Chapter 798: 750 back-and-forth battle_4 Chapter 798: 750 back-and-forth battle_4 First, oil fields are extremely vulnerable targets and are very easy to strike. The enemy has just occupied the area recently and it is not easy for them to establish a complete air defense system.
Second, the Dahua Air Force has been strengthened, especially the bomber fleet, which has not suffered significant losses, and can be reassigned in a short time to form a large-scale bombing fleet for missions.
Lastly, the number of escort fighter squadrons of the Dahua Troops is also sufficient, making daytime bombing highly feasible.
“We have four-engine bombers produced by Shireck, and though they’re slow, their payload is still acceptable. As long as we take off with more planes, we can ensure the destructive power against the oil fields,” assured a Dahua Air Force commander with full confidence.
Although the performance of his bombers was very outdated, the quantity was still considerable. They had not been put into real combat before due to fear of losses, so the organizational structure had been maintained in very good condition.
Now, hearing that General Feng Kezhi wanted them to counterattack, he immediately perked up and prepared to let his bomber fleet make a significant impact.
Although a single aircraft did not carry a large payload, he indeed had a considerable number of planes at his disposal, so he generously held up two fingers: “If needed, assembling two hundred planes is no problem.”
“I think two hundred bombers is still too few. We should gather three hundred and at all costs, destroy the southern oil fields,” another commander felt a more aggressive approach was necessary.
The size of the Dahua Air Force had always been very large, with tens of thousands of planes before the war. Even though most were biplanes and triplanes, the scale was indeed substantial.
While everyone began discussing how to destroy the southern oil fields and how many planes to deploy, an officer, looking anxiously toward General Feng Kezhi, asked a rather sharp question, “But I have a doubt, if we completely destroy the southern oil fields, aren’t we… planning to never take them back?”
“…” For a moment, everyone present fell silent. They seemed to have never considered this issue, seemingly never realizing that the place called the southern oil fields was actually once part of the Dahua Empire.
Even General Feng Kezhi avoided the issue deep down. He actually knew that he or the Dahua Empire did not have the capacity to take back the southern oil fields, but he dared not admit this problem.
In the end, someone awkwardly spoke up, clarifying their perspective: “I think it’s highly unlikely that we’ll take it back.”
Hearing this, others quickly nodded their heads in agreement, supporting their companion’s viewpoint: “Yes, the chances of taking it back are extremely low. And regardless of whether we can or not, we must destroy it! Even if we can reoccupy it in the future, we should still demolish it!”
Such opinions were continuously voiced, and one even increased the number of aircraft further: “Makes sense, then I believe we can assemble more than 500 planes to attack the southern oil fields!”
Three hundred bombers and two hundred escorting Dahua Type-1 fighters… with such a massive number, it was almost guaranteed that the distant southern oil fields could be destroyed.
At the same time, Luff pushed open the office door of Tang Mo, handing him a document while he was busy at work: “Your Majesty! This is the proposal to increase the air defense forces at the southern oil fields. Given the significance of the southern oil fields to our military operations, the Staff Department believes it is necessary to send additional planes and deploy more Anti-Aircraft Guns to ensure the oil fields will not be disturbed by enemy aircraft.”
“Approved! I also believe… the southern oil fields should strengthen their defenses!” Tang Mo picked up the report and, looking down at the first page, saw the suggestion to deploy 88mm caliber anti-aircraft guns at the southern oil fields.