After the end of the war, the German government established two national military cemeteries in Brandenburg, a few dozen kilometers west of Berlin, and in Heide, on the banks of the Kiel Canal, where soldiers who died for their country are buried. In these two large-scale, solemn atmosphere, quiet and quiet cemetery, there are not only the tomb of the unknown soldier buried by many people, but also the single tomb of one person and one tombstone.

There is a tombstone with this epitaph engraved on it:

He was selfish, arrogant, and unsightly, but every time he stepped into the cockpit of a fighter plane, any enemy would be terrified, and he was worthy of the title of national hero, and his fighting spirit was with the Reich - Rear Admiral Hermann of the Imperial German Navy. Wilhelm Goering is buried here.

At 2:15 p.m. on August 1, 1929, 470 nautical miles southwest of Kyushu, Japan, the German Ernst-class aircraft carrier "Lorraine" had completely disappeared from the sea, and more than 300 nautical miles in front of the German fleet, the Japanese heavy aircraft carrier "Xianghe" also sank to the bottom of the sea with more than 1,000 officers and men, but the fierce sea and air battle had just begun.

As a result of the sinking of the mothership, Herman. Goering and his Heinkel III carrier-based fighter had no choice but to land on the nearby Kemal, and as he left the cockpit with an unhappy face, he was met by his old rival, the German Navy's number one ace pilot, von Fernandes. Lieutenant Colonel Lukes, the best fighter at the Heinkel II, had shot down 49 enemy planes by the time of the battle, 10 more than the second-place finisher, while Goering was third, plus the two Japanese fighters just shot down to make the total record of 37.

"Yo, isn't this Herman Goering? How can you deign to come to our old aircraft carrier today? Lux said with a smile, and although his eyes were red from the continuous attack and high-intensity combat, the smile on his face was kind.

Goering took off his gloves with an indignant face, "Cut! It's not like you don't know that the despicable Japanese rammed and sank our mothership with suicide planes. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come up to this aircraft carrier that was fished out of the water! ”

The reason why it is said that the "Ernst" was "fished out of the water" is because the predecessor of this heavy aircraft carrier, the British Elizabeth-class battleship "Barham", was blown up and sunk in the port of Glasg before it was completed, and in 1916, Germany scooped up the battleship and converted it into an aircraft carrier under the cover of the Scottish mercenary company, compared with the "Lorraine" commissioned in 1922, this halfway home aircraft carrier is indeed "old and old".

Lux didn't seem to care about Goering's assessment. He circled around Goering's fighter and said, "Well, Heinkel III is really thick-skinned, and I see that your plane has thirty or forty bullet holes!" ”

Goering looked back at his landline and said proudly: "I don't think the Japanese will be able to shoot me down again in this life!" ”

The German Navy's Heinkel III carrier-based fighter is not a new generation fighter, compared to the previous Heinkel II, this slightly larger fighter has increased armor thickness and adopted some new material technology, and it is said that the probability of being shot down is 1/3 lower than that of the Type II, but not every pilot prefers Type III with better defense but less flexibility, such as the Lieutenant Colonel von Lukes in front of him.

"Let's go. Come to our restaurant for a cup of coffee! Lux kindly offered.

"Ahh That's exactly what I want! I'll have to go up and beat him up again in a while and get a few Japanese planes down! Goering confidently accepted the invitation, and then patted the shoulder of the crew who was about to overhaul and refuel his landline, "Good job." You have a share of the merits of victory! ”

The honest appearance of the crew grinned, and against the backdrop of oily and tired faces, this smile was so bright.

Lux did not forget to tell his subordinates: "Fawkes, let everyone hurry up and rest, and meet on the second deck in half an hour!" ”

Next, the German Navy's number one ace and No. 3 ace walked side by side to the pilot's cafeteria at the stern of the ship, and along the way, almost everyone was in a hurry with the pilots who had just returned to the mothership or were about to set off again, which made Goering and Lux speed up.

