On 15 June, at Adeum, an air battle was fought over the retreating British Eighth Army. Marseilleu shot down three more enemy aircraft. These are the eighty-eighth to ninety-first enemy planes shot down by him. Five days ago, the total number of enemy planes he shot down was eighty-one. At that time, in the XXVII Combat Aviation Regiment, there were already bets on whether Marseilleu would be able to shoot down a hundred enemy aircraft.

In the evening, some of the pilots gathered at the regimental commander, when one of his comrades asked Marseilleu: "John, when will you bring the Knight's Cross of the Sword and Cypress?" ”

"Noon the day after tomorrow." Marseilleu replied with a smile. However, no one thought that he was talking big, and no one thought that it was Marseilleu showing off. As always, everyone praised him for being good. From the regiment commander to the whole staff, they liked this young man with slender blonde hair, and everyone affectionately called him "our John".

The next morning, the 3rd Squadron made two sorties, but Marseilleu did not encounter any enemy aircraft. In the afternoon, there will be an "air safari", followed by a landing at the new base in Ghazala. In the evening of the same day, the ground crew went to visit them. Sergeant Padegen, Marseilleu's wingman, greeted him happily and said:

"Knock out four more!"

As a witness to air combat, Paedgan was responsible for counting the number of enemy planes shot down by his superiors and recording where and when enemy planes crashed. His companions ridiculed him as an "air computer". In fact, this is not entirely the case, and on several occasions when enemy planes attacked Marseilleu from behind, it was only because of Paedgen's timely reminder that Marseilleu's life was saved. In turn, when Padroot was bitten by enemy aircraft. Marseilleu also helped him.

By now, Marseilleu had shot down ninety-five enemy aircraft. But will he be able to keep his promise? Will he be able to shoot down a hundred enemy aircraft? People are eagerly awaiting the next day.

Invading British planes at low altitudes continued to harass the 21st Panzer Division, the vanguard of the German ground forces. So, June 17th. All the aircraft of the XXVII Combat Aviation Regiment entered free air combat. Due to the relatively accurate low-altitude attack of the British army, the Ghazala base was severely damaged, and the aviation regiment lost seven Me109 aircraft.

So what about Marseilleu? At 12:35 a.m., his fourth crew returned. The "Yellow 14" flew at the front, flying low over the airfield, constantly swinging its wings. Once, twice, three times, and three more times in a row after the turn. Yes! This means that he shot down six enemy planes! It's unbelievable. By now, Marseilleu's results had reached the point of shooting down one hundred and one enemy planes.

People at the airport stopped what they were doing. Planes rushing to land from all directions. They were so happy that they almost dragged their John out of the cockpit and threw him into the air. Mechanic Maia first climbed onto the wings to untie Marseilleu's seat belt. However, Marseilleu waved his hand in exhaustion. I saw him pale and panting, sitting there motionless. After taking off the flight cap. Beads of sweat the size of beans ran down his forehead.

See this scenario. Everyone understood: he was so tired, he had exhausted all his strength. Everyone understands how tiring it must be to fly, shoot, fight, and kill non-stop! Marseilleu lit a cigarette with his still trembling hand and smoked it. After a while, the cigarette dispelled the fatigue, and he regained the vitality of the young fighter pilot he used to have. He reported back to the head of the regiment and requested a new assignment. Major Norman ordered him:

"You take a vacation immediately!"

Marseilleu protested, saying: "Tobruk is almost at the hurricane, how can I go on vacation at this time? Now is the moment when the German offensive is at its fiercest, and even one person needs it! ”

But Norman didn't budge. "You're not going? This is an order from the High Command. I want you to receive the sword cypress leaf and ride the cross! ”

The accountant of Delna probably could not have imagined that the empty pages he had left in Marseilleu's military handbook would be used so quickly.

Marseilleu left the army for more than two months. However, just two weeks after he left. The tide of the war in Africa has taken a major turn.

On June 17, 1942, after conquering the British desert fortress of Adeum, the Italian "Errit" Panzer Division and the entire German Afrika Korps crossed Tobruk and advanced eastward to Egypt. This was Rommel's new strategy, and he believed that there was no need to rush to capture Tobruk, but that Gambut, which had a British air base, should be captured first.

The second attack wave, consisting of the 1st Flight Training Regiment, began to attack. JU88 aircraft violently bombarded British artillery positions in front of the German ground forces. After the bombing, Me110 planes of the 3rd Group of the 26th Destroyer Aviation Regiment rushed to the enemy's machine-gun positions and anti-tank gun positions, diving, and strafing.

This was followed by an Italian Fiat CR-42 fighter-bomber under the command of Colonel Grandinetti. An hour and a half after the bombardment, the 3rd Dive Bombing Aviation Regiment followed. Just one attack wave after another, giving the enemy no respite. German and Italian ground forces also concentrated their efforts on attacking this narrow area.

