Republic of China: Ace Pilot

It took a lot of effort to put out the wildfire.

The French army mobilized three engineering squads stationed in Lang Son, along with more than two hundred colonial militiamen from the outskirts of the city, to work in sections from the foot of the mountain to the mountainside, braving the scorching heat.

Buckets and fire-extinguishing sand were used, and the soldiers beat the flames with tree branches and covered them with sand, but the embers of the napalm were still scorching hot and could reignite if they were not careful.

It wasn't until the early hours of the next day that the open flames were finally extinguished on the charred mountainside. The air was filled with the pungent smell of burning vegetation, and the once lush green forest was now nothing but charcoal-black branches.

That's why Edmonton actually found the weapon very effective.

Standing at the foot of the mountain, looking at the completely burned area before him, he showed no regret on his face, but rather a firm look in his eyes: "Fang, this is exactly the weapon we need! The Japanese army marched from Zhennanguan, and the places they passed through along the way were all like this. As long as we bomb them with these incendiary bombs before they reach Dong Dang, it will definitely have a very good effect."

As for the consequences, they were completely outside his consideration.

For Edmonton, holding Lang Son and blocking the Japanese advance south was far more important than the survival of a mountain forest.

Once the Japanese army breaks through the Lang Son defense line, the entire northern French Indochina will fall into Japanese hands. As the border commander, he will not only be dismissed and investigated, but may even become a prisoner of the Japanese army.

In comparison, the destruction caused by a wildfire is a negligible cost.

This was also the first time Fang Wen had used napalm incendiary bombs on a large scale, and it happened in a wild jungle environment.

If this were on domestic soil, he would never easily adopt such a highly destructive plan, after all, mountains and forests are part of the national land resources, and many people in this era rely on the mountains for their livelihood.

But this was French Vietnam, which had nothing to do with him. Using a wildfire to block the Japanese warplanes was the simplest and most practical method.

"This will provide Taishan Military Industry with large-scale deployment data for the new napalm incendiary bombs." Fang Wen thought to himself as he looked at the excited Edmonton beside him.

Previously, the three generations of napalm incendiary bombs had only been used in small-scale combat and range tests, and had never been deployed on a large scale in a complex environment such as a summer jungle.

In response to the Japanese bombing, key data such as the speed of fire spread, adhesion effect, and environmental adaptability could be collected. After this data was transmitted back to Mount Tai, the military industry could optimize the missile design, improve combustion efficiency and delivery accuracy, and lay the foundation for subsequent responses to the Japanese mountain warfare.

The two hit it off immediately.

Edmonton immediately finalized the first weapons order, requiring Taishan Military Industry to provide 50 Type A napalm incendiary bombs.

They also pledged to coordinate funding as soon as possible to pay for additional weapons costs and delivery service fees.

Fang Wen proposed that the French army should cooperate by providing detailed topographical survey maps of the Japanese army's central marching route, and secretly establish three bombing observation points along the mountain road from Dong Dang to Lang Son to ensure that incendiary bombs could be accurately dropped on key nodes along the Japanese army's route.

However, the power of the aerial incendiary bombs had to be kept secret, and even the governor was not allowed to know.

After all, the Vichy government's representatives had already set off for Japan to negotiate, and the governor himself was in a state of indecision: he did not want to offend the Japanese army, nor was he willing to easily give up the colonial interests of French Indochina. If the governor were to find out that they were secretly purchasing such terrifying weapons and planning to take the initiative to block the Japanese army, it would probably be forcibly stopped, or even the mercenary plan would be abandoned.

Therefore, Edmonton allocated funds and materials under the guise of 'border defense repairs,' leaving no trace pointing to incendiary bombs.

After reaching a secret agreement, the two began making their own plans.

Edmonton immediately summoned his trusted officers, issued a secret mission, and began to forge documents for the repair of fortifications and coordinate the allocation of funds.
Fang Wen then sent a telegram to Taishan Military Industry via airborne radio, requesting the immediate production of 50 Type A napalm incendiary bombs. At the same time, he ordered some soldiers of the Independent Regiment's Special Forces to set off immediately, infiltrate the Yunnan-Vietnam border, and secretly establish observation posts at high points in the mountains around Dong Dang and Zhennanguan.

Time passed day by day.

All preparations are complete.

The situation also began to deteriorate.

September 18th.

Edmonton arrived at the New First Regiment's base.

With a serious expression, Fang Wen said: "The Japanese government issued an ultimatum to the Governor-General, making three demands: first, to allow Japanese troops to be stationed in the north; second, to allow Japanese troops to use three airports within the territory; and third, to completely cut off the aid channels to China. It also warned that if we do not agree, it will directly enter French Indochina at 22:00 on September 22."

