Republic of China: Ace Pilot

After the pre-battle meeting, the army commander left the military airfield by car, while Fang Wen was making final preparations for tomorrow's battle.

He held a meeting in the airport conference room with the five combat group leaders of the French air force and Pan Jiafeng of the gunboat squadron.

The topographical map of western Haiyang City, spread out on the table, was densely marked with rivers, dikes, and villages, and every possible Japanese defensive point was circled in red.

Fang Wen pointed to Ba Di Vung Tau village on the map. "This is a key forward stronghold of the Japanese army. It's surrounded by rivers, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Ground troops advancing here will inevitably be hindered. Our primary task is to destroy the machine gun bunkers and ammunition depots here. After taking this place, there are other Japanese positions that need to be taken down one by one in coordination with the ground troops. How are your preparations?"

Captain La Roche, the French pilot and leader of Group A, replied on behalf of the French pilots: "Commander, we have checked the machine guns and bombs of all the Potez 25 fighters. Each aircraft is equipped with four 50-kilogram bombs and two 7.5-millimeter fixed machine guns, which is sufficient to deal with ground fortifications."

Fang Wen looked at Pan Jiafeng and said in Chinese, "Tell me about your preparations."

Pan Jiafeng replied, "All gunships and aircraft are ready and can be deployed at any time."

Fang Wen nodded, his gaze sweeping over everyone, especially the five French combat team leaders. He emphasized in French, "Remember, we are launching a collective attack. In tomorrow's battle, maintain formation coordination and do not venture deep into enemy territory alone. Also, the Japanese have definitely deployed anti-aircraft machine guns. We will respond to the air raids as needed. I will handle those anti-aircraft fires."

Meanwhile, in Haiyang City, the ground troops' camp was also bustling with activity.

Five thousand elite French troops are inspecting their equipment.

A young French soldier nervously secured his bayonet to his rifle. The veteran next to him patted him on the shoulder: "Follow me tomorrow. We'll definitely win this time."

"Why?" the young soldier asked, puzzled. The closer the battle got, the more afraid the new recruits became, while the veterans were much calmer.

The veteran he was talking to had fought in World War I, although he only participated in the later stages of the war, he was a senior member of the military.

He didn't answer the young soldier directly. Instead, he took out half a cigar, lit it, exhaled smoke, and said slowly, "I've been thinking about this lately: why did we lose the war on our own soil?"

The young soldier asked curiously, "Why?"

"Because times have changed. In the past, when we fought, we would rely on our positions to engage in repeated back-and-forth battles with the enemy. In the eyes of officers, this was the most orthodox method of warfare. But now, war is no longer about positional warfare. Our defeat on our home turf was due to our stubborn defense of our positions, which is why we were defeated by the Germans. And the Japanese were also imitating the Germans by doing the same thing, which is why we still lost our coastal defense city."

At this point, the veteran stubbed out his cigar: "But it's not absolute. The foreign commander in the Air Force knew exactly how to deal with the Japanese. Since using his methods, the Japanese have been very passive, which is why I think we can win."

"But he commands the air force, and we're the army!" the young soldier asked, puzzled.

"You'll find out when you get to the battlefield." The veteran said no more and began to inspect his rifle.

The next morning, a sudden bugle call broke the silence.

The French ground forces, in accordance with the pre-arranged plan, launched an attack from the outskirts of Haiyang, divided into three attack echelons.

The first echelon consisted of elite French troops, equipped with heavy machine guns and light mortars, and was responsible for breaking through the Japanese front lines; the second echelon consisted of local soldiers, who followed closely behind to mop up the remaining enemy forces and consolidate the position; the third echelon was equipped with 75mm field guns and 105mm howitzers, providing artillery support from the rear.

"Advance! Maintain speed!" The ground commander, not in a vehicle but on horseback, shouted the order while holding binoculars.

By noon, the French vanguard was approaching the first line of Japanese defense.

Just as Fang Wen had predicted, the Japanese fortifications formed a dense network of firepower along the river and through the villages. Machine gun emplacements spewed fire, and bullets rained down on the French troops.

Several French soldiers at the forefront were hit and fell to the ground. The following troops immediately lay down, set up Hotchkiss heavy machine guns and launched a counterattack. The dense rain of bullets clashed with the Japanese firepower. The battlefield was filled with smoke, and gunfire and explosions rose and fell.

French artillery then fired, but the impact was not effective.

"Calling for air support! Calling for air support! The first echelon is under heavy Japanese fire. Requesting permission to bomb the Ba Di Vung Tau village stronghold!" The frontline commander immediately called the command post several kilometers away via Taishan walkie-talkie.

