Chapter 133: Future Direction

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Boom! A shell landed not far from the position, throwing up large clumps of wet earth. In a huge city in the distance, thick smoke blotted out the sky. One of the most important battles of the Spanish Civil War, the “Battle of Barcelona,” was in full swing.

With German support, the Spanish Nationalists had won victory after victory. They had already firmly seized control of northern Spain and were frantically attacking eastward with the goal of cutting the Spanish Republican Army’s connection to the French border.

In actual combat, the German panzer divisions’ attacks in the open field were very effective. They captured Salamanca, one of the main cities in central Spain, in one go and annihilated two main Republican columns that had been surrounded nearby, successfully splitting the Republican-controlled territory in two. Subsequently, the Nationalists expanded on this victory, taking the important northern city of León the following month and opening a land supply line to A Coruña.

Following that, in the Burgos region, the largest tank battle of the civil war broke out. The two sides gathered more than 400 tanks for a direct confrontation. The result was that the German 2nd SS Panzer Division captured Burgos, and the Republican army, after losing more than 100 tanks, was forced into a full-scale retreat.

During this process, the Spanish Nationalist air force seemed to have divine assistance, shooting down 192 Republican aircraft of various models while losing only 31 of their own. This ratio was something no one participating in the war had ever imagined. The German pilots who had secretly entered Spain, relying on the outstanding performance of the super fighter Me-109, even achieved the proud record of shooting down 77 enemy planes while losing only two of their own.

Of course, if it hadn’t been for the Me-109’s overly thin landing gear, which caused one fighter to tip over and crash while landing at an airfield, this ratio could have been even more lopsided. The pilot who crashed suffered three fractures all over his body and was put on a ship back home with a wound badge. Accompanying him for recuperation was the coffin of another, and the only other, unlucky bastard in the air force.

This unlucky pilot’s name was Eberhard Hoffert, a pilot of an He-51 fighter. With the entry into service and brilliant performance of the Me-109, the He-51 had been completely relegated to use as a ground-attack aircraft, and its missions had become much more monotonous and boring.

This Eberhard Hoffert, while returning from a ground-bombing mission, performed a stunt over the city of Vitoria. As a result, the unlucky fellow’s plane engine suddenly stopped. It plummeted to the ground like a bird that had lost its soul, and he thus became the first German pilot to be killed in action in the entire Spanish Civil War.

Alright, let’s get back to the main topic. Subsequently, in Zaragoza, the Nationalist leader General Franco personally supervised the battle. After paying a heavy price, he captured the city. Because the front line had completely collapsed, the Republican army in the north was forced to abandon the military stronghold of Huesca. This decision gave the Nationalists a glimmer of hope for victory. If they could take Barcelona, the shipping route from Italy to Spain would be shortened by nearly a third.

Since this offensive held such high strategic significance, there was no reason for either side to give it up lightly. Therefore, apart from the capital Madrid, which had already become a front line, the Republican forces gathered near Barcelona outnumbered those in any other region. The two sides were at daggers drawn in the Barcelona region, throwing all the forces they could muster into the fight for this important northern city.

Guernica was a Spanish city of no significant military importance. It had a small bank, a candy factory, a few small churches, and several small hospitals. If one had to point out some important targets, they would be the train station, a light weapons factory outside the city, and a highway bridge leading to Bilbao.

At 4:30 in the afternoon on that day, as farmers and merchants were exchanging cattle, sheep, and produce in the market center, the church bells were rung. Some clergymen had seen planes in the distance and were warning the people of their arrival.

The people, terrified, quickly took shelter, hiding in cellars, under bridges, and in dugouts. Just two minutes later, Do 217 bombers dropped six heavy bombs.

