"The Luftwaffe must exist independently of the navy and army, because in the navy and the army the air force is only an instrument for their own campaign purposes. The Navy is concerned about whether the planes can destroy a few warships for them and whether they can avoid the attack of the opposing planes. The Army, on the other hand, is concerned about whether aircraft can replace artillery to provide more direct support or cut off the enemy's transportation lines when necessary. Obviously, their goals are extremely limited. The purpose of the Air Force is not only to serve the Navy and Army, but also to do more important tasks, and we cannot follow the baton of the Navy and Air Force. "Red Baron Richthofen, who became famous in World War I, did not die in the war, as in history, but survived the war and became a lieutenant general after the war, responsible for the future development of the Luftwaffe.

And the first thing he did after taking up the leadership post was to make the air force independent from the navy and army and become an independent branch of the army. He believed that under the influence of the Navy and Army, the Luftwaffe could only act at the tactical level, and could not enter the war arena as a strategic force like the Royal Air Force. Although the Luftwaffe had the upper hand in the Norwegian naval battles and the Spanish battles, and helped the navy to achieve a great victory, the Luftwaffe was always overstretched on the most relevant French battlefield, and although they could inflict heavy damage on the enemy's bomber groups, they could not completely organize the bombing of German industrial areas and rear transport lines organized by the British Air Force. The heavy bombers of the Entente countries drifted like a nightmare in the rear of Germany. Bombardment of transportation hubs and important factories is carried out in turn. This had a direct impact on the offensive of the German Army, as well as on the production of the military industry.

And the Englishman's table xiàn gave inspiration to Germany's number one trump card. That is, in the future. Will Germany be able to organize a powerful force of long-range bombers to strike at the enemy's vital industrial bases and transportation hubs, thereby completely breaking the resistance of the other side? This bomber force had to be separated from the Army and Navy so that the Air Force could receive enough attention. And expensive heavy bombers will not be used to hit tactical targets on some fronts. Any weapon can only cause a qualitative change when the number rises to a certain level, and when it comes to intercepting bombers, the German ace is definitely under a lot of pressure, after all, it is too dangerous to rush into a hedgehog-like formation of heavy bombers. "Bullets come from all directions, and sometimes technology is useless, and it is a great journey to come back alive and God bless you." This is how Luftwaffe pilots feel when attacking heavy bombers, sometimes it is more dangerous than fighting fighters!

Richthofen believed that the existence of such a strategic air force was very meaningful. Because Germany's main opponents were Britain and France, it proved to be quite difficult to figure out how difficult it was to break through the ground defenses of the Entente, and both sides fought on the Western Front for five years without being able to force the other side to submit. And the British bombers could cross the terrain and the troops on the front line to strike directly at the German depth, and if Britain could, why couldn't Germany? Britain is farther away, and the aviation industry is developed, but what about France? As long as the bombers of the Luftwaffe could have a certain impact on its industry and communications. Then it is not impossible for the army to push off France. And if France fails. Although the Germans will not necessarily be able to hit the British Isles. But the whole strategic shape will change radically! Of course, at the moment, not many people have responded to him.

It is not possible to have long-range bombers, and at the same time to defend against enemy bomber attacks, and if necessary, send fighter jets to escort bombers. Therefore, Richthofen also wanted to form a heavy fighter unit, which would have a large range to accompany the bombers. Considering the limitations of the technology at the time, German aircraft designers began to explore whether they could design a twin-engine fighter to be used as a "strategic fighter". This idea is somewhat similar to the BF110 of later generations, and of course this product is also a tragedy. Among the aircraft of both sides that were really mass-produced in World War 2, the only one that could be called an air battle was the P38. Of course, Richthofen was not a traverser. Naturally, he didn't know this, and so far he was working on his twin-engine long-range fighter program.

Since the air force is to be an independent branch of the army, it must have sufficient defensive power while attacking, and Richthofen believes that in the future, the air force should independently hold up the protective umbrella over Germany and its allies. It is necessary to provide adequate protection for the important cities and industrial bases and transport hubs in the territory from strategic bombardment by the other side. This territorial air defense force will be composed of air force, ground observation posts and anti-aircraft artillery, which will require a lot of infrastructure, such as the construction of anti-aircraft artillery positions, observation posts, and airfields throughout the country. According to the principle of centralized use, Richthofen wanted fighters all for the defense of the homeland to be able to operate in one chain of command. This is especially appreciated by the German leadership. There are even a number of naval and army officers who expressed their support.

