To the north of Texel Island, a camouflaged biplane travels leisurely among the clouds. Its posture is not like a war falcon on the battlefield, covered with smoke and blood, but a heron that is invincible. The slow speed makes people feel abnormal. Could it be that this guy has a malfunction?

With the mentality of picking up bags, two US "flying barrels" with round fuselages quietly touched up from the back. Just as one of them was about to launch an attack on it, several black spots suddenly emerged from the higher clouds. They descended rapidly and rushed towards the two "flying barrels" like an osprey hunting. Seeing that this was not good, the American pilots quickly flew away, but they could avoid the enemy planes that rushed up first, and could not avoid the enemy who followed one after another. The Germans did not care about the bad reputation of bullying the few. Three and four Fox war eagles stared at a Grumman F3f and fought relentlessly in a few minutes.

On a Folk-xi participating in the battle, Colonel von Richthofen looked around with satisfaction and said to his subordinates via radio: "Gentlemen, do a very beautiful job! Fett, thank you for your hard work and continue to be bait, and the rest return to the ambush position."

Including Richterhoven's landline, seven Fox Eagles climbed to a height of more than 4,000 meters. The air here is thin and the temperature is low. The pilots wear oxygen masks and stare coldly at the airspace below. As long as enemy planes take the bait, these ambushers will rush forward and beat the enemy up. Relying on this fishing tactic, Von Richterhoven and his team made three attacks without any mistakes, shooting down six enemy planes, and their own losses were zero. With the warning and guidance of ground radar, they can calmly avoid the enemy's large group of aircraft, but this strategy is not completely risk-free. When Richterhoven's combat team made the fourth old trick

When the re-engagement was carried out, several enemy planes suddenly emerged from the clouds, and they were all British "Seahawks" with strong performance. Richterhoven decisively led his hunting team to retreat south, but how could the enemy let them go easily? During the subsequent pursuit, several American and British fighter jets arrived, which made Folk-xi, who was at a disadvantage, quite passive. The flight leaders of the 33rd Fighter Wing had to rely on their excellent flight skills to support them until friendly forces came to support them, and they had difficulty getting out of the way. In this process, Richterhoven lost three fighter jets, and the remaining five were basically injured.

The fighter's troops' key strikes and flexible guerrillas were not easy, and every attack by the bomber troops took risks. After the end of a wave of air strikes by US and British fighters, several ju-17s quietly took off from the temporary airport in southeastern Texel Island, crossing the entire island and flew over the battlefield. Looking down from a height of three thousand meters, the ground battle situation was clear: the US and British troops landed on the northeastern coast of Texel Island had controlled a piece of about eight kilometers long and about six kilometers wide.

The area inside accounts for about one-tenth of the entire island. The German army has retreated from the open area in the northwest of the island to two volcanic belts in the west and central part of the island, and resisted the enemy's attack from a high point. The two volcanic belts and adjacent coasts have a corridor between the two volcanic belts. Among them, the corridors running through the middle of the island are most suitable for passage. The German army built fortifications at a narrow location about two kilometers wide, and the focus of the two sides' competition is currently concentrated here.

The US and British troops on the ground immediately organized defense with small-caliber anti-aircraft guns. Faced with this kind of resistance that was better than nothing, the German bomber pilots dismissed. They skillfully turned off the cooler, push rod, and pressed the slope, and then watched the speedometer's reading increase from 300 kilometers to 350 and then 400. When the fighter dived to a certain height, they dived the brakes, and then pressed the bomb drop button on the driving rod, and the plane shook for a while.

The black bomb left the fuselage and flew towards the ground. The pilots decisively pulled the plane, made a turn, and then continued to climb high to get rid of the tracking of anti-aircraft artillery fire... Without the interference of enemy fighters, the dive bombing of ju-17 was readily readily, and the high-explosive bombs they dropped fell into the middle of the enemy infantry group very accurately. The ground suddenly flew with flesh and blood, and balls of black smoke columns soared into the sky.

