kvmb Chapter 1273 Peninsula Standoff
Chapter 1273 Peninsula Standoff
A naval base along the coast of eastern Shandong
For nearly a few months, Ma Leizi withdrew his Fourth Army brothers to the peninsula region. Only then was he able to reorganize his troops. The achievements of his brothers during this period were brilliant. After the fall of Beiping and Nanjing, Ma Leizi's Fourth Army was almost isolated. Now, it was facing off against five divisions on the outskirts.
Therefore, even after retreating to the peninsula, Ma Leizi's life was not easy. He had to order his troops to maintain a state of combat readiness at all times, because if the Japanese attacked, there would be no way to retreat. Before, they could retreat to the peninsula, but now, according to Li Shaoyi's plan, they had to be stuck here like nails.
Li Shaoyi's plan was very simple: as long as the peninsula was in our hands, long-range bombers could bomb Japanese bases in Korea and also draw away a portion of their navy. This would prevent the Japanese navy from being deployed to Southeast Asia.
Of course, this is only a temporary relief. The strength of the Japanese Combined Fleet is still gradually increasing. In recent years, the number of warships in the Japanese fleet has doubled. How much influence do we actually have on them? Li Shaoyi is not sure yet, after all, the Japanese Combined Fleet was the second largest fleet after the Americans during World War II.
The telegrams sent from headquarters these past few days have instructed them to prepare for another air raid on the Japanese base in Korea, which is meant to let the Japanese know that we still have the capability to retaliate in this region.
"Commander, why don't we just bomb Japan directly? Our range is sufficient."
Commander Liu Tianye of the bomber squadron said with some confusion, "They have now upgraded to heavy bombers, which should be B-17s according to the models used in World War II. Most of Japan is within our range."
"Bombing the Japanese mainland? You're really daring. Your bomber squadron can fly over there, but can our fighter squadron escort you? Do you know how many planes there are on the Japanese mainland? If you guys actually go, it's like throwing meat buns to a dog—a one-way trip."
Ma Leizi said somewhat speechlessly, "These guys have been cooped up inside the base for a while now, mainly because there haven't been many bombing missions. We need to try our best to hide ourselves and not become the main enemy in Japan."
Previously, Ma Leizi had been somewhat arrogant, believing that his army could completely hold off the Japanese and even defend the entire eastern Shandong region. However, when a large number of Japanese troops surrounded them, the various losses were simply too great. Relying solely on air transport to replenish the losses was difficult for Ma Leizi, which was one of the reasons they directly adjusted their tactics.
Liu Tianye smiled but didn't speak. He knew the fighter jets' range was insufficient, but if things really came to that, they had to risk their lives to show the Japanese how powerful they were. Of course, it had to be a surprise attack; if the Japanese got wind of it, it wouldn't do them any good.
Japan's air defense capabilities are still quite strong. Although no military has been able to attack the Japanese mainland in recent years, they have significantly strengthened their air defenses. Therefore, if we were to launch an air attack against them now, we would first have to contend with their homeland air defenses. According to intelligence analysis, if we send heavy bombers there without fighter escort, it would be tantamount to sending them to their deaths.
"This isn't the first time you've bombed Korea, but this bombing is different from before. This time, we'll be bombing more than a dozen targets in Korea. We'll be giving you nearly 300 heavy bombers. But after we've bombed all those heavy bombers, we'll have to draw the Japanese naval and air force targets over. Then you guys will have to move to the north."
Ma Leizi knew why Li Shaoyi had ordered them to do this, but Liu Tianye and the others didn't. Our air raids on Korea had limited impact on the Japanese; strategic bombing had to be continuous. If we only bombed them occasionally, by the time you went back, they would probably have already repaired all the necessary facilities.
This long-range bombing raid was purely intended to prevent the Japanese from committing their main naval forces to Southeast Asia. Currently, our situation in Southeast Asia is very favorable; we have almost completely controlled the transport and sale of various strategic materials. If the Japanese Combined Fleet were to arrive at this time, our brothers in Southeast Asia would face a fierce battle.
Of course, the most important thing is that it's different from the original historical timeline. Li Shaoyi was afraid that if the deviation was too great, there would be many things he couldn't control, which wouldn't be good for him, so he tried to make some minor adjustments.
"We bomber pilots were the most frustrated. Whenever something happened, we were always the first to be evacuated, and we never got to see the most exciting parts of the battle against the Japanese. If I had known, I would have become a fighter pilot back then."
Liu Tianye sighed helplessly. For these heavy bombers, safety was paramount. The cost of each bomber was almost equivalent to three fighter jets. If relations with Japan were at war, any airfield along the coast could be attacked by the Japanese. Therefore, they couldn't leave the heavy bombers here; after the fighting, they would have to transfer them to airfields in the north.
"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and formulate your battle plan. We need to be engaged in battle within the next two days. The situation in Southeast Asia is very good. We can't let the Japanese waste the efforts of our brothers there. We need to make the Japanese focus their attention on us. Of course, if their navy and air force launch another amphibious operation, then we'll be in real trouble."
Ma Leizi chuckled and said that although his troops had just returned from the battlefield, most of them were extremely skilled, and they had almost fully recovered. Even if the Japanese launched a beach landing, they would only have a few thousand men at most. We have deployed forty to fifty thousand men throughout the coastal area, and if you include the militia and second-line troops, we have over a hundred thousand. If the Japanese want to cause trouble here, they have really chosen the wrong place.
Earlier, when Ma Leizi transferred second-line troops to fight in the provincial capital, militia teams began to be formed in the coastal areas.
When they were formed, the fighting in southern Shandong was fierce, and the militia here was almost as strong as the security regiment.