The 20mm cannon has a limited firing range and a very short firing window in the face of high-speed skimming attack aircraft. By the time the American GIs easily reacted, six planes had already flown out of effective range. However, Rudel and the others were not out of danger, because there were anti-aircraft vehicles equipped with 40MM Bofors anti-aircraft guns on the periphery. For the defense of a fixed area, the attacker will inevitably choose a relatively fixed route in order to achieve the maximum effect, and in this case, their climbing position can also be speculated, so Li Qiwei also chose a fixed ambush on the route where the opponent was preparing to withdraw from the battlefield.

Although there is a sense of luck, but fortunately this time Li Qiwei bumped into the right one, and unfortunately, the other party also took precautions! When Rudel was about to climb with the first wave, the suddenly attacked Bofors anti-aircraft gun fired hundreds of 40mm shells in a matter of seconds! A plane could not dodge and was directly hit by a shell in the wing, and the powerful 40MM high-explosive shell directly cut the wing in half. AND JUST BEFORE THE AMERICANS HAD TIME TO CELEBRATE THE DOUBLE-DIGIT RECORD OF THE FLY SWATTER SQUAD, THE SECOND WAVE OF ATTACK PLANES THAT FOLLOWED THE RUDEL SQUAD FIRED 30MM MACHINE GUN SHELLS AT THE OPPONENT LIKE A RAINDOWN! THERE ARE THREE 20MM GUNS IN THE NOSE AND TWO 30MM GUNS UNDER THE WINGS. The fire fired by the five machine guns at the same time was more than 2 meters long, and the shells formed an oval impact area 700 meters away. Under such a dense attack, lightly armored targets that fall into this area are almost certain to die!

Before an anti-aircraft vehicle could react, it was sifted by a second wave of attack aircraft that suddenly rushed from the side. The sound of sparks and metal tearing from the collision of shells and armor plates sent shivers down everyone's shoulders. A rain of bullets like waves completely shattered the air defense circle. With the exception of one vehicle that dodged this deadly attack with good RP and timely maneuvers, the remaining 3 vehicles were destroyed. When the second wave of enemy planes left, they seemed to be afraid that there were still targets below that were not dead, so they dropped several rounds of munitions.

"The situation is not right, how can the other party have the leisure to compete with the anti-aircraft artillery this time?!" Li Qiwei noticed something strange in the other party's actions. Generally when carrying out bombing missions. At most, it is enough for some aircraft to suppress the ground counterattack firepower, so would you think that this time some attack aircraft will be specially assigned to kill the ground mobile anti-aircraft artillery? Rudel's air force did not leave the battlefield after the attack was completed, but constantly circled in the air, launching a counterattack as soon as it spotted counter-fire below, and the strike quickly expanded to bunkers, trenches, and even skirmishers! The other party has a big operation! A thought popped into Ridgway's mind.

"Brothers, the Air Force has already helped us clean up the rats below, it's up to us!" Stud looked at the time. It's late afternoon, and for a full 4 hours from dawn to now, the Luftwaffe has maintained a fleet of 120 aircraft over Foligno! Guns and bombs swept through the city over and over again. Even some high-rise buildings were mercilessly blown up by the Air Force in order to prevent the other side from taking advantage of them because they were outside the airborne area of the German Airborne Forces.

More than 300 transport planes were dispatched to various airborne sites. As the hatch opened, paratroopers rushed out with their weapons. Pull out umbrella flowers one by one behind the transport plane. At this time, Li Qiwei, who was hiding in Tibet with his fly swatter team, realized the severity of the situation for the first time. "Retreat to the cover of heavy anti-aircraft artillery. Gather your troops. Prepare for anti-airborne! Be quick! "Although according to the principle of general anti-airborne operations, the defender must enter the opponent's airborne field at the first time to destroy the paratroopers in the air or when they have just landed, Li Qiwei's intuition told him that this was a trap! Looking at the plane overhead, Li Qiwei also knew that the first wave of attacks could not work! Infantry and aircraft confront, sure to go to fight and not to die?

Li Qiwei's abacus played very well, first entering the cover range of the surface anti-aircraft fire, and then gathering his subordinates to raid the airborne field under the cover of the anti-aircraft guns. That's a good idea, but after hours of long suppression. The number of remaining stationary medium-caliber anti-aircraft guns was also insufficient. Coupled with the time it took to concentrate troops from various concealment positions, Ridgway's counterattack was obviously much slower.

Faced with the same situation, Li Qiwei chose to avoid the edge for the time being. But the US troops defending the airfield absolutely cannot tolerate the German airborne troops occupying here, even if it is dangerous outside, it must be taken! Fortunately, the U.S. and French armies were able to draw a unit from the city equipped with light armored vehicles and infantry tanks to support. At the strong request of the garrison, the remaining air forces in the vicinity also began to rise into the air to prepare to intercept the German airborne group. However, the role played by the Allied air force, which was already very weak at this time, can only be described as a drop in the bucket.

