Chapter 62

  Fafnir and his companions spent a wonderful, shameless, and dissolute holiday in Paris, during which Dick the Clown Karl and his friends also joined in, and they met two old acquaintances - Lieutenant Aichmann Litbarski and Lieutenant Richter von Habel, who had captured Frenchmen together. The group spent their holidays drinking and chasing women through the streets until they were all locked up by the military police to spend their last holiday days.

  Soon, the German occupying forces issued an order restricting German soldiers from entering Paris at will during their leave. Favnielle and his comrades were also kicked back to their unit, and the entire unit was mobilized to Calais to begin training for landing battles. Favnielle watched as several tanks were equipped with submerged crossing devices for testing, and he stood by, making a face and sticking out his tongue in disdain. His companions couldn't help but burst out laughing at his antics, while their company commander's face turned purple with rage under the disapproving gaze of several superior officers, and he ordered other soldiers to take this troublemaker back to the barracks for confinement.

  As Fahnrich and the other soldiers had expected, tank fording a small river was one thing, but fording the English Channel was quite another; the difference was as great as between going next door and going to the moon. The experiment ended in ignominious failure. "This is the Third Reich's first batch of hare-brained schemes..." Fahnrich jeered in the barracks.

  However, the normal landing exercise was carried out in an orderly manner. He and his companions practiced various landing techniques every day, constantly changing the training content according to the orders of their superiors. It can be said that they successfully exhausted the energy of the German officers and soldiers on the front line through repeated exercises.

  The British refused to surrender. On August 13, the Battle of Britain officially began. Fawcett and his armored troops and army soldiers were idle in France, while their air force friends kept launching sorties. Two pilots he knew participated in the Battle of Britain: Haber flew a Messerschmitt 109 as an escort for bomber formations - poor guy's plane had short legs, Littbarski and his crew flew a new Ju-88 towards the British radar stations.

  In early September, the battle raged in the skies above London. The German eagles scattered a rain of death over London, with bombers dropping bombs day and night. The Junkers 88 and Heinkel 111s flew in formation, escorted by the short-legged 109s and long-legged 110s, while the Spitfires and Hurricanes would attack the bomber formations when the Junkers 88 and Heinkel 111s lost their escort due to the short-legged 109s running low on fuel. Planes kept falling from the sky, but British pilots could get back in the air with a new plane if they survived, whereas German pilots were done for, basically spending the next five years in a British POW camp.

  By the end of September, Haber's squadron was ordered to cease its air cover duties and relocate to Germany for refurbishment. During a lull in preparations for relocation, Haber ran into old friends Favniel, Dornberger, Berbig, Aubrey and Dick Carroll at an off-base bar near their station. When someone asked about the fighting, Haber told Favniel: "Eichmann is dead, killed in action over London."

  Originally Eichmann, Litbarski flew Ju 88 to continuously raid and bomb Britain. In late September, he raided London at night. After dropping bombs over London, he tried to retreat with British fighter planes in pursuit. Amidst the intense anti-aircraft fire, it was unclear whether it was the firepower of the Spitfire or the British 20-pound high cannon that created a large hole in his bomber, causing the engine to catch fire and leak oil, and the plane rapidly fell from the sky. Eichmann gave the order to parachute out, and he was the last one to jump out of the burning cockpit. As soon as his parachute opened, his falling plane brushed past him, and it was unclear whether it was debris from the plane or the still relentless anti-aircraft fire that tore Eichmann Litbarski's parachute to shreds, causing him to plummet downwards like a stone... Below were buildings engulfed in flames...

  Eichmann, Leutnant Litbarski, German Air Force Ju 88 pilot and captain. Killed in action on the night of September 23, 1940 over London, England at the age of 25.

  Fafnir and friends raised their glasses in mourning for the loss of a friend. Richtofen von Haber, although he had just received his 9th aerial victory and was awarded a prize, was still downcast over the death of his friend. After saying goodbye, Haber returned to the airport to prepare for transfer, while Fafnir and others returned to their military camp with a sigh after the uninteresting ceremony.

  Throughout the summer and autumn, until winter, Favniel spent his time in landing training, but at the beginning of 41, an order transferred them to eastern Germany. After sitting on the military train for several days and nights, Favniel got off the train and stretched his waist. Here is eastern Germany, where they got off to transfer to other troops and prepare to go to Poland. Favniel is now a sergeant, and in the training and expansion of the armored forces, he has his own tank - the 4th E-type tank after major repairs, with the number changed to 513. He is now the commander of the vehicle and also has his own subordinates.

  After arriving in Poland, Favniel waited for his tank to be transported to the garrison. The garrison was located not far from the current Soviet border in Poland, where a dozen tanks and self-propelled guns were lined up. Dick Clown Karl and Bellwigen had also been promoted to military ranks and were now vehicle commanders, with Dick commanding No. 4 E and Bellwigen commanding No. 3 H. Dornberger and Junker, who was still fighting despite his injured arm, became gunners on other tanks. Standing beside Favniel was Sergeant Sal Feni Deke, the commander of the Type D assault gun No. 3, another new friend that Favniel could talk to.

  Fawcett knew, Dick also knew that the most arduous and bloody Soviet-German war of World War II was about to begin, and the bloody battle on the Eastern Front would soon test everyone's character and luck.

  In April 1941, the Waffen-SS made a big splash in Yugoslavia, conquering it in just a few days. Earlier, in February, a new series of German troops - the Afrika Korps - was formed and deployed to North Africa. By April, news of the Afrika Korps' victories and the Waffen-SS's conquest of Yugoslavia had spread, greatly boosting the morale of Polish-German soldiers who expressed envy towards their comrades in Africa. Meanwhile, countless trains were heading to Poland and Yugoslavia, unloading large quantities of military supplies and troops that had established great reputations on the Western Front. Countless fighter planes and bombers also quietly relocated to Poland and Yugoslavia. Germany's three army groups were already formed, waiting for June 22, 1941...