If the German blitzkrieg was the vanguard of the war, then the Luftwaffe was the most powerful weapon of the vanguard. German tanks were able to sweep across the battlefield, and German paratroopers were able to gallop behind enemy lines, all because Germany had the most powerful air force in the world.

And within the Air Force, the units responsible for carrying out ground support missions are called bomber units. Equipped with the fearsome Ju-87 Stuka dive bomber and the Do-217 medium-range bomber, these units were arguably the most powerful weapons of war in the Luftwaffe.

So these German bomber pilots loved their jobs so much that they even liked to be called demons, because they destroyed cities, killed lives, and to be fair, they did nothing evil.

And now, they were ordered to take off from the airport, fly over mountains and rivers, form in the blue sky and white clouds, and gather densely with the roar of engines, covering the sky and the sun like locusts, and fly towards their new target, Rotterdam, the capital of the Netherlands.

The Do-217 bomber was already very advanced for its time, with a slender 17-meter fuselage and a wingspan of an astonishing 19 meters. The 5-meter-tall twin tail looks very domineering, but it also brings a shooting blind spot to the tail.

This kind of bomber can invade the enemy's airspace at an ultra-high speed of 500 kilometers, and can calmly drop bombs over the target at an altitude of 7,000 meters.

However, the Führer was still developing more advanced long-range bombers, because Accardo was not satisfied with the 2,000-kilometer range of the Do-217 bomber, which was very satisfying for both the Army and the Air Force, and in the Führer's mind, the Air Force should deploy heavy long-range bombers with a range of more than 2,500 kilometers.

In the cramped cockpit of the plane, the pilot is concentrating on controlling the plane, and beside him, the co-pilot's navigator is checking their map, judging the direction of their flight from the roads and rivers on the ground. At their feet, the gunners in charge of operating the nose defense cannon were chatting with the gunner in the back of the plane through the guò intercom, and their casual appearance did not seem to be on an attack mission at all.

Until now, bombing missions had been a very pleasant job for Luftwaffe pilots: German fighters dominated the skies, and they had no fear that their opponents' planes would rush out and attack them. The weak ground artillery fire had long since been cleared by Stuka, and by the time they came out, the task was often unimaginably simple.

"Tell the escort formation to go back! There are no fighters left in the Netherlands. The navigator, who was sitting in the co-pilot, looked at the ground under his feet and said with a smile: "I really feel sorry for the Dutch, they have already lost, but they still want to save face and do not want to surrender." ”

The engines are still roaring, and the German plane's characteristic fancy cockpit gives the pilot a very good forward view, but only if you have the courage to fly that high.

"Forget it! This is a combat mission, and if you don't feel safe, it will definitely be safe. Let's let those pilot brothers continue to fly on it, at least it will make us safer. ”

"The flight altitude is 6,500 meters, the plane is in good condition, and our flight course is exactly right. It's normal, so normal that I can't encounter such a normal combat environment in an exercise. The navigator threw aside the identification photos of the buildings on the ground and the map, yawned and said, "I heard that the Führer was wounded in the nose by a British hitman the night before yesterday?"

"Nose? I heard he injured himself. The British killer simply fired, and the Führer hit his nose to avoid the attack. At their feet, the weapon operator with the cannon shouted loudly.

"So we'll have a new mission soon, won't we?" the pilot said, "We'll be ordered to take off from Holland and bomb cities in England, but unfortunately we don't have enough range to threaten London, otherwise we'll be able to destroy that city in a few days, and I promise I'll drop the bomb on the Queen's head." ”

"You're too pessimistic, Mr. Driver. The navigator smiled and elbowed the pilot next to him: "We'll be taking off from France soon, and we'll be so close at that time! I need to remind you of a very important thing, it's my job to drop bombs!"

"Yes, I know, I know very well, because if I were a bombardier, I would be the first to drop you down!" said the pilot with a helpless smile.

"Alright! That's the end of the joke, there's still a seven-minute flight to Rotterdam! Turn on the radio! Make sure the weapon system is working!" the navigator began to scrutinize his bomb sight, no longer chattering.

"Attention bombers! Attention bombers! In 5 minutes we will be over the target! All crew members are on alert. The voice of the commander-in-chief of the bomber formation came from the headset: "God bless you! For the Führer!"

