Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 602: Battle Report of the Yangjiang Independent Regiment, Preparation for the Upgrading and Deployment of New Weapons
Fang Wen piloted an improved gunboat from Nanning to Yangjiang.

An hour and a half later, the plane arrived in Yangjiang.

From here, Fang Wen activated the radar target acquisition device and began to reconnoiter the surrounding airspace.

According to radar signals, multiple groups of aircraft were flying in the northeast direction of Guangzhou.

On the sea, there are also a small number of flights, mainly concentrated in the direction of Qiongya and near the Philippines.

The radar feedback also included signals from Japanese warships patrolling the southeastern coast.

The situation is very serious.

After the Japanese army attacked Qiongya, all of its coastlines were lost.

Fang Wen sighed inwardly, realizing that even though he had sunk the Fengxiang aircraft carrier and shot down so many fighter jets, he couldn't fundamentally change the overall situation.

Therefore, he focused his efforts on military equipment research, because only in this way could he exert greater influence.

Pushing aside his thoughts, Fang Wen continued piloting the plane closer to the Yangjiang Independent Regiment's base.

Ten minutes later, the plane arrived at the Independent Regiment's base, made communication with the ground, and landed on the water.

The plane turned on the water and approached the dock.

The hatch opened, and Gong Xiuneng came out first and placed the footplate.

Fang Wen then stepped out of the plane.

At the dock, Wu Yingzong, the deputy commander of the Independent Regiment, and the local officers came to greet them.

"Commander, you've finally arrived. We've all been waiting for you," Wu Yingzong said on behalf of the Independent Regiment.

Fang Wen nodded as he looked at Wu Yingzong and the officers.

"Thank you for staying on the front lines. I feel guilty for not being able to fight alongside you during this time."

"Commander, you can't say that. We all know you have more important things to do," Wu Yingzong quickly said in defense of Fang Wen.

"Alright, show me around, and then we'll go to the regimental headquarters to discuss the recent battle situation."

After Fang Wen finished speaking, he and Wu Yingzong and the others observed various places in the camp.

Over the course of more than three months, the location remained unchanged, but the soldiers of the Independent Regiment carried out some construction work there.

Various air defense fortifications and camouflage were densely distributed around the base.

Real anti-aircraft guns and fake ones look exactly the same; they cannot be distinguished from the air.

Wu Yingzong was very proud of this: "Commander, look at these guys! Ever since Qiongya fell, the Japanese planes have been like flies, hovering around our Yangjiang coast every few days, dropping bombs and scouting the terrain, causing us a lot of trouble. We figured that a direct confrontation wouldn't work, so we came up with this trick of deceiving the real and the fake. The fake cannons are made by welding the cannon body with tin sheets, painting it with the same paint as the real cannons, and then covering it with camouflage netting. From a distance, they look exactly the same."

He reached out and patted an air-raid shelter disguised as a thatched hut beside him, the rough edges of concrete peeking out from under the thatch: "And these fortifications, our soldiers dig them whenever they have a spare moment. The fortifications have tunnels inside, so we can hide people and store ammunition. Even if the Japanese bombs land nearby, we can hold them off. Since we got these decoys, when the Japanese planes attack, they don't know where to bomb. One volley from our crossfire network is enough to wipe them out. After driving them away once, they thought they knew the locations of our air-raid shelters, but the next time they came, we had already changed them, and what they bombed were fakes. From then on, the number of air raids decreased significantly!"

Fang Wen was very pleased to hear Wu Yingzong's words. The battlefield is the best military school. Under the baptism of war, soldiers can grow up quickly.

Wu Yingzong is a prime example; this kind of deceptive array used to counter air raids is very effective.

After touring the entire garrison, Fang Wen and his group arrived at the regimental headquarters to summarize the military situation of the Independent Regiment during this period.

Holding the report, Wu Yingzong looked serious.

"Commander, on behalf of all the officers and soldiers of the regiment, I will report to you on the combat situation over the past six months. First, I would like to talk about the overall situation in the Guangdong war zone."

Fang Wen listened attentively.

It began in March when the Japanese army invaded Jiangmen.

Fang Wen also participated in the air defense battles in Jiangmen at that time.

But in the end, Jiangmen fell due to a lack of reinforcements.

April-May: The Japanese army launched an attack from Jiangmen and successively occupied the entire Xinhui area and the southern coast of Taishan. They also attempted to infiltrate Kaiping and Enping, but were blocked by local armed forces and failed to completely control the inland areas.

These local armed forces included the Central Guangdong Advance Army, the Xinhui Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Force, and the Independent Regiment.

The Central Guangdong Advance Army was a newly emerging anti-Japanese armed force during this period. It was composed of retired soldiers from the original Guangdong Army, as well as some young people from the Wuyi region, including Xinhui, Taishan, Kaiping, Enping, and Heshan.

The Xinhui Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Force was an armed force led by the Communist Party, operating in the Xinhui, Heshan, and Gaoming areas, conducting guerrilla warfare.

