The sun is setting, and the sea is red. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info In peacetime, people are lamented by the magnificent scenery of nature, and during the war years, such scenes often arouse people's sorrows.

At dusk, in the great garden of Limerick's "Forest Palace", the little princesses of the Kingdom of Ireland are happily frolicking on the lawn, and the bloody and brutal war does not seem to have had a noticeable effect on their psyche, or that they have not yet truly realized how terrible what is happening in the adult world.

Not far away, a pair of handsome men and beauties who once envied the world, and now the father and mother of Ireland, look at their children with loving eyes. The king's posture is still upright, but his figure is a little blessed, and his demeanor is still steady, but he has lost his former vigor and grandeur; The queen's golden-brown hair was pulled up high, with an elegant long dress, like a dignified and beautiful peony among the flowers, but when she laughed, the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes made people feel that her face was easy to age.

Compared with the turbulence and rushing of the previous day, Ireland did not look like a country that had just been involved in a war and was adjacent to a strong enemy, the clear blue sky was free of enemy planes, the blue sea was not attacked by enemy ships, and almost everything was carried out according to the rhythm expected by the Irish authorities: the evacuation of the people, the gathering of reservists, the movement of combat troops, and even all aspects of domestic and foreign affairs seemed to be in order.

Is this normal?

In Natsuki's eyes, this is very abnormal, and there must be a terrible crisis brewing under the calm surface.

The view at dusk was beautiful, but the wind was blowing.

The royal family was enjoying their family when the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Colonel Connolly, arrived "out of place".

"Your Majesty, we think it's very important to have some information, so I've sent it to you as soon as possible." The Irish officer, a native of Ireland, opened the file bag he was carrying and pulled out a stack of enlarged black-and-white photographs. As Natsuki looked through them one by one, he explained: "These are aerial photographs of several military airfields in the north of England and the south of Scotland, taken between 3 and 5 p.m. In the morning and noon, there were only a handful of fighters at these airfields, but in the afternoon there were many bombers, and we felt that they had either been transferred from the eastern airfields of England or deployed in concealed hangars, and wherever they came from, it was almost certain that they were going to fly to Ireland. ”

After listening to the colonel's analysis, Natsuki was not surprised at all.

"Night bombardment?"

"Very likely." Colonel Connolly replied, "Judging from yesterday's air battle data, the loss rate of the British night bombing is only about 20-25%, which is much less than the battle damage of the day bombing, although the efficiency of the night bombing will be lower, if I were the commander of the British army, I would definitely choose to bomb at night." ”

Natsuki agrees: "Weighing the relationship between giving and receiving, this is the conclusion that should be reached. ”

The colonel continued: "With the technical and tactical level of our night air defense, it is possible to increase the downing rate by about 10% with sufficient preparation, but it is very difficult to reach 50%. So, we think about a preemptive strike and a surprise attack on these airfields before the departure of enemy aircraft. I wonder what you think? ”

Natsuki didn't answer directly, but asked, "Have you communicated with the Germans?" ”

Colonel Connolly's rise from his peers as the most promising homegrown officer in the Irish Air Force was not because he was particularly nimble or good at managing relationships, but because of his extraordinary diligence and dedication. As long as you do one thing well, you can often pick up the missing pieces and make up for the shortcomings, and achieve perfection.

"Our operational vision has been conveyed to the command of the German contingent through the Joint Staff, and their initial response is rather vague. On the one hand, most of the pilots took part in daytime battles, and most of them flew three or four missions, and their physical strength and energy were extremely exertional, and if they wanted to strike again, they would certainly have an impact on tomorrow's combat state. On the other hand, the German General Staff planned to launch a large-scale night bombardment of the British mainland, and the task force deliberately echoed the intention of the task force, if it could effectively destroy the British airfields, transportation hubs and heavy artillery positions in North Wales and northern England and southern Scotland, it would reduce the defensive pressure on the landing force. ”

Listening to the colonel's statement, Natsuki bowed slightly: "In this way, the leadership of this operation is in our hands. ”

Colonel Connolly replied respectfully, "Yes, Your Majesty, I think this may be a reward from the Task Force Command for our urgent dispatch of the 1st Armored Brigade to land on the Cohen Peninsula - they will do their best to cooperate as long as we are determined to act." ”

Natsuki looked up at the sky, and the brilliant sunset heralded the next day's fine weather, which was an important factor in Germany's choice to start war against Britain on May 18.

"The night bombardment by the British tonight is almost a foregone conclusion, and the big question is where they will attack."