"See that airfield down there?" asked the navigator, who was looking at the ground with a bombsight.

"See, you mean the one with a flag on the roof?" replied the pilot casually.

"They're already so close to Rotterdam, why don't they just call it?" the navigator asked.

"Because if we had bombed it first, it would have been easier for them to fight. The pilot piloted intently, and replied after a few seconds.

"That means we're more important, doesn't it?" the navigator adjusted his bomb sight and looked up: "Every time I drop a bomb, I feel like a god, I'm destroying a civilization! I can easily destroy buildings, destroy streets—send countless people to heaven." ”

"You're talking about bomb work! You're just in charge of dropping them. The pilot smiled and said, "And if you talk such nonsense again, I'll drop you down." ”

"Attention all planes! Ahead is the target of this mission, the Dutch city of Rotterdam. Ladies and gentlemen, open the bomb bay and prepare to drop the bomb. ”

As soon as the bomb bay was opened, the bomb bay of the DO-217 bomber slowly opened with the sound of mechanical friction, revealing the dark bomb hanging from the belly.

"Keep heading!" commanded loudly from the headset.

"Descend!" After a moment, perhaps a few minutes later, the commander's voice came from the headset again.

"They're returning fire! They're returning fire with anti-aircraft guns!" one of the pilots reported with an obedient receiver: "I had an anti-aircraft shell explode on my left side, and it didn't hit." ”

"It seems that they don't have many anti-aircraft guns!All the bombers keep in formation!Steady!Steady!Steady!Keep descending!," the commander shouted loudly in his headset.

"We've reached our target!Attack begins!Drop bombs freely!" Suddenly, the order to attack was given.

"Click!" there was a slight noise in the cabin, and the navigator knew that under his operation, a bomb had broken away from the hardpoint in the belly of the plane and landed on the ground.

"No one can save the Dutch! they're dead!" said the navigator, now the bombardier, with a smile, "Go down! ”

With his words, another bomb was dropped on the streets of Rotterdam.

"Bomb 01!" "Bomb 02!"...... Hundreds of bombs fell from the sky, hitting houses in Rotterdam, destroying factories and roads. One building after another collapsed in the fire.

"Stop bombing! Stop bombing all bombers!" The commander's voice came in a hurry: "Air Force Commander Catherine's order! All bombers stop dropping bombs! Close the bomb bay! I repeat it again! Air Force Commander Catherine conveyed the Führer's order, the mission was canceled! All bombers closed the bomb bay! Return immediately!"

"What the hell is going on, Commander! I didn't hear your orders clearly. We were ordered to bomb Rotterdam, and the mission would not be canceled lightly. A pilot confirms the accuracy of the command in his headset.

"You heard me right! I was ordered to lead all the bombers back at once! The Führer himself gave the order to cancel the mission, and I confirmed the cancellation with General Catherine on the radio. The Commander said into the intercom.

"Can I take the liberty of asking why? After all, it is unusual for such a big action to be canceled lightly. The squadron leader of another bomber squadron said in the headset.

"Of course there is no problem. The Queen of the Netherlands has just received the news that the Dutch soldiers have ordered the Dutch soldiers to send weapons. A few hours later, the Dutch front commander would formally hand over the surrender of the Dutch defenders to General Keitel, commander of Army Group B. So the Führer ordered to stop this bombing campaign. The commander explained.

"That's all there is to it, Commander. The squadron leader said helplessly: "I don't have any problems." ”

"Attention all pilots! Heading due east! All return!" commanded the commander in a loud voice.

The roar of the engines became even louder, and throughout the sky, the German bomber groups began to turn. Although it still obscured the sky, it no longer dropped deadly bombs.

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, whose face was pressed against the window, finally breathed a sigh of relief, she looked back at the smiling Merkel and said, "I want to leave a few days late to comfort the people affected by the air raids." ”

"There's no problem with that. Merkel nodded in agreement: "I think General Reinhardt Heydrich, who is in charge of your security in charge of your security, will arrange it for you." You can use the Wehrmacht Honor Guard, which is the most mesmerizing military music honor guard in the world. ”

......

Above the sky, the chatty navigator held his chin with his hand in boredom: "It seems that there is still someone who can save the Dutch." At least our Führer can. ”

"Huh. The pilot ignored him and laughed.

The navigator sighed and continued: "What God could not do, our Führer did. ”