Chapter 115: Foreign Pilots Prepare To Take Off
In 1932, on the afternoon of February 13, the main force of the Ninth Division arrived at Shanghai port. On February 16, all officers and soldiers of the division completed landing at Wusong. Then, Lieutenant General Ueda, the Ninth Division commander, quickly took over Nomura’s command position and became the primary commander of the Battle of Shanghai.
At this time, Japanese Troops in Shanghai had already exceeded 30,000 troops, with 100 field guns, over 70 airplanes, and dozens of warships concentrated at Wusong mouth.
Facing such a massive Japanese Troops force, the 19th Army’s operational situation rapidly shifted from advantage to disadvantage.
But even so, the 19th Army still made the most heroic and tenacious resistance to the end.
Especially facing Ueda’s statement issued first on the night of the 13th, declaring: “Anyone who hinders this division from carrying out its mission will be met with decisive measures without hesitation.” demanding the 19th Army evacuate the war zone, and the ultimatum warning.
The 19th Army not only did not fear it, but instead intensified their artillery unit’s artillery bombardment as a non-compromising, non-retreating response.
The Ninth Division’s command post,
Baka Yarou! These damned Chinese Army!
They dare to despise my warning and refuse to retreat?
Since that’s the case, don’t blame my subordinates for being ruthless!
I must make this Chinese 19th Army pay a heavy casualty price, even the price of annihilation, to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys!
I want all Chinese Army to know the might of our Imperial Army. Any Chinese Army that dares to fight us will come to no good end!
Their only outcome is certain to be encircled and suppressed and annihilated by our Imperial Army!
When Lieutenant General Ueda, the Ninth Division commander, received word that the 19th Army not only ignored his warning to withdraw troops, but also dispatched artillery units to conduct artillery bombardment on their positions as a counterattack.
Immediately, it ignited his fury, and he furiously roared repeatedly.
Ueda ordered a full-line general offensive by Japanese Troops, employing central breakthrough with flanking envelopment tactics, with the 9th Division main force striking Jiangwan-Miaohang junction, attempting to encircle Wusong from the north with the Kurume Brigade and Zhabei from the south with the Marine Corps. Japanese Troops first bombarded with heavy artillery, followed by infantry coordinated with tank units, advancing in two columns toward the Zhanghua Ham line and Yangshupu line,
At the same time,
over 20 tanks and over 20 airplanes coordinated in combat.
Facing the Japanese Army’s ferocious offensive,
the 19th Army also stood ready, prepared to fight to the death or until reinforcements arrived.
And at this time,
the General Staff Headquarters in the Japanese Homeland was also preparing to establish the Shanghai Expeditionary Army Headquarters, commanded by General Yoshikawa Shirakawa, former Minister of War in the Makoto cabinet, with reserve reinforcement Eleventh Division (division commander Lieutenant General Atsutaro Kine) and Fourteenth Division (division commander Lieutenant General Naoki Matsuki),
as well as over 100 Japanese Aircraft, in order to launch a larger-scale Shanghai reinforcement offensive operation if the Shanghai Operation failed again.
This shows how much importance the Japanese Army attached to the Shanghai Operation this time.
Although it was the Navy’s Marine Corps that first initiated the first battle of the Shanghai Operation,
all the planning and scheming were still in the hands of the Japanese Army.
Of course, regarding the Japanese Army’s rear combat deployment and the operational strategy of continuing to increase troops,
the high-level of the 19th Army, upon receiving the Japanese Ninth Division’s general offensive operation, was completely unaware,
they were holding an emergency operations meeting, preparing to respond to this Japanese Ninth Division’s assault.
Of course, the Japanese Ninth Division also did not know that although Zhou Wenhua had withdrawn his German-equipped troops from the Shanghai battlefield and was also preparing to go abroad,
he had not ordered his mercenary air force to withdraw from this operation as well.
The members of these mercenary air forces were all foreigners.
Moreover, they were ruthless foreign pilots who, for money, would recklessly fly airplanes to bomb the Japanese Ninth Division’s command post.
As for the combat airplanes they flew, they were specially manufactured by Zhang Wenhua for them with heavy gold purchases of parts.
They were all uniform I-5 fighter groups and TB-1 bomber groups.