The Independent Regiment located in Yangjiang established contact with them and cooperated in attacking small Japanese units on multiple occasions, blocking the Japanese advance.

The attack here failed, and the Japanese army turned towards Zhaoqing.

That area is the defense zone of the 64th Army, the Western Guangdong Advance Army, and the Guangzhou Tax Police Column. Their personnel and equipment are better than those in Jiangmen.

With Zhaoqing as their core, they built bunkers and trenches along both banks of the Xijiang River, and deployed heavy artillery in Lingyang Gorge in eastern Zhaoqing to block the river and prevent Japanese warships from invading upstream along the Xijiang River.

Meanwhile, the gunboats and aircraft of the Independent Regiment deployed in Zhaoqing also actively cooperated with the defense and repeatedly attacked the Japanese army along the riverbank.

June to September.

The fighting in Guangdong is at a stalemate.

The Japanese army was tied down by the Xijiang defense line and was unable to reach Zhaoqing.

They were also unable to break through the Taishan-Kaiping area.

However, the battle in Guangdong was not without its setbacks.

Qingyuan City has been lost.

At the end of June, a Japanese army unit crossed the Beijiang River in the area east of Qingyuan and launched an attack on Qingyuan City.

This battle actually resulted in the capture of Qingyuan City.

Fang Wen couldn't help but interrupt Wu Yingzong's report.

"Qingyuan is the gateway to northern Guangdong, guarded by the 12th Group Army. How did it fall?"

In response, Wu Yingzong said, "We were also puzzled by this. Anti-Japanese forces on both the western and central sides of Guangdong sent telegrams to the 12th Army Group to demand an explanation. They gave us an explanation. They said that after the Japanese army occupied Guangzhou, they constantly conducted reconnaissance and probing of the surrounding areas, and may have had some understanding of the terrain of Qingyuan and the deployment of the 12th Army Group. This time, a Japanese unit crossed the Beijiang River in the area east of Qingyuan, avoiding some of the main defensive areas of the 12th Army Group, and broke through from the relatively weak eastern side, and then captured Qingyuan County. After the 12th Army Group discovered this, it immediately mobilized its forces, drove the unit away, and recaptured Qingyuan City."

Fang Wen nodded, no longer asking further questions, and continued listening to Wu Yingzong's report.

The following report is for the Independent Regiment itself.

During these six months, the Independent Regiment received 20 tons of military supplies (airlifted), dispatched 100 sorties of gunboats and aircraft, consumed 30 rounds of various types of ammunition, inflicted over 2000 enemy casualties, shot down 3 enemy aircraft (anti-aircraft guns), and completed 32 military assistance operations. It can be said that the Independent Regiment, having been tempered in the northern battlefield, has grown into a qualified militarized force and played a significant role in the Guangdong Military Region.

Finally, Wu Yingzong discussed the problems currently facing the Independent Regiment.

"Commander, the Japanese army is now changing its tactical approach and is attempting to land troops in the Yangjiang area."

Fang Wen's heart skipped a beat.

This was also what he was worried about. If the Japanese army gained a foothold on the Yangjiang coastline, they could continuously send troops, thus bypassing the Xijiang defense line and planting a thorn in their back.

Not to mention, Yangjiang was the location of the Independent Regiment, and the National Army tacitly agreed that the Independent Regiment would be responsible for defending the area, thus placing a great responsibility on the Independent Regiment.

He asked very seriously, "Explain it clearly."

"It's the regimental commander. A secret telegram from Guangzhou says that the Japanese army will organize marines to land in Yangjiang and Maoming."

The informant in Guangzhou was planted by Fang Wen. His name was Tang Yuandong, and he was the leader of the self-defense team of the puppet regime. He played a significant role in Fang Wen's attack on the Japanese army headquarters in Guangzhou.

Later, when Fang Wen left the Independent Regiment to develop military equipment, he handed over the secret telegrams for single-line communication to Wu Yingzong, who then contacted Tang Yuandong.

The Independent Regiment's several highly successful operations owed much to the intelligence work of Tang Yuandong.

The intelligence he provided was all very valuable.

Fang Wen took this very seriously.

His thoughts were racing.

In his memory, the Japanese army would not have launched a landing operation against Maoming and Yangjiang so early.

After all, these two regions were not the strategic focus of the Japanese army.

Moreover, even when the Japanese army launched a landing operation a year later, it was mainly for looting.

They looted kerosene, tung oil, copper, iron, salt, rice, cotton cloth, hemp rope, car parts, and other supplies before retreating.

However, the existence of the Independent Regiment may have led the Japanese army to change some of its combat strategies and launch the landing operation ahead of schedule.

I have to guard against it.

He said, "We have decided on the means to defend against landings, but I feel it is not safe enough now. How about this, I will conduct another aerial reconnaissance of the Yangjiang coastline and draw a topographic map of the coastline."

Immediately, Fang Wen returned to the plane, and it took off again.

