Chapter 32 Devil's Egg
May 28, 1940 at 10:00 am. Air Force Airport Mission Room, Bourne Base, Belgium.
Colonel Wolf, the chief combat officer of the newly formed Reinhardt direct aviation division, was holding a coaching stick and struggling to hit the blackboard full of route maps.
"Quiet! Quiet! Now is not the time for you to express your opinions. Listen to me and finish your words!"
The colonel looked at the pilots who were whispering to the flight plan below and felt that his head was getting big. General Reinhardt really found a good job for himself. When he just received the order he was appointed as a combat officer of the aviation division, he thought that the general was repaying his help when he was last escort. At that time, he wanted to do it well to repay the general's promotion. But he didn't expect that he would hand it over to his own flight wings, which were all veteran flight wings, and those pilots also participated in countless air battles. Can he really control such a group of air force pilots who are clearly showing their pride? If I had known this, I would have stayed in the base camp and became his escort captain.
"Hey, you guys, don't discuss it for now, listen to me! What's the problem with you?"
Wolf felt that he could not help but curse.
"Col. I have a problem." A pilot stood up and raised his arms.
"Tell me, what's the problem." It's better to have communication than to ignore yourself and make a noise below. Colonel Wolf finally felt a little satisfied.
"We don't understand the flight plan. The combat methods you mentioned earlier are not suitable for us light fighters, such as keeping a distance from the enemy." The pilot seemed a little angry. "We are all fighter pilots. Of course, the closer we are when fighting with the enemy, the better. How can we still keep a distance from them?"
Wolf stopped asking, but in fact he didn't understand why the general had to formulate such combat rules. He opened his mouth and was thinking about how to answer.
"It seems that everyone can't fully understand the combat plan. Then let me explain it to you." Xu Jun walked in from outside the door.
"stand up!"
With Wolf's shout, the pilots jumped up from their seats like springs, changing the expression of not caring about anything in front of them, standing upright with their chests, looking at their highest commander in awe. Xu Jun saluted, and the pilots quickly returned the salute neatly.
Xu Jun walked to Wolf and asked with a smile: "Wolf, how does it feel to be a war officer?"
"Report to the general, it's OK."
"Haha, it seems that you have not yet integrated into these pilots. Remember, before you were a combat officer, you were a pilot and you should look at your responsibilities from the perspective of a pilot."
"I understand, general." Wolf began to think about the meaning of Xu Jun's words in his mind.
Xu Jun turned around and looked at the group of pilots. It was indeed an elite force, and everyone seemed to be full of their own personalities.
"I heard before that you don't understand these combat plans. I can explain these issues to you. But it's not possible here. Gentlemen, come with me to the tarmac outside, where I have prepared some new toys for you, and you will understand my plan by then. Also, bring your chair, Wolf, and get me a handful." Then Xu Jun turned around and walked out of the mission room.
The pilots followed Xu Jun to the apron and found that a large open space had been cleared out there. Several planes that were originally parked there were moved aside. Three heavy flatbed trucks were parked at the places where the planes were originally parked. The trucks were filled with cargo and piled up very high, but they were covered with tarpaulins. I don’t know what those were, but from the outline, they could tell that they should be boxes.
Xu Jun walked to the truck, stopped, and nodded to Hans beside the truck. Hans also nodded in tribute. Xu Jun turned around and looked at the pilots. They were now standing in three small square formations according to their respective units, carrying chairs in their hands.
"Relax, gentlemen, you are the elites I specially selected from the entire Luftwaffe Air Force. Now we are not giving the mission, we just want to have a good exchange. Now sit down, you don't want to stand here and listen to me. You must know that I am very good at speaking." Xu Jun said with a smile.
The pilots also laughed. They put their own chairs and sat down. Xu Jun also sat on the chair prepared by Wolf for him, took a document handed over by Hans, and said to the pilots with a smile.
"I want to apologize to Wolf's combat officer first. It's all my fault that I didn't explain my plan to him before, but these things had not arrived yet, so I couldn't explain them to him clearly. Hahaha, even he couldn't understand what I wanted you to do. Now that these things have arrived, I can let you understand your tasks intuitively."
Xu Jun stood up and paced back and forth in front of the pilots.
