Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 462, Chapter 458: The Battle of Baoding City's Technological Advantage - Aerial Decoy Tactics

More than two hundred cavalrymen rushed out from the main gate of the "Eastern Camp".

Headed straight for the south gate of Baoding city.

Clearly, they were an advance force sent by the city's garrison, both to gather information about the situation outside the city and to provide assistance.

This also shows that the Japanese troops in the city have no understanding of the current situation.

The battle happened too fast!
Moreover, there were no prior warnings, unlike the usual attacks by small guerrilla units along the railway line.

There were many things they hadn't anticipated.

Nine gunboats descended from the sky and then circled the Dongdaying barracks at an altitude of 800 meters. The side firing ports of the planes were already open, and bullets poured out.

Another one was the Water Tiger No. 4, piloted by Fang Wen.

He single-handedly blocked the cavalry.

The plane was still descending, and when it reached an extremely low altitude of 600 meters, the fuselage of the plane was already clearly visible.

At this moment, Fang Wen suddenly veered off course, the plane flew at an angle, and the side of the fuselage was directly facing the cavalry below.

"shooting."

The shooters, who were on standby, immediately pulled the triggers. The guns shook violently, and spent cartridges were ejected and fell to the ground.

When the ammunition belt is used up, the ammunition handler will immediately replace it with a new one.

Under the relentless fire, the cavalry below were torn into pieces by the fierce barrage. The warhorses and the Japanese cavalrymen on their backs were hit by bullets and fell to the ground. Some of the remaining cavalrymen were thrown off by the maddened horses, while others, seeing that they could not break through, could only turn around and flee back.

Fang Wen intercepted the cavalry in a single gunboat, while the other nine gunboats continued their attack on the East Camp.

Baoding, which had never been attacked by the Chinese Air Force, left its garrison without air defense capabilities.

But not entirely.

They used a method where multiple people held up the squad automatic weapon to fire at an upward angle in an attempt to counter the gunship aircraft.

(The Japanese Type 92 heavy machine gun, modified for air defense using a tripod)
Machine gun bullets flew high into the air and hit the plane's belly and side.

A large number of bullets struck the armor plating, making a continuous clanging sound.

This Japanese heavy machine gun also used 7.7mm bullets, which were simply unable to penetrate the side and bottom bulletproof plates of the gunboat.

Due to its targeted design, the low-speed gunship aircraft became a nightmare for the Japanese Army's ground forces.

Unable to breach the defenses of the aerial fortress, they felt despair.

Unfortunately, this was not a direct confrontation, and without the support of a large force, 10 gunboats and aircraft could not deal with several thousand Japanese troops.

At most, it's just interception and fire suppression.

The aerial interception lasted for 10 minutes. Fang Wen picked up the microphone and asked Zhao Junping to switch to the walkie-talkie channel.

He asked, "Wu Yingzong, how are you all doing?"

Wu Yingzong, who was at the South Gate, reported: "The explosives have been planted. During this time, plainclothes troops attacked us, and we killed more than a dozen of them. The rest all escaped. The underground party members in the city who were meeting us said that they were from the Baoding Army Special Service Agency."

The Baoding Army Special Service Agency was the Japanese army's intelligence agency in Baoding. They never expected that someone would send people to launch a sneak attack on the Independent Regiment.

These intelligence agents are good at assassinations, but they're not very capable in direct combat.

The killing of more than a dozen members of the Baoding intelligence agency was just a minor incident; the next step was to deal with the onslaught of the main Japanese force.

It is no longer possible to continue using gunboats and aircraft to block the Japanese advance. The Japanese can bypass the front and circle around to the residential alleys, making it impossible for gunboats and aircraft to attack areas with civilians.

Therefore, Fang Wen switched frequencies to command the gunboat squadron.

"Cease the attack, climb to higher altitude, change the barrel, check the fuel, and report back in 3 minutes."

At his command, the gunboat squadron ceased its attack and suddenly took off.

Each gunboat aircraft was undergoing intensive adjustments.

The ammunition handler and the gunner put on thick canvas gloves, rotated off the scalding hot barrel, and then replaced it with a new one.

Even air-cooled barrels will have their shooting performance affected over time, so replacing the barrel is the safest course of action.

After all, the battle will continue.

Three minutes later, the previously silent communication channels began reporting their own status in turn.

"Tiger 1 reports: Weapons in good condition, auxiliary fuel tanks depleted by one-third, main fuel tank full."

"Water Tiger 2 reports: There is a jamming problem with the bolt in position 3. It was found that the firing pin was damaged and has been replaced. The auxiliary oil tank is one-third full, and the main oil tank is full."

After reviewing the reports, Fang Wen summarized the overall situation of the Independent Regiment's artillery and aircraft.

Overall, things are going quite well; no serious problems have led to withdrawal from the operation.

He then took advantage of the brief break to contact the air force outside the city.

"Commander Yan, how are you doing?"

The other party replied.

"Thirty minutes have passed since the operation began. We have dealt with most of the Japanese soldiers in the barracks, and there are still some hiding in the nearby pillboxes. We are preparing to attack them. We expect to finish the battle in the barracks in 40 minutes."