This time, it wasn’t the junk that Franco had. The planes that arrived were bombers belonging to the German “Condor Legion.” A full 34 Do 217 bombers indiscriminately bombed Guernica for three solid hours. The front wall of a local hotel called Julian was blown to pieces, exposing the four floors of rooms inside. A hundred meters away, Juan Chiric, a volunteer who had come to fight the fire, was knocked down by the shockwave of an explosion.

He looked up and saw severed arms, legs, and heads flying everywhere in the air. Later, these planes dropped a large number of incendiary bombs on the dense wooden residential areas. The fire, fanned by the wind, spread everywhere, consuming everything that could burn. All the hospitals were destroyed. Sick children, the wounded, and the doctors and nurses caring for them all became cold corpses.

At low altitude, several old He-51 fighters flown by Franco’s Nationalist pilots took on the role of ground attack. A Basque priest, Alberto Onaindia, hiding in the woods on the outskirts of the city, witnessed these He-51s dive in, the machine guns on the planes spitting fire, gunning down everyone in the open ground.

Mothers, the elderly, and children were all killed, “falling in heaps like flies.” Onaindia later recalled, “Blood flowed like rivers everywhere, and the explosions caused great fires and thick, rolling smoke.” His words were confirmed by a record from the other side: the German Air Force reported that their planes had to descend due to the smoke just to be able to distinguish the city from the countryside.

It was not until dusk that the last wave of bombers slowly departed, and by this time, most of Guernica was a sea of fire. The next morning, when reporters from various countries arrived with their cameras, the ruins were still smoldering.

The reporters saw terrified and helpless people searching for their relatives and belongings in the rubble and ruins. In a field not far from the town, more than 600 civilian bodies were piled up. The final death toll could never be tallied, but at least 2,000 people died in this air raid.

The bombing leveled the town center. Seventy percent of the houses were completely destroyed, and another twenty percent were severely damaged. The entire city was almost wiped off the map, while the light weapons factory and the highway bridge, conversely, remained unscathed.

Centuries ago, Guernica was the center of this region, a sacred place for the spirit of the free and independent Basque people. Under an oak tree here, the Spanish monarch had once promised to respect the rights of the local people. But now, the city had become a victim of the catastrophe of war. Many news outlets around the world severely criticized the brutality of Franco’s Nationalist army and their German accomplices.

However, the German government issued a statement, publicly denying any responsibility. Fanny gave a speech at a Greater German Party meeting, claiming that the German people were peace-loving, but even as they opposed atrocities, they would firmly support the Spanish people’s anti-communist war. She also claimed that the Guernica massacre was the work of “communist elements.”

But the airmen of the Condor Legion, still at the front, knew the truth. They were unwilling to speak of Guernica and never boasted of this devastatingly powerful bombing. One pilot even refused a Spanish medal awarded for the raid.

Regardless of the international impact of the Guernica air raid, it did weaken the Republican government’s defensive capabilities in the region. A month later, the Nationalists swept through Guernica and advanced from there to Bilbao. The following month, they launched a fierce offensive against Bilbao.

The experience the Germans gained from this successful air raid prompted a debate within Germany about the future direction of the air force. The strategic bomber faction, represented by the Führer, believed that long-range bombers should be developed as the ultimate means of attack to destroy the enemy’s rear areas. This faction did not have many supporters, but it did include the Chief of the Air Force General Staff. However, senior air force generals, including the Air Force Commander Kesselring and Vice Commander Hulk, belonged to the tactical bomber faction. They felt that bombers like the Do 217 were sufficient and there was no urgent need to develop long-range bombers, because they now needed to equip more fighters to defend German airspace.

In the Führer’s Residence in Berlin, every discussion about the future development of the German Air Force ended unhappily, and this time was no exception.

“Führer, it’s not that we aren’t optimistic about the prospects of strategic bombing,” Kesselring said, spreading his hands helplessly before the Führer’s desk. “It’s that we simply can’t afford such expensive, advanced weapons right now.” He was immensely loyal to Akado, and Akado’s reciprocation was to listen to the Air Force Commander’s advice as much as possible.

