si-mexico Chapter 1147 Ground-based Air Defense
Chapter 1147 Ground-based Air Defense
"All to your positions. No anti-aircraft weapons may fire without my order."
Wang Laohu climbed onto the armored vehicle beside him, keeping an eye on the planes in the sky while issuing orders to his air defense personnel. The hundreds of air defense personnel around him did not respond, but Wang Laohu knew they were ready.
This time, Li Shaoyi made a new request to the army heading south: that they should still rely on ground support units to make a name for themselves even without air escort, and they should not allow the enemy's air force to gain an advantage.
When this idea first came up, many commanders thought our commander-in-chief had gone mad. Without air escort, although our air defense weapons were very powerful, to think that we could still fight back and forth with the enemy was really wishful thinking.
However, after a period of training, especially after the concept of matrix air defense was introduced on the Pujiang battlefield, many people immediately understood that even without an air force, as long as we have enough air defense weapons, we can shoot down all the enemy's aircraft, especially the Japanese air force.
Li Shaoyi previously stated that if they were to encounter other major world powers, their air defense strategy might not be successful, at most achieving localized success. However, if they were to encounter the Japanese Air Force, their chances of success would be at least 90%.
The fundamental reason is the weakness of the Japanese air force; they couldn't muster a large enough aircraft formation. Take the current situation, for example. A dozen or so aircraft overhead is considered a lot. If they could muster hundreds, our air defense strategy might fail. But with only a dozen or so, they can attack however they want.
Wang Laohu held his breath, watching the planes fly step by step into a matrix. Although there were no obvious markings in the sky, the matrix was in everyone's minds. When the planes reached the key location, Wang Laohu ordered them to fire, and instantly countless firepower from the ground poured into the sky.
As Li Shaoyi instructed, you only need to take care of the area in front of you. Don't worry about when the planes fly in or when they reach your airspace. In short, the airspace above you cannot be undefended. As long as you can maintain firepower for even a few dozen seconds, those planes in the sky will be doomed.
As it turned out, Li Shaoyi's matrix air defense system was flawless. When several 88mm anti-aircraft guns on the ground opened fire, the other quadruple anti-aircraft guns also fired in unison, creating a matrix space in the sky that stretched for over a kilometer. By the time the Japanese planes detected this matrix space, it was too late; they had already rushed in, only to find themselves with no way to retreat.
Four of the six Japanese planes were hit, and the remaining two were on the edge of the area. Upon discovering the situation, they immediately prepared to turn back. Unfortunately, before they could even complete their turn, sparks flew from the two Japanese planes.
The Japanese planes are much more cautious now than before. In the past, they didn't fly as high, almost skimming the ground. According to them, our army lacks anti-aircraft weapons, so this way they can see ground targets more clearly and their bombing accuracy will be higher.
However, after the Battle of Pujiang, the Japanese air force issued an order prohibiting them from flying below 300 meters. This was mainly because the 72nd Army had too many anti-aircraft machine guns, and even if they increased to above 300 meters, they wouldn't be able to turn around much. Just look at those six planes; without our air force, we could have wiped them all out in one salvo.
The brothers on the front lines were initially worried because they were used to having their air force comrades supporting them from the sky. Now, suddenly without their air force comrades, many felt a void in their hearts. But today's situation was different. When they saw the planes descending in the distance, trailing black smoke, they waved their uniforms vigorously. This was something they had fought themselves, without the help of their air force comrades.
Wang Laohu emerged from the armored vehicle with a cheerful smile. Of course, the operations staff beside him didn't look so pleased. They knew all too well how many shells we had fired during the matrix attack.
Of these, 55 rounds were fired from 88mm anti-aircraft guns, 270 rounds from 40mm anti-aircraft guns, and 490 rounds from 20mm anti-aircraft guns. As for anti-aircraft machine guns, there's simply no way to count them.
At this rate, even the world's richest country would be unable to sustain such a war. Of course, compared to six aircraft, we still have a huge advantage with these shells. As long as you fire enough ammunition per unit of time, the aircraft in the sky shouldn't even think about escaping from your territory.
The Japanese troops advancing north were dumbfounded. According to their orders, they were to resume their advance only after seeing the six planes drop their bombs and return to base. At that moment, they didn't see the six planes drop their bombs, but they did see six planes plummeting into the sky, trailing black smoke.
Because they were quite far away, many Japanese officers and soldiers didn't know how the planes had been hit. No planes from the 72nd Army appeared in the sky; they only circled ahead, though they did see some black smoke rising from the air.
Anti-aircraft guns shooting down planes is common practice, but bringing one down is not so easy. Were all six planes hit? What kind of anti-aircraft guns were used?
"Quickly write down our successful experiences. Stop worrying about the shells. The higher-ups said that no matter how many shells we fire, they will always replenish them. Write all this down and send it to headquarters so they can distribute it to all our brother units. Now that we're no longer in the Air Force, we can accomplish great things."
Wang Laohu patted the still sullen guy next to him, who nodded with a wry smile. Since the boss doesn't care about our losses, why should a lowly staff officer like me care? Hurry up and write the report…