The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 452: Barbecue Master Li Mei is Here (asking for gifts and recommendations from the Book Fami

"You call this a success?" Inside the war room, Curtis LeMay stared at the combat briefing, his voice extremely low, yet carrying a suffocating sense of oppression.

He slammed his cigar into the ashtray, sending clouds of tarry smoke billowing out.

His deputy, Major General Thomas Pavler, coughed lightly. "The target area has been confirmed to have been hit. Five factories have been damaged, and production capacity is estimated to have decreased by at least 5%."

"But factories all over Tokyo are still smoking, and even the factory that the Japanese bombed down a few days ago has been repaired.

"Our planes flew thousands of miles and dropped hundreds of thousands of pounds of bombs, but we didn't find anything!" Li Mei's voice finally rose, and with a wave of his hand, he swept the document with the black and white reconnaissance photo to the ground.

"We sailed across half the Pacific Ocean, painstakingly built several airfields, and used the world's most advanced B-29s, each costing nearly $60. We also carried countless 1000-pound bombs. Do you know how much each one cost?"

Deputy Thomas swallowed, unsure how to respond. Ammunition unit prices and other such figures were recorded on the logistics reports. Why would a major general like him need to know that?

Li Mei shook her head and held up a finger. "A full $120! $120! The guys' base monthly salary is only a little over $20, and a Willys Jeep is only a few hundred dollars. We're throwing so much money away like this—and what's the result? A show?"

Although the Mariana Islands in 44 were called the "Pacific aircraft carrier" by the White Eagle, the newly appointed commander of the 21st Bomber Wing was obviously not satisfied with the latest results.

Three months earlier, the White Eagle Marines had captured Saipan, Tinian, and Guam in bloody battles.

After the war, the engineering corps immediately laid runways thousands of meters long on these islands and built airports that could accommodate hundreds of B-29 bombers.

Now, the White Eagle Air Force has finally taken a big step closer to the Japanese capital of Tokyo on the strategic map.

The B-29 could fly there and back with a straight-line distance of 2000 kilometers, and even bring some extra.

However, the problem lies in "how to explode".

Li Mei is a tall and strong man with broad cheeks and eyes hidden behind thick sunglasses.

This man, who would later monopolize the cremation business on the entire Japanese island, was not a commander who liked to talk big.

He came from the Army Tactical Bombing Corps and made many military achievements in the European Theater in his early years. He has a tough character and is good at conquering the Nazis with steel and gunpowder.

But this time, he had to admit that his air force had a technical advantage but was at a tactical disadvantage.

"At 35000 feet, winds reached over 200 miles per hour, and cloud cover was too severe, severely impacting bombing accuracy," Thomas explained, unfolding a map. "Furthermore, Tokyo's industrial layout is dispersed, making systematic destruction difficult with just 500-pound and 1000-pound general-purpose bombs."

Li Mei pinched the bridge of her nose and remained silent for a long time.

He understood that unlike the densely industrial cities like Hans' Dresden, the Japanese military factories were like small cysts hidden in the city's capillaries.

Such decentralized industry is naturally not conducive to large-scale production and can even be said to be backward, but this also means that his B-29 fleet only destroyed one house at a time, which was costly and had very slow results.

"Is there anything more powerful?" he suddenly asked. "I mean something that can blow up a large area and make it difficult for those Japanese to repair it."

Thomas was stunned. "You mean, changing the type of ammunition?"

Li Mei nodded.

Thomas thought for a moment, then grabbed the folder that had just been delivered and flipped through a few pages. It read, "Nanhua Chemical, codename 'NP-79', napalm bomb, experimental."

Seeing Li Mei's confusion, Thomas quickly explained to his superior who had just returned from the European battlefield: "This was sent from our ally Zhang Chi. Is it considered one of his flagship products?"

"The Navy's aviation force has previously tested this incendiary bomb on several islands in the Pacific. It has a very strong destructive effect on jungle targets and light buildings.

"It doesn't require precise delivery; the flowing liquid flame spreads naturally. It's especially effective against soft targets like the human body," Thomas whispered. "But the Pentagon is still debating the legality of using these incendiary bombs on a large scale. You know, those gentlemen in suits and ties are always hesitant about burning people."

"I don't worry about collateral damage or anything like that," Li Mei sneered. "Those bastards didn't care about legality when they bombed Pearl Harbor, did they?"

He stood up and pointed at the battle map on the wall. The red Japanese islands looked like charcoal waiting to be burned out.

"Sounds good. Bring me a detailed report later. If this incendiary bomb is as effective as you say, then we'll try it again as soon as possible."

-----

A few days later, in the Mariana Islands at night, only the slightest night breeze blew.

The air force base was brightly lit, and ground crew members were running and roaring on the concrete runway, covered in sweat.

43 B-29 "Super Fortresses" were lined up in long silver-gray rows. In their bellies were no longer traditional high-explosive bombs, but barrels of brown-black combustible glue in containers shaped like auxiliary fuel tanks.

These napalm bombs, ordered by the Pentagon and produced by Nanhua Chemical, were stored in Guam. After LeMay wrote a report, he shipped all of them to Saipan.

As the hatch closed, co-pilot Joseph looked out the window and muttered, "I hope these Southeast Asian Chinese things are really useful, otherwise we'll be barbecued tonight."

"Barbecue? We're going to be bombing at low altitude," Roy, the pilot, muttered. "If we get shot down, according to those navy guys, we'll probably be chopped into sashimi."

The command is clear.

The target was Fukuoka Prefecture, especially the Yawata Iron and Steel Works. This steel conglomerate had provided countless armor and gun parts to the Japanese army and was one of the hearts of the Japanese heavy industry.

LeMay's orders were simple: "Infiltrate at low altitude under cover of darkness, drop bombs, and burn everything."

A few hours later, the fleet, led by the lead aircraft, turned south, heading towards Fukuoka.

Roy looked out through the glass. The sea was as dark as ink, but every time it passed through a gap in the clouds, he could see the faintly glowing outline of the city.

"These devils don't even enforce the blackout?"

He clenched his fingers, leaned his head against the seat, and a drop of cold sweat slid down his cheek into his collar.

Joseph whistled. "I bet after we bomb tonight, these devils will learn to turn off the lights at night."

"Enter the bombing path."

This was the commander's order, clear and calm over the radio. They were only 5000 feet above the ground, much lower than their previous operations.

Roy could already see scattered lights in the distance, which were the lights that were still on in the suburbs of Fukuoka.