Tyranny of Steel

What was perhaps the first instance of Anti-Aircraft weaponry being used in warfare was displayed over the island of Borneo. The Japanese invasion of the Majapahit Empire continued, and it became clear very quickly that the 8.8cm flak cannons employed by the Royal Majapahit Army were more than capable of annihilating the floatplanes used by the Japanese battleships as a means of reconnaissance. 

Within the first twenty-four hours of the invasion, Itami had lost six planes and six pilots from these AA installments. As a result, she had become desperate to eliminate these installations and had issued the order to dispatch a hundred bombers from the Japanese Airbase in the southern Philippines to bomb the fortified positions where these anti-aircraft guns were located. 

Lieutenant Ishino Sadayori was among Japan's first pilots, and yet this was his first actual mission. Inside the cockpit of the mostly wooden DH 98 mosquito multirole combat aircraft, he carefully flew the plane towards the destination. 

This mission was extremely dangerous as the weapons the Germans had sold the Majapahit Army were more than capable of taking out these bombers if they were not careful, and Lieutenant Ishino knew that there was a high probability of death.

Yet for the War Goddess, he was more than willing to give up his life, and thus, he flew at full speed towards the Island of Borneo where several fortifications housed the anti-aircraft guns he and his fellow pilots intended to destroy. 

The crewman in his aircraft were shouting towards the pilot as explosions detonated left and right, rocking the feeble aircraft as it continued to pursue forward.

"Keep it steady! The last thing we need-"

However, before the airman could finish his complaint, he peered out the left side of the plane and saw another bomber no further than fifty meters away get blasted into pieces by an anti-aircraft shell. What remained of the plane was lit aflame and fell from the sky at high velocity. 

This frightening sight immediately caused the man to shut his trap, as Lieutenant Ishino focused on surviving just long enough to drop the payload. Left, right, front, and back, dozens of the hundred or so bombers that were taking part in this operation were torn apart by the heavy fire of the Majapahit Flak guns. 

The airmen said their prayers to their gods as they feared the next explosion would claim their lives, and indeed one had detonated nearby, causing one of the engines onboard the aircraft to be lit aflame. 

The bomber quickly began losing altitude, as the Airmen prepared their parachutes to escape through the side hatch. Once the last crewman was in the doorframe, he gazed back at Lieutenant Ishino and urged him to join with the rest of his crew.

"Lieutenant, it is time to bail! We must jump now, or we won't make it!"

However, the pilot refused to do, and yelled back at his crew with determination in his voice. 

"Go! It has been my honor to serve alongside you!"

The airmen hesitated before saluting the pilot once last time where he proceeded to plunge into the sky, and freefall until he was at the maximum depth to pull his chute. As for Lieutenant Ishino, he quickly placed a rising sun headband over his pilot's cap and screamed a battle cry as he drove the plane directly into the nearest Anti-Aircraft installation.

"Tennoheika Banzai!"

In the very next moment, he dropped the payload of four two-hundred and thirty kilogram bombs onto the facility before crashing directly into the largest gun. The combined explosion was enough to demolish the fort and everything within it. 

As for the rest of the Japanese bombers, fifty out of a hundred would complete their mission, and only twenty five of those would return to the airbase in the Philippines. Where they would re-arm, refuel, and head straight back out again with reinforcements. 

Within a single week, Itami had lost nearly two hundred bombers, but had effectively eliminated 90% of the enemy's antiaircraft capabilities, allowing the remainder of her bombers to pelt the surface of Borneo with impunity, and in doing so weakening the Majapahit fortifications. 

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Within a week after their initial invasion, the Japanese had effectively mobilized fifty thousand soldiers. Many of which were conscripts from the colonies, who were given a uniform, rifle, and told to charge a machine gun nest under threat of death from behind. 

The more veteran ethnic Japanese troops had begun to march in the rear, pushing these conscripts forward. It was only after a total of 52,000 men and hundreds of armored vehicles had landed on the shores of Borneo did the Japanese plan their next stage of advancement. 

Since the Imperial Japanese Army had halted in its tracks, they had been sending out advanced troops to burn down the thick jungle foliage with flamethrowers to carve a path for the Tanks and APCs. These pioneers had come under attack a multitude of times by Majapahit guerillas, and the overall losses suffered in this invasion to date were roughly 8,000 men in total. 

Relieved to have new reinforcements at their backs, the Japanese soldiers were quick to advance forward. Among these men was Staff Sergeant Oyama Hirayori, who was the commander of a Type 4 Chi-To Medium Tank. He sat in the small confines of the vehicle as it advanced on the path that had been laid out for it.

After traveling for nearly thirty kilometers, they finally reached what could be considered the front lines of the ongoing conflict, where an infantry brigade was assaulting a heavily fortified enemy trench line. A smug look appeared on the tank commander's face, as he received his orders from the tank in front via the waving of a flag out the hatch to advance forward and trample over the barbed wire perimeter. 

However, as the tanks began to fan out and attack, a curious sight appeared through Sergeant Oyama's periscope. An explosive projectile hit the lead tank of their battalion and exploded on the spot. The type 4 Chi-To Medium tank proved incapable of resisting a single shot from the 8.8cm Pak 43 Anti Tank Guns that the Germans had supplied the Army with.

The sight of their leader being obliterated with a single shot caused Oyama and his crew to nearly soil themselves in fright. However, before they could react, another cloud of smoke emerged from the trench line, along with a crackle of thunder. Before they knew it, another Type 4 had been obliterated. 

In the spur-of-the-moment Oyama instantly ordered the gunner in his tank to target the Pak-43, and with a precise shot an explosion occurred in the trench line where one of many Anti-Tank guns was located. Oyama instantly cheered, however in the next moment his tank was targeted by another Pak-43 and before he and his crew could fully celebrate, an anti-tank shell penetrated through their vehicle's armor and detonated inside the cabin. Killing the entire crew, including Oyama. 

Despite the death of yet another tank, the Japanese conscripts were forced forward through machine gun fire in what could only be referred to as a Banzai charge, as they overwhelmed the trench line with superior numbers and firepower.

Though the assault was costly, the fortifications were in the end seized by the Japanese, and any prisoners of war were rounded up and hauled off. After all, Itami had been forced to sign the Vienna Accords in exchange for Min-Ah, and because of this, the Imperial Japanese Army was now held at a higher standard than before. 

The war for Borneo would continue to be a bloody business, and the Imperial Japanese Army would suffer heavy losses. However, bauxite was needed to create weapons that could go against those of the Reich, and thus Empress Itami Riyo was willing to pay any price for victory. 

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