Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 573, page 559: Joint Anti-Encirclement Operation at Wutai Mountain, Aerial Military Reconnaissance
When the sun was high overhead, Yan Huaixun instructed the trainees to drive mule carts to the back of the earthen slope. The target was three old locust trees 1000 meters away from the slope.

He pulled a tin megaphone from his canvas bag, stood next to the launcher, and shouted, "Now I'll teach you how to calculate the parameters—this isn't just random firing; we have to make sure every rocket lands where it's supposed to."

After explaining that measurements were required for rocket launch, he divided the trainees into three groups, each accompanied by three observers, to the designated observation points.

The three groups of people came to the distant mountain ridge, hid in the grass, and observed the situation below from a high vantage point.

Yan Huaixun picked up the walkie-talkie: "Each group report their situation. Are you in position?"

The walkie-talkie crackled to life: "Group A, ready." "Group B, ready." "Group C, ready."

"Very good. This is the operational guideline for rocket observation personnel: upon arrival at the target area, report immediately. Next, you will conduct observations."

The three-way positioning begins.

Yan Huaixun recorded the situation but did not start calculating. Instead, he waited for the three groups of people to return.

Only then did he publicly demonstrate the calculation process, deriving the correct firing parameters based on the three-way positioning.

Therefore, the firing direction and angle are then adjusted.

After demonstrating it once, he explained it again.

Then, he had two soldiers who were former gunners step forward and follow his operating procedures.

Although both men were artillerymen, they operated small cannons in the Eighth Route Army and did not have the complex operation process of rocket launchers.

They worked for a while, then stopped on their own: "Instructor Yan, we can't do it."

Yan Huaixun asked, "Why not?"

One of them frankly replied, "Because this weapon is different from the mortars we used to operate, there are some things we don't understand yet. If we pretend to know what we don't and act recklessly, it definitely won't work."

Yan Huaixun nodded, "That's why learning is so important. I'll demonstrate it again."

He reset the rocket launcher, then turned the crank, and the hydraulic rod creaked.

The rocket launcher is rotating.

While operating the gun, he explained aloud: "Don't just focus on turning the lever; keep your eyes on the dial as well. Our firing data this time requires a 25-degree northeast angle. Once it reaches that mark, you must stop immediately. This is called 'fixing the firing direction,' which is the same principle as when you used to calibrate mortars, but over a larger range."

Next is the elevation adjustment. Yan Huaixun continued to explain: "A range of 950 meters corresponds to an elevation angle of 13 degrees - remember, for every 50 meters more distance, increase the elevation angle by half a degree, and for every 50 meters less distance, decrease it by half a degree. You have to understand this calculation."

A student soldier wearing glasses suddenly raised his hand: "Comrade Yan, what if there's wind? Like right now, a westerly wind is blowing, won't it blow the bullets off course?"

"Good question!" Yan Huaixun took out a paper weather vane from his pocket and stuck it next to the launcher. "A westerly wind of level three. Each level of wind causes the missile to deflect 10 meters to the left, so level three is 30 meters. Therefore, when adjusting the direction, you have to turn it 1 degree to the right to make up for the wind's influence." He patted the student soldiers on the shoulder. "That's why we made you learn this. You're quick-witted and good at thinking."

Everyone burst into laughter, but they all carefully wrote down Yan Huaixun's words.

Some of them were doing calculations in notebooks, while others were drawing lines on the muddy ground with twigs.

Although those artillerymen may not be as well-educated as the student soldiers, they all have their own skills in artillery calculations.

Subsequently, Yan Huaixun selected eight people to form a group, and he supervised them to conduct a formal drill.

From the start of live-fire loading, the eight people had a clear division of labor: checking the rocket fuse, removing the safety pin, carrying, and loading the ammunition.

This process revealed the composure of the veterans and the panic of the student soldiers.

But since they had formed a firing group, they consciously cooperated with each other. With the help of the veterans, the student soldiers gradually adapted and their loading speed became faster and faster.

Under their careful and meticulous operation, 16 rockets were fired one by one.

Once everything was ready, Yan Huaixun had everyone stand on either side of the launcher, while he himself stood beside the launcher and forcefully pressed down the launch lever.

Under salvo firing, the 16 launch tubes emitted orange-red flames in slightly sequential order, creating a deafening roar.

The rockets, trailing plumes of flame, hurtled into the distance. Two to three seconds later, a series of explosions occurred in the area where the three locust trees were located, 1000 meters away, engulfing the entire area in flames and smoke.

When the explosion came from afar, the rocket artillery firing position fell into a deathly silence.

The first to react were a few veterans, who were the first to climb up the hillside to watch.

The flames rose up in the locust grove, like a red cloud bursting from the ground.

