Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 283 Conspiracy and Countermeasures

July 3, 1940, early morning, outside Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province.

A major battle that shocked North China broke out at the first light of dawn.

The first wave of attacks was not launched by any ground troops, but by the massive air force of the Shanxi militia.

High in the sky, a massive formation of more than fifty aircraft, including B-25 Mitchell bombers and SBD-2 Dauntless dive bombers, like steel vultures blotting out the sky, launched a carpet bombing campaign against the Japanese defenses that had been painstakingly built on the perimeter, accompanied by the piercing roar of their engines.

In an instant, the entire area outside Taiyuan City was engulfed in flames, and deafening explosions continued incessantly, as if the earth itself was wailing.

The ground looked as if it had been drenched by countless drops of sulfuric acid. The once neat defensive fortifications, sturdy reinforced concrete bunkers, various hidden pillboxes, well-prepared bunkers, and deep trenches were all mercilessly crushed by the torrential rain of bullets and completely submerged in the swirling smoke and dust.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of scorched earth, gunpowder, and burnt flesh.

Of particular note is the B-25 "Mitchell" bomber, which shone brightly during this bombing mission.

As a highly regarded medium bomber in another timeline, it exhibits remarkable versatility.

It can not only carry a variety of munitions to perform ground support missions and low-altitude attacks, but also carry out precision horizontal bombing, and even perform various complex missions such as anti-ship attacks when necessary.

Moreover, its bomb load is quite considerable, with a maximum load of 2.27 tons, enough to pack all known bomb types, regardless of size, into its huge bomb bay and then unleash them without hesitation, turning everything on the ground into nothingness.

The sky outside Taiyuan was filled with deafening roars. A bombing squadron of six B-25 bombers, having completed a precise bombing run, was circling methodically in the air, awaiting the next attack order.

Pan Zhengyu, the commander in charge of the bombing squadron, looked through the cockpit window at the thick smoke and flames rising from the ground, and was quickly calculating the best position and route for the next wave of attacks.

Just then, a rapid alarm suddenly sounded in the cockpit, accompanied by tense exclamations from the pilots.

"Attention all units... Northwest direction, altitude 3,600 meters, distance 2,000 meters... Japanese aircraft spotted!"

His voice trembled noticeably, clearly startled by the unexpected arrival of these uninvited guests.

Immediately afterwards, a calm and powerful voice was clearly transmitted through the public channel; it was Doolittle, the commander-in-chief of the bomber group.

"This is Commander-in-Chief Doolittle! All bombers cease bombing, immediately converge on me, immediately regroup, immediately regroup!"

Doolittle's orders were concise and decisive. Almost reflexively, all the bomber pilots pulled the control stick, and the huge fuselages drew arcs in the air, quickly converging towards the direction of Doolittle's aircraft. The massive bomber formation began to rearrange in the air, forming a tight defensive formation.

Beneath the wings, the bombs originally intended for ground attack seemed to sense the approaching killing intent from the air, trembling slightly inside the bomb bay.

At the same time, another familiar and confident voice resounded in the ears of all the pilots through the public channel. It was Cheng Rufeng, the captain of the pirate squadron of the Shanxi militia.

"Attention all escort aircraft! Immediately drive away the Japanese aircraft and do not allow them to get even a step closer to the bomber formation!"

These things may seem complicated, but in reality, from the detection of enemy aircraft to the issuance of orders and the start of the formation, the entire process takes only a short twenty seconds. The aerial battlefield is ever-changing and allows no hesitation.

Soon, a formation of more than 30 Japanese aircraft, consisting of Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters and Nakajima Type 1 fighters, appeared in the airspace surrounding Taiyuan like a dark cloud.

Their wings gleamed coldly in the sunlight, their propellers spun rapidly, emitting a sharp whistling sound, as they hurtled straight toward the Shanxi militia's bomber formation.

The commander of this Japanese aircraft group was Colonel Tetsuji Giga, the commander of the 60th Air Squadron stationed in Shanxi.

This Japanese army's highest-ranking air force commander in Shanxi, who had suffered repeated defeats, did not waste any words and immediately issued an attack order via radio. The Japanese aircraft group accelerated instantly and pounced on the Shanxi militia's bomber group like hawks hunting their prey.

In the air, a fierce aerial battle was about to begin.

Danger lurks in the skies above Taiyuan.

Colonel Tetsuji Iga, piloting a Zero fighter and flying like an arrow at the very front of the formation, stared intently through the cockpit window at the dark cloud composed of silver metal below... the dense, orderly formation of bombers.