Richthofen's ideas were not avant-garde. But his set of ideas was resisted by the army, and the reason is very simple, if you do this all day long, what should our army do? Not to mention the real fighting, the German Army had to contact and coordinate with the Air Force in order to support and air defense, and in the end, one of the problems was the problem of tactical aircraft, that is, the Army's requirements for aircraft were completely different from those of Richthofen's strategic air force. What the army needs are fighter planes that can be easily deployed at the front of the battlefield and provide a protective umbrella for the troops, dive bombers that can dive to strike at ground targets, and a relatively sufficient number of twin-engine bombers that can strike at targets in depth on the opponent.

Similarly, the German Navy expressed its dissatisfaction with Richthofen, and although the Kaiser had agreed that Schell would have independent naval aviation for the future High Seas Fleet, the number and type of which were not specified. The Navy feared that Richthofen's strategic air plan would severely weaken the number of aircraft acquired by the German Navy. Therefore, the necessity of strategic bomber forces and long-range fighter units was questioned, after all, they were facing the powerful air forces and defense systems of the Allied powers. Is it necessary to store a large number of such aircraft, which can top more than 6 single-engine fighters? At the same time, however, the German Navy was more supportive of fighters with a longer range, because these aircraft could take off from the shore to provide an air defense network for the fleet near the sea.

It stands to reason that Richthofen could not fight with the veteran bureaucrats of the Navy and the Army, whether in terms of seniority or political experience, and his plan would not have been sent to the German Ministry of Defense for discussion. However, Kaiser Wilhelm II was very supportive of Richthofen, not only because this plan catered to his growing ambitions and revenge, that is, the German Army is already the first in the world, and the Navy is expected to hit the first in the world, so the German Air Force should not lag behind, to put it bluntly, what the other side has, we should have, and what the other side does not have, we should also have! And to be more than the other party, better performance! Another major reason was that the Kaiser wanted to build an army that would be subordinate to the German imperial family.

The German Army was in charge of the former Prussian officer corps, and although their loyalty was not bad, sometimes these stereotypical guys did not exactly follow the Kaiser's orders. The German Navy was once nicknamed Wilhelm's toy, but in World War I, Schell's overly aggressive policy clashed with Wilhelm II's conservative strategy, although the conflict did not expand because of the subsequent victories, but in Wilhelm's heart, he was very dissatisfied. And when Tirpitz, an old sailor, stepped down and Scheer sat on the throne of Minister of the Navy, it made William feel a little unhappy, but because of Scheer's talent, the German fleet could not do without him, so Wilhelm II was also a little helpless about this.

However, although the German imperial family supported Richthofen's opinion, the contradictions between the future space and the navy and army must also be reconciled. Military spending and the allocation of aircraft can be put away, but the research and development of aircraft is urgent, but fortunately, Richthofen still found a coordinated plan, first of all, the general model of the three services, whether it is the future strategic air force, or the navy or the army, everyone needs twin-engine medium bombers, 4-engine bombers are used to deal with Britain, but twin-engine bombers are enough to complete the strategic air force's attack on France, the normal needs of the navy and the army's needs for campaign-level support. Then there are fighters, whether it is the air defense of the future air force and the support of the front line, cheap and multi-purpose fighters are undoubtedly needed in large quantities, and this can also be universal. Of course, the various fighters and attack planes that the Navy needs that are suitable for aircraft carrier take-off and landing need to be arranged separately.

As for the 4-engine bomber, which originally occupied an important place in Richthofen's mind, it had to be pushed back. Although Germany's aviation technology lagged behind Britain, it also had a large 4-engine bomber like the Giant in World War 1, but this kind of bomber was too expensive and difficult to develop. It is not the most needed for Germany at the moment, so its importance is decreasing, but even so, the Red Baron is laying the groundwork for the future development of a four-engine bomber under the guise of a transport, passenger and maritime patrol aircraft.

Unlike history, Germany in this plane is extremely interested in long-range strategic bombers because of factors of strength and strategic needs, which makes the Luftwaffe not only complete tactical campaign tasks, but also have certain strategic strike capabilities. Of course, due to the limitations of history, this force is far from mature, but over time, this Germanic eagle will eventually fly in the skies of Europe.

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976, the reward, as well as the book friend Dahan grass people for the reward and monthly ticket support, zhenyiliu, white-bearded mouse, fatchi1979 monthly pass support ~~~.

In order to thank the book friend Hukaikaka for his reward and become the new master of this book ~~~, there will be a more ~~~ in the afternoon. Thank you all for your support~~~~. (To be continued......)