"That...that is..." A student soldier was too excited to speak, his eyes wide behind his glasses, all the cleverness he had shown when asking the question gone, leaving only disbelief on his face. The artilleryman, Old Zhou, next to him wiped his face, as if trying to clean the scene before him and look at it again. His Adam's apple bobbed, and after a long pause, he finally managed to squeeze out, "Good heavens...if that shell hits, an entire Japanese position will be wiped out, right?"

No one answered.

The other veterans were staring wide-eyed at the billowing smoke in the distance.

The most powerful mortars they used were only a few cannons firing in rotation, creating a few explosions on the enemy's positions.

Where have you ever seen more than a dozen "cannonballs" fly out at once and explode into a sea of ​​fire upon landing?

One of them clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles turning white. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he turned to look at Yan Huaixun, his voice trembling: "Instructor Yan... this thing... we can use it on the battlefield in the future?"

"Of course, we brought it here for actual combat," Fang Wen, who had been watching with Bai Yunfei, replied on behalf of Yan Huaixun.

These words were like a spark, instantly igniting everyone's anger.

"That's great!" a soldier exclaimed excitedly. "If those 16 rounds had hit the Japanese pillbox like that..."

"Don't even mention pillboxes, we can take them out of the enemy strongholds! They're all fixed targets; as long as we measure carefully and fire, we're guaranteed to hit. This thing could probably blow up the Japanese strongholds!"

The murmurs rose up like a tide, and the tension and restraint from before vanished completely.

Some soldiers immediately volunteered to go to the front to observe, wanting to see more clearly. After being granted permission, they excitedly jogged over.

The smoke in the distance gradually dissipated, revealing the uprooted ground and broken tree branches.

Everywhere was scorched black; in some places, a layer of soil had been removed, revealing loose, black earth.

The three mounds that served as simulated enemy bunkers were all blown up.

After observing the impact of the rockets, they returned excitedly and continued their rocket artillery firing training.

After the live-fire exercise, the subsequent training became rather tedious.

Trainees not only need to learn how to load ammunition and measure, aim, and fire, but also how to disassemble and assemble this weapon.

But these are even more complicated.

But inspired by the initiative of the soldiers, they rose to the challenge.

(Rocket launcher installation)
As time went by, the entire process of installing, disassembling, loading, observing, calculating, and launching the rocket launcher was completed.

In Yan Huaixun's words.

Through continuous and unremitting efforts, these trainees mastered all the knowledge and were able to conduct qualified marching and combat operations.

At this time, Fang Wen was also invited by Bai Yunfei to the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army for a combat meeting. The headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, now known as the headquarters of the 18th Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army, was located in Beicun Village, Lucheng County, in southeastern Shanxi Province.

Located in the southeastern part of SX Province, between the Taihang and Taiyue Mountains, this area is shaped like a basin with an average elevation of about 1000 meters. It features continuous mountain ranges and complex terrain.

Fang Wen piloted a new version of the gunboat from Fuping, flew 280 kilometers south, and arrived at his destination.

Bai Yunfei, who came with him, looked down and introduced the river below: "The river below is called the Southern Source of the Zhuozhang River. The Zhuozhang River has three major tributaries: the South, the West, and the North. They converge in Xiangyuan County. The main stream flows through Licheng, Lucheng, and Pingshun in Changzhi, Shanxi Province, then flows eastward down the Taihang Mountains, entering Linzhou City in Henan Province and Shexian County in Hebei Province. Then, in Shexian County, Hebei Province, it merges with the Qingzhang River to form the Zhang River. The Zhang River continues to flow eastward, entering the Wei River, becoming the southern tributary of the Hai River, and finally flowing into the Bohai Sea."

"You seem to know quite a bit about this little river?" Fang Wen asked with a smile.

“I’m from here. I left home with my mother when I was young, but my memories of this place haven’t faded,” Bai Yunfei replied.

"I see. It's a good time to go home and visit."

“My family is gone. My father died early, my mother remarried, and I took my adoptive father’s surname. My name is no longer in the family genealogy here.”

Unexpectedly, Bai Yunfei had such a background, so Fang Wen didn't continue the conversation.

He lowered his altitude and flew over the Zhuozhang River, searching for landmarks to receive him upon landing.

Soon, he saw three plumes of smoke on the banks of the Zhuozhang River, serving as a guiding signal.

The river there is quite wide, making it suitable for landing.

Immediately, Fang Wen adjusted the aircraft's position and landed on the river.

The gunboat stirred up a wave on the river, gradually slowed down, and then turned around to dock at the riverbank.

Gong Xiuneng opened the cabin door, jumped ashore and tied the ropes, and Fang Wen and Bai Yunfei also got off the plane.

The officers who came to meet them led them to the location of Beicun.

There, Fang Wen joined a military conference.

