Comrade, Your Ingredients Are Too Complicated

At 5:30 pm on April 17, 1942, the afterglow of the setting sun still lingered on the Yongbei Airport in the Qilu Military Region.

Spitfires flew across the sky from time to time, tirelessly conducting reconnaissance back and forth between the base and the coastline.

The ground support teams gathered around the communication hall in three circles and three circles outside indicate that the Eighth Route Army will take important actions today.

In the room, every communications soldier was at high spirits, waiting attentively for any movement that might come from their earphones.

Just when he was extremely anxious, the comrade sitting in the middle suddenly raised his left hand to signal his colleagues nearby to stay quiet.

"Beep beep beep"

In an instant, the hall became audible.

Everyone took off their headphones and held their breath, all looking at the opponent's right hand that was constantly rising and falling.

As an experienced soldier, the communications soldier's basic skills are naturally very solid. He quickly completed the interpretation work, and then said excitedly:

"Back! Comrades in the Air Force are about to return!"

"Quick! Inform Mr. Lin and Chief of Staff Liu immediately, and ask the command tower to sound the alarm and make preparations to respond to the 1st and 3rd Air Divisions!"

After speaking, everyone performed their duties, and the entire airport came alive in an instant.

Accompanied by harsh signals, a large number of fire engines and ambulances modified from Japanese trucks drove to the grass or open spaces near each runway to stand by.

In the rest area, almost all ground crews started taking action at the same time. As a team, they got into the Beetle and rushed to the standby location.

Even Lin, Luo and Liu were not idle. The three of them put down what they were doing the moment they heard the signal and led several senior commanders straight to the tower.

"I'm coming!"

"Quick! Send my order! The signal flare is launched!"

The first Lancaster appeared in the field of view of the telescope, and Chief of Staff Liu immediately turned his head and gave instructions to the soldiers on standby behind him.

After receiving the order from their superiors, two red signal flares glowed brightly in mid-air.

This means that the ground is ready and the injured bombers in the fleet can land first.

The roar of the piston engine came from far to near. Everyone held their breath and looked towards the sky, and invariably began to count the number of returning planes.

"1, 2, 314, I only saw 14 here, and troops are still entering."

"Damn it! A total of 20 fighter planes were dispatched, and one turned back midway. That means five fighter planes did not come back! It is indeed a bit reluctant to carry out a strategic bombing mission now!"

The "losses" that far exceeded pre-war expectations made Chief of Staff Liu frown. He clenched his fists and hit the guardrail hard, with a look of annoyance on his face.

This is not because 103 is distressed about the aircraft. If it breaks down, it will indeed affect the combat effectiveness of the troops.

However, since our own rear areas are capable of production, it is only a matter of time before we can replenish the number of bombers. The loss of five bombers will not be a serious injury at all.

What really made him heartbroken were the crew members on the Lancaster.

After all, for the current Eighth Route Army, high-end talents who can control various types of advanced equipment are the real treasures.

"LYL, calm down. As a commander, it's taboo to mess up your position."

"Perhaps those bombers that did not return just temporarily followed other squadrons to other airports. Until everything is clear, you have to calm down!"

In fact, the current situation of the tigers in the forest is not much better.

Although the expression on his face was still calm, as if everything was under control, the deep worry in his eyes could not be hidden.

After a while, Political Commissar Luo spoke to ease the atmosphere. He patted his two colleagues on the shoulders and said:

"Let's go and take a look at the tarmac. We can't miss this kind of scene. YL, don't cry and look sad. Control your expression."

"good!"

While the three were talking, the more seriously injured crew in the bomber formation landed first and began to taxi and slow down on the pre-arranged runway.

This is followed by the low squadron, the leading squadron and the high squadron.

Fortunately, nothing went wrong during the entire landing. Except for one Lancaster, which almost failed to lower its landing gear in time, the other fighters all landed smoothly.

The moment the first batch of damaged fighter planes opened their hatches, the entire ground crew began to cheer loudly and send their blessings to the heroes.

At the same time, medical staff rushed forward and cooperated with the crew members to lift the injured soldiers onto stretchers.

The hospital near the airport has the best surgeons and equipment in Shandong Province. Except for some comrades with particularly severe frostbite, they can basically handle most injuries.

Of course, the busiest ones are always the ground crew.

The highly skilled men need to repair and maintain the fighter planes as quickly as possible, and debug all onboard weapons.

Paper cannot contain fire.

Although the Japs were temporarily blinded by the models of the fighter planes, sooner or later they would discover one thing, that is, the planes carrying out strategic bombing missions were all from the Eighth Route Army Air Force.

By then, the other party will definitely not give up.

Whether it is for the security of the rear area or to express the bad anger in his heart, the enemy will inevitably carry out retaliatory suppression against the Qilu Military Region.

What's more, no one can guarantee that Benzi's Navy will not be forced to put aside their old grudges and launch a joint operation with the Army's Kwantung Army in Red Deer.

Under the above premise, it is absolutely wise to keep all kinds of equipment in the best condition.

Only in this way can the Air Force cope with the fierce war with escalating intensity.

······

After the wounded were taken away by the ambulance and they were sure that their group would not delay the rescue work at the scene, the three commanders 01, 02, and 03 walked out of the crowd.

Caressing the bullet-riddled pilot aircraft, a trace of guilt flashed in Chief Liu's eyes. He took a deep breath and quickly adjusted his emotions.

"Comrades! Welcome home! Thank you for your hard work!"

"I'm proud of you! Each of you is a national hero!"

"For today's celebration banquet, I specially found a famous local Shandong cuisine chef to show off his skills. Everyone must eat with open stomachs!"

