afterglow

Chapter 423: Manila; Master Wang arrives on Luzon Island

"Good guys, most of them hit."

"No, Lao Xu, this is far worse than usual."

Those B-17s that had not yet taken off were turned into powder in the explosion. Because they had been filled with fuel and loaded with aerial bombs, the scenes when individual B-17s were killed were particularly shocking.

Those planes seemed to come from hell, shrouded in flames and billowing black smoke. The paint quickly disintegrated under the high temperature, revealing the shining silver aluminum alloy fuselage.

And then... it turned into fragments in the violent explosion of "Boom", scattered around like a goddess scattering flowers.

The expensive four-engine heavy bomber with a unit price of US$30.12 was turned into tattered scrap metal - enough to purchase 4000 new M1 Garand semi-automatic rifles.

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A total of 7 bombers were destroyed like this. I wonder how the American soldiers who still held the old Springfield bolt-action rifles felt.

The aviation logs and sortie reports of the Ming bomber formations that returned from victory stated:

"...The lead aircraft led the attack in a trapezoidal formation. The enemy's air defense firepower was sparse, so machine guns were mainly used, with a small number of anti-aircraft guns attached. The attack started at 54:[-], with an airspeed of [-], and at least [-]% of the hits were observed. It was confirmed that the three runways were seriously damaged and the tower was tilted visibly. The results of the operation were good."

The results of the air battle were far from good for the US military. Nine of the Far East Air Force's fighter jets were shot down, while they only shot down five Ming fighter jets and one bomber.

The Ming army pilot who was captured by parachuting said that there were six to seven hundred aircraft deployed against the Philippines, and only these were mobilized for the convenience of command and control.

所以远东航空队上下没有人能高兴的起来——他们总共只有112架P-36和4架XP-40战斗机，以及34架B-17和12架B-18轰炸机。

The role of aviation in war has been proven, whether in Asia or Europe. As Douhet said in his book "Air Dominance", aviation power can effectively determine the outcome of a war.

Both Americans and Filipinos know that it will be impossible for the United States to send reinforcements for a while, and they will have to rely on themselves for a long time.

Lonely war, lonely resistance, lonely sacrifice.

However, the defenses of the British and Dutch ended in failure, and the vast areas of Malaya and Dutch East Indu came under the control of the Ming Dynasty.

One hundred thousand captured Commonwealth Army officers and soldiers are still working in the mountains and jungles of Burma and Siam, building roads in the mountains, building bridges over water, and laying sleepers and rails.

Is there any point in such resistance?

This situation puts the morale of the US-Philippine coalition forces in a very strange state.

It seems to be high and enthusiastic, far stronger than the loose and relaxed state of the British and Dutch armies a few months ago, but in fact, there is already self-doubt in the heart.

In the capital Manila, the scenes on the streets and alleys are completely different.

Manila has been the capital of the Philippines since more than 300 years ago. Today, with a total population of about 200 million, it is an international metropolis as famous as Batavia and Singapore in the Southeast Asian region.

Ming army aircraft dropped a large number of leaflets into downtown Manila, explaining that the independence promised by the Americans was just a trick, and in fact they would still secretly control the Philippines.

These leaflets attached many examples of the US military's suppression of the Philippine resistance, as well as pictures of the current situation in Malaya, Sumatra, Java and other regions.

In addition, some warning notices also indicate targets that may be subject to air strikes, and the public is advised not to approach those dangerous places, otherwise they will bear the consequences.

The news that the Ming army was about to attack caused the metropolis to completely lose its previous state. Some timid but wealthy people chose to take the best option and took cars, buses, and trucks to drag their families out of the city and seek refuge in the countryside.

Manila, with a population of more than 200 million, has a high population density, with tens of thousands of citizens living in many neighborhoods, making management difficult.The clouds of war have made people's hearts wander, and crimes have increased dramatically. Sporadic gunfire can be heard from morning to night - it is the Manila police exchanging fire with the robbers.

Whenever Ming military aircraft appeared, the M3 76.2mm anti-aircraft guns and M2 water-cooled anti-aircraft machine guns deployed near water plants, power plants, and train stations fired violently into the sky.

The shells exploded into clouds of black smoke in mid-air, while the tracer bullets left streaks of light.

However, the 76.2mm anti-aircraft gun can only be used to disrupt aircraft formations, and the effective shooting height of the 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun is too close, so the combination of the two has no effect at all.

Such a futile counterattack has no meaning except to frighten the enemy and embolden oneself.

