Chapter 121: Airship Smashes The Ammunition Depot
Captain Schweinsteiger relayed the urgent needs of the frontline siege troops to the rear via radio at the fastest speed.
Colonel Lelouch’s airborne drop this time only brought a few relatively portable medium- and small-power radios, with daytime transmission range only between 50~100 kilometers. Communications across the Carpathian Mountains would also suffer attenuation, and signal quality for contacting the rear during the day was very poor.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to bring larger radios, but larger radios were also unsuitable for airdrop, easily damaged on impact, and difficult to set up in the field.
Fortunately, once night fell, due to the day-night difference in the atmospheric ionosphere, the ionosphere’s reflection and amplification of ground signals increased several times. The transmission range of Colonel Lelouch’s radios also extended to 200~300 kilometers.
As long as the sun set, without solar radiation interference, he could easily contact the airship base and field airport at Mikhailovka, then relay to Budapest for instructions.
……
May 19, exactly 9 p.m. at night.
Inside Budapest, on Castle Hill by the Danube River.
Castle Hill is a small hill in Budapest with an elevation of over 160 meters. Hundreds of years ago, Magyars built a castle here to defend against the Ottomans and maintain the Danube River defense line.
Later generations expanded it, and after Hungary established its own state in the 18th century, they further expanded Castle Hill and added a royal palace. After Austria and Hungary merged, it became the emperor’s residence when visiting Budapest. But at this moment, an ancient castle on Castle Hill was separately designated as the headquarters of the Germania 6th Army Group, coordinating the military affairs and defenses across the entire Hungarian Plain.
As soon as the coded telegram was decrypted, an Army Group staff officer hurriedly pushed open Duke Rupprecht’s office door:
“Commander Your Highness, urgent telegram from Colonel Lelouch of the direct subordinate Parachute Regiment! He has rescued over 80,000 Austria prisoners of war and rearmed 10,000 of them. They are currently assaulting the Southwestern Front’s main logistics base at Lviv. But lacking heavy firepower, and with insufficient weapons to arm the prisoners of war. He requests air support!
He hopes to dispatch airships to airdrop another batch of weapons, and detach some airships to carry out siege bombing missions! He hopes the air reinforcements can depart before dawn and arrive over Lviv by early morning. He guarantees that with air support, he can wipe out the Southwestern Front’s logistics supplies stockpile.”
Duke Rupprecht’s eyes widened instantly: “What? This kid is attacking Lviv?!
Wasn’t the original plan for him to rescue the prisoners of war and then retreat westward while fighting, just to threaten the rear of the Przemysl Fortress and make Brusilov fearful and unwilling to hold firm?
How dare he take just one regiment and act on his own… er, show adaptability to attack Lviv?”
This kid is simply lawless!
Give him a regiment and he dares to attack Lviv. If given an army, he might go attack Petersburg!
But though shocked, Your Highness the Duke couldn’t ignore the mess created by his subordinates. After pacing back and forth in the office just two or three times, the Duke immediately followed up: “Does Mikhailovka have enough supplies, aerial bombs, and fuel? Can they support another full-scale air support operation?”
The staff officer immediately replied: “We have enough aerial bombs and fuel. Before the operation, we anticipated the possibility of air raids to clear landing zones, so we prepared a batch of bombs. Later we decided on silent airborne infiltration and didn’t use them; they’re still stockpiled in Mikhailovka’s ammunition depot.
However, for ordinary weapons for airdrop, we probably don’t have that many—at least not that many submachine guns available. We can only airdrop more Mauser Rifles, bullets, and grenades. We could consider airdropping dozens of flamethrowers with matching replacement fuel tanks.”
“Don’t they need military rations, uniforms, or those things?” the Duke additionally inquired.
“No need for those; they’ve already captured more than enough from the battlefield.” The staff officer paused briefly but quickly answered the question.
The Duke waved his hand: “Then follow his request: have the airship flotilla depart at 3 a.m. tomorrow for the airdrop mission. If not enough submachine guns, drop rifles instead. They’re short on bullet resupply, so provide more accurate-fire weapons to slow consumption.
