Chapter 107: Air Defense

Zhao Da, Company Commander of the Anti‑Aircraft Company, the Artillery Company is stationed on a small hill on the An North Line, and this position exactly aligns with the enemy's attack route from the south.

Moreover, if the anti‑aircraft gun is leveled, this angle can even fire at enemies on the west bank of the river.

The An River runs north‑south, so the Four Regiments' positions are on the east side of the An River; the Japanese Army attacks along the railway, i. e., from the west toward the east.

Zhao Da watches the black specks in the distant sky drawing nearer and shouts loudly, "Load."

On the battlefield, most of the time the Commander has to shout, and even more often he hopes the troops below will relay orders quickly.

The ammunition handlers, highly skilled, load the shells, and all six anti‑aircraft guns are fully loaded.

Zhao Da's trait is concentrated fire.

Indeed, he also plans to use concentrated fire against the Japanese fighter and bomber aircraft.

Wolf‑pack tactics: fixate on a single prey, stare at it relentlessly.

In the distance several black dots are already visible, and they are drawing ever closer.

Each anti‑aircraft gun is spaced apart with cover around them, so the Messenger naturally does not use a radio or field telephone.

The only thing is the red flag in the Messenger's hand; once the red flag is lowered, all anti‑aircraft guns fire immediately.

The Anti‑Aircraft Company's Messenger watches Zhao Da's hand closely, and his hand does not lower.

Buzz—

The sound of Japanese Army aircraft engines can already be heard.

"Prepare." Zhao Da issues the first order.

At the same time the Messenger waves a blue flag, and the six anti‑aircraft guns are aimed in one direction—the south, the bearing from which Japanese Army aircraft are approaching.

Saying you're not nervous is a lie.

The soldiers obtained through System Exchange are also flesh and blood, and they have feelings.

The safety of the entire regiment depends on the Anti‑Aircraft Company.

"Mu Dao, the front seems to have fortifications."

"Yo Xi, Chang Ze, let's go down and take a look." Mu Dao said with a light smile.

Having said that, two Ki-30 bombers reduced altitude, dropping from three thousand meters to one thousand meters.

At this altitude they have already entered the Anti‑Aircraft Company's fire range.

The Japanese Army fighters following close behind also lowered altitude; to them, this is prey that can be toyed with.

"Fire." Zhao Da roars loudly.

The Messenger lowers the red flag.

The tracer flare's guidance remains clear even in daylight.

All anti‑aircraft guns fire toward the tracer flare; three guns are loaded with armor‑piercing shells, and the other three with high‑explosive shells.

Anti‑aircraft fire is probabilistic; even a hundred rounds may not hit a single aircraft.

Therefore, for probabilistic matters, you must win with quantity.

Even if few, when six anti‑aircraft guns hit a plane, the firepower is not to be underestimated.

Thump thump thump.

"Little." Mu Dao had not finished the word "heart" when a shell from an anti‑aircraft gun pierced his cockpit.

He never expected that on the Chinese positions there would also be anti‑aircraft machine guns.

Chang Ze watches his comrade's aircraft disintegrate in the sky, too late for grief; as an excellent pilot of the Imperial Japan, he knows what to do now.

He pulls the control lever and climbs.

But just as he prepares to pull up, an even more terrifying barrage comes.

At this moment his altitude has already dropped to seven hundred meters.

Rat-a-tat.

Rat-a-tat.

Countless bullets shoot upward; the Four Regiments' machine guns all fire at the sky.

"Damn." Chang Ze sees his right wing pierced, clearly unable to return.

The aircraft is already out of control, unable to perform any maneuver.

Meanwhile the ground bullets have already passed his bomber, because the Expeditionary Force's soldiers know the plane is doomed.

They aimed their precious bullets at the aircraft still behind, which was preparing to descend.

Even though the MG42's anti‑aircraft capability is somewhat weak, its effective fire still catches Japanese fighters and bombers off guard.

The Nakajima Type 1 fighter's 12.7 mm machine gun must get within a kilometer to attack the enemy.

Beyond a kilometer, it's just blind firing.

In fact, machine guns work the same way: you need fire coverage that keeps you from exposing yourself.

Just a single encounter caused the Japanese to lose two aircraft; Little Japan's planes are very valuable. In 1942, Little Devil's morale is high and aircraft are just barely sufficient, but as the war drags on, Little Japan's strategic supplies dwindle.

"Continue firing; we must not let the Japanese aircraft break through our Defensive Line." Song Mengqin, holding a telescope, sees the two downed Japanese aircraft and, without time to celebrate, immediately issues the order.

The soldiers on the Four Regiments' positions lie on their backs, butt of their rifles on the ground, firing skyward.

It looks foolish, and it's a rifle firing at the air, but if there's a chance, it can still hit a plane.

However, rifle bullets have limited power, so the damage they cause is not great.

Even the Japanese Army's thin‑skinned aircraft, though fragile, cannot be taken down by a single bullet unless someone has Jiang Anguo's shooting precision to directly eliminate the Japanese pilot.

The primary purpose of anti‑air fire is to destroy Japanese aircraft, but in practice it more often hinders their attacks on the ground.

This Japanese flight's mission is not along the Mandalay road in Myanmar; its actual target is Lashu.

In other words, they aim to use absolute superiority to destroy the Expeditionary Force's Staff Department, because they already know its location.

After Zhao Da sees two enemy aircraft hit, he has no time to celebrate and immediately orders the anti‑aircraft crews to attack the fighters behind the enemy.

The Artillery Company's remaining anti‑aircraft guns also fired at Zhao Da's trajectory; such dense fire would force the enemy, if not suicidal, to lower altitude to bomb the Expeditionary Force positions.

Clearly the Japanese were stunned, having not expected the Expeditionary Force to have anti‑aircraft guns.

The Japanese refer to the Expeditionary Force as the Chongqing Army.

They still decided to destroy this Defensive Line, creating favorable conditions for the 56th Division's advance on Lashu.

However, the ground fire was so intense that before they even saw the target, four aircraft had already been shot down.

The losses were too great; even the Little Devils did not dare to fly low!

With no other choice, they could only drop the bombs from the bombers, and whether they hit the target remains unknown.

The remaining combat aircraft were all damaged.

Watching the Japanese aircraft fly off into the distance, Song Mengqin also let out a sigh of relief.

"Immediately check the status of all units for any damage, notify the Reconnaissance Company, and watch the enemy's movements," Song Mengqin had a premonition that the enemy would soon appear on the opposite bank of the river.

Fortunately, after the Japanese dropped their bombs, none fell on the Expeditionary Force's positions; they all landed on the opposite bank of the river.

Moreover, they were not heavy aerial bombs but rather 200‑kilogram aerial bombs; Japan's resources are actually very limited, and it relies on plundering China to sustain the war.

The Ki‑30 light bomber can carry a 400‑kilogram aerial bomb.

Even so, the 200‑kilogram aerial bombs still created many craters on the opposite bank.