On the east side of the "Forest Palace" in Limerick, there is a large underground fortification, the outside world knows little about it, the Irish military internally called it "the dragon's lair", not because it contains a large number of gold treasures, but because it is hidden deep underground, the entrance is hidden, explosion-proof, fire-proof, anti-poison facilities are readily available, and the information about this fortification is classified as a high secret, so it got this special title. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

In the summer of 1933, the Dragon's Lair was still the preferred emergency shelter for members of the Irish royal family, and it was also tasked with protecting the German-Irish Joint Operations Command Centre - His Majesty King Joachim of Ireland was personally in charge of all allied forces attacking Britain from the direction of Ireland, but in fact the German task force in Ireland was still directly under the command of the German General Staff, and the Irish army was under the command of the Irish Joint Staff. The so-called Joint Operations Command is mainly used to coordinate the operational affairs of the two armies and to provide opinions and suggestions on tactics and strategies.

"What? The British bomber group has already crossed the St. George's Strait! ”

Retired Irish Field Marshal and former Secretary of State of the Army, Aimo Perev, a lifelong military adviser to the Irish royal family, was very surprised when he learned the news, knowing that the German army has deployed nearly 20,000 combat aircraft in France and Ireland, plus 3,000 warplanes invested by Ireland, the current coalition aviation force is pressing the British Air Force with a huge advantage, judging from the battle reports fed back from the front, the coalition forces have initially mastered the air supremacy in southern England, northern Wales, and western Scotland. Hordes of German bombers were bombing strategic British locations, and the British were sending bomber groups to Ireland instead of counterattacking German airfields in northern France.

Natsuki had been keeping a close eye on the battle ahead since early in the morning, and he glanced at Tirpitz, who was expressionless. The veteran marshal, who had been away from German power for a long time, had long ago reminded himself that the enemy was likely to use Ireland as a "chicken" to make an example of the enemy after the outbreak of war.

"They're targeting, I guess." When Natsuki said this, the generals present turned their eyes to the sand table, the bright incandescent lights provided ample light for this hall below the ground, and the staff assistants had just placed a model marking the British bomber group at the report position, which needed to cross the south of Ireland to reach Limerick, although it seemed far away, in fact, it was only a hundred and fifty kilometers away, and the light bombers with their speed could reach it in only ten or twenty minutes.

Although a native of Germany, Perev became an Irish citizen in 1915, but he had a deep affection for the country for which he had worked for more than a decade and made a name for himself here. He hurriedly said: "Then hurry up and put the air defense forces around Limerick into combat mode, Your Majesty, otherwise it will be too late." ”

Natsuki nodded with a steady expression: "Sound the air defense siren, and all Limerick will be evacuated; The Royal 1st Air Wing and the 9th Air Wing were immediately dispatched to assemble east of Limerick to meet them; The Royal 2nd Air Wing and the 10th Air Wing are on standby at the airfields and ready to strike at any time; The anti-aircraft battalions of the Royal Garrison Corps were put on combat readiness and awaited the order to open fire. ”

Hearing this, Perev asked very uneasily: "Your Majesty, is it enough to send only two fighter wings to meet it?" The war had just begun, and we couldn't afford to let British bombers appear over Limerick. ”

The tactical structure of the Irish Air Force basically follows the practice of the Luftwaffe, with the squadron as the basic tactical unit, and the above is the group, the wing, the aviation division, the aviation regiment and the aviation corps. For example, the Royal 1st and 2nd Air Wings of Ireland, which are responsible for defending the capital, are each equipped with 166 fighters, and may be supplemented in wartime, while the 9th and 10th Air Wings, which are deployed in Watford and Kilgeny respectively, have a standard allocation of 124 aircraft.

In addition to the difference in size, the elite Royal Fighter Wing also has priority in terms of personnel and equipment. At the outbreak of the war, the 1st Royal Air Wing had 3 fighter squadrons reequipped with ME-50s, the 2nd Royal Air Wing had 2, the rest of the squadrons were also dominated by better performance IR-30 biplane fighters, the 9th and 10th Wings were not currently equipped with ME-50s, and some fighter squadrons were still using IR-29s.

