CHAPTER 249: CHAPTER 249: THE BOMBER’S INTIMIDATION

Bombing missions during this period were not as simple as imagined. They had no navigation, no radar, and not even radio.

Pilots could only rely on a map, a compass, and a ruler.

Therefore, even if they knew the exact position of the target or could see it visually, it was still difficult to bomb accurately.

The bomber formations might drift off target during flight, initially by a very small angle. After flying dozens or even hundreds of kilometers, this small angle could result in a deviation of ten or even dozens of kilometers.

Hidden targets, such as artillery positions carefully concealed in the woods and camouflaged by the German Army, were almost impossible for bombers to locate and destroy.

This was one of the reasons why bombers were questioned and criticized by the so-called "military commentators" of France:

"Bombers can probably only attack visible and obvious targets like buildings and bridges."

"They clearly have great limitations with hidden targets. I can’t imagine how they could find the correct location and drop bombs."

"Moreover, their targets are too large. If the enemy is prepared with anti-aircraft machine guns or artillery, they’re simply a bunch of flying targets!"

This is one reason why the military did not order bombers in large quantities. The vast bodies of bombers indeed gave an impression of insecurity.

Shire knew that these "military commentators" were bribed by capitalists, at least some of them were. They led the questioning in the newspapers, and other "commentators" began to follow.

This affected Shire’s business. One "bomber" could earn 30,000 francs, and the military needed to order at least a few hundred to meet the needs of the battlefield.

This meant millions, tens of millions of francs, or possibly even more big orders. Shire couldn’t just sit by and watch it get destroyed by "rumors."

Shire had to destroy a hidden artillery position with a bombing operation, giving these "commentators" a factual slap in the face.

The specific bombing steps were roughly as follows:

Carter contacted the army staff, who were actually air force personnel sent to the army responsible for air-ground coordination; among them were some artillery observers.

These artillery observers, based on intelligence, knew a certain specific location, and calculated the exact position and distance of the target using artillery observation methods.

Finally, at the designated time and place, they used signal boards on the ground to form a large arrow pointing to the target, with an "N" marked behind the arrow.

"N" was agreed upon by the air force and army staff. It was the 14th letter in the alphabet, meaning the target was 14 kilometers in the direction the arrow pointed.

(Note: using letters can simplify numeral expression and make it easier to distinguish. Some numbers could easily be misrecognized by pilots amidst the interference of roads, trees, and rivers, such as "7" being easily mistaken for "2," and "6" and "9" also easily confused.)

Next, the reconnaissance planes were deployed. Under the cover of fighter jets, they flew towards the target area according to the signal boards. They circled around while carefully observing with binoculars.

Machine guns and anti-aircraft artillery were deployed by the German Army on high ground.

But for secrecy, the German Army didn’t dare to open fire.

Because once they opened fire, it would be a modern version of "shooting oneself in the foot," clearly telling the enemy they had found the right place.

However, even if they could hold their fire, it was futile.

Soon, the reconnaissance planes manually dropped a few smoke bombs onto the valleys below, and two wisps of blue smoke rose, marking the German artillery position.

The German artillerymen looked at the smoke, puzzled:

"What are they doing? Did they find us?"

"I don’t think so. Otherwise, they should have dropped bombs instead of smoke bombs!"

"But why did they drop smoke bombs?"

...

Before they finished speaking, everyone understood.

The sky rumbled with the terrifying roar of bomber engines, and a few bombers had appeared in the clouds, beginning to descend.

It was then that the German Army realized:

"Oh my God, they found us. They are the enemy’s bombers!"

"They’re guiding the bombers! Scatter, scatter now!"

"Move the ammunition truck, hurry!"

...

The valley, which seemed to have nothing, suddenly came alive. Soldiers carrying ammunition, dragging cannons, running with ammunition boxes—it was chaos.

The anti-aircraft units around the artillery positions and high grounds were also busy, pointing their machine guns and artillery at the approaching bombers.

The bombers, however, calmly flew toward the artillery positions, their wings not even trembling.

With the signal board indications and the smoke bomb markings, they easily locked onto the target, and even slowed down to accurately hit the target.

"Boom boom!" The artillery fired.

It was the German 37mm anti-aircraft gun.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t an anti-aircraft gun, but an anti-balloon gun, invented by the Germans before the war to shoot down reconnaissance balloons.

But these anti-balloon guns were ineffective against fast-moving aircraft. The shells seemed to have no impact on the bombers: they had no tracer powder, so once fired they could neither see nor correct where the shells went, relying purely on feel.

Machine gun fire followed, bullets "da-da-da" flying up at the approaching bombers.

Some bullets might have hit, but they were equally powerless to stop the bombers from continuing their approach.

In an instant, before the machine gunners could reload another belt of ammo, the bombers had swooped overhead and dropped a series of bombs.

The wind turbine behind the bombs spun rapidly in the air, producing a "woo woo" howl, scaring the German soldiers who abandoned their machine guns and artillery and lay on the ground, holding their heads tightly.

"Boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

...

A series of dense explosions erupted on the artillery position.

Carter dispatched 20 bombers, totaling 380 bombs, which rained down on the German artillery position in the valley, instantly turning the area below into a sea of fire.

A series of secondary explosions occurred on the artillery position, and amid the intensely rolling flames and smoke, it seemed as if a fire dragon was struggling and leaping.

The surviving Germans on the mountaintop, eyes wide with fear, exclaimed: "Oh my God, how can we defeat the French? They bomb wherever they want! And we can’t stop them!"

This is the despair bombers inflicted on their opponents, forming a psychological deterrent to ground troops.

The enemy couldn’t help but ponder a question:

If every battle allowed enemy bombers to easily destroy command posts or artillery positions, how could the war be fought?

(The above image is an anti-aircraft gun from the early stages of World War I, invented in 1906, 37mm caliber, used against balloons, and could be horse-drawn)

(The above image shows a "balloon gun" exhibited in a modern museum)