Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 396: The Destruction of Armored Train 394, and the Special Higher Police Traitor Unit Targeting Fang Wen

With his X-ray vision activated, Fang Wen had a clear view of the interior of the armored train below.

I couldn't help but be surprised.

Its first locomotive was not actually a locomotive, but a guard car, equipped with a searchlight and two 7.7 mm machine guns.

The second carriage contained a 105mm mountain gun, a 7.7mm machine gun, and 20 Japanese soldiers.

The third, fourth, and fifth sections were troop transport carriages, containing nearly 700 Japanese soldiers.

The sixth section was the officers' carriage, which carried more than 30 Japanese officers.

The seventh carriage is the actual power source of the train, containing a coal-fired steam engine that drives the train forward.

Section 8 is the carriage for storing coal and water.

The ninth section is the rear guard car, which also has a searchlight and two 7.7 mm machine guns.

This configuration was practically a trap specifically designed to target the Eighth Route Army's railway sabotage operations.

One can imagine the scene when the battle took place: the railway guerrillas destroyed the station's lighting and then, as usual, launched their attack under the cover of night.

At that moment, the searchlights at the front and rear of the armored train lit up. Combined with the heavy firepower and armor protection inside the train, and the 700 soldiers on board, it was an incredibly dangerous situation.

Only by finding the vulnerabilities in its armor can victory be possible.

Fortunately, Fang Wenxin's X-ray vision allowed him to quickly locate the armored train's weak point.

This armored train is not fully protected by steel plates; it only appears to be so on the surface.

One-third of the outer wall of the carriage was actually made of very thin sheet metal with ventilation gaps, and then painted on the outside to disguise it as armor plating.

This design makes sense. Even the Japanese, whose airplanes were made of thin-skinned materials, would never be so generous as to use so much steel on a train.

Fang Wen smiled, then picked up the microphone and gave the order.

"Attention all gunnery aircraft, the weak point of the armored train below is in the upper area. Immediately notify all gunners to raise their guns and aim at the upper half of the carriages."

The gunboats and aircraft that received the order immediately complied.

Fang Wen's Water Tiger 4 was the first to adjust the firing angle.

Bullets shot upwards in arcs, heading towards the upper part of the armored train carriages.

This time, they finally managed to break through the armored train's defenses.

With the sudden arrival of the air attack, the Japanese troops on the armored train were instantly thrown into chaos.

With the defenses breached, Japanese soldiers fell one after another amidst continuous explosions and the whistling of bullets, and an atmosphere of fear and despair filled the train carriage.

Realizing that staying in the enclosed carriages was tantamount to waiting to die, the doors of the third, fourth, and fifth carriages were pushed open almost simultaneously. Japanese soldiers scrambled out of the carriages, trying to find cover in the open areas to avoid the deadly attacks from the air.

The armored train reacted swiftly at the front and rear, anti-aircraft machine guns roared, and searchlights pierced the night sky, striving to lock onto targets in the air.

The 7.7mm bullets crossed paths with the 12.7mm bullets fired from the air, exploding and sparking against the steel armor.

Just then, the ambush troops lying in wait inside the train station seized the golden opportunity and launched an attack simultaneously from the rooms on the platform, behind the containers in the freight yard, and outside the perimeter wall.

The first wave of attacks was a hurled attack; a dark shadow flew toward the armored train.

The captured items included three types: Japanese-style melon grenades, Eighth Route Army-made hand grenades, and British-style fragmentation grenades.

Seconds later, a series of explosions occurred outside the train.

The soldiers who escaped from the train carriages were scattered and fled in all directions due to the bombing.

Only then did the officers' carriage door open, and several officers jumped out, loudly ordering the Japanese soldiers to move closer to them.

While this method could quell the soldiers' chaos, it also made them the most attractive live targets.

The Eighth Route Army guerrillas and soldiers of the Taishan Independent Regiment who charged in immediately opened fire in that direction.

Meanwhile, two Eighth Route Army soldiers crawled on their stomachs to the railway tracks.

Their targets were the armored railcars that would clear the way for the armored train, and the first carriage.

The first Eighth Route Army soldier crawled under the armored vehicle, secured the explosive charge to the railcar wheel, lit the fuse, and quickly rolled away.

After a loud bang, the explosive charge overturned the armored train and broke a section of track, preventing the train from moving forward.

At the same time, a second Eighth Route Army soldier lit the fuse of the explosive charge he had brought, and then threw the smoking explosive charge onto the roof of the first train car.

The sunroof on the roof of the vehicle was open, and a Japanese soldier was firing a machine gun into the sky, while another soldier operated a searchlight to assist him.

