Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

Yuncheng, southwest Shanxi, the forward airport of the 2nd Air Division.

In the Eighth Route Army's current tactical manual, the Air Force plays an indispensable and important role from beginning to end.

Whenever the front-line combat troops encounter a tough enemy, the commanders at the regiment level always think of the Air Force first and apply for a certain intensity of fire support from the other side.

Only after the bombing did they use a variety of complex tactics to help break the deadlock.

To be honest, although the above-mentioned fighting style seems very rogue, it is more or less like using logistics and advanced equipment to bully the poor.

But just like the earth-shattering stars, angels of peace, neutron annihilation, nano plague, divine judgment and heavenly flood dropped by the Colossus, this tactic of using aerial bombs to wash the ground and kill the devils is what we call highly efficient.

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After receiving the telegram for help from the 1st Armored Regiment, Fang Ziyi immediately sent out his own messenger to quickly summon commanders and staff at all levels to the Operations Department to discuss important matters.

After everyone was in place, he strode to the bottom of the enemy situation map, pointed his finger at the Kejing County area and explained:

"The front line called and said that Captain Gao was in trouble. In the forest I showed you, the Japanese had gathered no less than a battalion of troops, blocking the armored forces' advance."

"In the forest, the breakthrough and mobility of tanks and armored vehicles will be greatly reduced, and their combat effectiveness will be reduced to one tenth. We must think of a way to help our friendly forces open up an offensive channel and not waste precious armored forces."

"Let's all share our opinions. As usual, speak freely."

The Eighth Route Army's current close support system ranks among the best among all the major participating countries in the world, and is even an object of study and emulation by some countries and large forces.

This is thanks to the selfless teachings of the combat heroes. Without the path they have paved with blood and sweat over the long years, the comrades would never have been able to achieve their current brilliant results.

With such an advanced tactical system, there is naturally no problem in formulating a combat plan.

After a brief brainstorming session, a captain from Henan Province came up with an idea, and a simple, crude and reasonable support plan suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Team Fang, since the complex terrain of the forest limits the performance of the 1st Armored Regiment, why don't we just raze the mission area to the ground and destroy the enemy and the forest together?"

"In my opinion, the above solution is the most efficient way to play."

After these words were spoken, everyone present fell into deep thought.

Everyone glanced at the military map from time to time, obviously thinking about the feasibility of the battle plan.

As the saying goes, setting fire to a mountain will result in life imprisonment.

Judging from the map, the forest in the northwest of Kejing County is close to the Wangwu and Taihang mountain ranges.

If the fire is not controlled well, it may turn into an unprecedented wildfire.

The Eighth Route Army and the people of the three provinces cannot afford this kind of price at this stage.

After all, even decades later, the Taihang Mountains fire burned for three days and three nights.

If it weren't for the thousands of experienced professionals working together to rescue the disaster, there is no telling what level of tragedy would have occurred.

As if he had seen everyone's concerns, the captain first moved to the enemy and friendly situation map, and then accurately drew several areas on the forest on the military map.

"I know what the comrades are worried about, but I dare to put forward a bold tactical hypothesis, and there must be sufficient reasons. As a local of Jiyuan, I am very familiar with the specific conditions of the forest over there."

“It is indeed not far from the Taihang and Wangwu Mountains, but as long as the troops strictly control the overall amount and area of ​​napalm use, the branches of the Qin and Mang rivers will definitely be able to block the fire for us.”

"If the team is really worried, then send out a reconnaissance plane to conduct an on-site inspection."

After listening to his subordinates' additional explanation, Fang Ziyi nodded subconsciously.

As long as the fire can be controlled manually, he doesn't mind wiping a forest off the map with his own hands.

During war, everything has to give way to military action.

Compared with headquarters' current plans, environmental protection is not a problem at all.

Besides, with a large group of Japanese devils and thousands of puppet soldiers as fertilizer, what kind of trees could not be planted after the war?

