Spy Wars: I am the Captain of the Military Police

The resistance from the Central China Expeditionary Army was exceptionally fierce. They fought house by house, using every broken wall and every shell crater for sniping and counterattacks.

The tanks of the 7th Division had difficulty moving through the narrow, ruined streets and often became easy targets for anti-tank fire.

Coordination between infantry and armored vehicles also became difficult due to intense urban warfare and heavy casualties.

Hidemi Yamada climbed out of the tank and stood on a pile of rubble. Looking at the devastated battlefield and the still fiercely fighting depths of the city, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness and desolation.

The steel torrent lost its invincible edge in this flesh-and-blood mill built by compatriots.

The cost of this "civil war" was far more devastating and suffocating than any foreign war they had ever experienced before.

He summoned the communications soldier and reported to the regimental headquarters, his voice heavy with exhaustion: "The Guanghua Gate passage has been opened... but the enemy resistance is extremely fierce, and our losses are heavy... Requesting further artillery support and the deployment of reserves... Repeat, the enemy resistance is extremely fierce..."

After sending a communications soldier to transmit a message, Yamada Hidemi stared at the wrecked Type 95 tank in the distance, and beside it, at the charred body of a tank crewman wearing a familiar uniform, muttering to himself, "What... was this all for?"

The torrent of steel crashed into another steel dam, splashing out equally scalding blood belonging to the "Imperial Army."

It was close to 11 a.m.

The winter sun pierced through the haze that had hung over the Yangtze River, casting shimmering golden scales across the turbid surface.

However, this sky is not peaceful and serene.

The roar of engines grew louder as they approached, like a swarm of bees breaking the silence of the river.

From the east, Japanese naval air force formations from the Third Fleet and land bases in the direction of Wusongkou appeared on the horizon.

They were a mixed formation of Nakajima Type 95 carrier-based fighters and Mitsubishi Type 96 carrier-based fighters, totaling about 36 aircraft.

These naval aircraft are painted in dark green camouflage, and next to the prominent Hinomaru insignia under their wings is a light blue identification strip representing the naval air force.

They fly at an altitude of about three thousand meters, cruising in a standard "V" formation, with sunlight reflecting off the pilots' goggles and the skin of the wings, creating a dazzling effect.

Their mission was to carry out an unprecedented "battlefield interdiction" order from the fleet command, to prevent any Army Air Force aircraft attempting to break out of or reinforce Nanjing city, and to "clear" Army observation aircraft that posed a potential threat to naval gunfire.

Almost simultaneously, from the west and south of Nanjing came a slightly different engine roar.

Aircraft from the Japanese Army Air Force also arrived in this airspace.

They were a mixed formation of approximately 42 Nakajima Type 97 and Kawasaki Type 95 fighters, the latest models of Japanese aircraft, which were urgently deployed to the Chinese battlefield to reinforce the army.

Army aircraft are typically painted in tan or olive green, with a red identification strip next to the "Hinomaru" logo on the fuselage.

They took off urgently from airports such as Dajiaochang and Anqing, with the mission of covering ground troops, preventing "rebel" aircraft from attacking important targets in the city, such as the Central China Expeditionary Army headquarters and artillery positions, and attempting to seize air superiority over Nanjing.

In an instant, nearly eighty fighter jets painted with the same Rising Sun flag appeared head-on in the air above the Nanjing section of the Yangtze River, like two groups of incompatible eagles meeting in the cold air.

A tragic air disaster, stemming from a falling out between brothers, is about to erupt.

Since Japanese fighter planes at this time were generally not equipped with onboard radios, communication in the air relied entirely on the most primitive methods: hand gestures, wing-shaking, and demonstrative maneuvers performed by the lead aircraft.

The silence made the air battle even more bizarre and brutal.

The lead aircraft of the naval formation, a Type 96 carrier-based fighter jet, shook its wings violently a few times, signaling an attack!

The entire naval aircraft group immediately scattered like a swarm of wasps, seizing the altitude advantage.

The lead aircraft of the army formation reacted immediately, raising its nose and leading the formation to climb upwards, attempting to compete with the navy fighters for the high ground.

A chaotic aerial battle ensued.

Both sides' fighter jets have their own strengths and weaknesses. The Navy's Type 96 carrier-based fighter jet has excellent low-altitude maneuverability and is agile in maneuvering.

The Army's Type 97 fighter is known for its excellent horizontal and vertical maneuverability, especially its impressive climb rate thanks to its lightweight fuselage.

The older fighter jets of both sides, such as the Type 95 carrier-based fighter and the Type 95 fighter jet, appeared much clumsy and quickly became targets for hunting.

Naval aviator Susumu Kobayashi, a first-class pilot, was piloting a Type 96 carrier-based fighter jet when he had just locked onto an Army Type 95 fighter jet that was attempting to turn and break away.

The biplane Type 95 wrecked awkwardly in the air; the pilot was clearly a novice.

Kobayashi skillfully maneuvered his fighter jet to approach, his finger resting on the firing button of the 7.7mm Type 97 fixed machine gun.

However, just as he was about to fire, a strong sense of crisis came from behind!

With a sudden push of the control stick, the fighter jet rolled and dove.

Almost simultaneously, a string of hot bullet wires grazed the top of his cockpit canopy!

Kobayashi broke out in a cold sweat. He pulled up the nose of his plane and looked back. He saw an Army Type 97 fighter jet with a red identification stripe diving down from the high point behind him. After missing its first attack, it was now pulling up gracefully, preparing to attack again.

"A counterattack from the clouds!" Kobayashi was startled. This was a classic tactic: using altitude advantage to launch a dive attack, then quickly climbing to seek another opportunity after the initial strike.

He clearly remembered that the key points and subtleties of this tactic were repeatedly emphasized and demonstrated by an army instructor named Takahashi when he received short-term exchange training at the Akeno Army Flight School!

The tactics used by the pilot of the army fighter jet in front of us are exactly the same as those used by Instructor Takahashi!

There's no time for sentimentality.

Kobayashi was driven by a strong will to survive and a fighting instinct.

With another sharp pull on the control stick, the Type 96 carrier-based fighter jet, with its excellent maneuvering ability, tightly gripped the Army Type 97 that was climbing.

The two fighter jets engaged in a deadly dogfight at an altitude of several thousand meters, each trying to outmaneuver the other.

Engines roared as the fighter jets drew tight circles in the air.

Kobayashi stared intently at the red figure ahead, his flight suit soaked with sweat.

Finally, they seized a fleeting opportunity, and in the instant when the enemy was slightly slow to turn, they firmly locked the sights onto the Type 97 aircraft.

"You're an excellent pilot, but... I'm sorry!" Kobayashi silently repeated to himself, gritting his teeth as he pressed the launch button.

"Boom boom boom boom boom!" The two 7.7 mm machine guns on the nose of the Type 96 carrier-based fighter jet spewed fire.