Dick also sighed helplessly from the side. “That’s right, Führer. Our air force lacks basic numbers. That is to say, to maintain air superiority on the front lines right now, we need to have at least 2,000 Me-109 fighters. But as of now, we only have a little over 370.”

Kesselring continued to pour cold water on the idea. “Our fighter production is far from meeting our needs. I hope to have at least 2,700 fighters of various models by 1935 to ensure the safety of our airspace. But the head of the production department told me that by that time, they can only give us 920.”

Only now did Akado realize the magnitude of the problem before him. The tank forces were clamoring for more tanks, the air force was fighting for production materials for every single plane, and the navy was short thousands upon thousands of tons of steel. Akado longed for the strategy games of his past life—as long as you had wood and gold, you could produce any advanced unit.

“So limited production is not possible right now?” Akado asked, sighing in frustration. “Even if we only equip one squadron, at least we’d be accumulating experience. Besides… besides, we might really need to use this type of weapon on a large scale in the future.”

“My Führer, according to your requirements, one strategic bomber requires four aircraft engines! With four engines, we could build four more Me-109 fighters! That would allow for a more flexible deployment of our air forces and be much better than that bomber!” Dick said stubbornly.

Kesselring was clearly not a proponent of strategic bombers either. He added fuel to the fire. “Führer, a plane like that requires a crew of ten specialists: five machine gunners, two pilots, a navigator, and a bombardier. If one plane is shot down, we would lose as many pilots as it takes to fly ten fighters.”

“But are we just not going to develop long-range strategic bombers? That is absolutely unacceptable! Time will prove me right! We must have this type of large bomber! It’s not enough for an air force to only have tactical bombers!” Akado said, pointing at the documents on his desk.

“If you insist on this, Führer, the most I can agree to is allocating four engines for an experimental aircraft. But I still maintain that the Stuka bomber is perfectly capable of handling the air force’s ground-attack missions. Even if we need to attack more distant targets, the newest Dornier Do 217 bomber is completely adequate.”

“I’ll say it again! The Do 217 is a medium bomber! My air force’s future means of attack must and will be the four-engine heavy bomber! Do you understand?” Akado finally said, somewhat annoyed. “Let’s do this! Allocate eight BMW engines from next month’s production to experiment with a four-engine strategic bomber!”

Kesselring and Dick snapped to attention and saluted. “Yes, my Führer.”

After sending off the air force generals, Akado had to meet with Raeder, Dönitz, and other naval generals. These were truly big eaters compared to the air force, demanding steel by the hundreds of tons at a time. A single boiler was worth over 300,000 pounds sterling, and they dared to ask for twenty of them at once.

Compared to the air force’s demand for a few dozen fighters, the navy’s requirements were a truly bottomless abyss. Dönitz hoped to have 80 ocean-going submarines by 1936 to strangle Britain’s supply lines. If Akado were to satisfy this request, Germany would have to maintain a construction speed of launching three submarines a month for the next year.

And Admiral Raeder was even less concerned about the cost than his deputy, Dönitz. He hoped Germany could have four aircraft carriers and over 500 carrier-based fighters by 1936—and this didn’t even include the 1,500 aircraft of various types planned for the land-based naval air arm. And for most of these things, not a single screw had yet been made. They only existed in Akado’s naval development plan.

Akado felt like he wanted to cry but had no tears. He even began to hate himself a little. If he had been more rational back then and chosen to be a carefree rich man, he wouldn’t be having all these headaches. But unfortunately, there was no turning back for him now, because countless people, countless pairs of eyes, were watching him, counting on him to continue leading Germany forward. So now he had no choice. Even if it was a road of no return, he still had to walk it without hesitation, right until the very end.

Fortunately, under his management, Germany was entering the preparatory phase for World War II in a much stronger state than he had imagined. He was now like a gambler, sitting at the great gambling table of history with more chips to play with.