Chapter 21: The Resilient Anti-Aircraft Umbrella
Leaving the anti-aircraft bunker, the blast of heat hit the two reckless German officers head-on, as if threatening to roast them dry. The pungent smell of gunpowder filled the air, causing every breath to trigger a reflexive rejection in their lungs and nasal passages. In this regard, Logan was particularly resilient compared to Schultz.
If not for wearing gas masks, Logan doubted he could endure another minute in such an environment!
The bombs falling in the distance resembled giant hammers pounding the ground relentlessly. Amidst the shockwaves, exposed individuals felt a surge of blood rushing to their heads, as if they could spit blood at any moment. Walking along the corridor for a dozen steps, various grains of sand and gravel moved swiftly through the air, hitting the helmet luckily, but sometimes stinging like needles when hitting the hands or body!
Slightly tilting his head upward, Logan saw a twin-engine British bomber flying overhead from a height of over a hundred meters. Not only could he see the circular emblem of the Royal Air Force, but even the unretracted rear landing gear was clearly visible!
From an artistic perspective, such scenes of war were magnificent!
However, from a military perspective, such scenes meant destruction, slaughter, and a rapidly rising casualty count.
Which commander would want to see the enemy's aircraft pouring down on their territory?
Back on the ground, Logan gestured to Schultz to follow him, and the two hurriedly ran along the British trenches towards the eastern side—Major von Künsal had chosen a British bunker as his temporary headquarters. Considering that a Panzer IV tank could breach a reinforced concrete structure, defending against direct hits from aerial bombs was impossible. Hence, Logan felt somewhat anxious along the way.
The scene outside was no different from what he had seen through the observation port earlier: flames and thick smoke filled the field of view, making it difficult to confirm whether the three runways were intact. Not far away, an anti-aircraft gun was still firing into the air, with most of the sandbag walls collapsed, and several individuals wearing German uniforms lying nearby, either prone or supine.
Facing the swarming British bombers and the incessant bombardment, the gunners of Hermann Göring's regiment bravely carried out their duties. This impressed Logan, adding to his admiration. After all, on this nearly barren airfield, apart from the long runways, what attracted enemy attacks the most were these anti-aircraft positions!
Thanks to the hard work of the British in the past two months, Logan and Schultz finally crossed the front line unharmed and arrived at a mushroom-shaped bunker, half underground and half aboveground. The British had left behind two Vickers heavy machine guns, but such weapons were ineffective against the British bombers outside!
"Hey, Major, it's great to see you're okay!" Logan exclaimed loudly, brushing off the dust from his shoulders.
Major von Künsal turned his head, surprise evident in his eyes, but the current situation did not allow him much time to think. He spoke harshly, "The situation is dire! Dozens of British planes are coming, my soldiers are decreasing every second, and what are our fighter pilots doing?"
"Engaging in fierce aerial combat!" Logan replied without hesitation.
"Combat? Then why haven't I seen many British planes shot down? Instead, our soldiers have to endure enemy bombings and strafing without any defense!" Major von Künsal grumbled like an angry bear.
Logan calmly took off his helmet, shaking off at least a handful of sand from it.
"Since we've come to the Isle of Wight, we must be prepared to counter the British Air Force. Our planes take 30 minutes to fly from France, while the British only need 10 minutes! Because this mission is so daunting, I told the Führer: only Göring's regiment is capable of handling it! And until now, I still believe my judgment was correct!"
Such words clearly hit a nerve with the Air Force Major in front of him, who looked at the young Air Force Colonel with a peculiar gaze. Unusual individuals have unusual qualities. Not only did he come up with such a crazy plan, but he also made the Führer and the High Command go crazy along with him!
Crazy!
That was the most appropriate word Major von Künsal could think of before he arrived.
"Oh, we got one down!" A soldier facing the breach in the bunker shouted excitedly, and the officers quickly turned to look. Almost directly above the runway, a single-engine twin-engine British bomber, emitting dense black smoke, plummeted to the ground. Clearly, its left engine had taken a heavy hit. Due to its relatively shallow angle of descent and low altitude, it did not explode upon landing but crossed the runway with tremendous inertia and slid into the nearby grass.
Witnessing this scene, Logan suddenly recalled scenes from science fiction movies where heroes shot down monstrous dragons, spectacular and full of heroic spirit!