Grenades take up space too. Since they’re fighting urban warfare, airdrop more satchel charges. For wall-breaching and assault demolition, use satchel charges; only use grenades if absolutely necessary.”
The Duke knew his stuff, understanding how to save payload weight and maximize the limited tonnage of over 60 airships, which could carry at most around 500 tons in one go.
Someone had considered making two round trips at night to utilize the full 6 hours of pure darkness for an extra run. But this idea had to be rejected, mainly because airships couldn’t safely land in the dark, easily leading to major accidents.
In Colonel Lelouch’s previous experiences with airships, they only dared night takeoffs, executing missions at first light, and returning to land after full daylight.
Airships aren’t like airplanes; they’re too massive to withstand even minor collisions and need precise alignment with mooring towers. So even with night lights for guidance, airplanes could barely land, but airships couldn’t.
Everything seemed to have to be this way.
After noting the orders, the staff officer was about to send the telegram and relay them, but the Duke seemed to remember something and called him back one last time: “Wait! One hour after the airship flotilla takes off, have a batch of fighter reconnaissance aircraft take off too, to catch up and escort the airships. The airships may need to carry out bombing after daybreak, so avoid intercepts as much as possible.”
The staff officer frowned and kindly reminded: “Your Highness, our Albatros 1 fighter reconnaissance aircraft don’t have that large a combat radius; this mission’s radius is nearly 200 kilometers…”
The Duke: “Then telegram back: have Colonel Lelouch tonight quickly assign manpower for civil engineering work to level several makeshift runways and aprons! Doesn’t he have plenty of manpower when everything else is short? Have his extra tens of thousands work overnight to level runways!
Then, our reconnaissance fighters will only perform one-way escort, landing on the front-line runways for return, not flying back to the field airports south of the Carpathian Mountains—that saves a small half of the fuel.
If Lviv isn’t taken tomorrow, next time have the airship flotilla airdrop fuel drums to the front-line field airport for on-site refueling and machine gun bullet resupply for the fighters!”
The staff officer finally showed an admiring look, unable to not admire the commander’s boldness, decisiveness, and adaptability.
Airplanes of this era weren’t that delicate; a stretch of leveled compacted earth runway was enough for takeoff and landing. Mobilizing tens of thousands overnight at Colonel Lelouch’s side could feasibly complete it. Worst case, have him telegram back midway through the night—if the runway isn’t ready, the fighters won’t take off.
……
A whole night of back-and-forth communication, extremely busy.
When the Duke’s first reply telegram reached Colonel Lelouch, he was greatly surprised too, not expecting the Duke to be so decisive, even sending fighter reconnaissance aircraft on one-way missions. With this escort, the air raid’s chances of success were much higher.
He himself hadn’t thought of this at all—first, he hadn’t considered operating fighter reconnaissance aircraft beyond their combat radius. Second, these aircraft were precious Empire and Army Group assets; he, Colonel Lelouch, wouldn’t dare make such a risky decision. Only Your Highness the Duke had that authority.
So Colonel Lelouch stayed up all night without closing his eyes, overseeing both ends: having combat troops continue the siege, breaking through the outer positions in Lviv’s western suburbs. Meanwhile, assigning tens of thousands to level land for a runway, which was indeed nearly complete by 3 a.m.; he figured it would be fine and sent the final telegram to the rear, telling them to launch on time.
Meanwhile, at the siege positions, after a night of fierce fighting, the assault troops had indeed advanced another 3~5 kilometers respectively in the Sukhovolia and Bryukhovychi directions.
In the Sukhovolia direction, troops had advanced along the railway to the edge of Lviv’s main urban area, engaging the enemy in urban warfare slaughter. The assault troops spared no effort to purge the two rows of street blocks along both sides of the railway, clearing building by building.
For street blocks farther from the railway, there wasn’t energy to deal with them temporarily.
In the Bryukhovychi direction, Rommel led Bohemia prisoners of war in bloody combat, charging several times, and finally, with help from dozens of grenade launchers, systematically eliminated the high ground fire points one by one, capturing the dominant point on Hill 385.
