Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Early the next morning, due to heavy fog, the 21st Flying Regiment's bombing plan was canceled.

Heavy fog will seriously affect the pilot's vision and reduce visibility, which poses a great threat to flight safety.

Heavy fog can make it difficult for pilots to judge ground conditions and increase the risk of flight accidents.

Therefore, aircraft usually do not take off and fight in foggy weather.

However, by noon, the fog dissipated and the weather was clear. The Japanese army was busy at Taiyuan Wusu Airport and fighter planes roared.

Lieutenant General Isamu Takeda personally led a fighter squadron, a light bombardment squadron and a heavy bombardment squadron.

Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka, commander of the First Army, and Ikki Yamamoto, deputy chief of staff, went to Wusu Airport to see him off in person under the protection of the special forces.

In order to prevent the Eighth Route Army from causing sabotage, the Japanese army deployed a large number of infantry within a radius of 15 kilometers around the airport.

Reconnaissance planes were sent to circle and patrol around the airport, and any Eighth Route Army artillery units that were spotted would be immediately alerted.

However, this time the Eighth Route Army did not attack the airport, and more than 60 Japanese planes took off one after another.

"Why don't pilots eat lunch?"

Upon learning that the 21st Air Group had carried out the mission without having lunch, Yoshio Shinozuka sounded puzzled.

Yamamoto Ikki said expressionlessly: "General, Lieutenant General Takeda Isamu said that if we destroy the arsenal in northwest Shanxi, the pilots will have lunch."

Shinozuka Yoshio nodded and said, "Yoshi, Lieutenant General Takeda Isamu is indeed a genius in the Locust Army's bomber program."

……

"Ding ding ding..."

In Ping'an County, at the headquarters of the New 1st Regiment, Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang, Zhang Dabiao and others were discussing the battle plan to attack Taiyuan.

Suddenly, the phone at the regiment headquarters rang rapidly, and Zhang Dabiao ran over to answer the call.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Dabiao immediately reported: "Commander, Political Commissar, the radar station called and said that more than 60 Japanese planes had just taken off from Taiyuan Airport and were expected to arrive in northwest Shanxi in 40 minutes."

Li Yunlong's expression was as fierce as a wolf that hadn't eaten meat for a few days: "Damn it, it's finally here!"

Li Yunlong had been waiting for the Japanese bombing for a long time and had already prepared good wine and meat to entertain them.

Zhao Gang's expression changed, and he said seriously: "Sound the air defense alarm immediately and order the air defense forces to prepare for battle!"

Zhang Dabiao: "Yes."

Half a minute later, a series of sharp and piercing air defense alarms spread from Ping'an County.

The various units of the New 1st Regiment, the civilians inside and outside the city, and various units and departments responded quickly and took refuge in the air-raid shelters.

Important departments such as logistics warehouses, radar stations, weapons and ammunition transfer stations have also made air defense preparations.

Although most of the anti-aircraft firepower was transferred by Li Yunlong to Ping'an County and the arsenal for air defense.

But these important areas did not reduce anti-aircraft firepower.

After all, the Japanese planes were in the sky, and they could bomb wherever they wanted.

Therefore, Li Yunlong also deployed some tents outside the city and placed some dummies, inflatable tanks and inflatable cannons around them.

Most of the troops took shelter in air-raid shelters to avoid the bombing.

Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang, Zhang Dabiao, and guard Dong Dahai entered the No. 2 air defense tower.

Li Yunlong looked satisfied: "The person who invented the air defense tower is really a genius."

The concrete walls of the air defense tower are 5 meters thick, and even the top of the tower is 5 meters thick, which can withstand the attacks of heavy bombers. The windows and doors are equipped with 5-10 cm thick steel plates to further enhance the protection capabilities.

The air defense tower is not only a military facility, but also serves as a shelter. It is equipped with medical facilities inside to provide treatment for injured personnel.

The interior serves as a warehouse, hospital, and air-raid shelter, and its utilization rate is very high.

Air defense tower No. 2 is as high as a 10-story building, much higher than the city wall of Ping'an County.

From here, you can overlook the entire Northwest Shanxi Arsenal and cover the entire Ping'an County. At that time, you will be able to witness a top-level ground-to-air battle.

Zhao Gang took the phone and glanced at his watch. "The guard battalion will check every room again to make sure all civilians are in the air-raid shelters. We still have 20 minutes until the Japanese planes arrive. All guard battalion personnel will be in the air-raid shelters in 15 minutes."

After hanging up, Zhao Gang called the air defense column headquarters again: "Is this Wei Dazhong? This is Zhao Gang. How is the situation over there?"

Wei Dazhong replied: "All anti-aircraft weapons and ammunition are ready and can be fired at any time."

Zhao Gang repeated the battle plan formulated by Li Yunlong: "The first wave of the Japanese attack is likely to be a test. The first wave of anti-aircraft firepower should be fired according to the original arsenal's anti-aircraft firepower. After the Japanese aircraft officially begin the attack, we will gradually open fire."

Wei Dazhong: "Yes."

