Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Chapter 295 Bomber Formation! Tactical Deception
"you sure?"

Upon hearing the intelligence report from his subordinate, Okamura immediately stood up.

"Sir, it has been verified."

"Other intelligence personnel also reported that the Eighth Route Army was carrying out secret operations, but in order to avoid being exposed, they did not conduct in-depth investigations."

"That's what the Japanese officer replied."

Besides the play performed in that village, Chen Ming also subtly leaked some information to other Japanese spies.

These messages would not normally attract the attention of the Japanese soldiers.

Because the base area had such strong counter-espionage capabilities, these Japanese spies were worried that they would expose themselves for trivial intelligence.

This time, however, the news about the Eighth Route Army transporting fuel was far too important.

After all, anything involving fuel is no small matter.

Even a fool knows what oil is used for.

Based on the location where the fuel was transported, it was possible to deduce where the Eighth Route Army used the fuel.

These places were, without exception, the core of the Eighth Route Army.

Okamura looked at the intelligence report handed over by his officers. Looking at the contents of the report, he found that the Eighth Route Army was transporting fuel.

Several intelligence agents also reported back that the Eighth Route Army seemed to be active at night, with an unknown number and purpose of Eighth Route Army personnel operating at night.

Based on various clues, Okamura basically believed the intelligence about the Eighth Route Army transporting fuel.

Gangcun looked at the map on the wall, pondering, and finally his gaze settled on Liangcheng.

He was suddenly startled!
Could this be the location where the Eighth Route Army's armored forces are hiding?

What a tricky spot!

Surrounded by mountains and with difficult roads, this area is not suitable for large-scale tank deployments, but it makes it very easy to hide.

In Gangcun's mind, the tanks that the Eighth Route Army possessed were all tanks that had been captured from them.

It is characterized by its light weight, small size, and high mobility.

Other tanks would have difficulty operating in Liangcheng, but the tanks produced by the Japanese themselves, due to their light weight and small size, could actually operate in these areas, although they were not suitable for combat.

Liangcheng is located in the heart of the region between Jining and Datong. If this tank force could break out of Liangcheng, cut off the attack on Jining, and relieve the rear of the Japanese division in Baotou, it would be a perfect opportunity.

In this way, those two divisions were actually surrounded by the Eighth Route Army and trapped in the Chahar region.

If these two divisions cannot quickly break through the blockade of this armored force, it will be dangerous.

The daily supply needs of two entire divisions are astronomical.

If the supply lines are cut off, both divisions will be in chaos within a few days.

Because Chen Ming dismantled the railway line between Datong and Jining, the Japanese could only rely on human and animal power to transport supplies.

The 14th and 57th Divisions carried few supplies and relied on continuous resupply from the logistics lines.

After all, it's simply unrealistic to expect field troops to carry large amounts of supplies while marching.

A single field gun shell weighs over ten kilograms. Even if every soldier is incredibly strong, how many can they carry?
Therefore, the supplies carried by these two divisions were insufficient to support them in fighting for long without logistical support.

If the blockade, mainly by the Eighth Route Army's armored forces, cannot be broken within a few days, the consequences for those two divisions will be unimaginable.

Can two divisions really eliminate a defensive force with a considerable number of tanks in just a few days?

Although unwilling to admit it, Okamura still believed that once the 14th and 57th Divisions were outmaneuvered by this armored force.

Even if the 14th Division, a Class A division, were among them, breaking through would be extremely difficult.

An infantry-dominated force is attacking an armored blockade. How can infantrymen possibly break through tank armor?

Okamura had no doubt that once the Eighth Route Army's armored forces attacked from the rear, they could easily tear through the rear defenses of the two divisions.

The armored forces have an incredibly strong breakthrough capability.

"so far so good."

Thinking of this, Gangcun broke out in a cold sweat.

"If the Eighth Route Army succeeds, these two divisions will be in danger."

"My division in the Huai Ren area was tied down by the main force of the Independent Detachment and could not move."

"Datong, Wucheng, and even Beiping have very few soldiers left."

"We can't spare many troops to support these two divisions. If the Eighth Route Army's armored forces succeed, the consequences will be too severe."

"But now that I have grasped the Eighth Route Army's intentions, the situation is different."

Thinking of this, Okamura felt a sense of relief.

Fortunately, his intelligence agents accidentally discovered the Eighth Route Army's fuel transport, giving him an opportunity to prepare for a counterattack.

"It's truly thanks to Amaterasu!"

"Pass on my order: instruct the Army Aviation's reconnaissance planes to conduct reconnaissance towards Liangcheng, but be careful not to attract the attention of the Eighth Route Army. They can only conduct reconnaissance from a distance and must not fly directly to Liangcheng!"

