Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 541 Air Raid
Hindenburg, the German Chief of the General Staff, who impulsively went to the front lines for inspection, was unaware that it was precisely this sudden, impulsive idea that saved his life.

He was shocked when he learned that his newly established German provisional general staff had been destroyed by Spanish air raids.

First of all, I was grateful for my good fortune, as I managed to arrive at the front lines of the battlefield before the Spanish air raids on the German headquarters.

The Spanish probably didn't expect their esteemed Chief of the General Staff to come to the front lines in person, which is why Spain directly attacked the General Staff headquarters.

Secondly, there was the shock of the air raid on Spain. Because the German General Staff was almost completely destroyed, the air raid on Spain was hardly recorded.

However, the surrounding troops and civilians still saw some of the aircraft used by the Spanish. Airships were certainly involved, but those responsible for attacking the German General Staff were definitely not airships.

This also means that, in addition to airships, Spain also had a type of aircraft capable of attacking enemy rear command posts from a distance.

This was a huge blow to Germany's frontline command structure. If it couldn't be determined what kind of aircraft Spain used in the airstrike, Germany's frontline command would have to go into complete hiding to guard against a possible Spanish attack.

Indeed, as long as the German General Staff wanted to remain hidden, it would be very difficult for Spain to discover its whereabouts.

The problem is that if the German General Staff chooses to go completely into hiding, its role will be greatly diminished.

Hindenburg's intention in establishing the German Provisional General Staff in Belgium was to gain early knowledge of the latest developments in the war and subsequently issue various orders.

Once the General Staff chose to go into hiding under the threat of Spanish airstrikes, it would be impossible for them to receive timely news from the front and issue orders.

Hindenburg, however, was powerless to do anything about it. No one could guarantee he would survive another Spanish air raid; if a Spanish air raid killed the German Chief of the General Staff, things would be very complicated.

Although Hindenburg did not verbally express any concern about the Spanish airstrikes, his actions revealed his fear of them.

On the same day he learned that the provisional general staff had been destroyed, Hindenburg immediately left the Belgian front by car and moved the provisional general staff from the Liege fortress in Belgium to the German city of Frankfurt.

Although this location is farther from the front lines, the advantages are quite obvious. If Spain were to launch another similar air raid, even if they were able to travel hundreds of kilometers to reach Frankfurt, the German forces would have a greater chance of discovering the Spanish air force en route.

If the General Staff headquarters located in Frankfurt can be destroyed, then it can only be said that there is really no need to continue this war.

After all, the ability to destroy enemy command posts across hundreds of kilometers is something that neither Britain, France, nor Germany currently possess.

If Spain had truly hardened its resolve and launched frequent bombing raids on German cities, Germany could not have held out for long in this war.

More importantly, this air strike capability was also a significant deterrent to Britain. The reason the British government was only going through the motions was because they knew that the war would essentially not reach British soil.

As long as the Royal Navy suffers minimal losses, the safety of the British mainland can be guaranteed. With its homeland secure, Britain can naturally sit back and watch the war unfold in Europe without having to expend the entire nation's resources and gamble everything to win the war, unlike Germany.

Although Germany had tried its best to conceal the news of the destruction of the temporary frontline command, it was not easy to completely hide it.

As Germany's ally, Britain was naturally aware of the changes at the German General Staff. France and Italy learned of the news a little later, but both eventually learned of the destruction of the pre-war German General Staff during the Spanish air raids.

The destruction of the German provisional general staff by Spain shocked Britain, France, and Italy alike.

The Spanish airstrikes were launched from French territory, and the French government was certainly aware of the Spanish airstrike plans. They had even seen what the Spanish aircraft looked like, but they never imagined that the Spanish airstrikes would be so successful, actually destroying the German General Staff and forcing Germany to relocate the General Staff to the more distant Frankfurt.

Italy was largely unaware of this; on the one hand, they were surprised by the enormous success of the Spanish airstrikes, and on the other hand, they were very interested in the so-called aircraft that Spain had deployed during the airstrikes.

In contrast to the jubilation of France and Italy, the British government's attitude was somewhat pessimistic.

Because, geographically speaking, London wasn't far from the front lines of the Western Front. Regardless of the type of aircraft Spain used in its air raids, the attacks couldn't possibly have been launched directly at the front lines.

This also means that the aircraft used by Spain are capable of flying over distances of hundreds of kilometers.

London, the capital of the United Kingdom, is very likely within the range of Spanish airstrikes. Is Spain planning to attack London? This is the biggest concern for the British government and the royal family.

The results of the Spanish airstrikes also demonstrate that once Spain launches an airstrike, its power will be enormous.

While not enough to destroy a city, destroying some important buildings would be no problem. Buckingham Palace, the residence of the British royal family, the British government headquarters, the official residence of the British Prime Minister, and so on, could all have been destroyed by Spanish airstrikes.

When it comes to their personal safety, senior British government officials and members of the royal family cannot afford to be complacent.

Regarding this airstrike, the British government quickly contacted the German government to discuss the types of aircraft Spain might use and whether Spain still had the capability to launch another airstrike.

This was very important for both Britain and Germany. Besides destroying important facilities and buildings, air raids could also inflict heavy casualties on frontline troops.

Although frontline troops in various countries are also equipped with a certain number of air defense weapons, these air defense weapons are mainly used to deal with airships.

Airships are relatively slow and large, and their anti-aircraft weapons are usually machine guns.

If Spain had faster and smaller aircraft, it would be highly unlikely that machine guns could shoot them down.

