In this air battle that lasted all day, the air forces of both sides fought for almost the whole day, and the brutality of the war shocked the commanders of both sides. The Germans lost at least 150 aircraft in the day's battle.

There are countless aircraft, various materials and equipment. [Top〖Point〖Novel〖Similarly, Naples under the control of the Allied Powers also suffered heavy losses, and many officers and soldiers waiting to return home by ship failed to return in the end.

Hometown. And because of continuous high strength

During the attack, the 12 aircraft carriers and 6 aircraft cruisers in the five-nation joint fleet had less than 800 aircraft that could be used on the battlefield that day. Most of the aircraft needed inspection and maintenance. Their combat effectiveness was less than half of what it was at the beginning!

The two sides fought back and forth this time, and each had its own highlights from the command point of view. However, from the perspective of battle losses, the German losses were greater. Not only the loss of aircraft, but also the loss of personnel made the Germans more vulnerable.

The Air Force is heartbroken.

Immediately after the battle, Luftwaffe Theater Chief Lu Kesselring received a telegram from Berlin, asking him to hand over command to his deputy, General Erhard Michiel, and he himself would take relevant personnel to Berlin for questioning.

.The German high-level officials really could not accept that the other party could launch such a powerful attack on important targets when they had all the advantages, and Richthofen also wanted to find out carefully why the air security force equipped with radar would carry out this operation.

In vain?

"From a tactical point of view, I don't think there is a problem with my command. My radar air defense cordon was very effective before today. I have guided fighter jets to attack sporadic attack aircraft forces of the Allied Powers many times, and achieved good results.

The result, however. Just today, our radar warning network completely failed overnight. The other party used an electronic jamming device and this white paper to interfere with our radar. This sounds ridiculous, isn't it? Simple

Just chaff

It can invalidate the radar we have worked so hard to develop. But this is the fact. The opponent's accomplishments in electronic warfare make me feel terrible! This is the first time our radar has been put into war. However, it was found and counterattacked by the opponent within a week.

Method. Faced with this situation, I really don’t know what to do. I think the technical problems are bigger than my command problems.” In his opening remarks, Kesselin emphasized that the failure of the radar warning network was due to this.

The first question in this battle.

"Secondly, I want to explain that nearly a hundred British bombers set off from Corsica, and they had the ability to fly at night. When it was dawn, the enemy had already flown above our heads. Before that, in the air,

The patrolling fighter jets have already been used to block the enemy's attacking fleet in the south. The new wave of planes has not yet taken off and cannot stop the opponent's bombing. Moreover, the British bombers are the same as ours.

Strong and with similar self-defense firepower, the Battle of Florence proved a truth. It is too difficult for ordinary fighters without enhanced firepower and defense to shoot down heavy bombers. I am not shirking responsibility for myself anymore, I believe everyone here

If we were in a different position, we would not have done better. Our defense force was already saturated at that time. There was nothing we could do about it," Kesselring added.

"But the German Air Force has the upper hand on the Italian Peninsula after all. You could have organized the opponent to launch a large-scale attack by constantly consuming the opponent, but you did not do so. Your actions tended to be conservative, and you just continued to use small-scale safaris to attack

Limiting the opponent but not launching a large-scale battle. Can this be mistaken for your dereliction of duty?" A lieutenant general and someone next to him said

The person exchanged words in a low voice and then asked. "In addition, according to combat records, during this period, the Imperial Air Force in North Africa and Tunisia launched an attack on Sicily and achieved certain results. Then I want to know

, if the situation is true, then where did the twin-engine bombers involved in this bombing obtain supplies and airfields?"

"We cannot break through Naples' air defense without adequate preparations. The biggest feature of air combat is its high mobility. The pure numerical advantage is likely to be offset by the opponent's intelligence advantage. If a large-scale fleet is used, it will be impossible to defeat the enemy within a few dozen kilometers or even

It will be detected by the opponent's radar nearly a hundred kilometers away, and the opponent can completely avoid or retreat to the anti-aircraft artillery defense zone. Our fighter jets

We are unwilling to risk the attack of anti-aircraft artillery to pursue the opponent. Moreover, the opponent's main aviation force takes off from aircraft carriers. We simply do not have the ability to launch an attack on such a huge fleet. Moreover, aircraft carriers are mobile, and we are here today.

