"According to the photos taken by the reconnaissance plane, KEK3 made two sorties on August 19, flew 96 fighter sorties, destroyed about 30 French vehicles, and killed and injured about 2 battalions of French infantry."

In the German command, Reinhardt, who had been promoted to the staff officer of the aviation of the 6th Army, was briefing Ruprecht on the results of the day.

"KEK3 is a fighter wing, the pilots are not skilled in ground attack missions, and the fighters lack sufficient firepower to kill the French army, so the effect of causing this attack is not very ideal." Seeing Ruprecht staring at the photograph spread on the table without saying a word, Reinhardt was also a little weak-hearted.

The 96 sorties caused only about 30 vehicles damaged and more than 500 casualties, which is obviously hardly a successful attack, which makes Reinhardt, who at first boasted that the air force could solve the problem, lose his face.

In fact, the results achieved by KEK3 are much higher than the data fed back from the photos, the performance of the Me-5F-1 and the earliest Me-5F is basically the same, but because of the modified engine, it is actually possible to install a 12.7mm shaft gun in the paddle hub, but the fighter pilots think that the weight of the axle gun is too large, and the performance of the aircraft after installation is not as good as that of the Me-5F, so most of the KEK of the German Army Aviation require the ground crew to dismantle the axle gun.

As a result, the power of the four 7.62 mm aviation machine guns was somewhat insufficient in ground attack, and the slow speed of the French vehicles allowed the destruction to be judged only by the fire and overturning in the photo, so the number of vehicles destroyed was much more than 30.

As for the casualties of more than 500 people, it is actually not a small number, but compared with the French troops found here after the reconnaissance of Baledique, it is indeed a drop in the bucket.

"No, I am very satisfied with the performance of KEK3 today, and I would like to commend them in the name of the commander of the army group." Without raising his head, Ruprecht's eyes were still fixed on the photo. But it loudly repudiated Reinhardt's judgment.

"Your Excellency?" Reinhardt was a little confused.

"Leo, don't just focus on the results of the battle, that's the consideration of the junior officers. As a superior, you have to think more long-term and comprehensively. Ruprecht taught: "Don't stare at the dozens of cars, hundreds of people. The photo shows at least four vehicles on fire on the road. Seven cars overturned on the road, and it took a lot of time for the French to clear the road, and our goal of cutting off the road and delaying the movement of the French army had been achieved.

In this way we have more time and opportunity to constantly consume the French forces through this road, so it is not so much about how many people to destroy at once, the point is how much time we have to destroy them all the time. ”

"Thank you, Your Excellency, Commander, for the teachings." Reinhardt bowed his head slightly in response.

"Well, in order to fight for this purpose, the blockade of the highway cannot be stopped." Ruprecht pondered for a moment before raising his head: "Will we be able to continue to sustain an attack of this intensity tomorrow?" ”

"Yes. KEK3 has 4 squadrons, only 3 of which were dispatched today, and it is possible to use a rotation system with a guaranteed squadron on standby at the airfield, and to ensure that the troops are dispatched 2 times a day. However, it is difficult to sustain such a continuous sortie for a long time, and the continuous sorties of pilots will consume a lot of body, which will cause a decrease in combat effectiveness, and continuous high-intensity sorties will also affect the attendance rate of the aircraft, so it may be difficult to complete the long-term blockade of the road with KEK3 alone. "There is no light on the face, there is no light. But Reinhardt still honestly admitted that he had taken it for granted that he could block the French with just one team.

"Well, it's very important to get the FFA in place as soon as possible. It is also imperative to build new airports and demand more aircraft from the country. Ruprecht nodded: "But before that, I ask KEK3 to continue the ground attack mission. ”

"Yes, Your Excellency, Commander." Reinhardt nodded.

Dimlin, who was on the side, suddenly asked: "After the French army is constantly attacked by us from the air, it is possible that they will change to night operations, do we have a way to intercept them at night?" ”

"I'm afraid not, Your Excellency." Reinhardt shook his head regretfully: "Our planes do not have the ability to operate at night. The FFA could bomb the roads, which would make it more difficult for the French to transport at night, but we could not attack at night. ”

"Let the V-ship be equipped with a high-powered searchlight and carry small bombs, so that it can attack at night?" Dimlin asked on a whim.

This method is indeed possible. Historically, the Germans used airships to carry out strategic night bombing of Britain in the same way, but Ruprecht had a better idea: "If we were to use airships, would it be better if we bombed Baledik directly?" ”

As soon as these words came out, Dimlin and Reinhardt's eyes immediately lit up.

"It makes sense that if the French could only operate at night, then they would have to confine themselves to the city of Baledik during the day, and they would not be able to do any damage to a city with fighter jets alone, and they might have deployed anti-aircraft guns there, and the French would think that the city would be safer." Dimlin said excitedly that after looking at the photos taken by the reconnaissance plane, the Germans already knew that the French were transporting anti-aircraft guns, so it was common sense to deploy them around the city.

"The French will think that anti-aircraft guns are enough to deal with our airships, but to bomb a big target like a city, our airship can bomb at an altitude of 6,000 meters, and the accuracy of the hit is not high, anyway, if it is thrown into the city, it will be a hit, and as far as the city of Baledique is now crowded with French troops, our bombs can cause considerable casualties to them even if they are not accurate." Reinhardt answered with the same excitement.

