Time back to 2 hours ago, the sky had just dawned, the morning mist had not completely dissipated, the French fields under the faint gray-blue tone looked fresh and quiet, but the northwest direction sounded for 2 hours, the German soldiers on the road kept moving, and the trains that kept arriving at the station were breaking this tranquility and reminding everyone that this was already a place of fire.

The Germans were also buzzing on an open field 30 kilometers behind the north-west front of Verdun, and barbed wire was set up early around the huge open space, and the German soldiers set up a simple defensive position yesterday as fast as possible, but such a line of defense was obviously not satisfactory to them, so early in the morning, the work of deepening the trenches, reinforcing the firing points, and camouflaging the front observation posts kept the place busy.

However, the open space is more like a large construction site at this time, the sappers are wielding pickaxes and shovels, and the clanging sound is loud, and in just one day, they only have time to set up a few rows of dormitories and canteens here, and there is still a lot of work to come, such as aircraft hangars, maintenance sheds, watchtowers, control towers, mission briefing rooms, standby lounges, and then they have to dig out underground oil depots and ammunition depots, and more importantly, in order to facilitate the acquisition of supplies and equipment, they also have to widen the country roads that lead to the railway station a few kilometers away. Make level.

As Ruprecht said, the huge amount of work in the entire German-controlled area is simply not enough to rely on the engineers alone, and when the train capacity is all used to transport ammunition and supplies, the sappers who do not have access to the construction machinery can only take pickaxes, hoes, shovels and mallets and sweat.

Thankfully, however, they had found an old-fashioned steam roller in several nearby French towns, which saved them the pain of leveling the runway with a shovel.

This is a front-line field airfield under construction by the German army, and according to the plan, at least two runways with a length of 200 meters will be built here, and supporting facilities for two KEK wings and two FFA wings will be stationed. Such a large amount of work was enough to drive the sappers crazy. The only good news is that the front-line airfields will also not be stationed with the big guys of the KG wing, and the planes of the KEK and FFA will be able to take off and land on simple dirt runways, otherwise if they are built according to the standards of domestic airfields, the sappers will definitely go crazy. But even so, this amount of work wants to be done completely. It also takes at least 1 month in the absence of construction machinery.

However, the troops to depart from here today do not need any runway.

Sixteen V-class airships were neatly parked in this clearing, occupying most of the space here, and the artillery commander of the 6th Army, Major General Stratz, stood under these behemoths, not excited, not excited, only the emotions called awe and repression spreading in his heart.

Stratz was not unprecedented, having commanded airship bombing drills when he was still a division artillery commander. Subordinate to the Army Air Corps, the FFA, KG and airship units when performing tactical bombing missions were directly under the command of the artillery commander, therefore. It stands to reason that he shouldn't be surprised by airships.

However, the reality is very different, units such as KG and V-type airships rarely carry out tactical bombing missions, and the huge bomb load of airships does not need to be present in groups when carrying out tactical bombing missions. Therefore, when the 16 V-class airships lined up in front of Stratz, the scene was extremely shocking to him.

When the massive size of the 16 airships dominated Stratz's sight, he realized that the reputation of the Sky Battleship was not exaggerated.

Half of Germany's V-boats carried out bombing missions together, dropping nearly 30 tons of ammunition from the air, which would be the largest bombing in human history. And the commander of this bombing was himself, and this realization made Stratz's whole person tremble.

But when I saw the huge bomb on the ammunition cart that the soldiers were pushing over. Stratz's heart jumped hard, the 1.8-ton super-heavy bomb, His Majesty the Emperor personally named it "Goblet", it is said that it was named because of its appearance, this is probably the most powerful single-shot weapon in human history, you must know that the 380mm shells of battleships are only about 800 kilograms per ton! This is the secret weapon that the German Army used to smash through all the impregnable fortresses that stood in its way!

The size of a battleship. Dropping bombs heavier than battleship shells, the V-type airship sky battleship lived up to its reputation!

Of course, the use of such a huge piece of equipment is also extremely complex, with a series of tasks such as engine inspection, hydrogen filling, refueling, bomb loading, etc., which take a long time to ensure safety. All this work had to be done after dawn, so Stratz had to keep waiting.

"Your Excellency, the 1st and 3rd Airship Wings of the Army Air Corps are ready! You're ready to go! Please instruct! The temporary commander of the 2 wings, Lieutenant Colonel Marty, the commander of the 1st wing, interrupted Stratz's thoughts.

"Let's go, then! Go and smash the French turtle shell! Give your best, boys, God and the Emperor are watching you! ”

As Marty climbed into the pod of the LZ-41 airship, the signalman waved the green flag in his hand vigorously, the ground crew turned the propeller vigorously, and the engine began to work, spewing puffs of black smoke, and the roar of 64 engines resounded throughout the airport.

