Chapter 115: Ace Pilot Over Tarnuv
Following Major Nesterov’s command, over 30 Lusha reconnaissance aircraft split into two formations, fiercely flanking the distant Germania aircraft formation from both sides.
Today’s Lusha reconnaissance aircraft, and indeed all countries on the Entente side, had not yet solved the issue of the synchronization device, so aircraft could not fire directly forward, as the bullets would hit the propeller.
Therefore, even when equipped with Lewis air-cooled machine guns, they could only fire to the sides. As a result, it was not surprising that formations similar to the battle lines of battleships were adopted.
This tactic might seem peculiar to later generations, but in the very early days of human aerial combat history, it did indeed make a fleeting appearance.
It wasn’t until the advent of the synchronization device, allowing aircraft to fire directly forward, that this absurd formation, along with many other peculiar formations that had once bloomed, were swept into the dustbin of history.
Seeing the Lusha aircraft formation charging in, the Germania aircraft formation, which was currently conducting reconnaissance over Tarnuv, immediately reacted.
The officer commanding this formation was Major Oswald Boelcke, who was also a colleague and subordinate of Colonel Max Immelmann.
The development of aviation corps was rapid and highly specialized, so many young people in their 20s could hold high positions, while most older individuals didn’t understand aircraft.
Immelmann, who had become well acquainted with Lelouch, was now a prominent figure in the Army Aviation Corps. At only 26 years old, he had achieved the rank of Colonel, the same as Lelouch.
The key was that he was the only major player in the aviation corps, and aerial reconnaissance battles on the Western Front were more intense, so the Empire kept Immelmann on the Western Front.
On the Eastern Front, only Major Boelcke, Immelmann’s favored junior protégé, was appointed as the overall commander of the aviation corps, responsible for coordinating aerial reconnaissance support for the 6th and 10th Army Groups.
In the aerial reconnaissance of the past period, both sides were relatively peaceful, with no large-scale aerial combat, at most small skirmishes upon encounter.
Generally, once engaged, enemy aircraft would not survive to report back, so although the Lusha had lost a few aircraft, they were unaware that the enemy had also upgraded.
Today, it happened to be Major Oswald Boelcke’s turn to be on duty and take to the skies, but he encountered a large enemy formation. Major Boelcke was not afraid at all; instead, he was quite excited, with a touch of nervousness.
Major Boelcke immediately commanded with shouts and gestures: “Groups C/D, continue reconnaissance and target designation missions, and provide targets for the artillery. All other groups, engage in four-plane formations, free pursuit attack!”
Groups C/D acknowledged the order and continued their reconnaissance and target designation missions.
The other groups also understood the simple order of “engage in free combat in four-plane formations” from Major Boelcke’s wing-waggling gestures, and subsequent actions would depend on their individual initiative.
Major Boelcke had great confidence in his troops, as he knew that these aircraft were equipped with a brand-new mechanical device that had only recently passed testing with success in the past two months – the synchronization device.
This allowed the air-cooled machine guns to be mounted directly in front of the cockpit for forward firing, without the risk of bullets hitting the propeller.
In the original historical timeline, the synchronization device was first designed by Germania engineers in late 1915 and installed on fighter aircraft. Later, the new “Fokker fighter aircraft” widely adopted this device and learned Colonel Max Immelmann’s “Immelmann Turn” （ also translated as “Immelmann loop” ）. Combined, these devastated the Entente air forces in the first half of 1916, taking them a full six months to catch up and re-establish technological parity.
In this current timeline, the synchronization device appearing about half a year earlier was not surprising. As early as late March, when Lelouch was chatting with Immelmann and heard that the Britannian fighter aircraft had been equipped with Lewis air-cooled machine guns, he knew that the advantage Germania fighter aircraft had gained through “early installation of MG15 air-cooled machine guns” had been neutralized by the enemy.
Since that was the case, with a farsighted transmigrator like Lelouch present, he would absolutely not allow this situation to persist.
Every time the enemy closed the technological gap, it was time for Lelouch to release some more of his trump cards.
Therefore, Lelouch immediately suggested an idea to Immelmann, asking him to consult with aviation engineers to devise a mechanism that would synchronize the propeller and the machine gun trigger to ensure their actions were precisely offset.
Lelouch did not know the specific details of how to build the “synchronization device” or its mechanical structure. However, with his idea and this direction of effort, everything was sufficient.
