Chapter 601 Basic Air Combat Knowledge
The British acted quickly. It was about 200 kilometers from Dunkirk to Namur, and it usually took five or six hours to get there by train. Adding the shipping time, it would take at least seven or eight hours.
However, it took only four hours for the first batch of supplies to reach Namur and be delivered to the airport.
This was thanks to Kitchener, who was now in a state of panic.
It was not Lieutenant General Elvis who suggested asking Charles for air reinforcements. It was Field Marshal Kitchener who suggested this. However, he was unwilling to lower the noble head of the world's most powerful country, so he asked Lieutenant General Elvis to contact Charles.
Kitchener’s planned trip to the Somme was, of course, cancelled.
The stalemate at the Somme pales in comparison to the Antwerp debacle.
Kitchener took into account one thing: Charles had created a legend in Antwerp, twice.
The first time he entered Antwerp alone and commanded the collapsing Belgian army to defeat the German army.
The second time, he led the French First Armored Army to capture Antwerp in just one day and formed the current Antwerp Defense Line. This battle example was even written into textbooks as a classic by various countries.
But now, the British army had just forced Charles' troops out of Antwerp on the pretext of segmented garrison, and was immediately defeated by the German army.
How could Field Marshal Kitchener explain this to Albert I?
How does the British army face the Belgian and French armies?
How did this make the colonial army view the British army?
"No, we can't go on like this." Kitchener gave a death order: "Order Lieutenant General Ives to defend Antwerp at all costs!"
But this order alone is far from enough.
Unlike Haig, Kitchener knew the importance of new equipment such as airplanes and tanks. He believed that the first thing to turn the tide of the war was air superiority, or at least to prevent the Germans from having complete air superiority.
Therefore, after obtaining Charles' promise, Kitchener immediately took command in his capacity as the British Secretary of State for War and ordered all idle trains on the railway to give way, so that the first batch of supplies was delivered to Namur within a few hours.
…
When Charles received the list of supplies, he saw that most of them were aviation fuel and machine gun bullets, as well as some food.
Obviously, this was a preparation for Charles' aviation regiment to go into battle.
But Charles is not so easy to talk to now. Winning the air battle and turning the tide of the war for the British is not such a good thing.
Charles hesitated for a moment, then sent a telegram to Lieutenant General Ives. He patiently gave Lieutenant General Ives some knowledge of air combat:
"The supplies have been received. Thank you very much, Your Excellency Lieutenant General."
"But you seem to have sent it to the wrong place. Air combat requires proximity."
"For example, to reinforce Antwerp, the best take-off base for fighter jets should be Brussels rather than Namur."
"Flying from Namur will increase the distance by about 50 kilometers, and the round trip is 100 kilometers, which has a significant impact on air combat."
…
The extra 100 kilometers may be negligible for modern fighter planes, but it was critical for the low-speed fighter planes during World War I.
The Camel fighter has a maximum speed of only 190 kilometers per hour, a cruising speed of about 100 kilometers per hour, and a total range of only 485 kilometers.
This means that pilots have to spend an extra hour rushing to the target airspace or returning to the airport for refueling, which has a great impact on fuel consumption, pilot fatigue and attendance rate.
(Attendance rate means that originally one could go back and forth to fight four times a day, but because of the long distance, it can only be done three or even two times)
Finally, Charles came to the conclusion: "Therefore, the best plan should be to transport the supplies to Brussels, and I will transfer the fighter planes to Brussels Airport and use it as a base for operations!"
After listening to Charles' explanation, Lieutenant General Ives thought what he said made sense, but he asked angrily: "Why didn't you say so earlier? We could have sent the supplies to Brussels right from the start!"
Charles replied calmly, "I'm very sorry, Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, you didn't ask. I thought you knew these basic air combat knowledge."
The information was quickly forwarded to Kitchener.
Kitchener's eyes darkened: "This bastard, he must have done it on purpose!"
Lieutenant General Avis was from Haig's faction. They despised all new equipment including aircraft and of course did not know about this air combat knowledge.
Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War, had never commanded an air battle and knew nothing about it.
And Charles actually emphasized that this is the "foundation", which is murderous!
But there was no way out. The aviation regiment was in Charles' hands. Protests and opposition were useless, and condemnation was even more useless.
Kitchener had no choice but to send supplies to Brussels again, more than those sent to Namur, this time sending two trains.
However, this delay lasted the entire day.
Then Charles gave them some basic knowledge of air combat: "Sorry, General, planes cannot fight at night."
…
This day was not easy for the British troops near Antwerp.
The entire army retreated after the defense line was breached. The German army chased the British army for more than ten kilometers, killing and wounding more than 10,000 British soldiers, capturing more than 20,000 people, and seizing a large amount of supplies stored in the defense line.
In the end, it was the fortress defenses of Antwerp that saved the defeated troops.
The German army hoped to follow the British army's retreat and rush into Antwerp, but Major General Eden decisively ordered his troops to open fire.
In an instant, the fortress's heavy artillery fired shells at the boundary line between the enemy and us.
The demarcation line was not clear, the British and German armies were intertwined, and there were enemies among us and enemies among us.
However, the Belgian army did not hesitate at all. Shells kept pouring towards the positions, creating streaks of fire and smoke.
The soldiers were thrown into the air by the huge impact force and then fell down heavily. There were both British and German soldiers. They were like lifeless wooden men, completely without any resistance, and were torn into several pieces in mid-air.
However, the fortress's artillery was too small to provide mass coverage, and although several German tanks were destroyed, they still charged towards the fortress's defense line at high speed.
At the critical moment, the "Saint-Samond" self-propelled artillery emerged from the frontline fortifications, with its black muzzles aimed at the oncoming German tanks. After a slight adjustment, it fired a burst of "boom" sounds.
The front armor of the German "LK1" tank was only 14MM thick, which could barely block bullets, but it was like paper in front of the 75mm gun. It was instantly hit and smoke and even caught fire.
Colonel Erwin always followed the troops. He rode in an EV4 armored vehicle to observe the fighting on the front line and give commands at all times.
(The picture above shows the German EV4 armored vehicle during World War I, which was generally equipped with 4 machine guns and produced in 1915)
He saw this through the telescope and immediately ordered his staff: "Stop the attack and adopt plan B!"
"Yes, Colonel!" the staff officer immediately gave the order.
Colonel Erwin had been wary of the fortress defenses trained and planned by Charles from the beginning, but when he saw that his first attack failed, he immediately made changes.
(End of this chapter)
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