Then, everyone saw a spectacular scene, the LZ-41 airship was the first to unmoor, relying on the hydrogen in the airbag and slowly rising into the sky, followed by the second, third, and fourth. When all 16 airships took off, the huge figures cast huge shadows on the ground, as if the entire sky was obscured, and all the soldiers in the base shouted excitedly, waving their arms to the fleet in the sky, as if hoping to transmit their excitement to their comrades in the sky.

The war correspondent held his camera and pressed the shutter, imprinting this majestic scene on a small piece of film, and his brain spun rapidly, imagining what kind of headline would be worthy of his coverage of the scene. The photographers accompanying the army even sped up their hands to turn the camera, for fear that this historic scene would not be able to leave a precious image.

The huge formation flew in the sky, and it seemed to move a little slowly in comparison to the large size, but the sky fleet was indeed moving at a speed of more than 70 kilometers per hour. From the airfield to the front line, 30 kilometers, it may take a lot of time for soldiers to walk on the ground. But for an airship, it's just a cigarette, flying in the sky, and lighting a cigarette, how pleasant it is, but it's a pity. Smoking was strictly forbidden on the airship, and Lieutenant Colonel Marty looked a little sorry as he looked at the ground that kept skimming under his feet.

The humming roar of the engine came from the rear, and the German soldiers on the northeastern front stopped what they were doing, looked up into the distance, and then saw a dozen blue-gray dots growing larger in the field of vision. The voices got closer and closer, and more and more people looked up into the distance, and finally, everyone stood there on the entire front. Forget about work, forget about war, and only have a spectacular sight in sight that has never been seen before.

Like Stratz, the German soldiers knew about airships, but had never seen such a spectacular formation of airships, with blue-gray cigar-shaped hulls like battleships, white clouds like waves crashing into the bow, although flying in a windless sky. But it gives the sense of grandeur of battling the rough ocean in the windy North Atlantic!

When the huge iron cross on the hull appeared in their eyes, the cheers that were louder than those on the airport sounded like raging waves. This is the Empire's Sky Fleet! Now they're going to bring destruction to their enemies!

"Is this what you call a gift, Your Excellency?" Dimlin was the same as the soldiers. Tilting his head and watching the huge airship formation slowly sail towards the top of his head, he sighed: "Although I am mentally prepared, when I really see this scene, I am still full of awe. ”

"The sheer fleet of skies is indeed awe-inspiring, but their power is even more terrifying, if it goes well. Tonight we will be able to break through the first line of defense of the Verdun fortress group consisting of Fort Duaumont and Fort Vaux. However, these two forts will eventually be in ruins, and it would be a shame that we will not be able to use them. Ruprecht said with some regret: "Oh yes, I ordered all the officers and soldiers to pay attention to protect their ears, and the noise may be relatively large after a while." ”

The Germans seemed to be in a bit of a commotion, and the French soldiers in Fort d'Ormont, a few kilometers away, could hear the cheers of the Germans.

"What are these Germans nervous about?" Major Vauban was puzzled. Yesterday the German neurotics bombarded Fort Auaumont for nine hours, causing nerves in the entire fortress, and as a result, the Germans never attacked, wasting so many shells as if they were just digging trenches to provide cover.

It was not enough to dig all day, and the Germans on the opposite side kept digging there early in the morning, without the slightest intention of attacking, and although the artillery rang out in the northwest direction for four hours, their side was as strangely calm as yesterday's continuous shelling did not happen at all. And now the Germans are cheering there like nerves, what a bunch of madmen.

Major Vauban did not fail to think that the Germans might have some secret weapon to arrive, but during the nine-hour bombardment yesterday, his fortress stood still, and Major Vauban did not believe that the Germans could break through his fortress at all.

But the hum, which was soon drowned out by the cheers of the Germans, began to become clearer and clearer in Vauban ears, and through the observation port at the top of the fortress, Vauban began to search for the source of the sound, and when he lifted the telescope to look at the sky, he was stunned: "God, what is that!" ”

Of course, Vauban knew about airships, and at the beginning, France also advertised that France was the inventor of airships, and they couldn't eat grapes and said that grapes were sour, and they envied the Germans who made a lot of money by selling airships, so why did France miss this business opportunity? It must be a systemic issue.

But when such a large airship formation flew from the German side, Vauban instinctively felt that this was a great danger, and it was obviously impossible for such a spectacular airship formation to come here for sightseeing, but Vauban could not know what kind of power would come.

The German airship formation flew over the vicinity of Fort Duaumont, and then began to slow down, and Lieutenant Colonel Marty ordered: "All stop!" Immediately measure the wind speed and direction, and our boat will take the lead in dropping bombs, and after our boat is separated, it will enter the bombing position in turn. ”

Fort Duaumont is a pentagonal fortress with a circumference of 400 meters, covering an area of 30,000 square meters, which is a huge target, but considering that one airship is nearly 200 meters long, only one airship can enter the bombing position, so the bombing can only be carried out in turns.