"I said Lieutenant Colonel Lukes, how many planes did you shoot down today?" Goering asked suddenly.

Lux smiled. Stretch out three fingers.

Goering's face froze suddenly, he had always dreamed of surpassing Lux to become the first in the navy, but he did not expect that Lukes, who served as the commander of the 1st Fighter Group of the "Kemal", still maintained an amazing combat efficiency, and he was still only the deputy squadron leader of the 8th Fighter Squadron of the "Lorraine".

That's how big the gap between people is!

"What about you? Captain Goering! ”

Goering smiled reluctantly, "Well, compared to you, the harvest is not worth mentioning at all!" ”

Lukes did not ask any more questions, and in the entire naval aviation unit, he was a well-known "knight". What is even more commendable is that his chivalry also extends to the battle, and he is particularly famous for his "three noes and three priorities", that is, not to fight enemy planes that withdraw from battle due to injury, not to fight enemy pilots who parachute, not to fight the opponent's civilian planes, and to cover the retreat of their own injured fighters as a priority, to cover the attack of wingmen with a better position as a priority, and to give priority to team safety.

Goering, by contrast, made a name for himself with his excellent record and bad temper. After a while, the two of them went from the dining table to coffee and snacks, and then found a corner seat to sit down. The round porthole next to it is not big, but it is enough for them to see the situation outside, due to the temporary departure of the Japanese attack aircraft group, the fleet has returned to a relatively calm state, the anti-aircraft guns on the battleship finally have a respite, only their own alert fighters are flying over the entire fleet, there are still a lot of wreckage on the sea in addition to the frigates that have been reorganized, and the search and rescue work of the crew of the "Lorraine" overboard is nearing completion. Some destroyers and small lifeboats also searched the surface for other overboard pilots.

"I really didn't expect the Lorraine to sink!" After taking a sip of warm coffee, Lux said in a deep tone, it was known as the best performance of the German Navy's main aircraft carrier, it is said that one or two torpedoes were not taken into account at all, but I did not expect that under the impact of Japanese suicide planes, the behemoth finally fell.

"I've heard of Japanese madness for a long time, but it's the first time I've seen such madness!" At this moment. There was a rare melancholy, a deep melancholy in Goering's eyes.

The small plates of dim sum on the plate looked very tasty, but neither of them seemed to have much of an appetite, and looking at the entire restaurant, there were very few people who were gulping down as usual, even though most people didn't have time to eat a regular lunch at noon.

"Thinking of the warning issued by the command before departure, we are really a little careless!" Lux pulled a silver cigarette case out of his pocket, although he rarely smoked. But at this time, he silently took out one, and in the curling green smoke, a deep vicissitudes appeared on the knight's face.

"One day, we're going to shoot something that all of Japan can fly!" Goering said viciously, subconsciously picking up a piece of pure white pastry with his left hand, putting it in his mouth and chewing it vigorously as if it were a Japanese pilot.

"Yes, there will be a day like this!" Lukes narrowed his eyes irritated by the smell of tobacco.

Just then, the ship's radio rang out:

"Attention all pilots! Attention all pilots! The front of the fleet spotted the incoming Japanese planes, and after ten minutes they entered the outer defensive circle, and after fifteen minutes they entered the fleet defensive circle. After completing the rest, the pilots return to their respective combat positions. Complete the rest and return the pilots to their respective combat positions! ”

Before the broadcast was over, the restaurant was filled with the clanging of dropped dishes, the muffled sound of bodies hitting tables and chairs, the screeching of tables and chairs rubbing against the floor, and the sound of hurried footsteps, where Goering and Lux had just been. There are only two cups of slightly cold coffee left and two plates of Dian 11 that have not been touched much. - "I'll shoot down more Japanese planes, Lukes!" On his way to the second deck, Göring made a declaration of challenge.

