In the early summer of May, when night really fell, most of the German officers and men stationed on Texel Island were tired, especially the ground crews at various airports, who had been busy since the morning, not to mention the normal refueling and ammunition reserves, in the past ten hours, they rushed to repair hundreds of damaged fighters, so that more than 400 spare fighters sealed in warehouses were put back into use, and the Luftwaffe was able to stabilize the situation in adversity, and the ground service department contributed a lot. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Although the continuous fighting time was not as long as that of the ground crew, the pilots who flew two or four high-intensity missions, the anti-aircraft gunners and the medical personnel who fought several battles with the incoming enemy planes were really tired enough to choke on the day, and the arrival of night meant that some of them finally had time to catch their breath.

In the pilot's dining room at the airport, Colonel von Richthofen elegantly and swiftly swept away two steaks, two vegetable salads, a plate of sausages, a hash brown, a pasta, and a glass of red wine, almost twice as much as he usually ate, while his hungry lads did not care about their manners. In the beginning, the sound of knives touching plates in the huge dining room was almost all about, and it was not until the boys had their fills that people began to talk and talk.

A major officer suddenly stood up with a wine glass and said, "Gentlemen, I propose that we all pay tribute to our colleagues who have unfortunately died today!" May their souls enter the Valhalla Temple! ”

Von Richthofen was the highest-ranking military officer present, and the highest-ranking pilot to fly that day in battle -- according to German custom, once he entered the ranks of generals, he usually no longer flew planes on combat missions. In response to the major's proposal, he quickly got up and raised his glass in his right hand: "Salute to the deceased!" ”

Everyone raised their glasses, and the sound of "salute to the deceased" converged in the restaurant.

When the people were seated again, the loud-voiced major continued: "Gentlemen, I have another proposal, let us raise a toast to the hero of today's largest number of enemy planes, Captain Majid Patzler of the 15th Fighter Wing, and congratulate him on his 11 shootdowns in a single day!" ”

There was an uproar in the restaurant. Throughout the day, people were either fighting hard or preparing for battle. The more intense the enemy's air raids, the stronger the excitement brought by each enemy plane shot down, and after this tragic air battle, no one knows exactly how many enemy planes were shot down -- the data will be published sooner or later, but it will obviously take a lot of time to count and confirm...... At a time when most pilots shoot down only one or two enemy planes or even return empty-handed, 11 is definitely a shocking number!

The major's words are not yet official, but in wartime, heroes are undoubtedly the most inspiring words, and the dining room immediately burst into applause, and the young pilot, who had been sitting next to him, stood up with a flushed face and waved to the crowd.

After three lift-offs, he was shot down by the enemy at one point, and Von Richthofen's record for the day was fixed at four, while the best record reported by the pilots of the 33rd Fighter Wing that day was seven enemy aircraft shot down. Richthofen was impressed by the fierce young man who shot down 11 enemy planes in a single day, and he was impressed by the name -- this man was not accidental, but had a deep technical foundation and combat experience, and he had carried out many combat missions in the North Caucasus and the Middle East, and had achieved an official record of shooting down.

Richthofen buttoned his collar and walked to the other party's table with a wine glass: "I am Manfred von Richthofen of the 33rd Wing, congratulations, Captain Patzler, the motherland is proud of you!" ”

The young pilot standing in front of him was not tall, with dark hair, deep eye sockets, wide lips, and did not look like a purely European face, although he showed a confident temperament, he was still a little reserved when he spoke to Richthofen: "Thank you, sir! ”

"Every ...... here," said Richthofen, as he spoke loudly, looked around and drew the eyes of the two or three hundred pilots in the dining room to himself.

"No matter how many enemy planes you shot down today, or how much you missed your first victory, I want to congratulate you on the very difficult day you have endured. After this night, you are no longer new to the battlefield, you are the best fighters in the Luftwaffe! Hopefully, tomorrow at dinner, each and every one of us will be able to sit here and raise a glass to the best of us! ”

Richthofen's words were not fancy, but in his characteristic way inspired and reminded the young pilots that the brutal battle had just begun, and that only by not being arrogant and doing their best could they have a chance to become a true success.

The German officers and men in Texel and several surrounding islands had endured the rigors of war, but for most of the officers and men of the German Atlantic Fleet, the real test was yet to come. At nightfall, the German fleet sailing in the waters northwest of Texel Island was reduced to pieces, and the three battle cruisers "Seydlitz", "Moltke", and "Goeben", which had been built and commissioned before 1914, were organized into a group, and quietly sailed north with the coordination of the two destroyers; The huge "Count Tirpitz" and "Prince Heinrich" were grouped together, and with four destroyers and two light cruisers, they sailed to the waters of Texel Island with great momentum; The aircraft carriers "Emperor Karl" and "Ottoman" went their separate ways under the cover of several light cruisers and destroyers......

