guns, but also two 20mm automatic cannons. This powerful firepower was an absolute devastation to the infantry on the ground.

The aircraft had just risen into the air, and after the formation was completed, they flew towards Gaoan. Muramoto Hayato, a pilot, had just been replenished from the mainland.

He was still a curious baby. He had performed many missions these days, and each time the aviation brigade had perfectly completed its tasks.

Today, he wanted to ask a taboo question: "Kogawa-kun, what exactly happened in the Jurong air battle a month ago?

"The Nationalist army said they won a great victory, but our army said there was no Jurong air battle at all!"

Kogawa Taro almost slipped when he heard this question. He really didn't want to answer it, and could only say vaguely: "Strictly speaking, there was indeed no Jurong air battle."

Muramoto Hayato immediately heard the implication and quickly asked: "Tell me about it unofficially. Anyway, we still have more than ten minutes to waste."

Kogawa Taro really didn't want to talk about this, but he was proud to have crawled out of that kind of hell.

He organized his words: "Unofficially, we organized an unprecedentedly large group of aircraft to carry out a devastating bombing of Jurong Airport.

"But they didn't have a single aircraft that could take off, so it wasn't an air battle at all."

"Why did we suffer such heavy losses?"

"That's because their ground air defense firepower was too strong. The sky was full of shells, and everywhere there were fiery lines drawn in the air by the shells.

"In that kind of situation, the pilot needed to be calm in the face of danger, react quickly, and move quickly.

"I was like that at the time, carefully analyzing every trajectory in the air, skillfully operating the aircraft to pass through the gaps in the rain of bullets.

"It was as thrilling as dancing on the tip of a knife, but even in that thrilling situation, I dropped bombs on their artillery positions and came back unscathed.

"Not a single member of the crew on the entire aircraft was injured."

"Senior is really our role model. If every pilot had the technology of senior that day, we would have been able to win."

What a good flattery! Kogawa Taro received it with a smile: "This requires talent and hard work. You can't have one without the other."

With the two of them, one praising and the other accepting with a smile, the aviation brigade's journey in the air was very fast to its destination.

When the enemy aircraft had just taken off from Nanchang, the Pei Xueyi Regiment, which was hiding behind Shengmi Street, discovered a large group of Japanese devils' aircraft flying towards Gaoan.

They immediately notified Shanggao Airport of this news, telling them to prepare for battle.

Upon receiving the news, Regiment Commander Shi Honghua immediately ordered the fighters parked on the runway to take off and intercept the enemy in the direction of Nanchang.

Twelve fighters immediately rushed into the sky, with Captain Jiang Yuanwu flying in the lead. They took off later than the Japanese devils' aircraft, but the distance from Shanggao to Gaoan was shorter.

The two sides encountered each other on the east side of Shanggao. Brigade Commander Myoken Yuma saw Nationalist army fighters coming in front.

He immediately ordered: "Fighters, engage the enemy!"

The bombers were free to act on their own. Oketa Hitoshi flew his bomber at low altitude, having prepared to drop bombs on ground targets.

Although they had not yet discovered the target: they had come this time to bomb the heavy artillery regiment. The Japanese devils' bomber group had no interest in the soldiers charging on the ground.

It was just that the aircraft on both sides were engaged in fierce fighting in the high altitude, and the bomber group did not dare to fly at high altitude for fear of being accidentally injured.

Kogawa Taro flew his bomber from south to north, and when he flew to the north of Gaoan County, he suddenly discovered the Special Operations Brigade's rocket artillery company set up on Leihuo Ridge.

The two anti-aircraft guns in the ground anti-aircraft company originally followed the infantry regiment's actions. When they discovered enemy aircraft in the air, the two anti-aircraft guns immediately stopped and quickly completed their firing preparations.

The anti-aircraft guns could not participate in the fighter dogfight in the high altitude, but the Japanese devils' bombers were flying in formation like geese at low altitude.

The two infantry regiment commanders were giving orders to their anti-aircraft machine gun companies: "Anti-aircraft! Anti-aircraft!"

Company Commander Hou Wen on Leihuo Ridge was ordering: "Anti-aircraft guns, prepare."

The 20mm anti-aircraft guns were ready, with twelve guns standing by.

Two anti-aircraft guns, two anti-aircraft machine gun companies, and one anti-aircraft gun company opened fire almost simultaneously.

Kogawa Taro ordered his crew to prepare to drop bombs in the air, and he had already pressed the firing button for the automatic cannons.

"Boom!"