The Rise of the Third Reich

By September 6, 1939, Luftwaffe aircraft dominated the Polish skies. Due to the emergence of the Fokker Zero, a long-range escort fighter, the Polish Air Force's performance was worse than in history. The P.11 and P.7 could have relied on mid- and low-altitude flexibility to tangle with the BF-109. But now that we have encountered the Fokker Zero, the king that can fight at medium and low altitudes, the only result is to be shot down.

So when Major General Theodore von Hipple soared above the clouds in a Ju52 transport plane, he was not worried about the threat of Polish fighter jets at all - if they existed, the 36 Fokker Zeros serving as escort missions The formula will also solve them very easily.

However, he was still somewhat uneasy about this airborne landing behind enemy lines. Because the airborne destination, Lviv, was too far to the east - this airborne landing was more of a "strategic mission" than a "tactical mission." The purpose of bringing the war to the Polish Ukrainian Free State was to stimulate Stalin and force the Soviet Union to immediately declare war on Poland, thereby greatly improving the strategic isolation situation Germany currently faces.

Therefore, the airborne troops must take great risks!

The risk not only comes from Lviv's geographical location being too far to the east, which prevents German ground forces from joining the airborne troops in a short time, but also from the fact that Germany does not have enough transport aircraft to airdrop enough troops to Lviv at one time. Wolf.

Currently, the largest number of transport aircraft in the Luftwaffe is the Ju52. This simple and sturdy aircraft is easy to produce and relatively cheap. Therefore, it was favored by the German Air Force before the war, and more than 1,000 aircraft were ordered. They were produced by the Junkers Company and the BF-FK consortium. Currently, more than 500 aircraft have been delivered. 394 of them will participate in the Lviv airdrop.

However, the Ju52's carrying capacity is far from satisfactory, far inferior to four-engine transport aircraft such as the Ju90 and Fokker F.36. A Ju52 can only carry a little over 4 tons of cargo, 13 paratroopers or 18 infantrymen. In other words, a total of 394 Ju52s could only airdrop more than 7,000 paratroopers to Lviv. In the actual airdrop operation in Lviv, these 394 Ju52s carried about 6,000 fully armed paratroopers (from the Paratroopers Group). 1st Regiment and 1st Miuta Regiment) and 240 tons of cargo (mainly ammunition and supplies).

In addition, the Luftwaffe also mobilized 232 He-111 medium bombers to tow the DFS-230H aircraft. This H glider has a net weight of only 860 kilograms and can carry up to 1,230 kilograms of cargo or 8 fully armed soldiers.

1,856 officers and soldiers of the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment commanded by SS Colonel von Stockhausen were riding in these H gliders. These 1,856 men are not all the personnel and equipment of the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment, but only the three infantry battalions of the Grossdeutschland Regiment. The regiment is not an ordinary infantry regiment, but has an artillery battalion (4 companies of infantry guns, 4 88mm infantry guns, 12 37mm anti-tank guns, 6 75mm mountain guns carried by special vehicles) and an assault engineering battalion independent group.

As for the artillery battalion and assault engineering battalion of the Grossdeutschland Regiment, they were not included in the first wave of airdrop troops. According to the plan, after the first wave of airdrop troops captures Lviv Airport, they will be airlifted to Lviv by Ju52 transport aircraft. Moreover, before the German armored forces (19th Armored Corps) raided near Lviv, the more than 9,000 people in the "Miuta Cluster" could only rely on airlift and airdrops to maintain operations.

And their enemies are likely to number in the tens of thousands!

At this time, the loudspeaker on the plane suddenly rang, and the voice of the Ju52 captain came: "We have reached the target!"

…

Lviv has arrived!

Below Major General Theodore von Hipple's plane is Lviv Airport, the only large airport in the Ukrainian Free State. Because the Poles concentrated all their aircraft on the western battlefield, there was not a single aircraft on this dual-use airport, and there were no advanced anti-aircraft guns. There were only a few old anti-aircraft guns left over from World War I. A squadron of Fokker Zeros dropped 30 kilograms of bombs on the anti-aircraft artillery position (a Fokker Zero can carry 2 bombs), and fired randomly with machine guns and cannons for a while, completely suppressing the ground. of firepower.

The airdrop operation can begin.

