In the early morning of July 13, during the battle, Griffin sent a sad telegram to the army headquarters: The Soviet army launched a night attack.
Then, a new telegram was sent: Our army repelled the Soviet night attack.
The two telegrams were only half an hour apart. Wagner stayed up all night. He was actively mobilizing air force. The strength of the Koch Air Group increased greatly with the arrival of two air squadrons on July 12.
, he was very confident about the morning air raid.
Regarding the two urgent telegrams he received, he also misjudged the Soviet army.
"The Soviet army probably lacked stamina. After a long battle, they finally became exhausted. Even if they attacked at night, they could not break through our positions."
With this mentality, Wagner sent a telegram to the front line, praising Griffin's successful interception, and also sent a telegram to Koch to urge that all aircraft must be mobilized to participate in the morning support.
The German Army's Operation Blue Plan began on July 1st, and its attack time lagged behind that plane by about a week.
Objectively speaking, the Soviet army's defense in Donbas was more tenacious in this area, and this time it was delayed for a longer time. When the Kharkov offensive failed, the Soviet army tried its best to build a new line of defense, but how could it be given to them?
There was too much time, and all the generals understood that if the German army continued to attack, the new line of defense would be difficult to stop!
The large-scale military operation codenamed "Blue Plan" finally began on July 1.
The Soviet and German armies, which were fighting fiercely in southern Belarus, all knew that this new battle had broken out. Because the distance was too far, how the battle went had little impact on the battle situation in the Pripet Swamp area.
If so, it was only because some guerrillas destroyed the railways, which reduced material support to the German troops in the south.
For this operation, Koch transferred two aviation squadrons. He suffered from a lack of aircraft and suffered aircraft crashes in subsequent operations.
Finally, the hard days came to an end on July 12th!
Two dive bomber squadrons, a total of thirty fighters, and three Junkers 52 transport aircraft. The newly arrived aircraft filled the empty aviation base for a while, and the transport aircraft even had to park on the runway.
The newly arrived pilots will become Koch's new subordinates. Standing on the roof of the office building, looking at the dazzling array of fighter planes in the base, at this moment, who can say that the Third Reich Air Force is not invincible?
Koch did not have much time to indulge in self-indulgence. He must immediately carry out the orders of his superiors. The two newly arrived squadrons, as well as the existing squadrons, will carry out a large-scale bombing operation on the morning of the 13th.
Now in the ammunition depot of the aviation brigade, all the damp ammunition has been cleaned up, and those who neglected their duties were taken away by the military police. A new batch of ammunition was transported by truck from Gomel Railway Station, including even 1800kg heavy-duty aerial bombs. Out of concern for
Knowing the swampy area, Koch believed that what his troops needed most was 100kg or 250kg aerial bombs.
The two newly arrived squadrons were actually equipped with dive bombers, with a total of ten squadrons.
Koch first convened all the pilots for a pre-war mobilization meeting, and then personally followed the pilots to the runway to inspect all the fighters at close range.
"Haha, it's really different. Paul, look at it, it's actually equipped with aerial cannons."
"Mr. Captain, I can confirm that this is a 37mm cannon. If you install this on a dive bomber, it will not be able to carry more bombs."
The owner of this fighter plane was standing behind Koch, and he immediately pointed out: "Mr. Captain, we fly this kind of fighter plane to have a stronger ability to fight tanks. We were originally going to be sent to Voronezh, because here
The war was urgent, so we were transferred here by surprise."
These words made Koch a little unhappy. He turned around and asked, "What's your name?"
The pilot stood at attention and saluted: "Karl Spaihts, rank of second lieutenant, Bavarian."
"Haha! A Bavarian, Captain of the First Squadron, you are also from Bavaria."
"Munich, specifically."
"Okay, let's talk about these planes. Lieutenant Spaatz, tell me, how much weight can your car carry now?"
"A maximum of two 500kg aerial bombs. Because there are no external hardpoints on the wings, they can only be hung side by side on both sides of the auxiliary fuel tank."
"Sure enough, the effect of bombing will be weakened by aircraft guns."
"Indeed, the attack capability against tanks has been greatly enhanced." Speights said proudly: "Although it is only a 37mm gun, the Soviet top armor cannot stop it at all."
The German military equipment has developed more pragmatically, which Koch likes to see. But will aerial guns be of great help to tomorrow's battles? Koch still believes more in the power of aerial bombs.
Four of the ten newly arrived dive bomber teams are equipped with aerial cannons. In this way, those with aerial cannons will be able to mount two 500kg bombs, and those without aerial cannons can mount two 250kg aerial bombs on the wings.
, a 500kg aerial bomb is mounted on the belly of the aircraft.
This was the plan. When the ammunition depot was emptied, Koch found out helplessly that he could not use aerial bombs as planned. Although the 1800kg Big Mac was a waste of ammunition against wild targets, he still gritted his teeth and let the fighter plane mount it. Because
, there are not many 500kg aerial bombs, but there are a lot of 100kg and 50kg aerial bombs.
After some adjustments, as night fell, a large number of bombs were delivered to the airport, and all ground crews began the most critical work. They rigorously inspected each aircraft, checking the performance of the engine, throttles, fuel tanks, and even
Check the cockpit glass.
The task of loading ammunition for fighter planes is the most stressful, especially three rounds of 1,800kg giant bombs, one of which is so powerful that the shock wave sweeps across a football field! If something goes wrong, for example, an aerial bomb accidentally explodes, it is no exaggeration to say that
, the entire aviation base will turn into a sea of fire.
This night, no surprises occurred.
It is already three o'clock in the morning on July 13th, and the dark sky is slightly blue. Today will be a sunny day, and the pilots who have had a short rest will get up immediately.
Koch, whose eyes were bloodshot, had not slept all night. He stood on the roof of the command building, feeling the breeze from the south. The stars in the sky were still brilliant, which meant that it was a sunny day. It was a perfect day to launch an air raid.
.
"Haha, thirty-seven fighter planes of various types, three reconnaissance planes, and three transport planes. A total of three 1800kg aerial bombs, ten 500kg aerial bombs, thirty 250kg aerial bombs, and sixty 100kg aerial bombs. The Russians,
We're going to bomb the whole area and you go to hell!"
This air assistance operation was codenamed "Avenger". The German army prepared an "explosion gift package" of 24 tons of aerial bombs for the "Avenger" operation. This number made all pilots participating in the operation full of confidence!
Based on the reports from the frontline troops, Koch learned the approximate location of the Soviet troops. So what if there was forest cover? Since they had gathered a large number of personnel to confront their own troops and conduct large-scale bombings, they would definitely kill many people. He estimated that,
This time the combat air force will once again severely damage the so-called Soviet 63rd Army.
The first ray of dawn finally broke through the horizon, and all the pilots gathered urgently. They gathered in the cafeteria to have breakfast. The base ran up, and all the aircraft were towed by half-track motorcycles. They lined up and waited for the pilots to take their seats.
, took off as planned.
The Luftwaffe was ready. Unfortunately, Yang Mingzhi knew nothing about the German "Avengers" operation. At dawn, he was still sleeping soundly.
It is impossible for the German army to launch operations at four o'clock in the morning, even if the sun has already risen.
Sunlight causes the earth to heat up, and the temperature causes fog to rise from forests and rivers. The morning fog is not dense, and it does not affect the takeoff of aircraft at all, but it does affect ground attacks.
The fog will eventually dissipate, and the departure time has been set - seven o'clock in the morning.