Overjoyed at success, Rommel immediately had men exert all efforts, concentrating horses to haul the army’s few 76 mm short-barreled field guns up Hill 385, deploying them on the reverse slope slightly behind the peak.
Then, they could curve-fire over the mountaintop to bombard enemy fire points in the urban area, further weakening the enemy’s defenses.
Once the enemy couldn’t hold, they would counterattack Hill 385, allowing Rommel to wait rested and fight a defensive battle, wearing down the enemy.
Defensive battle had one great advantage, not obvious usually but invaluable now—that weapons were hard to lose in defense. All weapons from fallen friendly soldiers stayed on the position; as long as the position held, continuously committing manpower allowed holding indefinitely.
In contrast, attacking enemies, once repelled, couldn’t retrieve weapons left on the hillside—even recoverable by defenders sending men to risk picking them up between assault waves.
……
Time soon reached daybreak.
At 5:30 a.m., it was already slightly light. The airships responsible for airdropping supplies had found the position ahead of time—Colonel Lelouch had men set large bonfire signals on the ground as markers.
The bonfires came from straw stubble of recently harvested winter wheat, easily gathered in bundles from fields and burning for a long time.
The airdrop airships dropped a full three to four hundred tons of various supplies, then began safe return.
Several other airships carried bombs, responsible for aerial bombing assaults on key targets in Lviv Urban Area.
These airships, due to poor night visibility and accumulated navigation error, deviated several kilometers from the target.
But with daybreak, Rommel’s lookout on Hill 385 quickly spotted their friendly airships’ position, roughly estimated, then radioed the airship force with spotting, directing them to adjust course and describing target buildings’ features.
On the lead bomber airship, Major Peter Strasser soon received the telegram and immediately directed the pilot to adjust heading and speed.
“Heading southeast-southeast, target about 8 kilometers out. Visually locate Lviv Train Station’s main platform, then the several long, tall gray concrete buildings in the fourth row southeast of the main platform. Yes, those concrete warehouses should have spans over 50 meters—don’t bomb the wrong ones.”
The airship’s helmsman and mechanic hurriedly adjusted the heading, the 6 Maybach 6-cylinder engines accelerating to max power at 240 horsepower each, the airship flying toward the target at 90 km/h.
Beside these airships flew two 4-aircraft formations, all Albatros 1 fighter reconnaissance aircraft—one 4-ship on each flank of the airship formation, escorting the airships on mission.
The commander of these 8 escort aircraft was Captain Kurt Student, who had downed 4 enemy aircraft in recent days. At this moment, he was spirited and diligently escorting the airships.
These aircraft had taken off from Mikhailovka over an hour later than the airships but, being more than twice as fast, arrived over Lviv at about the same time.
But aircraft loiter time was short; each batch could escort the airship flotilla for at most half an hour before fuel exhaustion forced landing on the newly dug field runway. So Mikhailovka couldn’t send too many for escort—only 8 aircraft every half hour, at most 2 to 3 waves.
After this battle, Colonel Lelouch really needed to have the aviation department seriously consider improving aircraft fuel tank capacity and endurance.
Early World War I aircraft were too rudimentary, constantly improving performance through combat needs.
Historically, from Albatros 1 to Albatros 3, and finally to the improved D variant of Albatros 3, Germania’s fighters underwent many versions in just a year and a half.
……
Airships needed time to reach over the city and find targets.
Ground heavy machine guns, spotting incoming airships, began blindly spraying the sky. So initially, the airship flotilla stayed above 3000 meters for safety.
Zeppelin Airships’ max ceiling exceeded 5500 meters, but 1915 conditions didn’t require such heights. Moreover, 5500 meters needed light load; adding a 2000 kg bomb dropped ceiling to just over 3000 meters.
Fortunately, current nations’ fighter reconnaissance aircraft had max ceilings of only 1500~2000 meters, plus rear guns firing upward adding less than 1000 meters effective strike height. So above 3000 meters was absolutely safe.
But at such heights, searching and confirming ground targets was hard—visibility unclear, possible cloud obstruction.
Even in World War II, for precision level bombing, they had to descend to around 1000 meters to ensure below clouds.
