frightfiction Chapter 350: Battle for Chittagong (2) Bai Minghui’s Response
Chapter 350: Battle for Chittagong (2) Bai Minghui’s Response
Inside the underground bunker, the combat command center was brightly lit and the air was filled with tension.
The large map on the wall had routes outlined on it with colored pencils, and several combat staff officers were running back and forth, answering calls from the radar station and updating the latest route information on the map.
Bai Minghui wore a steel helmet and rolled up his military uniform sleeves, revealing the watch on his wrist.
He held the microphone, his voice clear and unanxious: "Could it be Lancaster, Stirling or Halifax?"
On the other end of the line, the radar station chief's voice was clearly audible:
"Judging from the radar returns, it doesn't look like a four-engine heavy bomber. The radar signals from those big guys reflect over too large an area for our equipment to misidentify them. The ones coming from the northwest are more like twin-engine heavy fighters like the Bristol 'Handsome Warrior' or twin-engine bombers like the B-25."
"That's good. The self-defense firepower of twin-engine aircraft is average."
Even though Bai Minghui was an army general, he knew that the small 7.7mm water pipe on John's plane would not have much effect on his own thick-skinned P-47.
Especially the R-2800 Twin Wasp air-cooled engine on the nose of the P-47. Even if 9 of its 18 cylinders were blown out by bullets, it could still continue to fly, making it the most tenacious fighter.
He frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then said in a deep voice, "John's people didn't do anything to interfere or deceive?"
"No," the radar station commander replied. "They just flew straight over here. They didn't do a low-level sea skim, no feints, no circumnavigations, and certainly no electronic jamming."
Bai Minghui raised the corner of his mouth slightly, with a hint of teasing in his eyes: "Heh, these John guys are still so arrogant."
Sun Yechang, the intelligence staff officer beside him, flipped through the Aircraft Identification Manual, which contained pictures and data of various John aircraft, and interrupted:
"Your Excellency, this isn't like the Johns. They've been fighting the Hans in Europe for years, and they've long since figured out a way to counter radar, often leaving Hans' interceptor forces empty-handed. Why don't they even put up a front here?"
Bai Minghui looked at the map, his eyes filled with thought:
"Perhaps they're overconfident, thinking we're just a small-time Chinese armed force and that the radar is just a toy to scare people. Or maybe..." He paused, a sneer playing on his face, "Has the colonial air force simply not learned from the advanced experience of their European counterparts?"
When everyone heard this, they all showed a sense of relief.
The troops deployed by John in the east were indeed unsatisfactory.
In the process of eliminating the Japanese in Pegu, they also liberated many prisoner-of-war camps holding white prisoners of war. Most of the white officers and soldiers released from there were not elite.
In any case, the Qionghaojing-1 early warning radar now installed in Chittagong is already better than Hans' most advanced "Aquarius" radar at the end of World War II.
I don't know if it's because they're too arrogant or the colonial forces' air force isn't good enough, but now all of John's movements are exposed on the radar screen.
The air in the underground command center was filled with a faint smell of tobacco and the hum of electronic equipment.
Even with a high-power ventilation fan, Bai Minghui still felt turbid and stuffy.
But he still didn't dare to be careless. He still remembered Zhang Chi's previous instructions. He could despise the Ansa people strategically, but he had to take them seriously tactically.
No one can guarantee that the Angsa gang has not transported heavy armor-piercing bombs like the goblet to Sindhu. Bai Minghui, the highest commander of the Chittagong troops, is hiding in a bunker deep underground. This is the safest way to prevent being beheaded by a round of bombing by the John people.
Bai Minghui put down the phone and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He ignored the heat and picked up the phone again: "Hello? Transfer me to the 2nd Independent Air Defense Regiment!"
Within seconds, the deep and energetic voice of Captain Shi of the 2nd Independent Air Defense Regiment came through the microphone: "Shi Zhentao, the 2nd Independent Air Defense Regiment, reports to you!"
Bai Minghui steadied his breath and asked directly, "Have all the air defense towers entered combat readiness?"
Regimental Commander Shi: "Reporting to the Commander, all personnel are in place, shells are loaded, and all Wangyi-2 fire control radars are functioning normally and ready to fire at any time!"
