The officers and soldiers of the German 722nd Division stationed in the city of Gomel did more than just use money to buy beer. Many of these young soldiers were not married yet, so they left a lot of romantic debts in the occupied areas.
These Wehrmacht soldiers did not fully believe Gobert's propaganda, so it was normal for them to have romantic relationships with women in the occupied territories.
This situation has attracted the attention of Hitler and Himmler, and romantic places dedicated to the entertainment of soldiers in the occupied areas have been established and gradually institutionalized and normalized. However, the occupied areas are too large and there are no longer enough "patriotic German women"
The German men were willing to sacrifice themselves, but instead the occupation forces arrested people everywhere and used them as a tool to vent their anger.
Lawrence's promise cheered up his men. These "loaches" who had been on the front line for two full months needed to vent their long-standing pressure in all aspects.
There are usually many roads from Gomel to the aviation group, because the roads here are deliberately smoothed. Lawrence finally arrived at his final destination at around five o'clock in the afternoon.
On the other hand, Koch had received a phone call from the 707th Division, the content of which made him very curious. Hertzman had informed him that his troops had discovered strange rockets falling down and thought they were Russian weather weapons.
"It's actually a weather weapon? Is it because the Russians have a rich imagination? Or is it my old friend who has a rich imagination?!"
Koch put down the phone. Since they would send people to bring over the so-called "rain rocket", he needed to study it carefully. He believed that it was indeed necessary to pay attention to this matter, because the rain that lasted for many days had a huge impact on the entire country.
A very serious impact on the aviation group.
In this era, many field airports do not have time to be paved with cement. Furthermore, the requirements for airport runways for various types of aircraft in this era are not particularly strict.
When building the airport, we basically relied on ground engineers to drive the land with rollers, or simply use manpower to compact the land. Such an airport can meet the needs of dive bombers, which is equivalent to meeting the needs of the entire Koch Air Group.
Such an airport can also withstand enemy air force attacks. Even if their aerial bombs blow up the artillery shells, the damaged soil will be backfilled and leveled, and the runway will be restored.
As for the biggest enemy, it is the damn rain! A short period of rain will not cause much trouble, but the rain lasts for many days, and some areas of the compacted runway have turned into a quagmire. Even after the rain, the sky clears up, in this still humid world,
It is unrealistic to expect the runway to dry quickly.
Bad weather caused the entire Koch Air Group to stay in bed.
What's even worse is that the aviation power he currently has has been severely reduced!
Everything stems from the war in the direction of Kharkov!
The German army began a large-scale counterattack, and Operation Friedkus was basically successful. The German army was also preparing for a new round of strategic offensive. Therefore, they will once again use their trump card blitzkrieg, the first of which is to move the tanks and aircraft from the rear.
Hit the line.
Therefore, when it just started to rain lightly, all the dive bombers of the Koch Air Group and half of the fighters, together with their pilots and some ground crews, were ordered to integrate into the southern forces.
In Koch's view, this kind of personnel scheduling was on the one hand a sign of ruthlessness in the war, and on the other hand, it was also the dissatisfaction expressed by his superiors about his previous air raid.
After all, six aircraft were damaged during the entire operation. This was a loss caused by fighting against the guerrillas. No matter what reasons he had, his superiors would find it difficult to accept it.
Koch could only accept his fate.
It rained continuously, and all the remaining aircraft were packed into the hangar, and all the pilots could only stay in the dormitories. The bad weather even made no one want to go to Gomel for recreation. They seemed to be forgotten.
It's like being outside the war.
Living in such a comfortable and peaceful life for too long can lead to delusions, so Herzmann's phone call brought Koch back to reality and reminded him of his bad experience of being humiliated by the Soviet army in the swamp.
Lawrence drove himself to the aviation group's station. The wheels of his jeep were covered with mud, and even the skin of the jeep was filthy.
"It's really interesting. How come the environment here is the same as the front line! These people are also stuck in the mud?!"
It was more important to do business. After muttering a few words, he carried the remains of the rocket and went directly to Koch's office under the guidance of the garrison.
After some brief greetings, we quickly got down to business.
Koch finally got the so-called "rain rocket", but he consciously told him that this was not the case at all.
"It seems that our old friend still has a rich imagination. It is incredible to expect such a small rocket to produce continuous rainfall."
"Really! Do you think so?!" Lawrence emphasized, "This thing was made by the Russian 284th Division. It is said that they have also changed their name to the 63rd Army. It is normal for this army to make some weird weapons. We...
…”
"You don't have to say these unfounded things! Look at this rocket. Although I don't know what it does, it must not be the rain. As for the continuous rain in the past few days, this is a pure climatic phenomenon. I hope you
Commander, stop thinking so wildly!"
"But we should also consider the possibility of the Russians controlling the rainfall!"
"Forget it!" Koch rolled his eyes at him: "Are the frontline troops already so afraid of the Russians?! I admit that they are indeed very strong. Do you really naively think that they have some kind of divine power? My God
, this is impossible! However, what is this rocket with a parachute for? I think it may be a flare! As for whether it is a flare, it must be handed over to a professional chemical agency to analyze the composition of the debris in the missile.
Make a judgment."
After all, Koch denied the possibility of the Russians causing rain, and it seems that it also makes some sense as a night-lighting rocket.
Lawrence was completely confused and didn't know what to say.
Koch handed the rocket wreckage to the adjutant and said: "I still welcome you to send this rocket wreckage. We share information with each other. This is the key to victory. It is already evening, I think you can stay here.
, I will prepare a suitable room for you for you and your people to rest."
"No need! I have already chosen the officers' hotel in Gomel. Besides, I haven't been to the city for two months! I have other tasks for today's trip."
"I see. So you plan to go back immediately?!"
"Yes. If there are no other requirements, I should leave after delivering the rocket."
Koch nodded: "In that case, I won't give it away."
The friendship between the aviation group and the 707th Division is not very deep. In terms of friendship, the pilots here have more opportunities to chat and laugh with the officers and soldiers of the 722nd Division.
Lawrence was the commander of a regiment. He personally delivered the rocket wreckage, which fully proved that his division commander attached great importance to this matter. The arrival of Lawrence himself deeply reminded Koch.
After Lawrence left, the entire aviation group quickly held an emergency military meeting.
At the meeting, Koch conducted a simple analysis of the wreckage and made a new decision - to quickly repair the airport, level the area, then fly a White Stork reconnaissance aircraft, and conduct another high-altitude reconnaissance.