Okamura immediately issued the order.

"Hi Yi!"

Under Okamura's orders, the Japanese reconnaissance planes, which had just returned from scouting and hadn't had much time to rest, immediately refueled and took off again.

By evening, the first reconnaissance plane to return landed at the airport and transmitted back the intelligence it had gathered.

"Sir, you were right. There are Eighth Route Army armored units hiding in the Liangcheng area."

"The air force reported that when he flew over Liangcheng from a distance, he saw a hidden valley on the outskirts of Liangcheng with signs of a large number of people."

"Among them were moving vehicles, the air force reported, and those vehicles looked very much like tanks."

The Japanese officer reported to Okamura.

Because the order given by Gangcun was not to alert the Eighth Route Army, otherwise the Eighth Route Army would likely move away after they noticed, and it would be difficult to find them then.

Therefore, the Japanese pilots could only observe from a distance, and what they saw was rather blurry.

However, this was interpreted differently by Okamura.

With the support of previous intelligence, plus the intelligence transmitted back by the air force, he basically concluded that Liangcheng was the location where the Eighth Route Army's armored forces were hiding.

"Order all bombers to launch a full-scale attack and destroy the Eighth Route Army armored forces in Liangcheng!"

Okamura issued the order.

He wanted to use absolute air superiority to bomb the armored forces in the Independent Detachment and completely eliminate this biggest threat.

Under Okamura's orders, the Japanese soldiers cobbled together a handful of aircraft, even using old models, and finally managed to assemble twenty-three bombers.

This has basically emptied the coffers of the Japanese invaders in North China.

At this point, even the mountain city no longer received such treatment, which shows Gangcun's hatred for Chen Ming and his fear of the threat posed by Chen Ming's armored forces.

On the morning of the seventh day after the battle began, Japanese bomber formations took off from three airfields and roared toward Liangcheng.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the first plane appeared over Liangcheng.

Air raid sirens sounded in Liangcheng.

This time, the Japanese bomber pilots could fly directly over Liangcheng to observe the area.

From the plane, they could indeed see several tanks parked below, as well as a warehouse not far away, which must have been where the tanks were parked.

Because the tank model made by Li the carpenter was very realistic, and it was even painted.

The Japanese planes were flying at a high altitude, so at first glance, it was indeed impossible to tell that these tanks were fake.

"Yosh, this credit is mine!"

The Japanese airmen grinned wickedly as they lowered their altitude, preparing to bomb.

If the flight altitude is too high, it will be difficult for the bombs to accurately hit the target; where they hit will depend entirely on luck. The Japanese support resources can no longer be wasted, so the only option is to lower the altitude to improve accuracy.

However, the Japanese pilots were not worried. They had absolute air superiority, and it would be difficult for the Eighth Route Army to threaten their planes.

However, Chen Ming had deployed an air defense company in Liangcheng.

It is equipped with four 37mm anti-aircraft guns and four 20mm autocannons.

As the Japanese bombers descended to prepare for bombing, the anti-aircraft company defending the "tank base" immediately opened fire.

"Brothers, give them a good beating! This is the first time our air defense company has shot down Japanese planes. We can't lose face."

"We must show those Japanese planes what we're made of, and let them know we're not to be trifled with!"

"The air defense company commander shouted."

Since its establishment, their air defense company has hardly ever fired a single decent shot at an aircraft.

When there were combat missions, they were also deployed to fight off the Japanese tanks and suppress their firepower.

For example, during the battle in the Datong mining area, they were tasked with suppressing enemy fire.

Now, they can finally shoot down the Japanese planes to their heart's content.

"Comrades, don't conserve ammunition. We must suppress the Japanese planes and prevent them from getting too close to the ground."

The political instructor of the air defense company shouted loudly.

The anti-aircraft company opened fire!
The Japanese pilots were startled to see that the Eighth Route Army had anti-aircraft capabilities.

However, this also indirectly confirms the importance of this base.

"This is definitely an armored base of the Eighth Route Army, no doubt about it, otherwise it wouldn't be equipped with anti-aircraft weapons."

Facing the anti-aircraft fire of the Eighth Route Army, the Japanese pilots were not afraid and continued to lower their altitude to prepare for bombing.

The air defense company only had eight anti-aircraft weapons, which was not dense enough to be very effective.

In addition, the soldiers of the anti-aircraft company had little experience in shooting down planes and lacked practical combat experience, which allowed many Japanese planes to break through the fire net and drop bombs on the "tanks" parked below.

"Boom boom boom!"