At this time, Fang Wen was leading 27 Potez 25 fighter jets to the front-line battlefield, along with 10 gunship aircraft.

Ten minutes later, the air force arrived.

Fang Wen immediately used his special ability to scan the battlefield below.

The Japanese army's forward position was based in Ba Di Vung Tau village as a strategic outcrop, with the Taiping River and the Jin River on either side.

If we cannot break through here, we must go around to cross the river to fight, thereby slowing down the pace of the attack.

Behind the Ba Di Vung Tau village defense line, there are two follow-up defense lines, one to the north and one to the south. If all three defense lines are destroyed, the Japanese army will have no defensible position outside the coastal fortress.

Meanwhile, the Japanese warplanes had just taken off and would take at least 40 minutes to reach the battlefield.

In other words, this airstrike must be contained within half an hour.

Fang Wen then began operating the system.

With the aid of his supernatural observation abilities, he fine-tuned the trajectory of the rocket launcher, and after adjusting the trajectory, launched a smoke bomb.

These non-combat-effect aerial rockets continuously release smoke of different colors after hitting their targets; they are a war-directing tool specially designed by Fang Wen.

More than one smoke grenade was launched after its trajectory was adjusted.

Each bullet that hits its target emits smoke of a different color.

Red, yellow, purple, and blue smoke rose abruptly from the fields and villages of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Red marks indicate the anti-aircraft machine gun group on the east bank of the river, yellow covers the air defense positions behind the dike north of the village, purple points to the concrete bunker group in the center of the village, and blue precisely marks the hidden ammunition depot to the west of the village.

After completing these tasks, Fang Wen picked up the microphone and gave the order: "Gunship squadrons attack red and yellow targets. Groups A and B bomb purple targets. Groups C, D, and E bomb blue targets."

Ten gunboats descended to a lower altitude, flew over abandoned farmland, and hurtled toward the area marked by red and yellow smoke.

These modified gunboats were fitted with 8mm thick special steel armor plates. The special steel used by the Soviets to make bulletproof helmets was even more effective and could withstand direct fire from the Japanese Type 93 13mm anti-aircraft machine gun.

"Japanese anti-aircraft fire has been opened! Everyone be careful."

Pan Jiafeng, who was leading the operation, warned his team members via radio that his flagship gunship was the first to be hit. The bulletproof shield on the left side of the fuselage was instantly hit by a barrage of bullets, making a piercing "clanging" sound and sparks flying everywhere.

He gripped the control stick tightly, and instead of pulling up, he slammed the nose down. "Gunners, prepare! Alternate strafing to cover the red smoke area!"

The gunboat's side firing ports spewed flames, licking at the Japanese anti-aircraft machine gun positions on the east bank of the river like venomous snakes.

Japanese machine gunners were frantically rotating their gun mounts to fire when they were caught off guard by the oncoming hail of bullets. Some were riddled with bullets, while others were hit repeatedly by the anti-aircraft machine gun's bulletproof shield and fell to the ground along with the machine gun.

The two sides exchanged fire fiercely, with bullets constantly flying from the air and the ground. Even gunboats and aircraft could not guarantee complete safety under such circumstances.

The right wing of a gunship aircraft was hit, causing it to lose balance.

Upon discovering this situation, Fang Wen immediately ordered them to disengage from the battle and return to base.

While the anti-aircraft fire was being drawn away and suppressed, 27 Potez 25 fighter jets split into two groups and launched airstrikes on the two targets marked by Fang Wen.

The 12 fighter jets in Groups A and B descended to a lower altitude, flying almost close to the rooftops of the village. 50-kilogram bombs whistled off their pylons and accurately struck the concrete bunker marked by purple smoke.

These bunkers were built by the Japanese army using reinforced concrete and covered with a thick layer of soil on top. However, the low-altitude bombing by the French warplanes was exceptionally dense. The first wave of bombs destroyed the firing ports of three bunkers, and the Type 92 heavy machine guns inside instantly fell silent.

"One more round!" Captain La Roche, piloting the lead plane of Group A, quickly climbed, turned, and dove down again after completing the first round of bombing. His machine gunner pulled the trigger at the same time, and 7.5 mm bullets swept across the ground like a storm, suppressing the Japanese soldiers who tried to peek out.

The second wave of bombs followed, one of which hit the roof of a bunker. The violent explosion shattered the bunker, sending Japanese soldiers' limbs flying along with the rubble.

The 15 fighter jets in groups C, D, and E headed straight for the blue smoke area west of the village.

The ammunition depot here was hidden by the Japanese army behind a small grove of trees, and sandbag bunkers were built outside it.

