Munitions Empire

Chapter 588: 547, the madman on the ground

Onboard a Stuka dive bomber carrying out a mission at the front line, the pilot gazed down at the earth beneath his feet. He was like an eagle soaring in the sky, surveying his territory.

The Stuka, originally designed solely for dive bombing with its moderate flying speed and lackluster flight performance, was not really suitable for bombing missions alone.

Such an aircraft had virtually no self-defense capability when attacked by enemy planes—of course, that didn’t apply to ace pilots like Rüdeler.

But now, in the skies, aside from the Tang Army’s aircraft, there were only birds left, so it was only natural for the Stuka dive bombers to carry out missions alone.

Given the enemy’s inability to reach the sky, the Stuka’s poor flying performance was more than adequate, even superior… At this point in time, using Stuka as a fighter plane was not a problem at all.

Two Stuka dive bombers, one trailing the other, entered the war zone air space. Below them, they could see various points of burning smoke, some caused by artillery shell explosions, others left as scars by aerial bombs.

Although the previous attacks had indeed obstructed some of the visibility, the view from the sky was still crystal clear. Everywhere, the Qi Army was preparing to assemble, crowding on the already narrow roads.

"Do you see that road full of horse-drawn wagons? 11 o’clock ahead,” the pilot in the lead aircraft reminded his wingman from behind the compartment divided into sections by iron bars, preparing to select a target to attack.

At this time, the enemy had no awareness of air defense; they didn’t even practice basic dispersal and concealment. It might be the easiest era for pilots to achieve distinction—just dive, pull up, and they could establish their own merits.

The only threat was the possibility of encountering Maxim machine guns temporarily raised to fire at the air.

As long as they avoided these machine guns, they could easily complete their attack and achieve glorious results, blowing the crowded wagons and soldiers into midair.

"I see it! Very clear!” the wingman’s voice came through the radio, accompanied by a bit of static noise.

"You drop the bomb!” The lead aircraft pilot maneuvered his plane to clear the attack path, decelerated calmly, and ceded the main attack to his wingman.

This was a set of attack experience that the pilots had summarized after several bombing runs: the ground targets were too numerous to bomb completely, so everyone would find high-value targets to attack. However, if the lead aircraft attacked first, then the wingman was often left to engage later-discovered high-value targets, which could lead to the awkward situation of missing the target without the chance for a corrective strike.

Therefore, it was logical to have the less experienced wingmen initiate the attack first. If they missed, the lead aircraft could make a corrective attack.

After adjusting, the wingman began his attack. As he pushed his control stick, he loudly reminded the aircraft behind him, “I’m starting my dive! I’m diving! Keep up with me!”

"I’m right behind you!” Almost simultaneously, the lead aircraft pilot also pushed down his control stick, and the two planes began their dive towards the ground, one after the other.

The speed of the Stukas suddenly increased, and the air began to frantically disturb the fan near the landing gear, causing the whistle inside to spin and produce that distinctive, piercing sound.

Thereupon, all the Qi soldiers who were bustling on the ground ceased their clamor. The coachmen pulled on the reigns, soldiers held their lunch boxes, and everyone looked up in unison, turning their eyes toward the familiar yet foreign sky.

Two dark silhouettes plunged rapidly through the azure sky, that familiar yet terrifying sound rising once again, intimidating the soul of every living being.

It was as if fear itself was knocking on the door again and again, and no matter how much the little girl inside cried and screamed, it kept on knocking…

"Enemy attack!” Finally, a Qi Country officer came to his senses, calling out in a voice full of desolation and tragic determination, “Run! Quick

Before his cry could end, the dark spots above were already within close reach. Before the confused crowd could start dodging, the Stukas’ wings lit up with fire.

"Ratatatat!” The 20mm cannons inside the wings began to roar, tracer bullets streaking toward the ground, leaving behind two jagged lines of white smoke amidst the Qi Army’s pathways.

In an instant, the ground forces of Qi were thrown into chaos, crying out in terror as uncontrolled wagons plowed into the crowd, and the air was filled with screams and the neighing of warhorses.

Following closely, the aircraft in the wingman position, now the lead, also began its strafing run, creating two more jagged lines cleaved by cannon fire, just as deadly and efficient.

The two Stuka dive bombers did not drop bombs; they merely used their cannons to strafe these Qi soldiers who were of little tactical value.

But this brief touch-and-go attack had already exacted a heavy toll on the Qi forces crowded on the march route.

At least one company of soldiers was wiped out instantly, and another company likely suffered injuries that rendered them combat ineffective.

