Vol 6 Chapter 37: Sunset afterglow

As early as half a year ago, the British Isles began to implement a strict material rationing system.
Compared with the pre-war period, the consumption of meat, eggs, sugar and fruit in the UK dropped by 396%, 693%, 55% and 76% respectively. The ratio of candy, butter, tea and coffee was almost zero.
Due to insufficient supplies and rapid inflation, the cost of living of the British people has increased by 86% in less than a year.
On May 1, 1940, the London government began to ration the cloth again, and each person could get 66 ration coupons a year.
It costs 8 coupons for a pair of trousers, 7 coupons for a shirt, 3 coupons for a pair of socks, and 4 coupons for a pair of underwear.
In order to cope with the blockade of the Holy Alliance, the British also took great pains to produce their own food. In 1940, the area of ​​British arable land increased by 1.26 million acres. (About 76.482 million mu)
With insufficient meat and cheese, fish is used to make up. As a country surrounded by the sea, they have natural advantages in this regard.
At first Bulgarian warplanes also bombed British fishing boats. Later, the British gave up on modern big fishing boats and switched to more primitive small fishing boats.
After weighing the pros and cons, the Bulgarian Air Force had to give up the pursuit of them. This investment was too large and too small. Even if it was encountered, it would be at most a bullet shot. Let it go.
By offshore fishing, with locally produced potatoes, and original reserves, the British had a difficult time through 1940.
London
It was another Christmas Eve, which was a rare time. Bulgarians, who are also Christian nations, would not launch an attack at this time.
On this happy festival, Mr. Churchill was not happy at all, he knew that the war would be difficult to continue.
According to information from the Nordic countries, the positions of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden are changing, and the Holy Alliance is putting too much pressure on them.
Although the Three Kingdoms were vast and sparsely populated, and no food crisis broke out, the lack of industrial raw materials also made them unacceptable, and a large number of capitalists changed their positions.
In this case, the London government was prepared, and they even sent people to win over the three countries. Unfortunately, even if they made great profits, they still did not entice them.
Joining the Holy Alliance can lie down and win the war. Joining the Pan-International Front requires a real sword and a fight. It is also unknown whether we can win the war in the end.
Everyone is not a fool. The Nordic countries have limited strength. They are very self-aware.
Unless they can open up, defeat West Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the shortest time, then defeat France and Spain, and then fight the Bulgarians.
Obviously, this does not exist, and they are not up to it. It is estimated that Western Russia can choose one or three, or the one that beats them.
"Are General Doudin ready?" Churchill asked with concern.
"Prime Minister, the Royal Air Force is already in place, but I am not optimistic about this operation. Even if we succeed in the attack, we will not hurt the enemy's vitality!" Air Force Commander Dooding reluctantly said
This is not without foundation. The war has now proceeded, the British Empire has exerted its last strength, and most of the Holy Alliance countries have spared their power.
Even if the enemy surrenders the airport deployed by the enemy, it can only delay time, unless Spain and France are defeated, otherwise the British Isles will always be in a dangerous state.
"General Doudin, as a soldier you only need to execute the order, and other things have nothing to do with you!" Churchill said grimly.
If possible, he really doesn't mind letting the old guy get away, but the situation is too dangerous now and he can't provoke internal contradictions anymore.
The air forces deployed in North Africa, Spain, and France are not all Bulgarian troops. The Holy Alliance still has a role. There are air forces from various countries here, and the Bulgarian Air Force is just the most powerful one.
In order to encourage the air forces of all countries to fight bravely, Bulgaria will be responsible for all fighter aircraft losses. For every enemy aircraft shot down, the pilot can also receive a thousand levs.
On Christmas Eve, the Bulgarian Air Force did not lower its vigilance. Even if everyone was celebrating, the deployed radar station was on duty 24 hours a day to prevent British dogs from jumping off the wall.
The air forces of other countries are not so fortunate. For the convenience of command, the air forces of each country are stationed separately. General Commander General Graves-Ivanov also has only wartime command.
