Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 579: Articles from the United Front Society, Military Bicycles, Taishan Radio's Hunger Marketing
The Japanese troops on Manshi Road were ambushed and forced to retreat urgently.

This unit retreated all the way to the Pinghan Railway line before stopping.

Such a situation was extremely rare in the enemy-occupied battlefields of North China. Therefore, the Japanese Army ordered the division to write a detailed report on the incident.

Meanwhile, Hansen, a reporter from the United Front, also sent the battle back home in the form of a news report.

Two different voices relayed the situation of this battle to the outside world.

The novel weapons and their power that appeared in this battle are described.

Hansen had Fang Wen review his manuscript before sending it to the United States.

[Inferno Descends! In the North China canyons, Chinese guerrillas use new weapons to inflict heavy losses on the Japanese army]

[Reported by Hansen, United Press International; Location: Communist resistance area in Japanese-occupied North China]

[May 16, 1939 (delayed release) - I was hiding in a limestone cave above the Manshidao Gorge when I witnessed dozens of white streaks of fire piercing the midday sky.]

Below the canyon, an 8000-strong Japanese division was marching in formation—tanks leading the way, infantry following in neat rows, stepping into a pre-laid trap.

What followed was not just a battle, but also a demonstration to the outside world that the Chinese guerrillas, long regarded as "weaklings with millet and rifles," now possessed new weapons capable of turning the tide of the war in North China.

"We need to show them the power of the 'storm'."

A day earlier, I hitched a ride on a convoy of five trucks traveling west from Quyang County. The truck beds were completely covered with tarpaulins. Among the convoy members were engineers from the "Taishan Arsenal"—a mysterious weapons factory I had heard of before in the Communist-controlled areas. The convoy leader was 28-year-old Fang Wen, the founder of this mysterious weapons factory, who was also the owner of a large airline and had flown in the anti-aggression war in the East on several occasions.

“Once the Japanese troops cross the canyon, you will see our ‘Storm Rockets’,” he told me. “Under certain terrain conditions, it’s not just about ambushing supply convoys; we will teach the Japanese troops a lesson they will never forget.”

We then reached the ridge on the west side of the canyon. The engineers quickly moved the launcher into a natural cave and covered the metal barrel with straw and branches. The canyon path below, worn smooth by centuries of ancient vehicles, stretched like a narrow ribbon between 60-foot cliffs—perfect terrain for encircling and annihilating an army.

At 12:45 p.m. the following day, the first Japanese tank came into view. Its tracks rolled over the rocks, kicking up clouds of dust. Two fighter planes circled overhead, skimming low over the mountain ridge to reconnoiter. But they found nothing—only bare rocks and low shrubs.

The Japanese commander peered out of the hatch of the lead tank with a smile on his face, while his soldiers cheered. They thought they were chasing a fleeing enemy force.

But they were very wrong.

'Canyon turns into a sea of ​​fire'

At 1 p.m. sharp, the first wave of 24 small rockets with a caliber of 82 mm roared out of the cave, the sound comparable to the simultaneous roar of a dozen freight trains.

When the shockwave was launched, I clung tightly to the cave wall, afraid of being burned by the flames from the rockets.

It was this brief moment of fear that prevented me from witnessing the rocket attack firsthand.

When I looked through my binoculars at the situation down the mountain in the distance, the leading Japanese tanks had disappeared—in their place were large flames.

Then, 16 larger rockets followed—132mm caliber, with a warhead equivalent to 10 hand grenades—precisely striking the center of the Japanese ranks.

I witnessed their power firsthand; 16 rockets covered a large area of ​​the valley below, and the explosions and subsequent flames and smoke cut off the Japanese forces from both ends.
Japanese soldiers fled in all directions, but were firmly trapped by the cliff. Some tried to climb up, but their hands slipped on the rocks, and they fell straight into the sea of ​​fire.

The Eighth Route Army's offensive also began at this time. They ran like the wind across the mountains, quickly entering various blocking points and firing from their high vantage points.

My God, this has given me a new understanding of war. Five trucks carrying weapon platforms created a bombardment scene that was more destructive than five 115mm howitzers.

“These rockets are not just for killing people,” Fang Wen told me, “but also to break their morale.”

The facts are just as he said.

While the Eighth Route Army launched a fierce attack on the vanguard of the Japanese army, the remaining rockets were fired at the rear of the Japanese forces. The continuous large-scale explosions, along with flames and smoke, made it impossible for the Japanese troops in the rear to support the front.

In the end, they chose to abandon the vanguard armored units that were destined to be wiped out and withdrew from the canyon corridor.

'Battle situation'

As far as I know, there were 6 burned tanks, 30 smoking trucks, and hundreds of rifles scattered on the cobblestone road.

