Unlike the poor situation of the Holy Roman Empire's field troops who launched the attack from the southern front, the Second, Fourth, and Sixth Armies that fought out of the many forests of Württemberg advanced very smoothly with the help of favorable terrain.
Württemberg and northern Bavaria have large woodland areas, which provides great convenience to the three field armies. Even if they advance eastward on a large scale during the day, it is completely possible.
On the other hand, Crown Prince Joseph deployed the remaining main force of the Holy Roman Empire's air force to Württemberg, with the purpose of giving the yellow-skinned monkey a fatal blow at the critical moment.
On the day of the operation, nearly 900 fighter planes were dispatched from all over Württemberg.
Including the fighter planes taking off in Bavaria, the total number exceeds 1,300.
This was the only remaining air power of the Holy Roman Empire. Crown Prince Joseph was also determined to give it a try and ordered the release of all aircraft that could take off for combat without reservation.
Since there is no river blocking the line from Stuttgart to Nuremberg, the mission of the Second Army on the Western Front is to raid Nuremberg, thereby threatening the yellow-skinned monkey's flanks and forcing it to retreat.
The Sixth Air Force of the Ming Dynasty Air Force has three groups of fighter jets deployed in Nuremberg, and one group each in nearby Würzburg and Bamberg. The garrisons in the three places can form a triangular air defense network.
A large group of fighter jets is also stationed in the three cities of Ingolstadt, Regensburg, and Landshut to the south.
It means that there is an air defense triangle zone in the west and south directions, which can effectively prevent the opponent's fleet from raiding one's own airport in Bohemia.
Since fighter planes and tanks have completely different speeds, if they advance eastward at the same time, there will inevitably be a disconnect between the front and rear.
In the early stages of the three armies' operations, the armored cluster was relatively close to its own airport, and only a small number of fighter jets escorted it.
The nearby Swabian Forest can also provide good cover, and the Air Force will not become serious until it enters Bavaria.
Fortunately, after leaving the Swabian Forest, as long as you push less than a hundred kilometers eastward, you can enter another large forest again.
The so-called danger zone is the open space between the two forests and the short distance before driving out of the east forest and reaching Nuremberg.
The situation of armored group operations is similar to that of a large cavalry group. The dust raised can be seen very far away, not to mention that the military's reconnaissance aircraft can overlook the ground situation from a high altitude.
If we marched at night and rested in the woods during the day, the situation would be completely different. The Second Army of the Holy Roman Empire adopted this safer method of advancement.
But in the end there was still more than ten kilometers of open space between the forest and Nuremberg, and there was no cover at all in this distance.
The Second Army could either launch an attack at night or wait until the local Yellow Monkey fleet took off to bomb Munich before taking action.
Even if the Second Army on the Western Front strives to achieve covert operations, it is impossible to completely guarantee that it will not be discovered by the Ming army.
The Ming army's scouts discovered a large number of traces of vehicles driving on the ground between the two forests the next morning.
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[Black Prince in the late Ming Dynasty] []
In particular, it was discovered that the track marks were densely packed and winding, extending all the way into the forest to the east. This very clearly explained a problem, that is, the opponent had a big move, and it was carried out at night.
In the Frankenhöhe forest area west of Nuremberg, the coalition forces had previously dispatched a large number of troops and fighter planes to conduct a blanket search, but no large group of enemies was found.
After Wu Weiming, commander of the Second Army stationed in Nuremberg, received the report, he began to hesitate. His troops were scattered along the long defense line from Würzburg to Ingolstadt.
If we try to shrink our defenses at this time, it may be too late.
According to the current positions of the enemy and ourselves, the enemy should take action tomorrow night at the latest, and the garrison strength in Nuremberg City is relatively empty.
"Relatively empty" means that there are a lot of troops, but they are not the kind that can fight, such as the four pickle brigades in Wu Weiming's hands.
In terms of equipment and strength, the four brigades have 20,000 people and are equipped with 400 tanks, as well as many armored vehicles, trucks, and artillery, which is definitely not bad.
But the combat effectiveness of the Kimchi Second Army is really unflattering, and its actual combat experience is almost zero. Wu Weiming left it in Nuremberg because he was worried that it would be defeated by the opponent when it was stationed in the field.
Once the department suffered a heavy blow, not only Wu Weiming would be unable to explain to Zhang Huangyan, but his superiors would also be unable to report to Emperor Haojing.
Therefore, the main force of the Kimchi Army under the jurisdiction of various Ming army generals was ordered to garrison in or behind the city. They only had to defend the city and be responsible for ensuring the material transportation lines.