After finalizing the support plan, the combat staff immediately began to compile written records, which they would later send to the border areas and the Eighth Route Army headquarters in the form of telegrams.

Fang Ziyi himself was not idle either.

Considering the firepower and projection volume of the 2nd Air Division, it may not be enough to cover the entire forest.

He sent a telegram directly to Jincheng Airport where the 3rd Air Division was located, requesting support from friendly forces for a group of strategic bombers.

Alas, there is no way, our comrades’ fear of insufficient firepower is becoming more and more serious.

"Humph, eighty-eight Typhoons and twenty-four Lancasters are moving together. With such a big battle, I want to see if you little devils are really that tough!"

"Pass my order! All squadrons prepare to attack!"

"As long as the headquarters approves the battle plan, we will set off directly!"

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Forty-five minutes later, the 1st Armored Regiment was marching in formation.

Looking at the silent forest several kilometers away, Captain Liu of the reconnaissance company immediately thought of the wild beasts patiently waiting for their prey to take the bait.

After a moment, he silently put down the telescope in his hand, and then asked his team leader:
"Captain, has the Second Air Division responded? It's been over an hour, why haven't the friendly forces' close ground support aircraft shown up yet?"

"Could it be that the Second Armored Regiment also encountered some emergency and called for support?"

Hearing this, Captain Gao couldn't help but roll his eyes at his capable general. He could understand the other party's eagerness to break through the forest, but the air force's actions also needed time to prepare.

With the idea that you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry, he patiently advised:

"I know you're anxious, but let's not rush. Based on Captain Fang's past efficiency, it is estimated that several tactical squadrons of the Second Air Division are almost in Henan Province."

"We, the Eighth Route Army Air Force, are not those straw bags. The most suitable slogan for us is lightning speed."

Even with the military advisory groups from Tokugawa and the Russians taking turns to train, the senior commanders under the bald man were still as confused and clumsy as ever.

Especially in the Air Force, the officers and young masters really don't understand how to play the game.

Let's not talk about someone saving money to buy an F22 in the future. In 1939 alone, the Chinese Air Force made a lot of big news. That year, they dispatched more than a dozen bombers to attack the Japanese fleet anchored in the North Sea. As a result, due to technical reasons, the pilots took the fighter planes more than kilometers away from the target.

This kind of thing happens not uncommonly.

During the Battle of Kunlun Pass, the ground forces even set up communication boards, but the heavy bomber formation still lost its way.

Upon hearing his regiment commander mention the preserved air force, Captain Liu of the reconnaissance company immediately revealed a look of contempt, clearly full of disdain for the "friendly forces".

"If the supporting troops are replaced by the Second Air Division, I will lead the troops to launch a strong attack from the highway without saying anything and bypass the woods in front of us."

"I heard that it takes at least thirteen days and nights for the enemy's air force to move from the inland to the front line. The phrase 'speed is of the essence' has nothing to do with them."

"Waiting for support? I'm afraid the daylily will get cold."

As an Eighth Route Army soldier, everyone present had no good feelings towards the bald man himself and the top management of the preserved fruit company.

Especially some time ago, they actually sold the Hurricane fighter jets that they had used to exchange for their captured comrades directly at a low price to the British who had always wanted to crack the technology.

That's an improved version of the Hurricane, which is more than enough to deal with the Japanese Type 97 fighter.

Even if it were to face an early model of the Type 1 Fighting Gun, it was not completely powerless.

Such an aerial weapon, instead of training it diligently to defend the country, was handed over without a second thought as a token of allegiance. What can you expect from such a force?
Just as everyone was complaining, the communications platoon leader came trotting over from the back of the queue. His face was excited, and it was obvious that he had received some good news.

As expected, the first sentence he said made Captain Gao extremely happy.

"Captain, I just received a message from the frontline headquarters. The crews of the Second Air Division and part of the Third Air Division are already in place and are expected to arrive at the battlefield in five minutes."

"We need to put down ground signs and retreat to a safe area."

