Chapter 3102 Number One Target
There is not much inventory left in the Japanese military's fuel warehouse. For an airport of this size, less than a thousand tons of aviation fuel is only the amount needed for a cluster sortie.
There is no other way, the maritime supply line has long been cut off by rice beasts, and the Kwantung Army has long been self-sufficient in all kinds of oil.
Cars on the ground need oil, and planes flying in the sky also need oil.
The Kwantung Army, which was unable to spare more fuel, had always been relatively conservative in aviation operations, and even adopted a passive air defense posture to avoid combat.
This is why when the Red Army marched southward, the air resistance they encountered was almost pretentious.
In addition to the poor aviation capabilities of the Kwantung Army and the performance of its fighter aircraft that could not keep up, the limited attendance due to lack of fuel was also an important factor, which was basically the same as the Nazi Air Force after 44 years.
But even if the margin is less than 1,000 tons, the explosive power of aviation fuel of several hundred tons cannot be underestimated.
The force of four 5-ton gas tanks being smashed down was huge. Coupled with the explosion of hundreds of tons of aviation fuel, the scene became an explosion of fire and flames reaching into the sky.
"Damn, luckily it flashed quickly. Did you see that the fire was hundreds of meters high? At least, I have never seen such a big explosion, never before.
The Pei-8M crew, which immediately accelerated and flew away after dropping the bomb, watched the super explosion with flames rising into the sky below, and couldn't help but let out a shocking sigh.
This final explosion also marked the complete destruction of the Japanese military airport.
The runway was literally broken into two parts, the open-air tarmac was a sea of fire, the aircraft castle and maintenance depot were blown away to the point where even the ruins were gone, there were corpses and disfigured aircraft wreckage everywhere, and in the end... In addition, the oil depot is no different from a volcanic caldera.
Just as Vatutin had expected earlier, the results of this air strike can be said to have exceeded expectations.
The aviation operation capabilities of the Japanese military airport were completely destroyed, and the degree of damage was so severe, judging from the current poor situation of the Kwantung Army's internal and external troubles.
Even if it is not in a war situation, give it enough time and environment to repair and rebuild.
Given the poor engineering and infrastructure level of the Japanese army, it is remarkable that the airport can be restored to a decent state in half a year.
This large-scale military airport is not a frontline field airport, and it does not mean that it can be done by just filling in some earth on the earthen runway that was dug out of the bomb crater.
The paved roads, infrastructure, logistics and support systems of regular military airports, these extremely important construction capabilities, are exactly what the Kwantung Army cannot fix.
Therefore, for the Kwantung Army, it is no longer a question of repairing and rebuilding the airport, but a question of how many usable and valuable things can be pulled out of this sea of fire and garbage on the ground.
As a result, the Kwantung Army, which had lost its large-scale aviation operation capability, could no longer send out air groups to do anything that could pose a threat to the Red Army.
The "suicide fleet" problem that Malashenko was worried about was naturally solved. The Kwantung Army, whose aviation operation capabilities had been shattered, could no longer gather into a large-scale threatening fleet even if it still had aircraft on hand.
As for the remaining suicide attacks in twos and threes, the leader's army can handle them by itself, just as Vatutin said to his chief of staff.
After all, the Leader's Army is a heavy-duty synthetic army-level field unit. If it can't even deal with a few Japanese suicide planes, then Vatutin will have to come to the headquarters of the Leader's Army to discuss with Malashenko how to lead troops to fight. Problem.
As soon as the air strike here was completed, the news that the strike effect was remarkable and even exceeded expectations was quickly passed to Malashenko in the form of a telegram.
Malashenko, who was holding the good news, took a big look and found that the conclusion given in the telegram was that "the Japanese army's large-scale aviation operation capabilities have been completely paralyzed." He was beaming on the spot and couldn't help but be happy.
"I said this was too time-sensitive. The problem of the Japanese self-destruction attack was solved so quickly. I thought it would take at least two or three days."
Hearing what Malashenko said, the political commissar who was in the field camp with the army commander also smiled.
"It should be said that your telegram was sent at the right time. It happened to be that the aviation operation capabilities of the Japanese troops on the front line had collapsed, and the Red Army aviation was planning to further advance the strike range and clear the aviation operation capabilities deep in the Japanese occupied areas."
"They have intentions and you have needs. Comrade Commander can coordinate in the middle. It is actually normal to solve the problem so quickly."
After the urgent problem has been solved, there is only one problem left for Malashenko - to find the Kwantung Army's elite reserve group and annihilate it.
It is important to continue to fight for progress, but Malashenko also has no intention of letting go of the only elite first-class division in the hands of the Kwantung Army.
Malashenko, who has been advancing rapidly in the hinterland of the Japanese-occupied area until now, and is almost at the gate of Harbin, estimates that if the enemy is really going to appear, it will be about time.
It will be unbearable to continue to let the leader army stir things up in his stomach. Malashenko really does not believe that these grandsons from the Kwantung Army Headquarters can keep this shrinking bastard forever.
In view of this, Malashenko, who has become more cautious and vigilant as he advances forward, has ordered the troops to slow down the advance to a certain extent in order to shrink the marching ranks, increase the density of troops, and thus improve the ability to face the enemy in encounter situations. ability.
Facts have proved that Malashenko's prediction based on his own experience was accurate. Not long after, another telegram from Vatutin directly confirmed Malashenko's guess.
"He's finally here. It's easy for me to find him."
"Aerial reconnaissance discovered an extremely long Japanese army marching column, maneuvering 30 kilometers southwest of us. It seemed that they wanted to intercept us before entering the city."
"The specific number is not yet clear, but the marching column detected by aerial reconnaissance has stretched 5 kilometers long. It seems to be a cluster operation of at least two divisions or more of Japanese troops. The front army headquarters requires us to be prepared to engage the enemy and wait for opportunities to annihilate them. This Japanese army field group maximizes the destruction of the enemy's effective strength."
With a fresh telegram in his hand, Malashenko stood in front of the war zone map hanging on the map stand and explained it in person. Everyone in the audience, including his two division commanders, listened attentively. In the end, it was Lavrinenko who was the first to smile. Open your mouth.
"We are now alone in the depths, but we are tasked with annihilating the enemy's main field group. Well, this is not the point. We are indeed capable of doing it."
"The important point is how do you plan to fight? Are you going to take the initiative? I guess Comrade Commander will not wait for the Japanese to come to you, right?"
Second update later, another update tomorrow