At this time, several small concrete air defense towers had been built in Chittagong according to Zhang Chi's requirements.
These air defense towers are scaled-down versions of the ones built by Hans during World War II, which Zhang Chi redesigned.
To build these towers, transport fleets brought large quantities of reinforced concrete and various prefabricated steel parts to Chittagong.
The top of these concrete air defense towers has a construction area of more than 500 square meters. The entire tower is about 7 meters high, and there is a 3-meter-deep basement underground for storing ammunition and personnel.
The outer shell of the entire building is made of high-grade concrete with a thickness of more than 70 cm. Unless it is directly hit by an armor-piercing heavy bomb, it can protect the personnel and materials inside from harm.
Each concrete air defense tower is equipped with four M2 90mm anti-aircraft guns imported from White Eagle. Its positioning is similar to Hans' 88mm anti-aircraft gun, and the Sixth Radio Research Institute has also specially developed matching VT fuses for its artillery shells.
In addition to the Wangyi-2 fire control radars installed on the surrounding 5-meter-high auxiliary towers and the numerous 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun positions arranged around the main tower, it can be said that even if the air force fails to intercept, the army on the ground can rely on anti-aircraft guns to drive away enemy planes that want to drop bombs.
Bai Minghui smiled when he heard this, and his tone was a little excited:
"Excellent! Captain Shi, as long as you can achieve 90% of your usual training accuracy today, no, 70%!" He paused, then raised his voice, "As long as you achieve a 70% hit rate, I will personally commend you to Commander-in-Chief Zhang!"
On the other end of the line, Shi Zhentao laughed heartily, his voice brimming with iron-blooded confidence. "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. We anti-aircraft gunners are no mere show-offs. Even if the enemy is John's ace flying squadron, they won't dare run wild over us!"
The M2 90mm anti-aircraft gun, equipped with an electric ammunition lifting device in a concrete air defense tower, has a theoretical firing rate of up to 20 rounds per minute during training. Coupled with the firing data provided by the Wangyi-2 fire control radar and the support of a radio proximity fuze, it has achieved a 90% destruction rate against large target aircraft flying slowly at an altitude of 8000 meters during training.
Bai Minghui estimated that there would not be many of John's colonial army's old planes that could break through the P-47's interception and fly over Chittagong. As long as the air defense forces performed normally, it would not be too difficult to destroy all of these planes.
After hanging up the phone, Bai Minghui and his chief of staff exchanged a glance. The bespectacled chief of staff, Zhong Weiguo, nodded and said:
"I've checked with the forward observation post, and everything is normal on the outer perimeter. The John troops across the way are staying in their trenches as usual. There's no sign of a large-scale movement."
After saying this, Zhong Weiguo said thoughtfully, "Strange. Normally, the Johns have a bombing mission, and the ground forces should cooperate with the bombing, harassing us with artillery fire to attract our attention. But today, they are unusually quiet."
"Should we send a reconnaissance plane over to check the situation?"
Bai Minghui came to the map table and said after thinking for a moment:
"From John's perspective, since we didn't know the bombers were coming, the ground forces naturally had to remain silent to prevent us from becoming alert, so that the bombing could achieve maximum surprise, just like during Operation Barbarossa."
"As for not seeing their large-scale mobilization? The Johns are experts at digging trenches. Perhaps their attacking forces have already moved to their positions under the cover of the communication trenches."
"How about this, we should send off a few more batches of reconnaissance planes and see what John is up to!"
A communications staff officer immediately nodded, ran to the phone and contacted the Air Force.
Bai Minghui turned his gaze to the other side and spoke in a sharp tone, "At the same time, notify Colonel Li Mingcheng that the armored battle group immediately take up their positions. If the Johns open fire, immediately follow the combat plan and break through the Johns' positions in front of them. Rush out and give them a huge beating!"
Zhong Weiguo smiled, a cold gleam flashing across his glasses. "If Li Mingcheng really rushes in with a torrent of steel and delivers a right hook, John will probably regret his actions today."
Bai Minghui raised his lips slightly: "It's too late to regret. Let them know today that Chittagong is not a place they can come to whenever they want!"