The meeting mentioned that the Japanese army would redeploy its forces and launch an attack on Wutai Mountain from multiple directions.

This is a recent military operation launched by the Japanese army against the Jin-Cha-Ji base area.

But now that they have an air regiment and weapons such as rockets provided by Taishan Military Industry, the Eighth Route Army headquarters decided to turn the anti-encirclement campaign into a war of annihilation.

The goal was to completely crush the Japanese army's multi-pronged encirclement and suppression efforts and deliver a fatal blow to the Japanese army in the Taiyuan Basin.

Fang Wen readily agreed to join and offered his suggestions.

"My strength lies in flying, and in using aerial reconnaissance combined with radio communication devices to conduct real-time information exchange, thereby gaining a strategic and tactical advantage. My suggestion is to set up a temporary battlefield command center to promptly gather military intelligence information from the ground and the air, and then conduct more appropriate and flexible command operations based on these situations."

Fang Wen's suggestion attracted the attention of the Eighth Route Army headquarters.

Having spent many years in mobile warfare, they are very clear about the importance of information.

In those years, it was through his keen judgment of military information that he miraculously escaped the encirclement of the National Army on several occasions.

Therefore, their understanding of Fang Wen's modern combat strategy, which combines various advantageous equipment, is understandable.

He then accepted Fang Wen's suggestion.

Early May 39.

The Japanese army began its operation.

The troop movements in Taiyuan were relayed back to Wutai through the underground Communist Party.

While the Eighth Route Army in Wutai Mountain was actively preparing for battle, Fang Wen also conducted aerial reconnaissance in his aircraft.

High in the air, by integrating with the aircraft through mechanical perception, he possessed an exceptional field of vision, allowing him to clearly see the situation below.

In May, the morning mist had not yet dissipated in the Taihang Mountains. Through the clouds, Fang Wen could see the continuous mountain ranges below stretching to the horizon like dark green waves.

Where is the enemy?

He searched carefully.

On the gray mountain road, a group of Japanese soldiers were marching along the valley. Their helmets reflected dazzling light in the sunlight. The mountain guns pulled by mules and horses were stuck in the mud, and the soldiers were trying to pry them out with crowbars.

Further into the mountain valley, wisps of smoke rose from a cluster of makeshift tents.

After confirming the number of troops, Fang Wen announced, "Send a telegram immediately: The main force of the Japanese army on the right flank has been spotted, approximately 1200 men, carrying four Type 4 infantry guns, advancing to 3 kilometers west of Tongqian Gou."

The distance between here and the command center in Taihuai Town was beyond the range of radio voice communication, so Fang Wen verbally described the situation, and Gong Xiuneng reported it by telegram.

After receiving this aerial reconnaissance intelligence, Fang Wen adjusted his course and continued reconnaissance.

The plane turned northwest.

Another Japanese army was advancing eastward along the Hutuo River Valley, with its column stretching extremely long.

What Fang Wen found strange was that there were some unusual vehicles in the convoy—trucks covered with canvas bumped along the dirt road, and the outlines of metal cans exposed under the canvas were definitely not ordinary supplies.

He touched the necklace around his neck, activated his X-ray vision, and saw through the truck to the inside.

Lots of gas canisters!
He immediately reported: "Report: The Japanese troops on the left flank have not yet entered the mountains, but their troops are suspected of carrying chemical weapons containers, the number of which is unknown." He added, "Their progress is slow, and they are expected to arrive at Shizui Town tomorrow afternoon."

During the three-hour patrol, the movements of the five Japanese forces were investigated one by one, and it was estimated that a total of 5000 troops were heading towards Wutai.

Fang Wen reported this to the temporary ground command center, and these situations would be combined with feedback from ground troops for timely troop deployment via radio.

At this point, he was ready to return home.

Just as he was about to adjust his course, he suddenly received a signal from an aircraft in the direction of Taiyuan.

Only two aircraft were flying towards the Wutai area.

Based on Fang Wen's understanding of the Japanese army, this was definitely not an air raiding force, but more like a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft.

They were clearly doing the same thing Fang Wen was doing, trying to scout out the movements of the Eighth Route Army.

In mountainous areas, achieving the same level of aerial reconnaissance as Fang Wen is no easy feat.

Nevertheless, Fang Wen did not intend to let them operate under his nose. He planned to test the effectiveness of the new version of the gunboat's rocket launcher against Japanese warplanes in actual combat.

Ten minutes later, two reconnaissance planes appeared.

This is the Japanese Army's newly deployed Tachikawa Type 98 direct cooperation reconnaissance aircraft, a reconnaissance and attack aircraft capable of frontline reconnaissance and close air support.

The gunboats in front of them were like a tempting cake, luring them to attack.

(End of this chapter)