Chapter 218 Failure!

Author: Maomao Que Dade

Chapter 218 Failure!

The northern defense line of Zhongtiao Mountain and the northeast side of Hengling Pass.

After delivering Li Yunlong's 1st Marine Regiment to its destination, Principal Chang immediately led the air trains to turn around and quickly return to the field airport in the southeastern Shanxi base area.

The entire formation was unprecedentedly split into two when it arrived on the battlefield. One part consisted of twenty-five transport aircraft and twenty-five fighter jets.

These fighter jets will continue to perform escort missions to ensure that the air train can return safely.

The other part consisted of six Spitfires and fifty-eight Hurricanes. They not only carried bullets and aerial cannons, but also mounted Red Sun rockets and aerial bombs on the lower ends of their wings.

According to the orders of the First Air Division, these big guys must be dealt with before returning to the airport.

In this era, whether it is a fighter jet or a bomber, as long as it takes off with a full load of weapons, it generally will not bring those big babies back to the airport.

Even if they are not used up, they will choose a sparsely populated place to throw them away.

After all, when a plane takes off with weapons, it will encounter almost no danger. After all, they are well-trained soldiers with very solid basic skills.

But no one can guarantee that their aircraft will be intact after completing the mission!

No matter what the reason is, once a mistake is made during landing, there is a possibility of friction between the aircraft body and the ground.

If there were still weapons mounted on the belly or under the wings at that time, it was very likely that it would blow up your own airport.

Looking at the Japanese who were attacking like crazy without getting tired, Captain Wang Hai picked up the communicator and gave the order to attack on the channel:

"In the first wave, every four fighter planes form a formation, and everyone goes up together. While the enemy's formation is still dense, throw out all the aerial bombs."

"Choose high-value targets as much as possible to delay the enemy's advance!"

"receive!"

······

At this time, the 41st Division of the North China Front Army and the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade were launching a fierce attack on the positions of the 43rd Army and the 17th Army of Guo Preserved.

Although a large number of heavy weapons were lost in the air raid, the combat effectiveness and fighting will of the Japanese B Division cannot be underestimated.

Under the attack at all costs, the defenders on the northern front of Zhongtiao Mountain were already in decline. In just two hours of fighting, they lost their Shibaping position.

Several infantry brigades fought steadily, using Type 92 infantry artillery and smoke grenades as the core of their tactics, bit by bit eroding the fortress group of the 43rd Army.

In the Japanese army's forward command post, Lieutenant General Shimizu Noriyoshi and Major General Ikegami Kenkichi both looked bad.

Even though the troops are attacking smoothly now, as long as those damn enemy planes appear again, all the previous results will be lost.

Suddenly, Qing Shui rushed out of the command post. The old Japanese grabbed the telescope of the staff officer beside him and looked carefully at the distant sky.

Soon, he discovered dozens of green dots high in the sky.

"Enemy plane! Enemy plane! Hidden!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of senior generals in the command post crawled into the air-raid shelter like moles. The speed was so fast that they had the style of a Gallic chicken.

The reason why Qingshui Ruler was able to identify the Kongyi Division was very simple. Their planes all departed from Taiyuan, so they should have flown from the north rather than from the south.

As the sound of the piston engine became clearer and clearer, sixty-four fighter jets appeared over the battlefield.

The Japanese infantry were immediately in disarray. They had been battered by the bombing. Many Japanese soldiers' legs could not help but tremble when they saw the plane.

At the critical moment of life and death, the brigades no longer gathered together and the birds and beasts scattered, and the offensive formation was destroyed in an instant.

No one had the courage to charge, because at this time enemy planes had already swooped down and dropped aerial bombs on the densely populated area.

Several 227-kilogram aerial bombs exploded with a bang. Even Qingshui Juju and others in the rear air raid shelter could clearly feel the noise caused by the explosion.

Unlike the Japanese who were in extremely embarrassed state, the 43rd Army, as the defender, seemed to have received a powerful shot of adrenaline.

It has been more than a day since the battle began, and most of the soldiers have become accustomed to the friendly air force acting like model workers.

Even though the two sides have not yet established an effective communication network, the air-ground cooperation is working well, and sometimes the ground troops can guide the 1st Air Division to its targets.

For the grassroots commanders on the front line, now is a good opportunity to attack. The aerial bombs not only destroyed the enemy's trenches, but also broke up the enemy's formation.

If you don't fight back now, why wait?

"All attacks!"

Taking advantage of the air strikes launched by the 1st Air Division, the 43rd Army organized several waves of counterattacks and regained the Shibaping position.

If the commander of the army, Zhao Shiling, was not afraid that the troops would charge too hard and be accidentally injured by friendly fighter jets, the soldiers with high morale would have to give the Japanese more strength.

Under the instruction of the signal bomb, the Hurricanes completed the dive and threw the aerial bombs they carried on the head of the 41st Division wantonly.

