Volume 3 Chapter 32 (1/2)

Volume 3, Chapter 32

Ten o’clock on May 28, 1940. Field airport, Luftwaffe task room.

Colonel Wolfe was holding a pointer and displaying Reinhardt’s new formation on the blackboard behind him.

“Be quiet! Be quiet! This is not your time to express your opinion. Listen to me first!”

Colonel Wolfe glared at the pilot who started to interrupt his explanation. General Reinhardt secured a really decent position for himself. He even got a promotion from lieutenant colonel to a fully-fledged colonel. However, he did think that he’d even get his own wing. Moreover, a veteran flight wing. Although veteran they were not well disciplined.

“Hey, don’t discuss it right now! Listen to me! What’s the problem with you?”

Wolfe felt as if he was a teacher stuck with the runt of the cla.s.s.

“Colonel! I have a question.” A pilot stood up and raised his arm.

“Ah, what’s the problem?” Wolfe said with a slight satisfaction. “Finally, someone that has some communication skills, unlike that Blonde.”

“I’m not sure about the flight plan. The way it’s described is not suitable for us fighters. For example, how do we keep a distance from the enemy?” The pilot said somewhat angrily. ”We are fighter pilots, the closer we are to the enemy the better. How do we fight yet maintain defensive position?”

Wolfe, in fact, was also confused why the General would develop such strange rules. This left him in a bind as to how to answer. Then he heard a voice entering the room.

“Ah, it seems we don’t fully understand the plan. I guess it’s up to me to explain it.” Xu Jun said as he walked in slowly.

“Stand!”

With Wolfe’s cry, the pilots shot up like a spring. Their previous smirks disappearing into nothingness. Xu Jun gave a quick military salute and the pilots neatly returned with a salute also.

Xu Jun then went in front of Wolfe and asked. “Wolfe, how does the position feel?”

“General, it feels great.”

“Haha, it seems you have not tamed these pilots. You have to remember as the leader, the pilots look to you for their duties.”

“Yes, General.”

Xu Jun turned to look towards the group of pilots. With a quick glance, he could tell that they were elite troops. Full of their own personality and pride. From the conversations outside he could gather this much. Their apparent lack of discipline wasn't a large issue in the Luftwaffe as much as it would be in the Army. This was actually normal in people who stood at the top of their fields.

“I heard that you don’t really understand the plan. Allow me to explain your questions. However, this is not the right place to do it. Gentlemen, grab a chair and come with me outside. I have prepared some new toys for you to play with. Hopefully, after seeing them, you’ll understand the plan better.” Then Xu Jun walked out of the task room.

The pilots followed him until they reached a large open field. Where several aircraft were usually parked, however, three heavy trucks replaced them. All piled high with cargo, however, it was all covered with a tarp. From the contours, they could see that it should be boxes underneath.

Xu Jun went next to one of the trucks and nodded to Hans. Xu Jun looked back at the pilots who had arranged themselves into three groups. In accordance with their squadrons.

“Gentlemen, relax, you are the elite that I have personally chosen from the entire Luftwaffe. The time for battle has not arrived, this is just a good talk. Just sit down, I don’t want you to always stand there as you listen to me.” Xu Jun said with a smile.

The pilots laughed and put down their chairs. Xu Jun also sat in a chair that Wolfe brought over. Grabbing a doc.u.ment that Hans prepared, he started to speak.

“I have to apologize for not explaining it to Colonel Wolfe correctly. These things behind me had not arrived so it was hard for me to explain it to him. But now that these things are here, I can personally detail it to all of you.”

Xu Jun stood up and started to walk back and forth in front of the pilots.

“So, the British have been blocked into the port city of Dunkirk by us. Our Army has firmly trapped the two hundred thousand British, Belgian, and French army. We have another two hundred thousand enemy troops surrounded in other areas as well. You could say that our victory is in sight.”

Listening to Xu Jun, the pilots almost let out a burst of exclamation. They were somewhat aware of the scale of the operation but they did not expect that a whole four hundred thousand enemies were surrounded. And the person directing this was General Reinhardt himself. Not to mention that he was also the acting commander of the Luftwaffe. Leaving the pilots with a sense of pride and admiration.

“However, because of the vast number of enemies, it would be too costly for the Army to destroy them by force. I would never allow my soldiers to die in vain. So, I decided to take advantage of the fact that the enemy is exhausted, and force them to surrender. This way, we take only minimal losses to conquer an already defeated army.

Rather, now we’re facing a serious problem. The British would never willingly give up on their soldiers. They have prepared to flee from our grasp by the sea. They know that our navy is not strong enough to completely block the pa.s.sage.

So, I have prepared a strategy to make up for that. Your job is to keep the troops from ever entering the s.h.i.+ps.”

Hearing this, the pilots grew excited and murmured to each other. To perform such an important task would surely grant them great prestige and honor. Xu Jun smiled, he was quite satisfied with the excitement of the men.

“Yes, your task now is to completely cut off the British retreat. I have trust that the elite of the Luftwaffe can do this. However, do not think too lightly of this operation. This will be a big test for the Luftwaffe.

The British would never sit idly for us to bomb them. They still have anti-air capabilities. Plenty of anti-aircraft guns and ammunition. Rather, one of the few things they still have adequate amounts of. Furthermore, the terrain in that region is very complex, there are many areas that they can access the s.h.i.+ps by. Especially in the three kilometers of soft sand, our heavy bombs will be unable to display their power.

We can also a.s.sume that the British sends the elite of their Royal Air Force to provide cover. You will encounter never-before-seen airplane fighters and greater resistance than you have ever witnessed. If you are not fully prepared, I can guarantee that you will pay a heavy price for your negligence. If the lives of my brave fighters are sacrificed to attain victory, it cannot be considered a victory to me.”