Chapter 244 The French Doomsday (14)

At this moment, German engineers on the front lines were still struggling to construct pontoon bridges across the Meuse River under the illumination of searchlights.

During the original timeline's German invasion of France, the main tanks were still the Panzer II and III, with quite a few Panzer I tanks. Constructing a sixteen-ton pontoon bridge was sufficient for armored units to cross the Meuse.

Now, the German Jackal tanks weighed over twenty tons, requiring the construction of heavy pontoon bridges weighing thirty tons to allow these larger vehicles to pass.

Although this slowed down the construction progress, it had its advantages. The Meuse River had a swift current, and the light pontoon bridges swayed significantly. Heavier bridges provided better stability, allowing armored units to pass through quickly and safely.

Just then, the air raid siren wailed again in the sky. A staff officer rushed into the frontline command post. "General, our radar has detected an incoming fleet of aircraft! It appears to be a medium-sized bombing fleet from the Allies, and there seems to be no fighter escort!"

Despite the brutality of war, war, in a way, often acted as a catalyst for technology and civilization, introducing advancements such as radar, computers, and nuclear energy.

It's challenging to pinpoint the exact inventor of the first radar, but in later years, it was generally acknowledged that the earliest military radar in use was developed by the British, with significant contributions from British scientist Robert Watson-Watt.

In the 1930s, as the German Luftwaffe grew stronger, the British, feeling the increasing pressure from the neighboring empire across the sea, needed to find an effective means to counter this formidable air force. They aimed to establish a highly efficient anti-aircraft force that could render enemy pilots incapacitated, stop their engines, or even detonate their planes—a "death ray".

The British authorities turned to expert physicist Watson-Watt, hoping he could find a solution. Watson-Watt dedicated extensive research to the matter and found that using electromagnetic radiation to harm enemy pilots was theoretically feasible. However, he also discovered that although microwave radiation could be emitted into the sky using a magnetron, it was challenging to penetrate cumulus clouds. Additionally, the energy beam was difficult to hit enemy aircrafts with, and even if it did, the energy decayed, making it insufficient to kill the pilots.

The principle behind this "death ray" was similar to a microwave oven. The difficulty Watson-Watt faced was the inability to create a massive "microwave oven".

Thus, Watson-Watt proposed another idea: using the magnetron to emit radio waves and installing a device to receive reflected waves. This way, aircraft movements could be detected from a considerable distance. Following this concept, the equipment he researched could observe enemy planes up to 100 miles away. This marked the creation of the world's first radar.

While Germany also recognized the importance of radar, their magnetron technology was lacking, and their radar couldn't be miniaturized. Moreover, in terms of display and detection range, it fell short of British equipment.

Fortunately, Wilhelm had prepared for this early on, recruiting talent from Britain and the United States. Currently, Germany's radar had been mobilized. The "Hawkeye I", a vehicle-mounted radar modified from the Jackal tank chassis, rolled out of the Ardennes forest this evening and was deployed on nearby high ground. Although this mobile vehicle-mounted radar had much lower power than large radar stations, it achieved a detection range of 60 kilometers, which was quite impressive.

"These fellows just won't let us have a moment of peace." General Guderian, who was studying the nearby terrain in front of the map, furrowed his brows involuntarily. "Is Unit X in position?"

"They are already in position."

Guderian nodded in satisfaction and issued the order to implement blackout control.

The reason the Anglo-French coalition had to conduct nighttime bombings was also out of necessity.

Earlier in the day, there was a massive aerial battle over the Sudan Fortress, with the German Air Force deploying over eight hundred sorties to intercept the surprise attack by the Anglo-French coalition.

Under interception from Bf 109F fighters, Mosquito aircraft, and ground anti-aircraft fire, the Anglo-French coalition suffered a loss of nearly two hundred fighter planes, and the entire bomber fleet was annihilated.

At this point, the Royal Air Force stationed in France, originally consisting of 474 aircraft, was left with only 206 operational planes, with severe losses in the bomber category.

Receiving this report on losses, Air Marshal Hugh Dowding, Commander of the Royal Air Force Fighter Command, and Air Marshal Arthur Harris, Commander of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command, almost spewed out blood simultaneously.

It's essential to note that as long as resources permit, factories can continuously produce aircraft. However, pilots are different; they require learning various skills, expensive training, and sometimes the cost of training pilots is even higher than that of producing fighter planes.

What's more heartbreaking is that if the aerial combat occurs in one's controlled airspace, parachuting pilots, as long as they are uninjured, can immediately pilot a new aircraft back into the battle. However, both large-scale aerial battles so far have taken place in German-controlled airspace. Consequently, when an aerial battle erupts, German ground forces search thoroughly for parachuting Allied pilots.

These parachuting Allied pilots, either captured or killed during resistance, are precious elite individuals selected and rigorously trained before the outbreak of war. Replenishing their numbers is no easy task, and losing so many at once significantly damages the morale of the British Empire's air force.

Air Marshal Arthur Harris, filled with anticipation, looked at the intelligence officer. "Did the bombing achieve the expected results?" Even if the bombing achieved the anticipated effects, they would still be in the red. After all, pontoon bridges are not like stone or steel bridges; even if destroyed, they can be quickly repaired.

"It achieved some results..." The intelligence officer hesitated for a moment before providing this ambiguous answer. "However, the specific situation needs further confirmation."

In the sky, the Mosquito, agile and heavily armed, pursued the Anglo-French bomber fleet, while on the ground, anti-aircraft fire created an intense web of firepower. The Anglo-French coalition's bombers, even when dropping bombs, did so haphazardly. Ultimately, the entire bomber fleet was wiped out, and whether they hit the targets remained unclear.

"!!" Arthur Harris, filled with heartache, decisively ordered that the stationed French bombing units operate only at night. They could no longer bear the enormous losses caused by these suicidal combat missions.

In France, General Gamelin, upon receiving the results of the battle, nearly fainted. "Oh, God, why is it like this?!" Compared to the losses of the British air force, France's losses were even more unbearable. So far, France had lost more than 700 aircrafts and a greater number of crew members.

However, no matter how shocked and regretful they were, the German pontoon bridges on the Meuse River had to be destroyed. The Anglo-French coalition had no choice but to grit their teeth and carry out nighttime bombings.

It was truly a tough decision. After all, daytime precision bombing was challenging enough; conducting nighttime bombings in pitch darkness was even more formidable. The most critical issue was that the target was not a city but a pontoon bridge less than four meters wide on a river. If they could hit it, then may God bless them.

But they had no other option. Once the main German armored forces crossed the Meuse River, the outcome of the war would be almost determined, and the side losing would undoubtedly be France, as the British could retreat and defend their homeland.

As the order for blackout control was issued, the German landing area instantly plunged into a silent darkness.

Now, the navigators of the Allied bomber fleet faced a considerable challenge.

Ahead, it was pitch black, with no visible target markings!

The most significant advantage of nighttime bombing is that there is no need to worry about interception by enemy fighters since slow-moving bombers are like sitting ducks in front of fighter planes.

However, the most significant challenge of nighttime bombing is finding the target.

"Continue to lower altitude.", the air commander decisively ordered. "Descend to an altitude of one thousand meters."