afterglow

Chapter 471: The businessmen who heard the news; the Battle of Keynes ended

On the morning of February 2, the last organized US military unit stationed in Tarawa surrendered, declaring the Battle of Tarawa Atoll officially over.

Although the total number of US troops stationed here is more than 1,700, there are only 800 combatants among them.

在整场战斗中，美军阵亡196人、负伤和被俘总共1513人；陆战二旅阵亡78人、负伤277人、失踪4人。

Another unlucky one is the naval force. The destroyer Quang Ninh was hit by two 75mm grenades, killing 2 people and injuring 9 people. Another hydrographic surveying boat accidentally triggered a missed and uncleared mine. 7 officers and soldiers died.

After pacifying Tarawa, the Makin Atoll in the north is naturally the next target, where the US military's defense force is even weaker.

Combining the collected documents and telegrams with the prisoners' confessions, it was determined that there were only a few hundred people there, and Yan Chenwu estimated that it would only take half a day to eliminate them.

Zhou Changfeng had lost interest - the atoll's terrain lacked depth, and neither the offensive tactics nor the defensive tactics were very interesting, and seemed rather rigid and dogmatic.

On February 2, after the airport was repaired, 23 Type 29A twin-engine torpedo bombers from the second team of the Air Force's third torpedo aircraft detachment moved here.

The next day, Zhou took one of them to the remote ends of the earth and flew across the vast southwest Pacific.

Halfway through, he inexplicably thought of the seven-by-eight naval admirals in history, and couldn't help but feel a little frightened. But he believed that he could not be called a thorn in the flesh of Americans just yet, so he quickly put the matter behind him.

The eight-hour flight was exhausting, but we finally arrived at Rabaul, the capital of New Britain Island, a port city that has now become one of the major sea and air bases.

Lapopo Airport is one of the five airports. Dozens of aircraft of various types are parked on the surrounding open-air apron. Anti-aircraft guns point diagonally into the sky, and there are many searchlights. The guards are quite tight.

Ming military police patrols can also be seen everywhere on the streets of the city, and soldiers on motorcycles and trucks pass by from time to time.

【Picture】

"Hahahaha, flying for so long is tiring. Welcome Zhou Daizhao to Labaoer. Good wine and food are all prepared."

The chief military officer stationed in Rabaul by the Metropolitan Governor's Office was Air Force Brigadier General Wang Wenzhi, who personally led a group of officers from the General Military Office to pick him up.

Contrary to his name, Wang Wenzhi is an anomaly among the generals of the Ming Dynasty Air Force. At worst, he is unkempt and careless about appearance, but at best, he is very down-to-earth.

Along the way, he enthusiastically introduced the situation in Rabaul to Zhou Changfeng, talking about all the big and small things.

During the capture of Rabaul, due to the fierce fighting, the city suffered considerable damage. After the capture, extensive repairs began and a large number of auxiliary facilities were built.

Repairing hospitals, building warehouses, setting up telephone lines, digging air-raid shelters, constructing anti-aircraft gun emplacements, etc. have been going on non-stop for several months, and every day is a prosperous scene.

"Enemy planes haven't come much in the past two months. They have been busy bombing Cairns and Meucheng." Wang Wenzhi pointed to the sky, "When I first came here to take over last fall, it took three days. There will be an explosion at both ends, and people who are disturbed will not be able to live in peace."

The U.S. Army Air Forces deployed in Australia had previously organized more than 20 air raids of varying sizes on Rabaul, dropping more than 1,000 tons of bombs.

The Ming army shot down a total of 41 B-18 medium bombers and 8 B-17 heavy bombers. The losses were so heavy that Marshal Mai was forced to order a halt to the air raid on Rabaul.

Now, the US-Australia coalition forces have no time to pursue Rabaul's idea, and all their forces are focused on supporting the direction of Cairns.

The duration of the Keynes offensive and defensive battle is beyond imagination. It has been going on for 1 days from January 6 to now, and it is finally coming to an end.

The 2nd Guards Division had already been forced to retreat to the second line due to excessive losses, and then the 11th Infantry Division, which arrived for reinforcements, took over the offensive task.

The Australian 4th Infantry Division also suffered heavy casualties and had to hand over its main line of defense to the 2nd Division.

在这个阶段，明军地面部队共阵亡1301人、负伤5520人、失踪95人，损失技术兵器包含身管火炮31门、坦克77辆、卡车213辆、飞机124架，另有龙泉号驱逐舰被空袭炸沉。

守方的损失同样沉重，澳军第2师和第4师以及民兵部队总计阵亡1733人、负伤5018人、被俘242人，其余各种技术装备无可计数。

Because the width of the battlefield is limited, it is impossible to invest a large number of troops. Neither side has a strength advantage at all on the front line, so it is difficult to easily achieve a breakthrough.