Although the entire air defense plan was formulated by the regimental headquarters, the configuration of air defense weapons and the timing of firing were all controlled by Wei Dazhong.

Wei Dazhong is now an expert in air defense warfare. He has commanded his troops to shoot down no less than a hundred Japanese planes.

Having earned a large amount of weapons and ammunition for the Eighth Route Army, Li Yunlong thought that the headquarters would send a more experienced cadre to serve as the commander of the air defense column, but the headquarters believed that Wei Dazhong was more suitable than anyone else.

Zhang Dabiao, who was standing aside, had eyes as sharp as a knife. From the moment his old mother was killed by the devils, he had formed a mortal feud with the devils.

Zhang Dabiao didn't want to do anything else in his life but kill the Japs, kill all of them.

The most suitable place for the devils to stay is hell.

Therefore, after taking office as the chief of staff of the new regiment, Zhang Dabiao was always thinking about one thing while sleeping, eating, and going to the toilet - how to formulate a combat plan to kill more devils.

at the same time.

More than 100 kilometers away from Ping'an County, Takeda Yong flew a reconnaissance plane and caught up with the main force.

This reconnaissance aircraft is a Type 3 liaison and command aircraft with a single engine and a high wing.

This is an aircraft that the Japanese imitated the helicopters that appeared in the Eighth Route Army. It is capable of performing tasks such as communication, reconnaissance, command, and impact point observation, and can take off and land vertically.

It is equipped with two cockpits and takes off vertically. When performing a mission, a bomb can be mounted on the bottom of the fuselage to attack some targets on the ground.

Flying the plane with one hand, Takeda Yong held the radio with the other: "Attention everyone."

"We are about 15 minutes away from the new group."

"This time, we are going to bomb the New 1st Regiment's Northwest Shanxi Arsenal. The existence of this arsenal seriously threatens the First Army of the Locust Army and even the entire North China Front Army."

"If it is not destroyed, it will be a serious threat to us."

"The New 1st Regiment is no different from the other Eighth Route Army units. They are very powerful, with very advanced weapons and strong anti-aircraft firepower. You must be careful."

"Everything went according to plan."

"If anyone doesn't follow orders and plans, don't blame me, Takeda Isamu, for being ruthless."

In order to completely destroy the Northwest Shanxi Arsenal, a fighter squadron and two bomber squadrons of the 21st Flying Regiment were dispatched.

More than 60 planes were all fully fueled, loaded with aerial bombs, and well-stocked with machine gun ammunition.

"Hi."

There was an excited response on the radio channel.

The commander of the aviation corps went to the battlefield to personally command the battle, which made the Japanese pilots very excited.

The 21st Air Group had many new faces, who were pilots transferred from the Kwantung Army or the mainland air group to the air corps.

They were naturally aware that the Eighth Route Army unit in Shanxi was indeed, as the Corps Commander had said, extremely powerful in its anti-aircraft firepower. However, some pilots privately dismissed this as a concern, as high-altitude strikes against low-altitude targets offered a significant advantage.

A rookie pilot might be frightened and panic when facing ground anti-aircraft fire.

But the elite pilots are not afraid. Even the ace pilots can fly their fighter planes into the air defense fire network without getting hurt.

Moreover, they had all seen the defense map of the Northwest Shanxi Arsenal, and knew the location of every branch of the arsenal, the location of every anti-aircraft firepower point, and even the location of the ammunition depot of the Eighth Route Army Arsenal.

If a real fight breaks out, they will definitely be the winner.

After all, their commander was a genius in the brother country's bombing world and was the one who caused heavy casualties to the Eighth Route Army's strategic forces.

"of course."

Lieutenant Takeda continued:
"This time we know the weak points of the Eighth Route Army Arsenal. As long as we follow the plan, destroying the Eighth Route Army Arsenal will be a piece of cake."

"By the way, destroy the New 1st Regiment's headquarters and behead Li Yunlong."

"But everyone, please pay attention."

"Try to stay away from the Eighth Route Army's anti-aircraft towers. They have powerful anti-aircraft firepower and are tough. Even our heavy aerial bombs are powerless against them."

Takeda Yong's appetite is obviously not limited to the Northwest Shanxi Arsenal.

After Yamamoto Ikki got the location of the headquarters of the new regiment, Takeda Isamu included bombing the headquarters in his plan.

A plan was devised to kill two birds with one stone.

Although he knew that there must be an air-raid shelter at the location of Li Yunlong's regimental headquarters.

However, the bombing of the New 129st Regiment's headquarters was just revenge for the last time the heavy artillery unit of the th Division of the Eighth Route Army bombarded the First Army Headquarters.

Under the instructions of Major General Isamu Takeda, 67 planes flew north towards Ping'an County.

……

More than ten minutes later, the roar of huge engines and propellers was heard over Ping'an County, and the Japanese bomber formation arrived as expected.

Zhao Gang held up the telescope, his eyes fixed on the Japanese planes: "Old Li, you guessed it right, the Japanese's first wave of attack had less than 10 planes."