Fang Wen nodded, "Then on the 22nd, we'll give the Japanese devils a big surprise."

Edmonton then became somewhat worried: "Your bombs are indeed very powerful, but will they be able to hit their targets?"

Fang Wen smiled confidently: "I will personally pilot the bomber to conduct the airdrop; you can rest assured about the hit rate."

"I hope so," Edmonton said anxiously as he went to prepare.

Late at night on September 22.

The night sky north of Lang Son was as black as ink, with even the stars obscured by thick clouds.

In the Zhennanguan area on the Sino-Vietnamese border, soldiers of the 21st Infantry Brigade, the main force of the Japanese army's central route, were marching quietly under the cover of night.

Leading the way was an armored unit consisting of 30 Type 97 medium tanks and Type 94 light armored vehicles. Behind the armored unit were large groups of Japanese soldiers, followed by artillery and supply convoys.

In the middle of the column, Lieutenant General Akito Nakamura, the division commander, sat in the cabin of a command armored vehicle, staring at the time on the instrument panel.

At this point, there were only ten minutes left until the 22:00 ultimatum deadline.

A contemptuous smile curled at the corner of his lips. In his view, the resistance of Vichy France was futile, and the important town of Lang Son would surely be conquered by the Fifth Division.

"Speed ​​up, reach Lang Son before dawn," he ordered his troops via radio.

Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers away at the No. 2 aircraft manufacturing plant airport in northern Myanmar, Fang Wen had already boarded a bomber and taken off.

The bombers flew through the night sky, their course precisely pointing towards the Lang Son region.

An hour and a half later, the special operations observation post sent a telegram.

The crew's communications officer immediately reported: "We have spotted the main force of the Japanese army in the central route entering the mountainous area between Zhennanguan and Dongdeng, advancing along the road, with tanks leading the way and infantry following behind, forming a long column."

Fang Wen remained calm. “All observation posts shall remain on alert and report the Japanese positions in real time. Half an hour later, all observation posts shall be withdrawn to avoid being affected by the bombing.”

Telegrams were sent back and forth over a distance of 200 kilometers, continuously reporting the Japanese army's marching situation to Fang Wen.

Half an hour later, Fang Wen appeared in the airspace northeast of Lang Son City in his bomber.

Upon arrival, Fang Wen immediately used his mechanical perception ability to observe the situation below.

The darkness did not obscure his supernatural vision; the situation of the Japanese troops below was displayed in black and white. At this moment, the tanks of the Japanese vanguard had already engaged in firefight with the outposts of the French 3rd Foreign Legion Infantry Division.

In the darkness, the muzzle flashes of gunfire from both sides continued to illuminate the scene.

Due to their slow marching speed, the main force of the Japanese army was still behind and would not be able to arrive for a while.

This is the perfect time to bomb.

Fang Wen's gaze moved north and quickly locked onto the main force of the Japanese army.

The long Japanese troops were marching along a road through the valley.

Fang Wen had previously conducted aerial reconnaissance of this valley. The slopes on both sides were covered with lush vegetation, and the entire valley formed a V-shape, which was very conducive to the deployment of napalm incendiary bombs.

After some calculations, he made a bombing prediction, then adjusted the course and gave the order loudly.

"10-second continuous bombing preparation."

This time, the bombing order had already been confirmed, so the loader was not as nervous as during the Hundred Regiments Offensive when bombs were dropped all at once, and quickly completed the pre-set operation.

The bombardier lay motionless on the ground, ready.

A few seconds later, they entered the bombing zone, and Fang Wen shouted, "Throw the bombs!"

The bombardier immediately pulled the bomb release lever, and the napalm bombs in the bomb bay fell one by one.

For 10 seconds, they continued to fall, and all 50 A-type aerial incendiary bombs landed.

Because the bomb was dropped from a height of 3000 meters, it continued to fall freely in the air for 10 seconds before finally landing in the valley.

The first napalm bomb exploded, and flames more than 30 meters in diameter shot out of the valley. The dazzling orange-red light pierced through the dark night, dispelling the darkness of the blast area.

Immediately afterwards, the second, the third... fifty bombs exploded one after another on the hillsides on both sides of the valley and on the road at the bottom of the valley. The continuous loud noises made the mountain walls vibrate, and rocks rolled down the steep slopes.

Then, the viscous, solidified gasoline droplets scattered under the shock wave, like splashed molten lava, falling onto the dense vegetation on the hillside and onto the long line of Japanese troops on the road.

