Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Fang Wen immediately agreed to Zhou Pomen's request and gave the order:

"We will select 50 special operations team members, and you will personally lead the team to the mining area to rescue the miners."

"Pan Jiafeng, you and aircraft number 3 fly to the mining area to provide air support and assist ground troops in rescuing the miners."

Immediately, Zhou Pomen quickly selected 50 experienced and agile core members from among the 200 special operations team members, and they quickly assembled and headed towards the mining area next to the black lead factory.

The lead plant is closely connected to the adjacent mining area by a dirt road. The mining area is also surrounded by barbed wire, with warning signs posted around the perimeter and a sentry post every thirty meters.

The news of the battle at the lead factory had already reached the mining area, and the garrison troops were all tense and on high alert.

Fifty special operations team members arrived at the outskirts of the mining area.

They were immediately met with Japanese fire and were unable to break through to approach the mining area.

Zhou Pomen picked up the walkie-talkie and called out, "Pan Jiafeng, shoot down the Japanese machine guns."

Moments later, two gunship aircraft descended from the sky and began a circling aerial strafing of the sentry posts in the mining area.

12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets and 20mm autocannon bullets rained down, covering the defenders inside the outpost.

The Japanese and puppet troops had no time to react before they were hit by a hail of bullets, their bodies bursting with blood as they fell to the ground, and the machine gun in the outpost fell silent instantly.

Immediately afterwards, the gunboats aimed at the barbed wire fence in the mining area and fired their cannons. After a series of explosions, several gaps were blasted in the barbed wire fence, opening up an attack channel for the special forces soldiers.

"Attack!" Seeing that the air support had worked, Zhou Pomen immediately gave the order to attack.

Fifty special forces soldiers burst out of the grass like arrows and charged rapidly toward the gap in the mine.

Seeing this, the remaining defenders tried to reorganize their firepower and seal the breach, but they were suppressed by the gunboats in the air and could not even peek out to fire.

The special forces soldiers moved swiftly, quickly rushing into the mining area and engaging in a fierce counterattack with the defending troops.

With their superior equipment and skillful tactics, they moved swiftly through the mining area, eliminating the garrison's strongholds one by one.

The puppet troops were already demoralized, and seeing the Japanese soldiers being killed one after another terrified them. They laid down their weapons and surrendered. The Japanese soldiers who stubbornly resisted were also annihilated one by one under the combined attack of special forces and air power.

In just twenty minutes, the guards in the mining area were completely wiped out.

Without pausing, Zhou Pomen immediately ordered 30 special forces members to stand guard, while he led 20 special forces members to advance towards the mine.

At the entrance to the mine, there was a heavy iron gate. Next to the gate were the bodies of two Japanese soldiers, who had obviously been killed in the battle just now.

The special forces soldiers stepped forward and used breaching tools to forcibly pry open the lock on the iron gate.

Then, they started the elevator's engine and rode down the elevator.

Once they reached the underground area, Zhou Pomen and the others emerged, only to be met with a wave of dark, damp, and murky air that made them involuntarily frown.

Zhou Pomen signaled to his team members to turn on their flashlights and carefully search the mine.

The mine was pitch black inside, and the ground was covered with gravel and mud. Every now and then, you would step on scattered slag.

The special forces soldiers moved slowly along the mine shaft, the beams of their flashlights flickering in the darkness, illuminating the path ahead.

After walking about a hundred meters, the mine gradually became more spacious, and the scene before them made all the special forces members' hearts sink.

This was actually where the miners lived and were imprisoned. The ground was covered with tattered straw, and dozens of miners huddled on the straw, all of them pale, thin, and weak, wearing tattered clothes, many of them with visible wounds.

Having been deprived of sunlight for so long, their skin was as pale as paper, and their eyes were numb. When they saw the beam of the flashlights in the hands of the special forces soldiers, they all showed expressions of fear.

"Fellow villagers, don't be afraid, we're here to rescue you!" Zhou Pomen softened his tone and gently comforted them, while gesturing to his team members to take out water and compressed military rations and hand them to the miners.

As the miners looked at the special forces soldiers, the fear in their eyes gradually faded, replaced by disbelief and gratitude. They trembled as they accepted the water and rations, wolfing them down, tears streaming down their faces as they ate.

"Thank you... thank you..." a young miner said, choking back tears. "We're locked up here, we can't see the sun, we only get a little bit of moldy food each day, and we have to mine for long hours. If we're even a little slow, we get beaten by the Japanese soldiers. Many of my fellow miners couldn't take it anymore..."

While comforting the miners, Zhou Pomen arranged for his team to treat the wounds of the injured miners and inquired about the situation in the mining area.

An elderly miner wiped away his tears and said, "There were more than 80 miners here, and many more of our fellow workers were tortured to death by the Japanese army. They threw the dead miners into the abandoned mine shaft at the other end, which has become a dumping ground, with piles of bones..."