The Air Force is a technical branch. General Grafos has less stringent requirements on them. As long as it can take off and perform bombing missions on time, the Air Forces of other countries manage it themselves.
On the surface, this is a manifestation of Bulgaria's respect for its allies, but in fact it is Bulgaria's unwillingness to help countries train a strong air force.
Who knows that today's allies will not become enemies tomorrow?
You should know that more than 20 years ago, Britain, France, and France were still allies fighting side by side. Many people think that the three congresses have been cooperating and dominating the world. Is it not the opposite now?
On the surface, it was the British who were reluctant to share the world hegemony with the two countries, and finally the three-nation alliance fell apart.
In fact, it is not that Bulgaria has developed too fast, causing the British to feel uneasy; the French have developed too slowly, and their own strength is not worth sharing the hegemony with the British, and the Big Three system finally collapsed.
"Didi ..."
The radar sound continued to sound, and the Bulgarian Air Force immediately ended the banquet and entered a wartime state. The roar of anti-aircraft artillery sounded, and the fighter aircraft slowly lifted off under the cover of the night.
Important warehouses and airport facilities invariably chose to turn off the lights, and turned on street lights in areas that camouflaged the enemy.
Under the cover of the night, the British Air Force was confused. There was no way to see the situation underground, but it only reached the approximate location and instinctively bombarded the place with lights.
In the battle room, General Grafors sneered and watched the British perform. Such a large-scale night raid, trying to do his best in World War I was simply a dream.
As for the possible damage caused by the British bombing, he was completely unconcerned. Anyway, the Bulgarian Air Force is prepared. What is the matter with the loss of allies?
The General Command has ordered all troops to be vigilant. They do not listen by themselves, and they can only be deserved if they die. It is a big deal for Bulgaria to lose more fighters.
Governments will not have any opinions. In the minds of most politicians of this era, aircraft were more valuable than pilots. (Except for industrial powers)
Moreover, if they do not stimulate their allies, how can they be willing to contribute in the next battle?
Time passed quickly, the British Air Force had completed the bombing mission, and as soon as it was about to return, Graves spit out two words slowly-counterattack!
To say it was a counter-offensive is essentially just to hold the British away and prevent them from returning smoothly.
The range of the fighter jets was also limited. From the British Isles, bombing was carried out for more than an hour. Most of the fighter jets ran out of fuel, so there was no need to go back if they did not run again.
This is why Graves ordered the fighters to take off. Under the cover of the night, using the advantages of Bulgarian fighters flying higher than British fighters, they lurked in advance and watched the British perform to the full.
With so many Air Forces deployed in these areas, airports are indispensable. In most areas, there is a scuffle between the two sides, defeating the British with their numerical advantage.
Only a few areas of the British fighters dominated in number and had to adopt more aggressive tactics to fight back.
"His Excellency General, this is a telegram from various places. It has been determined that 73 of our airports have been attacked. The current situation is unknown!" The intelligence staff whispered.
"Well, I see!" Graves said softly.
The British are too big-hearted, and if they only attacked a few airports, they might have succeeded now.
At the same time, so many airports were scattered and attacked, and their forces were obviously thinned. Except for those areas that were not prepared, most of the areas were covered by nets.
...
After Christmas, there was an uproar in the Holy Alliance countries. The British broke their rules and launched an attack on Christmas Eve.
That's ok, revenge, you have to get revenge!
Especially after the dignitaries of various countries got the loss report, that face was really wonderful. Don't think that Bulgarian bag pays for the fighters, they can wear it out unscrupulously.
Battle loss and record will determine their distribution of future benefits. If the loss is> record, then congratulations, you are on track.
Contributions are negative. Want to share loot?
Of course, this is only part of the calculation. If it involves a major strategy, as long as it is strategically won, all fighters lost to Bulgaria can be ignored.