However, the good thing is that the French fortress is full of firepower. But there is not a single anti-aircraft weapon, so the airship units can stay on the heads of the French for as long as they want, as for whether there will be French fighters? The German reconnaissance plane had penetrated more than 50 kilometers into the French defense line yesterday and had not been stopped at all, so Marty's airship unit did not have to worry about security at all.

"Today was a good day, no wind. We don't have to lower the height at all. Listening to the report, Marty smiled slightly, at this time, the flight altitude of the airship unit was 800 meters, originally considering the bombing accuracy Marty was originally going to drop to 500 meters before dropping the bomb, but now it seems that there is no need for this.

"LZ-41 went into bombing positions! 50 kg bombs ready! Marty shouted.

"Yes! Captain! LZ-41 went into bombing position! 50 kg bombs ready! The co-captain repeated the command in a loud voice.

LZ-41 began to slowly adjust its stance and slowly moved directly above Fort Duaumont.

A blimp was out of the view of Major Vauban who knew that the Germans were directly above him, and he knew that the Germans were about to throw something down, but he was obscured by the thick canopy over his head. The uneasiness of the unknown grew stronger, and he could only shout into the microphones leading to the fortress: "Watch out for the German shelling, protect your head!" ”

"LZ-41 has arrived at the bombing position! The magazine has been opened! The aimer stared at the bomb sight and shouted, saying that it was a bombing sight, but it was just a telescope tilted slightly towards the ground, and the middle was simply marked with a crosshaired line to mark the location of the bomb falling vertically.

"50 kg bombs, drop!" Marty shouted.

"50 kg bombs, drop!" The co-captain repeated.

"50 kg bombs. Drop! The bombardier shouted.

Inside the pod, a small bomb detached from the pylon. After a long but short free fall, it smashed Fort Ormont!

"Boom!" Although it was the smallest of the German aerial bombs, the 50-kilogram bomb was already more powerful than the army's 150-mm howitzers, and although it could not penetrate the roof of the fortress, it caused more shock than yesterday's shelling.

The news that the microphone feedback came back made Major Vauban feel a little relieved, and the strong fortress he was in once again withstood the test, and the German airship was helpless to take it!

"Hit! No need to fix it! The bombardier on LZ-41 shouted.

"Goblets are ready to be dropped!" Marty shouted.

"Goblets are ready to be dropped!"

"Goblets are ready to be dropped!"

"Drop!"

"Drop!"

"Drop!"

With Marty's order. The 1.8-ton goblet fell from the magazine, and the huge body rubbed against the air, making a whistle-like sound.

Such a loud noise made Vaubant feel that the Germans had dropped a much larger object than before, and before Vauban could react, an explosion sounded like hell. The entire fortress shook, and the seemingly impregnable reinforced concrete roof cracked in a terrifying way, and the peeling pieces rained down on the head and face.

The loud explosion made everyone in the entire fortress lose their hearing, blood slowly flowed from their ears, and the shock wave that swept through the entire fortress made every French soldier's internal organs stir up. The surviving French soldiers, even if they were not unconscious, had lost their judgment and ability to act at this time, but they did not know that they were looking from the outside, and at this time the Fort d'Ormont was already miserable.

"It's a pity, it's still a little bit off, and I don't have the right heart." Although the protective measures had been taken early and the ears were worn to open their mouths wide, the ears of the Germans in the entire LZ-41 airship were still buzzing at this time.

Marty, who shook his head and tried to sober himself up, sighed as he looked at the column of smoke rising into the sky below. The 1.8-ton airship climbed to an altitude of 1,500 meters in an instant, and the feeling of riding a roller coaster is not comfortable.

"Bombardier, do a bombing assessment!" Affected by the beeping sound in his ears, Marty unconsciously roared in a louder voice.

"Bomb hit! The roof of the northwest corner of the French fortress collapsed! The diameter of the collapse area is about 20 meters! The bombardier shouted as he stared at the scope.

"A goblet really can't solve this turtle shell." Marty muttered, "The French have built this place really hard." ”

Of course, Marty did not know that the historical Duaumont Castle was bombarded by German 420mm heavy artillery and could only blow a large hole in the slope and could not damage the wall of the main building of the fortress. After being occupied by the Germans, Fort Duaumont also stood still under the continuous bombardment of French 406mm heavy guns, and finally miraculously hit the same position by three 406mm shells, which was able to smash through the top cover, causing the ammunition in the fortress to ignite, and the explosion burned the air in the fortress, and finally drove the Germans out of the fortress. Therefore, the collapse of the roof of the fortress with a single goblet is already an unparalleled success.

Marty may not be satisfied, but at this time, the huge explosion on Fort Ormont plunged both Germany and France into a deathly silence, and everyone in the German defense line in front of Fort Ormont felt the shaking of the earth, and the ridge of the dead was clearly visible more than ten kilometers away from the rising pillar of smoke, and the huge explosion sound stretched for hundreds of kilometers, like a divine punishment from God. But such divine punishment will continue to fall on the French today.

"Give up the bombing position, and the follow-up airship will continue to bomb, and I want this place to be completely in ruins!" (To be continued.) )