Chapter 320: Whether to Use Special Air‑to‑Ground Bombs

North bank of the Yangtze River, the temporary command post of the 150th Division and the First Battalion of the Independent Regiment.

Battalion Commander Quan Zong received a telephone from Mi Long, and now every platoon and company in the whole battalion is equipped with SCR300 walkie‑talkies, and the 150th Division has also been fitted with this model.

"Regiment Commander, with this thing it's convenient," Xu Guozhang praised.

Regarding this new equipment, Xu Guozhang was full of curiosity; in fact, when the radio had previously issued it down to the company level, Xu Guozhang had already found it unbelievable.

Our own junior brother is also magnanimous; he directly armed his Sichuan Army unit to be even more elite than the Central Army, with absolutely no shortfall in equipment.

"Division Commander Xu, have your 150th Division prepare for gas protection. Since the Little Devils have already used Poison Gas Shells here, they might use them again toward Xiaoting," Quan Zong was somewhat worried about the Japanese Army's use of poison gas shells.

This thing, mainly you never know when the Little Devils will release it; if they are ruthless enough to cause mutual annihilation when the two armies clash, that would be truly insane.

"Alright, I'll have the men below prepare right now," Xu Guozhang said.

In fact, before departing from Changde, the 150th Division under Xu Guozhang had not been issued gas masks; it was only after reaching Yidu that Jiang Anguo remembered that during the Zhejiang‑Jiangxi campaign the Japanese Army used poison gas shells, and the Little Devils also had that habit, so he immediately issued Gas Masks to the 150th Division.

Quan Zong lowered his head and pondered, considering whether to use poison gas shells against the Japanese Army, but the only problem now was that the Little Devils' main force seemed not to be inside Xiaoting.

The P-38 fighter aircraft circling in the sky had already conducted several reconnaissance passes over Xiaoting, and had not found the Japanese Army's main force there.

Obviously, the Japanese Army unit garrisoned at Xiaoting must be waiting somewhere for their attack.

Quan Zong immediately said to the Messenger, "Send a telegram to the Changde Chief of Staff, ordering him to bomb the hilltops south of Xiaoting and north of Yunchi."

"Messenger," the Messenger promptly went down to send the telegram to the forward direction.

Xu Guozhang was so envious!

It's not that Xu Guozhang can't call for air support; the regiment commanders and battalion commanders under the 150th Division can't even distinguish place names, making it impossible for them to request ground‑to‑air strikes.

After Yan Xing received the telegram, he began estimating when William's aircraft could return. The early bombing of the enemy forces at Dangyang had been very successful; based on William's report, Yan Xing analyzed that about two to three thousand people were affected, meaning that William's unit had bombed a Japanese regiment that morning.

Meanwhile, Yan Xing's side had also obtained intelligence from the 18th Army indicating that the Japanese forces stationed at Dangyang were the 116th Regiment under the 13th Division.

That shows that William's bombing targeted that very regiment.

Since the most important bombing had already been completed, Yan Xing's side planned a bombing of the Japanese forces toward Zhijiang, but at that moment Quan Zong sent a telegram saying the Little Devils had used poison gas shells and requesting a bombing of Xiaoting, so the next wave of bombing would still be assigned to the Xiaoting direction.

May 31, morning, 9:13.

The cockpit canopy slid open slowly, and Lieutenant Colonel William removed his flight goggles, his face unusually excited. He took a deep breath of the not‑very‑fresh ground air; Changde Airport was filled with the smell of aviation fuel.

The recent bombing was so exhilarating that his blood seemed to boil.

But it was also a pity that he couldn't directly defeat the Little Devils' pilots in the air.

For a pilot, only truly defeating the enemy in the sky is the mark of a warrior.

"Chief of Staff!" Before reaching him, William couldn't contain his excitement, shouting, waving his arms, his smile unmistakable, "This time our results are huge! I swear I saw the bombs fall into the Devil's crowds! That regiment, even if not completely destroyed, at least half of them met their own Amaterasu! We basically crippled an entire Japanese regiment!"

