Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Ban Long village, located five kilometers south of Gudeng, is hidden in the rolling hills of northern Vietnam.

This French-controlled Vietnamese village has only about a hundred households, with houses mainly consisting of thatched roofs and mud walls. There is also a cultivated farmland around the village.

Even the French colonists knew very little about this remote village.

The Taishan Special Operations Brigade had arrived here several days earlier.

The special operations brigade's purpose here was not only to set up observation posts, but also to be on standby to carry out the combat orders issued by Fang Wen.

Therefore, after the special operations team's advance reconnaissance personnel confirmed the safety and concealment of the village, the remaining special operations team members split into two groups. One group took the mountain road used by the reconnaissance personnel, while the other group flew in 20 Lingyun-1 single-soldier aircraft to land here.

The radio received a specific operational frequency. The communications soldier quickly copied down the telegram's contents and suddenly looked up at Special Forces Captain Zhou Pomen: "Captain! Commander Fang has ordered that the Japanese commander is fleeing in an armored command vehicle towards Zhennanguan. He has ordered us to immediately deploy the Lingyun-1 and kill him before he escapes back to Zhennanguan!"

Zhou Pomen's eyes sharpened, and he immediately ordered: "Rotor Team, assemble in the open space in the rice paddies east of the village in three minutes!"

Upon hearing the sound, the team members sprang into action and quickly assembled.

They were fully armed, wearing black special operations uniforms and shock-resistant helmets. Each person carried a pistol, four fragmentation grenades, a special rifle with a 4x scope, a grenade launcher, and some members also carried individual rocket launchers to deal with Japanese armored command vehicles.

Three minutes later, Zhou Pomen personally led a team of 20 special operations soldiers to board the Lingyun-1 single-soldier rotary-wing aircraft on the threshing ground.

"Start the engine, prepare for takeoff!" Zhou Pomen's command was transmitted to every team member via walkie-talkie.

The piston engine then emitted a deep roar, and the propeller at the rear of the aircraft spun rapidly, kicking up dust and grass clippings from the ground; driven by the thrust, the fuselage slowly glided along, and the top rotor rotated synchronously under the action of aerodynamics, and the lift increased rapidly.

After gliding for only a few dozen meters, the aircraft steadily lifted off the ground and began to ascend into the air.

Fang Wen used a gyroplane personal aircraft from the future during the War of Resistance against Japan. Compared to aircraft of this era, it was too strange.

Twenty Lingyun-1 aircraft quickly adjusted their attitude, maintaining a triangular formation, and sped at low altitude at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour. This speed was more than twice as fast as Japanese ground vehicles, which was a key advantage in intercepting fleeing targets.

The team members piloted the aircraft, deliberately avoiding the airspace above the highway, and traversed the hills and mountains.

After all, the aircraft was completely unprotected. If it were exposed and the Japanese were prepared, the surprise attack would be ineffective.

Although this flight route, which followed the mountainous terrain, was a few kilometers longer, it minimized the risks and allowed them to arrive outside Zhennanguan before the retreating Japanese troops.

Zhennanguan.

Traces of Japanese artillery fire still remain on the city walls of the pass, and a small number of Japanese sentries stand guard on the city tower, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

Two kilometers away on the highway, more than 100 Japanese soldiers were escorting a command armored vehicle toward Zhennanguan.

Both sides saw each other.

At that moment, the special forces' aircraft suddenly flew in from the southeast.

The aircraft quickly descended and stopped on the road, and the interception operation was carried out under the watchful eyes of the Japanese troops at Zhennanguan.

The team members quickly took out the special rifles from the aircraft, lay down by the roadside, and used a 4x scope to aim and fire at the Japanese troops 800 meters away.

"Bang!" The first shot rang out.

A Japanese lieutenant standing next to an armored command vehicle was observing through binoculars when his head suddenly exploded, splattering blood and brain matter onto the armored plate of the command vehicle, and his helmet, streaked with blood, flew far away.

Before they could react, gunshots rang out one after another, and two more Japanese soldiers fell to the ground with their heads blown off, their bodies lying stiffly on the road.

From the landing of the Lingyun-1 manned aerial vehicle to the sniping, only 2 minutes elapsed.

This embodies the result of the special forces members' long-term and arduous training.

"Enemy attack! Take cover!" A Japanese sergeant roared as he lunged toward the roadside slope. Other Japanese soldiers quickly took cover, some lying directly on the road, others hiding behind armored vehicles.

The sergeant cautiously peeked out to observe, when a precise bullet pierced his head, and his body slammed heavily into the muddy water.

The special forces snipers are terrifyingly accurate, mostly hitting the head and killing the target instantly without giving them any chance.