They didn't even realize the smoking explosive charge had fallen into the skylight.

By the time they subconsciously looked down at the explosive charge at their feet, the fuse had already burned to the end.

With a loud bang, the enclosed carriage burst into a red light, and the blast wave propelled the soldier far away.

Then came a series of explosions. The first carriage of the armored train was blown open, revealing a large hole inside, where flames roared.

At this moment, his comrades also launched an attack on the armored train.

Cluster bombs made of bundled hand grenades became their weapon for breaking into the train carriages.

Two cluster bombs exploded at the second carriage door, and the heavy armored door was blown open by the huge blast force.

The Japanese soldiers inside were also dazed by the explosion. Before they could even retaliate, they were mowed down by Independent Regiment soldiers outside the carriages with Thompson submachine guns.

The second carriage was captured perfectly, but the Eighth Route Army soldiers couldn't take their eyes off the 105mm mountain gun inside.

"Big Cannon, we're rich!"

"Company commander, let's tow the cannon away. Now our company will have cannons too."

"Stop daydreaming, keep fighting. Only by annihilating the enemy can we have a chance to clean up the battlefield." Although their company commander said this, his eyes were also full of interest in that cannon.

Then, the small team that first approached the train crept towards the third carriage.

The entire battlefield erupted suddenly and changed rapidly.

From the moment the gunboats and aircraft began to break through and suppress the enemy's defenses, the Japanese army's rhythm was disrupted.

The first, second, and third carriages were successively lost.

The Japanese soldiers who did not escape from the fourth and fifth carriages suffered heavy casualties under the strafing of gunboats and aircraft, and it was only a matter of time before the rest were captured by ground troops.

The problem now lies mainly in the sixth officers' car.

Under orders from the officers, 200 soldiers stood guard outside the carriages, while the remaining 50 soldiers boarded the train.

They are trying to disconnect the sixth and fifth carriages.

Once the connection is broken, the seventh power car can reverse, taking cars 6-9 with it and escaping from here.

However, this idea was impossible to realize. An explosion occurred at the railway tracks behind the armored train, severing the tracks.

Now, with the tracks in front and behind damaged and no way out, they are plunged into despair.

From the air, Fang Wen, through mechanical perception and X-ray vision, saw the scene inside the sixth officer's carriage.

The officers were organizing suicide squads, strapping explosives to the soldiers' bodies, and sending them charging outwards.

Immediately, Fang Wen picked up the microphone.

"Airborne call to the ground: Be careful, the Japanese are preparing for a desperate fight, and the next counterattack will be a suicide attack."

Ground response: "Commander, what is a suicide attack?"

"They're strapped with bombs, don't let them get close," Fang Wen said, then directed the gunboats to attack the sixth carriage.

The bullet pierced the upper structure of the carriage, smashing the seats inside to pieces.

However, this angle was not enough to damage the entire carriage. The surviving Japanese soldiers took refuge in a safe angle within the carriage and escaped the attack of the aerial metal storm.

Then, the suicide attack was launched.

A dozen or so crazed Japanese soldiers roared as they rushed out of the carriage.

If Fang Wen hadn't reminded them, they probably would have thought these people were mentally unstable and had run away. In that case, being blown up by these human bombs at close range would have been terrible.

But now, that doesn't happen anymore.

A barrage of gunfire erupted, and the dozen or so suicide bombers were all killed halfway through their mission.

Subsequently, the Independent Regiment and the guerrillas began clearing out the last group of Japanese soldiers outside the carriages. These soldiers, who had no protection, were quickly wiped out, leaving only the inside of the carriages.

No one showed mercy to these stubbornly resisting Japanese officers. A round of grenades was thrown in, and after a series of explosions, the soldiers finally boarded the carriages to completely wipe them out.

The sixth carriage has been opened!

The seventh carriage had only two boiler operators and one Japanese train conductor.

Two boiler operators suddenly launched an attack, subdued the Japanese train conductor, and captured the seventh section without bloodshed.

There was no one left in the eighth quarter, leaving only the last column of the ninth quarter.

This problem can be solved without the need for gunships or aircraft support.

But by now, the Japanese garrison in Xinle has arrived and is fighting with 100 guerrillas who are blocking their way.

Facing an attack by Japanese troops several times their size, they were struggling. As a result, the soldiers of the Taishan Independent Regiment who were also participating in the resistance reported to William via walkie-talkie.

Upon learning of the situation, William immediately reported it to Fang Wen.

"Ground calling air."

"Received from air, please proceed."

