There was a bit of buzz in the club today, and in celebration of Christmas and congratulations on today's star, Captain Rudel, the airport had torn down the thin plank wall leading to the restaurant next door to make room for more. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

There are a few makeshift lights hanging from the ceiling, and a real Christmas tree with a few ribbons hanging from the corner of the club. Pilots, ground crew, and some officers who don't know where they came from (not surprisingly, many historical biographies mention that as soon as something good happens, you will find a group of people you don't know from nowhere: the characteristics of the battlefield in war, especially in areas where various units are mixed. Groups of three or five gathered together, each chatting. With music playing from the gramophone, I drank champagne and red wine from the country, which was rarely available at this time.

However, everyone was still a little restrained and did not let go of heavy drinking. Tomorrow is Christmas, but the war will not be suspended because of the holiday, especially since tomorrow is not a Russian holiday at all. It is said that there will be big shots later today, everyone has to take it easy, otherwise it will be very embarrassing for a group of drunks to appear in front of the senior officers!

Although today's festival is plus a celebration for heroes, everyone knows that the situation on the front line is a bit bad, even if there are no big people coming, it is not suitable to drink openly. Also because of the war situation, although there were officers, non-commissioned officers and even some soldiers here, they were all from the Air Force, and there were no Wehrmacht Army personnel (the Luftwaffe had its own ground garrison. ）。 Now the army is in a hurry, and some units of the air force are also in a bad situation, but here is quite optimistic.

In the corner of the club, several people in pilot uniforms sat together, both officers and non-commissioned officers. Unlike the aircrew, the main bomber crew at the airfield, who were temporarily assigned to accompany the Stukas, there was a Messersmit 109th Fighter Squadron under the jurisdiction of the 52nd Wing. However, like Rudel's troops, some of the pilots in this group were originally transferred from Army Group North, and the composition of the personnel was relatively mixed. For example, one of the corporals who was talking was a member of the 54th Day Fighter Wing (Greenheart), and the lieutenant opposite him was an officer of the 52nd Wing.

The officers on the sidelines are all officers, and the corporal talks eloquently, and here prestige is not only determined by the rank of the soldier, but also by other things that affect the status of the soldier in the environment.

Obert Otto Kittel was discussing the course of the two-day air battle with someone on the side, and he didn't mind that his current rank was a bit embarrassing, and it was only a matter of time before he changed his identity.

No one will underestimate Corporal Kittel, because he has shot down 21 Russian planes so far, including 12 Russian fighters! Although he is not as good as those top aces, only Lieutenant Gerhard Bakholon opposite him can compare to him.

Gerhard Buckhorn (also translated as Buckholon or Buckhorn. At the end of last month, he recorded his 10th crash and was promoted to lieutenant, bringing the record to 15 to date. But Mr. Lieutenant was no newcomer to the battle this year, having fought in the French Campaign and the Battle of Britain, but he had bad luck - he had never been able to shoot down any enemy planes despite many missions, and he had been shot down twice over the English Channel! It was not until the beginning of July of this year that the first results of the crash were achieved during the 120th combat sortie.

So the star of the club is Captain Rudel, and the number one star among fighter pilots is Corporal.

Buckhorn and Kittel don't really like being drawn to the role of "nanny" on an ad hoc basis, they are experienced aerial hunters who should be on aerial safari missions and not limited by too many rules.

However, the choice of this mission is not something that "three or four aces" like them can decide for themselves, they are not important enough, and almost all the "aces" who like to "hunt" in the vicinity have had a bit of a bad time during this time - the individual must obey the overall situation of the battle.

The Air Force is in full swing in airlift, and if they want to complete the mission, all the cooperating units have to follow the arrangement: Buckhorn and they can get a lot of fighting opportunities with the desperate Rudel - if they want to be hunters in the air, these two young men have to wait.

"Lieutenant, have you ever run into that red devil of the Russians?" After discussing the situation in the past few days, Kittel changed his mind and talked about the Russian ace he had never encountered.

Buckhorn exhaled, picked up the glass in front of him and drank the little red wine he had left: Kittel had come from the north, and he was very curious about the Red Devil when he first arrived. But as a veteran of the 52nd Wing, Buckholon said that the nasty guy was really not interested in it - he had seen the Russian fighter in the air from afar, but had not fought it.

It's not that you don't dare, but you don't have a chance.

According to the "legend" in the wing, no pilot has ever defeated the Red Devil in an air battle, and Buckholon's own friend Gunse-Lal (also translated as Gunter Lal, father?) Middle name? It is not known whether it is a difference in translation or a different translation. It was in the air that he was killed in the battle with the Red Devils, and then he was killed by a sneak attack by other aircraft groups.

According to the surviving wingman pilot Walter Wolfern, who said in private, the Red Devil's flying skills have probably reached the limit of what a man can achieve - many people do not believe in this, and even scoff at it, but any good pilot who does not believe in the Red Fighter in a two-on-two or one-on-one battle in the air has fallen: the Red Devil likes to shoot the opponent's fighter in the air!

However, Buckhorn did not have any personal hatred for the Red Devil, he knew the rules of war, and he agreed with some of the Red Devil's methods - the devil was only cruel when the opponent was able to resist, and the air circus did not shoot the German pilots who parachuted, otherwise Wolfern would not have lived to sit on the side staring at the wine glass.

Corporal Kittel sensed that something was wrong - Walter Wolfern reacted a little strangely, and Corporal knew he seemed to be asking an unwelcome question. (To be continued.) )