Some confident and arrogant Ming pilots even performed aerobatics over Manila, sometimes spiraling and sometimes turning. Shells fired from anti-aircraft guns often exploded hundreds of meters behind them without causing any damage.

The overseas Chinese watched this scene excitedly, while the Europeans and Americans looked disappointed.

But how can you walk along the river without getting your shoes wet?There were still Ming army aircraft that got carried away and were shot down while circling at low altitude.

At this time, those Europeans and Americans would cheer and applaud in the direction of the rising black smoke.

Although everyone speculated that the war was about to spread to land, the metropolis of Manila did not stop functioning, and all institutions were working normally.

Public transportation is still in operation, government departments are still working, shops and markets are still open, cinemas and theaters are still playing movies and performing according to the schedule, and even in the grand concert hall, the slightly famous Manila Symphony Orchestra is still being held as scheduled to their playing.

"...General Jonathan Wainwright, the adjutant of the marshal, inspected Carnta Barracks. The army's determination is very firm, and the soldiers are maintaining artillery and tanks..."

Radio broadcasts have not stopped broadcasting, but the content about war and defense has increased, crowding out some original entertainment programs. Citizens can hear the president’s speeches and calls, as well as various war news from their radios.

The Ming army's air raids on military facilities in various places lasted for three full days. The docks, airports, and railway yards had been bombed into ruins, and hundreds of air-dropped mines were floating in Manila Bay.

After the Air Force ended its attack, the Ming Dynasty Naval Air Force carried out violent air attacks on the Cavite Naval Base. Type 500 torpedo bombers used torpedoes or [-]kg heavy bombs to blow up the port area beyond recognition.

The blown-up crane fell into the sea, causing large splashes of water; several destroyers were bombed and sank at their berths, with a thick layer of heavy oil floating on the water...

The submarine combat unit of the Asian Fleet was ordered to leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible and go to the vast sea to hunt Ming army transport ships.

In order to avoid hitting a mine and dying before leaving the ship, the US submarine chose to submerge at low speed underwater to pass through the blocked Manila Bay.

However, the mines airdropped by the Ming army were not just floating mines floating on the sea surface, but also semi-submersible mines - through mechanical control devices and compressed gas bottles, the mines were stabilized at a certain depth underwater.

Therefore, U.S. submarines trying to leave Manila Bay still suffered losses. After all, someone will be unlucky on the battlefield.

The submarine USS Dolphin (SS-169) was sunk on the spot and all crew members were killed; the submarine USS Cuttlefish (SS-171) was seriously injured and resurfaced, but sank before it could return to Cavite.

The most unlucky one was the Salmon (SS-184). This submarine finally passed the blockade, but because the battery was exhausted, it had to float up and sail to recharge. However, it was already broad daylight, and it was not long before it was dropped by a Ming army aircraft. The bombs dropped were sent into the seabed. In the afternoon of October 10, aerial reconnaissance showed that a large number of Ming fleets were approaching from the northwest and due north, which heralded the imminent landing operation.

The U.S.-Philippine coalition had already anticipated this situation.

Although President Quezon appeared confident and passionate in the radio program, he was actually flustered and only followed Marshal Mai's orders.

The headquarters followed the plan drawn up before the war and stayed put for the time being. However, several reserve teams were assembled and hidden near the train station, ready to reinforce the place where the Ming army landed.

The Philippines, which is surrounded by sea and has numerous islands, has so many places that can be used for landing that it is impossible to guard against it. It is unrealistic to fortify everywhere.

Although Douglas, who was awarded the honorary title of Marshal of the Philippines, enjoyed a sweet and nourishing life with his second wife, Joan Faircloth, in order to be worthy of his exaggerated annual salary of US$1.8 and special allowance of US$1.5, he Douglas still performed his duties relatively seriously.

He personally inspected most of the coastal areas of the Philippines and knew it very well, so he judged that the Ming army was most likely to choose to land in Lingayen Bay.

Because the coastline and beaches there are long and flat, they are quite suitable for large-scale landings.

And after landing in Lingayen Bay, it was almost flat, only 150 kilometers away from Manila.

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In order to prevent the Ming army from marching in after landing, he ordered Wainwright to supervise and implement the plan to prepare for any eventuality.

Brigadier General Wainwright instructed his men to mobilize explosives from arsenals and mining explosives from private mining companies, and place them on the main traffic roads and bridges leading to Manila, ready to blast them at any time.

While the soldiers of the US-Philippine coalition were slowly planting explosives, nine thousand soldiers of the Second Brigade of the Ming Dynasty Marine Corps, led by Yan Chenwu, arrived at Lingayen Bay and immediately prepared to land at this perfect place. .