Aerial bombs are far more powerful than artillery.

A 50-kilogram aerial bomb can contain 40 kilograms of explosives.

A 50-kilogram howitzer shell contains only 6-10 kilograms of explosives.

After all, aerial bombs only need to consider whether an aircraft can carry them into the sky, while artillery shells also need to consider how to fire them.

A large number of aerial bombs fell into the "tank base" below, instantly creating countless huge fireballs.

With just one round of bombing, the entire "tank base" was turned into an inferno.

The buildings collapsed, the tanks crumbled, and the entire base was reduced to ruins.

The Japanese pilots were very satisfied with the damage they had caused and continued to drop bombs, completely destroying the Eighth Route Army's armored forces.

However, the soldiers in the air force company were not to be trifled with.

After a short period of adjustment, they figured out some of the tricks of the trade.

Gradually, the Japanese bombers began to suffer losses.

A shell from a 37mm anti-aircraft gun exploded near a bomber. The Japanese bomber was blown apart like paper, losing half of its wing and plummeting to the ground in thick smoke.

The Japanese pilots were furious, frantically maneuvering their planes to try and stop the descent.

But it had no effect; they could only watch helplessly as the plane crashed.

"Heaven is making trouble with the black card board!"

The Japanese pilot screamed in despair, attempting one last maneuver to crash his plane into a vital Eighth Route Army facility.

However, it veered off course and crashed into a mountain, resulting in the destruction of the aircraft and the loss of life.

After the first plane was shot down, the second and the third followed.

As their own losses began to mount, the Japanese finally started to take these anti-aircraft firepower seriously.

The anti-aircraft firepower of a single anti-aircraft company was merely tactical harassment level firepower against the Japanese aircraft formation.

The Japanese bombers didn't care about these anti-aircraft weapons, since there were too few of them, and their symbolic significance outweighed their actual anti-aircraft effectiveness.

This level of firepower would likely be labeled as an anti-tank gun position rather than an air defense threat in the Japanese battle reports.

Therefore, the Japanese aircraft formations prioritized bombing the Eighth Route Army's "tank bases" rather than targeting these anti-aircraft defenses.

However, the accuracy of this anti-aircraft company of the Eighth Route Army was surprisingly good.

They actually lost three aircraft.

Although many of the bombers deployed this time were old models with poor performance.

But even the worst airplane is still an airplane, right?

Such limited firepower had inflicted such heavy losses on them, forcing the Japanese to take this defensive force seriously.

So the Japanese bombers began to target these anti-aircraft guns.

Aerial bombs and airborne machine guns began attacking the anti-aircraft battery's positions!

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

The air defense company political instructor shouted frantically, trying to get the soldiers to retreat and preserve their strength.

Anti-aircraft soldiers with combat experience who have shot down Japanese aircraft are extremely valuable.

The chief of staff had instructed that once the Japanese began targeting the air defense positions, weapons must be abandoned and the positions evacuated immediately.

If anti-aircraft weapons are lost, they can be rebuilt, obtained from the Soviet army, or even purchased from other places.

But if experienced warriors are gone, then there's really nothing left.

However, unlike their instructors, the soldiers in the air defense company knew that once the Japanese planes began targeting the air defense positions...

Even if they withdraw, these weapons will not be safe.

For our military, air defense weapons and equipment are extremely scarce, and abandoning them means there will be no replacements.

The instructor was a political officer transferred from the rear. Although he knew the value of weapons, he did not have the soldiers' firm belief that weapons were their lifeblood.

Abandoning weapons means completely losing air defense capabilities, so they would rather sacrifice themselves to protect their equipment.

For them, weapons are their life; without weapons, they lose their lives.

"Er Leng, quickly take the instructor and retreat! The rest of you, fight to the death with me and the Japanese planes!"

The air defense company commander shouted loudly.

He came from the Northeast Army and didn't want to retreat. He had retreated too many times already, retreating from the Northeast into the interior and then retreating all the way back.

He had retreated far too many times, each time ordered by his superiors to withdraw, handing over land and weapons to the Japanese.

Now that he has joined the Eighth Route Army and can fight the Japanese to the death, he doesn't want to retreat anymore.

"You dare! I am the political instructor, and I order you to abandon the position and retreat immediately!"

The air defense company instructor shouted loudly.

"I am the company commander!"

"Er Leng, immediately take the instructor and retreat. I will take full responsibility for any consequences."

"If I can survive." This was what the air defense company commander thought to himself.

"Brothers, let's fight those Japanese planes!"

The anti-aircraft company commander shouted loudly and pulled the trigger, firing at the oncoming Japanese plane!
(End of this chapter)