German Red Prince

Page 146

Kesselring said to Thorne, and since Thorne had asked this, he began to wonder if the kingdom was going to form a new artillery corps. Although he had worked in the General Staff for a long time, he still had a very thorough grasp of artillery knowledge. Could it be that His Highness Thorne valued this aspect of him?

"Hmm, very good, Lieutenant Colonel Kesselring. There's a reason I brought you here this time. Our Storm Commando is undergoing a new round of reorganization, and you will be the new commander of the Storm Commando."

Thorne split the Stormtroopers into several parts, distributing the current Stormtroopers of more than 10,000 people evenly, with Kasserine in charge of training one group.

"Can you guarantee you'll complete the mission of reorganizing the Storm Commando for the kingdom?"

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

Kesselring gave Thorne a solemn military salute.

“Very good, Lieutenant Colonel Kesselring, you will now be in charge of reorganizing the Rhine Kingdom’s Storm Commando Team, and you will be the head of the Kingdom’s airborne troops.”

Hearing Thorne's words, Kesselring was somewhat incredulous. Paratroopers? That sounded like an Air Force branch of service. He was an Army officer, so how did they find him?

The Storm Commando was also reorganized very quickly. The Storm Commando, with more than 10,000 members, has completed its reorganization and is waiting for its respective commanders.

Although Metz was punished, he remained in the Storm Commando and was assigned to the airborne troops, a branch of the military he had never heard of before.

The paratroopers' uniforms have changed compared to those of the Stormtroopers, but the Stormtroopers' symbol remains: a lightning bolt is embroidered on the collar, but there is another lightning bolt embroidered next to it. After becoming a paratrooper, Metz had two lightning bolts embroidered on his collar.

The meaning is quite clear: the Storm Commando's mission is to strike the enemy as swiftly as lightning. Now that the paratroopers have two lightning bolts, it means they must strike the enemy even faster.

They will become black lightning, the enemy's nightmare.

286. Father of the Airborne Troops

Before arriving in Frankfurt, Kesselring had already begun to speculate about where he would be assigned to a position.

Prince Thorne is known for his ability to recognize and utilize talent. He has done a great job of assigning people like Rommel to different roles, which has led to the rapid development of those military branches.

The armored corps had only been established for less than a year, yet it was already quite well-organized. Although Kesselring was in Wiesbaden, he had heard of it. He couldn't help but marvel at Guderian's abilities, wondering why such a person was not being given important responsibilities in Prussia, which was a real waste.

Most of the officers in the current armored forces are students of Guderian. It can be said that he alone trained a new era of armored forces for the Kingdom of the Rhine.

So Kesselring was quite looking forward to this opportunity. He was capable and naturally wanted to make a difference. He came from an artillery background, so perhaps His Highness Thorne had brought him here to establish a new artillery unit? Or perhaps, after serving in the General Staff for so long, he was being brought back to coordinate the upcoming operations?

During the war, Kesselring worked for the Department of Defense for a period of time, participating in the organization of the army and focusing on reducing redundant personnel in order to enhance the army's combat effectiveness under limited resources. He helped reorganize the Military Equipment Section, laying the foundation for the research and development of new weapons and equipment.

Having such work experience might be one of the reasons Thorne brought him here, but he was clearly wrong. After considering so many possibilities, Thorne ended up making him the commander of something called the Airborne Corps.

"Your Highness Thorne, are you serious?"

Kesselring was somewhat incredulous at Thorne’s words. Thorne had just asked him how his work in the artillery was going, and now he was suddenly being asked to take on a commanding role that seemed to be the job of an air force officer.

"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Kesselring. This is a newly established military branch in the kingdom, and it will play a very important role in the future. I have reviewed your resume and I think you would be very suitable."

“But Your Highness Thorne, I am an army officer. The paratroopers sound like an air force branch. Am I suitable to be their commander?”

Kesselring was a little worried. He was an army officer, and professional matters should be handled by professionals. He was not familiar with air force affairs, so it was not appropriate for him to be in charge of the airborne troops.

