The bombing of the Chinese naval air force and air force directly wiped out the US fleet and army aviation deployed in the Philippines. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info And this is tantamount to kicking off the prelude to the Chinese Empire's war against the Philippines.

The two carrier strike groups of the Imperial Navy were cruising in the sea area 100 kilometers from the Philippines, while the 5th Battleship Detachment and the 6th Battleship Detachment directly escorted the two divisions of the Marine Corps to Lingayan Bay. Ten battleships and more than twenty cruisers and destroyers were dispatched to provide artillery support for the landing of the two Marine Divisions, which was already very terrifying. After the destruction of both the fleet and the aircraft of the American army, there were not many forces capable of fighting the two battleship detachments of the Imperial Navy.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, two battleship detachments of the Imperial Navy arrived in Lingayen Bay, ten battleships, and began shelling the Dagupan line. Among the 10 battleships, there were the battleship "Pyonghae" equipped with 410 mm guns, the battleship "Korea" equipped with 381 mm guns, the battleship "Ryukyus", the battleship "Kuwait" and the battleship "Iraq", as well as the battleship "Yongheung", the battleship "Longfu", the battlecruiser "Yongfei", the battleship "Yongyun" and the battleship "Iran" equipped with 343 mm guns. Among them, the "Pinghai", "Longxing", "Longfu", "Longfei" and "Longyun" formed the 5th battleship detachment of the Imperial Navy, and the remaining five battleships named after the vassal states of the empire formed the 6th battleship detachment of the Imperial Navy. Of course, the warships of the 6th Battleship Detachment also have one thing in common, that is, they were all captured British Navy battleships that were repaired and converted into service with the Imperial Navy.

Although, in this era, the aircraft carrier fleet and carrier-based aircraft have become a well-deserved main force in naval warfare. Battleships, such old-fashioned capital ships, have been reduced to a supporting role in the bombing of islands by air defense. However, it has to be admitted that when launching artillery strikes on near-shore targets, especially to provide fire support for the landing force, battleships are more suitable than carrier-based aircraft. After all, carrier-based aircraft have a limited bomb load, and after dropping bombs, they need to return to the aircraft carrier to replenish them. At the same time, because of the limited fuel carried, the time in the air is also limited, unlike battleships, as long as necessary, they can carry out artillery bombardment on targets and provide support to troops on the front line at any time.

Less than ten kilometers from Dagupan, ten battleships of the Imperial Navy, transversely hulled, were shelling the coast with their main guns.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! With the deafening sound of explosions, one after another large-caliber naval artillery shells whistled towards the coast. Every large-caliber naval artillery shell has a huge power, and after exploding on the beach, even if the power is weakened due to the obstruction of sand, it is still a lot of manpower that can fight it. Each shell explodes and leaves a huge crater on the beach. The fortifications that were affected were unlikely to continue to exist.

"Sir, the Chinese warship is meeting us, a very big warship." A black Filipino indigenous officer, holding a phone, called the division headquarters loudly. He swore that he had never seen such a large warship, and the fierce naval guns were simply devastating, which filled the hearts of the Philippine Army soldiers stationed here with fear.

Lingaryan Bay was not the focus of Lieutenant General MacArthur's deployment at all, and only two Philippine Army divisions were deployed in the entire vicinity of Lingayen Bay. Although it has more than 40,000 troops, the equipment is not bad, and it is all American-style equipment. However, it is very difficult to say how much combat strength there is. After all, these Philippine Army units were all expanded last year. Although they were trained by US military instructors. But expecting the lazy indigenous Filipinos to learn to fight is an impossible task. Even in later generations, the Philippine army could only deal with unarmed fishermen, and once it faced the armies of other countries, it would immediately be intimidated.

"I'll report to the headquarters immediately, and I must resist it no matter what." A major general of the Philippine Army yelled.

After hanging up, he immediately called MacArthur's headquarters to report the situation. You know, MacArthur's defense was focused on northern Luzon and Manila Bay! It's not Lingayen Bay at all, it's just the Philippine Army stationed in Lingayen Bay, and they never thought that the Chinese* army would choose this place as a landing target.

"It's over, it's over. The Chinese are going to land, what should I do! The Philippine Major General anxiously waited for the phone to be connected, and said incoherently.

The phone was finally connected, and after he reported the situation to MacArthur, MacArthur was also stunned, as if he did not expect such a thing to happen. MacArthur ordered that no matter what, he must resist the attack of the Chinese* army, and if the Chinese cannot be allowed to land, he will immediately send reinforcements. The Philippine Major General was naturally full of guarantees. However, it is very difficult to say whether his promises will be fulfilled or not.