Hearing this, the special forces soldiers were filled with anger and sorrow. Zhou Pomen suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice, "Fellow villagers, don't worry, we will definitely avenge our fallen comrades! Now, we will take you out and move you to a safe place."

Then, the special forces soldiers carefully helped the weakened miner up the elevator.

Meanwhile, the fighting inside the lead factory had completely ended.

The special forces soldiers split into multiple groups and set up defensive fortifications, machine guns, and landmines in various corners of the factory area, maintaining a tight defense while waiting to rendezvous with the ground assault forces of the Fifth Military Sub-district, open up transportation channels, and transport the high-purity graphite within the factory area.

The gunships had been circling in the air for nearly two hours, and had consumed a lot of fuel and ammunition, so they could not keep up the watch in the air indefinitely.

Fang Wen activated his supernatural ability to survey the area around the black lead factory. After confirming that the Japanese army would not come to reinforce in the short term, he decided to lead the gunboat squadron back to the temporary water airfield on the Hutuo River to rest, replenish fuel and ammunition, and prepare for the next round of air support.

He picked up the microphone to call Pan Jiafeng.

The communication device, however, issued a call notification.

Fang Wen answered the call.

It was Zhou who broke through the gate.

"General Manager, we have captured the Black Lead Mine area and discovered numerous atrocities committed by the Japanese army! They cruelly tortured the miners, and there are many miners' corpses in the mine shafts; moreover, we also found several women being held captive in the mine's basement. They were all abducted from the surrounding area and suffered wanton abuse at the hands of the Japanese army; their situation is extremely tragic..."

Listening to the special forces soldiers' report, Fang Wen felt a surge of anger.

The atrocities committed by the Japanese army repeatedly pushed his bottom line. They plundered resources, harmed civilians, and bullied people at will. Every single one of their acts was outrageous.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and said in a deep voice, "I understand. Take good care of the survivors and strengthen the factory's defenses! Once the transportation lines are reopened, they will leave this place with the transport convoy."

At this moment, Pan Jiafeng and another gunboat also flew back.

Fang Wen issued the order: "Attention all crews, immediately return to the temporary water airport on the Hutuo River for rest and replenishment. We expect to take off again in one hour to provide the next round of air support!"

The gunboat squadron formed a flight formation and, led by Fang Wen, flew south.

While the gunboat squadron was returning to port for rest and reorganization, a new twist emerged in the Japanese defensive positions south of Datong.

The Japanese commander was both shocked and furious when he learned that the lead factory and mining area had been attacked by the Eighth Route Army and all the defending troops had been wiped out.

By this point, he knew the reason for the attack.

The other party was after the high-purity graphite from the black lead factory.

Graphite was crucial to the Japanese military's defense industry. In the current situation, Japan could no longer obtain graphite resources from the United States and Europe, and the Daido Black Lead Plant was the most important source of graphite for Japan's domestic defense industry.

He also guessed the other party's intention: to move closer to the lead factory, join forces, and then transport away the high-purity graphite from the factory.

In order to recapture the black lead factory and prevent the Eighth Route Army from transporting graphite, the Japanese commander ordered air support to be called in, and all the troops guarding the mining areas near Datong were transferred to the southern battlefield of Datong to support the front-line operations.

Soon, the Japanese troops stationed in the surrounding mining areas rushed to the southern battlefield of Datong to join the Japanese troops originally stationed there.

At this time, the Japanese army had grown to 3000 men, 1000 more than the 2000 men of the Eighth Route Army, giving them a clear advantage in manpower.

With ample troops, the Japanese commanders were greatly encouraged and devised new offensive tactics in an attempt to disrupt the Eighth Route Army's offensive rhythm and regain the initiative on the battlefield.

The Japanese commander divided the forces in the mining area into two groups, forming left and right flank units, and launched a simultaneous attack on the Eighth Route Army's positions from both flanks, creating a pincer movement.

This tactic of the Japanese army was extremely cunning. Once either of the two flanks broke through the Eighth Route Army's defenses, the Eighth Route Army would be caught in a predicament of being attacked from both sides, allowing the Japanese army to lead the main force on the front to launch an attack and break the current stalemate.

The Eighth Route Army commanders in the southern Datong battlefield quickly discovered the Japanese army's tactical intentions and immediately took countermeasures:
"Notify all units to hold their ground, utilize the terrain, and deploy for defense; dispatch the Yanbei Cavalry and the Shuoxian Guerrilla Force to block the Japanese left flank!"

Upon receiving the order, the Eighth Route Army troops immediately adjusted their deployment, reinforced their defensive fortifications, and prepared to meet the enemy.

In the previous battle, the Yanbei Cavalry suffered no losses, while the Japanese cavalry suffered heavy losses from rocket attacks. Now, they have become the most mobile troops on the battlefield.

