Redemption of WWII

Chapter 31 There is a kind of bravery called Chennai

Great Britain lost 385 aircraft and 263 of its bombers. 【】Only 81 fighters were shot down, and 41 were lost due to mechanical failure and fatigue driving.It can be said that the loss was heavy, and the energy of the most important pilot was greatly overdrawn. At this time, the British in the Earth Sea could no longer send a flight formation to stop the German transport ship within 3 days.

The German-Italian Air Force also suffered a lot in this battle and lost 158 ​​aircraft, all of which were fighter jets.Basically 2 fighters for [-] RAF fighter.But the main task of the German and Italian Air Force is to attack the bombers of the Royal Air Force. It is necessary to know that a bomber is much more meaningful than a fighter.So from this level, the German and Italian Air Forces have achieved great victories.

In the evening of the same day, the German-Italian rescue fleet and the British rescue fleet arrived at the air battle area almost at the same time, and rescued the pilots of the two countries who had been soaked in water for a long time.Both sides chose not to open fire by coincidence, and both quietly rescued their own personnel.They also had no intention of capturing prisoners, and they all rescued the pilots of the enemy country who were closer to them and put them on the lifeboats.

The pilots of the two hostile sides also help each other when they are in the water, and there is no sense of hatred at all.Both cheered each other up when the other was exhausted, and when the rescue ship didn't arrive, the pilots of both sides became friends.Talking together in different languages, good wine, football, hometown, and of course women most of all.They share a life-saving food and use a life buoy together.Here and now there is no war, there is no politics, there is only sharing in weal and woe.

This air battle was hailed as the most intense air battle of World War II, and it was also called the cleanest battle by later generations.It is considered clean because none of the pilots were attacked by the enemy after the jump.Later generations used this air battle as the theme many times, and made many movies, including military, romantic, and even art films that have never been involved in war. There are descriptions of this air battle, and the movies are all invariably good or bad There are only brave, witty, fearful and noble.

And the various wretched tactics, skills and tactics of German and Italian pilots were also seriously incorporated into the flight teaching materials of major military flight schools after the war, and became a compulsory course for pilots. These courses have a name called "extreme air combat" study'.

Of course, this air battle inevitably gave birth to several ace pilots, and the most surprising aces were Italian pilots Pug and Jiqi.He single-handedly shot down seven British Spitfires.You must know that the 'Spitfire' was the most advanced British fighter jet at that time, with a small body, large horsepower, and extremely fast flying speed.Fighting with the 'Spitfire', the German 'Messerschmitt 7' simply can't take advantage of it.But Pug and Jiqi shot down 109 planes by themselves. It cannot but be said that this kid is a natural flying ruffian.

Of course, when this kid was being chased by the British, he shot down 6 Spitfires with the machine gun on the tail.In the end, when other British planes saw that it was his plane, they ignored it at all.You can fly there if you want, but I won't chase them anyway.In the end, this kid bit a "Spitfire" that was out of fuel, and chased it for nearly 20 minutes before shooting down the plane.

In this way, 7 football patterns were drawn on the fuselage of Pug and Jiqi. This kid is a full-fledged football hooligan. Regardless of his actions on and off the field, he is wretched. Even his appearance makes people feel wretched.The other pilots affectionately called him 'The Tail Gun Prince'.This title has been called until the end of the war.

On the night of the air battle, the port in southern France secretly deployed a fleet.On the surface, all the flags of the French capitulation government were flying. In fact, the troops drawn from various places by Germany, plus the equipment directly pulled from the military factory, were all under the cover of this fleet.They sailed as if they were a routine departure, and they did not attract the attention of British intelligence agencies at all.

Meng Ge's life in the headquarters is also difficult, everything is a race against time.God knows what Rommel would have done had he been supplied.If it was a one-on-one fight with real skills, Meng Ge would not be afraid of Rommel at all.But when it comes to conspiracies and tricks, Meng Ge himself admits that he is not Rommel's opponent.So the most important thing at the moment is to get through the minefields so that the troops can attack Rommel.

But the casualties of the landmines were too much for Meng Ge to bear.In addition, intelligence showed that Rommel was fooled and sent more troops to the south of the line of defense.But it's not a problem that the north can't break through all the time. If Rommel finds out the truth, he directly breaks through the southern defense line.Coming from the south to the north, the form is not very good.

And the German army captured in front of the Death Mountain two days ago almost scared Meng Ge out of his body.I thought it was Rommel's brigade who killed them. If they cut the British army in half and raped them, it would kill Meng Ge.Meng Ge quickly mobilized a division to intercept, but the battle went smoothly, and the Germans surrendered without much resistance.But this also shocked Meng Ge into a cold sweat.