, maybe tomorrow the other side will release aircraft from hundreds of kilometers away, and the other side will have an advantage in maneuverability." Kesselring paused and continued.

"As for the effectiveness of the North African aviation force's attack on Sicily, I have always had reservations. Sicily is the base camp of the Italian Navy's land-based aviation force. Although the aircraft have been exhausted in the continuous air battles, some hidden airports and material reserves are still there.

English enough

Used by the Chinese. And I need to explain that if the Royal Air Force strategic bomber force dispatched from Corsica is sent out for this attack, the opponent's land-based bombers will not be many. Such a big island can always support this force.

Operations of the bomber force.

After some inquiries, the German General Staff also believed that Kesselring should not bear the main responsibility for the losses in this battle, not to mention that because of his prompt decision-making, the bomber force from the Balkans successfully raided Naples and surrounding ports.

It caused a lot of damage to the opponent.

It was a victory. So in the end, Kesselring was not punished. However, Kesselring did not return to the Balkan front, but continued to stay in Berlin because Richthofen believed that this man had been fighting with the Allied Air Force.

The current capable men would be more useful if they stayed in Berlin than on the front lines.

"The war is coming to an end. If nothing else happens, the Kaiser will accept the advice of the General Staff and reach some kind of tacit agreement with the Allied Powers to solve the Italian problem in a peaceful way." In Richthofen's office.

, Kesselring heard the news that shocked him.

"The Kaiser is scared!" After hearing the news, Kesselring had such a thought in his mind. "Does His Majesty the Emperor think that the cost of this war is too high? What is our bottom line? No way.

Half Italy?" Kesselring asked.

"Sometimes it is very difficult to face up to the gap, but it must be admitted that the gap between us and the British in some key areas is still huge. In this war, we invested far more troops than our opponents, although there are

The disadvantage of fighting on the road is that it is really unreasonable for the war to end like this. Not only the air force, but also the navy and army cannot escape. Let’s not talk about the navy, Marshal Hipper

They bluntly refused to attack, and the Army? In the armored battle in northern Italy, the Army was no less shocked than the defeat we just suffered." Richthofen said after taking a sip of coffee. "

I said, we failed in this battle, don't you have any objection?" "I made no mistakes in tactics, but there is a big gap between me and the opponent technically." Kesselin replied stubbornly.

"Okay, whatever you say, now the General Staff and the top management have reached a consensus. If the gap between us and the Allies continues, then we will definitely lose the next war! Even without China, it will be difficult for us.

Achieve victory. Do you know? We are now at a technological inflection point. The one we are familiar with has gradually lost its dominance. Some new things will eventually dominate the battlefield. And against each other.

Compared with other parties, our army still has an advantage. But we cannot defeat our opponents simply by relying on the army! The British have told us in this battle that the Royal Air Force has the same strike capabilities as the Imperial Air Force. Once a war begins, the Royal Air Force will

The bombs will definitely fall on Germany, and even on our heads. This war has taught us a lot, and there is no need to dwell on it anymore," Richthofen said.

"But one thing you can rest assured is that we will get the whole of Italy, and the Allies have no intention of helping Tycho defend part of Italian territory. Generally speaking, we won, although we took over a dilapidated Italy, and the Mediterranean is our

Then the Middle East, and finally India." Richthofen smiled slightly. A smile appeared on his tired face.

"There is France, France cannot stay! Even if we pay the price of fighting again, we must solve it." Kesselring's sudden words surprised Richthofen. It was not that Germany did not want to fight France, but that the cost was too high.

The possibility of failure is also high. Germany failed to capture Paris during World War I, and this time, Germany's situation is still not optimistic. What's more, the planned breakthrough direction is the Middle East, not Europe. Although France is the largest among the Allied Powers,

Weak, but with the help of Britain and the United States, it is really difficult for Germany to eat it from the land!

"This is not an issue we need to discuss now. There will be plenty of time after the war. You don't need to say more about the importance of France. The key is how to fight. If you are interested, you can talk about it at the meeting of the General Staff.

What do you think?" Richthofen ended the dispute.

In the days that followed, the fighting between the two sides could be described as a grind. The German attack was ineffective, and the Allies also did not take any decent military action. The only thing that could be called efficient was the retreat of Naples and Sicily. One ship

A transport ship loaded with supplies and veterans who survived the war returned to their home countries, and the German Army also stopped attacking. The two sides reached a certain tacit understanding.
Chapter completed!