The main force of other Japanese aircraft was hiding in the distance, and only 6 Japanese aircraft came over to carry out a tentative bombing on the arsenal.

If the Eighth Route Army had an ambush at the arsenal, or the anti-aircraft firepower was too strong, they would turn to attack facilities such as airports, county towns, and highway bridges.

Li Yunlong said, "It's just a basic prediction. What's so surprising about this?"

Zhao Gang said angrily, "I told you you're fat, and you're out of breath?"

Zhang Dabiao said: "There's an exchange of fire!"

Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang held up their binoculars and looked towards the Northwest Shanxi Arsenal.

In the direction of the arsenal, dozens of orange-red tongues of fire were seen spitting out from various anti-aircraft fire points, and the tracer bullets fired drew arcs in the air.

However, for such a large arsenal, the air defense firepower of dozens of anti-aircraft firepower points seems to be insufficient.

The Japanese pilot pulled up when the plane was halfway through its dive, and the arc formed by the ammunition chains failed to hit the Plaster Flag plane in the sky.

Afterwards, the Japanese pilots flew their planes in from different directions to further test the anti-aircraft firepower of the New 1st Regiment.

At the same time, a Japanese reconnaissance plane flew over, and Lieutenant General Takeda Isamu drove a Type 3 reconnaissance plane to check in person to see if there were any traps in the arsenal.

From a high altitude, Takeda Yong saw that the locations of the Eighth Route Army Arsenal's anti-aircraft firepower points were mostly consistent with the firepower points on the defense map sent by Pangolin.

"Yoshi."

"Nitta-kun, lead the troops to the arsenal immediately and send the Eighth Route Army soldiers there to see Amaterasu."

On the radio, Takeda Isamu gave orders in a cold tone.

In order to ensure safety, Takeda Isamu did not go up to the sky above the arsenal for close observation, but only observed it from a distance with a telescope, and was far away from the air defense tower.

"Damn it!"

"It's a pity we don't have large-caliber anti-aircraft guns, otherwise we would have shot down that reconnaissance plane."

In the No. 2 air defense tower, Li Yunlong also discovered the reconnaissance plane and immediately started cursing.

Boss Lin's air transport formation is escorted by fighter jets.

If the Japanese plane came to bomb Boss Lin's plane while it was transporting ammunition, the Japanese plane would definitely be destroyed by Boss Lin's plane.

However, Li Yunlong did not know the time and scale of the Japanese air raid, so he suspended the collection of grain for the past two days.

The reconnaissance plane in the sky was more than 2 kilometers away from the No. 5 air defense tower.

At this distance, although the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun can barely reach it, it is difficult to hit it, and the shell alone has to fly for 10 seconds.

Even if we had attacked in advance, the Japanese reconnaissance plane would have changed its course long ago.

Zhao Gang said unhappily, "That's why I asked you to ask Brother Lin if he could provide me with large-caliber anti-aircraft guns."

Li Yunlong: "I know. We'll bring it up after this battle. Damn it, if we had planes and pilots, there wouldn't be so much trouble. We could just send planes and shoot down those damned Japanese planes."

Zhang Dabiao suddenly shouted, "Another Japanese plane is coming."

"where?"

Zhao Gang immediately looked to the south, but he didn't see any Japanese planes, not even a bird.

"There are about 40 planes in the northwest direction." Zhang Dabiao said concisely.

Zhao Gang immediately raised his telescope and went to another observation window to look northwest. Sure enough, he saw dozens of planes with plaster flags painted on them flying towards him. It was a huge mass of them. "These devil planes are targeting the arsenal."

Based on the flight path of the planes, Zhao Gang instantly determined the target of these Japanese planes.

"Aren't there more than 60 planes?"

“Why are there only about 40?”

Zhao Gang's tone was a little doubtful. The radar station couldn't have made a mistake.

He went to the radar station to check it out. The radar provided by Boss Lin was very advanced. If a Japanese plane appeared, each plane would appear as a small yellow dot on the radar station's display screen.

Of course, radar is not omnipotent. As long as the aircraft flies close to the ground, the chance of being detected by radar can be reduced.

However, flying close to the ground is a test of the pilot's skills. In the complex terrain of the northwestern mountainous area of ​​Shanxi, flying close to the ground is very difficult. What's more, the Japanese did not know about this method and may not even know that the Eighth Route Army was equipped with radar.

Li Yunlong shouted, "There are about 20 more planes in the southwest."

Zhao Gang quickly came to Li Yunlong, raised his telescope and looked towards the southwest. A group of Japanese planes also appeared in this direction.

"The target of these Japanese planes is Ping'an County and our regiment headquarters!"

Zhao Gang immediately broke out in a cold sweat. If he followed his plan and deployed all the anti-aircraft firepower in the arsenal, the county town and the regiment headquarters would have no anti-aircraft firepower, and the consequences would be self-evident.

"Boom boom boom..."

"Da da da……"

In the direction of the county town and the arsenal, a battle between the spears of the air and the shields of the ground is almost imminent! (End of this chapter)