"All anti-aircraft machine guns are ready to fire" was the moment when the three planes, without any vigilance, quickly swooped towards the machine gun position where they were, ready to drop bombs. Company commander Wang Kai, without any hesitation, gave a decisive order to the soldiers around him.

As soon as the voice of company commander Wang Kai fell, a dense machine-gun strafing sound reached everyone's ears. Six anti-aircraft machine guns and six tongues of fire spewed out completely blocked a plane flying in front of it in a dense barrage. In less than five seconds, a plane flying in front turned into a huge fireball in a huge explosion.

"Ah, Baga, anti-aircraft machine guns, how can the Eighth Route Army have anti-aircraft machine guns" Because one of the planes flying in front, when attacking, completely blocked the vision of the pilots on the two wingmen. At the moment when the six anti-aircraft machine guns opened fire, the two wingmen behind them did not notice the sudden dense fire net. The team leader, who was still closely following him, continued to dive, preparing to drop the bomb. It wasn't until the plane piloted by the squad leader exploded in the air that the two wingmen behind him suddenly reacted from the shock. I couldn't help but exclaim, wanting to pull up the fuselage and dodge the dense net of fire fired by the anti-aircraft machine gun.

However, under the command of a platoon commander, the six tongues of fire were quickly concentrated on one of the planes that was about to escape. The plane, which was tightly hugged by the army, was quickly punched with numerous bullet holes in the dense strafing of the anti-aircraft machine guns. Although the military pilots indulged their landlines and used all their strength, constantly flipping back and forth, dodging the rain of bullets. However, in less than half a minute, smoke billowed from the tail of the plane.

"The engine of the Baga aircraft was hit" saw the engine of the aircraft slowly stop running, and the plane itself began to descend rapidly. The little devil pilot was startled and exclaimed loudly, wanting to parachute to escape. However, the fighters on the air defense positions did not give him this opportunity. Taking advantage of the moment when the plane lost power, all six tongues of fire were concentrated in the cabin of the plane. After a rain of bullets, the pilot, who was just about to escape, had not yet risen from his driving position when two blood holes the size of a bowl were punched in his chest by bullets fired by anti-aircraft machine guns

Just after the soldiers saw the second plane of the army, billowing smoke, rushed directly into the woods outside the city. Immediately, they turned their guns together and aimed them at the last remaining plane. However, more than ten seconds have passed at this time, and more than ten seconds are enough for the little devil pilot to pull up the fuselage.

By the time the six tongues of fire swept towards the last plane, the plane had climbed to an altitude of nearly a kilometer above the ground, and quickly burrowed into the smoke and disappeared from the soldiers' field of vision. And six dense tongues of fire, only in the wings of the aircraft, left a few bullet holes.

The air battle just now only took place in a corner of the sky over Taiyuan. For the other three offensive squads, there was no such good luck. Because, not only did they have to face a dense barrage of the remaining thirty anti-aircraft machine guns. What's more, the low-flying little devil plane also has to face the infantry, nearly 100 light and heavy machine guns strafing.

In the end, among the remaining 9 planes, in the dense rain of bullets from the fighters, only one plane escaped the range of the fighters' fire and burrowed into the clouds. The formation of 12 aircraft was completely lost in less than ten minutes of attack. Seeing his captain, his comrades-in-arms were shot down one by one by the dense anti-aircraft fire on the ground, and finally their bones were gone. The remaining two pilots no longer had the guts to rush into the clouds and continue the battle. In the end, he hurriedly dropped the bomb in the belly of the plane outside the city and fled back to Shijiazhuang Airport in a hurry.

And less than half an hour after the two planes fled. The second batch of Shijiazhuang planes, a total of two squadrons and 24 planes, under the personal leadership of the captain of the Shijiazhuang Flight Brigade, once again visited Taiyuan, which had just experienced the war.

As a result of the enemy's first wave of aircraft, only two aircraft remained, and all officers were killed. plus two pilots, at this time, only remember to escape, so, in the process of escaping, did not report the situation in Taiyuan to their superiors. Thus, 24 aircraft of two flying squadrons, hardly any vigilance. Again, the enemy was cut into the smoke and within range of the soldiers' various machine guns.

There is no doubt that the fierce air battle has once again begun. However, this time, because there were two squads of escort fighters, the pressure on the fighters increased significantly. The six fighters of the army strafed back and forth above the heads of the fighters, preventing the fighters from strafing the air as much as possible, and providing the bombers with an opportunity to drop bombs.

The soldiers of the prevention and control company can say that they must have gone through several real prevention and control battles, and they did not have any fear in the face of bullets fired by military planes. Instead, he used the anti-aircraft machine gun in his hand to carry out a ferocious return fire. However, the infantry, who has not experienced any air battles, does not have such a good psychological quality in the face of powerful aviation bullets.

Although the infantry soldiers are also not afraid of death, they face the time when they are touched by a bullet fired by a military aircraft, and there will be a blood hole the size of a bowl on their body. Many of the fighters began to panic, and immediately after, their hands holding on to machine guns began to tremble. Over time, the accuracy of the machine gun was also greatly affected.