"By the way, William, how did you discover the Little Devils' ground forces?" Yan Xing asked.

William replied seriously, "Chief of Staff, it was the last aircraft that saw a flash of glass on the ground, looking like a mirror, flashing toward the sky. That's how we learned the Japanese reinforcements were moving along the Jingmen Mountains; in the mountains it's hard for us to spot them."

Yan Xing nodded; it seemed someone was helping them.

The P-38 Lightning's air‑to‑ground bomb carriage capacity is still strong; not only can it carry external loads, but the more than two thousand rounds of ammunition it can bear are enough to destroy any ground target.

Then Yan Xing, with a grave expression, unfolded an urgent telegram in his hand.

"Lieutenant Colonel William, congratulations on your achievements," Yan Xing's tone was calm, instantly dampening William's excitement, "However, the front has changed. We just received an urgent support request from the front; the situation is critical and we need your aircraft to cooperate immediately."

As he spoke, Yan Xing handed the telegram to William, tapping a finger on a simple map attached, detailing the exact bombing coordinates and tactical requirements.

William took the telegram, quickly scanned its contents. As he read, his expression gradually shifted from excitement to seriousness, and finally to anger.

"Chief of Staff," William lifted his head, his blue eyes flashing dangerously, lowering his voice, "Given the enemy density shown here, conventional bombs may not clear it completely. I want to know whether we can use those 'special air‑to‑ground bombs'?"

In his view, since the enemy employed such vile tactics, they couldn't blame him for using any means.

The Japanese Army often disregards the rules of war on the battlefield.

Yan Xing's eyes changed when he heard about the special air‑to‑ground bombs.

He looked at William, was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "No, Lieutenant Colonel William. Absolutely not allowed."

"Why?" William asked, somewhat puzzled and a bit urgent, "The Japanese Army has already used poison gas shells against our people!"

"I know what you're thinking," Yan Xing interrupted, his tone bearing unquestionable authority, his gaze deep enough to avoid. "But we are not the Devil. We are a army defending our homeland, not a band of butchers. Once we cross that line, everything changes. Moreover, the wind direction is variable; using such an uncontrollable weapon could easily hit our own forward troops. The 150th Division's regiment and battalion are right nearby."

Indeed, the wind was not friendly; the current wind blew toward them, so if the poison gas drifted over, it could truly harm them.

William took a deep breath, nodded, and withdrew the dangerous proposal: "I understand, Chief of Staff. Your decision is correct."

William stood before Yan Xing, standing at attention without saluting, and said firmly, "Then this time we only need to conduct a conventional saturation bombing of that area. I will use high‑explosive bombs to sweep the region."

At that point, William turned, looked at the busy ground crew behind him, and shouted, "Ground crew! Stop dawdling! Go load the aircraft with air‑to‑ground bombs! Preferably heavy demolition bombs!"

Changde Airport was piled with air‑to‑ground bombs and fuel; this stockpile was left by Jiang Anguo when he left Changde, enough for William's aircraft to bomb for a month, even enough to go play in Tokyo.

Then he turned back to Yan Xing and said, "Chief of Staff, once the aircraft are loaded with air‑to‑ground bombs, I will personally lead the First Battalion to carry out this bombing mission immediately. As for Dangyang, I will have Nick take to the skies again to conduct a final sweep of the Japanese remnants there, leaving no lingering threat."

Yan Xing looked at William, nodded with satisfaction, "Very well, William. You are the commander in the air; the detailed combat arrangements are entirely up to you. Just remember, your goal is to support the ground forces, and our ultimate goal is to cover the Regiment Commander's attack on Yichang."

"Yes, understood! I'll get right on it!" William turned and strode toward his aircraft.

Not far away, ground‑crew vehicles were already shuttling amid the roar of engines, heavy aerial bombs being mounted onto the P-38's racks.