The soldiers were in high spirits. After receiving the order to hold off the enemy, they immediately assembled and rushed to their designated positions.

In response to the Japanese army's left flank, the Eighth Route Army adopted a tactic of "frontal containment and rear attack".

The members of the Shuoxian guerrilla force relied on trenches and earthen slopes to set up defenses, using rifles and machine guns to fire at the Japanese army, attracting their attention and disrupting their offensive rhythm.

The Japanese left-wing troops, believing that the Eighth Route Army was only defended by guerrillas, were greatly encouraged and launched a frenzied attack on the guerrilla positions.

Just as the Japanese army was launching a full-scale attack on the front lines, leaving their rear defenses vulnerable, the Yanbei cavalrymen, mounted on warhorses and armed with sabers and rifles, suddenly charged out from behind the Japanese lines like tigers descending a mountain.

The Japanese army never expected the Eighth Route Army to launch a surprise attack from the rear, and was immediately stunned and thrown into chaos.

The soldiers of the Yanbei Cavalry first fired with rifles, and after charging closer, they switched to sabers and hacked and slashed through the Japanese ranks.

The Japanese army never expected the Eighth Route Army to launch a surprise attack from the rear. Japanese soldiers fell in droves, and their formation was thrown into chaos.

This caused the Japanese troops who were attacking at the front to lose their will to fight and turn back.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the guerrillas launched a counterattack, fiercely attacking the Japanese army from the front. The Japanese left flank was immediately caught in a pincer movement, suffering heavy casualties and retreating in disarray.

at the same time.

The Japanese right wing also launched a fierce attack on the Eighth Route Army's positions.

With their superior numbers, the Japanese troops on the right flank continued to advance towards the Eighth Route Army's defenses, putting increasing pressure on the Eighth Route Army.

After defeating the Japanese left flank, the Yanbei cavalry immediately turned around and sped toward the Japanese right flank, preparing to assist the defending troops in blocking the Japanese right flank.

At this time, the rest period for the rear gunboat squadron had come to an end.

Fang Wen led the gunboat squadron, replenished its fuel and ammunition, and took off again, speeding towards the southern battlefield of Datong.

After a flight of more than ten minutes, the gunboat squadron arrived over the southern battlefield of Datong.

Fang Wen used his special ability to observe the situation below.

He saw that the Yanbei cavalry was charging towards the right flank of the Japanese army, and behind the right flank of the Japanese army, there were two machine gun companies, with more than a dozen 7.7 mm heavy machine guns already set up and pointed at the direction from which the Yanbei cavalry was attacking.

Fang Wen was startled and quickly picked up the microphone to adjust the radio communication frequency to make a call.

"Calling the cavalry, please respond."

There was no response after repeated calls.

His supernatural ability amplified, and he saw the walkie-talkie behind the cavalry captain flashing red. However, due to the excessive noise during the charge, the cavalry captain did not hear the walkie-talkie's notification.

If the Japanese machine gun positions are not destroyed in time, the Yanbei cavalry will be annihilated by heavy machine guns and suffer heavy casualties if they charge forward.

Fang Wen immediately decided to take the initiative and destroy the Japanese machine gun positions before the cavalry could reach them.

He then switched back to the air frequency.

"Attention all aircraft, we are about to launch a ground attack on the ground machine gun position. Await my orders."

Under Fang Wen's command, the 10 gunboats immediately adjusted their flight direction, rapidly descended their altitude, and flew toward the Japanese machine gun positions.

Two minutes later, Fang Wen issued the attack order, and the gunboat squadron launched a fierce attack.

Under the barrage of heavy machine guns and aircraft cannons, the machine gun positions below were instantly covered by a hail of bullets.

With such a dense aerial bombardment, these machine gunners had nowhere to shield themselves from the bullets. The Japanese machine gunners were hit by the dense hail of bullets and fell one by one next to their heavy machine guns.

The remaining soldiers hurriedly tried to abandon the machine gun and escape, but were riddled with bullets as they ran.

The Japanese soldiers in the two machine gun companies were either killed or blown away by the shockwave of the explosion, resulting in almost complete casualties. The heavy machine guns were also destroyed.

The Yanbei cavalrymen, who were charging forward, were greatly encouraged by the support of the air force and artillery. They shouted in unison, increased their speed, and bravely charged towards the right flank of the Japanese army.

The Japanese right flank, having lost the cover of its machine gun positions, could no longer withstand the charge of the Yanbei cavalry. Once again, the cavalry broke through, and after a series of attacks, their formation was thrown into chaos, leaving them only able to flee in disarray.

Meanwhile, Japanese military aircraft took off from the Japanese military airfields in Chahar and Tianjin, heading towards Datong, preparing to provide air support for Japanese ground troops. (End of Chapter)