Steel Soviet Union

When I think of the "tragic experience" that almost cost me my life, I can't help but shake my head.

At the beginning of the war, Rudel, who was a fledgling and had never had any actual experience in ground attack, was not like the young German pilot in front of him. He had an attitude of extreme contempt for the inferior Soviets claimed by the German propaganda agency.

But there are some things that can only be repented of and repented of after one has personally experienced them.

Nowadays, Rudel no longer dares to neglect the ground anti-aircraft firepower of his opponent Soviet Army. Rudel, who has personally experienced death passing by him, firmly believes that the goddess of fate will never favor the same person all the time. He can only face himself. Only the true strength of the opponent can ultimately survive in this cruel war. Rudel himself is convinced of this conclusion.

Seeing the young pilot in front of him who still had a playful smile on his face and didn't take the battle seriously at all, he couldn't help but shook his head. Rudel, who was a talkative and joking person in his spare time, was now about to fight with someone like him. At the critical moment when the Soviets clashed again, they couldn't laugh no matter what.

Rudel, who did not want the mistakes he had made and everything he had experienced to happen again to his comrades, took a step forward with a sigh.

"Felix, don't be too contemptuous of those Soviets. Although I don't look down on their ideology and the crappy Bolshevik regime, these Russians are indeed better than what we have experienced before. It’s too much better than any opponent.”

"If you don't want to die in the Russian sky, you'd better put away your self-righteousness. I don't want to attend your memorial ceremony after the mission is over. Do you still remember how Ebel died last month? The entire plane When it hits the ground, it won't even destroy the parachute, but it will turn into a ball of fire along with the bomb. I don't think you are expecting this kind of result, right?"

Rudel's proactive persuasion was obviously unexpected and a bit unexpected. The young pilot was smacking his lips and moving up and down, but still didn't know how to respond. He was stunned for a long time and was speechless.

Reminiscent of the scene where the German pilot named Ebel in Rudel's mouth plunged into the Soviet position with his plane and turned into a fireball. At that time, he was driving his plane soaring in the low altitude of 800 meters. Witnessing all this with his own eyes, the young pilot couldn't help feeling frightened and swallowed his saliva.

"I thought it was because Ebel's own driving skills were not up to par. Didn't everyone always say that he was a skipper who sneaked out of the aviation school? Is it really because of the Soviets?"

The idiotic words spoken by the young pilot whom Rudel called Felix were obviously very offensive.

A group of German pilots who were laughing and chatting around them immediately stopped talking after hearing this. Second Lieutenant Eber, who graduated from the aviation school among the top ten in the same period, was definitely considered an elite even if he was not an ace. The tragedy of being torn down by the barrage of Soviet anti-aircraft machine guns due to his carelessness was something that no one expected. The only thing they didn't expect was that this little idiot Felix actually gave him the nickname he usually used as a joke. Seriously.

"It's better to stop using dead people as teaching materials, Rudel. Even if it is to teach novices, it seems inappropriate."

Faced with the sudden reminder from his comrade, Rudel, who knew that the words he had just spoken were indeed somewhat disrespectful to the deceased, nodded in response.

"I understand, but I don't want this kid to make the same mistake as Ebel again. It would be too cheap for those Russians to die like this. Am I right? Felix."

"Well"

Compared to Rudel, who already had proficient combat experience, he was just a fledgling rookie. Felix, who had just been transferred from the rear in Germany to the front line as a reserve pilot to fill the shortage, had only flown single-digit sorties. Even including those Soviet tanks that had been abandoned, they only achieved less than ten results. The average number of Soviet tanks destroyed in one sortie was really unsatisfactory among the powerful German Air Force. Serve on skewers.

Reminiscent of his embarrassing and abnormal achievements and repeated poor mistakes in his past experience, Felix realized that he was not in the same dimension as Rudel, who had already made great achievements in battles, and he immediately lowered his head in shame.

"I know where I made my mistake, Lieutenant Rudel, and I promise not to make the same mistake again, not ever, ever."

"Um"

Rudel patted the shoulder and encouraged the young pilot in front of him like a child who had done something wrong. Rudel, who was about to say something again, was interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps. A man had just been killed. The ground staff, who was tired and out of breath after trotting all the way over after piling up a large amount of snow, then spoke.

"Captain Brücker, the snow clearing and de-icing work on the runway has been completed. You and your group can take off at any time. Dukeman has already pushed all your aircraft out of the hangar and is ready. "

The officer named Captain Brücker was the commander of the 3rd Group of the 2nd Ground Attack Wing where Rudel served. This man had been driving a Stuka to spread the scream of death since the beginning of the German blitzkrieg in Poland. The captain who arrived in Warsaw was already a veteran ground attack veteran with very high qualifications and experience. Rudel, who had only officially piloted a Stuka on ground attack missions since the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, learned a lot from him.

"I understand. Thank you for your busy work, Sergeant Dobler. Remember to come to my dormitory when you get back from this sortie. I will bring Rudel and treat you to a drink."

After hearing this, the ground sergeant smiled as expected. Sergeant Doppler, who had already formed a tacit understanding with Captain Brücker, could not remember how many times he had heard this. Such farewell words.

"It's still the same, Captain Brücker, good Munich beer and Bavarian weisswurst. Only you can get these good things. Remember to prepare double portions for me when the time comes."

Captain Brücker, who had already formed a tacit understanding, smiled slightly after hearing this. The Luftwaffe, which has high-quality supply quotas and an exclusive air supply line between Germany and the front line, has never lacked these rare flavors of hometown.

"Of course, I may prepare two bottles of French wine for you. You should also change your taste that has not changed for several years."