Thinking of this, Wu Weiming contacted the Air Force and asked it to quickly search the Frankenhöhe forest area. On the other hand, he ordered nearby ministries to return to defend Nuremberg.
At the same time, the air force fleet in the city is ready to carry out carpet bombing on the enemies in the mountains and forests. This is the best way to take a preemptive strike.
At a time when people from all walks of life were trying to lose and capture the big city, Nuremberg, which was controlled by my own troops, was lost. That would be a big joke. I would never be able to hold my head high in the future.
The Air Force reconnaissance force reported three hours later that there were indeed signs of enemy armor in the mountains and forests, and a reconnaissance aircraft was lost for this reason.
At this moment, Wu Weiming immediately dispatched all combat aircraft that could be touched.
Regardless of whether it is a bomber, a fighter jet, or a helicopter, as long as it can still fly, it will participate in the war.
The reason is simple. It's already three o'clock in the afternoon, and there are only four or five hours before dark.
The engineering troops of the Second Army had already partially filled in the trenches dug by the opposing defenders.
As long as this enemy armored force approaches Nuremberg, it can rush directly into the city along the way.
Although it was only to seize the outer city without the protection of the city wall, it was enough to make Wu Weiming lose face.
The air force fleet stationed in Nuremberg also participated in the attack on enemy armored units discovered on the southern front that day.
It will take a while for the crew members to return, but the situation is urgent. Even if everyone is reluctant, they must take off again.
Because the airport in the inner city is small, most combat aircraft use the airport in the outer city.
Once the outer city is captured by the enemy, there will be no place for him to stay.
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[Black Prince in the late Ming Dynasty] []
It was not until 4 p.m. that the Air Force was ready for a second sortie.
Fortunately, it's close enough that we can fly there in less than half an hour.
A huge fleet consisting of 325 bombers, 292 fighter planes, and 103 helicopters rushed into the eastern part of the Frankenhöhe Mountain Forest.
Also dispatched were the Ming Army's 12th Armored Brigade, 19th Motorized Infantry Brigade, 6th Cavalry Brigade, and the Japanese Army's 4th and 5th Brigades. The ground troops were only responsible for the execution.
Take action only when you find that the opponent has attacked. Otherwise, a melee between the two armies will cause great trouble to your own air force overhead. They will spend most of their time waiting to rescue the parachuting pilots.
Wu Weiming judged from the time of launching the attack that the air force should be able to launch two attacks on the enemies in the mountains and forests before dark.
As for the effect of the air strike, it is still unknown...
The Second Army of the Holy Roman Empire, commanded by Marshal Fritz, planned to quietly approach Nuremberg in the first half of the night, and then attack the city in one fell swoop in the second half of the night, trying to catch the opponent off guard.
Our own air force will cooperate with their operations the next morning, because air force pilots have not yet mastered the skills of night air combat and night return and landing...
When the incident occurred suddenly, neither side had the strength to mobilize the army and air force to participate in the battle.
The 12th Armored Brigade of the Ming Army and the 5th Japanese Brigade were stationed far away. After receiving the order, they had to arrive at the battlefield in the evening.
General Fritz's Second Army was at a greater disadvantage. Without the help of its own fighter planes, once discovered by enemy planes, his men could only rely on anti-aircraft artillery to protect themselves.
The air strikes launched by the Ming Air Force are naturally ruthless. As long as ground firepower is found attacking the fleet, whether it is the target or the forest, it must be completely destroyed before it can return.
The specific process is that the fighter jets first fly over the designated area at low altitude and high speed. If scattered targets with poor camouflage are found, the helicopters will confirm them.
After verification, the fire strike can be carried out directly. If the target has the ability to resist, it will be replaced by fighter jets.
When there were too many targets, the bombers were asked to carpet bomb the general area where the targets were located.
There are also some fighter jets hovering in the outer circle, responsible for protecting their own fleet.
The purpose is to prevent sudden sneak attacks by enemy planes. The enemy is very good at doing this kind of thing.
The counterattack plan formulated by Crown Prince Joseph was quite good. However, during the actual implementation, huge difficulties in air-ground coordination arose due to the time of the raid.
In particular, the Second Group Army, which was performing a surprise attack, was discovered by the enemy in advance and was forced to counterattack, which turned the surprise attack into a breakout.
To stay where he was was to wait for death. After realizing that the situation was not good, Marshal Fritz was forced to make the decision to break out.
But instead of running back, they went all the way east and attacked Nuremberg directly.