Without Lelouch, this device would have been developed half a year later. After he broke the barrier, it would have only taken the Germania mechanical engineers one month to complete the remaining work with their strong technical capabilities.
Thus, before the outbreak of the Eastern Front campaign, Boelcke’s aircraft were all equipped with synchronization devices, regaining a technological advantage.
Twelve Albatros D.I reconnaissance fighters, upon receiving the order, fearlessly split into three four-plane groups and confidently charged towards the Lusha.
Germania’s air power was actually far superior to that of the Lusha. Given the Lusha’s poverty, how many high-end assets like aircraft could they afford to use?
However, at this very moment, on this battlefield, the Lusha had a numerical advantage. This was not due to the Germania aviation corps underestimating the enemy, but because the Germania needed to maintain long-term reconnaissance and provide targeting for artillery, and aircraft endurance was limited.
The Albatros D.I had a flight range of only over 300 kilometers. If they took off from behind the lines, nearly a hundred kilometers from the battlefield, more than half of their time would be wasted on transit. The actual time spent circling the battlefield and conducting aerial photography would only be about forty percent.
Furthermore, aircraft could not take off again immediately after landing. Refueling, simple maintenance checks, and pilot rest periods all required time.
Strictly calculated, even if Boelcke had 80 aircraft, he could only guarantee a maximum of 20 aircraft remaining airborne over the battlefield at any given time.
In contrast, although the Lusha had only a total of over 30 aircraft, by catching the enemy off guard and committing all their aircraft, they formed a clear local numerical advantage.
Major Nesterov was so confident and dared to charge forward precisely because he had more aircraft at this moment.
The two columns of Lusha combat reconnaissance aircraft soon closed in, with 16 on each flank, presenting a formidable appearance.
However, their aircraft formations were cumbersome, making it difficult to turn. Once they turned, the formation would easily become disorganized. Boelcke’s three four-plane formations began to climb preemptively, giving the enemy no opportunity to circle and exchange fire at the same altitude.
As the two sides were about to cross paths, the German aircraft had already climbed to at least 500 meters above the Lusha aircraft.
Given the accuracy and rate of fire of light machine guns of this era, at such relative speeds during a crossing, wild spraying would have no chance of hitting.
The 12 German aircraft quickly and easily passed over the enemy. Due to the continuous climb, the speed of the German aircraft was already slowly decreasing. After crossing, the now low-speed German aircraft immediately began a tight turn, re-engaging the large Lusha formation from behind.
The slower the speed, the less centrifugal force is required to overcome during a turn, and the smaller the turning radius becomes. This is easily understandable physics.
However, tail-chasing attacks had never occurred in this world before, so even if the Lusha knew this, they did not make any specific preparations.
“You just want to circle around from behind? Go ahead and circle around. Even if you circle around, you still can’t fire directly forward, so you’ll still have to fly to our rear-side and then fire forward from the side?”
Major Nesterov himself thought the same way and did not feel it was necessary to deliberately avoid this situation.
At that time, the Lusha’s rear gunner could still return fire, still have a firing angle, merely needing to adjust the angle of the Lewis machine gun slightly.
However, an accident soon occurred.
“Rat-tat-tat!” Major Boelcke’s aircraft latched onto the tail of the Lusha formation on the left flank, positioning itself directly behind them, denying the front aircraft any firing angle, and then opened fire fiercely.
The bullets from the MG15 air-cooled machine gun, passing through the gaps in the propeller blades of the Albatros D.I, poured forward like water.
Because the flight paths were similar, with almost no relative lateral movement, the accuracy of the fire became extremely high, terrifyingly so.
A Lusha combat reconnaissance aircraft was inexplicably hit by a burst of bullets, disintegated in mid-air, and fell in pieces, crashing.
The other Lusha aircraft were somewhat bewildered and couldn’t react immediately, mistaking it for normal aerial combat losses.
But within just a minute or two, they realized something was seriously wrong.
The other two four-plane formations also began to exert their strength, with their respective squadron leaders finding targets and beginning a one-sided slaughter of the Lusha.
A lieutenant pilot under Major Boelcke’s command, and the temporary commander of one of these four-plane formations, Lieutenant Kurt Arthur Bärnhoft Student, also flew his fighter and fired a burst of machine-gun fire at the tail aircraft of another large Lusha formation.
