Chapter 635

September 1943, the autumn air was crisp and clear, and the long rainy season that had stretched over the Jianghan Plain for months finally came to an end.

The scorching sun of successive days dried the muddy ground and evaporated the mist over the rivers.

The Jianghan interior, once water‑logged and impassable, finally entered the golden window of the year most suitable for large‑scale mechanized warfare and massive corps advances.

After a year of lying in wait, the Quinary and Nonary War Zones, having amassed a year's worth of combat power, equipment, morale and killing intent, broke free at this moment, and the Wuhan Counteroffensive, which shocked both home and abroad, officially launched on all fronts.

The first thunderclap of the battle did not come from ground artillery, but from the endless sky.

The front‑line airfields at Changde and Dangyang were fully opened; on the runways, aircraft roared and heat waves surged, and countless planes took turns taxiing, taking off, and forming up.

By now it was already clear; large numbers of troops were gathering toward Wuhan, and A Naganuma still didn't know what the Huaxia Army intended, so he was unfit to be the local Commander of the 11th Army.

Under Nick, the Nanko Aid-to-China Air Squadron, as the main force for long‑range breakthrough, struck first.

Forty‑eight P-38 fighter aircraft rose into formation, followed closely by twenty‑eight P‑40 Warhawk fighters escorting, and they flew toward Wuhan.

Twenty‑four B25 Bombers, fully loaded with bombs, dragging a fierce sound as they ripped through the sky, rushed at full speed toward the Japanese deep positions on Wuhan's outskirts.

This expedition no longer included only battle‑hardened veteran ace pilots; a group of Kunming Aviation School cadets who had graduated early and rushed to the front were also formally assigned to the bombing wing, taking part in this historic Wuhan Grand Assault.

These young pilots, averaging just over twenty, shed the fresh naiveté of the academy classroom, wore flight suits, sat upright in their cockpits, their eyes resolute and expressions steady.

They did not feel fear because it was their first combat, but rather a spark of excitement; the Nationalist government's air force was limited, and even the Flying Tigers had few personnel, the key issue being the scarcity of aircraft.

But in Changde and Dangyang, trainer aircraft were used casually.

Some trainer planes, after only a few days of training, were already letting them sit in combat aircraft, as if the World War II battles were about to erupt.

The flight cadets strictly followed formation orders throughout, executing every combat command issued by Nick without flaw, demonstrating a resolve and battlefield competence far beyond that of fresh recruits.

Air combat chief Nick shouted in a deep voice over the long‑range channel, his voice cutting through the roaring radio and reaching the entire air formation.

"All units, attention! Target the Japanese bunker clusters, artillery positions, and transport hubs on Wuhan's outskirts! Penetrate in layers, conduct point‑clearance, prioritize destroying anti‑air fire, and cover the ground forces' charge! Today the sky paves the way, and we will retake the Jianghan in one stroke!"

"Copy! We will resolutely complete the mission!" All pilots answered in unison, their voices ringing and powerful; even the Kunming Aviation School cadets fighting for the first time showed no hint of timidity, only the fiery resolve to defend the homeland.

The formation quickly broke through the Japanese weak outer air‑defense net, and the B25 bomber wing dove to low altitude, precisely locking onto the permanent fortifications the Japanese had held for a year.

Bomb after bomb fell from the aircraft, striking the Japanese bunkers, trenches, ammunition depots, and forward garrisons with pinpoint accuracy.

Violent explosions roared in succession, flames shot skyward, smoke billowed, and the layered Japanese defensive works around Wuhan collapsed and shattered under the intense aerial bombardment.

The remaining Japanese anti‑aircraft guns and machine‑gun nests fired sporadically, stray shells streaking across the sky, yet they could not stop the three‑dimensional air raid by Nanko and the Nationalist government coalition.

P-38 fighter aircraft dived at high speed, their cannons sweeping, clearing all the Japanese open air‑defense positions and completely sealing off the enemy's ground anti‑air capability.

The young Kunming Aviation School pilots remained calm and composed, strictly following their special‑training lessons, precisely calibrating bomb‑release coordinates; each dive and each bomb drop was steady, accurate, and ruthless.

Through Nick's grueling training they had already mastered low‑altitude bombing, battlefield evasion, and formation coordination, shedding the shackles of textbook theory, truly soaring in the blue sky with fledgling wings, shouldering the nation's heavy responsibilities.

The entire aerial suppression was clean and decisive; in just one hour of saturated bombing, the first layer of Wuhan's outer defenses was completely shredded, clearing the vast majority of obstacles for the ground forces' charge.

The moment the sky‑borne thunder fell to the ground, the Wuhan front‑line ground headquarters issued the combat orders in sync.

The command of the 200,000‑strong elite counter‑offensive ground army equipped with American gear was held by the iron‑blooded famed general Hu Lian.

This newly formed Central China counter‑offensive force, personally built by Jiang Anguo and newly outfitted with top‑grade American equipment, was placed under Hu Lian's full command rather than a veteran from another war zone not by accident but as the optimal decision after deep deliberation by the high command of the two major war zones.

Looking across the Quinary and Nonary War Zones, only Hu Lian's troops had first encountered and trialed American weapons, and were also the first to complete tactical adaptation and integration of American equipment into modern three‑dimensional combat.

The other units, accustomed to domestic old‑model firearms and outdated tactics, were still in the adaptation phase after a rapid switch to a full set of American gear.

Only Hu Lian fully understood the firepower advantage, tactical characteristics, and coordination logic of American equipment.

He could maximize the crushing power of heavy artillery, mechanized units, and automatic weapons, avoiding the awkward situation where new equipment has firepower on paper but cannot be applied.

At this moment, Hu Lian's forward command post was set up on a frontline position extremely close to Wuhan's main city, a precarious spot facing the enemy's spearhead directly.

The command post was modest yet orderly; the sand table, radio, maps, and tactical telephone were on standby at all times, continuously receiving frontline battle reports, air force intelligence, and updates from each unit's advance.

Outside, artillery roared incessantly, and stray Japanese counter‑fire shells occasionally landed near the command post, booming and shaking the ground dust loose, causing eardrums to throb as the cannon fire rang clearly.

Amid the heart of the battle, Hu Lian's expression remained steady, unmoving as a mountain, his gaze fixed on the Wuhan‑wide sand table on the desk, his aura as solid as rock.

A staff officer gripped the Telegram, hurried forward and loudly reported: "Division Commander! The air‑force bombing is complete, over seventy percent of the Japanese outer‑front fortifications have been destroyed, enemy anti‑air fire is essentially crippled, the positions are in chaotic disarray, and this is the optimal moment for the charge!"

Hu Lian raised his hand to mute the roar at his ears, his eyes sharp, and in a deep voice issued the order, each word ringing and striking the ground: "Messenger, relay to the entire army! The Grand Assault begins! The 11th Division attacks at the center, press forward on all fronts, tear open the Japanese main‑city defensive line! Rely on the firepower advantage of American equipment, strike fast and charge, giving the enemy no chance to regroup and counterattack!"

"Yes!" the Messenger replied, swiftly transmitting the Grand Assault orders outward.

On the forward position, 200,000 elite troops fully equipped with American gear, having been poised for a long time, let out an earth‑shaking roar the instant the Grand Assault horn sounded.

Across the endless charge line, soldiers brandished M1 Garand rifles and Thompson submachine guns, standing tall with fierce battle spirit.

The Nationalist troops that once suffered from scarce firepower and could only rely on bayonet‑wielding flesh are long gone; now they have ample ammunition, fine equipment, and boundless confidence.