Another example is the war between the French and the Germans. These were the French's own pockets. The Sacred Alliance naturally did not need to calculate their war damage, only the results of the war were sufficient.
Sofia
Looking at the battle report from the front, Little Ferdinand smiled slightly, the British dog jumped off the wall, and even the last face was gone.
Last night's battle, the British paid the price of 975 fighter jets and killed 1683 fighters of the Holy Alliance. Most of them were not completed without taking off and hiding work.
In addition, the British also bombed more than 20 warehouses, and eight port cities received damage to varying degrees.
On the surface, the Holy Alliance has suffered a great loss, but the loss of the Holy Alliance does not mean that Bulgaria has also suffered. The biggest losses this time are undoubtedly France and Spain.
As the host, most of the British's bombs fell on their heads. Because of the darkness, I don't know how many British fighters have deviated from their targets and dropped the bombs in their cities.
Ferdinand Jr. admits that it is immoral to watch his allies unlucky, and it is unethical for him to sneak in, but he can't help but be happy.
A tactical victory is not the same as a strategic victory.
Judging from the results, the British undoubtedly dominated, but unfortunately won tactically but failed strategically.
According to the plan, the purpose of the British is for the Royal Air Force to focus its efforts on hitting the hardest, damaging the Air Force of the Holy Alliance, and fighting for a few months for the sky of the British Empire.
It is a pity that the Holy Alliance lost serious fighters this time, but the pilot's casualties were not large, or Bulgaria could make up for these fighters' losses in a week.
It should be noted that during the fighting last night, the British lost 2,106 pilots, including 896 who were captured; the Holy Alliance side lost only 1,568 pilots.
In this regard, Ferdinand Jr does not mind continuing the exchange with the British, anyway, Bulgaria's industrial production capacity is the first in the world.
London
The Prime Minister ’s house is quiet and terrible. Do n’t read the newspaper ’s continuous propaganda for the Christmas Eve victory yesterday. In fact, those of them who know it know that the British Empire suffered a loss in this battle.
Less than a year after the outbreak of the World War, the British Empire ’s maritime transport capacity was reduced by 27%, and the domestic industrial capacity was less than half of that before the war.
"Sorry everyone, we have failed this battle again! Our lad has worked very hard, but the number of enemies is too much, and even if he has taken advantage of the sneak attack, he has not been able to complete the task!" Doutin said angrily
How could his mood be better if he was forced to execute the death-death strategy? To him, the situation is still pretty good, and God's blessing without the whole army's annihilation.
Churchill gritted his teeth and said, "Last night, we lost 1012 fighters, lost 2216 pilots, and the RAF lost nearly a quarter of its power in World War I!"
(Note: The results of the statistics from the two sides are not the same, mainly due to the actual situation, such as the night trek could not find the way home, or the injured fighter plane crashed halfway)
Dao said with a frown, "I'm sorry, Your Excellency the Prime Minister! I would like to interrupt that the RAF lost not a quarter of its strength, but a third more.
You also know that there are more than 800 fighter planes that need to be overhauled and cannot be put into war for at least half a month. "
He also didn't want to make up for this knife ~ EbookFREE.me ~, but in order to prevent these politicians from making the wrong decision again, Dao Ding had to come out to be this villain.
Now they are disgusted by two phases. The Cabinet thinks that the Air Force is ineffective, which has caused the passive situation of the British Empire, while the Air Force thinks it is the Cabinet's blind command that caused the current predicament.
"Isn't General Doudin trying to retire, this time I approved!" Churchill said grimly.
Apparently, Churchill was already intolerable against him. He was so overwhelmed in the defeat. It was simply death. If not for the influence of Dowding in the air force, Churchill could not help sending him to a military court.
"Okay, Your Excellency the Prime Minister? If there is nothing, I will leave first!"
Having said that, the Air Force Commander left without looking back, without any thought.
The conference room was quiet again, and this time the strategic goals were not achieved. It is no longer possible to end the war decently.
(..)