Units with larger losses can also temporarily retreat and be supplemented by personnel, and then rejoin the battle after a few days of rest.

Such refueling tactics led to the prolongation of the war, and no one could do anything about anyone. It inevitably evolved into a brutal tug-of-war, and the beautiful Cairns became a new generation of flesh and blood mill.

War correspondents from the UK even commented on it as "Australia's Verdun".

After careful consideration, Pang Lingqi decided to make a surprise landing behind enemy lines, thus breaking the deadlock in one fell swoop.

On February 2, the Ming army landed in the Johnstone area, 10 kilometers south of Cairns, and sent a regiment of the Army's 70th Infantry Division ashore.

As a result, the Australian army's retreat in the fierce battle in Cairns in the north was cut off, and their position was in chaos.

In this case, there were not many options left for the Australians. If the option of surrender was ruled out, they could either abandon their heavy weapons and retreat westward across the Great Divide with light equipment; or they could break through to the south and find a way to retreat.

It was only then that Marshal Mai agreed to put the American divisions he regarded as treasures into the battle.

In fact, the 8th and 41st Infantry Divisions of the US Army have already been ready for deployment. The 41st Division remains in Sydney as a strategic reserve, and the 8th Division is on standby in Brisbane. It only takes a few days to reinforce the Cairns front line.

However, it is obvious that Marshal Mai is not a compassionate and generous person - the bloodshed and sacrifices should be left to the Australians first. After all, this is their land.

Brigadier General Joseph Stilwell, commander of the 8th Division, repeatedly requested to participate in the war but was rejected until the Ming army suddenly landed in the Johnstone area and cut off the Australian army's retreat.

Subsequently, most of the 40th Division of the Ming Army came ashore, consolidated the landing site, and began to deploy defense lines in depth.

During this process, the Australian Army fought from north to south and the US Army fought from south to north. The 40th Division had to deal with both directions at the same time. You can imagine the great pressure it endured.

What's more terrible is that because there is no existing large dock in the Johnstone area, it is difficult to transport heavy weapons ashore.

The Ming army had to disassemble the artillery into parts and transport them ashore. They raced against time to assemble them and then immediately dragged them to the second-line position to join the battle.

During this period, the U.S.-Australian coalition air strikes continued uninterrupted, which greatly interfered with the unloading operations at the beach.

The divisional artillery unit of the 112th Infantry Division only had one mm howitzer battalion participating in the battle, and the rest of the artillery units could only stare at the sea most of the time.

The bloody battle lasted from February 2 to February 12. The 2th Division also suffered considerable losses while holding on to its position. The 21th Regiment, which faced the Australian army, even wiped out most of the infantry. The Australian army, eager to return home, fought extremely crazily. Bloody hand-to-hand combat took place in eight of the nine days. The infantry of both sides often lost entire squads and platoons. .

The 120th Regiment was mainly resisting the US attack. The fierce artillery fire destroyed most of the temporary civil engineering works. In many cases, they were dug and bombed. Almost all the casualties of the Ming army came from shelling and air strikes.

After nearly ten days of hard fighting, the 40th Infantry Division, which was unable to support itself, retreated at night and gathered its troops to defend the landing site.

Only then did Australia's retreat road become clear. Starting from February 2, the Australian 23th Infantry Division began to retreat southward through passages filled with craters, body parts, tank wreckage, and equipment fragments.

But the 2nd Division was not so lucky. The 2th Infantry Division of the Ming Army, which had been chasing all the way from Cairns, took the risk of splitting up two battalions to disperse and outflank them. After unremitting efforts, it successfully cut off half of the nd Division's troops.

Now, a total of more than 2 people from the Australian Army's 9nd Infantry Division Headquarters, 14th Field Artillery Regiment (Battalion), 5th Field Artillery Regiment (Battalion), and th Infantry Brigade (Regiment) are deeply surrounded.

Joseph Stilwell did not want to leave the enemy alone. He commanded the US 8th Division to try to relieve the siege, but was once again blocked by the Ming Army's th Division.

Until this time, the divisional artillery units of the 40th Division finally went ashore to assemble, and the 118th Regiment, which suffered the least losses, went into battle again after being replenished.

"The Americans were at the end of their game and couldn't get through. Six detachments bombed the Townsville railway yard for four days in a row, blowing up many trucks." Wang Wenzhi said.

The Sixth Air Force Light Bombing Detachment carried out multiple air raids on railways and roads, causing a serious blow to the logistics supply of the US-Australia coalition forces. A large amount of military supplies were stranded in Townsville and could not be transported to the front line.

The U.S. military organized more than 400 trucks to transport supplies northward day and night. However, the bumpy roads, unexploded timed aerial bombs, and bombed truck wreckage hindered traffic. There was only smooth traffic for six hours a day. Far from meeting the needs of the front line.