After discussions with Germany, the British government ultimately decided to equip the front lines with more air defense weapons in order to prevent another Spanish air raid as much as possible.

Aside from the major European powers, the first to learn of the destruction of the German provisional general staff in Liège were naturally the Belgians living nearby.

This news effectively boosted the Belgians' will to resist Germany, and through word of mouth, it quickly spread to the German army. Although many German soldiers were unwilling to believe the news, various signs indicated that the General Staff headquarters, which had been located in Liège, was indeed no longer there.

This was certainly not good news for the German troops stationed in Belgium. With the General Staff withdrawing, the next target for air raids would be the German troops at the front lines.

In particular, the army group command headquarters stationed in Brussels is very likely to be attacked by Spain, which could completely disrupt the entire army group command system stationed in Belgium.

Clearly, the German military's concerns were entirely justified.

The day after Spain launched its air raid on the German provisional general staff, Spain launched another air raid on Brussels, targeting the German army group headquarters stationed there.

As the brain of an entire army group, the army group command is crucial to the army group's operations. Once the army group command is destroyed, communication and exchange between different branches of the army will become extremely difficult, and the scattered units will be forced to operate independently, making it difficult to form a unified and effective management and action.

Spain's objective was to disrupt the German command structure within Belgium, and the sole target of the air raids was the headquarters of the German army group.

Similar to the previous Spanish attack on the German high command, the German army had some countermeasures, but was simply unable to resist the attack from the air.

Machine guns pose a certain threat to airships, but little to airplanes. Only in extremely unfortunate circumstances, such as being hit by bullets in the propeller or fuel tank, would an airplane risk crashing.

Otherwise, even if the wing was pierced by several bullet holes, it would not affect the flight of the plane, and the plane would not have crashed as a result.

German troops in Brussels attempted to use machine guns against Spanish aircraft, but they found that these resistances were futile.

The Spanish bombers arrived and departed with equal ease. The German resistance failed to capture a single aircraft, though they were fortunate enough to hit two airships, but to no avail.

Soon, news of the renewed air raid on the German army group headquarters in Brussels reached the major powers of the Central Powers and the Allied Powers.

France and Italy were naturally quite excited about this, but Britain and Germany were not so happy.

Germany, in particular, was caught completely off guard by the sudden Spanish air raids. The two surprise attacks completely disrupted Hindenburg's plans and put the German army on the western front at a disadvantage once again.

In particular, the German troops in Belgium were terrified when they heard news of Spanish air raids after the General Staff and army group headquarters were attacked one after another. They were afraid that they would also be targeted by Spanish airships.

Even during battle, soldiers would unconsciously look up at the sky, fearing that an unknown black dot would suddenly appear and drop a bomb on them.

Under such influence, the morale and fighting spirit of the frontline troops were greatly reduced, and the Allied forces achieved greater success. The German army was forced to retreat to avoid greater casualties.

However, retreating indefinitely is not a solution, as Belgium's territory is finite. If they continue to retreat, the war could truly reach German soil.

More importantly, even after enduring two air raids, Germany did not take any countermeasures against the air raids on Spain.

Even Germany didn't know when the next Spanish air raid would come. The soldiers on the front lines and the command headquarters of each army group could only take strict precautions and keep a close watch on any unusual activity from the sky.

But this kind of vigilance isn't a long-term solution. Who has the right to guard against thieves every single night?

Even with the best defenses, the German army had little recourse when the Spanish air raids actually began.

More importantly, with the destruction of the German army group headquarters in Brussels, the command of hundreds of thousands of German troops in Belgium became extremely chaotic.

While compiling this information, German Chief of the General Staff Hindenburg was deeply troubled. He couldn't think of any good solutions to the current situation on the Western Front, and he had no idea how the German army should respond when the next air raid came.

Like Hindenburg, the British government was also quite alarmed at this time.

After the Spanish airstrikes on Brussels, the British government was aware that Spain had the capability to launch multiple airstrikes.

Spain's first two airstrikes were aimed at the situation in Belgium. Will the subsequent attacks shift their focus and target important British cities?
Even without targeting Britain, Spain's frequent air raids would seriously affect the situation on the Western Front.

Unfortunately, neither Britain nor Germany had a good solution to the air raids on Spain. At present, the most advanced aircraft in Britain and Germany was the airship, but the airship was simply ineffective in dealing with the sneak attacks from Spain.

The British government had considered the possibility that Spain might use aircraft to launch a surprise attack, but quickly dismissed the idea.

Because there is also related aircraft research in the UK, judging from the current progress of aircraft research in the UK, even if the aircraft were given a few more years, it would still be unable to undertake air strike missions.

Although both the British and German governments chose to conceal the news of the Spanish airstrikes, thanks to the vigorous dissemination by the Belgians, the European public eventually learned of this explosive news.

Compared to the French and Italian people, the British people were quite terrified.

The British people's initial attitude towards the war was, if not entirely supportive, at least not overly concerned.

After all, almost every Briton knew that the war was unlikely to reach British soil. As long as they didn't join the army, the war would have a negligible impact on them.

But now, the two consecutive Spanish air raids have shown all the British that if the war continues, air raids will eventually fall on their heads.

As the world's largest city, London would inevitably be a target of Spanish airstrikes. What should the British government do if London becomes the next target of Spanish airstrikes?

Although it did not cause much turmoil in Britain, it was clear that the number of peacemakers in the country was steadily increasing.

(End of this chapter)