Just when the American GIs were preparing to counterattack in a hurry, the first wave of paratroopers had already landed on the airfield, and after landing, they retracted their parachutes and immediately joined up with their surrounding comrades to launch an attack on the pre-selected target. Unlike in history, the German paratroopers carried a part of their weapons with them, and only large quantities of machine guns, ammunition and mortars, which were inconvenient to carry, were grouped together and airborne individually. Although the reaction speed has increased a lot, it still lacks the ability to attack the fortification in the first place after the airborne. But fortunately, Britain and the United States did not expect each other to be airborne, so they did not set up too many bunkers in the rear. In the mid- and close-range small arms engagement, the Germans, armed with STG29 assault rifles and MG27 general-purpose machine guns, were able to suppress the American fire from M1 automatic rifles and BAR machine guns.

Relying on the high rate of fire of the STG29 assault rifle, the scattered German paratroopers blocked the opponent's counterattack at the first time. In the actual firefight, the Americans suddenly felt as if they were facing the Germans with each machine gun. Relying on excellent individual soldiers and weapons in their hands, the German paratroopers crushed the airfield defense consisting of logistics units in the first place. THE GERMAN TROOPS PARACHUTED NEAR THE AIRFIELD BEGAN TO ASSEMBLE, AND A SECOND WAVE OF GLIDERS LANDED IN THE OPEN SPACE VISIBLE FROM THE RUNWAY, AND SMALL JEEPS TOWING 120MM MORTARS AND 50MM ANTI-TANK GUNS WERE UNLOADED FROM THE CARRIERS.

"Damn, they put anti-tank guns on the plane!" SEVERAL DO17 BOMBERS FLEW OVER THE BRITISH UNITS ATTACKING THE AIRFIELD, AND AT A DISTANCE OF SEVERAL HUNDRED METERS, THE BRITISH DISCOVERED THAT EACH DO17 BOMBER HAD AN EXPOSED BARREL UNDER ITS NOSE, AND A FLASH OF FIRE AND A 50MM ARMOR-PIERCING SHELL WAS FIRED FROM THE BARREL. Flying to a target a few hundred meters away, a Matilda tank could not dodge and was directly hit by the engine behind the hull, and with the fragmentation and explosion of armor, the rear of the tank caught fire and then slowly stopped. In order to avoid the attack, the remaining tanks also tried to avoid the S-shaped route.

JUST AFTER A FEW TANKS WERE DAMAGED OR HIT, THE INFANTRY ALSO HAD THEIR NIGHTMARE, GUNBOATS LOADED WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF 20MM MACHINE GUNS AND MACHINE GUNS BEGAN TO HOVER OVER THE ATTACKING TROOPS, AND A LARGE NUMBER OF ANTI-INFANTRY BOMBS AND HEDGEHOG-LIKE MACHINE GUNS AND MACHINE GUNS BROKE UP THE BRITISH OFFENSIVE IN AN INSTANT. "They're a bunch of low-altitude Grim Reapers, and wherever you're hiding, they can find the right weapon to pull you out and destroy them. My brothers dispersed as soon as the tanks were attacked, but they were still half reimbursed by the bombs of the other side, and the lucky ones hid behind craters or buildings, which were difficult for ordinary bombs to hit, but then, the German machine guns and machine guns lightly pierced through buildings and other bunkers, and reaped all the exposed lives like the scythe of death. The opponent circled over us like this, like a plague, and refused to disperse for a long time, and before we could see the opponent, we had already failed. One of the American lieutenants involved in the assault on the airfield recalled.

The German air support was so good that the defenders of Foligno, lacking heavy weapons, were pinned down by the combined forces of the air force and paratroopers. "Facts have proved that with the opponent having air supremacy, it is difficult to recapture the airborne field by relying solely on infantry." In the underground bunker, the tactician Ridgway wrote this in a notebook with a pencil. Ridgway's troops did not rush forward immediately, and after hearing the news of the defeat of the other troops in front, and looking at the German attack planes above his head, Ridgway decisively gave up the attack plan. In his opinion, there are only two scenarios for victory, one is a surprise attack at night, and the other is a quick support from the outside. Whether it is to seize air supremacy or to provide more troops.

"The Germans were airborne in Foligno. The Americans have just sent a message asking for support. "In Sicily, Tycho also received an urgent telegram from the U.S. command in Italy. After he read it, he handed it to Lin Yongsheng and Su Mo next to him. "This is a naval aviation in my hands. This should be the last air reserve on the entire front, right? Tycho said in his heart.

"I'm not in the Army, but I don't feel like I can win. The Americans and the French did not try, their air forces were blocked outside the airborne landing site. Even if we can put in another 200 fighters, I'm afraid we won't be able to tear through the opponent's air defense network, and more importantly, we don't know the next wave of the opponent's airborne world, and the carrier-based aircraft are all short-legged. Stay time in the air is limited. Without air supremacy, it may be difficult to assemble troops on a large scale. Moreover, the Germans on the front also attacked, and it was difficult for the defenders, who lacked supplies, to hold the line. Summer analyzed the situation from the perspective of the Air Force.

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976 for the tip~~~, and the book friend fatchi1979 for the monthly pass support ~~~~. (To be continued......)