Major Peter Strasser spent a full 15 minutes over that urban area, peering through clouds to roughly observe target positions, fine-tuning, finally spotting the target in a cloud gap.
“Must descend altitude, below clouds for aiming and bombing to ensure accuracy! We’re carrying only 2 x 2000 kg armor-piercing aerial bombs; the rest are 50 kg ranging bombs. Must ensure strike accuracy!”
Major Strasser ultimately made this decision, leading the descent.
Damn May weather—late spring still so humid, clouds too thick and low; no choice.
But just then, buzzing from afar brought many Lushan fighter reconnaissance aircraft, likely taking off from rear airfields near Lviv.
Lviv, as the Southwestern Front’s main logistics base, couldn’t lack air forces entirely.
“Break four-ship formations into two-ship pairs to engage independently! Intercept enemy aircraft, keep them from nearing the airships!”
Spotting enemy aircraft, Captain Kurt Student decisively waggled wings, issuing the simple “four-to-two, engage independently” order, then led the charge.
Only days since the last air battle, enemy aircraft still lacked gun synchronizers, relying on rear guns for random fire.
But Student fought ever more skillfully, his pilots’ combat experience and flying technique increasingly honed.
In just a few passes, they shot down seven or eight Lushan fighter reconnaissance aircraft like turkeys, smoking and crashing.
Lushans initially tried dogfighting the Germania aircraft but soon realized it was futile again after over ten shot down for an 11-0 exchange ratio; they finally woke up.
Remaining Lushan pilots ignored Germania intercepts, desperately heading for the airships descending below clouds for precise hovering bombing.
“Rat-tat-tat”—heavy machine guns mounted under the airship gondola fired too; seeing enemies approach, flames spat from both sides, at least 4 heavy machine guns blazing.
“Heavy machine gun teams, fire at will! Their machine guns can’t hurt us! Such small bullets are useless against airships! Bombers, aim quickly; helmsman, continue descent, reverse engines to hover brake as needed!”
Major Peter Strasser calmly commanded from his airship. Two charging Lushan aircraft were even exploded by the airship’s heavy machine guns—one on each side.
Aircraft bullets punctured the airship’s gas cells in several strings, causing leaks but no serious damage.
In bloodshot frenzy, several Lushan pilots were driven desperate.
Seeing attacks ineffective and Germania aircraft performance crushing, with inevitable downing if prolonged, several Lushan aircraft spontaneously shouted revenge cries:
“Avenge Major Nesterov! Emulate Major Nesterov!”
Then they plunged straight at the continuing-descending, hovering-to-bomb airships.
To evade airship machine guns, Lushan aircraft unanimously climbed first, then dived from above at an angle into the upper gas cells. From this angle, bottom gondola heavy machine guns couldn’t fire back.
“Crack~”
Two reconnaissance aircraft successively crashed into the airship gas cells, causing severe structural damage; airship buoyancy plummeted, rapidly descending.
Major Peter Strasser stumbled in the gondola, adrenaline surging, quickly scrambling up to peer through the bombsight himself.
“Max engine reverse thrust, ease off a bit! We can’t make it back! Don’t waste the sacrifice—dump all 50 kg aerial bombs for ranging first!”
At this point, Strasser didn’t call for parachutes; he knew even ground impact meant death—if they hit the ammunition depot, no one within a kilometer would survive.
Over a dozen ranging small bombs dropped sequentially, impacts indeed nearing those train station ammunition depot buildings, showing Maybach engines’ emergency reverse braking effective and correcting in the right direction.
“Major! Under 500 meters altitude! Delay bombing and armor-piercing velocity may be insufficient!” The helmsman, seeing height critical, calmly reminded the major not to be greedy—drop now.
At life-or-death, these men cleared their minds, focusing on professional tasks to maximize accuracy, no time for fear.
Major Strasser gritted teeth resolutely: “2000 kg aerial bomb, drop one! Unarm the other—wait to observe first drop effect before deciding!”
Without hesitation, the bombadier expertly operated the release mechanism in seconds, dropping the first 2000 kg aerial bomb. By bomb exit, the airship had descended to just over 350 meters.