The colonel replied unhurriedly: "In my personal judgment, there is a forty percent chance of Limerick, thirty percent of the eastern ports, and thirty percent of the military targets on the Cohen Peninsula." Of course, it is also possible for the British to bomb two or three targets at the same time, but that would not be wise because the actual threat to any one target would be limited if the forces were dispersed. Therefore, our initial idea is to send 30 bomber squadrons to raid 15 British airfields by 8 o'clock tonight, which is expected to cause considerable damage to at least half of the targets. At the same time, 45 fighter squadrons were arranged for the defense of the homeland, 10 fighter squadrons covered the landing force on the Cohen Peninsula, and another 20 fighter squadrons were placed in reserve. ”

Seeing that Colonel Connolly was already confident, Natsuki replied after a short period of thought: "I unconditionally agree to your battle plan, and it is up to you to deploy and implement it." ”

The colonel immediately took a straight posture: "Never let down Your Majesty's high expectations!" ”

At the beginning of the establishment of the Kingdom of Ireland, Natsuki was worried about domestic affairs, foreign affairs, military, and economic affairs, and even was willing to be a super salesman and propagandist. Today's Irish army fully integrates the high-quality elements of the German military, and the professional command and staff organization is the core of this military system, Natsuki has reason to trust that his senior officers are as good as his German counterparts, but based on the limitations of German military thinking, whenever he encounters important military decisions, he will use his own thinking to carefully scrutinize and then give advice.

"I have never directly commanded the combat operations of the aviation units, and I have no authority in this regard, but there are a few words that should be a personal reminder: war is not only a contest of weapons technology and the quality of soldiers, but also a contest of spirit and psychology, which we can easily think of, and the enemy can also think of it. In order to win, they are likely to go against the grain and let our preparation for the response fall short. My instinct for the actions of the British army tonight is...... The likelihood of another large-scale bombardment of Limerick is low, and the chances of attacking ports and major cities in the eastern part of the country are relatively high. As for the fighting on the Cohen Peninsula, they could have deployed old fighters with short ranges and slow speeds to bomb at low altitudes. ”

It can be seen that Connolly has come not only to obtain the approval of His Majesty, but also to obtain rational and objective advice from His Majesty. So, he thought very seriously for two minutes, and then said, "I'm familiar with the traditional thinking of the British, who have a puzzling stubbornness in dealing with a lot of things. The three bombings of Limerick yesterday were intended to warn and deter, and today they could be retaliation and threat. I think and deeply fear that the British have made the destruction of Limerick a strategic goal, and that if they continue to bomb at night, they may be very close to achieving their goal in half a month. ”

"British stubbornness?" Natsuki grinned, "You have a point, some Britons are indeed as stubborn as stones, and can even be said to be paranoid. Whatever the course and outcome of this war, the destruction of Limerick and the breaking of the backbone of Ireland's industrial economy would be a matter of joy for most Britons. If they choose to be stubborn, then we will teach them a good lesson with our fists! ”

As the sun sets over the sea, faint stars begin to dot the sky. At this time, in an open area at the western end of the Cohen Peninsula, soldiers wearing ear guards and steel helmets are unloading boxes of ammunition and barrels of fuel from trucks. As far as the eye can see, the biplanes are parked seemingly loosely and disorderly. The IR-29s, which belonged to the Royal Irish Air Force's 5th Fighter Wing, were transferred from mainland before dusk, where the flat grass provided them with a natural take-off and landing runway, and from here, it only took about three minutes to reach the new line of defense of the coalition landing force, which was a "call-on" air support, but the disadvantages of establishing a field airfield here were also obvious: once the British fighters attacked, the pilots either took to the air in a very short time to meet them, or let the opponent easily destroy their own fighters.

Despite being in the danger zone of licking blood from the knife's edge, most of the Irish pilots here appear calm and unhurried. After a brief dinner, they walked on the grass or sat down to rest quietly, except for convenience, the activity area was next to their landline, but long after nightfall, the Cohen Peninsula seemed to return to its former tranquility, with only the sound of the wind, the chirping of insects and the occasional roar of vehicles. After a day of fierce fighting, many people fell asleep during a short break because they were tired, and many people opened their eyes wide because they were nervous or anxious.

"Assemble, boys!"

At this airfield next to the front line, the voice of the officer could easily make the atmosphere tense in an instant. The pilots quickly gathered around their respective squadron leaders, while the ground crews craned their necks beside the aircraft they were responsible for.

"This is a new assignment that I just received." "Sixty kilometres east, after flying over the mountains, there is a strip of flat valley where there is a small town called Benmasio, where the British army has an airfield, and where two squadrons of the 9th Bomber Wing are ordered to bomb it, and our main task is to provide cover for them, and secondly, to attack the British airfield if conditions permit - aerial bombs have not yet arrived, so we will attack ground targets with machine guns." ”

(End of chapter)