"Then it seems that we have to apply to the country for the transfer of airship troops." Ruprecht smiled and said, "It seems that all the V-boats from all over the country are coming to us." ”

The Germans were quite relaxed, but the French were bleak.

"The only road we have now to Verdun has been attacked by the Germans!" The same place, the same character, but this time Xia Fei was a little helpless in addition to anger. There was nothing wrong with their own response, and the fact that a large number of supplies, vehicles, and personnel could be mobilized in such a short period of time also proved that this response was extremely feasible, but when the first troops were sent to Verdun, they were stuck in the face by the Germans.

"Hundreds of cars are stuck in traffic jams! Not long after the departure of the troops of a division. You will have to send the wounded to the rear! "It was so demoralizing that they set out in high spirits, suffered losses before they even reached the battlefield, and then sent hundreds of wounded soldiers back to Baledik. What do the troops in the city think before they leave? What do the citizens of the city think?

More than 70 cars were damaged to varying degrees, and more than 300 people died. More than 500 people were injured to varying degrees, and a considerable amount of material damage was also lost.

These losses were not significant, but they meant that the Bal-Dij-Verdun road was no longer a safe transport route, and it was completely exposed to German air strikes, which could continue to attack the troops who were going to Verdun by road. The losses came second, but this would have greatly slowed down the French support for Verdun.

Fort Duaumont and Fort Vaux are only 2 km from Fort Sovel on the second line of defense, and St. Castle on the third line of defense. Fort Mitchell is only 5 km away and Verdun is only 7 km away.

In addition to bombing Verdun with artillery fire in the past few days, the Germans have knocked out two batteries on the second line of French defense behind Fort Duaumont with heavy artillery. An attack was launched on Fort Sowel, but fortunately the German attack was repulsed, and the second line of defense is now safe.

But this situation really made Xia Fei worry about how long Verdun's line of defense would last, and the German airship still hung overhead like a sword of Damocles, and he didn't know when her terrible might be lowered. On the other side, the super cannon that far exceeds the ordinary army artillery has also been deployed in place near the Germans Duaumont Fort and Vauxburg, and the shells fired by the giant guns that bombarded the two batteries on the northwest side of Sovelburg are said to be about 400 kilograms, and the number of giant cannons bombarding the turret is at least 4 or more, so the giant cannon that the Germans can deploy in just a few days is also greatly unexpected by Xia Fei.

Airships, cannons. The appearance of these weapons has only deepened Xiafei's fears, and the only way to support Verdun has now been cut off. This made Xia Fei angry and restless at the same time.

"We are doing everything we can to clear the roads and make sure we can get them back to traffic tomorrow."

"And then the Germans will continue to attack us tomorrow! This doesn't solve the problem at all! Xia Fei was not satisfied with this answer, and finally ensured that the road was clear, and another attack by the Germans would make all the previous efforts in vain.

"What if we only do it at night?" This suggestion was exactly what the Germans feared most at this time, fearing that the French would act at night. It also takes time to convert airships for night bombing, at least for now, the 6th Army does not have any high-power searchlights. And bombing Baledik. The damage that can be done by a mere 16 airships is very limited. By the time the Germans had completed the refit or had amassed enough airships, at least tens of thousands of troops had already arrived at Verdun.

However, as Schlieffen said before his death: "A successful battle of Cannae requires not only a clever Hannibal, but also a stupid opponent like Farrow." ”

Historically, in order to carry out Plan 17, Xia Fei concentrated his forces in the south to coincide with Schlieffen's planned offensive in the north. This time Xia Fei made another stupid decision to cooperate with the Germans.

"No! If we only operate at night, we will be much less efficient at sending troops to Verdun! This is true, after deducting loading and unloading, the French convoy can only make one round trip a day. If they only operate at night, then in fact the French can only make a round trip every two days, and the efficiency is directly halved.

In addition, it was originally easier to carry materials during the day and return empty at night, but now it is necessary to carry materials at night, which will greatly increase the difficulty of driving and reduce the efficiency.

Therefore, Xia Fei really found it difficult to accept such a suggestion: "Isn't there anything we can do about the German planes?" Xia Fei's gaze swept over the faces of the officers in front of him one by one: "The transport passage of Baledique-Verdun must not be interrupted!" ”

"The Germans can attack us with planes, we can attack them with planes, put machine guns on our planes and we can attack their planes."

"We really need a new plane, and it is urgent to install machine guns on it! But, tomorrow! I want a way to protect our convoy tomorrow. "Although Xia Fei doesn't know about airplanes, he also knows that it takes time for a new piece of equipment to be put into use. The French army paid the price for its lack of attention to new technologies, toys that had no military value in the eyes of the French army caused itself huge trouble, and now there are no good countermeasures.

"We can deploy anti-aircraft guns on both sides of the road, and if the Germans' planes come, we can attack them." This was a good suggestion, and the French now had a large number of anti-aircraft guns ready to be shipped to Verdun, and it was indeed a very easy and quick way to draw some of them to protect the road first.

"Good! Summons the order now! We're going to let the planes of the Germans come and go! (To be continued.) )