Nearly 100 light and heavy machine guns not only did not play any role in killing the enemy, but instead became the target of the military planes. However, their presence relieved the fighters on the six anti-aircraft machine-gun positions a huge burden. Let the 36 anti-aircraft machine guns have more time and energy to destroy the dense military planes in the sky one by one.

"Boom, boom, boom" In the midst of bursts of explosions, one plane after another rose to the ground with thick smoke and exploded. One plane after another was hit by a flurry of bullets and exploded in the air. However, the fighters also paid a high price. Many positions were either strafed by the fighters of the Japanese army or bombed by the Japanese army.

In the face of every aerial bomb weighing hundreds of kilograms, the soldiers could be said to have no chance of escaping. Almost as long as the position is attacked by aerial bombs, there is only one final result, that is, all the fighters on the position will be wiped out at the moment of the explosion.

Finally, after about ten minutes of fierce air fighting, it slowly drew to a close. After 14 of the 24 planes were shot down and 2 were damaged by the fighters. The remaining eight planes had to dig into the clouds in fear to discuss countermeasures. Similarly, the fighters in charge of prevention and control also took advantage of this time to begin to treat the wounded and move the prevention and control positions

"Report to Your Excellency Commander, Telegram from the Second Flight Squadron" Just when the Supreme Commander of Shijiazhuang was sitting in the office of the airport headquarters, anxiously waiting for the good news from the flight group. A captain staff officer, holding a telegram, forgot to knock on the door, hurried in and said.

"Nani? Baga, look at you, what do you lie about, and do you have the appearance of an emperor [***] person? Seeing the captain's staff officer rushing into his room in a hurry, the commander scolded loudly.

"Hey, Your Excellency Commander's criticism is very correct, and I will definitely correct it next time. Report to Your Excellency the Commander, an urgent telegram from the Second Flight Squadron, asking Your Excellency the Commander to decide. Seeing the commander with an angry face on his face, the captain's staff officer couldn't help but feel frightened by what he had just done. However, as a soldier, he quickly reacted from the shock just now and reported loudly to the commander.

"Yo Xi, what is the urgent telegram of the second flight squadron, is it that the Eighth Route Army besieging Taiyuan has been repelled by our army under the blow of our air force?" Listening to the captain's staff, the commander nodded and asked with confidence on his face.

"Your Excellency, Commander, no. The Second Flying Squadron reported that the entire Taiyuan had been completely occupied by the Eighth Route Army at this time, and His Excellency the General was nowhere to be found. Seeing the commander's confident smile, the captain's staff officer still told the shocking news.

"Nani? Eight grid tooth road, impossible, absolutely unwilling. How could the Eighth Route Army capture Taiyuan in one night. You must know that there can be a wing of imperial soldiers in Taiyuan City, which is absolutely impossible. "The commander, who was still extremely confident, listened to the captain's staff officer's words, and his whole face seemed to turn black in an instant. Asked in disbelief.

"Hi, Your Excellency Commander, I have sent a telegram confirming that Taiyuan is really occupied by the Eighth Route Army. Moreover, our flying group was hit by the anti-aircraft fire of the Eighth Route Army and suffered heavy losses, and the squadron leader of the second flying squadron asked the entire flying group to retreat immediately. The captain's staff officer continued affirmatively.

"What about the captain of the group, why didn't the captain send a telegram back," the commander asked with a frown.

"Your Excellency, the commander of the flying brigade has been hit by the anti-aircraft fire of the Eighth Route Army in the sky over Taiyuan a few minutes ago, and he has dedicated his life to His Majesty the Emperor. Now there are only ten planes left in the entire flying group that can continue to fight, and two more planes have been hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, which has already received heavy losses and is in danger of falling at any time. ”

"Bang Baga, there are only 10 planes left, how is it possible. When did the Eighth Route Army have such a strong firepower for prevention and control. No way, it must be the leader of the second squadron who is lying about the military situation. When the commander heard the shocking news, he slapped the table in front of him and said in disbelief.

"Hi, Your Excellency Commander, this is all a battle loss personally reported by the Squadron Leader of the Second Squadron, please take a look at it, Your Excellency the Commander."

"Commander, please calm your anger. Now that Taiyuan has been lost, our air reinforcements have lost any role. I propose to withdraw the remaining ten aircraft immediately so as not to suffer unnecessary losses. Otherwise, our air force in Shijiazhuang will really be lost" Seeing the commander who was about to get angry, the chief of staff hurriedly reminded.

"Bang Baga Reader, return my plane" The commander clenched his fists, smashed a cup in front of him at once, and scolded loudly.

"Chief of Staff, order the remaining ten planes to withdraw immediately, quickly. We must keep the remaining planes and send a report quickly" A few minutes later, just as the commander's mood slowly calmed down. Suddenly seeing the anxious eyes of the chief of staff beside him, the commander of the army reacted from the shock and ordered loudly to the chief of staff beside him.