"If there is hardship, overcome it, Lieutenant Colonel Kesselring. I trust you, and I believe you can do a very good job."

Thorne felt that he was now like a PUA master, or a boss who liked to make empty promises to his subordinates. In the end, he became the kind of person he hated the most. Before Kesselring had even started his term, Thorne was already busy making empty promises.

“Lieutenant Colonel Kesselring, the airborne troops are a very special branch of the military. It is an army building program that the kingdom attaches great importance to. Its future is absolutely bright. The establishment of this branch of the military was after much consideration by the kingdom. His Majesty Otto also personally inquired about it. Lieutenant Colonel Kesselring, I believe you will not let me down.”

Faced with Thorne's classic PUA tactics, Kesselring had no choice but to comply and become the person in charge of the paratroopers.

"Keep up the good work, Lieutenant Colonel Kesselring. The airborne troops are a completely new branch of the military. So far, I guess only our Kingdom of Rhine has them. We were the first country in the world to establish an airborne force. Lieutenant Colonel Kesselring, you will be the father of the world's airborne troops in the future." Thorne patted Kesselring's arm and teased him.

"Your Highness Thorne, before you officially take office, you should at least tell me what paratroopers are, right?"

Kesselring had never heard of the paratroopers before. He had never learned anything about them before. Did they just throw soldiers down from the sky?

"Airborne troops, as the name suggests, are soldiers who are put on airplanes and dropped to designated locations to carry out combat missions."

Thorne explained to Kesselring that, according to the original timeline, the earliest recorded airborne operation should be during World War I, when the French sent two soldiers as demolition crews. These two soldiers jumped from the wings of a biplane and carried explosives to destroy an Italian military warehouse.

This should be the first time in human history that soldiers were transported to the enemy's rear to fight.

The first truly significant airdrop operation in human history was a special operation conducted by the Soviet Union in 1927 against insurgents in Central Asia, in which the Soviet military used transport aircraft to send combat troops directly to the region.

This new tactic of warfare caught the rebels off guard. The Soviet army's sudden and unexpected attack completely bewildered the rebels, leading to their annihilation.

After this operation, the Soviet Union also tasted the benefits. This method of warfare had great potential. Given the surprise attack of the airborne troops, three years later in 1930, the Soviet Union, which was relatively mature in terms of technology, built the world's first airborne troops.

The first country in the world to establish a paratrooper force was actually the Soviet Union. After the Soviet Union, countries with considerable strength, such as Britain, France, the United States, and Germany, began to imitate it. Although the Soviet airborne troops were not as famous as those of the United States and Germany during World War II, they opened the prelude to the development of airborne forces.

In 1933, the Soviet Red Army publicly demonstrated an "airborne operation." However, the Soviet paratroopers did not sit inside the aircraft cabin, but directly on the wings of the bomber. When the bomber reached a certain altitude, the Soviet paratroopers slid down from the wings like dumplings being dropped into a pot. This performance left a deep impression on the German representatives who were watching.

The largest airborne operation in human history was the Normandy landings during World War II. The United States and Great Britain deployed three airborne divisions, totaling approximately 35,000 troops.

These paratroopers were dropped behind enemy lines, effectively disrupting the stability of the German defenses and working in conjunction with the naval landing forces to create conditions for the eventual capture of Normandy. Without them, the landing operation might have suffered even greater casualties.

The basic missions of airborne troops are to launch surprise attacks on key political, military, and economic locations of the enemy, seize and hold important targets or areas in the enemy's operational and tactical depth, implement rapid deployment, respond to emergencies, and conduct special operations behind enemy lines.

"Airborne troops, also known as paratroopers, mainly operate by airdropping troops into the battlefield. Their characteristics are also very simple: lightweight equipment, high mobility, and elite personnel."

