There Is No Schlieffen in the German Empire

31 – Paris Bombing

Düsseldorf, Western Rhineland, German Empire.

The city, which had functioned as the heart of the Imperial State after gaining independence from the Holy Roman Empire, had transformed into a mere annexed region of the Empire over the years. The political power of the newly rebuilt German nation was largely in the hands of the Prussian landowners east of the Elbe River, who were economically far behind.

Nevertheless, Düsseldorf’s glory had not completely faded. Benefiting from the industrialization that occurred along the Rhine River, Düsseldorf had grown into a major city, supporting the economy of the Rhineland.

Thanks to the extensive railway network that passed through Düsseldorf, it became a crucial logistical base supporting the Western Front in this war.

It was almost inevitable that an aviation unit requiring massive maintenance and logistical support would be stationed near Düsseldorf.

The Imperial Army Air Corps established a base here and deployed airships acquired from Count Zeppelin.

Under the command of Major Linatz, the aviation unit used this as a launching base to conduct reconnaissance missions monitoring the activities of the negotiating forces since the beginning of the war. Sometimes they flew around the Western Front, and if requested from the Eastern Front, they also flew to East Prussia or Galicia.

They could have carried bombs and attacked me, but there were hardly any instances where they actually conducted bombing operations, as they were not allocated bombs from higher-ups.

However, the time for playful missions had come to an end.

When Lieutenant Linartz received the order to release a large amount of flares from above, it was just another command. But when he heard that their target was Paris, he felt his heart race for the first time. Even the crew members who had been tired of mundane missions cheered.

“Paris. The City of Light. The heart of our enemy!”

“We will be the first Germans to arrive in Paris.”

There was nothing that excited soldiers more than bombing the capital of the enemy, whether it was with leaflets or bombs. Even if it was just a paper bomb that seemed ineffective.

Lieutenant Linartz’s bomber squadron had been flying over Paris every two weeks since last week. Although there were times when the airship encountered thick clouds or was caught in turbulence, they had never experienced such misfortune during the bombing of Paris. The sky of France was a fairly suitable environment for airship operations.

Of course, if asked whether the dropped papers were properly scattered in the target area, it was difficult to answer. Nevertheless, the act of dropping itself was being carried out without any major mishaps.

“Preparations for takeoff are complete.”

In response to the concise report, the lieutenant replied curtly.

“Depart.”

As the ground agent waved his hand, the flight attendants untied the ropes that held the airship in place. When the last anchor was removed, the massive airship slowly rose into the sky.

The sight of the three massive airships rising one after another was truly magnificent. The bomber squadron, which started with three, had maintained its original formation without any accidents or combat losses.

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This was thanks to the efforts of the aviation mechanics who paid attention to the operational rate of the airships day and night.

Looking out through the window at the ground receding into the distance, the lieutenant put away his binoculars and walked towards the cargo bay in the center of the ship. As the cargo bay was originally intended for civilian use as a dining and viewing area, it had a spacious hall-like structure.

In this cargo bay, there were millions of propaganda posters stacked up, far exceeding the limit.

But apart from this place, there was no separate space, so the soldiers took care of their tasks here during the operation.

When it came to food, eating canned food in their seats was sufficient.

An aviation officer who had checked the gas cylinders located above the residential area came down and saluted.

“No abnormal gas pressure.”

“Alright.”

Lieutenant Linartz briefly replied to his subordinate and leaned back against a stack of papers, closing his eyes for a moment. While the subordinates below could take turns going on sorties, he, as the one commanding the operation, couldn’t do the same.

Unfortunately, the subordinates under his command did not have enough experience to be trusted with solo missions.

It was inevitable that they would have to endure a few more months of hardship.

He sat in his seat, meticulously checking the bombing route and considering the possibility of French interception. It was a problem that arose due to being unable to freely fly through the skies of neutral countries like Belgium.

The airships would descend close to German territory in a straight line before veering off course in the airspace above Metz and flying into the heart of France. As the route was predictable, France could intentionally attempt to shoot down the planes.

Until now, he had not seriously considered the possibility of interception. But upon reflection, it occurred to him that aircraft pilots could also carry pistols or rifles. There had even been reports of pilots engaged in aerial duels with handguns or rifles.

As a result, the major had to slightly alter the route and change the location of crossing the French border. He struggled with the confusing numbers for a while before dozing off.

After some time had passed, a voice calling for him came through the in-flight broadcast. Perhaps because they were nearing the border, the sound was muffled and it was pitch dark inside the cabin. The major, bumping his head on the door while climbing the stairs, could only frown in annoyance.