The flight squadron acted swiftly, completing the task 20 minutes ahead of schedule, which greatly reduced the pressure on Fang Wen.

He replied, "We'll meet at the train station in 30 minutes."

Fang Wen was on edge as he put down the microphone.

The next 30 minutes will be very dangerous.

Because during this time, Japanese ground troops would advance towards the South Gate, and Japanese emergency support aircraft from Tianjin Airport would also arrive at this time.

(Tianjin to Baoding is 150 kilometers. The Type 97 fighter jet can arrive in half an hour. However, considering the Japanese army in Baoding requesting support and the reaction time of the Japanese army in Tianjin, it will take at least 40 minutes. In fact, arriving within an hour would be quite good.)
Facing the impending dual pressure from the air and the ground, Fang Wen is also waiting for his backup.

The Yan'an Air Force from the west is almost here.

In a state of mechanical perception, Fang Wen sensed multiple aircraft signals through his radar target acquisition device.

There are 9 points on the east and 7 on the west.

Wait, how come there are three signal feedbacks from the northwest as well?

The nine planes to the east belonged to the Japanese Army Air Force in Tianjin, the seven planes to the west belonged to the Yan'an Air Force, but what about the three planes to the northwest?

Fang Wen remembered something. He had previously deduced that the Japanese army had established a secret air base in Chahar. It seemed that three enemy planes had flown over from that air base to provide support.

He couldn't help but sneer. There were a total of 12 enemy planes, while his side had 7 fighter jets and 20 gunships. The fighter jets were not afraid of the enemy at all.

I thought there would be more, but I didn't expect there to be so little!

At this time, after a 10-minute march, the Japanese troops inside the city also arrived 400 meters away from the south gate.

Their vanguard consisted of three tiny-looking tanks.

These tanks, only as tall as a person, are positioned at the rear and act as shields as they charge forward.

Looking at the small tank, Fang Wen recognized the model: it was a Type 92 ultralight tank.

Its armor is very thin; the weapons currently possessed by the Independent Regiment, including 12.7mm heavy machine guns, 20mm armor-piercing machine gun rounds, and Taishan individual rocket launchers, can all easily penetrate it.

Using it to clear a road will have absolutely no effect.

Oh, and there are also detonating explosives on the road. Let's see how Wu Yingzong deals with them.

Fang Wen did not interfere with the operational details of the ground troops; he was merely the overall commander. If he interfered in every aspect, it would prevent his subordinates from fully utilizing their abilities.

Therefore, he did not order the gunboat squadron to attack immediately, but waited for the ground troops to fight first.

Three small tanks charged aggressively toward the south gate.

On the second floor of the building on the side, a soldier from the Independent Regiment emerged from a window, carrying a rocket launcher and aiming to fire.

The two were only 40 meters apart when the rocket, trailing a plume of flame, quickly caught up with the rear of the Type 92 light tank. The rocket pierced directly through the thin, paper-thin armor, bursting into a cloud of smoke and fire.

The small tank was destroyed directly.

Meanwhile, two other construction companies launched the same offensive.

The second vehicle was hit in the side and overturned.

The third vehicle was slightly luckier; its entire gun mount was destroyed by a rocket.

The battle began as three small tanks providing cover were destroyed.

Soldiers inside the houses on both sides were firing down at the enemy troops from their elevated positions.

Submachine guns, grenade launchers, and fragmentation grenades inflicted heavy damage on the Japanese vanguard.

Without tank cover, the Japanese troops could only retreat temporarily and launch a counterattack from the corners of the walls.

Little did they know that they were standing on a death zone buried with high explosives.

As the detonator pressed the detonation switch, a series of explosions occurred in the area, with huge flames shooting into the air and blasts kicking up dust and blasting Japanese soldiers away one by one.

The scene was extremely spectacular; the streets in the entire area had sunk more than a meter deep, and there were mutilated limbs everywhere.

37 minutes have passed since the operation began.

Japanese fighter planes from the east will arrive in about 10 minutes.

Three unidentified aircraft from the northwest are expected to arrive in 15 minutes.

The Yan'an Air Force has appeared over Baoding.

The fighter jets circled at high altitudes, not yet joining the battle.

Fang Wen used a radio device to communicate with the Yan'an Air Force, which had been newly equipped with communication equipment.

"Qi Baoqian, do you remember the tactic of luring the enemy that we used in Shanghai? In a moment, I will lead the gunboats to attack the troops below. You must hide at high altitude and wait for the enemy planes to appear before making your move."

"Yes, Commander, we are very familiar with this tactic," Qi Baoqian replied with a smile.

They were indeed skilled. During the chaotic air battles in Shanghai, Fang Wen led his fighter squadron in frequently launching ambushes like this, achieving remarkable results.

After discussing the matter with the Yan'an Air Force, Fang Wen also communicated with the flight regiment.

"Commander Yan, Japanese fighter planes should be arriving soon. Prepare airburst bombs and fire them when the enemy planes rush over."

"Received," Commander Yan replied.

With everything arranged, Fang Wen led the gunboat squadron to descend to a lower altitude.

