Chapter 145: Offense and Defense Easily Shift

"All targets shot down, requesting further instructions," Song Yunfei reported, looking at the empty sky over the radio.

The Bf109 fighter formation circled Xibu a few times, as if saluting the ground comrades, then turned its nose and flew south. They had received the latest assignment from Jiang Anguo's side.

The BF109s that had exhausted their ammunition returned the same way to Lashu Airport.

Ground forces set out immediately, searching based on the coordinates of the downed enemy aircraft. Jiang Anguo received the news on the Zai An Defensive Line; he had not returned to Lashu, but remained stationed at the front.

Although the outpost had only a Squad's worth of men, there were indeed many crash sites to search. Why risk the search? Mainly to find useful intelligence from the wreckage, such as the Japanese's next operational plans or troop deployments.

The most crucial are the written messages; they can yield a lot of useful information.

The plane Jiang Anguo shot down earlier in Chanda revealed that the Little Devil was a reconnaissance aircraft that took off from Thailand.

In fact, ever since he arrived here, including things from his past life, he never recalled the Japanese launching aircraft from Thailand, because in 1942 all Southeast Asian focus was on Myanmar, the Philippines, Australia and the like; no one would bother with a fringe matter.

As for the pilot who just perished in the air, Jiang Anguo felt deep regret, because he collided at high speed with a Japanese bomber, the fuel tank exploded instantly, leaving no remains; retrieving a body had become an impossible task.

The comrades of the Independent Regiment below, together with the th Division soldiers, all silently faced the crash site and rendered a solemn military salute to the charred ground.

Intelligence is vital in war. At the outset of the Myanmar War, whether it was the British Army, the American Army, or the Expeditionary Force, they all moved as if in fog, unaware of who their enemy was, how many enemy troops there were, or their strategic intentions.

Especially the Expeditionary Force, which actually trusted the British and the Americans—utterly foolish!

Naturally, this glorious air battle was not reported on a large scale to avoid provoking the Japanese into early tactical adjustments, but the entire engagement was meticulously recorded, as the outpost base's cameras remained on, and several fighters also had onboard cameras capturing footage.

Jiang Anguo did this not to flaunt force, but to ensure future generations remember that peace is forged with real swords and guns, bought with the blood of countless heroes.

"That Little Devil is a ruthless man!" Jiang Anguo said, looking up.

Xiao Si on the side nodded in strong agreement.

It was already the last bomber; they had thought they could decisively win this aerial battle, yet the Little Devil seized an opportunity and swapped it for a fighter.

Jiang Anguo fell silent for a long while after receiving the detailed battle report.

Chinese are unafraid of death, and the Japanese are no different—or rather, the Japanese have gone mad, losing all reason. Even so, Jiang Anguo intends to exterminate these invaders.

After defeating the Japanese bomber formation, Jiang Anguo immediately ordered Song Yunfei, taking flight range and fuel into account, to pursue the Japanese 56th Division southward as appropriate.

He hoped to exploit the air force's absolute superiority to catch up and annihilate the living forces of the Japanese 56th Division. Although the division's officer corps had been heavily hit by Shi Xiaomao's artillery, its foundation remained; the number of soldiers had not dwindled, and those beast-like troops were still alive.

Moreover, Shi Xiaomao's barrage was not thorough enough, leaving a 146th Regiment commander Jin Gang Zong Si Lang to lead the Japanese 56th Division retreating toward Dongzhi Tonggu Direction.

War is like that: when you hold absolute advantage, you must crush the downed dog.

Just as Germany once, with absolute superiority, swept across Europe like a hot knife through bamboo; but once stalemated, the war's progress became exceedingly difficult, even heading toward ruin.

The longer a war drags on, the harder supply becomes.

Especially, both countries share a trait: their territories are especially small; Japan has even fewer advantages, so almost all war resources must be imported, the only supplies coming from plundering the northeastern lands.

When offense and defense shift easily, war becomes simpler.

They didn't expect it to go so smoothly, but after pushing through most of China, they found Chinese resistance swelling, and the war became increasingly hard to fight.

In fact, the Japanese Emperor and cabinet wield great influence over the Japanese Army. Not only does the army act on its own, launching wars without informing the high command—essentially only notifying local officials—so that once the gunfire sounds, war erupts, dragging the whole nation onto the war machine.

This caused many of the Japanese's follow‑up units to be hastily assembled. Fortunately, the Japanese have a comprehensive yet brutal conscription system, quickly raising a massive army.

One could say the Japanese are gambling with the nation's fate.

Moreover, the Japanese saw China's enormous war potential, and went mad, refusing to give China any more time to develop.

Yet during the Battle of Shanghai, they first sensed the terrifying Chinese soldier, who used flesh and blood to confront enemy guns, aircraft, and tanks!

After the war began, Japan shamelessly boasted of "annihilating China in three months," but in reality, they fought Shanghai for three months, suffering heavy losses before barely capturing it.

It is precisely because of such people that the Japanese were resisted for so long!

An underdeveloped agrarian nation confronting a fully industrialized power is an incredible miracle.

One should note that France, a European great power then, held out only forty‑two days against Germany's blitzkrieg; once Paris fell, surrender was declared.

Meanwhile, China, since the July 7 Incident, had resisted the Japanese for five years and never contemplated surrender.

If they surrendered, the cut braid would grow back!

This is a life‑or‑death war, with the Chinese nation at its most perilous moment.

Only Jiang Anguo knows how great a sacrifice China must make for ultimate victory, and since his arrival, he hopes to use his own strength to minimize the losses.