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Volume 2: My Country Five Hundred and Fifty-Eight. Air Combat Heroes

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    On June 15, an air battle was fought over Ardham over the retreating British Eighth Army.  Marceiu shot down three more enemy planes.  This was the eighty-eighth to ninety-one enemy aircraft he shot down.  Five days ago, his total number of enemy aircraft shot down was eighty-one.  At that time, some people in the 27th Combat Aviation Regiment were already betting on whether Marseille could shoot down a hundred enemy planes.

    In the evening, some pilots gathered at the regimental commander. At that time, a comrade asked Marceiu: "John, when will you wear the Knight's Cross of Saber Leaves?"

    "The day after tomorrow at noon." Marceiu replied with a smile.  However, no one thought that he was talking nonsense, and no one thought that Marcelo was showing off.  As usual, everyone praised him for being a good guy.  From the group leader to all the staff, they all liked this young man with slender blond hair, and everyone affectionately called him "our John".

    The next morning, the 3rd Squadron launched two sorties, but Marcelo did not encounter any enemy aircraft.  An "air safari" was conducted in the afternoon, followed by landing at the new Ghazala base.  That evening, the ground crew went to visit them.  Marcelo's wingman pilot Sergeant Pedgen came up to him happily and said:

    ¡°Another four were knocked out!¡±

    As a witness to the air battle, Pedgen was responsible for counting the number of enemy planes shot down by his superiors and recording the crash location and time of the enemy planes.  Companions mocked him as a "computer in the sky."  In fact, this is not entirely the case. There were several times when enemy planes attacked Marceliu from behind, and it was only because of Pedgen's timely reminder that Marceliu's life was saved.  In turn, Marceiu helped Pedgen when he was bitten by an enemy plane.

    So far, Marceiu has shot down ninety-five enemy planes.  But can he fulfill his promise?  Can he shoot down a hundred enemy planes?  People are eagerly looking forward to the next day.

    Low-altitude invading British aircraft continued to harass the 21st Armored Division, the vanguard of the German ground forces.  Therefore, on June 17, all aircraft of the 27th Combat Aviation Regiment entered free air combat.  As the British army's low-altitude attack was relatively accurate, the Ghazala base was severely damaged, and the aviation regiment lost seven Me109 aircraft.

    ???????????????????? So what¡¯s the situation with Marcelo?  At 12:35, his four crews returned.  "Yellow 14" flew at the front. It passed the airport at low altitude and kept swinging its wings once, twice, three times, and then three times in a row after turning.  ah!  This means he shot down six enemy planes!  It's unbelievable.  So far, Marceiu's results have reached 101 shot down enemy planes.

    People at the airport stopped what they were doing and flocked to the landing plane from all directions.  They were so happy that they almost dragged their John out of the cockpit and threw him into the air.  Mechanic Maia first climbed onto the wing to unbuckle Marcelo's seat belt.  However, Marceiu waved his hand exhaustedly.  He was pale, breathing heavily, and sitting there motionless.  After taking off the flying hat, big beads of sweat flowed down his forehead.

    Seeing this scene, everyone realized: he was too tired, he had exhausted all his strength.  Everyone fully understands how tiring it must be to keep flying, shooting, fighting, and rushing!  Marceiu lit a cigarette with his still trembling hands and smoked it.  After staying for a while, the cigarettes dispelled the fatigue, and he regained the energy of a young fighter pilot.  He reported to the regimental commander and requested new assignments.  Major Norman ordered him:

    "You take leave immediately!"

    Marceiu protested. He said: "Tobruk is already approaching. How can I go on vacation at this time? This is the most intense moment of the German offensive. Even one person is needed!"

    But Norman didn¡¯t give in.  "You don't want to go? This is an order from the Supreme Command, asking you to receive the Cross of Swords, White Leaves, and Mounted Crosses!"

    The accountant at Derna probably never imagined that the empty page he left in Marceliu's military manual would be used so quickly.

    Marcelo left the army for more than two months.  However, just two weeks after he left, the war situation in Africa took a major turn.

    On June 17, 1942, after conquering the British desert fortress Adem, the Italian "Erit" Armored Division and the entire German Afrika Korps crossed Tobruk and advanced eastward to the Egyptian border.  This was Rommel's new strategy. He believed that there was no need to rush to capture Tobruk. Gambut, which had a British air base, should be captured first.

    The second attack wave composed of the first flying training group began to attack.  Ju88 aircraft violently bombarded British artillery positions in front of the German ground forces.  After the bombing, the Me110 aircraft of the 3rd Battalion of the 26th Destroyer Aviation Regiment rushed towards the enemy's machine gun positions and anti-tank gun positions, diving and firing.

    Then came an Italian Fiat CR-42 fighter-bomber commanded by Colonel Grandinetti.  bombing advanceAn hour and a half later, the third dive bombing aviation regiment followed.  Just like this, one attack wave follows another, without giving the enemy a chance to breathe.  German and Italian ground forces also concentrated their efforts on attacking this narrow area.

    The blue smoke indicates the target to the air force.  The infantry used smoke bombs to mark both sides of the main attack road. As long as it could be attacked from the air, even if it was a small target, the ground troops used blue smoke bombs to mark it.  It can be seen how well the coordinated operations on the ground and in the air work together.