Pieces of bombs exploded along the Japs' retreat route, and streaks of flames devoured the enemy's lives.

Occasionally, Japanese soldiers used light and heavy machine guns to try to form an anti-aircraft firepower network. But this pitiful firepower was not even qualified to serve as a farewell to the hurricane.

The precise dive bombing lasted for five minutes. Sixty-four fighter jets were divided into several batches and delivered the aerial bombs they carried to the 41st Division and the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade.

The two brothers, the Hurricane and the Spitfire, were definitely very good fighter jets on the European battlefield.

After all, the bomb load is insufficient, making it difficult to fulfill the mission of a close support aircraft.

But once they come to the Asian battlefield with excellent matching mechanisms, many Japanese soldiers already regard them as the gods of death in the air.

Regardless of the weight of the aerial bomb carried by the two, even if it does not hit directly and becomes a near miss, it can have an instant kill effect on the Japanese armored forces.

The Red Sun rocket is less powerful, but its accuracy when attacking ground units is very good.

Coupled with the shooting correction of aviation machine guns or aircraft cannons, it is basically possible to achieve one artillery position for one shot.

It goes without saying that the power of Western artillery and Browning aviation machine guns is too great. The damage caused by these two weapons in one day is no less than the number of rockets and aerial bombs.

Even in a sense, the mental damage caused is greater.

After the aerial bombs were used up, many fighter planes were free to attack.

Fang Ziyi's target was a Type 95 light tank that was retreating. As soon as his hurricane wings swung, he began to dive at a small angle.

From the perspective of the Japanese below, the plane that killed countless people was rushing towards them with a terrifying momentum.

The hurricane's twelve Browning machine guns fired at the Japanese retreating with the tanks, and also completed the correction of the rocket launch trajectory.

boom!

After a loud noise, the Type 95 light tank was blown into several burning parts, obviously completely destroyed.

As for the crew members inside the tanks, it can only be said that they are all acquaintances, and there is no possibility of any of them surviving.

The surrounding Japanese who retreated using the tanks as bunkers were not killed by Browning aircraft machine guns, but were blown to pieces by aerial bombs.

With a simple lick of the ground, the tank that made the 43rd Army itch with hatred was easily eliminated by Fang Ziyi.

Facing the air force loaded with ammunition, the enemy's ground troops are all lambs waiting to be slaughtered. It can only be said that air power is worthy of being the natural enemy of ground armored troops.

Watching Fang Ziyi gracefully complete a ground attack, he said with great emotion in the channel:

"I have to say that your efficiency is getting higher and higher! If the current situation continues, maybe in a few decades your story will be circulated around the world like Rudel."

"After returning to the border area, I will apply to Director Huang to modify your aircraft. Replace it with two 40mm Vickers cannons and let you have a blast!"

After hearing the captain's words, Fang Ziyi was stunned.

Although his flying time was quite long, the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain was his first time to participate in a large-scale battle.

Being able to receive such a high rating in just one day made him feel like he was living in a dream.

"Rudel? Who is this man? Judging from his name, he must be a foreigner. What big thing has he done?"

"This man is not that famous yet, but you will know later. He has many nicknames, the most widely circulated ones are Eagle of the Eastern Front and Paramecium King of the World!"

Fang Ziyi's air attack was just the tip of the iceberg of the Air Division's ground attack.

The pilots pulled up the fighter planes one after another, selected a lucky person in the air, and then completed another attack.

The cannons/machine guns under the wings of the Hurricane, Spitfire, and Red Sun rockets were fired all at once, as if they were cutting through butter with a hot knife.

Almost few of the Japanese who were hit could leave behind intact bodies. Broken limbs and broken arms could be seen everywhere, dyeing the land of Zhongtiao Mountain red and black.

However, the 41st Division is not a fool. They have been destroyed by the Kongyi Division all day long.

Facing these enemy planes licking the ground, the Japanese were able to quickly disperse and find bunkers.

Although Hurricane and Spitfire look powerful, it is already difficult to find piles of enemies during the third wave of attacks, and the effect of ground attacks is getting weaker and weaker.

Due to the impact of the ammunition load, the ammunition on the fighter jet has been almost exhausted.

Under the leadership of Captain Wang Hai, all pilots raised their altitude and re-formed without any hesitation.

Although the pilots would leave one-third of their aircraft guns and bullets behind each time, who knew whether the Japanese army aviation forces would suddenly appear and fight them desperately.

If we are caught off guard, no one can bear the responsibility.

Even though the battle was not over yet, the soldiers of the 43rd Army could no longer hold back their excitement. They cheered at the leaving 1st Air Division on the defense line and watched the model workers return.

"It's so enjoyable! It feels so good to have an air force! It's been so many years! We finally have air supremacy!"

"Isn't that right! I've been fighting Maxim for a whole day, and it's not as good as a bomb from someone else's plane! The Eighth Route Army is too powerful! It's richer than the Central Army!"
To be continued...