"According to the Kingdom's current plan, the goal is to establish a division-level airborne force, directly subordinate to a corps-level or higher command organization. Airborne troops are currently a special branch of the military, a force capable of overcoming ground obstacles, conducting long-distance raids, and carrying out all-round rapid maneuver operations. They play an important deterrent role on the battlefield. The mobility of this force far exceeds that of armored and motorized forces, so the Kingdom attaches great importance to it."

After Thorne's explanation, Kesselring had a better understanding of what airborne troops were, and he also realized their importance.

It seems he has a heavy responsibility, but with challenges come opportunities, and he's determined to be the father of the paratroopers.

287. Fighter jet stall

The German Empire was a militaristic state in the traditional sense. As a continental country, the German Empire and the British Empire went to two extremes.

Britain's most prized asset is its Royal Navy. As a nation with a rich naval heritage, the British Royal Navy was once the greatest enemy of the German High Seas Fleet.

The situation in Germany was similar to that in Britain, but Germany was most proud of its army.

Every German can proudly proclaim that the German army was the best in the world, of course, this was in Germany after Napoleon.

In order to maintain the strength of the army, all resources inevitably had to be tilted towards them. In addition, in order to maintain the stability of the vast colonies of the German Empire, Germany devoted most of its resources to the German Navy and Army.

Of course, there are reasons for this. German Grand Admiral Tirpitz is now the Reich Chancellor, so resources are inevitably tilted towards the navy.

The army was the stronghold of Germany's old aristocracy and the base of the Junker aristocracy. A large portion of the Prussian field marshals were field marshals, so they were naturally not to be trifled with.

With military resources being tilted towards the navy and army, it's inevitable that one branch of the military will be left without support or care.

The Air Force, the last branch of the military to be established, had no one to speak up for it.

As the newest branch of the military, the Air Force has only been using aircraft for less than thirty years. During the war, this newly developed vehicle was deployed on the battlefield.

In the beginning, they simply mounted a machine gun on the plane's frame or carried a bundle of grenades on the plane to bomb designated targets.

The earliest aerial combat involved pilots firing at each other with small pistols. The world's first bombing incident occurred during the Great War when a German pilot dropped a bundle of grenades into a French trench.

Subsequently, countries began to recognize the role of aircraft on the battlefield, and within a little over a decade, aircraft began to develop rapidly, contributing significantly to the German Empire's victory in the war.

However, as a new branch of the military, the emergence of the air force inevitably squeezed out the resources of the army and navy, and also affected the interests of some people in the military.

After the war that ended all wars, the air force inevitably suffered marginalization, especially during the Ludendorff dictatorship, when it was drastically reduced.

The Heroic Squadron, to which Göring belonged, and the Richthofen Squadron were both disbanded due to "financial and political reasons," which shows the fate of the entire air force.

So Thorne found it very strange. He couldn't understand whether Germany in this timeline had actually won. Was this still the Germany full of martial spirit? Why had it started to cripple itself?

After winning the World War, Germany was preoccupied with making money and completely lost the fighting spirit it had shown in the previous world in building up its military.

There was no tactical innovation, the army was still using weapons from ten years ago, and although the army was much larger than the 100,000 troops in the previous life, it was very bloated.

In the previous era, the Allied Powers demanded that Germany dismantle all its fighter planes. The outcome is similar in this era: Germany has not developed its air force at all, or rather, its funding has not been allocated much to the air force. Whenever something happens, the air force suffers the most.

The German Air Force was far behind the times. In the field of technology, a gap of ten or five years often represents a level, and it is very difficult to catch up.

It seems that all the victors are pretty much the same; after winning, they try their best to "maintain the status quo" and preserve their position.

To outsiders, the German army still seems to be the best in the world, because there are no more large-scale wars in the world. People's impression of the German army is still from ten years ago, when it fought back and forth with France, the former European hegemon.

Only those within the German army truly understand its capabilities; in Thorne's view, the German army is now outwardly strong but inwardly weak.

Despite maintaining a large army size, the German army was a "very new old-fashioned army" in terms of both weaponry and tactical training.