Inside the armored command vehicle, Japanese commander Nakamura trembled with rage, roaring into the observation port, "Useless! They have very few men, charge! Tear them to pieces!"

Under the commander's strict orders, dozens of Japanese soldiers gritted their teeth and peered out from behind cover, brandishing their Type 38 rifles and charging towards the special forces. But they had only run a dozen meters when the soldiers in the front ranks fell one after another like wheat being harvested, their bodies forming a bloody line on the road.

The Japanese soldiers behind them were completely stunned and lay on the ground, too afraid to move.

They had never seen such terrifying sniping techniques before; the opponent was clearly 800 meters away, yet they were still able to hit so accurately.

Don't even mention that our side has more troops than the enemy. With such accurate marksmanship, how could we possibly outnumber them with bullets?

However, for the special operations team, this operation could not take too long and had to be completed quickly.

"We can't hold out, we must push forward!" Zhou Pomen shouted, standing up first and firing his specially made rifle in a half-squatting position. Another Japanese machine gunner who tried to fire fell to the ground.

The team members understood each other perfectly and took turns providing cover as they advanced towards the Japanese forces, sniping as they went, constantly closing the distance.

When the distance between the two sides closed to 200 meters, the special forces members quickly switched from their special rifles to grenade launchers and submachine guns.

Several grenades accurately hit the Japanese military trucks they were using as cover, "Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The truck was destroyed by grenades, and the Japanese soldiers inside jumped out amidst flames and were killed instantly.

Amid the explosion of the rifle grenades, the special forces soldiers quickly approached and opened fire on the remaining Japanese troops with submachine guns.

The remaining Japanese troops were completely unable to mount an effective resistance, and their defenses collapsed instantly.

Some soldiers turned to flee, only to be hit in the back by bullets and fall heavily to the ground; others tried to resist, but were quickly closed in by special forces members and shot in the head.

Zhou Pomen led two team members and charged toward the Japanese armored command vehicle like cheetahs.

The hatch suddenly opened, and two Japanese guards rushed out with their rifles and bayonets raised, only to be shot in the chest by Zhou Pomen and his team members, dying instantly.

At this point, the command armored vehicle turned around on the spot and attempted to run back.

"Where are the rockets?" Zhou Pomen shouted.

A special forces soldier removed the rocket from his back, shouldered it, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

The rocket, trailing a plume of flame, struck the side of the armored vehicle as it was reversing, blasting a large hole in it.

The armored vehicle came to an immediate stop.

Zhou Pomen led his men over and crawled into the breach. Inside, the Japanese commander was trying to resist with his pistol, his eyes filled with fear and resentment.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Pomen raised his hand and fired a shot. The bullet struck the commander precisely in the forehead, causing his head to snap back violently against his seat. He died instantly, his eyes wide open, still in a state of extreme shock. "Mission accomplished, evacuate immediately!" Zhou Pomen shouted.

The team members quickly turned around, ran back to the parked Lingyun-1 single-soldier aircraft, boarded the aircraft, and started the engine.

Piston engines roared, and the aircraft quickly took off. Twenty Lingyun-1 aircraft sped towards the hilly terrain to the southeast, following their original course.

The entire interception process took only ten minutes, clean and efficient, without any unnecessary delays.

At this moment, the Japanese troops on the Zhennanguan city wall had just finished assembling, and more than a hundred soldiers, carrying rifles, rushed over, howling.

But when they arrived at the battlefield on the highway, the sight before them made them freeze in place, their bodies turning ice-cold.

The road was littered with the corpses of Japanese soldiers, some with bullets in their heads, others with limbs mutilated, their blood staining the entire road surface. Two military trucks, billowing black smoke, had been destroyed by the explosion. A large hole had been blown open in the side of an armored command vehicle, inside which lay the commander, who had been shot in the head. Blood flowed down the seat and pooled on the ground.

"Division Commander," an officer said, trembling as he stepped forward. He reached out and checked the commander's breath, then collapsed to the ground, roaring in despair.

The remaining Japanese soldiers stood there, their faces filled with shock and fear. No one could believe that in just ten minutes, more than a hundred Japanese soldiers, including their commander, had been completely annihilated by an unknown squad.

That army appeared out of nowhere and then mysteriously disappeared.

Twenty minutes later, Zhou Pomen led the individual flying vehicle team back to Hanglong Village and immediately had the special operations team's radio report to Fang Wen.

Dong Dang area, V-shaped valley.

The battle is still ongoing.

The French troops have broken through the blockade of the remnants of the Japanese army and joined up with the New First Regiment.

They then launched an encirclement and annihilation campaign against the remaining Japanese troops.

