However, considering that there are blockade ships of the Japanese Navy at the mouth of the Tumen River, and that this route is too close to the Korean Peninsula, the Japanese army and naval aviation in northern Korea, mainly the naval aviation at the Kiongjin base, may intercept it, which will pose a great threat to the entire air raid operation.

Yang Zhenjian's air force can dispatch some P-40 fighters with a relatively large range to escort the bomber group. Although the maximum combat radius of the P-40 fighter cannot escort the entire battle, there is no problem in escorting it outside the interception range of the Japanese army and naval aviation in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.

Or the entire bomber group could choose a route and fly slightly north after crossing the Tumen estuary into the Sea of Japan to avoid the interception range of the Japanese naval aviation at the Kiyojin base. Moreover, at the time of the bomber's take-off, it was completely possible to take off in the early morning or dusk, taking advantage of the darkness to avoid the surveillance of the Japanese naval ships at the mouth of the Tumen River.

Despite the fact that there were only a few destroyers and gunboats there, and these warships were not equipped with radars, in the case of the Japanese Navy at this time. Whether these warships are used as anti-aircraft surveillance ships or anti-aircraft fire ships, they pose a great threat to bomber groups.

At the same time, when returning home, the P-40 fighter can also take off to escort the returning bomber group. Although this is a bit troublesome, with a half-range escort, it can effectively protect the bomber group against the interception of the Japanese army and naval aviation on the Korean Peninsula, so as to reduce the battle damage as much as possible.

As for the selection of bombing targets, the air force's choice of three targets was directly rejected by Yang Zhen. He drew a heavy circle around the location of Tokyo, a civilian map published in Japan at the headquarters. Regarding the selection of targets for the first bombing of the Japanese mainland, Yang Zhen had only one request, that is, the first batch of bombs from the Anti-Japanese Union's air raid on the Japanese mainland must fall on the Japanese capital.

Moreover, Yang Zhen also specifically proposed that the bombing of Tokyo should not use ordinary high-explosive bombs, but all napalm bombs. The core area of the bombing was chosen in the area where Tokyo Imperial University is located in Japan. Yang Zhen's decision made the aviation force very incomprehensible.

Tokyo is located on the east coast of Honshu Island in the Kanto Plain, bordering Tokyo Bay, surrounded by the Boso Peninsula and the Miura Peninsula. If the bomber group of the Anti-Japanese Union enters the Tokyo defensive circle from the direction of the Sea of Japan, it will need to cross the entire island of Kyushu. In this way, whether it is entering or returning, it will pass through areas where dense anti-aircraft fire has been deployed.

At present, however, the Anti-Japanese Union has a blank grasp of the strength of the Japanese army and navy aviation that undertakes the defense of the homeland, as well as the deployment of the Japanese air defense forces in the areas through which it passes. It is unclear how many Japanese fighters, anti-aircraft guns, and anti-aircraft observation posts were on the direct route to Tokyo from Honshu Island.

Except for a civilian map of the Japanese mainland and the Tokyo area published before the war, the entire air force did not have a single military map of the Japanese mainland. There is no detailed understanding of the topography and landforms around Tokyo. Under such circumstances, choosing Tokyo as the target for bombing is undoubtedly a very risky thing.

And Tokyo is the capital of Japan and the brain of the war in the whole of Japan. Judging from the practice of the countries participating in the war, Tokyo, which is the seat of the Japanese emperor and government and the military headquarters, must have an unusually dense air defense around it. A large number of surface-to-air surveillance posts, anti-aircraft artillery and anti-aircraft fighters should be deployed.

At present, the Anti-United Nations lacks fighters sufficient to undertake the entire escort. With the meagre self-defense firepower of the Il-4 bombers alone, and the need to face a large amount of ground artillery fire and anti-aircraft fighters, the losses of a rash air attack on Tokyo would be very huge.

Compared to Tokyo, Kitakyushu was chosen as the target for air strikes, not only because it is one of Japan's major steel and arms production bases. In addition, Kitakyushu was targeted for air strikes, and almost all the routes were at sea. Entering and exiting the Japanese mainland can avoid interception by roadbed aviation.

The most important thing is to avoid a large number of ground-to-air surveillance posts, cover up their own actions, and minimize losses as much as possible. Unlike on the ground, which can also use wired telephones for communication, the Japanese warships deployed at sea can only use radio to report if they spot a bomber group.

The Anti-United Nations has high-power radio jamming aircraft, which have repeatedly performed miraculous feats in previous operations. If radio jamming planes were dispatched to accompany the convoy in this air raid to conduct radio interference with the Japanese air alert ships deployed on the west coast, then it would be possible to achieve partial secrecy. Even if the Japanese ships returned to report, it was enough to buy enough time for the bomber group of the Anti-United Nations.

What the aviation forces did not understand the most was that to weaken Japan's war resources, heavy industry and the military industry should be the preferred targets for bombing. The impact of the bombing of Tokyo was far greater than the military impact. Aside from announcing to the Japanese that their homeland was no longer safe, the benefits gained were almost insignificant relative to the possible losses from Japanese anti-aircraft fire around Tokyo.