Thorne still can't understand what they're thinking, actually cutting back on the air force? No military budget? That's an excuse? The army is so large; if they reduced it even a little, wouldn't the money come in?

Thorne's biggest headache right now is how the surrounding countries will react if he launches a revolution.

The War of Liberation cannot be delayed. If it slows down even slightly, the surrounding countries will react, and if the war is prolonged, it will be very troublesome.

Thorne could not guarantee that other countries would not have ulterior motives. Even if he was carrying out a socialist revolution, France might still intervene and make Germany its puppet.

The Rhine Kingdom's weaponry must be far superior to Prussia's. If you don't develop and improve your army, then I will. If you don't develop your air force, then I will.

When war breaks out, the army of the Kingdom of Rhine must be overwhelming, making the enemy cry out that they are invincible.

Göring lived a very comfortable life in the air force of the Kingdom of the Rhine. Although the Richthofen Squadron was disbanded by the Kingdom of Prussia, he and the remaining members reorganized the Richthofen Squadron in the Kingdom of the Rhine, which was also known as the "Göring Squadron".

Because he didn't shield Mustache from a bullet, Göring hadn't yet become addicted to drugs and turned into a fat man, so his physique was still very standard, just like what a soldier should look like.

Göring devoted all his energy to the squadron he led, and sooner or later he would rebuild the Richthofen team.

Göring was an air combat hero during the war, so his skill level was very high. In addition, he had served as the commander of a heroic unit, so his organizational skills were also very strong.

Therefore, in the air force of the Kingdom of Rhine, Göring quickly adapted to life there. The military is a place where strength speaks volumes, and Göring's superb air combat skills quickly earned him the respect of others.

In addition, he is a very easy-going person and is happy to share his insights and experiences with others. Although he is an outsider and a "connection" person, he has not been ostracized by others.

Air Force personnel undergo rigorous daily training. As the most expensive branch of the military, every pilot is a treasure, and airmen are considered "first-class citizens" in the military.

After finishing the formation of the airborne troops, Thorne thought of going to the air force. The air force also needs to have its own transport planes. They can't just sit on the wings of bombers like the Soviets did, can they?

Also, Thorne hasn't seen Göring in a long time, and he wants to go and see how Göring is doing.

On the training field, Goring was test-flying the Kingdom's latest AR-68 fighter jet, which was the most advanced fighter jet of the era and was newly equipped by the Kingdom.

A group of airmen were watching Göring's performance from below when Thorne arrived and joined the others in watching the demonstration.

It must be said that although Göring was not a good air force marshal, he was an excellent fighter pilot with very good skills.

Suddenly someone screamed and pointed to the sky: Goring's fighter jet had stalled!

288. Soaring Eagle in the Sky

Göring was an ace pilot during the war, so he was very skilled at flying aircraft. During the war, he once managed to escape from an encirclement of four enemy planes and even shot down one of them.

During the war, he encountered many dangerous situations, but he always managed to escape unscathed, which made Göring very confident in his fighter piloting skills.

In its original history, the Ar 68 was a single-seat biplane fighter developed by Germany in the mid-1930s. It was one of the first fighters produced when Germany broke free from the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles and began rearming.

Now, due to the change in the timeline, this biplane fighter can appear earlier. In order to improve its high-altitude combat capabilities, the Ar 68 fighter uses a 610-horsepower Junkers Jumo 210 engine and is equipped with a supercharger, which improves the aircraft's high-altitude performance and visibility to a certain extent.

In terms of weapon design, the Ar 68's main armament consists of two 7.92 mm machine guns, and it can also carry 60 kg of aerial bombs to perform ground attack support missions.

In later years, the Ar 68 entered service with the German Air Force in 1936, with the first aircraft stationed in East Prussia. Soon after, the fighter was deployed to fight in the Spanish Civil War, where it was overtaken by the Soviet Polikapov'i I-16 fighter. To close the gap, Arado improved the fighter's performance by upgrading the Ar 68E's engine.

