There are not many children of the Long family in the army, and Long Hongda is one of the best. After all, Long Hongda is the child of the youngest son of Uncle Long Yuntang.

It sounds like they are not that close to each other, but at least those who come from the same ancestor will always be better than outsiders. And Long Shengzu also likes this younger brother who is not very close to him.

The reason is very simple. This younger brother almost never mentions to the people in the army that he is a member of the Long family and has the privileges. However, his behavior in every aspect has never disgraced the Long family.

The big bosses in the Southwest Military Region who knew Long Hongda's identity were very satisfied with the boy.

"Brother..." Long Hongda grinned when he saw it was Long Shengzu coming. But the smile looked so ferocious and terrifying that he couldn't tell whether it was Japanese or his own because he was covered in blood.

The military uniform on his body had become a mess, and the engineer shovel in his hand had broken into several large holes. One leg was lame, and one hand was drooped. You could tell that he was seriously injured.

"Fuck Grandma Mu!!" Long Shengzu's eyes turned red when he saw Long Hongda's appearance. Without saying a word, he led the soldiers around him and pounced directly on the Japanese troops who were still attacking.

When the reinforcements arrived, the morale of the National Defense Force soldiers on the position was naturally boosted. At this time, the Japanese army was at the end of its efforts. When Long Shengzu led the reinforcements to the position, the Japanese army finally chose to retreat.

Long Shengzu also knew that now was not the time to pursue. What they had to do now was to consolidate their positions and wait for the troops crossing the river to arrive before launching another attack on the Japanese army.

Both the National Defense Forces and the Japanese army needed a temporary respite. The battle came too suddenly and fiercely, and the Japanese army suffered such heavy losses all at once, resulting in insufficient strength.

There were not many leading troops of the National Defense Force crossing the Wei River, and the losses in a chaotic battle were not small. They also needed to stop and rest for a while, and wait for all the troops crossing the river to arrive before launching another attack.

"Hongda, are you okay?!" Long Shengzu supported the shaky Long Hongda and asked anxiously. Long Hongda, covered in blood, was like an evil Shura ghost crawling out from the deepest part of the underworld.

.

"Brother, I'm fine! Help me look at my brothers..." Long Hongda, who was supported by Long Shengzu, choked and said: "Brothers... my brothers..."

The eight-foot-tall man was injured all over and never shed tears. But looking at his comrades on the battlefield, he couldn't help but choke up. These are the men who have followed him through life and death many times!

The people lying here who have lost their limbs are all brothers who ate from the same big pot as him. They trained together, killed the enemy together, and once faced the Japanese army in the wilderness of the North.

They also joked with each other and asked each other to leave a stick of incense on the Qingming Festival and Double Ninth Festival to remember them after they died in battle.

"I know... I know..." Long Shengzu murmured sadly, and then waved to the guards around him to help transport the bodies of the soldiers who died in the battle.

"Brother! I'm sorry for them!!" Long Hongda roared and actually burst into tears. In this battle, because the National Defense Forces were at a disadvantage, and the Japanese troops who came to support were all elite troops, the losses were not small.

More than two-thirds of the soldiers of the entire attacking company fell. Even those who survived did not look any better than Long Hongda. For example, Long Hongda's company commander Luo Jia.

He now had six bayonet wounds, and the uniform on his body was stained red with blood. His face was so pale that he looked like a dead man. The soldiers behind him howled and followed the stretcher all the way.

Returned to the position.

"Quick! Take him down for treatment. The rest of the team will clean up the position! Quick!" As a commander, Long Sheng Zu knew what he should do now better than Long Hongda.

He did not hesitate to issue the order immediately, because once the Japanese army retreated, their retaliatory bombardment would undoubtedly follow.

The soldiers of the National Defense Force on the battlefield were all veterans. Even without Long Shengzu's instructions, they knew what to do now. They carried the injured and dead soldiers off the position with all their hands.

At the same time, they did not forget to take away all the guns and ammunition on the position. However, in a few minutes, the position was completely cleared. Basically, only the broken gun parts and piles of ammunition were left.

Corpses of Japanese soldiers.

"Captain, our observer reported the discovery of a reconnaissance aircraft of the National Defense Forces. If nothing unexpected happens, the National Defense Forces must have discovered our whereabouts. What should we do now?!"

On the Thonburi-class coastal defense ship bound for Weijiang, Captain Maki Ichikawa listened to his first officer’s report and was unmoved. He looked at the extremely arrogant Defense Force fighter plane outside the bridge window with a gloomy face.