The Japanese suffered over 1000 casualties in this battle, while the Chinese suffered fewer than 50 casualties.

Such losses, as far as I know, have never occurred on the North China battlefield before, and the Eighth Route Army seems to be gradually changing the situation in North China.

—Reported by Hansen, United Press International
(Hansen's manuscript in English)
Hansen’s press release, distributed through the United Front’s distribution channels, was published in some small and medium-sized newspapers in the United States and Europe, detailing the situation of the war in the East.

In this way, the West also gained some understanding of the wars in the East.

This also served as a publicity campaign for Taishan Military Industry.

Almost two days after the article was published in different newspapers, a telegram came from Yangon, indicating that there were inquiries from the Soviet Union and France.

These telegrams all inquired about the Taishan Storm cluster rocket launchers.

No one else could answer the question, so Fang Wen decided to leave the Jin-Cha-Ji base area and go to Burma to take charge of the work.

Before leaving, he flew to the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army to ascertain the military procurement situation in the Jin-Cha-Ji base area.

Due to the outstanding performance of the Taishan Storm rocket, all Soviet-made and Taishan-made rockets will be sent to the Taihang region for the next phase of the large-scale counter-offensive against the North China Plain.

Other military products, including the Taishan new semiconductor telegraph machine, walkie-talkie, grenade launcher, and individual rocket launcher, have new procurement orders.

In return for these military purchases, Fang Wen increased his orders for semiconductor radios.

In this way, the high-profit output from cigarettes and semiconductor radios can temporarily offset the expenditure pressure of military procurement.

After completing these tasks, Fang Wen, along with Gong Xiuneng, Yan Huaixun, and other members of the Taishan team, took a seaplane, transited through Yanchuan Sea Airport, and then traveled to Myanmar via the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan route.

Gunboats and aircraft landed at the Yanchuan Yellow River Water Airport.

Fang Wen and his group disembarked from the plane and handed the gunboat over to the pilots of the flight regiment to fly back.

The two new gunship aircraft brought by Fang Wen will remain in the air regiment. Although they do not have rockets as spares, they can still allow the air regiment's pilots to practice in advance.

He then prepared to fly back in the seaplane that had come to Yanchuan to pick up the goods.

Boxes of finished semiconductor radios were unloaded from the trucks and loaded into seaplanes docked at the pier. After the cargo was loaded, Fang Wen spoke with the plant manager of the Yanchuan Semiconductor Assembly Plant: "The assembly plant is going to be expanded. I will have new production equipment delivered, and I hope it can be put into production as soon as possible."

"We also hope to do it as soon as possible," the factory manager said earnestly. Every assembled semiconductor radio will be transformed into ammunition and weapons, which motivates the factory here.

After the conversation, Fang Wen boarded the plane, and Gong Xiuneng untied the cables, closed the cabin door, and the plane turned and taxied on the river to take off.

The plane, fully loaded with cargo and returning passengers, transited through seaports belonging to logistics companies in Leshan, Guizhou, and Kunming before flying out of the country and into Myanmar.

The plane landed in Yangon at night. The cargo was not unloaded and was directly parked in the hangar.

After a night's rest, Fang Wen got up early, washed up, and had breakfast at headquarters.

He then returned to the general manager's office and first read two telegrams from France and the Soviet Union.

The French military sent a telegram inquiring about the sale of rockets, but since they did not intend to use this weapon for general arms sales, they did not agree.

The Soviet telegram was sent by the aerodynamics research laboratory. The telegram expressed surprise at Fang Wen's development of a rocket launcher and indicated that it would send technical personnel to investigate and exchange ideas.

Well, the technology all came from the Soviet Union. Fang Wen wasn't worried about the Soviet Union stealing it, so he agreed.

He then instructed his assistant, Zhao Junping, to notify Manager Liu of the Finance Department and Fang Shouxin of the Administration Department to come to a meeting.

Half an hour later, the two arrived at the general manager's office.

Fang Wen and the two men discussed what they needed to do next in the office.

"This trip back to China allowed us to verify the effectiveness of rockets in combat through actual combat. However, the accuracy of air-to-ground rockets is still lacking. Apart from myself, other pilots would probably find it difficult to operate them. Therefore, we are not in a hurry to push forward the mass production of air-to-ground rockets for the time being. But the power and combat effectiveness of the Taishan Storm rocket have been proven and it is very useful."

When Manager Liu and Fang Shouxin heard that the weapons they had developed and produced were useful, they were overjoyed.

Manager Liu asked, "We don't know much about military affairs, General Manager, could you explain in more detail why it's useful?"