As the night grew darker and the sea was stormy, 44-year-old German Rear Admiral Gunther Lütjens stood silently on the broadside deck of the "Seydlitz". Such a night reminded him of the summer 18 years ago, when the main force of the High Seas Fleet sailed to the waters of Jutland in a neat and majestic formation, when he was young and ignorant, and he had no idea what kind of magnificent sea battle he was about to witness, and His Royal Highness Joachim, then Chief of Staff of the Fleet, remained calm and calm throughout, which not only left an unforgettable impression on him, but also influenced the formation of his personal command style. For more than ten years, as a rookie in the navy recommended by the "Hohenzollern genius", he grew from a naval captain to the youngest admiral of civilian origin under the attention and care of the admirals, followed Beinke to participate in the South American naval battles, and later commanded light ship formations to participate in the blockade operations in Egypt and the Black Sea, and then transferred to the commander of the 2nd Battle Patrol Detachment of the Atlantic Fleet, commanding three old ships that had experienced the baptism of the Battle of Jutland.

Although the three old Battlecruisers were modernized and rejuvenated to a certain extent in the 20s, their combat effectiveness can no longer be compared with the Battlecruisers built later. If he encounters the thin-skinned Lexington-class, Lütjans may be able to try his luck with his old war patrol, but if he encounters the British admiral-class, he will either be oiled on the soles of his feet or gloriously sunk, and I am afraid there is no other way.

The strict lighting of the night voyage made Lütjens almost in darkness, and when the nearby hatch opened, a glimmer of light from it seemed to be from heaven, but the light was fleeting, and the deck was dark again.

"General, the fleet has entered a state of rapid cruising, at the present speed of 20 knots, the two destroyers are in front of our left and right front, Moltke and Goeben are following us in turn, and the course is now due north. The rest of the ships have already sailed out of our sight. ”

After listening to the adjutant's report, Lütjans still faced outboard, and his hands were resting on the railing of the ship's side.

"Theodore, are you nervous?"

"Of course, this is my first time in battle." His adjutant replied truthfully, "But I don't feel scared at all." ”

"Do you believe we're going to win?"

The young lieutenant said, "We have no reason to challenge enemy ships that we can't win, do we?" ”

That's right, and Rütjans wasn't going to mess things up in his first real battle as commander. Given the complexity of the combat environment, Lieutenant General von Oldenburg had given him a lot of freedom to make decisions, and the area of operations assigned to him should have no strong opponents, but if nothing was done on this trip, if not to be blamed, Lütjens would be very sorry - these seemed to be two contradictory issues, but the cool sea breeze had given him an idea.

"I remember your father was an old sailor, did he ever work on an older ship?"

"Yes, General, he was a sailor for forty years and did not retire until the year before last. I remember a ship that was very old, and the boilers were constantly in trouble, and my father's hand was badly burned while he was repairing the pipes. ”

"In this way, it should be normal for our 'Moltke' or 'Goeben' to break down at sea. ”

His lieutenant argued inexplicably: "But they only underwent a boiler overhaul last month, and all the pipes were replaced during last year's overhaul, and there have been no major problems with the recent rational cruising drills......

Lytjens interrupted him: "That's because we know them very well, and the enemy doesn't know much about them. ”

The adjutant was puzzled at first, but soon it dawned on him: "I see, General, you mean to let them pretend to malfunction, and then lure the enemy in." If the deceitful enemy is strong, we will lead them by the nose; If the enemy is weak, we wait for an opportunity to ambush them. ”

"Ha, when I was younger, I didn't spin as fast as your head." Lütjans praised.

The adjutant hurriedly explained: "I only thought of this after your reminder, and even if I did, I didn't have the courage to plan such a combat operation. ”

"You think that's too risky?"

The young adjutant did not know how to answer Lütjans's rhetorical question.

Lütjans did not intend to ask, but whispered: "In fact, compared to such an action to lure the enemy, General von Oldenburg personally led the 'Count Tirpitz' and 'Prince Heinrich' back to Texel Island to face a more risky battle, after all, the enemy's fleet has a full ten super battle cruisers, in case the situation is unfavorable and the retreat is not in time, it is possible to be blocked by the enemy in Herosmanvo, I am afraid there will be troublesome consequences." ”

(End of chapter)