In this world war, if the air force coming to support the ground units did not get lost or fly to the wrong place, then the biggest difficulty in air-ground coordination would be how to solve the problems of enemy identification, task assignment and damage effect.

However, the above situation has long been no problem for the Eighth Route Army.

With a perfect close-ground support system, the single bombing effect of the Second Air Division may not be the strongest in the world, but the probability and frequency of accidental injuries to friendly forces are definitely the lowest in the world, and even infinitely close to zero.

After receiving the order from the superiors, the entire armored regiment moved quickly.

The motorized artillery company responsible for providing fire support immediately fired several red smoke bombs in accordance with the requirements of the tactical manual to provide offensive guidance for the air force that was about to arrive at the battlefield.

Afterwards, the entire regiment retreated to the rear urgently, trying to avoid being accidentally injured by friendly bombing.

"Hehe, hundreds of planes are dispatched at the same time, the Japanese are finished this time. The last time I saw such a big scene was the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain a year ago. I'm really looking forward to it!"

"Pass on my order! All companies should be ready for battle in case the enemy's vanguard escapes prematurely."

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Time goes back to five minutes ago, at the Japanese forward observation post.

Looking at the armored forces of the Eighth Route Army that remained outside the range of their own artillery and had no intention of advancing, Ando Shinji frowned involuntarily.

At this moment, his brain was working rapidly, trying to analyze what went wrong.

"Baga, why didn't the enemy continue to march? Did they find us? That shouldn't be the case. Judging from the warriors' individual qualities and concealment methods, the enemy should be no different!"

"Could it be that my plan has been exposed?"

The old Japanese's doubts did not last long, because the roar of the piston engine revealed the final answer.

"Look! What is that!?"

Accompanied by a scream of extreme panic, all the Japanese soldiers and puppet troops subconsciously raised their heads and looked towards the northwest sky.

Through the cover of the trees, one could see hundreds of close support aircraft and strategic bombers that had taken off from the Yuncheng and Jincheng airports, rapidly approaching in well-organized formations, forming a steel torrent that almost covered the entire sky.

At the same time, several red smoke bombs fell in front of the forest.

In this situation, the puppet soldiers ran away without saying a word.

Even if it is a small ditch that is barely big enough for one to fit in, people will rush to jump in.

No matter how the Japs shouted and cursed, as long as the other side didn't shoot, they would bury their heads in the ground like frightened ostriches.

The performance of the Manchurian and Mongolian Youth Corps was not much better. These people with relatively rich combat experience certainly knew what would happen next.

The Japanese soldiers' faces were pale and they all saw despair in each other's eyes.

"Haha, that's it."

"In this kind of terrain, using a large number of aircraft, the Eighth Route Army clearly intended to carry out an indiscriminate and destructive fire coverage of the entire forest."

"Baga, I don't accept it! Damn coward!"

Nobuji Ando's impotent rage did not last long, because the fighters of the 2nd and 3rd Air Divisions had already entered combat positions.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Following a series of explosions, hundreds of bright fireballs jumped up in the forest northwest of Kejing Town. Even people in Jiyuan County could feel the impact of the cluster explosions of high-explosive bombs and napalm bombs on the ground.

At this moment, the collapse of the sky and the earth is no longer an adjective.

The whole forest was boiling, with hundreds of clouds of thick smoke billowing up tens of meters high. They collided and bit each other, leaving no chance for the devils to survive.

Tens of thousands of shrapnel that were almost on fire were flying around in the target area drawn by the armored group.

Their collision produced bright sparks, which then burst into clusters of light like the Grim Reaper's scythe, efficiently and gracefully harvesting all living creatures.

Hundreds of fighter planes flew through the air, and tons of bombs flew out from the cabins and racks.

The comrades in the Air Force did not seem to be taking their aim seriously, nor did they seem to be considering what they could hit.

There was no other reason, because the order they received was very simple. That was to completely wipe out the forest from the map of northern Henan, and they would not stop! (End of this chapter)