Despite the urgency of the situation, despite the fact that the other party was three orders lower than him, Lux still told Goering with the grace that he was "willing to wait and see"!

Only 5 minutes later, Lux took the lead with his fighter group, and due to the sinking of the "Lorraine", Goering's fighter squadron was arranged to several aircraft carriers in the fleet, and as a result, Goering's deputy squadron leader only had three pilots at this time, and one of them needed longer repairs before he could return to the blue sky.

After the crew replenishes the fuel and ammunition for their landline. Goering also ignored asking them to carry out more detailed overhauls and replace those parts of the fuselage that had been pierced by bullets, and in the 12th minute of the alarm, Goering and his Henkel III jumped up from the ground deck of the "Kemal" and flew in the direction of the battlefield, which was also the direction of the dream.

When Goering and his three-plane formation arrived at the outer defense circle of the fleet, it had already become a place for the melee of fighters of the two sides, and hundreds of fighters of the two camps were going back and forth in the air, biting each other; although the battle situation had been quietly decided, the "mad dog tactics" of the Japanese pilots were even more frantic than in the morning, and Goering witnessed three "plane collision incidents" in less than two minutes after entering the battlefield. Three Japanese fighters, two of which probably flew from a land airfield, crashed into the nearby German fighters as soon as they entered the battlefield, regardless of 3721, this tactic was very effective although barbaric, one of the three German fighters that were hit exploded in the air and one fell on the spot, and only one barely dragged its broken body in the direction of the fleet.

At this moment, only two words popped into Goering's head: miserable! Bloody!

This is what would later become known as the "Minami-Kyushu Aerial Meat Grinder", and as the most famous air battle of the German-Japanese War, it will be forever written in history textbooks as a turning point in the war.

Soon, Goering was also targeted by a Japanese fighter, which was a Type 85 naval carrier-based fighter with not excellent performance, after leading the other party around a few times, Goering judged that the other party was a familiar hand with a flight time of no less than 200 hours by virtue of his rich experience, although this familiar hand was not too sophisticated, but Goering could not let go of his hands and feet because of the limited combat space caused by the chaotic battlefield, and the opponent's irregular movements could always cause some small troubles to Goering from time to time under this unconventional air battle. All in all, Goering was able to ensure that he was not hit by the opponent, but he was never able to go around the opponent to counterattack.

In this case, Goering also ignored the sub-question and turned to the wingman with a radio communicator for help, "Staddler, Stadt, where are you?" I got entangled in a Japanese plane! ”

The squadron's dedicated channel was in a mess, with battle orders and shouts of killing. When Goering repeated it for the third time, the timid voice came out of the headphones:

"Captain Goering, Captain Goering, I'm 3,000 meters behind you, I'm trying to bite the other side!"

"Great, kill that kid for me!"

Goering shouted excitedly, only to be stunned by a scream from the headset as he turned his head to try to find his wingman on the battlefield. I saw two fighter jets dragging smoke to the surface of the sea, one silver and one silver!

"Poor Stadt!" Goering mourned in a low voice, it seemed that his wingman had not escaped the suicide tactics of the Japanese pilots after all, although he knew in his heart that such a tragic battle would come sooner or later, but when he was really in it, he would find that the taste of life and death was a cup of bitter wine.

Suddenly, a fireball appeared in Goering's pupils, and about 400 meters in front of him, a weakly armored Japanese fighter exploded in the air, scattering fragments of flames in all directions. The surrounding fighters dodged one after another.

Goering did not hide. Instead, he accelerated forward, and just as he was about to hit the debris, he suddenly flipped on two sides in a row. The Japanese fighter behind him did not dare to slack off, although the sharp turn always seemed to be half a beat slower, but he still did not lose his goal after all.

