Chapter 1468 Large-Scale Bombing

As the German army continued to advance into the hinterland of Russia, the construction of various infrastructures was also speeding up. A large number of Russian prisoners of war were used for this. Roads, railways and airports have become top priorities. After more than two million Russian prisoners of war were locked up in prison camps, they began to work in this area.

For Germany, these Russian prisoners of war are undoubtedly the best labor force. The more roads and railways are repaired, the more adequate the logistical support for the front line will be. The more likely the German army will win the war. After all, including the army of the slave country, the German army has almost 12 million troops fighting in Russia. Just ensuring the supply of this huge army is a big problem. Even, this is more difficult than defeating the Russian army.

When fighting in western Russia, the traffic situation was relatively good. Using trains and automobiles can also meet the consumption of troops relatively easily. However, after entering the periphery of Moscow, the traffic conditions here are much worse than those in western Russia. Although it is spring, the roads are muddy due to rain and melting ice and snow. And the vandalism of the Russians, the road is full of big potholes. Many times even trucks get stuck in potholes and cannot get up. This undoubtedly seriously affected the logistical supplies on the front line. Therefore, in order to ensure the supplies of the frontline troops, the German army had to invest a lot of force in road repairs.

As for the airport, this is entirely a military consideration. Although the Luftwaffe also has a large transport fleet. But it is undoubtedly not cost-effective to use a transport plane to transport ordinary war materials. Therefore, almost all of these airports are prepared for the Air Force's fighters and bombers. The closer the airport is to the front line, the longer the fighter jets will stay in the air after takeoff. What's more, even if it is a heavy bomber, if it wants to bomb targets in the hinterland of Russia, the range is still a big problem. If the airport can go deep into the hinterland of Russia, then the German strategic bomber fleet can directly attack those factories in the hinterland of Russia under the protection of long-range fighter jets.

In order to avoid being bombed by the Luftwaffe, Russia moved many factories to the east of the Ural Mountains. Even the assembly plant of the T-34 tank and the production plant of accessories were moved to those safe areas.

The increase in the number of front-line airfields also enabled the Luftwaffe to provide better fire support for the Army.

No, the German army is about to launch an attack on Moscow. But according to the practice of the German army, sufficient fire support is definitely essential before a large-scale offensive. In addition to the Army's own artillery, it is the Air Force's bombers that provide fire support.

Front-line airports in Russia, as well as German airports in Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine, were all parked with bombers from the Luftwaffe. Not only the aircraft of the tactical aviation group, but also the aircraft of the strategic aviation group.

On the afternoon of May 6, Marshal Albert Kesselring, Minister of the Imperial Air Force, and Marshal Edward Milch, Deputy Minister and Commander of the Strategic Air Force, reported the preparations of the Air Force to Emperor Qin Tian in the palace.

"The Imperial Air Force has assembled seven tactical aviation groups and four strategic aviation groups at the front-line airports on the Eastern Front. Before the Army's attack on Moscow begins, the Imperial Air Force will use five tactical aviation groups and four strategic aviation groups. Moscow is carrying out large-scale bombing. Ensure that the army will wipe out the Russian resistance forces in Moscow to the maximum extent before attacking Moscow." Marshal Albert Kesselring reported.

With five tactical aviation clusters and four strategic aviation clusters, the total number of fighters used has reached 5,400. This is undoubtedly a very large scale. The total number of assembled fighters has even reached about 40% of the total number of German fighters in service.

"Well, are all the materials on the front line ready? On the army side, I hope the air force can blow Moscow into rubble." Qin Tian said with a smile.

Using 5 tactical aviation clusters and 4 strategic aviation clusters, the number of bombers alone is very large. A total of 600 dive bombers, 600 ground attack aircraft, 480 H-11 medium bombers, and 960 H-21 heavy bombers. The number of these bombers has exceeded 2,500. Especially heavy bombers, which can carry several tons of bombs. It is not a joke to use such a large bomber fleet to bomb Moscow and blow Moscow into ruins.

"Your Majesty, we can blow Moscow into ruins in just a week!" Marshal Edward Milch said confidently.

Qin Tian nodded: "Well, I'll give you a week to blow Moscow into ruins. After that, the strategic aviation group will launch a strategic bombing campaign against Russia again. The support for the army attacking Moscow will be handed over to the tactical aviation group to take charge."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Marshal Albert Kesselring and Marshal Edward Milch both replied.

Once the Luftwaffe bombed Moscow into ruins, the dive bombers and ground attack aircraft of the tactical aviation group were obviously more suitable than the medium bombers and heavy bombers of the strategic aviation group to support the army.

Although the German army already has a complete advantage on the Russian battlefield. However, the strategic attack on Russia still cannot be stopped. In this case, Russia will not be able to fight back.

In addition, the German Air Force is also using Russia to practice. Once Germany defeated Russia, the next step was to launch a large-scale offensive against the United States and the island nations. The German Air Force will perform well in these two countries. The United States, in particular, has huge industrial strength. If you want to defeat the United States, you must disintegrate the industrial strength of the United States. The strategic air force will undoubtedly play a big role in this.

"Although, I know that even if Moscow is blown into ruins, it is impossible to completely disintegrate the fighting spirit of the Russians. Even, they will continue to fight us to the death in Moscow, which has become a ruin. But even so , as long as we can eliminate a little more Russians, it will be relatively easier for the army to attack Moscow, and the losses will be smaller." Qin Tian said.

It takes a lot of bombs to blow Moscow into ruins. This costs a lot of money. But Qin Tian still unswervingly let the air force carry out the attack fully.

Marshal Albert Kesselring and Marshal Edward Milch were well aware of Qin Tian's intentions. In this regard, they are also very supportive. Otherwise, how can the importance of the Imperial Air Force be reflected?