"Now you know that the British have been blocked by us in the port of Dunker. Our army troops have firmly trapped them there on the ground. There are now 200,000 British, Belgium, and French teams in the encirclement. We have surrounded their more than 200,000 troops in other places. Now our victory is near."
After hearing Xu Jun's words, the pilots all exclaimed. They knew that the battle was very large, but they did not expect that they would surround 400,000 enemy troops. The one who planned and directed the battle was General Reinhardt in front of him. Moreover, he is now the acting commander-in-chief of the Air Force. If he had no chance of taking this position, they could not hold this position. They couldn't help but feel a little proud of being the general's direct troops.
The pilots listened to Xu Jun's words seriously. They are now really curious about Xu Jun's air strike plan.
"However, because there are too many enemies in the encirclement, the army will pay a considerable price if it wants to destroy them. Under my command, the situation where soldiers will never be allowed to die in vain. So I decided to completely trap them and force them to surrender while the enemy was almost exhausted. In this way, we would not have to spend the lives of our brave young German men for this army that was destined to be destroyed.
However, we are facing a serious problem now. The British will never be willing to be trapped by us in that port. They are unwilling to be defeated by their army and they are ready to escape and run away from the sea. Our navy is not strong enough to block their passages at sea.
So, I am going to let our strong air force complete this difficult task. Let you do the tasks that the navy and the army cannot complete, and block the road leading to the sea from that port."
After listening to Xu Jun's words, the pilots below made another noise. They realized that the mission they were about to perform was so important, and the pilots were all excited. Xu Jun smiled and looked at the excited pilots below. He was very satisfied with the reactions of the pilots.
He continued: "Your mission is to completely cut off the British's retreat. I believe that our strong and elite air force can do this. But don't think that this mission is very simple. This blockade operation will be a great test for our Luftwaffe.
Because the British would not wait there stupidly and let us block and bomb, they also had a large number of anti-aircraft weapons, at least the ammunition for those weapons was sufficient. Moreover, the terrain of that port was also very complicated, and they had many passages to board the ship. Especially there were more than 3,000 meters of soft sand, and our heavy bombs could not exert their power on that kind of ground.
The British will also send their elite Royal Air Force to provide cover for their retreat. You will encounter models you have never seen before and tenacious resistance you have never encountered. If you are not fully prepared, I can guarantee that we will pay a heavy price for it. If the lives of my brave fighter pilot are needed for victory, this victory will never make me feel any pride or glory."
When the pilots heard this, they felt that their mission was indeed not as simple as they thought. They were particularly moved by Xu Jun's last words. They now felt that fighting under such a great and noble commander might be the most honorable thing in their lives. Their attitude towards Xu Jun now changed from awe to admiration. The pilots sat there quietly, waiting for Xu Jun to continue speaking, and they believed that Xu Jun must have prepared the best countermeasures for them.
"It was because of these problems that I designed the entire air strike plan and prepared suitable weapons for everyone. Now let's take a look at the first toy I prepared for everyone."
Xu Jun nodded to Hans. Hans walked to the first truck and led several air soldiers to pull down the oil cloth covering the cargo. Rows of brand new ammunition boxes appeared in front of everyone. Several air soldiers lifted a box from the car and placed it at Xu Jun's feet. Hans also took a square box from the cab and handed it to Xu Jun.
The ammunition box was opened and a strange bomb appeared in front of the pilot.
"It's a "butterfly" bomb." A pilot recognized the bomb at a glance and shouted: "I have used it in Spain and it's very good to deal with cluster targets."
"Yes, this is indeed a "butterfly" bullet, but I still like his other name, "Devil's Egg." Xu Jun opened the square box, and the ammunition that had been opened "butterfly" bullet came out.
"Everyone knows the power of this cluster bomb. Although it is not as powerful as those heavy bombs, it is the most effective weapon to deal with the infantry gathered on the beach of the dock. And the bombs in front of you have been modified as I ask. They are the first bombs to be thrown at Dunkiel. Their mission is not to destroy, but to hinder."
"General, this kind of bomb is not good at dealing with roads and buildings. How can it hinder the enemy?" A pilot finally couldn't help but ask a question.
"What's your name?" Xu Jun asked with a smile.
"Hans, Lieutenant Eighard Bob, His Excellency General."
"Fifty-fourth Fighter Regiment?"
"Yes, General."