"Come, give orders to the 41st and 42nd Divisions, asking them to leave their current positions at once and rush to Lingayen Bay to set up defenses. Be sure to get to Lingayen Bay by the afternoon of the day after tomorrow. Lieutenant General MacArthur ordered. You must know that the 42nd Infantry Division is his old base unit, and he has served as the brigadier general brigade commander and major general division commander of the division.

"Yes, General." The signal corps immediately went to deliver the order.

"Damn the Chinese, they really didn't expect us, they actually chose to land in Lingayan Bay. However, even if this is the case, don't try to defeat us easily. Lieutenant General MacArthur said confidently. Although the landing site of the Chinese* army was unexpected by MacArthur and disrupted his plans. However, MacArthur still believes that he has a big advantage.

First of all, the US military has been stationed in the Philippines for a long time and has long adapted to the terrain and climate here. Fighting in the rainforest is no better than fighting anywhere else. Unfamiliarity with the terrain and climate here will result in a lot of non-combat attrition. Second, the U.S. military is strong, and the Chinese army is a cross-sea expedition, so it is impossible to land too many troops at once. If the U.S. military can grasp the timing well, it will still be able to defeat the landed Chinese army.

After receiving orders from Lieutenant General MacArthur, the 41st and 42nd Infantry Divisions of the US Army rushed from two small cities north of Manila to Lingayen Bay. The distance of more than 100 kilometers, coupled with the very bad roads in the Philippines, is still a big problem to arrive in two days. In addition, the Chinese* army will not let them arrive so easily after discovering that the US military is preparing to reinforce Lingayen Bay.

On the Dagupan front, the battleships of the Chinese Navy were still pouring shells on the Philippine Army's defensive line, and the dense large-caliber naval artillery shells, as if they didn't want money, were desperately thrown at the Philippine Army's positions. The positions of the Philippine Army have been plowed several times, and there are large and small craters everywhere, stumps and broken arms, and they are flying everywhere.

"Boom!" A group of Filipino soldiers were crouching in the trench and were accurately hit, and a 343 mm high-explosive shell landed in this trench. After the shells exploded, none of the dozens of Filipino soldiers in the entire trench survived, and all of them were killed.

The U.S. Army is not rich in combat experience, and the apprentices they teach naturally can't expect them to be so powerful. Coupled with the lazy personality of the indigenous Filipinos, even the fortifications are tofu slag projects. It is simply impossible to rely on such fortifications to withstand the attack of the Imperial* army, especially the heavy shelling of large-caliber naval guns.

"Boom!" A 343 mm high-explosive bomb exploded next to a machine gun bunker in the Philippine Army, and the force was so great that it directly knocked off the machine gun bunker.

Under the heavy shelling of ten battleships of the Imperial Navy, the Philippine Army's defensive line was bombarded. The Philippine troops stationed on the beaches and other front-line positions suffered heavy losses. If you want to resist the imminent attack of the Chinese* army, it will undoubtedly be more difficult than climbing to the sky.

After half an hour of shelling, ten battleships of the Reich Navy stopped firing. However, the huge muzzles of the guns are still pointed at the beach, ready to be shelled again.

"Buzz", the sound of wild bees flying in the sky, a squadron of fighters and a squadron of dive bombers of the Imperial Navy, flew into this beach. It's just that these planes did not attack immediately, but circled high in the air, waiting for the order to attack.

On the sea, the 5th Division of the Imperial Marine Corps took the lead in launching a landing operation, and a regiment of troops, carrying hundreds of landing craft, quickly rushed to the beach. On each of the landing craft, a squad of troops was carried.

"General, the Chinese are starting to land." A Filipino officer reported to Major General Kent, commander of the 21st Philippine Infantry Division. Since the Americans began to colonize the Philippines, many Filipinos have changed their American names, especially the young people, who have been completely Westernized.

"What about artillery? Quickly let our artillery open fire and stop the Chinese. Major General Kent ordered anxiously.

The Philippine Army receives American-style equipment and has a similar establishment to the U.S. Army. However, some of the equipment is obviously inferior to that of the US military. For example, the U.S. infantry division is equipped with 72 howitzers of more than 105 mm caliber, and the Philippine Army is equipped with 75 mm field guns, but the number is about the same. (To be continued.) )