The Germans did not destroy the airport too thoroughly when they evacuated it, or almost did not destroy it at all - if poor maintenance is not considered beneficial damage. This is unlikely to be because there was no time, Ron guessed,

The greater possibility is that there is a lack of manpower and supplies. There are only more than 4,000 defenders in Cherbourg, and there are not many people stationed at the airport. In addition, the airport is too close to the seaside, and it has been under attack by Americans and civilians for several months.

The suppression of the British aviation power made it extremely dangerous for German aircraft to deploy here. So in the past month, the airport had actually been abandoned by the Luftwaffe. When the Allies launched an attack on the airport, the airport

There were no more than one platoon of guards. They only made a token resistance and then retreated.

After the Allied forces occupied the airport, they immediately made small-scale repairs to the semi-abandoned airport. Then, the 21st Attack Aircraft Wing began to land here.

When Ron landed at the airport in his P-81 fighter jet, it was already 4 o'clock in the afternoon. At this time, people from the logistics department had been busy at the airport for a long time. They organized the pilot's lounge and packed it inside

They cleaned the German kitchen and captured two big fat pigs in the pigsty behind the kitchen. The logistics personnel in charge of the electronic system were the most busy because they were not like the guys in front of them.

The ready-made things left by the Germans can be used. When the German Air Force personnel left the airport, they took away all kinds of communication equipment. Moreover, even if the Germans left these things here, because it is just different, the Americans took

It was not easy to use. So they had to re-erect these things themselves, which took more time. Until Ron arrived, this entire system, except for the equipment related to take-off and landing, other

It's not installed yet.

This is a permanent airport. Things like pilot dormitories are of course ready-made. Those places have not been cleaned yet, but it is still early before dark, and the people in the logistics department told Ron that by night, these things will be cleaned

Handled.

At about 5 o'clock, six PA-47 attack aircraft also completed landing at this new airport. They were then towed by tractors into the hangar. The salt spray in the seaside area was heavy, and the aircraft were parked in the open air.

, various equipment are easily corroded by salt spray and malfunction. Therefore, in inland areas, aircraft can stay on the tarmac overnight, but in coastal areas, it is best to park the aircraft indoors.

By the time these attack planes were settled, the sky had already darkened. Because they had captured the German's big fat pig, the dinner was very sumptuous. But Ron could not eat the meal because he had already left the airport.

, went to the Seventh Army to attend a military meeting. The Americans had just occupied this area and had not yet been able to eliminate all the remaining German troops outside the city. There were still small groups of German troops operating in many places. So this time Ron and the others

During the trip, in addition to Ron's Jeep, there were also two M-4 tanks and a Dodge truck following him. Needless to say, the trucks were all fully armed American soldiers.

With such a lineup, ordinary small groups of stragglers would naturally not dare to come out to cause trouble. So Ron arrived at the temporary headquarters of the Seventh Army safely. This headquarters was placed less than ten kilometers away from the port of Cherbourg.

In a church in a small town, Ron met General Collins, the youngest military commander in the United States.

General Collins has a nickname called "Flash Joe", which of course means that he moves quickly. But Ron feels that this nickname can also be used to describe the speed of his promotion. This is not the first time Ron has met Collins.

General, when Ron first met him, he was still on Guadalcanal. In the later stages of the Guadalcanal Operation, the troops of the Army's 25th Division gradually began to take over the defense tasks of the 1st Marine Division. The division commander at that time was Collins.

Major General II. In just two years, he has become the commander of the Seventh Army. In the previous landing operations, the army under his command successfully captured Utah Beach. In Bradley [First

He has always been the most trusted military commander under the Army Commander and the Twelfth Army Group Commander and Hodges (who succeeded the First Army Commander). It was he who commanded the American troops that finally joined forces with the Soviet Army at the Elbe River.

The Seventh Army.

The meeting began shortly after Ron arrived.

Collins is worthy of being called "Flash Joe". Although the main force of the Seventh Army has not yet arrived, Collins has arranged several tentative attacks. The information obtained in these tentative attacks has also been reflected in the

It's on the big sand table in the middle of the war conference room - the chapel of the church.

Collins' adjutant briefly introduced the situation of the German army on the opposite side, and then Collins asked his officers to discuss the next attack strategy.

"General, according to the intelligence we have, the number of enemy troops should not be too large. Compared with the defense of such a city, it is obviously insufficient. Tomorrow, various units of our army will arrive one after another. I think we should adopt a multi-pronged assault

In this way, the enemy will have difficulties in allocating its troops. Although their fortifications are very good, if they do not have enough troops, no matter how strong the fortifications are, what will they do?" said a staff officer.

"What kind of fire support can we get at sea?" someone asked.

"The Navy has dispatched a naval gun fire support unit. There are a total of 3 battleships, 4 cruisers, and 11 destroyers. They will all be in place before 8 o'clock tomorrow morning." Someone replied.

"Good guys, there are so many! The firepower of these guys can compare with our entire army!"

"Well, you have to be careful about these guys in the navy. They are not the artillery of our army. They only practice barrage and other things. Moreover, the accuracy of naval guns is greatly affected by sea conditions, and it has always been inferior to land guns.

.Especially the 127mm guns on the destroyers. In high sea conditions, the dispersion is really scary! I don’t know who they are shooting at. Those big guys on the battleships are even more terrible. If they miss a shot,

, it was not done well, and we lost even a single battalion. Therefore, those guns of the Navy should not be regarded as cannons. They should, um, should be regarded as the heavy bombers of the Army Aviation." A guy may be in the Navy.

Having suffered the loss of an accidental attack, words like this immediately popped up.

"We should require the navy's warships to only fire at the targets we point out to them, or to fire at or return fire at the enemy forces that fire at them. They are not allowed to fire at other targets on their own," someone suggested.

"That's right! We should send a liaison officer to every ship in the Navy."

"The air force will first cover the key targets with firepower, and then the navy will cover the key targets again. Then we will launch a feint attack in the area where we just focused the attack, and then various forces will launch a general attack from all directions. We have to fight until dark tomorrow
Chapter completed!