As the Germans were eager to launch a probing attack on the southern front, Meng Ge had no choice.The troops of two divisions had to be deployed to fill the empty southern front, and the original military strategy of being weak in the south and strong in the north fell through.

Before I knew it, 2 days had passed, and it would be very dangerous if it continued like this.After Meng Ge thought carefully, his mind was completely clear.If we wait any longer, and wait for the fourth Indian division to eat curry before rushing to the front line to go to mines to open the way, the day lily may be cold.A lot of remorse can't help but come to my heart, why didn't I take up the domestic pressure and didn't withdraw the frontline troops? It doesn't matter if a few people die, as long as Rommel is defeated, everything will be ok.But there is no medicine for regret in the world, and Meng Ge, who missed a good opportunity, does not want to lose a second chance.

In the command room in the large tent of the command headquarters, Mungo said to his chief of staff, Major General Freddie, De Guingamp, "Freddy, this is the real crisis of the campaign. We are in danger, and any hesitation or wavering will be ruined the entire campaign. The Prime Minister and I judged that Hitler would not resupply Rommel, but we were both wrong. Although our intelligence services have no specific information on German reinforcements, I have a hunch that Rommel did what he wants."

Speaking of this, Montgomery paused and continued, "Only by breaking through the Germans' defenses before they get supplies can we win this battle. It can be said that every minute we have now is quite precious. I decided Instead of waiting for the Indian division to open the way for our British soldiers, every British soldier should go forward bravely like soldiers from other countries."

Chief of Staff Freddie said, "Yes, under the appearance of a powerful empire. Our soldiers have long forgotten what is called military honor, and they have lost the courage to shed blood. Our failures in recent years have just demonstrated this point."

"No, I want to re-grow my soldiers in the battle and learn to forget death. Only in this way can we really stand up again. Now I want to defeat the German army with dignity. You go and inform the frontline commanders, start Attack, even if there is only one person left, I will wait for him to stand on the German defense line." Meng Ge said with difficulty.

"Yes, General." Freddy replied bluntly.

"For those front-line commanders who asked to retreat, you tell them that you don't agree to continue the offensive, and I will find someone else to replace them. And send them directly to the military court." Meng Ge showed a determined look in his eyes this time.

"Yes, General." Freddy replied very simply.

"I'm going to sleep. Don't wake me up until you break through the German defenses. Don't bring me food either. Well, that's all." Meng Ge walked out of the command room and returned to his bedroom.It has become a habit that Meng Ge must sleep every time there is a big battle.

Don't mention Meng Ge sleeping.Let alone the Chief of Staff of the Eighth Army, Freddy, De, and Major General Guingamp, hastily summoned the combat staff to start deploying offensive operations.A time-limited offensive order and a military law enforcement order were sent directly to the front-line commanders by wire.

All the commanders on the front line were also dumbfounded. Such tough orders rarely appeared in the history of the British army.And every time this order is accompanied by a large number of casualties and court-martial, this order appeared many times during the First World War.No one wants to be sentenced to a few years by a military court.In addition, the blood of officers has not cooled down since Meng Ge was promoted some years ago.So most of the officers also fought hard this time.

The commander of each infantry division called several regiment commanders under him to the headquarters, and then took out a few thin wooden sticks.A lottery will be drawn to decide who will be the hapless trailblazer.Of course, the head of the group who was drawn turned his face like a bitter melon, but none of the people complained, and directly led the troops to start minesweeping.Under the leadership of the officers, the soldiers also put down their mine probes.He directly picked up the metal minesweeper, and only swept metal mines. As for whoever hits the ceramic mines, it will be bad luck.

One night, under the leadership of the British soldiers who did not care about their own safety, the entire offensive force slowly marched hard towards the German-Italian defense line.And the long-range cannons of the German-Italian coalition began to roar non-stop again, coupled with the roar of the British artillery returning fire, the lighting that flashed across the sky from time to time, and the explosion of landmines detonated by British soldiers from time to time.The entire battlefield is as magnificent as a symphony.

Constant numbers of casualties were reported to the headquarters by various units.When the aggregated figure of [-] appeared in the eyes of Major Generals Freddie, De, and Guingamp, Chief of Staff of the Eighth Army, the British general couldn't help taking a deep breath.These were all killed by mines and German-Italian guns.In other words, if you didn't even see the German and Italian coalition forces in one day, the troops lost one-tenth.This number is already comparable to the number of British casualties on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in World War I.But the current war is far from the way of World War I, and the rapidity of communication technology has already minimized the ability of the British to withstand casualties.