However, Fang Wen's smoke bombs accurately marked the core location of the ammunition depot. Ignoring the remaining sporadic anti-aircraft fire, French warplanes flew low over the bamboo forest, and bombs fell one after another around the ammunition depot.

The first two bombs hit the outer sandbag bunkers, and the third bomb penetrated the wooden roof of the ammunition depot, detonating the high explosives and grenades stored inside.

"boom--!"

A deafening roar shook the entire village of Ba Di Vung Tau.

The ammunition depot was hit by a series of explosions, flames shot into the sky, and thick smoke rose into the sky like a black mushroom cloud. The scorching blast wave uprooted the surrounding bamboo forest, and Japanese soldiers were blown away by the blast wave and turned into fragments in the air.

The shockwave from the explosion even affected low-flying French warplanes, with several Potez 25s having their wings scratched by flying shrapnel.

Such air raids were extremely effective in damaging the Japanese front-line positions.

The French soldiers on the ground could no longer contain themselves; they lay down behind the ridges of the fields to witness the spectacular scene of air support.

"Attack!" The frontline commander swung his arm sharply, and the Hotchkiss heavy machine guns roared to life, providing cover for the first wave of elite French troops as they charged. Soldiers, gripping Bertier M1916 rifles, roared as they stormed into the village, their footsteps echoing through the blasted earth. The remaining Japanese troops attempted to resist from the ruins, but without heavy firepower support, their resistance proved futile.

A French veteran, rifle in hand, accurately shot and killed a Japanese soldier who was trying to throw a grenade. He turned to the young soldier beside him and smiled, "See? That's what makes an air force commander. I wasn't wrong, was I?"

The fear in the young soldier's eyes had long been replaced by excitement. He followed the veteran into a half-destroyed bunker, stabbed the last Japanese soldier to death with his bayonet, and shouted breathlessly, "We won!"

In the air, Fang Wen scanned the battlefield with his supernatural abilities and saw that the Japanese anti-aircraft firepower had been basically wiped out, the bunkers on the front lines had been destroyed, and the ground troops were steadily advancing. He finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At that moment, Pan Jiafeng's report came through the radio: "Commander, the gunboat squadron has completed its distraction mission. Two aircraft have been damaged, but most of the marked anti-aircraft fire has been destroyed!"

"Very good." Fang Wen's voice remained calm. "All fighter jets take off and return to base."

In the current situation, although aerial bombs have been used up, fighter jets can still support the ground offensive with aircraft machine guns.

Although the pilots were puzzled, they still obeyed orders.

Fifteen minutes after Fang Wen led his squadron back to base, Japanese aircraft arrived over Haiphong City.

The Japanese pilots failed to capture Fang Wen and his men; the positions below had already been captured.

They could only drop the bombs randomly and then swarm and straf the enemy.

Compared to Fang Wen's purposeful command of the attacking aircraft, the behavior of these Japanese aircraft was much more scattered, causing some impact on the French forces, but not much.

After 30 minutes of air raid, the Japanese aircraft could not sustain the attack and returned to base.

Not long after they left, Fang Wen led a group of aircraft that had completed the second round of loading and departed from Hanoi military airport, arriving at the front-line airspace.

This time, Fang Wen switched communication frequencies to communicate with the ground command.

"Airborne call to ground command, please respond."

"This is ground command, received."

"Based on aerial reconnaissance, the Japanese forward positions have now fallen, and the remaining troops have retreated to the rear. My suggestion is to attack the northern positions first, where the defenses are relatively weak."

"Okay, I'll order the troops to move out immediately."

After the communication was completed, Fang Wen switched back to the air frequency and directed the air force to rush towards the northern positions, carrying out an air strike in advance of the French offensive.

Same as before.

As the commander, Fang Wen launched smoke bombs at the target area via the air-to-ground rocket launcher, directing various units to launch airstrikes.

This smoke-guided combat method, used for the first time in actual combat, allows air forces to clearly know where their targets are, eliminating the need for complex location terminology for communication and command, and the effect is surprisingly good.

The second round of air raids was also successfully completed, bombing all the important defensive facilities in the northern positions.

During the bombing.

The Japanese front-line positions were also desperately requesting air support.

This time, however, the Japanese air force did not take off immediately.

Because they knew that even if they set off, they wouldn't be able to catch the air force led by Fang Wen.

They chose to delay their operations, waiting until the second round of air raids ended and they returned to base before taking off for Haiphong.

Fang Wen had already seen their operation through the radar detection device.

So how will the third round of airstrikes be carried out? (End of Chapter)