After dropping the first, the bombadier quickly unlocked the safety on the second. Only then did he realize what this meant.
If the airship crashed without dropping, this bomb would ensure explosion on impact.
“Boom!” A massive roar—the first bomb hit the concrete warehouse with half-meter-thick roof, blasting a huge hole, contents flung everywhere.
No fire yet, so no immediate chain reactions detonating the whole site.
Explosive debris and shockwave shredded the under-100-meter airship wreckage further; the gondola’s keel attachment snapped completely, gondola plummeting ahead of the hull, smashing heavily to ground.
Another earth-shaking boom, followed by ignition of thousands of cubic meters remaining hydrogen—the entire ammunition depot erupted in a colossal explosion.
Over 20,000 122 mm artillery shells stored at Lviv Central Train Station, plus over 100,000 76 mm-class shells of various types, and over 100,000 37-to-60 mm small shells, chain-detonated in seconds.
Total explosive yield equivalent to hundreds of tons of TNT.
Completely leveling all buildings within 800-meter radius. Killing all life and severely damaging buildings within 1500-meter radius.
A full-strength Infantry Regiment guarding Lviv Central Train Station, plus 4 Cavalry Companies as mobile reserve, were utterly annihilated in an instant, none surviving.
On outer positions 2 km west of the train station, several Lushan companies and platoons holding out survived.
But after such ferocious strike, all survivors were instantly stunned, more or less injured. At 2 km, survivors vomited blood from shock, clearly some internal bleeding.
Even Germania siege troops nearly 4 km away felt the massive shockwave gale. Fortunately, so distant no substantive harm.
“Major Strasser!” Far off at 2000 meters altitude pursuing Lushan reconnaissance aircraft, Captain Kurt Student instantly reddened eyes.
He was here escorting the bomber airships; hadn’t expected them to descend below clouds for bombing precision, only to be rammed by frenzied Lushan fighters.
“Avenge Major Strasser!” Student waggled wings, issuing the simple order, then banked slightly, leading the other seven fighters in pursuit of remaining Lushan aircraft.
Lushans, fixated on airships, were already badly mauled; the last five or six aircraft soon annihilated.
In today’s battle, Lushans lost 27 aircraft: 5 to airship self-defense fire, 22 to Germania aircraft.
Each of 8 Germania aircraft scored at least 2 kills; Captain Student added 4 more, totaling 8 with previous, becoming an ace pilot—and without Colonel Lelouch’s interference, he might become an air force general someday.
Seeing the fierce air battle and airships’ sacrificial bombing, ground Germania Army morale soared instantly. Frontline officers, without exact news yet, could see this was their successful, heroic bombing.
“Brothers, charge! Don’t waste the Airship Force’s sacrifice! Storm the train station, wipe out the Lushans there!”
Airship crash explosion hugely inspired soldiers; thousands charged fearlessly across street blocks.
For enemy-held buildings, they used freshly airdropped satchel charges for wall-breaching demolition, bursting walls then surging in for close-quarters combat.
Deeper strongpoints were flattened by several other airships’ 2000 kg aerial bombs or blanketed by numerous 50 kg small bombs.
50 kg bombs were the smallest in aerial bombs, but compared to ground troops’ satchel charges, their charge was substantial. One 50 kg could collapse a three-story wood-and-masonry building.
Under air-ground pincer, remaining Lushans finally collapsed like an avalanche.
After over an hour of fierce assault and brutal slaughter, siege troops finally broke through remaining enemy blockades, storming into Lviv Train Station.
Guided by comrades formerly station loaders, soldiers found the weapon warehouse ruins, digging out heaps of Mosin-Nagant rifles to arm following tens of thousands.
Once tens of thousands of prisoners of war were armed, remaining combat was no longer in doubt.
Lviv’s garrison was utterly terrified; eastern city troops resisted mildly another two hours before disintegrating at noon, fleeing east.
“Quick, telegram the rear! Report our forces have completely seized Lviv, capturing the Southwestern Front’s main logistics base!”
Rushing into train station ruins, Colonel Lelouch was exhilarated, quick-stepping while ordering his signalman to send the telegram fastest.