The clumsy "dragon" had just come to a stop, and the British pilot inside didn't have time to escape at all. With a loud bang, it turned into a burning firebird in a violent explosion. It seemed that there was quite a lot of fuel supposed to support their return to their own airfield...
"Well done, keep it up! Bring them all down!" It was like watching one's own team being passively beaten on the field, but suddenly scoring a beautiful counterattack goal. Colonel von Känsäl waved his fist with the fervor of a fan, even though at this point he couldn't contact every anti-aircraft position.
As if inspired by him, not long after, another British bomber was hit by anti-aircraft firepower, trailing long black smoke before finally crashing into the fields south of the airfield, followed by a satisfying roar!
Logan looked northward, where another batch of low-flying British bombers was approaching, so he shouted, "Concentrate firepower on those that haven't dropped bombs yet!"
"I know that!" Von Känsäl grumbled discontentedly, then snatched the phone from his adjutant, "This is Von Känsäl, everyone listen up, start firing northwards at full force, set the fuses to the shortest! Fire, full speed fire!"
Logan didn't know how many anti-aircraft guns were still under the command of this major at this point, but in a moment, the frequency of gunfire coming from nearby and afar indeed increased. Looking further north, the dense black clouds blooming in low altitude became even denser. Just as Logan was observing through binoculars, a Brenheim cockpit was directly hit by a shell, and it fell like a headless fly, giving him a good spectacle!
Seeing such a scene, Schultz couldn't help but praise, "Great, keep it up!"
The major continued to wave his fist the size of a pot, "Boys, let the British learn how powerful our Göring Corps is!"
Despite losing another squadron, the remaining British bombers showed no signs of retreat in the face of suddenly intensified ground firepower. The bombs dropped by the leading bombers still accurately hit the runway, but the ones behind suddenly panicked, dropping bombs and pulling up their noses to climb.
Logan turned to another direction and saw a large group, at least forty to fifty, of German fighter planes flying in from the direction of France at low altitude.
"Oh, we got one down!" A soldier facing the breach in the bunker shouted excitedly, and the officers quickly turned to look. Almost directly above the runway, a single-engine twin-engine British bomber, emitting dense black smoke, plummeted to the ground. Clearly, its left engine had taken a heavy hit. Due to its relatively shallow angle of descent and low altitude, it did not explode upon landing but crossed the runway with tremendous inertia and slid into the nearby grass.
Witnessing this scene, Logan suddenly recalled scenes from science fiction movies where heroes shot down monstrous dragons, spectacular and full of heroic spirit!
The clumsy "dragon" had just come to a stop, and the British pilot inside didn't have time to escape at all. With a loud bang, it turned into a burning firebird in a violent explosion. It seemed that there was quite a lot of fuel supposed to support their return to their own airfield...
"Well done, keep it up! Bring them all down!" It was like watching one's own team being passively beaten on the field, but suddenly scoring a beautiful counterattack goal. Colonel von Känsäl waved his fist with the fervor of a fan, even though at this point he couldn't contact every anti-aircraft position.
As if inspired by him, not long after, another British bomber was hit by anti-aircraft firepower, trailing long black smoke before finally crashing into the fields south of the airfield, followed by a satisfying roar!
Logan looked northward, where another batch of low-flying British bombers was approaching, so he shouted, "Concentrate firepower on those that haven't dropped bombs yet!"
"I know that!" Von Känsäl grumbled discontentedly, then snatched the phone from his adjutant, "This is Von Känsäl, everyone listen up, start firing northwards at full force, set the fuses to the shortest! Fire, full speed fire!"
Logan didn't know how many anti-aircraft guns were still under the command of this major at this point, but in a moment, the frequency of gunfire coming from nearby and afar indeed increased. Looking further north, the dense black clouds blooming in low altitude became even denser. Just as Logan was observing through binoculars, a Brenheim cockpit was directly hit by a shell, and it fell like a headless fly, giving him a good spectacle!
Seeing such a scene, Schultz couldn't help but praise, "Great, keep it up!"
The major continued to wave his fist the size of a pot, "Boys, let the British learn how powerful our Göring Corps is!"
Despite losing another squadron, the remaining British bombers showed no signs of retreat in the face of suddenly intensified ground firepower. The bombs dropped by the leading bombers still accurately hit the runway, but the ones behind suddenly panicked, dropping bombs and pulling up their noses to climb.
Logan turned to another direction and saw a large group, at least forty to fifty, of German fighter planes flying in from the direction of France at low altitude.