He constantly monitors his own warships and is helpless.

As the name suggests, reconnaissance aircraft are used for reconnaissance, and the emphasis is on being fast and flexible. Therefore, a group of tiger-headed moths were put to use.

The Tiger-headed Moth reconnaissance type was developed for this purpose. Because the purpose of these Tiger-headed Moths was very clear, a large number of weapons originally used in fighter jets were disassembled.

In order to ensure the flexibility and survival rate of the tiger-headed moth, this reconnaissance-type tiger-headed moth is also equipped with some defensive devices in certain key parts.

But even so, it has become impossible for even the best Japanese Type 1-2 fighter to catch up with the Tiger Moth. Although the Tiger Moth has no counterattack means, it has gained flexibility and range by giving up offensive means.

It's enough to kill a Type 1 Type 2 aircraft directly.

"Captain..." The first mate saw that his captain was silent. He wanted to speak again but was suddenly interrupted by Colonel Maki Ichikawa.

"Makanoro! Do you think I am willing to support those horse dung of the Army?! But this is a personal order from the base camp and Commander Yamamoto of the Combined Fleet. Can we retreat now?!"

Colonel Ichikawa Maki roared in a low voice. In fact, why didn't he want to withdraw?! But what is helpless is that the commander-in-chief of the combined fleet and the headquarters staff have given him a fatal order, which is to let him lead the fleet to immediately rush to the rescue of the Southern Army in Weijiang.

Position No. 1.

Where does Ichikawa Maki have any choice?! Even if he now knows that going to Mijiang means death, he can only go to the dark side. Otherwise, the staff on the ship will beat him to death without anyone taking action and then call him

Base Camp He escaped on the battlefield.

"Order the fleet to continue moving forward and reduce the speed. At the same time, telegraph the news that our fleet has been discovered and request the command to provide air assistance..."

After a pause, Ichikawa Maki put down the telescope and gritted his teeth and said: "Believe me. These vultures will not leave easily if they find us. They will definitely find ways to tear them into pieces and swallow them..."

Out of fear of the war hawks of the Wehrmacht, the Japanese military privately referred to the Wehrmacht's air force as "scavenging vultures." On this point, the army and navy were highly unified.

"Colonel, that's what I'm worried about..." The first officer sighed helplessly and said: "Due to the previous defeat in the Chinese battlefield, our navy's military expenditures have dropped sharply. There are not many new fighters equipped now, and

No one is sure whether the command will let new fighters support coastal defense ships like ours..."

Colonel Maki Ichikawa's face became very ugly when he heard this, but his first mate told the truth. The battleship currently in the hands of Colonel Maki Ichikawa is based on the Thai Navy's order for two 2,265-ton heavy-duty ships from Kawasaki Shipyard.

Coastal defense ships were built.

After the coup in Thailand in 1932, the military group headed by Phibun Sumkham decided to rely on Japan to develop national defense modernization. At the end of that year, the Thai Navy ordered two 2,265-ton heavy-duty coastal defense ships Thonburi and Ayutthaya from Kawasaki Shipyard

.

The side armor belt of this Thonburi-class coastal defense ship only covers the engine room section and has a centralized fire control system. The guns on the Thonburi-class were originally installed on the Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi and Kaga. The two ships

The large-caliber artillery was removed during modernization and modification, and was later installed on Thai coastal defense ships.

This was originally just to meet the requirements of Thailand. Two coastal defense ships similar to shallow water artillery ships were built at random. But later the Japanese Navy discovered that these ships could still be used in the inland rivers of Southeast Asia.

At this time, due to the reduction of military expenditures, the Navy proposed to build this kind of "Thonburi-class shallow-water heavy gunship" in order to play a greater role and make the Army rely more on itself.

The original data of this warship are: 76.5 meters in length, 14.43 meters in width, 4.17 meters in draft, 2015 tons in standard displacement, and 2263 tons in full load.

However, after improvements by the Navy, the draft was reduced to 2.73 meters. At the same time, the full load displacement remained unchanged. Therefore, this warship is extremely useful whether it is used for inland patrol, support, or transportation.

At the same time, the ship is equipped with two three-year-old twin-mounted 203mm 50-caliber main guns, four single-mounted 76mm 40-caliber anti-aircraft guns, and four twin-mounted 40mm adjacent anti-aircraft guns. These weapons are also sufficient to deal with inland rivers.

Sudden circumstances arise.