"Hi, Commander. I'll send it right away."

With the telegram from the Shijiazhuang headquarters, all the pilots of the military planes hovering over Taiyuan breathed a sigh of relief almost at the same time. Ten planes, under the leadership of the squadron leader of the second squadron, protected two planes that could fall at any time, and flew out of the sky over Taiyuan in a hurry.

"Hooray, hooray" became weaker and weaker as the roar of the plane overhead. In Taiyuan City, both the common people and the soldiers poured into the streets almost at the same time and began to vent their excitement. At the same time, doctors from various hospitals in the city also poured into the streets at the same time and began to take the initiative to treat the wounded soldiers and ordinary people.

"Report to the division commander, the little devil's plane has flown away" Soon, Wang Kai, the commander of the air defense company, ran in front of Liu Hua, who was still standing at the head of the city, observing every move of the entire air battle.

"Well, I saw it.; How about it, have the results been counted" Listening to the cheers of the people in the city, Liu Hua was also extremely excited, and he couldn't wait to know the results of his air defense company.

"Division commander, it has been counted, the first batch of 12 planes of the little devils, 10 were shot down by us. Of the second batch of 24 aircraft, 14 were shot down and two were damaged. In total, we shot down 24 enemy planes and damaged two enemy planes. When it came to the results of his air defense company, Wang Kai's face was full of excitement.

"Hehe, yes, the fighters are all good, this time your air defense company has made a great contribution. When the time comes, I will personally ask the headquarters and Yan'an for merit for you, and give your air defense company a collective special merit. Hearing that the little devil planes of the two squadrons were left in Taiyuan by their own air defense companies, Liu Hua said with excitement on his face.

"Commander, this is all your clever strategy. I actually thought of using thick smoke to make the little devil plane fly low. Without this smoke, we would not have been able to achieve such great results. If you want to talk about credit, you have to remember the greatest credit. Wang Kai replied loudly, and explained the key to the reason why he was able to achieve such a big victory in this air battle.

"Well, don't be proud, very good, a good commander, you must remember that no matter how big a fighter you get, you can't be proud and underestimate the enemy. But you're wrong, the reason why you were able to achieve such a big result is because of the smoke. On the other hand, in the face of bombing and strafing by enemy planes, the fighters are not afraid of sacrifice and bravely fight against enemy planes. How about it, the casualties of the soldiers are not big" Hearing Wang Kai's answer, Liu Hua nodded, and then asked.

"Division commander, this air defense company has basically lost half. In particular, the two air defense positions in the eastern part of the city were attacked by aerial bombs of the Chinese army, and almost all the troops were wiped out. Speaking of the casualties of the troops, Wang Kai could no longer see the excited look on his face, but replied with a sad face.

"Well, tell me about the specific data" At this time, Liu Hua was also gloomy. Because, in the scene of the air battle just now, I saw everything in my forehead little by little. The air defense company suffered heavy casualties, and he was mentally prepared.

"Yes, Commander. According to statistics, a total of 126 fighters of the entire air defense company were killed, and 24 fighters were seriously injured. Of the remaining 150 people, almost all of them were injured. In addition, of the 36 anti-aircraft machine guns, 8 machine guns were completely damaged and could not be used anymore. The 4 machine guns had varying degrees of damage, but they could be repaired by the Arsenal and continued to be used. Wang Kai immediately said the casualty data in his hand.

"Well, what about the casualties of the other troops?" Liu Hua nodded and continued to ask.

"More than 360 machine gunners, 110 killed, 49 seriously wounded. In addition, due to the bombing of the little devil's plane, there were 210 civilians in the city, and 38 soldiers died under the bombardment of the enemy. However, now all the wounded have been arranged to various hospitals in the city, and the rescue is being carried out, and the wounded should be basically able to be rescued."

"Well, the soldiers are all good, and the people of Taiyuan are also good. Company Commander Wang, now I would like to formally tell you that because of the excellent performance and fruitful results of your air defense company. Starting today, the air defense company was officially expanded into an air defense battalion, with two antiaircraft machine gun companies and one antiaircraft artillery company under its jurisdiction. You will immediately take the rest of the troops and withdraw them for rest and recuperation, and the specific reorganization matters will be carried out by the General Staff Headquarters after returning to the base area. Liu Hua ordered loudly.

"Ah, the air defense battalion, thank you for the division commander's trust in us, I will definitely take the air defense battalion well, and let the little devil know how powerful the air defense battalion of our reading division is" Hearing this, he changed from a company commander to a battalion commander in an instant. Wang Kai, who was still full of sadness, replied with excitement on his face like a pie falling from the sky.

"Well, I believe in your ability, in the future, the task of prevention and control of our reading force division will be handed over to you, I hope you will not live up to the expectations of all of us for you." Liu Hua nodded with satisfaction.

"Yes, division commander, Wang Kai promises to complete the task"

(To be continued)