In fact, in addition to Yang Zhen's insistence on bombing the Japanese mainland, almost all the senior generals of the Anti-Japanese Federation, including Li Yanping and Guo Bingxun, were not very supportive. In their view, the anti-Japanese alliance is still extremely limited in aviation, especially long-range aviation, and should still retain enough troops to deal with the domestic war situation.

In particular, the next stage of the battle is imminent. The deployment of the current valuable bombers of the Anti-United Nations is under the condition that neither the technology nor the living forces can meet the needs. Lang spent precious aviation fuel and bombs to risk bombing the Japanese mainland, which undoubtedly outweighed the losses.

Japan's air defense forces are far from being comparable to China's, which had air and defenselessness at the beginning. Even the main force of its army and naval aviation is either on the Chinese battlefield at present, or it has already moved south to prepare for combat. However, Japan's air defense forces will remain at a high level.

Under the conditions of modern warfare, as an army that has become accustomed to carrying out large-scale air strikes on enemy countries in order to weaken the will of the enemy country's military and civilian resistance. The Japanese army would not have done the kind of war environment in which there were very few or almost no air defense forces left on the mainland. All the aviation is poured out and thrown into the stupidity of the battlefield.

At present, the strength of the anti-United Nations aviation force is still quite limited. Both airplanes and pilots are invaluable. And in the face of Japan's strong air defense forces, under the situation of unclear intelligence, the price to pay is likely to be unbearable for the Anti-United Nations.

Moreover, for the anti-United Nations aviation units, because the base area is not close to the sea, they have not yet been exposed to similar training. For long-distance flights on overseas seas, once there is any accident, the result of the anti-union will be a loss of man and machine.

In the case of the Confrontation League, it is not only qualified pilots that are difficult to replenish, but also aircraft. The aid of the United States and Britain paid lip service, and the Soviet side not only now had difficulty obtaining any supplementary equipment, but even had to draw blood from the Anti-Japanese Union.

Under these circumstances, the air raid on Japan can be said to be quite a risk. Once the loss is too large, it can be put on the wealthy Meiying and Britain, and it can not be taken seriously. The Soviets, who lost tens of thousands of planes in a few days of the war, probably didn't care too much either. But for the Anti-United Nations, that means breaking the muscles and bones.

And this kind of injury and bone-wrenching may mean a devastating blow to the anti-United Nations air force, which is still quite limited. Even if the problem of navigation is initially solved, the risks involved are too great. Even if the bombing of the Japanese mainland will achieve a great political effect, it will still outweigh the losses. For the aviation troops, there is also some encouragement.

In the face of the closest comrades-in-arms around him, they did not understand, or even did not support, and the aviation troops did not understand their own tactical deployment. In order to unify his views, after returning to Harbin, Yang Zhen took time out of his busy schedule to convene a standing committee of the military region, which was attended by the commander and political commissar of the advance army, the commander and political commissar of the air force, and several ministers of operations, communications, and intelligence of the General Headquarters.

For Yang Zhen, this air raid will be the beginning of the strategic air raid against Japan in the entire war. In the future, such actions will continue throughout the long and brutal phase of the war. At present, it is necessary to unify everyone's thinking and understanding, otherwise this will still have some impact on the future strategic adjustment. Facing these comrades-in-arms and brothers who silently supported him behind the scenes, Yang Zhen didn't want to rely on orders alone to force everyone to carry them out.

Looking at the group of comrades-in-arms in front of him who had gone through life and death with him, experienced ups and downs together, and had always been silently supporting him, Yang Zhen hesitated for a moment before he spoke: "I know what everyone thinks in their hearts, and I also understand the reason for everyone's opposition. Because at least on the surface, the current air raid on Japan will indeed do more harm than good to us. ”

"Actually, it's not surprising that people have this idea. To be honest, the extremely difficult living environment we have experienced has forced those of us, mainly me, to become an out-and-out realist. When making any decision, what kind of impact will be on our survival will be the first thing to consider. ”

"There is no way, the situation we experienced at the beginning forced us to start from reality. At that time, we were faced with an environment in which survival came first and became our only choice. We don't have the time, or even the energy, to do any fantasies. All political, economic, military, and other considerations can only give way to survival first. ”

"For a long time, this choice was the most helpless choice for us, and we have developed a consistent realism style when considering any issue. The first thing to consider is whether the decisions we make will have more benefits than harms or more harm than good for us, at least the situation we are facing. ”

"As for the moment, everyone thinks that at this time, our air raid on Tokyo, or even on the Japanese mainland, will not do us any benefit militarily, except for gaining some political benefits and giving the United States and Britain an explanation. In addition to the huge battle losses, we may even have to endure the retaliation of the Japanese army, which is still stronger than us. ”

"But I ask you to consider that our choice of Tokyo as the main target of our air raids this time will not only give us a great score in politics, but also to show the United States and Britain that we are determined to fight against Japan. Militarily, after we have paid a certain price, is there anything advantageous? ”

"If there is something that is good for us, what kind of benefit will we get from it, and how big will that benefit be? Are we losing or gaining compared to the price we need to pay? Is there also a benefit to the economy and other aspects? I hope that when comrades consider these issues, they will consider them with a strategic vision and thinking. ”