The Ar 68E quickly became the most widely used fighter aircraft in the Luftwaffe since 1937, before being replaced by Messerschmitt's Bf 109. The last Ar 68s remained in service as night fighters and fighter trainers until the winter of 1940.

In the original timeline, the AR-68's performance was actually quite average; it was one of the better biplanes for its time. Unfortunately, it was born at the wrong time, as the 1930s marked the end of the era for biplane fighters. Biplane fighters had many inherent flaws, such as high drag and poor high-altitude combat capabilities.

Although Arado made many improvements to address this problem, including the addition of a streamlined design that reduced the flight drag of the Ar 68 fighter to some extent, it could not escape its fate of being replaced. Soon, the Ar 68 was replaced by a new monoplane fighter.

In people's minds, the Bf-109 is the symbol of the German Air Force, and Messerschmitt has become a name known to everyone.

However, in this era, which is only 1928, although the shortcomings of biplane fighters have become apparent and many powerful countries are researching monoplane fighters, biplane fighters are still the mainstay of the air force at this time. In terms of performance, the AR-68 is still a very advanced fighter in this era.

The Kingdom of Rhine has only just begun equipping itself with this new type of fighter jet. The HE-51 and AR-68 are currently the twin stars of the Kingdom of Rhine's air force and the guardians of the Kingdom of Rhine's skies.

Göring's flight demonstration this time was more like a show of skill, because a group of new guys had joined the air force. These guys had all heard of Göring's performance during the war. The Richthofen Wing had swept across the entire Western Front during the war. These new recruits who had just reported to the air force had great respect for this aviation hero, and Göring naturally wanted to show off his skills in front of them.

Logically speaking, the AR-68 should not have any accidents, but Goering got a little carried away. Piloting the new fighter seemed to take him back to his old days, back to the exhilarating blue sky. After performing one difficult maneuver after another, the aircraft inevitably encountered an accident.

As the fighter jet stalled and plummeted, the observers on the ground exclaimed in shock. This couldn't be a stunt, could it? The drop was so severe that an ordinary person would have wet themselves in fear by now. The new recruits who had just arrived also stared wide-eyed. If it were them, they would probably have fainted from fright by now. How could they possibly have the mind to continue controlling the fighter jet?

Thorne was also sweating bullets. After learning that the pilot of the fighter jet was Göring, he couldn't help but wonder if this guy was going to be eliminated so soon in this timeline. Thorne had high hopes for him. Was his story going to end so quickly?

In his previous life, Gebuling lived a smooth and successful life until the collapse of the Nazi empire. In this life, he finally managed to live a more positive life, so why did he die so young? Is it really true that good people don't live long, while bad people live for thousands of years?

Some people had already closed their eyes, unable to bear watching any longer. At this rate, Goering would probably be smashed to pieces in no time.

If it were an ordinary pilot, he would definitely be beyond saving by now, but Göring is Göring after all, an air combat hero during the Great War. His rich war experience allowed him to calm himself down in this situation.

Although the intense feeling of stalling was very uncomfortable, he forced himself to calm down, gripped the control stick of the fighter jet tightly, and believed that Lady Luck was always on his side, and this time would be no exception.

Although the fighter jet was rapidly descending, Goring did not panic because he knew that any action at this moment would be ineffective and might even increase the probability of crashing. So he chose to wait, counting seconds for a suitable opportunity.

Goring first closed the throttle, slowly pushed the stick forward, and operated the rudder in the opposite direction of the aircraft's rotation. The aircraft stopped rotating and gradually stabilized. After the fighter jet stopped rotating, he slowly accelerated and pulled back on the stick to recover. Although this set of actions was not complicated, it was extremely challenging for the pilot's mental fortitude, because he did not know whether the aircraft would crash before he completed the maneuver.

Everyone present thought there was no hope, and some had already closed their eyes in anguish. Every airman was made of gold, and many excellent fighter pilots had died unexpectedly in peacetime for various reasons, which was a huge loss to the entire country.