    The air force attacked the fortifications of Pilastrina and Solana, the airport and ships in the harbor.  General Clopper, the commander of the South African garrison, was driven out of the combat command post and lost the means of communication to command the troops.  That night, General Clopper telegraphed to Cairo stating that the situation was out of control.

    At five o'clock in the morning the next day, the victor Rommel entered Tobruk, and General Klopper announced his surrender at nine twenty.  In 1941, the British army stubbornly held on to this fortress for twenty-eight weeks, but today, it was breached by Rommel within twenty-eight hours.

    On June 26, when the Afrika Korps began to attack Matruh, the German High Command had not yet made up its mind whether to attack Malta or Romania.  On this day, Rommel held the famous marshal's inaugural speech in Sidi Barani.  In addition to Rommel, Kesselring and Italian Marshals Bastiu and Cavalello were present at the time.  Rommel declared in his speech: Within ten days I will appear on the banks of the Nile.

    He said: "Now is the time when the British army is not yet stable, and we cannot give them a chance to breathe. If we attack the Nile Delta from behind, the number of troops required and the losses that will be suffered will be very large. At present, due to  The abundant loot at Tobruk has ensured our supplies. Therefore, we must now devote all our strength, especially the power of the air force, to the decisive place according to the principle of focused assault.  It¡¯s Egypt.¡±

    Kesselring objected.  His opinion is: moving forward, logistics will be more difficult.  He said: "The Air Force needs to rest, the pilots are exhausted, and the aircraft also need maintenance. Attacking those enemy air bases that are well-fortified and have not suffered any losses, as an Air Force soldier, I think this is a crazy move that has lost its mind. The Air Force  It has played a decisive role in previous battles. Without the support of the air force, the consequences would be unimaginable. From this point of view alone, I cannot but oppose the continued attack on Cairo."

    Rommel firmly believed that his proposition was correct.  Bastiu and Cavallage, who formally held the command, also echoed his opinion.

    Their backing was Mussolini.  He had already made preparations to fly to Africa, and was planning how to ride a white horse and lead his troops into Cairo.

    ¡°Also supporting them was Hitler.  He told Kesselring on the phone not to interfere with Rommel's plans.  Thus, a tragedy in North Africa began.

    Major Norman, commander of the 27th Combat Aviation Regiment, said: "If we continue to advance like this, the Army will have to go deep alone. Because the ground organization is not perfect, the Air Force cannot advance side by side with the Army."

    Despite this, the African Air Force Commander committed all his forces to the attack on Matruh and El Alamein.  The 1st Flying Training Regiment attacked British supply depots, and the 3rd Dive Bombing Regiment attacked enemy forces maneuvering behind the lines.  There is such a record in the history of the 27th Combat Aviation Regiment: "The condition of the fighter jets that were launched into the Battle of Sidi Barani on June 26 was very bad. There was nothing except a fuel tanker, and the pilots had to  Don¡¯t take off on an empty stomach.¡±

    By the evening of June 26, Second Lieutenant Koerner had shot down five enemy planes, and Second Lieutenants Stahlschmidt and Schreier had shot down three each.  The next morning, another attack on Ashtas was launched.  Transfer to Fuqua in two days.  Fuqua lacked gasoline and the plane could not take off, so he had to lie on the ground.

    However, on the other side of the battle line, the strength of the British Air Force is increasing day by day.  The British Air Force is now able to fly from well-equipped Egyptian airports.  Rommel's troops were deeply aware of this.  As the troops approached Egypt day by day, the losses suffered from low-altitude attacks by enemy aircraft became increasingly serious.

    On June 30, due to strong sandstorms, German level bombers and dive bombers were unable to fly from Fuqua to Alamein Fortress.  Rommel attempted to break through Alamein Fortress in three days, but was eventually forced to go on the defensive due to lack of strength.  As of today, the overall situation has been decided.  After eight weeks of preparations, Rommel's renewed offensive failed again.  It was General Montgomery who turned the tide of the North African war bounded by El Alamein.  He launched a powerful offensive against the German army on October 23, 1942.

    On August 23, John Marceiu returned to the team.  The youngest captain in the Air Force at only 22 years oldThe officer once again served as the commander of the 3rd Squadron, and he was extremely happy.  Corporal Neumann, the technical clerk in charge of recording the battle records of Marseille, sharpened his pencil again.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to keep you busy for a while again!¡± Marceiu said with a smile.

    The first week passed peacefully.  On September 1, Rommel would engage in a desperate battle to once again wrest the initiative from his archrival.  The sky was as lively as before, and Marceiu's squadron also took part in the battle.

    From 8:29 to 8:39 in the morning, Marceiu shot down two "Curtis" and "Spitfire" aircraft in one go.  He spent the morning escorting dive bombers over Halfa.  From 10:55 to 11:05, he destroyed eight more Curtiss aircraft.  Then from 17:47 to 17:53, another five "Curtis" aircraft were shot down south of Imayid.

    Destroying seventeen enemy planes in one day is truly an unheard-of miracle!  (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!)
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