Sunlight reflected off the smooth fuselage of the B-25 bomber, shimmering with a dazzling light. The massive aircraft and orderly formation silently proclaimed an absolute sense of power.

Upon seeing this scene, Tetsuji Iga's heart tightened suddenly, and a familiar chill rose up his spine.

Over the past year, he has clashed with this flight squadron, known as the "Shanxi Militia," quite a few times.

Although the empire's propaganda machine always touted the victory of the Bushido spirit, he knew in his heart just how dismal the results were.

And it is precisely because of this that he has come to understand this mysterious and powerful opponent more and more deeply, and... fear him.

The fighter jets equipped by the Shanxi militia were superior in firepower, power, and armor thickness to the Empire's newest and most prized Zero fighters.

He had witnessed countless times his colleagues' Zero fighters being torn apart like paper in an instant by the barrage of fire from the eight 12.7mm heavy machine guns of the P-47.

It was also easily outmaneuvered by the F4U Corsair fighter jet using the "Immelman maneuver," which then swooped down from above and used its absolute speed advantage to force it to flee in a sorry state.

From June of last year to now, the Imperial Air Force has lost no fewer than a hundred aircraft in just one battlefield in Shanxi.

This number was enough to make Japan feel the pinch, and the loss of over a hundred aircraft accounted for 30 percent of the total aircraft losses of the entire Japanese Empire in the China theater.

Because Japan had not yet fully transitioned to a wartime economic system at that time, the total aircraft production in Japan last year was a paltry 4768.

The loss of a mere hundred or so warplanes might seem like an insignificant number on a report to the bureaucrats at the Tokyo General Headquarters, but only these frontline commanders knew that it had severely weakened the Japanese military's local air superiority in North China and had a more profound impact on the Empire's military strength reserves throughout the Chinese battlefield and even in the future.

It should be noted that the Imperial Army and Naval Air Force have always implemented the most stringent elite soldier policy.

Training a qualified naval aviator takes a full three years. They are selected from 14- to 16-year-old junior aviators or from military academy graduates, with a staggering attrition rate of 70%.

While the training cycle for Army Aviation is slightly shorter, requiring one and a half to two years, it also places extreme emphasis on flight time and brutal combat skills training.

Despite such rigorous selection and lengthy training, Japan can only produce one to two hundred qualified pilots each year.

Each and every one of them is the empire's most valuable asset.

Now, in Shanxi province alone, this "Shanxi militia" has already lost seventy or eighty of these valuable elite pilots.

This was a devastating blow to Japan. It was no longer a simple tactical defeat, but a continued drain on the empire's war potential at the strategic level.

Just as Ichigo Tetsuji was filled with excitement, he caught a glimpse of dozens of black dots swooping down from higher altitudes out of the corner of his eye—P-47s and F4Us! They're here!
The cold reality pulled him back from his reverie. He took a deep breath, gripped the joystick, and his eyes regained their composure.

He understood that no matter the cost, he had to carve a bloody path for the Imperial Army beneath his feet.

Through the radio, Tetsuji Iga's cold and resolute voice reached the ears of every Japanese pilot:

"Warriors of the Empire, prepare for battle!"

Remember my earlier words: first disperse, then annihilate. First Company, lead the attack!

As soon as he finished speaking, a formation of eight Type 1 "Hayabusa" fighters painted with the Hinomaru insignia, like blades peeled off the main body, suddenly pressed down their noses and rushed towards the silver sea of ​​bombers below.

The mission of this squadron of Type 1 fighters was clear and cruel... They were bait, rabbits to attract the attention of the hounds, and they had to use their own flesh and blood to lure the powerful escort aircraft to attack them, thus creating a precious window for the main force to attack the bombers.

But it is clear that the air commander of the Shanxi militia is also a seasoned veteran.

Cheng Rufeng, from his P-47 cockpit, coldly watched the eight Type 1 fighter jets that were clearly there to die, a disdainful sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

He had seen this kind of trick many times when he was in the Central Air Force.

He wasn't fooled at all; he simply calmly issued the order to split up his forces via radio.

Immediately, twelve F4U Corsair fighter jets, like sharks smelling blood, separated from the escort group and, with an elegant yet deadly maneuver, drew twelve arcs as they approached the eight Type 1 fighter jets.

The remaining massive main force, consisting of P-47 "Raiden" and many more "Corsairs," didn't even glance at the decoys over there. Maintaining its high speed and formation, it charged straight towards the main Japanese force led by Tetsuji Iga!