With several short bursts, Lieutenant Kurt Student managed to shoot down two enemy aircraft in a row! The efficiency of the slaughter was akin to a firing squad.
And the officer of the last four-plane formation, Lieutenant Manfred von Richthofen, closely followed his old instructor Boelcke, meticulously imitating the old instructor’s maneuvers, and also shot down a Lusha aircraft.
The initial stage of the aerial battle resulted in an exchange ratio of 4 to 0.
At this point, even Major Nesterov, however slow to react, observed that the situation was not right.
“Bad! These Germania aircraft can fire forward! They can stay behind us and aim slowly! Disperse quickly! Each aircraft use its side to face the enemy and fire freely!”
Major Nesterov roared the order at the top of his lungs, but few responded.
This order was too complex, a completely new command, not among the simple instructions like “wiggle your wings a few times” agreed upon before the battle.
Major Nesterov could only rely on shouting, hoping nearby pilots would hear and execute.
For aircraft further away, without radios and unable to discern orders by observing their commander’s wing movements, they descended into chaotic individual combat.
Some aircraft executed the order, some did not. The entire Lusha formation became a mess, and in the chaos, two Lusha aircraft even collided and crashed due to inconsistent turning orders.
Meanwhile, the Germania forces, taking advantage of their formation change, shot down another 5 aircraft. The Lusha’s 32 aircraft had thus lost 11, leaving only 21, completely eliminating any numerical advantage.
The Lusha, after stabilizing their formations and tactics, began to circle individually and attack the enemy aircraft with side-firing capabilities.
Their posture was quite similar to that of the AC-130 gunships on Earth in later generations, appearing quite clumsy and comical, but at least they could mount some form of counterattack.
The Germania aircraft, unwilling to engage in a circling dogfight with the Lusha, repeatedly climbed, rolled halfway, and then dived down to counterattack.
This maneuver was also something the Lusha had never seen before; it was the “Immelmann Turn” recently invented by Colonel Max Immelmann and then taught to his officers.
In a normal turn, a significant amount of power is used to overcome the centrifugal force of circling, causing the aircraft’s speed to decrease.
The Immelmann Turn, by combining vertical climbing and rolling, allows for more flexible and rapid turning, and also converts a portion of the kinetic energy that would have been lost during the turn into potential energy of altitude, which can then be released to accelerate during a subsequent dive.
In short, using the Immelmann Turn, turns are faster, energy loss is smaller, and the aircraft’s speed can be better preserved.
The Germania pilots had only learned this maneuver within the past month or two and were not yet proficient, but it was sufficient for today’s situation.
The development of this maneuver was complementary to the synchronization device and forward-firing machine guns – precisely because there were machine guns firing forward, aircraft often had to point their noses at the enemy during combat, and to better point their noses at the enemy, Colonel Immelmann invented this maneuver.
The Lusha pilots wanted to maintain circling side-fire, but the enemy would often pass by and reappear above and behind them, making it difficult for the Lusha aircraft to output fire, while the German aircraft could always fire with ease.
“Rat-tat-tat~ Rat-tat-tat~” The sound of machine guns echoed across the sky, and Lusha aircraft, trailing thick black smoke, plummeted down all over the airspace of Tarnuv County.
“Why is this happening? Why is this happening?” Major Nesterov watched as one comrade after another was shot down, and he completely lost his mind.
He was enraged at the incompetence of his rear gunner, wondering why they couldn’t hit the enemy.
The remaining number of aircraft on both sides, which had started at 20 versus 32, eventually became 20 versus 21.
Later, it gradually shifted to 20 versus 15, then 19 versus 10… and finally settled at 18 versus 6.
After the Lusha stabilized their positions, they still lost another 15 aircraft while only managing to shoot down 2 German planes.
Towards the end, some Lusha aircraft began to turn and flee, attempting to escape. However, because their aircraft speed was inferior to the Albatross, they were easily caught and shot down without accomplishing anything.
Major Nesterov, seeing the fate of the deserters, knew he could not escape either. In a fit of desperation, he charged head-on into an enemy aircraft he could find. The enemy aircraft had just shot down one of his comrades and was about to turn to adjust its position, moving at a relatively low speed. Major Nesterov, with his faster speed, directly intercepted its flight path.
If the gunner is incompetent, then ram it directly!
“Crack-crack~” With a series of dull thuds, both aircraft disintegrated in mid-air.