The supply wagon overloaded with provisions overturned at the roadside, and from its machine gun-shattered carriage, food spilled out and scattered everywhere, with starving Qi Army soldiers crowding around it to snatch up the food, heedless of their own lives.

Another wagon carrying miscellaneous goods lost control and charged into the crowd, resulting in similar lethal effects: at least seven or eight people were injured by the collision, and one unlucky man was outright trampled to death.

Because they were carrying bombs, the two Stuka dive bombers dared not get too close to the ground, lest they be unable to pull up and risk crashing directly into the terrain. This allowed their strafing runs to be very brief, sparing the Qi Army some loss of life at least.

As the two Stuka dive bombers rapidly climbed upwards, the second round of attacks began, with the gunners behind the cockpits of the planes once again opening fire on the ground targets.

During the strafe, the lead plane’s defensive gunner suddenly saw an unbelievable scene.

He yelled in shock over the radio, “Look! Look there! My God! Have our ground troops already reached this position?”

The shout caught the attention of the lead pilot, and after the plane regained altitude, he began searching for ground targets: “I don’t see our troops! Wingman! Do you see any ground recognition marks?”

"I don’t see them either! I’m following you, we can circle around to confirm!” The wingman pilot tilted his head and scoured the earth below for a while, but couldn’t find any conspicuous ground recognition signs.

"Let’s not accidentally bomb our own forces… or we’ll be punished to death when we get back,” the lead pilot searched anxiously, unwilling to bear the stigma of attacking friendly forces.

"I think I see something At that moment, the wingman’s voice came again: “Seven o’clock direction! Let’s circle back and confirm!”

"Heard! Lead the way!” the lead pilot jostled the control stick in his hands and followed the wingman who seemed to have spotted the mark, as the two planes circled around and approached the suspicious target.

"I see it! I see it!” It didn’t take long for the lead plane to locate the target on the ground that his gunner had seen earlier, which was two advancing Panzer IV tanks amidst a field pocked with craters and gun smoke.

On the engine deck of the tanks, a blood-red Dragon Banner was draped. The two tanks were pushing through the Qi Army’s artillery positions, with Qi Army soldiers running in every direction, a sight that was quite spectacular.

"Only two tanks? You’ve got to be kidding! How did they get here?” The wingman pilot was amazed to see the two friendly tanks deep in enemy territory.

"What’s so curious about that, we’re here too!” the lead pilot prepared for the attack, then commanded, “No bombs! Stick close to me! Dive and strafe! Scatter the Qi Army troops in front of them!”

"Understood!” The wingman tightened up behind the lead plane, and the two aircraft once again tilted downward, descending into a dive from an altitude of two thousand meters.

For the pilots, the entire diving action was as thrilling as riding a roller coaster. All the flaps of the airplane were lowered in order to decrease the speed of the impact with the ground.

That annoying, battle-disrupting screech sounded once again, echoing over a battlefield already in utter chaos.

The Qi Army, already disoriented by the Tang Army tanks on the ground, could not pay attention to the terror overhead and continued to run forward wildly, allowing the two planes to close in.

What followed was a hail of ammunitions unleashed from the sky, which made a thudding impact as they hit the ground, ricocheting into dense crowds and slicing through flesh and bone.

The large-caliber aerial guns swept through, leaving behind nothing but limbs and pervasive gun smoke, followed by the roar of the plane’s engines as they whizzed by overhead and gradually faded into the other clamor.

"It’s clear now! They’re our tanks! And there are more to the north… Why aren’t they moving together?” As they pulled up, the wingman pilot nervously asked his lead pilot.

"How would I know! These lunatics are even more brash than us! Damn!” the lead pilot cursed while keeping an eye on his altimeter as it slowly restored altitude.

They had penetrated deep behind enemy lines because they were flying in the sky, but those ground lunatics who had penetrated this deeply, did they no longer want to live?

"So what do we do?” the wingman pilot continued to gaze at the ground and asked.

"What can we do? What else can we do?” the lead pilot resumed his search of the ground, looking for nearby high-value targets: “See that group of tents? Drop bombs! Create chaos and cover them! A bunch of madmen who don’t care for their own lives!”

"Hahaha!” the wingman pilot laughed excitedly: “I like them, total maniacs!”

"Shut it! Keep up with me! Prepare for the dive!” the lead pilot ordered: “Drop bombs simultaneously! Ensure the target is destroyed!”

"Understood!” the wingman pilot stopped laughing and responded solemnly.

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