The blue smoke gave the Air Force a pointer to the target. The infantry marked both sides of the main attack road with smoke grenades, and as long as it could be attacked from the air, even small targets, the ground troops used blue smoke bombs to mark it. It can be seen how tacitly the coordinated operations on the ground and in the air are.

The air force attacked the fortifications of Pilastrina and Solana, as well as the ships at the airfields and in the harbor. The commander of the South African garrison, General Klopper, was ousted from the combat command post and deprived of the means of communication for the troops under his command. That night, General Klopper sent a telegram to Cairo stating that the situation was out of control.

At five o'clock in the morning the next day, Rommel the Victor entered Tobruk, and General Klopper announced his surrender at 9:20 a.m. In 1941, the British had held the fort for 28 weeks, but today it was breached by Rommel within 28 hours.

On June 26, when the Afrika Korps began to attack Matru, the German High Command had not yet made up its mind whether to attack Malta or open Matru. On this day, Rommel was in Sidi. Barani gave the famous marshal's inaugural address. In addition to Rommel, who were present at that time. There were also Caisselring and Italian marshals Bastiu and Caballero. In his speech, Rommel declared: In ten days I will be on the banks of the Nile.

He said: "Now is the time when the British army is not firmly established, and we cannot give them a respite. If the Nile Delta is attacked from behind. Then the number of troops required and the losses that will be incurred are significant. At the present time, since Tobruk's abundant booty has ensured our supply, it is now necessary to devote all our forces, especially those of the Air Force, to decisive places, in accordance with the principle of focused assault. This decisive place is Egypt. ”

Kesselring objected. His opinion is: moving forward, logistical replenishment will be more difficult. "The Air Force needs a break," he said. The flight crew is exhausted, and the aircraft needs repairs. Attack those well-fortified enemy air bases without any losses, as an air force soldier. I think it's a crazy move to lose your mind. The Air Force has played a decisive role in previous battles, and without the support of the Air Force, the consequences would have been unimaginable. From this point alone, I cannot but oppose the continuation of the offensive on Cairo. ”

Rommel was convinced that he was right. Bastieu and Cavaléche, who formally held the command, also echoed his opinion.

They were backed by Mussolini. He was ready to fly to Africa. and how to ride the white horse. Led his troops into Cairo with their heads held high.

Also supporting them was Hitler. He told Kesselring by phone that he would stop interfering in Rommel's plans. Thus, a tragedy in North Africa began.

Major Norman, commander of the 27th Combat Aviation Regiment, said: "If we advance like this, the army will have to go deep alone." Because of the poor organization on the ground, the Air Force could not advance side by side with the Army. ”

Despite this, the commander of the African Air Force threw all his forces into the battle to attack Matrouh and El Alamein. The 1st Flight Training Regiment attacked British supply depots, and the 3rd Dive Bombing Aviation Regiment attacked enemy forces that were moving behind the battle line. In the history of the 27th Combat Aviation Regiment there is such a record: "On June 26, it was put into Sidi. The situation of the fighters of the Battle of Barani was very bad. Nothing but a fuel truck. The pilots had to take off on an empty stomach to attack. ”

By the evening of 26 June, Ensign Köllner had shot down five enemy planes. Stahlschmidt and Ensign Schreier shot down three each. The next morning, another sortie was made to attack Astas. Two days later, transfer to Fuka. Fuqua lacked gasoline and the plane could not take off, so he had to lie on the ground.

On the other side of the front, however, the British Air Force was growing stronger. Now the British Air Force is able to take off from well-equipped Egyptian airfields. In this regard, Rommel's troops were painful. As the troops approached Egypt day by day, the losses suffered by low-altitude attacks by enemy aircraft also increased.

On June 30, German horizontal and dive bombers could not fly from Fuka to El Alamein Fortress due to strong sandstorms. Rommel attempted to break through the fortress of El Alamein in three days, but was forced to go on the defensive due to insufficient strength. Today, the big picture has been decided. After eight weeks, Rommel's renewed offensive failed. It was General Montgomery who turned the tide of the war in North Africa, which was bordered by El Alamein. On October 23, 1942, he launched a powerful offensive against the Germans.

On August 23, John. Marseilleu returns. At the age of twenty-two, the youngest captain officer of the Air Force was once again the commander of the third squadron, and he was overjoyed. Corporal Neumann, the technical clerk in charge of registering Marseilleu's battle records, sharpened his pencil again.

"I'm going to have to keep you busy again!" Marseilleu said with a smile.

The first week passed peacefully. On 1 September, Rommel was about to engage in a desperate battle in an attempt to regain the initiative from his arch-rival. The sky was as lively as before, and Marseilleu's squadron took part in the battle.

From 8:29 a.m. to 8:39 a.m., Marseilleu knocked out two Curtiss and Spitfires in one fell swoop. He spent the morning escorting dive bombers over Harfa. From 10:55 a.m. to 11:05 a.m., he knocked out eight more Curtis. Then, from 17:47 to 17:53, five more Curtiss planes were shot down south of Imayid.

Seventeen enemy planes were knocked down in one day, and this is truly an unheard-of miracle! (To be continued......)