Seemingly thinking of something embarrassing, 103 pondered for a few seconds before continuing to add:

"However, eating and resting will have to wait for a while. We have to go to the intelligence office for a briefing first."

The operational briefing meeting, as Chief of Staff Liu calls it, is a necessary step after every Air Force operation. It is mainly used to analyze the bombing effects of the troops and the intelligence along the way.

During the meeting, all returning crews were put in charge of a dedicated intelligence officer.

When analyzing intelligence, the bombing effect, the enemy's anti-aircraft artillery defense zone, and the model and number of Japanese interceptors are all the focus of intelligence personnel.

The reason why it is so complicated is naturally to prepare for the next attack.

After all, suppressing an enemy country's war potential is never a one-and-done deal. Only a flawless plan can reduce the losses of the strategic bombing force.

After hearing the arrangements from their superiors, the comrades of the First and Third Air Divisions nodded one after another, and then dragged their tired bodies into the car.

As elites, they certainly know what is important and what is light.

"Yes! Execute the order!"

Ten minutes later, everyone arrived at their destination.

Sitting in comfortable chairs, all crew members relaxed a lot, but what followed was both physical and mental exhaustion.

After more than ten hours of continuous driving, fighting and high concentration, the total mission range exceeded 4,000 kilometers. Even an iron man would be unable to withstand it.

Seeing this, the intelligence agents did not dare to waste time and quickly pushed out the map they had prepared long ago.

"A total of 19 bombers participated in this mission. Only 14 have returned successfully. Does anyone know what happened to the other five?"

As soon as these words came out, Chief of Staff Liu, who was originally listening in the hall, immediately pricked up his ears.

Obviously, compared with the effect of bombing, 103 is still more concerned about the casualties of the troops.

The matter was so important that Captain Wang Hai did not let it slip. He first looked at the captains of each squadron, then stood up and walked towards the tactical board.

"The five missing heavy bombers were not shot down by the enemy."

"They abandoned the plane xx kilometers away from the coastline, but fortunately all crew members successfully parachuted."

"If everything goes well, the Navy's rescue team will be able to take the comrades home in a while. However, considering the speed of the old ships, there is a high probability that they will miss the celebration banquet."

After finishing speaking, there was a brief silence in the hall, followed by cheers that soared into the sky. Lin, Luo and Liu were also caught off guard by the sudden good news.

In fact, Captain Wang Hai is not to blame for hiding this matter. He informed the navy of the specific location half an hour ago.

However, due to coordination problems between the military services, news of the rescue was delayed in reaching the airport.

After the scene calmed down, Captain Wang Hai looked at the task bar on the tactical board and took the initiative to add:

"This bombing mission went much smoother than expected. We successfully bombed many target factories with almost no casualties in each squadron."

"In addition, we also sank the aircraft carrier Hosho, the battleship Nagato, the cruiser Oyodo and two submarines, and severely damaged the battleship Fuso and multiple destroyers."

"Of course, the Japanese's Etajima Naval War School and Wu Gang also suffered heavy losses. Especially the former, there is no possibility that it will reopen in a short time."

Facing Captain Wang Hai's talk, no one in the intelligence hall dared to respond except for the rustling sound of records.

Without him, just because the record is too dazzling.

If calculated according to the size of the army, the losses caused by the 1st and 3rd Air Divisions to the Japanese will definitely be higher than the value of the North China Front Army.

After a while, the tiger in the forest regained consciousness first. Although his face was full of shock, the commander calmly asked:

"Captain Wang Hai, it's not that I don't believe in the strength of our comrades. I'm just considering the subsequent publicity matters. Do you have any actual evidence to support the above-mentioned achievements?"

During World War II, the battle reports provided by the Air Force often contained a lot of water. This was a common problem faced by major forces in various countries.

It will take more than ten years to achieve relatively accurate identification of aircraft types and battle results.

Let’s not talk about it remotely, let’s just talk about the achievements falsely reported by the Navy.

The trend of the war is exactly what they reported to the Locust. What the IJN should consider now is definitely how to land on the west coast of the Ugly Kingdom, not the Battle of Midway.

As if he had already guessed the problem of the tiger in the forest, Captain Wang Hai casually waved to the rear, signaling his second-in-command to bring up the gift bag that he had prepared long ago.

"Mr. Lin, the devices in front of you contain photos and images of bombing the enemy's rear and sinking surface ships of the Combined Fleet."

"The shooting effects from our fighter planes are slightly better than those of Dai Ying's high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft at the same time. Presumably, they are enough to prove the achievements of our comrades."

As soon as these words came out, Political Commissar Luo rushed forward with a few strides. Wisps of light burst out from his eyes, as if he had seen some peerless treasure.

"Okay! Good stuff!"

"Director Liu! Send someone quickly to collect the evidence. After processing, send one copy to the border area, headquarters and Suiyuan first!"

In the hands of political experts, these audio-visual materials are not only evidence, but also an unparalleled weapon for the Eighth Route Army to carry out propaganda work.

As long as it is screened a few times in major cities, the morale of the people and troops in the Republic of China will definitely rise by more than one level.

As for the bombing involving civilians, will it have a bad impact on the troops? Will the Japanese use the Geneva Convention to make a fuss?

Sorry, we just don't care.

Let’s not talk about whether there are so-called civilians in that ruined land, and we haven’t signed the Geneva Convention.

Accusation?

Do not make jokes!

As long as I don't lose, no one has the right to judge me, and no one has the right to call me a war criminal!

We will see who goes to Nuremberg and who goes to Tokyo after the war. (End of chapter)