Chapter 490: air supremacy

"Your Excellency Marshal, under the heavy bombardment of the Germans, even the strong anti-gun holes we built have been damaged to varying degrees, and some of the anti-gun holes have even collapsed. It is precisely because of this, so Our losses are getting bigger and bigger. In addition, if the German bombardment continues, our fortifications will soon be lost. At that time, what will we use to resist the German attack?" Deka Admiral Sin Terno looked aggrieved.

"General, even if there are no fortifications, we can still resist the German attack. Although the Marne River is not wide, I believe it will become an insurmountable natural moat for the Germans. At that time, we can use this natural moat Let the Germans shed blood." Marshal Joffre was not so easy to persuade. Of course, if possible, he naturally hopes to send more support to the front line. But it's a pity that he has nothing to do now!

"Okay, Marshal, we'll do our best. But, the German planes are so annoying, why don't our planes take off to meet the enemy? If the Germans are attacking, they will also be constantly strafing or flying over our heads." If I drop bombs, I can't guarantee that my soldiers will lie in the trenches obediently and resist the German attack." Admiral Decasy Turno continued.

   Marshal Joffre frowned immediately. The German planes were very powerful, which was not beyond his expectation. In fact, in the second half of last year, German planes hit the air forces of Britain and France, unable to parry. It's just that at that time, the number of German aircraft was still small, and their effects were limited, and they did not have much impact on the battle situation.

  But now, the German army is actually using aircraft on a large scale to bomb their defense lines, destroy their fortifications, and cause damage to their personnel. Under such circumstances, Marshal Xiafei naturally needs to pay attention.

   "I will immediately order our air force to take off to meet the Germans. I hope our air force can resist them!" Marshal Joffre said.

  Since its establishment, the number of aircraft owned by the French Air Force has also continued to rise. At the same time, the British Expeditionary Force also sent many fighter planes to France to assist in the war. Now, the total number of aircraft that the British and French allied forces can deploy exceeds 2,000. Moreover, these two thousand aircraft are all fighter jets. It's just that, compared with the fighter jets of the German Air Force, the performance of the Farmand F.20 fighter jets equipped by the French Air Force and the F.E.2b fighter jets equipped by the British Air Force are very poor.

  These two aircrafts adopt a propulsive design and have two seats at the front and rear. The driver is in the back seat, and the observer and shooter is in the front seat. They are generally equipped with one or two machine guns. However, although the aircraft with a push-in design is convenient for installing weapons and shooting, it has poor maneuverability and often cannot deal with the more flexible pull-in aircraft.

  When the British and French allied forces were frowning in the face of the fierce shelling and bombing of the German army, the generals of the German army were all smiling.

"Your Highness, the fortifications of the British and French allied forces have been severely damaged by our shelling and bombing. When the attack in the afternoon is over, their fortifications will probably be completely destroyed. At that time, our infantry will You can cross the Marne River very easily." Admiral Bilow smiled.

  Although, large-scale shelling and bombing consumed a lot of combat materials. This makes the logistics pressure on the troops very high. But if it can effectively reduce the casualties of the troops, it is undoubtedly worthwhile.

"Well, for problems that can be solved with shells and bombs, the soldiers are absolutely not allowed to work hard. The life of every German soldier is extremely precious. We also hope to use these soldiers to occupy France, Britain, the whole of Europe and even In the whole world!" Qin Tian said with a smile.

   "Your Highness is right, our soldiers are the best soldiers in the world, and we need to minimize their casualties." Admiral Howson also echoed.

  In the eyes of these generals, a commander who cherishes the lives of soldiers is an excellent commander, and they understand why Qin Tian has such a high prestige in the army. It can be clearly seen from the munitions company under him that has developed a large number of advanced weapons, as well as his command philosophy during combat.

   "Tomorrow morning, when the troops launch the crossing operation, let the aviation team also provide support. At that time, it will be able to further attack the British and French coalition forces and reduce the troops' morning." Qin Tian said.

  For the German army, the biggest problem in launching this campaign was undoubtedly crossing the Marne River. It was also the battle that was most likely to cause the greatest casualties to the German army. This made Qin Tian have to think of various ways to reduce the casualties of the troops during the river crossing operation.

   "Yes, Your Highness." Major General Manstein nodded. He was in charge of sending Qin Tian's orders to all ministries.

"In addition, let the aviation team pay attention. If there are planes from the British and French coalition forces in the sky, they must be beaten down. From the beginning to the end of this battle, this piece of sky belongs to the German Empire!" Qin Tian deliberately said. asked.

  In this era, perhaps no one cares more about the fight for air supremacy than Qin Tian. Although, the aircraft performance of this era is still very different from that of later generations. However, the importance of air supremacy has not changed at all. With air supremacy, not only can you use powerful air power to attack the enemy, but even the enemy's troop mobilization and logistical supplies are all in your own eyes.

  The side with air supremacy will undoubtedly be able to deploy troops more flexibly and use more reasonable tactics to deal with the enemy.

   Therefore, when Qin Tian commanded the troops to fight, he often made fighting for air supremacy the top priority of the troops.

   "Yes, Your Highness. The air team is ready. Once the British and French coalition planes are spotted, they can launch an attack immediately!" Major General Manstein replied.

   On the afternoon of March 31, the German shelling and bombing continued. Although the force of the attack is not as strong as before, the target of the attack is more clear. With the help of the reconnaissance aircraft of the air force and the observation balloons of the artillery, the artillery can be more purposeful when shelling, focusing on attacking the fortifications or firepower points of the British and French coalition forces that were not destroyed in the previous shelling.

  This shelling and bombing, similar to precision strikes, caused greater damage to the fortifications of the British and French allied forces. A large number of surviving fortifications and firing points were destroyed in shelling and bombing.