Zhou Changfeng said casually: "I know the chief officer of the Sixth Detachment. It's a pity that we didn't get along this time. Otherwise, we could have had a good chat when we met."

"Sooner or later, we will eventually see it."

"Ah."

Wang Wenzhi chose the place to entertain Mr. Zhou at a large hotel called "Xi Ping Yuan". The group drove from the airport into the city, escorted by several motorcycles and trucks full of soldiers.

In the past two months, many new shops founded by overseas Chinese have opened in Rabaul's urban area. You can hear the crackling of firecrackers every now and then, which means that another new shop has opened.

"These people are quite courageous." Zhou Changfeng turned to look out the car window at a prosperous wine shop.

"Businessmen have been like this since ancient times. How can you do business without courage?" Wang Wenzhi replied nonchalantly.

To start a business at the risk of being blown up by air strikes at any time and losing all your money, you can see how profitable it is here.

Businessmen are often the most astute. After the Ming Dynasty army marched into Nanyang, it started a war with the United States. This war is likely to last three to five years, and the army will naturally be stationed at important nodes for a long time.

Wherever there are people, there are needs - material, spiritual, and physical.

Businessmen who sensed the business opportunities took action, traveled thousands of miles with their money, and invested in building one store after another in the selected places.

There are grocery stores, auto repair shops, barber shops, medical clinics, movie theaters, restaurants, brothels, etc.

The largest number is in the catering industry, which has a low investment threshold. There are more than 60 hotels and restaurants that have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

Because Zhou was eager to return to Beijing, he did not stay longer in Rabaul and boarded the plane again at dawn after one night.

There were ups and downs along the way, and the long voyage made people bored and tired.

At noon on February 2, the Type 26 transport plane carrying him landed slowly and parked safely in the second half of Runway of Gaoqiao Airport.

It was also on this day that the Battle of Keynes and the derived Battle of Johnstone finally came to an end.

The Australian 4th Division suffered all casualties from its front-line units due to the previous days of strong attacks and almost collapsed. Although it barely escaped after the retreat opened, it lost all its heavy weapons.

The 2nd Division at the back was not so lucky. Two infantry brigades (regiments) were able to retreat by chance, but the total number of soldiers was less than . The division headquarters and the rest of the troops were trapped in a tight siege and were finally annihilated. The division commander They were all killed by heavy machine guns during the breakout.

Both were severely damaged. According to estimates, the 4th Infantry Division will need at least three months of replenishment to recover.

The 2nd Infantry Division, which suffered an annihilating blow, was even more miserable. There were only ten remaining officers and soldiers, and even the division headquarters was killed. It would be better to disband and reorganize directly.

The war that landed in Australia was undoubtedly extremely cruel, and it was extremely close to the worst-case scenario envisioned by the Governor-General.

The 2nd Guards Division, the 11th Infantry Division, and the 40th Infantry Division have all suffered heavy losses in personnel and technical equipment. Moreover, the fierce battles that continued around the Spring Festival have created a feeling of war weariness, and it may take several months to recover.

The military requirements of this battle were not large, and it was conducted more for political reasons. Therefore, there was widespread dissatisfaction in the General Staff Office and the Ministry of War.

Contrary to the complaints from the military department, the Ming court was in a happy atmosphere.

Having established a firm foothold in the northeastern part of Australia, this is a major milestone like progress!

The cruel cost of the war was deliberately reduced in publicity. Every newspaper rushed to publish the good news. The newspapers were filled with photos of enemy corpses scattered in the fields, Ming army flags flying, and officers and soldiers posing for photos.

And this is nothing, because the whole country of Ming Dynasty is still immersed in the joy of victory in the Battle of Tarawa a few days ago.

Compared with the glory of defeating the main U.S. fleet in the Battle of Tarawa, the victory achieved in a small city in northeastern Australia pales in comparison.

However, Zhou Changfeng attached great importance to it, especially the battle between the 8th Infantry Division and the US th Infantry Division. He requested that the battle proceedings and reports be compiled as soon as possible.

This was the first time that the Ming army faced off against the "orthodox" U.S. military. The previous colonial armies were a mixed bag and in poor condition, and could not represent the actual combat power of the U.S. military.

The combat style of the US military is very distinctive in the eyes of the officers of the 40th Division, and its characteristics are different from those of the British and Australian troops.

First, pre-attack reconnaissance is often large-scale and obvious, and it is rare for teams to conduct deep penetration reconnaissance.

Second, the infantry acted rigidly and dogmatically, and was relatively passive when attacking. When encountering obstacles, it stagnated and waited for artillery support.

Third, the artillery's performance is outstanding, with flexible firepower organization and fast reaction speed.

(End of this chapter)