One of the German aircraft’s wings was directly knocked off, and it began to tumble downwards.
Seeing this, the German pilot quickly parachuted out, using his winged parachute to try and glide towards friendly lines, hoping to avoid landing on the Lusha Army positions in Tarnuv County.
Major Nesterov’s aircraft, in the collision, had its nose hit the enemy. Although the engine in the nose was sturdy and did not break, the structural components holding the engine were not as strong. In such a collision, the engine was, as expected, directly knocked off and detached.
Major Nesterov, piloting an aircraft whose nose and engine had completely disappeared, leaving only two wings, attempted to struggle and glide shakily, but ultimately lost control, missed the opportunity to bail out, and died upon crash landing.
（Note: Nesterov historically died in a crash after a collision, so let’s respect his fate.）
The remaining few Lusha aircraft were also surrounded and annihilated, with the final outcome: 32 to 3.
If not for the case of direct ramming, it might have been 32 to 2.
Regardless, the Lusha’s attempt to regain air superiority for reconnaissance ended in complete failure.
The Germania pilots returned to base, began to tally their scores and losses, and contacted forward units to search for the paratroopers.
Finally, the results tallied were: Major Oswald Boelcke shot down 3 enemy aircraft in this battle, adding to the 3 he had previously shot down on the Western Front, bringing his total to 6, making him the second ace pilot in the Germania aviation corps – second only to his former leader, the pioneer and creator of the fighter unit, Max Immelmann.
Lieutenant Kurt Student shot down 4 enemy aircraft in one go. However, he had not participated in combat on the Western Front before and was a newcomer, so he was still one step away from becoming an ace and needed to try harder next time.
Lieutenant Manfred von Richthofen, also a newcomer, had bad luck and only shot down 2 Lusha aircraft before being rammed by the enraged Lusha Major Captain. However, Lieutenant Richthofen bailed out in time and only sustained minor injuries.
Coupled with his excellent skill in controlling his winged parachute, he was able to drift towards friendly lines upon landing near the front line and was rescued by his Army comrades.
Richthofen would likely need several months for recovery and reflection, to thoroughly review the lessons learned from today’s battle. When he returned to combat, he should be able to achieve a breakthrough.
…
The incredibly uneven air combat exchange ratio also further lowered the morale of the Lusha soldiers on the ground.
They watched with their own eyes as their aircraft rained down, while the enemy suffered almost no losses. Meanwhile, the long-range artillery batteries of the German 21st Corps, guided by the reconnaissance aircraft, systematically eliminated the Lusha heavy artillery batteries.
By around 9 AM, a large portion of the Lusha heavy artillery batteries in Tarnuv County had fallen silent.
On the front battlefield, Army Commander Belinnovsky, seeing that his last trump cards were mostly gone and the artillery preparation was still insufficient, had no choice but to order his infantry to charge the defensive positions of the German 39th Army using a human wave tactic.
He could only hope that the shelling from early in the morning had at least weakened the enemy’s forces somewhat, so the resistance now would not be too strong.
But he had clearly miscalculated.
Soldiers of the German 39th Army emerged one by one from shell craters, foxholes, and the edges of fields and ditches, re-organizing their defensive fire and unleashing a furious barrage on the Lusha soldiers charging along the railway, attempting to reopen their route of retreat.
The 10 or so 105mm field guns of the German 39th Army, which had been well-hidden and held back for a long time, along with the 24 75mm field guns captured from the Cossack cavalry, also opened fire.
The German 39th Army was very patient; they did not engage in artillery duels with the enemy at the beginning.
The task of artillery duels was entirely left to their comrades in the 21st Corps, demonstrating full trust in their allies.
These few artillery pieces, which had been painstakingly deployed behind enemy lines, were naturally to be used on critical targets, at the moment the enemy launched their general offensive!
The charging Lusha Army had not expected the enemy to be so patient; they had only endured shelling without returning fire, relying on their comrades to retaliate and their air force to provide targeting.
Caught completely off guard, thousands of Lusha soldiers in a human wave formation on exposed terrain were slaughtered, reduced to dismembered limbs and shattered remains.
Army Commander Belinnovsky’s grand plan had completely collapsed.
The three divisions participating in the counterattack were crippled in just one or two hours of fierce charging and fighting, with casualties likely numbering in the tens of thousands.