After the plane took off, Fang Wen first activated the radar detection device to scan the vicinity. After confirming that there were no enemy aircraft approaching, he flew to the coastline south of the base.

Through mechanical sensing, Fang Wen gained a thorough understanding of the coastline below.

With the estuary of the Nalong River as the center line, the coastline is divided into two sections.

The western section is a remote area with complex inland waterways, so landing is not considered.

If the Japanese army were to land, it would definitely do so from the eastern section of the coastline.

The coastline here is flat, making it suitable for landings everywhere, so there's no way to use the terrain to block an attack.

Therefore, defending the coastline is not feasible.

The original method of blocking from the mainland was still more effective.

But this time, due to the leapfrog development in military equipment, there are more means of defense.

After aerial reconnaissance, the plane landed at the Independent Regiment's seaplane airfield. Fang Wen got out of the plane and began drawing a map of the coastal defense line.

After the map was completed, he summoned Wu Yingzong and the officers of the regiment headquarters to discuss defensive measures against a possible Japanese landing operation.

"This is a topographic map of the coastline that I drew. You can take a look."

The topographic map was handed to Wu Yingzong, and the officers all craned their necks to look at it.

Fang Wen continued, “Judging from the topography of the coastline, coastal defense is not feasible. But our original blocking tactics are also not going to work. We have to consider that the Japanese army is not stupid and will engage in flanking maneuvers. For example, they bypassed the frontal defenses in Qingyuan and directly attacked the county town. Therefore, I have devised a new blocking tactic, which is to use equipment and mobility to change the battlefield advantage. I am prepared to give you 10 medium tanks, 2 rocket launcher vehicles, plus 5 improved gunboat aircraft.”

We have tanks!

Wu Yingzong and his officers were overjoyed. Although more than a year had passed since the Taishan Pine medium tank was built, it still held a very important place in their hearts.

Finally, the Independent Regiment will have tanks again, a powerful weapon on the battlefield that can be used for both offense and defense.

However, they knew nothing about rocket launchers and improved gunboats.

Fang Wen provided an explanation for this.

He pointed to the possible landing area of ​​the Japanese army on the topographic map, his tone calm yet full of confidence:
"Let's talk about the Taishan Storm rocket launcher first. Each of its 24 rockets is twice as powerful as the man-portable rockets we used before. More importantly, it can fire in salvos. Once the Japanese army launches a landing on the eastern coastline, as long as the landing point is determined, the gunners can quickly adjust the firing direction using the predetermined firing data. At that time, the two launchers can fire simultaneously, and 48 rockets can cover the entire landing area. It's like directly 'washing' that beach with artillery shells. Even if the Japanese army wants to force a beach landing with air cover, they will have to consider whether they can withstand such concentrated attacks."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the officers present, who were very keenly aware of the significance of the artillery barrage.

He then emphasized his words:
"This rocket launcher has a range of up to 3 kilometers and is highly mobile. If the Japanese army adopts the tactics used in Qingyuan, avoiding the mudflats on the front and trying to outflank them through the inland waterways, our launchers can be moved at any time, following the coastal highway to their outflanking route, and launch a surprise salvo. Before, we didn't have heavy firepower and could only defend passively. Now, with this 'mobile artillery platform,' we can flexibly adjust the blocking line and even actively use rockets to cut off their retreat."

"Let's talk about the improved gunboat. It can carry 20 air-to-air rockets and can also be used for both air-to-air and air-to-ground attacks. When the Japanese army lands, they will definitely send fighter planes to provide cover. Our gunboats used to have very poor air-to-air capabilities, but the current improved version has made progress in long-range strikes. As long as the direction of the enemy aircraft is determined, we can use air-to-air rockets to fire a barrage, which can form a barrage barrier. Japanese fighter planes covered by the range will be indiscriminately hit by the shock wave of the explosion and shrapnel."

Fang Wen's words left the officers stunned.

In just six months, it feels like we've gone from slingshots to cannons!

The situation the regimental commander described—isn't it something that only a complete artillery regiment could accomplish?
Now, only two rocket launcher vehicles are needed?
There are also improved gunboats. Everyone in the Independent Regiment knows about gunboats and is aware of their shortcomings in air combat, but they never imagined that today's gunboats can also engage in air combat.

Even if it only has long-range attack capabilities, it's still amazing.

Wu Yingzong and his officers were eagerly anticipating the arrival of the new equipment.

Fang Wen explained, "It probably won't be possible this month; it will take at least next month for the shipment to arrive. I will make arrangements immediately after I return from my trip to Lanzhou. You must be on high alert during this month."

Everyone was overjoyed after just one month.

After inspecting the Yangjiang Independent Regiment's base, Fang Wen flew his plane to Zhaoqing to check on the gunboat squadron.

He met with his apprentice Pan Jiafeng there to learn about the situation, and then took off again to fly north.

A major deal awaited him in the north. Meanwhile, the soldiers of the Independent Regiment in the south eagerly anticipated his return with powerful new weapons.

(End of this chapter)