Natsuki motioned to the staff officer to convey his order immediately, and then explained unhurriedly: "If the British are determined to bomb Limerick, even if all the fighters and anti-aircraft guns of the Irish Air Force are transferred to defend the capital, they will not be able to do what His Excellency the Earl said - not to let British bombers appear over Limerick." War will inevitably bring losses, and clinging to dignity will only lead to chaos and further losses. Look, even if Berlin is heavily protected, it will not be able to be harassed by enemy planes during the war, let alone Ireland, which is not strong enough militarily? I think it's likely that this group of British bombers is only the advance force of the British Air Force, and if we start with all our combat strength and the next batch of British bombers follow, will our fighter units still be able to meet them in full formation? ”

Perev seemed to be convinced, but the German chief staff officer of the Allied command, the veteran German infantry general, ****** von Bergmann, disagreed with the King of Ireland's assertion, saying: "Your Majesty may not know that Berlin is guarded by four air lines and three ground lines, and that there are no fewer than 150 squadrons of fighters deployed on the German mainland at any one time, and that it is impossible for British bombers to break through the heavy defenses and attack Berlin." ”

General Bergman may have been a good hand at land warfare, but he clearly lacked a deep understanding of the development of aviation technology. Taking care of the emotions of this old colleague, Natsuki said tactfully: "I also want Berlin to be free from the enemy during the war, but mechanical technology is subverting the traditional mode of war. Even if the Luftwaffe were able to build an impregnable line of defense in the sun, what about at night? The experience of several military exercises has shown that the success rate of air defense at night is much lower than that of air defense during the day. The distance from London to Berlin is 900 kilometers in a straight line, and British bombers are fully capable of carrying bombs to fly 900 kilometers at night, dropping bombs and returning to base. ”

General von Bergmann was silent, and now was not the time to argue about strategy. A short time later, the staff officer returned to report that the Royal 1st and 9th Air Wings had received and carried out combat orders. According to the results of weekday exercises, the Royal 1st Air Wing stationed at 4 airports can dispatch four-fifths of its fighters within 10 minutes, and the 9th Air Wing stationed at 3 airports can be fully dispatched within 15 minutes. No matter how elite the navy and army units are, it will be difficult for them to play a role.

At Lile Merrick, south of Limerick, 16 ME-50s belonging to the 3rd Fighter Group of the Royal Ireland 1st Air Wing took to the skies. In the bright afternoon sun, these monoplane fighters quickly climbed to an altitude of 8,000 meters - superchargers give them a ceiling that ordinary biplanes do not have, allowing them to easily occupy an altitude advantage in front of most opponents, and in addition to a series of advanced designs of the fighters themselves, they are also equipped with a compact Fu-30 radio transceiver, which allows pilots to maintain close contact for up to 20 kilometers and has a certain anti-jamming ability.

"Attention, gentlemen of the Bull Squadron, this is the first battle we have participated in, and it could be the most important battle of our lives...... Our mission is to intercept the British bombers flying to the capital Limerick, and we have received information that there are more than 200 enemy planes, divided into two groups, fast and slow, and the models of the American-made Boeing 9, the British Handley-Pety 38 and the Blenheim 3 that we have seen pictures and models of, and I should not need to repeat their characteristics to you. My plan was that if we were the first to arrive on the battlefield, with or without the escort of British fighters, we would launch a scramble with the Osprey skimming tactic. The fastest Blenheim should have reached the front of the group, pay attention to the machine gun tower on the back of this aircraft, which is their most effective defensive fire, we swooped down to the same height as them, stabbed diagonally from the bow of the plane, went to the bottom of the enemy group, pulled up and launched a second attack, then disengaged and continued to look for a third attack. At this time, we may be entangled by the British fighters, remember that the British bombers are our first target, use the speed to get rid of the British fighters as much as possible, and if possible, let them fight their own people......"

The chatter in the headphones was suddenly interrupted.

"Sir, look in the direction of 1 o'clock! I don't think it's a flock of geese! ”

"Ho, what a bunch! Gentlemen, look at your left and right and below, the good men of each squadron will fight side by side with us, and remember the fighting skills you have learned in the training exercises, and remember the instructions that Your Majesty has given us: be calm and brave, calm and wise. History will remember today's battle and every brave man who worked hard to protect Limerick! For the sake of Ireland, for the sake of His Majesty the King, for the sake of immortal honor, fight! ”

In an instant, the energetic and high-spirited "battle" cries converged on the radio communication channel.

(End of chapter)