The remaining soldiers were completely drained of spirit and morale, retreating numbly and confused, like walking dead.
Meanwhile, the main force of the German 21st Corps, at precisely the opportune moment orchestrated by Marshal Leopold, launched a general offensive from east to west towards Tarnuv County, where the remnants of the Lusha Army were entrenched.
The 39th Army, which had outflanked the enemy, played the role of the anvil, battering the enemy and draining their morale. The 21st Corps on the front, the “hammer,” naturally had to deliver a thunderous blow to seal the victory.
Surging Germania Army soldiers, following intense artillery preparation, launched a fierce assault on the county town.
It was only at this moment that the defending Lusha Army realized what truly sufficient artillery preparation entailed; their earlier meager efforts were nothing but a joke.
The enemy had concentrated an unknown number of heavy artillery pieces; this was a determined offensive.
Swarms of Lusha soldiers had completely broken down mentally. Faced with the approaching enemy, especially those armed with submachine guns, the Lusha soldiers had lost all will to defend.
It was during the transition between offense and defense, when their morale and organization were weakest, that the enemy seized the opportunity to strike them while they were down.
“Rat-tat-tat~ Rat-tat-tat~” German submachine gunners stormed into the trench zone, firing wildly to the left and right, purging the trenches.
Hand grenades rained down, hurled into every nook and cranny of the zigzag trenches, eliminating the Lusha soldiers who were hiding in dead corners, clinging to false hope.
Finally, rows of Lusha infantry, driven to despair, shouted their willingness to surrender and laid down their weapons in droves.
Inside the Lusha Army command post in the city center, Army Commander Belinnovsky, hearing the approaching sounds of gunfire and artillery, and receiving dire news from various defense lines, finally realized that Tarnuv County was doomed, and they couldn’t even buy more time.
“Immediately order all units to break out on the side not yet encircled by the enemy, crossing the rugged hilly terrain. Abandon the county town! Escape with as many as possible!”
However, radio messages could only reach division headquarters. From division downwards to regiment and battalion, messengers had to ride on horseback to relay information.
It was unknown how many subordinate units would receive this order to retreat and break out, and manage to escape.
Finally, after a full day and night of chaotic fighting, as the time passed midnight on May 13th and entered the early morning of May 14th.
Of the total of 5 Lusha Army divisions along the Tarnuv-Gorlice line, the 57th Division at Gorlice was essentially annihilated. Among the remaining 4 divisions, the Lusha 54th Division, which had filled the line and held back the German 21st Corps, and the Lusha 56th Division, which had directly attacked the German 39th Army, were also almost completely wiped out, with those who survived being captured.
Only the 55th Division, serving as the general reserve, and the 58th Division, which had conducted a flanking maneuver, had some personnel escape.
They might be able to return to Reszów in the rear, or they might reach Przemysl Fortress; it would depend on who was faster, the attackers or the defenders.
Additionally, the 14th Cossack Cavalry Division, sent as reinforcements by General Brusilov, commander of the Lusha 8th Army Group, after repeatedly failing to break through the German 39th Army’s positions, suffered heavy casualties and was forced to retreat directly back to Reszów.
On May 15th, the main force of Marshal Leopold’s 10th Army Group had completely occupied the county towns of Gorlice and Tarnuv, as well as the surrounding defensive lines.
The 3 reorganized corps under the German 10th Army Group began to advance towards Reszów, and a detachment was sent to try and block the Dukla Pass to the south, preventing the main Lusha Army south of the Carpathian Mountains from retreating north of the mountains.
The withdrawal route for the main force of the Lusha’s entire Southwestern Front was about to be blocked.
—
PS: I noticed a sharp decline in comments yesterday. Perhaps people are not very interested in unfamiliar battles on the Eastern Front, lacking historical background knowledge.
Therefore, I will accelerate the plot somewhat, and today there will be two chapters totaling over 6,000 words, accumulating to over 12,000 words, released all at once. （ I’ll release them all this morning, which won’t affect your viewing of the military parade at 9 AM.）
You will be able to see the direction tomorrow. The main reason is that for such large-scale campaigns, spanning the entirety of Hungary and Slovakia, with 700,000 to 800,000 Austro-German troops and over 1.3 million Russian and Romanian troops.
For a campaign involving a total of two million people on both sides, a short length will indeed make it difficult to grasp the details. I am already rushing forward with over 10,000 words daily, so please bear with me.