Meanwhile, the gunboat squadron had finished its air support mission and was beginning its return journey, leaving only Fang Wen piloting a plane in the air to direct reconnaissance.

Fang Wen used his special ability to observe the situation below.

Despite losing their divisional commander, the Japanese troops, apart from the wounded, did not give up resistance. Instead, they split into small groups of a dozen to several dozen men and resisted from different directions.

More of them left the highway area and dispersed into the surrounding mountains.

Of the 12,000 Japanese troops in the central route, at least 6000 were still combat-ready.

The longer the battle drags on, the worse it is for the allied forces.

At this moment, the crew's communications officer excitedly reported: "The special forces have sent a telegram that they intercepted the fleeing Japanese commander 2 kilometers outside Zhennanguan and have confirmed that he was killed."

Fang Wen smiled, picked up the microphone, and said in French:

"Edmonton, it's time to call it a day."

Edmonton's voice came through the radio: "Why? We can expand our gains."

"Are you sure you can wipe out the remaining several thousand Japanese soldiers?" Fang Wen asked.

"I don't think so. Okay, I'll listen to you, let's call it a day."

"I have good news for you. The commander of this Japanese army has been killed. He was likely the commander of the Japanese 5th Division."

"Really? That's great!"

Edmonton excitedly ended the call and organized his troops to return with the captured Japanese soldiers.

Zhang Yunfei of the New First Regiment also received Fang Wen's order to begin cleaning up the battlefield.

The soldiers, their faces beaming with victorious smiles and their bodies laden with spoils of war, marched back in high spirits.

The French troops who returned with the Japanese soldiers valued the Japanese prisoners more, and a large number of burned prisoners were taken back by the French on stretchers.

The troops returned to their camp outside Lang Son City two hours later.

Edmonton then excitedly convened a postwar conference.

During the meeting, he presided over the briefing on the situation of this battle.

"The battlefield has been almost completely cleared after this battle. More than 3000 Japanese soldiers were killed in action, and more than 800 were captured. These are only the ones that can be counted. There are also some burned bodies that cannot be identified. I estimate that the Japanese army suffered a total of 4000 dead and many more wounded."

He paused, then turned to his own losses: "The French suffered slightly heavier casualties, about 500 men. What about your New First Regiment?"

Fang Wen looked at Zhang Yunfei and translated for him: "He asked about the casualties of the New First Regiment."

Zhang Yunfei replied, "The New First Regiment suffered 5 dead and 100 wounded."

Fang Wen told Edmonton in French.

Edmonton laughed loudly, "We won, we won beautifully. Thank you, dear Fang, you brought hope."

Fang Wen smiled and replied, "We cannot relax yet; the Japanese still have 2 troops on the border."

Edmonton nodded. "Yes. The danger remains, but I don't think they'll dare to do it again. Besides, the highest commander of this Japanese division has been killed, and they need to replace their command system."

In the mountains surrounding the V-shaped valley, thousands of Japanese soldiers were dragging their weary bodies as they trudged along muddy mountain paths.

These soldiers were terrified by last night's horrific air raid and preferred to cross mountains rather than return via the highway.

More than 6000 Japanese troops, leaderless, turned back towards Zhennanguan along the mountain paths, with soldiers constantly falling behind and deserting along the way, their morale plummeting to its lowest point.

Meanwhile, the other two Japanese forces that were originally advancing towards the east and north of Lang Son respectively halted their advance after receiving news of the disastrous defeat of the 5th Division in the central route and the death of its commander, Nakamura Akito.

The two Japanese commanders urgently contacted each other by radio and agreed that the current situation was dangerous, that the French troops deployed on the border were far more powerful than expected, and that continuing to advance according to the original plan was extremely risky.

After reaching this conclusion, the two Japanese armies quickly regrouped, abandoned their original battle plan, withdrew from the border, and marched towards Zhennanguan, intending to defend Zhennanguan and prevent the situation from deteriorating.

Just as the Japanese troops on land were in chaos and retreating, bad news came from the Gulf of Tonkin.

The landing force under the command of the Japanese Navy's 5th Fleet launched a landing operation and successfully landed on the east side of Haiphong Port.

The Japanese marines who landed quickly overwhelmed the local French garrison, took control of the port area, and then began to set up temporary outposts to transfer subsequent troops and supplies.

When the news reached the Governor-General's Palace in Hanoi via French military radio, Governor-General Jean Decourt's face turned terribly grim.

The Allied forces' resounding victory at Dong Dang and the formidable fighting prowess displayed by the Chinese troops led the governor, who had initially leaned towards compromising with the Japanese, to consider confronting them. (End of Chapter)