Whether it is German or love-made radars, they did not have the function of enemy-to-me recognition during this period, and the detection accuracy was unsatisfactory. On the radar screen, two or three enemy fighters hidden between the clouds are easily confused with their own safari teams. A few American and British fighters have little impact on the ground combat situation, and the clumsy Ju-17 is their excellent prey. If they do not get timely support from their own fighters, the German dive bombers can only fly to the ground as much as possible, hoping that their anti-aircraft artillery can shoot down or drive away the enemy fighters chasing them. If both expectations are lost, the probability of them getting rid of the pursuit is only 20%...

By afternoon, General Lonebug was very annoyed in his tactical adjustments, but the situation of the battle was still in a direction that was unfavorable to the defenders. There was no doubt that the full preparation and exquisite arrangements made by the US and British Allied Forces for this battle were opening the door to victory for them.

The sharp brake sound came from outside the door, and a moment later, Colonel von Richthofen walked into the command center with a embarrassed look on his face.

"The enemy's number of aircraft is more than we expected!" said the colonel in annoyed. "They either have additional aircraft carriers or have proper supplies, otherwise they would not have had so many aircraft."

The general held his hands in front of his chest: "Are we really going to lose this battle and fall tragically before dawn comes?"

Richterhofen heard the clue from the other party's words, and then his eyes lit up: "Is the main force of the High Seas Fleet about to arrive?"

"The General Staff requires us to hold on for another 24 hours." Longnebug replied with a gloomy expression, "But General Yuna believes that his defense is likely to be lost before dark. Once that barrier is broken by the enemy, we have to carry out the final resistance in Hero Port, which means that all airports will be occupied by the enemy, and the remaining aircraft must be transferred to other islands, and our guards and ground crews will participate in the battle like ordinary soldiers..."

"O my God..." Richterhoven's hands were hanging down, his eyes showing despair. The battle of the Luftwaffe in the Azores would not end there, but it was unquestionable that his vitality was severely damaged, and the situation deteriorated rapidly. How can the soldiers maintain sufficient confidence in the subsequent combat operations?

"What other good ideas do you have?" Ronnebug placed his faint expectation on Richterhofen.

Richthofen's eyebrows squeezed out a very painful expression: "We lost too many aircraft on the first day of the enemy's attack. If half of the fighters destroyed on the ground and later damaged by artillery attacks are used for air combat, let alone 24 hours, we can fight the enemy for at least three days. It's too late to say anything. My wing only has three Folk-xis to take off, and there is a newly repaired Folk G-51. The enemy's fighter is less and less scattered, and it's becoming increasingly difficult for us to capture the right opportunity. If General Yuna's troops can continue to resist the enemy's attack, we'll

We must persist until this time tomorrow, but as you said, once the defense line is lost, we have no choice but to retreat to Hero Harbor and a few fortresses. The planes cannot follow us into cities and fortresses, and can only temporarily retreat to other islands. Of course, general, we are not completely without the opportunity to turn the situation around. As long as we are severely damaged by the enemy aircraft carrier formations like yesterday, causing the enemy air force's air strike on Texel to be greatly weakened or even suspended, we can dispatch all fighters to attack the enemy's ground forces, at least to drag their offensive pace before dark."

Ronnebug nodded suddenly as if he lost his place, but his expression did not ease significantly. He was silent for a moment, and then said to Richthofen: "I have contacted General von Oldenburg. One of his two aircraft carriers was injured in yesterday's battle, and the carrier-based aircraft suffered a lot of losses. All the naval reserve aircraft on Floris Island were on the battlefield. At present, there are only more than forty aircraft that can be used for combat. It is difficult to organize an offensive like yesterday."

"Can't we do anything?" Richterhofen asked unwillingly.

Ronnebug lowered his eyes: "Pray!"