Seeing that the other party was not fooled at all and responded so calmly and precisely, Iga Tetsuji sighed softly, and the last bit of hope in his heart disappeared.

He knew that the air force commanding the opposing side today must be a seasoned commander.

Without further hesitation, he could only shout into the microphone with all his might:

"Warriors, follow me, fight as you move toward the bomber group!"

Tetsuji Iga's idea was simple, even a little shameless—didn't you want to stop me from getting close to the bomber group?

Very well, I'll drag the entire battlefield to the side of those huge, vulnerable bombers! I want to see if you dare to fly your bullets around recklessly under the noses of your own people!
His idea was correct, and extremely effective.

When the fighter groups of both sides collided violently above and on the sides of the B-25 bomber group like two surging torrents of steel, the entire sky instantly turned into a chaotic meat grinder.

Tracer rounds, like red chains of fire, crisscrossed wildly in the air, mingling with the roar of engines, the howl of machine guns, and the sharp sound of metal being torn apart.

At this moment, the machine gunners on those B-25 bombers became somewhat hesitant to act.

They gripped the machine gun handles tightly, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads, watching helplessly as a Zero fighter roared past in their field of fire, yet dared not fire.

Because right behind that Zero, a P-47 painted with a shark's mouth was tailing it! They were afraid that if they fired a burst of bullets, they might miss the Japanese and accidentally hit their own friendly forces.

Conversely, the pilots of the "Pirates" and "Thunder" also became cautious.

They piloted superior fighter jets and gained the upper hand in dogfights, but whenever they put a Japanese plane in their sights and were about to pull the trigger, the massive silver silhouette of a friendly bomber would always flash through their field of vision.

If someone accidentally drops a bullet and hits one of those "precious gems" loaded with bombs, they'll be in big trouble!

For a moment, the entire battlefield fell into a strange stalemate.

Yi Echeer successfully restrained the Shanxi militia air force's claws using a near-suicidal tactic.

Faced with Iga Tetsuji's almost "rogue" tactics, Doolittle, the commander of the bomber group, pondered for a while and then quickly adjusted his strategy.

"All bombers, move into 'dispersal formation'! Repeat, all bombers, move into 'dispersal formation'!"

Doolittle's clear voice was transmitted via radio to the cockpit of every B-25 and SBD-2.

The moment the order was given, the massive bomber formation, which had been as dense as a dark cloud, seemed to be stirred by an invisible hand and began to disperse in an orderly and rapid manner.

The bombers, like chess pieces on a board, precisely spaced themselves apart, and the originally tight formation instantly became sparse.

The distance between the wings increased rapidly from tens of meters to hundreds of meters, or even further.

In this way, Tetsuji Iga's idea of ​​binding the entire battlefield around the bomber group and making the militia air force hesitant to act immediately failed!

The Japanese pilots were astonished to find that the "hostages" they had just been using had suddenly scattered and fled, leaving them without cover. The previously chaotic battlefield instantly became clear.

Freed from the constraints of their "human shields," Cheng Rufeng and his ace pilots were like tigers breaking free of their shackles, unleashing astonishing combat power in an instant.

"Brothers, beat them up! Bring down these sons of bitches!" Cheng Rufeng's roar echoed in the public channel.

With the constraints lifted, both sides returned to the most primitive and brutal traditional air combat mode—a head-on clash of performance, firepower, and skill.

In an instant, the intensity of the battle over Taiyuan escalated dramatically!
A barrage of scorching bullets from machine guns and heavy machine guns, like the scythe of death, swept wildly across the sky. Tracer rounds left long, crimson trails in the air, slicing the azure sky to pieces.

Almost every moment, one or more planes, billowing black smoke from their fuselages, spiraled down from the sky like birds with broken wings, leaving long, desperate trails.

The aircraft disintegrated in mid-air, with debris raining down like a storm. The pilot's screams were drowned out by the roar of the engines and the deafening explosion.

In this contest of pure performance and firepower, the Japanese forces, equipped with Zero and Type 1 fighters, were clearly at a significant disadvantage.

Their fighter planes had thin armor and poor firepower. Faced with the P-47's "flying shotgun" of eight heavy machine guns and the F4U's powerful engine and sturdy fuselage, they were almost easily defeated.

The Japanese losses began to increase rapidly at a visible rate. One after another, Hino Maru fighter planes turned into brilliant but brief fireworks in the sky before disappearing forever.

(End of this chapter)