Arc of Gunfire

While Wang Zhong was planning his own small offensive plan, the general trend of the war was also quietly changing.

At 1 a.m. on the 22nd, in the Eagle's Nest in the territory of the Proson Empire.

"It's already early morning on the 22nd," Proson Emperor Reinhard looked at Chief of Staff William Celt, "Why hasn't the Moravian Cavalry arrived yet? Didn't they say they would arrive on the 19th?"

Chief of Staff William Celt looked at Grand Duke Meyer.

The Duke began to wipe his sweat.

Chief of Staff Celt said: "Since we began to encircle the enemy's cluster on the seashore, the enemy has intensified the bombing of our transportation system, and the fierce bombing has seriously interfered with transportation.

"And the wanton massacre of civilians by the internal security forces has increased the confrontational psychology of our employees, causing the recovery speed of the railway system to be greatly reduced. "

Celt's meaning was very clear. It was the fault of the Air Force and the Internal Affairs Force. Both of them were the direct descendants of your Majesty the Emperor. We can't blame us.

Grand Duke Meyer hurriedly explained: "The enemy has deployed heavy bombers, which are all-metal heavy bombers that we have never encountered before. Our 109's current firepower is too difficult to shoot down this kind of flying fortress with heavy armor, and we have to worry about the enemy's defensive firepower.

"The firepower of their aircraft is stronger than the heavy bombers we have improved from water bombers!

"For this reason, I have instructed the technical department to develop 109 equipped with 30mm and 20mm cannons. In addition, the Focke-Wulf 190 fighter will soon be put into service. At that time, it should be able to effectively deal with the threat of heavy bombers..."

The emperor walked up to Grand Duke Meyer and looked at him with his hands behind his back: "To be honest, you just said that we can't deal with the enemy's new bombers at all, right?"

"For the time being." Grand Duke Meyer replied.

The emperor was obviously very disappointed with this answer and shook his head again and again: "A new weapon will change the entire battle situation. No, I don't believe this kind of thing. You have something else to say."

Grand Duke Meyer thought for a moment and replied: "The Ante Air Force has also...changed its combat methods. In the past, they tended to use low-altitude close-range support aircraft such as the Il-2 to attack our combat forces."

Celtic Chief of Staff: "This kind of attack is not a big threat. Only the most elite Ante pilots can have sufficient attack efficiency, and most of the Ante pilots are rookies with less than 200 hours of flight time.

"The Il-2 is not accurate at all. We can only use quantity to make up for the low hit rate, but the effect is still limited."

Grand Duke Meyer: "But recently we found that the number of Il-2 appearances has decreased significantly. Ant seems to be gradually giving up this aircraft that was favored by their predecessor. A large number of attack aircraft regiments have replaced the new aircraft supported by the United States, and the number of Ant's own Pe-2 has increased significantly."

Emperor Reinhard: "Are you saying that the enemy has abandoned the Il-2, an aircraft that we have assessed to be of poor performance, and turned to produce the Pe-2, which we think is a great threat?"

Grand Duke Meyer: "Yes, the Pe-2 air strikes our front-line transportation hubs, assembly points, transfer stations, etc. Then the new four-round heavy bombardment attacks important targets such as the train dispatching yard and locomotive maintenance factory in our rear.

"Now the air defense pressure on the Eastern Front has increased significantly. We are planning to mobilize the fighter wing on the Western Front to the Eastern Front to serve as the air defense of key points-"

At this time, the air defense alarm suddenly sounded.

Everyone looked up and looked at the ceiling.

Emperor Reinhard waited for a few seconds, turned his head and asked: "What's going on? Why did the air defense alarm sound? ”

The emperor’s guard shook his head: “We don’t know. Please allow me to call and ask.”

“Ask quickly!”

But before the guard could call, the emperor’s palace steward opened the door and came in: “Your Majesty, the radar detected a large area of ​​bright spots, which may be enemy aircraft.”

The emperor turned his head to look at Grand Duke Meyer: “Confirm the situation quickly!”

Grand Duke: “Night fighters are deployed near the coastline to protect our ports. The enemy’s night air raids have always been aimed at ports and ships in ports that can be used to cross the sea.”

Marshal Celt: “It may just be a radar failure, although I think the radar used to defend the Eagle’s Nest is unlikely to fail. "

The emperor stared at Grand Duke Meyer for a few seconds, then turned to the window and pulled open the curtains.

The lights of Baden could be seen outside, and the lights of the entire city illuminated the night sky as bright as day.

The air defense alarm had been sounded, but the city had no intention of curfew, because up to now, there had been no precedent for bombing in the heart of the empire.

Neither the grassroots staff of the empire nor the common people had any awareness of air defense.

The shrill alarm sounded, but the city was still full of singing and dancing.

At this time, a large group of attendants rushed into the map room where the emperor and others were with nervous expressions and turned off all the lights.

The emperor asked: "What's wrong?"

Attendant: "The air defense observation post heard the roar of the fleet in the air, and the enemy air raid is coming!"

At this time, Grand Duke Meyer, who had run to get the phone at some point, also put down the phone, looked at the emperor and said: "Several radar stations have found bright spots. They took advantage of our thinking inertia-the coastal radar thought the bright spots were foil strips dropped by Mosquito aircraft, but it turned out to be a real fleet. "

The emperor stared at Meyer for several seconds and said angrily: "Plossen has spent so much money over the years to raise a bunch of rubbish like you. Your attack cannot force the United Kingdom to surrender, and your defense cannot protect the Empire's homeland!

"Today the United Kingdom planes dropped bombs. Do you know how long it will take to restore the confidence of the people? Do you know?"

The Grand Duke was silent for a few seconds and said, "I think the propaganda minister can handle this problem."

"This is not a question of whether it can be handled or not." The emperor stepped forward and helped the Grand Duke sort out the ankh on his collar. It was the highest-level ankh that was only issued once in the entire empire.

"I am disappointed," said the Emperor.

The lights of the city outside the window began to disappear one by one. It was obvious that the city of Baden was cutting off the main gates in various areas and implementing light control.

Emperor: "Do you know why the enemy went all the way deep into the hinterland and bombed the city of Baden first? Huh? Think about it!"

Outside the window, the beams of searchlights tore through the night sky, as if turning the sky of Baden into a stage.

The spotlight is looking for the "actors" who are about to perform.

The emperor finished arranging the cross, and gently pulled it, letting the medal's ribbon gently catch the grand duke's fat neck: "Because this is a demonstration against me! They knew I was here, and they deliberately performed it for me to see!"

Outside the window, anti-aircraft guns opened fire, and small black flowers exploded in the sky.

Emperor: "You have disappointed me time and time again. Remember, I can't live without the air force, but I can live without you."

The Air Force is an emerging service. Although some children of the Junkers have joined the Air Force because they like flying, in general the air force is a blank field for the Junkers. It is also the vanguard of the emperor's fight against the Junkers.

If the vanguard does not fight well, it will naturally shake the emperor's prestige.

Of course, the glorious victory in the conquest of Europa kept the emperor's prestige in the army and among the people of Prosin still at its peak, and it would not collapse because of this incident, but the embankment of a thousand miles collapsed in an ant nest.

The emperor stared at the Grand Duke, the corners of his mouth twitching.

At this time, flares lit up in the sky outside the window, as if two supernovae suddenly appeared in the starry sky.

That was the target indicator dropped by the lead aircraft of the United Kingdom's night bomber group.

The next moment, flashes of light illuminated the darkness.

The flash of light outside the window outlines the emperor's figure again and again.

The emperor stared at the Grand Duke with his bloodshot eyes.