Since retreating to the west will still be attacked by yellow-skinned monkeys, there is no need to retreat.
If you can lead your troops into Nuremberg and capture some yellow-skinned monkeys.
Maybe you can use this as a bargaining chip to force the other party to make compromises and concessions.
Within fifteen minutes of the Ming Dynasty Air Force launching the air strike, Marshal Fritz ordered a signal flare to be fired and ordered his troops to attack eastward.
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[Black Prince in the late Ming Dynasty] []
This was considered a decision made in the shortest possible time, but the Second Army still suffered considerable losses.
More than 100 tanks, 300 armored vehicles and trucks have been destroyed, and the number of casualties has reached thousands.
Marshal Fritz could no longer care about the wounded and dying at this time. Anyone who could continue to fight would have to move with the larger force, because if they stayed where they were, they would basically not survive.
If we push forward at full speed, we can reach Nuremberg in up to two hours.
The surrounding coalition forces originally planned to hunt with the help of the Air Force, but after receiving the notice from the Air Force, they suddenly felt that they were caught off guard by the prey.
The Sixth Cavalry Brigade, composed of prairie cavalry, had no heavy weapons such as tanks. Even though their position was due east, they still had to make way for the opponent.
If you stay in place to block the attack, you will not be able to severely damage this eager enemy, but will make your own troops make unnecessary sacrifices. This is extremely unwise behavior.
However, the unit can wait for support from the 19th Infantry Brigade of the King's Division on the north side of the battlefield and the 4th Japanese Brigade on the south side. Both units are equipped with many tanks.
With the rapid changes in the situation between the enemy and ourselves, the cover-up mission originally planned for the ground troops suddenly turned into a north-south pincer attack.
Due to insufficient preparation in advance and the enemy rushing too fast, the distance between the two sides was not too close.
The flanking attack turned into a pursuit, and you had to chase quickly, otherwise the opponent would rush directly to the Air Force airport.
After receiving the report, Wu Weiming had already deployed the 5th and 6th brigades of the Kimchi Army to the western defense line. The 7th brigade was responsible for the north side, and the 8th brigade was responsible for defending the southern area. He didn't have to worry about so much behind the scenes. The enemy wanted to circle around. As for attacking, let’s talk about it later.
I never expected that the dying enemy could make me so embarrassed. When the battle is over, I must sum up the experience and lessons of the battle, otherwise I will not be able to pass the test of Commander-in-Chief Zhang Huangyan...
It turns out that neither speed is good nor speed is slow.
The bomber unit of the Ming Air Force dropped bombs very quickly. After discovering that the opponent was trying to attack eastward, they had to fly back to reload their bombs.
The Second Army of the Holy Roman Empire cannot slack off at all. If it moves slower, it may be destroyed by the yellow-skinned monkey's fighter planes in the open area.
“How long does it take for a bomber to reload?”
"About half an hour! But taxiing to take off also takes time!"
"Yeah! Let them all fly to the rear airport after dropping the bombs! If the bombers cannot complete loading and take off within forty-five minutes, then there is no need to load the bombs and they can fly away directly."
"yes!"
Wu Weiming knew that if the opponent destroyed hundreds of bombers at one time, he would not have to do this as the commander.
"What about the fighter jets?"
"...The bombers don't need to participate in the second air strike. They fly directly to the rear airport and leave the runway to the fighter jets!"
"yes!"
Wu Weiming estimated that the other party would give him about an hour, but he could only give his men forty-five minutes.
You cannot wait for the enemy tanks to rush near the airport before reacting. A single shot from two kilometers away can still destroy the bomber.
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[Black Prince in the late Ming Dynasty] []
All the airports in Nuremberg are now a busy scene, and the bombers that have landed need to take off immediately.
Fortunately, the transition distance is very close, and there is no need to refill fuel. As long as we fly to the rear airport, it is safe.
Airport ground staff give priority to helicopters that do not need to roll to take off, and then fighter jets.
Although helicopters are affiliated with the Army Aviation, fighter jets are equipment of the Air Force.
However, the weapons equipped by the two aircraft are exactly the same, which makes it easier to make overall arrangements in emergencies, such as now.
The ground crews have received relevant training, and their ability to maintain two combat aircraft at the same time may not be good, but there is no problem in reloading them.
A single huge bomber can occupy a runway, forcing the fighters behind it to find relatively flat grassland for emergency landing.
At this moment, it is useless to just have fuel. If you want to block the enemy's attack, you must reload, otherwise no matter how powerful the fighter plane is, it can only make a transition.