Seeing that the other party followed in a panic, a contemptuous smile flashed at the corner of Goering's mouth, because at this time he was flying in the direction of the sun, because the position was just right, Goering's next sharp turn made the eyes of the other pilot's eyes suddenly face the blazing sun in August, taking advantage of the opportunity of the other party's hesitation, Goering endured the huge centrifugal force and reversed the situation of the two sides with a large angle of flipping, and the other party woke up and dodged one after another in Goering's opinion. At the right moment, Goering pressed the fire button violently, and the 220 mm machine gun and 7.92 mm machine gun of Henkel III suddenly fired in succession, and the Hai 85 in front of him quickly turned into a ball of fire.

Goering smiled, sadly, and turned his head to see a smiling face approaching less than 30 meters to his right.

It is undeniable that the death of such a good pilot as Goering was a loss for Germany. One by one, the pilots who had spent a lot of effort to train sacrificed their lives for their country on the battlefield, and the tragic battle situation silenced the German High Command and even the whole of Germany.

However, the German pilots did not die in vain, and the air forces that the Japanese could not make up for in the battle were exhausted in one high-intensity air battle after another, and as time went on, the balance of the battlefield finally irreversibly shifted in favor of the Germans.

At 3:05 p.m. on August 1, 1929, during the 7th attack of the German aircraft group, the main aircraft carrier of the Japanese Combined Fleet, the "Zuizuru", was shot and exploded, and completely sank to the bottom of the sea two hours later, with more than 60% casualties among the officers and men on board; At 3:27 p.m., the Japanese Combined Fleet battleship "Kaga" sank, after being hit by a total of 12 bombs and 4 torpedoes; At 3:52 p.m., the light aircraft carrier "Feilong" of the Japanese Combined Fleet was shot and sank, so that only one light aircraft carrier, the "Soryu" and the entire fleet, was left in the huge Combined Fleet.

Almost completely exposed to the German aviation forces, which still had almost half of their combat effectiveness.

At 4:15 p.m., after sending a farewell telegram to the emperor, Naoma Taniguchi, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, gave the order for an all-army assault, which, together with the reconnaissance planes carried by the ships, left only 27 planes in the entire Combined Fleet, and very few fighters left in the army air bases in Sasebo and Kagoshima.

At 4:20 p.m., Taniguchi Naoma ordered the "Soryu" to return to Sasebo with the remaining planes of the fleet in order to preserve a force for future defensive battles on the mainland, but the hapless aircraft carrier was ambushed by the German submarine U-763 on the way home, and none of the ship's 895 officers and men and 34 pilots survived.

At 4:37 p.m. and 5:08 p.m., the German aircraft group flew over the Japanese Combined Fleet again, and the Combined Fleet, which had lost the protection of its fighter planes, had become a lamb to the slaughter, and the flagship "Kii" had become more than 80 Defan who were good at refining, casting, alchemy, and arranging formations. In the melancholy sunset of dusk, the 40,000-ton giant ship that gathered the essence of Japanese shipbuilding technology slowly sank after that, Taniguchi Naoma, who took the "Tosa" as the new flagship, continued to lead the fleet without hesitation, but the Germans did not give them a chance to fight head-on, and at the southern end of the Tsushima Strait, the last hope of the combined fleet was dashed under the unscrupulous attack of the German carrier-based aircraft group.

The Battle of Minami-Kyushu is over.

Taniguchi Naoma, who sank with the ship, was posthumously awarded the rank of admiral by the Japanese Admiralty.

Hermann Goering, including 510 pilots and more than 2,000 fallen sailors, who bravely sacrificed their lives in the battle, were posthumously awarded various honors, including Lieutenant Commander and the Blue Max Medal, and received his rightful seat in the Brandenburg State Military Cemetery.

Japan lost all the main forces of the 1st Fleet in the naval battle, and the Combined Fleet existed in name only.

As an island nation like Japan, the loss of its navy would have lost any hope of survival, and although the emperor and the military department announced that Japan would do everything in its power to defend its territory until the last shot was fired, the prospect of war had become clearer than glass windows.