At 10:4 on October 7, the weather was gloomy, the sea breeze was howling, and the place where the sky and the sea met in the distance could no longer be distinguished.

In order to ensure the smooth landing of the elite Marine Corps, the Ming Navy dispatched a considerable force of surface ships to escort and support.

Because it is too far from the Dagu Naval Base in southern Xiaoliuqiu, Air Force and Naval Aviation aircraft have a short stay in the air here and cannot provide long-term support. Therefore, the light aircraft carriers Fomalhaut and Tiangang, which were recently commissioned, were Sent to provide full support.

In addition, there are the light cruisers Fenhe and Liaohe and more than a dozen destroyers, minesweepers, and landing ships.

The battleship Yuanfeng, which entered service in the 17th year of Zhichang, serves as the flagship of this landing fleet. This old battleship is no longer suitable for modern naval warfare, but it is still capable of artillery support tasks.

The menacing Ming army's landing fleet quickly cleared the floating mines in Lingayen Bay, and groups of fighter jets also began to take off and land in turns, circling and patrolling over the fleet.

Although it started smoothly, the Second Marine Brigade encountered trouble when landing.

The weather suddenly became bad. At first, people did not realize the seriousness of the problem, but the wind and waves became stronger and stronger.

Small landing craft cannot resist the force of nature, and most of them deviate from the original route and landing point.

By coincidence, the U.S. Far East Air Force came to attack the Ming army's landing force despite bad weather conditions.

The heavy bombers that Colonel Alex worked hard to protect played their due role. Nine B-9s flew over the Ming fleet and dropped a large number of aerial bombs on the battleships below.

The soldiers of the Ming Army experienced carpet bombing for the first time...or the power of heavy bombers.

由于是短程轰炸任务，这9架B-17使用了8000磅的挂载方案，单机携带16枚500磅航弹。

The 144 500-pound aerial bombs that fell like hail exploded countless water columns tens of meters high. Although none of them scored a direct hit, the near-missing bombs still caused considerable damage to the light ship.

For example, a large hole was torn open on the left side of the destroyer Shangqiu, and hundreds of tons of water entered before the damage was controlled.

Compared with the losses caused by air strikes, the deviation of the route caused by wind and waves is more fatal.

"What a bad luck! Who is God targeting?"

"What's going on with the weather forecast? Things like this shouldn't happen in the past two days."

On the bridge of the battleship Yuan Feng, the officers were all complaining, and everyone could see through the telescopes that there was chaos on the beach.

This force majeure cannot be changed, and we cannot blame the troops participating in the war.

Yan Chenwu, who was speechless, could only sigh in his heart about his bad luck. He tilted his head and said: "The naval gun fire should be directed to the depth."

The organization of the first echelon of the Second Marine Brigade's landing was disrupted - the second platoon of the second team of the third battalion discovered that the people landing next to them were actually the regimental communications platoon?After the first team of the second battalion gathered their team, they found that the battalion headquarters and friendly units were missing?
The floating tank units that accompanied the first echelon to land were even worse. Half of the twenty-odd Type [-] amphibious tanks sank due to wind and waves, and the remaining half landed in unfamiliar locations.

The situation is so chaotic that the officers and soldiers must reorganize their organizations as soon as possible and consolidate the beachhead position, otherwise it will be dangerous to be counterattacked by the enemy at this time.

"Boom! Boom!"

There was a sudden rumble, and the officers and soldiers lay down subconsciously, then lay on the ground and looked towards the direction of the explosion.

"Anti-cannon!"

"Lie down!"

Immediately afterwards, 75mm high-explosive bombs landed on the beach one after another...

When the Ming army made a large-scale landing, Brigadier General Wainwright happened to be inspecting the position of the 11th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army.

He was greatly encouraged to find that God was on his side. He immediately ordered all artillery to bombard the Ming army that had come ashore, and then sent a reserve team to counterattack and drive them into the sea!
The Philippine Army has a small number of heavy weapons, and they are not very powerful. For example, the 11th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army only has more than 30 75mm field guns.

Under the cover of seemingly effective artillery fire, about two battalions of Philippine infantry left the assembly area behind the position and began to launch a counterattack toward the beachhead in the southwest.

"His grandma is here!"

"beat!"

The bomb craters on the beach were still emitting green smoke. The officers and soldiers of the Second Marine Brigade either relied on the craters or lay behind the undulating terrain, firing at the densely packed enemies with rifles, light machine guns, rifle grenades, and mortars!
(End of this chapter)