Chapter 187 Safe Landing

After another death harvest killed two Soviet Lager 3 fighters, the two BF109F fighters that had scored five kills in less than a minute of combat seemed to be satisfied. Driven by the surging engine, the light body made a slight turn and then quickly turned around and left in the direction it came from.

Through the cabin window, he saw the two German fighter jets rolling and maneuvering in the sky, playing with the Soviet fighter jets like children, and finally flew away. Feijunings' heart almost lifted into his throat. Major General Ji finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"The performance of these German fighter jets is simply too advanced. Comrade Zhukov, the equipment in the hands of our young pilots is simply no match for those German fighters. This is too bad."

Compared with the inferior performance of the fighter plane seen by Major General Fedyuninsky on the side, Zhukov, who also witnessed the short air battle in the cabin, saw something different.

"It's not just about the performance of the fighter planes, Comrade Fedyuninsky. Our young pilots are still very lacking in actual combat experience. What they have in their hands is some theoretical knowledge and simulation exercise skills. Compared with those who have fought all over Europe, For the Germans in the sky, the huge gap in actual combat experience between the two sides must be faced and acknowledged.”

Compared with the overwhelming superiority in quality and quantity that the Soviet tank forces maintained over the German armored forces on the ground in 1941, the confrontation between the Soviet aviation forces and the Luftwaffe in the sky was almost a replica of the land armor confrontation situation, except that The absolute advantage in the sky is the German Air Force that has just conquered the skies of the entire European continent.

After just one encounter and two rounds, two veteran German pilots took away five heads like melons and vegetables. Even with an absolute numerical advantage, they still achieved such a terrifying battle loss ratio. Finally, it was like a head of cold water. The young Soviet pilots who were full of enthusiasm and fierceness just a moment ago were completely awakened.

The remaining Soviet Lager 3 aircraft, whose flight speed was far inferior to that of the German BF109F2, did not continue to pursue it. Instead, they continued to guard the remaining seven fighters next to Zhukov's plane to protect the special plane carrying the unknown big shot. Leningrad Airport.

Worried about being pursued and intercepted by the German follow-up fighter jets again, the Li-2 transport plane chose a low-altitude route to fly almost close to the lake. In this era where air combat relies entirely on the pilot's own naked eyes to identify and judge, if you want to find the ultra-low-altitude airspace below the fighter plane, It is really not an easy task for enemy planes flying over the lake.

Fortunately, after the two Messerschmitts flew away, no subsequent German fighter planes continued to appear over Lake Ladoga. The Li-2 transport plane carrying Zhukov and his party soon landed smoothly in Leningrad. Above the city airport.

After showing his ID and action order to the airport garrison, Zhukov quickly asked for a special car from the former, who had not received any advance notice, to go to Smolny, the location of the Leningrad garrison headquarters in the city. palace.

After driving to the Smolny Palace where the City Defense Headquarters is located, Zhukov, who was eager to see the Leningrad garrison commander, Marshal Voroshilov, was stopped by the guards. The latter, who was as meticulous as an iron general guarding the door, went directly to The Red Army general in front of him, whose status and position were completely different from his own, stretched out his right hand.

"Comrade General, please show your pass to the Smolny Palace headquarters."

Faced with the request from the guard captain who only recognized the certificate but not the person, Zhukov, who rushed from Moscow to Leningrad with only a note written by Stalin on his body, had no choice but to speak.

"I just arrived in Leningrad from Moscow, and I don't have a pass from your headquarters. This is my officer's ID. If possible, I hope to see Marshal Voroshilov immediately. I have important orders brought from Moscow. Need to discuss with him."

He reached out and took the small book of documents handed over by Zhukov and then flipped through it. After carefully identifying his identity and confirming that it was correct, the guard captain immediately raised his head again.

"Comrade General, you have no choice but to wait here for a moment. I will go and report to Marshal Voroshilov."

After saying that, the guard captain handed the certificate back to Zhukov and then turned around and trotted away towards the Smolny Palace.

About a minute later, the guard captain returned again and brought Zhukov the good news he wanted to hear most.

"The Smolny Palace Headquarters welcomes you, Comrade General."

When Zhukov arrived at the Smolny Palace headquarters, he did not see Marshal Voroshilov himself for the first time. At the door of the commander's office, a civilian employee of the headquarters with the rank of captain received Zhukov and his party.

"Where is Comrade Voroshilov? I wish to see him in person immediately."

Faced with Zhukov's straightforward answer, the respectful young captain quickly responded.

"Comrade General, Comrade Commander is presiding over a meeting of the Front Military Committee. Please follow me."

Following the civilian captain of the headquarters, he walked towards the commander's office on the second floor. After thinking for a moment, Zhukov quietly spoke again.

"Who is attending the Military Commission meeting?"

"Several group army commanders also include the director of the equipment department, the commander of the Baltic Fleet, and the heads of key cultural relics protection units in Leningrad."

Hearing the captain's obviously prepared answer, the noncommittal Zhukov remained silent.

After arriving at the commander's office on the second floor, a dozen high-level Leningrad officials who were holding a military commission meeting in the front hall were sitting around a long table. Commander Marshal Voroshilov and Leningrad Zhdanov, the first secretary of the municipal party committee, took his seat at the head.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Comrade Zhukov. Your brilliant achievements in Yelnya are still widely praised and inspiring in Leningrad. Thank you for your contribution to the motherland."

"Come and sit here, Comrade Zhukov, and let's finish this meeting together."

After greeting Secretary Zhdanov and Marshal Voroshilov, Zhukov and his party were immediately allowed to attend the meeting with the permission of Marshal Voroshilov.

"Well, where did we talk just now, comrades? Whoever's turn it is to speak, please continue."

Less than five minutes after observing the meeting, Zhukov, who had already roughly understood the current situation in Leningrad, reached out and handed Stalin's handwritten note to Marshal Voroshilov.