This time it's urban warfare, unlike before when there was an open firing range at Dongdaying. The effectiveness of circling fire will be reduced due to the obstruction of buildings.

But this time, the gunship-aircraft carriers were carrying not only main battle weapons, but also aerial bombs.

He picked up the microphone and gave the order.

"Open the bomb bay door and conduct directional bombing."

Ten gunboats opened bomb bays on their bellies and flew in single file toward the enemy forces, each dropping a 150-kilogram bomb.

This thing is a cluster bomb type, with 200 sub-bombs inside.

The bombs of the other nine bombers detonated after landing, but Fang Wen manually detonated the bombs in mid-air using remote control.

The explosive force upon landing was also very strong, with half of the submunitions flying into the surrounding area and causing secondary explosions.

The one that Fang Wen manually controlled to explode in mid-air had an even more astonishing effect; the cluster bomb exploded dozens of meters in the air, scattering all 200 submunitions.

These submunitions, like blooming flowers, created a series of explosions within a 400-meter radius.

The Japanese army was stunned by the attack.

Although their numbers were more than 20 times that of Fang Wen's group, they were completely overwhelmed by the enemy throughout the entire battle.

This prevented the troops behind them from deploying and caused them to suffer heavy casualties from the bombing.

Even now, the Japanese troops inside Baoding are completely unaware of the situation outside the city or their current adversaries.

The Japanese commander misjudged the strength of the attackers, believing them to be a main force of the Chinese army. Out of caution, the Japanese commander ordered a retreat to prepare for a possible siege.

The disorganized army immediately retreated and formed a defensive posture.

The enemy actually retreated?
This was something Fang Wen hadn't anticipated.

At this moment, enemy planes from Tianjin are about to arrive.

If the Japanese ground troops retreated, how could the decoy charade continue?

Fang Wen immediately ordered: "All gunboats and aircraft will follow me in pursuit, feigning an attack, and at the same time install airburst bomb launchers to prepare for attacks by Japanese enemy aircraft."

Under his orders, the gunboat squadron attacked the retreating Japanese troops on the ground.

At this time, at an altitude of 5000 meters, the seven aircraft of the Yan'an Air Force were in a state of silent concealment.

Nine Japanese Type 9 fighter planes appeared 5 kilometers east of Baoding.

Fifteen kilometers northwest of Baoding City, there were also three Japanese Type 95 biplane fighters.

Nine fighter jets from the east, upon discovering that Fang Wen's gunboat squadron was attacking the ground forces in the city, immediately rushed over.

They had heard a lot about the gunboats of Mount Tai. These aerial tortoise shells, despite their slow speed, always managed to cunningly evade attacks against them, and so far, not a single one had been lost in battle.

This time, the nine Japanese fighter pilots were overjoyed and determined to take down these ten gunship aircraft in one fell swoop.

In their view, the Type 97, with its speed advantage, could easily flank and attack from behind using dogfighting tactics. Even with its thick tortoise-shell armor, it couldn't withstand such a sustained attack.

But what they didn't expect was that all of this was just bait prepared for them.

As nine Japanese fighter planes approached in an attempt to engage them, the gunboats' firing ports spewed out missile launchers, sending airburst bombs into the air.

These airburst bombs exploded after traveling a certain distance, and a large cloud of white mist enveloped the airspace. The shield formed by the airburst bombs completely protected the area around the gunboat and aircraft.

This type of airburst bomb would last for 3 minutes, and the powder would enter the air intake of Japanese fighter plane engines, damaging the internal structure of the engines.

Four Type 4 fighter jets caught fire because the engine intake pipes sucked in a large amount of dust, which caused a secondary explosion at high temperatures.

With their engines malfunctioning, the pilots lost all will to fight and began to think about whether they could escape back to Tianjin Airport or make an emergency landing on nearby flat ground.

The remaining five aircraft, however, persisted in attacking the gunships.

Suddenly, seven Il-16s fell from the sky.

The Type 97 fighter jets, caught completely off guard, were ambushed by a group of Il-16 fighters that had been preparing for a long time.

Four Type 97 helicopters were shot down on the spot, with only one managing to escape in panic.

Instead of pursuing the fleeing fighter, the Yan'an Air Force headed for four other Type 4 fighters whose engines were malfunctioning.

After easily taking down four Type 97 fighters, the Yan'an Air Force achieved eight kills. Then, three more Type 95 biplane fighters came crashing down from the northwest.

This type of biplane fighter has been phased out by the world's air powers. It has no chance of defeating a monoplane and cannot even escape.

With this, the airborne operation behind enemy lines in Baoding was considered complete.

They annihilated the Japanese army's barracks outside the city, destroyed the railway station's freight yard and warehouse, and shot down 11 aircraft.

It can be described as a great harvest.

Now that the troops in the city are unaware of the situation and have even taken the initiative to withdraw, Fang Wen no longer needs to go through any more trouble and immediately orders the ground troops of the Independent Regiment to withdraw to the barracks and airfield.

At the same time, he also notified the flight group heading towards the train station to meet up at the barracks airfield.

They needed to facilitate the evacuation of ground troops before the enemy could react, and then launch a new offensive against Wangdu County.

(End of this chapter)