The right spells and incantations were uttered. The demon pilots are freed to do what they were conjured to do.
The Black Birds of Prey were unleashed . Hell had come to the skies above the greater Reich.
Air superiority over the Reich and the lands occupied by the German Army was lost to the Black Planes.
The Allies could not shoot down the Black Planes…their ammunition never ran out…they never rested and
they killed tanks just as easily as they destroyed soft skin vehicles..
In the east, Russian fighters…
Bombers…
and ground attack aircraft were wiped from the skies.
With no air cover, Russian tanks and supply columns burned. Their push west faltered and then stopped.
In the west, the Allies faired no better. What ever the Allies threw against the Black Planes broke on these ebony killers.
Fighters…
Bombers…
All fell to the Black Birds of Prey.
The Allies eastward rush stalled and ground to a halt.
With Allied air superiority lost, their ground offensives ceased. German armies pushed east and west as the black angles of death flew cover.
The incessant drone of endless flight of bombers was gone.
No fighters wheeled overhead daring the Luftwaffe to come up and duel. The howling sirens no longer wailed around the Reich.
Lost deep in thought, Adolph Galland stood staring out at the quiet, misty gray ruins of Berlin. He was alone. Everyone else had left. Galland’s thoughts were troubled. There was no honor in what was happening now. There was no glory in these victories…no, not victories…slaughters. For too long, too many good Germans had ignored what was going on…had pretended to be ignorant of the crimes committed in their name by the Nazis. Nazis…they were the enemy of Germany, he thought bitterly, but I followed also, so their crimes are my crimes. He shook his head sadly…and searched his troubled soul for a solution…for redemption.
Suddenly Galland turned at the sound of the office door bursting opening. There framed by the light from the outer office stood…Hartmann!
“Why have we been ordered not to fly…not to fight? What the Hell is going on?” anger flaring in Hartmann’s voice.
“ That, my dear Hartmann, is exactly what is going on,” Galland’s replied. “Our beloved Fuehrer
and those clowns he surrounds himself with have sold all of our souls to the devil in return for his Thousand Year Reich,” continued Galland.
Hartmann stood staring at Galland not knowing how to react. “You can’t be serious. You expect me to believe…” he stammered.
“I don’t expect you to believe anything, Hartmann, but that is what happened. I was there. Since these damn black planes arrived, we have not flown a single mission on any front, yet we have regained air superiority on all fronts. Our ground forces are again on the offensive. The Luftwaffe does not matter anymore. You don’t matter, Hartmann. I don’t matter. The Black Planes never lose. We are obsolete.”
“I, we, are German fighter pilots. We fly…we fight. That’s what we do, Galland. I am not obsolete. What is happening now is obscene. It makes me feel unclean. This is no honor in these victories. How do we stop them?”
“I agree. I have given it much thought. I remembered something that was said the night the Black Planes arrived. The Fuehrer’s exact words were “Planes that damned Allies cannot destroy.” At the time the No Fly order was issued, I thought that there was fear that the Black Planes would destroy anything that flew, that the devil did not care from where the souls came, but the Black Planes did not destroy German tanks or supply columns. Could it be that the Allies can’t destroy the Black Planes, but Germans can? It’s just a theory, mind you, but would you be interested in testing it, Hartmann? It will be dangerous.”
“Every day on the Russian Front is dangerous. If it will help to restore some modicum of honor to Germany…I would, Galland,” was Hartmann’s reply. “When do we start?”
“Now. First we need to ‘borrow’ two planes. No numbers. No unit markings.”
Hartmann, smiled, “ I know just where we can get two such planes. And the men of this unit are completely loyal to you, Adolph.”
“Once we take off, our ’friends’ must report that two planes have been stolen. While in the air, no rank, no names. If we survive, we put the planes down as best we can, but not at an airfield. We make our way back and never speak of this again.”
“How will we find the Black Planes?”
“Oh, Hartmann, finding them will not be the problem, they’ll find us. Once we shoot at them, our problem will be to stay alive.”