"Haha, OK, Bob, catch it."
Xu Jun threw the ammunition in his hand at Bob. He was startled by the lieutenant, and he hurriedly caught the small bomb.
"General, this is too dangerous, please don't throw the bomb casually." Bob complained: "I almost scared me to death."
"Haha, my Lieutenant Bob, this is a bomb that removes the fuse and will not explode. The explosion bomb is not the most terrifying. The most terrifying thing is the bomb that has not exploded yet. What is even more terrifying is the bomb that knows it will explode but does not know when it will explode."
Xu Jun paused and glanced at the pilots who were nodding in agreement.
"And your mission today is to throw this kind of bomb. This is the most terrifying bomb." Xu Jun smiled and made a gesture to Bob. Bob quickly threw the small bomb back to Xu Jun. Xu Jun held the strange little thing and continued to speak to the pilots.
"What you cast today will be the specially modified "Devil's Eggs". They have four types of fuses installed respectively.
The first is the air-detonation fuse, which will detonate in the air five meters above the ground, which is enough for the British to enjoy it.
The second type is a timed fuze. The set time is random, ranging from two minutes to two days. Even the installed person does not know how long it will explode after the things land. Its function is to keep those British soldiers away from it before it explodes. I believe that no one except the British engineers dares to approach it.
The third type is to deal with the brave British engineers. It contains a mechanical fuse, which is a very precise machine. The fuse is activated ten seconds after it lands. At that time, as long as it is taken off the ground or destroys its posture when it lands, it will explode immediately. The engineers who have not distinguished the difference between it and a time bomb will go to see God without understanding what is going on."
After hearing Xu Jun's words, the pilots burst into laughter.
"What about the last one? General." Wolf asked with a smile.
"Haha, don't worry, my combat officer, the most interesting thing is the last one. Even if it is hit with a hammer, it won't explode. It is equipped with a radio remote-controlled fuse. It will explode only when we feel it is necessary to make it explode. As long as the pilot on the plane with a remote control presses the button. Now you can know what kind of role this small bomb can play."
When the pilots first listened to Xu Jun's introduction, they just thought this weapon was very interesting, but when they turned around and thought about it carefully, they couldn't help but feel a chill on their backs. It was simply too terrifying. This is really a weapon that is both dangerous and vicious.
They are now beginning to understand why Xu Jun used this kind of bomb. As long as they spread this kind of bomb throughout the coast of Dunkerke, whether it is a dock or a beach, it will become a dead area. Anyone who wants to enter those areas will risk his life, and even trained engineers will not be able to protect their safety. Before the British figures understand the structure and characteristics of this kind of bomb, even if they use cannons to cover and shoot, it will be difficult to completely remove all the bombs.
But if bombing is carried out by bombing, it can also have the same effect. Why does the general still use this kind of bomb?
At this time, Wolf asked everyone's questions first: "General, our bombers can actually control those places throughout the day. Why do we still use this kind of bomb?"
"Haha, two reasons." Xu Jun nodded to Wolf with satisfaction. Then he said to the pilots.
"You may be the same as Colonel Wolf thought. I turned out to be the same as everyone thought. We can achieve our goal by relying on bombers alone. As long as we load the air-detonated fuse, even the beach cannot affect the power of the bomb.
But when I made this plan, I found a problem. What if the British were experiencing bad weather when they retreated, what should we do if our Air Force could not find targets on the ground, and I must find a way to hinder the enemy's retreat before the Air Force could effectively attack. It was then that I decided to use this kind of bomb.
Now I have two reasons. First, it is now shrouded in yin clouds and heavy fog, and it will not be clear until tomorrow afternoon. We cannot achieve precise bombing in these two days, so I can only use this small bomb to spread all over the coast, so that at least they can be honest during this period when we continue to attack from tonight to tomorrow afternoon.
Second, if you use this kind of thing, just blindly bombard it, just make sure that it falls on the beach on the marina on the coast. It doesn’t matter whether you can see or not.
Not only you, but all the bomber wings of the entire Second Air Force will participate in this attack.
In addition to scattering bombs there, your mission will also carry out the mission of protecting those bombers. You may encounter attacks from the Royal Air Force today, so I have prepared a second toy for you."
Then Xu Jun asked Hans to pull the tarpaulin on the second truck.
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Chapter completed!