A few minutes after that, rumbling thunder came from afar, but what makes people feel disappointed is that it is still not a precursor to the arrival of a storm, but a new round of artillery launched by the US and British fleets. With the defeat of the German aviation force, the main battleships of the US and British fleets approached Texel Island in the sun. The Lexington-class battlecruiser, South Dakota-class battleship and the monarch-class battleships appeared in people's sight. The No. 7 Fortress Group "Lubeck Fortress" located in the north of Texel Island is still controlled by the German army, but after repeated bombardment by enemy warships and aircraft, this coastal defense fortress group no longer has the ability to fight against the enemy fleet, and its function is only to curb the enemy landing troops entering from this side.

The open area in the eastern part of Texel Island. This time, the US and British fleets were determined to completely remove this annoying nail. The main warships equipped with 16 and 18-inch heavy artillery opened fire from more than ten kilometers away, and carried out fierce shells for more than 40 minutes at a frequency of every two minutes. Thousands of large-caliber shells and thousands of medium-caliber shells turned the fortress group managed by the Germans into ruins. In the face of this destructive attack, even if the German officers and soldiers stationed in the fortifications deep underground, they might not be able to escape the catastrophe. Most of the survivors were destroyed by the enemy's will. Therefore, when a regiment of British landing troops entered the fortress area, they suffered minimal resistance.

After the fall of the "Lubek Fortress", the US and British troops landed on Texel Island no longer had to continue to attack the German defense line between the two volcanoes. A large number of landing troops passed through the "Lubek Fortress" and detoured to the rear of the German main force. The German artillery group No. 8 near the Lyles Cape bombardment "Dattam Fortress" bombarded the enemy with few remaining artillery, trying to prevent the US and British troops from passing through the open area in the eastern part of Texel Island, but it attracted a "mixed double" of US and British warships and carrier-based aircraft. Within half an hour, the fortress group was completely silent. The German commander stationed here knew that there was no hope, so he led the remaining troops to evacuate the fortress. They first settled at the eastern airport, and then followed the Air Force's guards and ground crews to retreat to the Hero Port.

Before dusk, von Richterhofen took off the airplane. The end of his trip was no longer any airport on Texel Island. Looking at his ground troops from all over the place to the last fortress on the island, he was extremely heavy, and the hope in the morning had been crushed by the ruthless reality. The main force of the high seas fleet was still coming, and the Allied team that continued to stay on Texel Island might be able to persevere until the moment of the turning point, but before that, they must withstand the most cruel test. If the US and British fleets gathered all the main ships and razed the entire Hero Harbor to the ground overnight, it would be impossible, in that case, few of the former colleagues would meet again.

Sadness, desolation, resentment, and complex emotions were intertwined. Seeing several enemy planes flying from the north and shooting the retreating German officers and soldiers at low altitudes, Colonel Von Richthofen's eyes could spew out the fire.

"Gentlemen, today is the darkest day in our lives. Although we did not evacuate Texel because of cowardice, we have tainted our honor by giving up our comrades and leaving alone. In order to relieve the guilt in our hearts, to give our brave colleagues a last bit of help, we can launch our last attack on the enemy ahead, no matter whether it succeeds or fails, no regrets in our hearts."

In the radio communication channel, there were few echoes, but each voice was extremely firm. There were more enemy aircraft in front than him, and there were probably enemy fighters ambushing at high altitudes. Richthofen and his air fighters rushed up with a fierce momentum. British fighters who were ravaging the German ground personnel hurriedly pulled up to fight. Their positions and altitudes were in a disadvantageous position. The excellent attack opportunity was fleeting. When Richthofen had a help from gods, he shot down a two-wing American-made Boeing F4b "hound" as soon as he opened fire, then pulled up the nose, and attacked another "hound" during the climb, fired three times to injure him. As soon as he climbed to a height of 1,000 meters, Richthofen indeed found that a team of enemy aircraft dived from the clouds, and the battlefield situation immediately became very unfavorable to him.

Although he wished he could fight fiercely with the enemy until his death, Richterhofen still maintained the calmness and restraint he deserved. Seeing that the fighter jets he led had achieved good results, he decisively directed his subordinates to escape from the battle, and during the retreat, he killed a beautiful retaliation and forced the enemy aircraft to retreat.
Chapter completed!