In response, Fang Wen explained: "The Eighth Route Army was extremely lacking in heavy firepower, which was one of the important reasons why they could not perform well on the main battlefield. However, it was also unrealistic to equip the Taihang Mountains with heavy artillery. Even if there were heavy artillery, it would be impossible to transport it in. Moreover, heavy artillery is not conducive to relocation and would also affect the mobility of the troops. Our Taishan Storm can make up for these problems. It has both good mobility and a firing surface and impact effect equivalent to several heavy artillery pieces firing at once."

"Does that mean that as long as we mass-produce Taishan Storm rockets, the Eighth Route Army can drive the Japanese devils off the North China Plain?" Fang Shouxin asked eagerly. His hometown was Cangzhou, Hebei, so he was naturally very concerned.

Fang Wen helplessly continued to explain: "The base areas established by the Eighth Route Army have not been around for long and need to develop. Both the source of soldiers and the combat quality of personnel need time to be cultivated. If the number of troops is insufficient, no amount of rockets will help."

Warfare is primarily fought by people. The Eighth Route Army, which had only ended the Long March two years prior and was now engaged in resistance behind enemy lines, needed time to mature.

The New Fourth Army in the south was in the same situation.

Manager Liu and Fang Shouxin were somewhat disappointed by this; they wished they could drive all the Japanese away immediately.

Fang Wen then continued speaking.

"Domestically, I have signed several military contracts, including firearms, military aircraft, and ordnance for our Taishan company. There is also something else that needs to be mass-produced, and I would like you to be in charge of that."

"We're in charge? What does that mean?" Manager Liu asked.

“Military bicycles,” Fang Wen replied.

Fang Wen accepted this new order while at the Eighth Route Army headquarters.

Don't be fooled by the fact that bicycles will be everywhere in the future; in China today, they are a technologically advanced industrial product.

In the early years of the Republic of China, bicycles were almost entirely imported and were commonly known as "foreign horses" or "pedal bikes." Due to their high price, they were initially only "luxury items" for the upper class, such as bureaucrats, merchants, and intellectuals.

It wasn't until the 30s that domestic assembly and imitation gradually began, forming a pattern of "foreign goods as the main products and domestic products as a supplement."

But that was just assembly and processing using foreign parts.

However, with the outbreak of the full-scale war, assembly plants went bankrupt, and foreign goods could not enter due to the blockade, making bicycles a very scarce product.

This thing doesn't need fuel and can be moved quickly by manpower in relatively flat areas, making it very effective on the battlefield.

Especially on the North China Plain, the military use of bicycles is even more pronounced.

Riding it to infiltrate behind enemy lines can be very effective.

Moreover, there's no need to prepare fuel; all you need is physical strength.

Therefore, military bicycles will be of great help when the Eighth Route Army launches a counterattack on the North China Plain.

Fang Wenzheng took the initiative to accept the order after seeing this.

After hearing his story, Manager Liu and Fang Shouxin were willing to do it, but they didn't know how to proceed.

Fang Wen continued, "I will develop the military bicycles, and you will be in charge of the factory construction and management. The factory will be located in the Yangon Industrial Park. That's settled. Now let's discuss the semiconductor radios and cigarettes."

These two areas will be important sources of income for the base to maintain military purchases, and Fang Wen is very concerned about them as military purchases expand.

In response, Fang Shouxin, who is in charge of this area, said: "Taishan brand cigarettes have begun to sell well in Europe, and we have currently opened up three markets: the UK, France, and Germany. The UK and France require the payment of income tax and high entry fees, while Germany is banning smoking but not prohibiting its sale, thus incurring additional punitive taxes. Our cigarettes are of good quality and inexpensive, and have quickly become popular with a group of smokers. This month's sales have reached $13, an 8% increase over last month, and will continue to grow in the future."

Fang Wen was surprised; he hadn't expected Taishan cigarettes to become so popular in Europe so quickly.

Of course, this is also related to the current smoking habits in Europe. Nowadays, there are men and women smoking on the streets of Europe, and the smell of tobacco is everywhere. The cheap and good quality oriental cigarettes are just enough to make up for the lack of money for some smokers.

Then, Manager Liu explained the sales situation of the semiconductor radios he was in charge of.

Portable transistor radios, due to their small size and practicality, have become a fashionable and popular item in Europe. In addition, their relatively low price has led to an increasing number of middle-class consumers purchasing them.

In response, Fang Wen stated, "Temporarily halt sales and raise prices under the pretext of insufficient product inventory. Furthermore, daily sales must be limited from now on."

"Why?" Manager Liu didn't understand. They had just imported a batch of transistor radios from China, and the supply was plentiful. Why would they do this?

He couldn't understand, but Fang Wen had his own reasoning: the scarcity marketing that Apple used in the future could now be applied to semiconductor portable radios as well.

(End of this chapter)