And because this warship of the Navy can indeed provide great support to the Army in terms of transportation and fire support. At the same time, the Army cannot build such a warship, so it can only pinch its nose and increase military expenditures for the Navy.

Of course, this warship is only effective in supporting or attacking small groups of troops. But when encountering a combat force like the National Defense Force with infantry and air coordination, such equipment alone is not enough.

They also need air support, or at least fighter jet cover to protect them from being bombed and sunk.

"Send twenty Type 1 and Type 2 fighters and thirty Type 0 fighters to support them. At the same time, they are required to completely block the Weijiang River without any mistakes!" Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet Yamamoto Isoroku clicked on the table and said:

"Even if they are all in pieces, they must continue the blockade until the army's support arrives. No retreat!"

"Hai!" The adjutant quickly wrote down the order, and then Rear Admiral Kurojima Kameto, the commander of the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet staff, hurriedly walked in and bowed to Yamamoto and said.

"Your Excellency! Please think twice! Although these 'Thonburi-class river ships' are not very important, sending so many new fighter aircraft to support will affect our own security and subsequent operations..."

"If the Army loses its position this time, we will have nothing to fight in Southeast Asia." Yamamoto looked at his subordinates and sighed helplessly.

The dispute between the Army and the Navy has been going on for a long time. Both sides want to strangle each other to death. Only a fool would believe it if there is no royal family to add fuel to the flames.

In times of peace, this confrontation would benefit the royal family and ensure the balance of the country. But in times of war, this kind of dispute would be fatal.

If the two sides cannot cooperate, when they encounter a strong enemy, they can only be defeated individually and then retreat miserably. Such examples are not unknown. In the Battle of Shanghai, there was a problem with the coordination between the navy and the army, which ultimately led to a comprehensive rout.

Even on the Chinese battlefield, if the army and navy could cooperate with each other tacitly, at least they would not lose so miserably. Unfortunately, in the Japanese army, the army and navy are natural enemies.

Both sides are extremely reluctant to cooperate, let alone cooperate tacitly.

"Southeast Asia is our last resource area. If there is no place here, where will the empire find resources to support the war?!" Yamamoto Isoroku reprimanded his chief of staff: "The first thing we have to consider now is how to

Do not allow the IDF to occupy these areas."

"Otherwise, it's not just the army that will be unlucky. Our navy is not much better. Without the oil supported by Southeast Asia, our warships can't even drive! Not to mention those fighter planes and warships that are still under construction.

Do you want them to stay in a semi-finished state forever?!"

The Black Island Turtle Man stood silently with his hands down, but did not say any more words to refute.

"Kuroshima-san, you bring two 'Thonburi-class' ships to support. My request is very simple. It must be ensured that the National Defense Force cannot support the other side of the Wei River." Yamamoto Isoroku clicked on the table and said: "

I will send fifty additional fighter planes to escort you in turn, remember! We cannot allow the National Defense Forces to send support to the other side!"

"Hai..." Kuroshima Kameto bowed his head in response, then turned around and left silently. Due to his outstanding achievements in the Battle of Pearl Harbor, Yamamoto Isoroku gained great prestige among the entire Japanese Navy.

As long as he decides something and insists on it, other people will choose to implement it silently even if they have inner objections. This is true even for Yamamoto in the base camp.

The entire navy believed from top to bottom that Yamamoto Isoroku's judgment would not be wrong. So all they had to do was obey and execute it.

In fact, Yamamoto has made almost no mistakes since he became the commander of the Combined Fleet.

While a storm was brewing on the Wei River, the outskirts of Moscow were already reduced to a massacre. The U.S. Air Force, the British Air Force and the newly trained Soviet Air Force were fighting German fighter planes in the sky.

The troops on the Allied side were basically flying fighter planes provided by the US military, while the German troops were almost exclusively flying BF-109s. The two sides were fighting against each other in the sky, and the battle was inextricable.

The fight in the sky was a mess. The ground troops even beat the brains out of pigs. Although Montgomery withstood the German attack, he also suffered a lot of losses.

After the German army found that Montgomery's fortifications were difficult to destroy directly, they chose to transport heavy artillery from China and let small groups of troops constantly test the firepower points of the British defense line, and then destroy them one by one after finding them.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp... Boom! Boom! Boom..." Montgomery's heart beat a few more times every time he remembered the sound of artillery. The German army now transported several train guns through the railway.

What was transported to the battlefield were three special weapons that Hitler relied on most - the K5e train gun!
To be continued...