kingnovel Chapter 1216 Can’t Hold It Anymore
Chapter 1216 Can’t Hold It Anymore
"Go and call the Air Force Operations Chief over. Hurry up and pack up. All the civilian personnel here who are not needed should be evacuated immediately."
Looking at the black smoke rising into the sky, Liu Xiaoshan sighed. Having come from a combat background, he wasn't in a hurry. As long as his hundreds of guards remained, even if the Japanese surrounded Hankou, his combat skills would allow him to break out without much trouble. However, he also had over a hundred civilian personnel under his command. These people had only received basic combat training, and if they were also surrounded in the city, getting out would be much more difficult.
A dozen minutes later, the Air Force Operations Chief arrived at Liu Xiaoshan's place, looking travel-worn. Of course, this wasn't the Nationalist government's Air Force Operations Chief, but our own. Currently, there were still over 300 aircraft engaged in combat around Hankou, all of them our own.
It's not that Liu Xiaoshan wanted to be so clear about his relationship with the Nationalist government, but rather that the Nationalist government wanted to be so clear about its relationship with us. Ever since Li Shaoyi got angry and boarded a plane to leave Hankou, the relationship between the 72nd Army and the Nationalist government had to be clearly defined.
Although Li Shaoyi didn't emphasize this matter, everyone had to be aware of it. We were just thinking of ourselves as one family, and that we shouldn't worry about these things during the war, but in the end, we almost got scammed by them. If Li Shaoyi hadn't acted decisively, who knows how much money we would have been sold off by these people.
So the people who came after them have basically figured it out now. We don't have time to waste arguing with them here, so let's just clarify things with you to avoid blaming each other at the end.
The Nationalist government was quite helpless about this, believing that the 72nd Army was disobeying orders. But if you think about it carefully, without your previous actions, where would we be now? We obeyed orders, you betrayed us, and now you're accusing us of disobeying orders?
"Hankou is probably beyond defense. What are the higher-ups' thoughts on where you should retreat to? What are your own thoughts?"
Most of the things in the house had been taken away, so Liu Xiaoshan could only helplessly take out two bottles of Coke from the doorway, one for each person. This way of entertaining guests was also very rare; there wasn't even a cup of tea left, mainly because the tea leaves had all been packed up and sent away by the secretary.
"Sir, the Air Force Operations Command has given us orders to fight to the last moment. If Hankou Airport is damaged, we will evacuate to the six airports on the west side together with the aid-to-China flight group. This has been confirmed for us."
After hearing the operations director's words, Liu Xiaoshan nodded. His biggest fear was that our men would cover their retreat while their planes withdrew first. Wouldn't we become cannon fodder then?
"How's the battle going these past few days? If we need any reinforcements, we can send a telegram to the North immediately. The Commander-in-Chief told us that this time we must go all out and make the Japanese air force pay a heavy price."
Last night, Li Shaoyi spoke with headquarters by phone and explained the matter. The chief of staff relayed Li Shaoyi's words, instructing Liu Xiaoshan to handle it. If combat aircraft are needed here, more than 100 aircraft can be dispatched.
Actually, Li Shaoyi has plenty of airplanes and the like. He can't have as many as he wants, but he's close enough. The problem is that there are too few pilots. You can't just grab someone off the street and train them to be a pilot, can you?
Li Shaoyi was initially quite satisfied with his pilot team, but now the situation was different. The main reason was the sheer number of losses at the front. Whether recruited or hired, every pilot was invaluable. But when losses at the front began, dozens a day were not uncommon; often, a month's worth of effort at the rear could be wiped out in a single day.
That's how it is in a national war; losses are severe on all sides. It's essentially a war of attrition. If you can't hold out, the Japanese will advance. And when you finally force them to retreat, the cost will be even greater. So both sides are currently gritting their teeth and holding on.
"We've suffered significant losses these past few days, averaging over a dozen planes shot down every day. Fortunately, our search teams have been very effective, keeping pilot losses to single digits. But even so, the air battle has been going on for over 20 days, and more than 140 pilots have already lost their lives. This loss figure already exceeds that of the Battle of Shanghai. If this continues, our side..."
The Air Force operations chief also knew our weaknesses. Aircraft weren't our weakness, nor were bombs and gasoline. The airfield had plenty of those; whenever there was aircraft loss, someone would always come from the rear. But these pilots needed to return; if they all stayed behind, our rear-area pilots would be in dire need of manpower.
The black bear in the north has been watching us closely, and sometimes their relationship with us isn't good. Although they need someone to keep the Japanese in check because of the Japanese invasion, which is why they're keeping quiet with us for now, the matter of the Xiongnu grasslands is still entangled with us, so we have to be careful. If they launch a surprise attack, all our previous efforts will be wasted.
The entire army understands this, so no matter how severe the losses in Hankou were, no one proactively asked headquarters for more pilots. Now that headquarters has basically sent all the pilots they could, everyone needs to be understanding of each other's difficulties.
"Alright, I understand the situation on your end. Following the Nationalist government's instructions, hurry up and make all preparations for the retreat. At the same time, prepare for demolition on the ground. As soon as we retreat, blow everything up. Don't leave a single part for the Japanese. The entire airport must be reduced to ruins."
Liu Xiaoshan slammed his hammer on the table, startling the Air Force Operations Director. "If we were to bomb the entire airfield into ruins, we'd need a ton of bombs. But we have no shortage of bombs. After we retreat, this place might become a Japanese airbase. So we should destroy it all before we leave."
Of course, we have to consult the National Government Air Force Operations Department first; our decision is not of much use.