The originally dark V-shaped valley was instantly illuminated by a sea of ​​fire. The vegetation on both sides of the mountainside ignited as soon as it came into contact with the fire, and the flames climbed wildly along the vines and dead branches, forming two walls of fire in the blink of an eye, converging towards the bottom of the valley.

Fang Wen used his mechanical perception ability to see the horrific scene below clearly: in his black and white vision, the Japanese troops were cut off by multiple infernos.

Those Japanese infantrymen who didn't have time to react were instantly covered in splattered napalm, turning into burning figures as they ran through the marching column, their screams echoing through the valley, particularly piercing.

Some Japanese soldiers tried to extinguish the fire by taking off their bedding and covering themselves with it, or by patting it, but the viscous burning liquid only made it burn hotter. The high temperature instantly scorched their skin, and even their clothes were burned and melted onto their flesh.

More and more Japanese soldiers were set ablaze and rushed frantically toward the roadside ditch, but the ditch had long since dried up in the height of summer, leaving only scalding mud and sand, which was impossible to extinguish. In the end, they could only curl up and convulse in agony in the sea of ​​fire until they lost their breath.

The power of napalm incendiary bombs lies not in their explosion, but in the sustained high temperatures and dense smoke caused by burning.

Not to mention, with fire burning on both sides of the V-shaped valley, the air was quickly drawn away, and even the Japanese soldiers on the road below who were not affected by the fire experienced difficulty breathing.

Meanwhile, the Japanese supply convoy behind the column was also in trouble. The military vehicles in flames exploded with a loud bang, and fire snakes shot out in the vicinity. The huge shock wave threw the surrounding soldiers several meters away. The scattered ammunition continued to explode in the sea of ​​fire, and the shrapnel caused a new round of casualties.

The gun barrels of the Type 92 infantry guns and field guns being towed were heated to a red-hot state and turned into burning scrap metal along with the tractor.

Only the most mobile Japanese armored units, which were in the lead and engaged in firefight with French outposts, were not engulfed in flames.

But the burst of red light behind them also made the armored unit stop its attack.

Even the French soldiers at the border defense positions were staring blankly at the vast expanse of fire in the distance.

Japanese armored unit officers immediately sent a telegram to their superiors to inquire about the situation.

In the valley.

The Japanese army suffered heavy losses after being bombed.

But it wasn't a complete annihilation.

Inside the command armored vehicle, Nakamura Akito's previously contemptuous smile had frozen on his face, replaced by extreme rage and panic.

Through the observation window, he watched the inferno and chaos ahead and behind, seeing his meticulously deployed main force in the center being devoured by flames like ants. He heard cries for help and screams of agony all around him. Enraged, he trembled, slammed his fist on the command platform, and roared, "Damn it! An air raid! It's a French air raid! Quickly organize anti-aircraft fire! Send men to put out the fire!"

He was now completely disoriented, his words were incoherent, and it was as if a demonic bomber was watching him from the dark night sky.

His staff officer, pale-faced and trembling, said, “Division Commander! It’s no use! The fire is too fierce, it’s completely out of control! Our troops… have suffered heavy casualties!”

Nakamura Akito stared intently at the sea of ​​fire outside the window, his eyes filled with despair and resentment.

The only thing we can do right now is to gather the troops and move them away from the fire to avoid even greater casualties.

With such a massive fire, a large number of Japanese soldiers were burned. For each burned soldier, two able-bodied soldiers were needed to rescue him. Under such circumstances, how could they continue marching and fighting?

He ordered the vanguard armored units to cease their attack on the French positions and withdraw to defend.

In the sky, Fang Wen piloted a bomber, circling once above the valley to confirm the bombing's effectiveness using his supernatural abilities.

The entire V-shaped valley had turned into a sea of ​​fire, and the main force of the Japanese army was completely engulfed, suffering heavy casualties and unable to organize any effective resistance.

A cold smile curled at the corner of his lips as he addressed the crew: "Bombing mission complete. Return to base!"

The bomber slowly climbed to a higher altitude and flew towards the base in northern Burma. In the valley below the cabin, the fire was still burning, and the blinding light illuminated half of the night sky, like the gates of hell opening, completely burning away the Japanese army's aggressive ambitions and arrogance.

Meanwhile, in Lang Son City.

Border commander Edmonton, who was anxiously awaiting the results, also received reports from the outer defensive positions.

He was delighted when he heard that the Japanese army had suffered a large-scale bombing.

"Excellent. The bombing was truly effective. Our joint operation can begin at dawn." (End of Chapter)