Major General Hipple's plane was shaking constantly, and all the paratroopers had stood up and checked their equipment for the last time. Miuta special forces and paratroopers are the elite of the German army, but their current equipment is limited compared to ordinary infantry. Most people use Mauser P-38 submachine guns, but they do not bring Mauser 98K when parachuting. These rifles, along with MG-34 machine guns and 81mm mortars, are put into "weapons and equipment containers" for airdrop. In addition to the MP-38 (only experienced paratroopers can parachute with MP-38), paratroopers carry pistols and grenades.

In addition, recoilless rifles and anti-tank guns specifically for paratroopers are still under development. Therefore, the 1st Parachute Regiment and the 1st Miuta Regiment did not carry artillery airdrops other than mortars - these two units are also equipped with artillery battalions, but they are mountain artillery battalions and ordinary anti-tank artillery companies drawn from mountain troops. It is equipped with a 75mm mountain gun and a 37mm anti-tank gun.

They will be flown over by Ju52 after the airborne troops occupy Lviv Airport.

The red indicator light on the plane began to flash, which was a signal for the airdrop to begin.

A second lieutenant standing at the door of the aircraft cabin shouted an order: "Check the equipment for the last time! Everyone confirms the parachutes! Start!"

"No. 1! It's over!" "No. 2! It's over!" "No. 3! It's over!" "..."

The green light came on, and the major pushed open the hatch. The cold wind rushed in, making everyone stagger.

"Start parachuting!" Then the captain shouted, "No. 1! Jump!"

The first Miuta warrior stepped out of the cabin in one step. The Miuta unit has a very long history, dating back to the end of World War I. Twenty-one years of development have made this unit synonymous with the elite of the German Wehrmacht. The paratroopers who now belong to the Air Force and the Marine Special Forces who belong to the Navy are actually derived from Miuta troops.

Parachute airdrops are nothing but a piece of cake for these military elites.

Countless white flower-like parachutes soon appeared in the sky, blooming one after another, and soon filled the entire sky. The Ukrainian Defense Forces around Lviv Airport seemed to have never existed. Facing the dense parachutes, the firepower on the ground was pitiful.

Soon, German soldiers landed on the ground in broad daylight, began to form temporary combat groups, and pounced on important targets near the airport.

…

September 6, 1939, 6pm British time.

At this time, nearly 8,000 elite German troops had occupied the Lviv Airport and a large area around it - this was a very big event, and it meant that the Soviet Union would soon attack Poland!

But because the Polish government was on the way to escape, the entire Polish army was in chaos. Therefore, this crucial news was not notified to London in time.

Therefore, the plan to "take advantage of" the sky over the Netherlands to bomb Berlin has not been cancelled-if the Soviet Union declares war on Poland within a few days, then destroying the neutrality of the Netherlands would be a very stupid thing!

But the British government did not know about this, and Major General Arthur Travers Harris, the commander of the 5th Bomb Group in charge of bombing Berlin, did not know that he was doing a very stupid thing.

At this time, he was summoning the captains of his eight bomber squadrons to arrange flight routes and bombing missions for Berlin.

"What? Flying over the Netherlands?" A squadron leader immediately objected, "The Netherlands declared war on Germany?"

"No."

"Then the Netherlands declared war on us?"

"nor."

"Then what are we doing? Flying 96 Wellington bombers loaded with bombs over a neutral country?"

"Yes!" Major General Harris nodded, "This is an order!"

"So... what should we do if we are discovered by the Dutch?"

"They won't find it," Harris said. "The Netherlands doesn't have radar, so it's difficult to detect bombers in the sky at night. Moreover, they don't have night fighters, so even if they find them, they can't shoot you down."

"But they have a Fokker D.21, which is a very good aircraft. If they take off to intercept, they might be able to find us in the air."

One squadron leader expressed his concerns. Although the Netherlands does not have radar or night combat aircraft, the Fokker D.21 can also fly into the sky at night and fight with the cooperation of ground searchlights.

"What if a Fokker D.21 fires at us?"

"Then fight back!" Major General Harris said, "This is nothing special. The Dutch are already pro-German!"

There was no formal order to "fight back" - the "passage" to the Netherlands was "accidental". The flight instruments of the 96 bombers failed at the same time, so they flew into the sky of the Netherlands.

However, the Chief of Staff of the Royal Air Force, General Newport L., gave a "hint" when issuing the order. The British Empire did not mind the Netherlands siding with Germany!

Because the Netherlands has little force, anyone can easily defeat it. If there is a war with the Netherlands (Belgium joins Britain and France), the coalition forces will definitely be able to enter Germany through Dutch territory before the end of September. In this way, Germany will have to transfer its main force back from Poland...Germany will be trapped in a two-front war!