"Commander, we have a 100-man force southeast of the train station that is holding off the Japanese troops stationed in Xinle. They need air support."

"Okay, I'll be there right away."

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen led the gunboat squadron to the southeast.

Moments later, they arrived at the location of the ambush.

On the battlefield below, 100 members of the Independent Regiment and the Eighth Route Army launched an attack on Japanese troops passing by on a slope.

The Japanese troops, several times their size, fought back using military vehicles, and their fierce firepower kept the soldiers on the earthen slope from even raising their heads.

Seeing this, Fang Wen led the way, piloting the Water Tiger 4 in a dive, and gave the order: "All gunboats and aircraft are free to attack the Japanese troops on the road."

Immediately afterwards, the gunboat squadron launched an even stronger barrage against the Japanese troops in Xinle.

A hail of bullets rained down on the Japanese military vehicles. After a round of fire, the vehicles were riddled with holes, and two of them had their fuel tanks blown up and burst into flames.

Such intense air firepower immediately changed the situation, and the Japanese troops abandoned their vehicles and retreated to the rear.

The blocking forces on the hillside also took the opportunity to launch a counterattack.

Time passed little by little.

Until 7 o'clock in the morning.

The two-hour battle and battlefield cleanup were over.

The 105mm mountain gun and two boxes of ammunition were unloaded from the vehicle by the soldiers.

But how to take it with them is a big problem.

Weapons and ammunition could be carried by the soldiers, but the 105mm mountain guns were too large and heavy to be brought back to Quyang from enemy-occupied territory.

In the end, the Eighth Route Army soldiers had no choice but to reluctantly destroy the mountain gun.

They then began to retreat.

As the main force retreated, the blocking force also ceased its attack, quietly leaving the earthen mound position and rejoining the main force.

Fang Wen and his gunboat squadron were the last to withdraw. The 10 gunboats maintained fire for 5 minutes before taking off and leaving.

The Taishan Independent Regiment's first railway sabotage operation came to a successful conclusion.

The planes had been gone for twenty minutes, but the Japanese troops in Xinle still hadn't moved.

Only after confirming that there would be no air raids did they assemble their troops and head towards the train station.

Upon arriving at the train station, the devastated war scene left the Japanese troops in Xinle in disbelief.

The land-based armored train, touted as being comparable to a naval battleship, was defeated in its very first operation.

All nine carriages were completely destroyed and were constantly emitting smoke.

The ground on both sides of the railway tracks was littered with the corpses of Japanese soldiers.

All of this was something the Japanese army in Xinle could not bear.

They immediately reported to the North China Military Headquarters.

Two hours later, a rail armored vehicle came from the direction of Baoding.

A Japanese officer disembarked from the armored vehicle and spoke with the commander of the Xinle garrison to learn about the situation.

"I am Lieutenant Hata of the North China Branch of the Special Higher Police, and I am here to investigate this matter."

"The battle took place at five o'clock in the morning. After we discovered the explosion and fire at the train station, we immediately mobilized troops to provide support. However, we were intercepted by the enemy on the way and could not arrive in time."

"Are there many of them?"

"No, the ones intercepting us are Chinese fighter jets, a new type of fighter jet specifically designed for ground attack. They have very strong firepower, and we can't resist them at all."

“I know what you’re talking about. In China, it’s called the Taishan gunship aircraft, a ground attack aircraft model manufactured by a big businessman who runs an airline.”

Lieutenant Haneda put down his notebook and looked at the destroyed armored train.

Some of the bullet holes on the train were completely different from those of ordinary bullets.

In China, only the Taishan gunship was equipped with such a powerful 12.7mm aircraft machine gun.

In other words, the gunboats and aircraft of Taishan were not moved to the rear, but were secretly hidden somewhere in North China or nearby.

Fang Wen, a highly skilled pilot and a key assassination target of the Special Higher Police, will likely appear there as well.

As an intelligence officer, Lieutenant Haneda keenly sensed the possibility of hunting down his prey.

He immediately returned to Baoding and reported to the North China branch of the Special Higher Police, attempting to apply for a special operation to send a special forces unit to infiltrate the occupied areas where resistance still existed and secretly investigate the location of the Taishan secret flight base.

This proposal was adopted by the headquarters of Special High Technology and handed over to the North China branch for full handling.

Lieutenant Hata was directly in charge of this operation.

He was also given the privilege of selecting operatives from within the military and the Special Higher Police at will.

But no one expected that Haneda, who was in charge of the operation, would choose an infiltration team composed entirely of traitors.

(End of this chapter)