I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 211: Revised - Air Combat 8 Rules

Chapter Three coming a bit later, very sorry!

...

The most nervous one was clearly Carter.

As Gallieni was busy searching for the plane’s whereabouts, Carter, with a pale face, asked Shire, "Major, if the plane falls into enemy hands, will they quickly learn this technology?"

Shire nodded lightly, "The machine gun synchronization gear isn’t some high-tech device. As soon as the Germans see it, they’ll understand the principle and replicating it won’t be difficult."

Carter let out a sigh, blaming himself, "This is practically a disaster. If the enemy’s planes are also equipped with machine guns, it would threaten the entire sky and the lives of our pilots..."

Carter believed it was his responsibility.

"This is not your fault, Captain!" Shire consoled him, "This day was bound to come. As long as we carry out missions, such things are inevitable."

"I understand, Major!" Carter responded uneasily, "The problem is we’re far from ready. Last time when you had us conduct air combat drills, many didn’t take it seriously. Even if some did, they didn’t know how to practice it. Given the consecutive missions, it’s been..."

Shire nodded in understanding.

The pilots didn’t take the drills seriously due to a "comfort in safety" mindset:

The First Squadron had absolute air superiority; they had machine guns and the enemy didn’t. In this absolute safety, they felt no pressure and merely giving orders wasn’t enough to make them take it seriously.

Some pilots were willing to practice, but it was merely practice. They couldn’t get into the "kill or be killed" war state.

It was normal to not find the direction of training.

After thinking for a while, Shire slowly said, "First, observe the position of the sun, and try to keep your back to the sun!"

At these words, Carter, who had been dejected with his head down, looked up in disbelief.

He had several years of flight experience and had been studying air combat during this time, so he understood what Shire was saying.

The position of the sun was crucial. Facing the sun, you would be blinded by the sunlight and barely see the enemy, while the enemy could see you clearly.

Was this an air combat principle?

"Wait a moment, Major!" Realizing this, Carter jumped up and ran to his desk, grabbed a notebook and pencil, and ran back, writing down "Sun" on the paper.

Shire continued speaking unhurriedly, "Second, once in battle, attack with conviction, don’t have any thoughts of retreat or evasion!"

Carter wholeheartedly agreed.

Air combat was different from other battles; retreating or evading in air combat often meant getting your tail chased by an enemy, putting yourself in a dangerous situation!

So, there was no turning back, you had to fight to the end.

"Third!" Shire continued, "Only fire when you’re very close!"

Carter quickly wrote down the word "Distance."

This was undeniable; a short distance meant a higher hit rate.

Bullets in the air were precious. Each machine gun had only five hundred rounds in total, which in principle could be depleted in just thirty seconds. If you didn’t consider accuracy and just fired wildly, it would almost mean handing over your chance of success and your life to your opponent.

"Fourth, keep your eyes on the enemy plane at all times, predicting the opponent’s feints!"

Carter hesitated for a moment. He didn’t disagree with this point; it was just very difficult.

However, Carter immediately realized this was the key point of training, which would require extensive practice or summarizing experiences in actual combat.

Then the fifth, the sixth, the seventh...

Shire stated eight rules in one breath. Carter took notes in his notebook, looking at Shire in surprise. He couldn’t believe such valuable experiences were summarized by someone who didn’t know how to fly and had never participated in an air battle.

Each one was a cardinal rule; breaking any of them would likely leave no next chance to fight.

Finally, Shire instructed, "You can have the soldiers train according to these eight rules!"

"Yes, Major!" Carter nodded heavily, "I will have them memorize these rules..."

"Not memorize," Shire interrupted Carter, "Make it a habit."

Carter instantly understood and stood erect, replying, "Yes, Major! Not memorize, make it a habit!"

It’s like swimming; memorizing the techniques is useless, you’ll still make mistakes in the water.

Only by practicing in the water, understanding through repetition, slowly correcting mistakes, can you turn it into a habitual movement and learn it.

Air combat was the same. When the enemy’s plane dived down at you and sprayed bullets, in a moment of panic, you’d forget everything in your mind, and by the time you realized your mistake, it would probably be too late.

Only by continuously practicing and turning these skills into habits, would you make the correct reflexive responses during combat.

Carter held his notebook as if it were a treasure, then glanced curiously at Shire, "Major, did you summarize all these merely by... imagining?"

"Mostly," Shire answered flawlessly, "Some were observed from planes in combat, some were thought of while sitting in a plane."

He referred to the air combat he saw in Antwerp, where he had even commanded plane engagements and finally escaped by plane. These experiences served as perfect excuses.

Carter didn’t doubt him and sighed, "Clearly, you have such a talent, Major!"

In truth, it wasn’t talent; it was the German ace pilot Boelcke’s summarized "Air Combat Eight Rules."

Boelcke had shot down 40 enemy planes in air combat and had summarized these tactics during operations, some of which remain highly valuable even to this day.

Shire couldn’t help but think: Using the German’s tactics against the Germans, isn’t that quite ironic?

At this moment, Boelcke had not yet gained fame. How would he react if one day he saw the "Air Combat Eight Rules" summarized by Shire?

He would surely be astonished: This is too odd, they match my thoughts exactly. This Shire actually summarized them, and a year earlier!

Gallieni likely overheard some of what Shire said and took a moment to jest, "I recall someone previously saying they had no experience commanding air combat and refused to serve as squadron leader on those grounds."

"I didn’t think of these things at the time, General!" Shire replied.

That was the truth. Shire didn’t even know how to fly a plane, let alone think he could command a squadron.

Now it seemed he might be up to the job, and no one else could do it better.

Gallieni nodded with a smile, "Are you trying to say this is your talent? However, I admit it!"

Shire was speechless. If not for talent, what else could explain it?

(Above: Oswald Boelcke, the father of German Air Force tactics)

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