When the major arrived in the cockpit, the captain pointed beyond the window with his finger and spoke.

“It’s the Frenchmen’s hot air balloons.”

As the major raised his binoculars, a faintly glowing light appeared in the sky on the other side.

After Paris had been hit by the airship bombings a couple of times, it seemed like a hasty response.

The hot air balloons were spaced out at intervals of almost 10 kilometers, following the French border.

France seemed to be planning to detect the intrusion of airships with these balloons and intercept them. The idea of trying to find small airplanes in the vast sky was surprising, but it didn’t seem ridiculous.

The major knew that such attempts would accumulate, systematize, and evolve into efficient countermeasures.

The major stared at the hot air balloons with a stern expression and said to the captain,

“From now on, we maintain radio silence.”

“But, if we do that, it will be difficult to guide our fleet to Paris.”

However, if they were exposed while heading to Paris with the hot air balloons present, they could also be intercepted by French aircraft. Although he had never heard of French planes conducting operations at night, this war was a fight that defied conventional wisdom. Had the concept of fighting in the sky existed before this war started?

The major was prepared to take some risks.

“Tell them that any aircraft that loses its route or destination is allowed to turn back freely.”

The captain hesitated for a moment, then nodded his head.

While the communications soldier transmitted the message in code, the lieutenant carefully observed the French military airship. The airship appeared quite large, but it didn’t seem capable of carrying a large number of personnel.

“It seems that their airship’s surveillance is inferior to that of our warship.”

The surveillance of the warship only required monitoring a two-dimensional plane, but the French in the airship had to monitor a three-dimensional space, including above and below.

For the time being, it seemed that surveillance of the airship could be easily bypassed by focusing on radio interception.

However, necessity would surely accelerate technological development.

How long would the French endure the continuous bombings of their capital?

Wouldn’t they want to prevent it at any cost, no matter the sacrifice?

When that moment comes, the bombing operation of the aerial fleet will undoubtedly become a highly dangerous journey to hell.

While the flight crew breathed a sigh of relief that they had safely passed the airship, the lieutenant continued to think only of that.

Even after entering French territory, the airship maintained its disguise and radio silence. Everything was enveloped in a serene silence, and even the flight crew hesitated to speak.

The tranquil flight came to an end only when the city of light appeared beneath them. Despite the war, the illuminated night view of Paris seemed to symbolize the prosperity of the Belle Époque.

The lieutenant put down his binoculars and quickly stepped out of the cockpit, giving his orders.

“Prepare for bombing. All crew members, move to the cargo hold.”

“All crew members to the cargo hold!”

The flight crew followed the lieutenant skillfully down the stairs. Even the crew members who were inspecting the gas bags were no exception. Once they gathered in the cargo hold, the captain opened a small window for bombing.

When the ramp opened, the crew members stood against the wind and cut the tightly bound bundles of propaganda posters with knives before pushing them out of the cargo hold. The papers fluttered in all directions, carried away by the strong wind.

“Release!”

The crew members forcefully threw the bundles out of the airship, and they cascaded down like a waterfall. Then, carried by the wind, they twirled and scattered widely into the Parisian sky.

“Release!”

While the cries of bombardment echoed, the lieutenant lit his pipe and looked down at the enemy capital where paper bombs fell.

The sight of Paris, always surrounded by light, seemed majestic and beautiful at the same time.

The feeling of standing here as a destroyer, shattering the tranquility of the city, evoked an indescribable strange emotion.

Perhaps this is the contradictory nature of war.

The lieutenant looked down at the city covered in leaflets.

*

“Another bombing?”

“I apologize.”

The French military headquarters couldn’t comprehend the fact that Paris was being bombed.

The French aerospace industry was leading the world, and the air force organization was also advanced.

But how could they be losing to those damn Germans?

Of course, they were also conducting retaliatory strikes against Germany, but the fact that the capital was constantly being targeted was clearly a problem.

“Come up with a way to intercept them.”

“I will do my best.”

They said so, but the French air force did not have the capability to do so.

Intercepting an airship in the first place was impossible when there were no fighter planes flying at night.

“If it doesn’t work, we’ll attack Berlin. We can’t let those damn Germans get away with this.”

General Bares, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, couldn’t help but be astonished by this demand, but eventually accepted it.

Germany’s bombing of Paris resulted in an unintended, retaliatory attack on Berlin by France.

As the Chief of Staff had anticipated, the attack was a journey of ‘expected losses’ that was useless and full of danger.