afterglow

Chapter 478: Commanding troops on Guadalcanal; there is an ambush!

Starting from March 3, when Zhou set off from the mainland, the Ming Air Force began to further dispatch additional units and allocate ammunition to Rabaul.

On the same day, a total of 51 Type B fighter jets from the th Team of the th Pursuit Air Force Detachment of the Air Force stationed at Rabaul Airport .

The next day, a total of 34 Type C bombers from the Second Team of the st Light Bombing Detachment of the Air Force entered Rabaul Airport No. .

Three days later, the seaplane carriers Weishan Lake and West Lake arrived at the port of Rabaul carrying 13 water fighters and 16 Type water reconnaissance aircraft.

That night, Fleet E-127 also entered the port safely. Five merchant ships brought a large number of aerial bombs, aerial torpedoes, aviation gasoline, and parts needed for various types of aircraft.

After clarifying the general situation of the enemy on Guadalcanal, the Navy finalized the launch time of the operation on March 3.

In the past few days, as long as weather conditions permit, the Ming Dynasty Air Force stationed in Rabaul will organize air strikes on Guadalcanal Airport.

The Air Force dropped a total of more than 31 bombs, claiming to have shot down or destroyed 11 US military aircraft of various types, and lost 8 fighter jets and 20 bombers, but in fact only enemy aircraft were destroyed.

Although the results reported by our own side were not accurate and true, they did significantly suppress the US air force stationed on Guadalcanal and created good conditions for the subsequent landing operations of the ground forces.

As the key to the landing operation, the naval force should be more important, but the Ming Navy, which focused its energy on the Central Pacific region, seemed to be a little inadequate.

The temporarily formed D-42 Squadron used the battlecruiser Yuanxing as its flagship, and the newly restored Tianshi Youyuan also joined the sequence.

In addition to the battleships, there are also the Qilianshan heavy cruiser, 3 light cruisers, 9 destroyers, 3 minesweepers, and 2 submarine hunting ships.

By studying aerial photos, naval staff roughly estimated the size of the US task force deployed in New Caledonia to be approximately 3 to 4 heavy cruisers and 9 to 11 destroyers.

Knowing this, why not use more powerful power?

This is because the Ming Navy is also preparing to launch an offensive against Midway Island and Wake Island, and after the Battle of Tarawa, many warships need to enter port for maintenance and rest.

After this back and forth, there were not many warships available.

It is already a bit difficult to piece together the D-42 Squadron at the moment. The battle cruiser Yuanxing and the heavy cruiser Qilianshan are both considered fatigue operations - they only rested for a few days after the Battle of Tarawa and were transferred again. .

This configuration makes Perimeter Style extra worried. The offensive and defensive battle in the Pacific is too special and relies heavily on naval power.

Even when one's own side has naval superiority, it is possible that the ground troops will be depleted due to poor coordination, let alone the situation where it does not have the advantage.

However, the commander-in-chief of the squadron, Xiong Zhuguo, was full of confidence and seemed to want to seize the time to end the battle.

This dark-skinned and energetic commodore has a bold personality. He has been the commander of the destroyer fleet for a long time and has a very open and elegant style.

On the pier of Port Moresby, he pointed at the Yuanxing anchored not far away and said disdainfully: "Battle patrols are designed to hunt enemy cruisers. Brother Zhou can put ten thousand Personally speaking, let alone the enemy’s three heavy patrol ships, it’s simply not enough to see in actual combat.”

At noon the day before departure, the war briefing on the situation of the US military on Guadalcanal was finally printed in a hurry.

These pamphlets, which still smelled of ink, were immediately distributed to each squad. They described the situation of the enemy they were about to face based on known intelligence.

These pamphlets, which were only a few pages long, specified that the US military on Guadalcanal was divided into two parts: the Army and the Marine Corps. The former was well-equipped but lacked courage, and the latter was generally equipped but had more fighting spirit.

In addition, some actual combat examples of the 40th Infantry Division in the Battle of Johnstone were copied, and the comments and feelings of the officers and soldiers were excerpted.

Interestingly, to this day, the 1st Marine Brigade has never fought against the US military, not even the ragtag US military in the Philippines. At that time, it was the 2nd Marine Brigade that participated in pacifying the Battle of Luzon.

Zhou Changfeng reminded his subordinates not to take it lightly and to be prepared for a tough battle, and suggested that the soldiers mail all valuables back home.

However, the officers and soldiers of the 1st Marine Brigade did not think so. Most of them felt that Zhou was overly worried.

We have gone through three wars in Malaya, Java, and Papua, and have rich jungle combat experience. Some people have even been infected with malaria five times and joked that they have already gotten used to it.

In terms of fighting a tough battle, no matter how stubborn the US military is, can it still compare to the Australian army in the Battle of Darwin?

“Britain and the United States are carved out of the same mold, spoiled, timid, and unable to endure hardship.

"Our opponents are all new recruits who have never fought in a war. They may be so scared that they will cower in the hole and not come out if they hear the sound of artillery."

"When I was fighting in Sin Chau, I jumped into the trench and stabbed a tall British soldier to death. The two men next to me immediately threw away their guns and surrendered."

"Xingzhou doesn't count. The British are at the end of their rope and their military morale is in chaos. The battle in Darwin last year was so tragic. Most of our team suffered casualties. When I came back from my injuries, I saw that there were half as many new faces."

Some soldiers recalled their previous combat experiences with relish, feeling that no matter what happened this time, it would not be more difficult than before.

When Akito was preparing to carry out the operation against Guadalcanal, the Americans were also working hard to mobilize troops and generals to enrich the defenders as much as possible.

After a vote, the US military officially named the airport built on Guadalcanal after Major Richard, who was killed in the Battle of Tarawa.

Two batches of reinforcements landed at Richard Airport in five days. The first batch was 15 P-36 fighter jets, and the second batch was 12 Australian Hurricane MkI fighter jets.

In addition, several transport planes also delivered a batch of in-demand supplies - toffee and chocolate.

【Picture】

At midnight on March 3, the weather conditions were basically consistent with the forecast, and the operation was carried out as scheduled.

After a hasty breakfast, the officers and soldiers of the 1st Marine Brigade boarded the ship in the dark. The fleet officially left the port at sunrise and sailed southeast.

Zhou Changfeng left the bridge of the Yuanxing at this time and walked to the front deck alone. The sailors he met along the way all clasped their fists and saluted in surprise.

The moist sea breeze blew into my face, and the salty smell immediately entered my nose.

The fleet maintained radio silence and blackouts, and the predawn darkness seemed to swallow up everything. Even nearby warships could only see extremely blurred silhouettes.

Gradually, the white color of fish belly has been revealed where the sky and sea meet in the distance, and the darkness will soon fade away.

Zhou Changfeng's current mentality is like that of a candidate who is about to enter the examination room, and it is known that this examination room has been very stressful.

After sailing for most of the day, the fleet passed through the Louisiade Islands at midnight that day.

After dawn, another unexpected piece of bad news made people's hearts tremble - a sailor on the destroyer Nanjing was swept away by the waves. Although the lifebuoy was thrown away, he was never seen again.

At 3:18 on March 14, the D-59 Squadron still had more than kilometers left to sail from Guadalcanal.

The Asojiang light cruiser suddenly hoisted the signal flag "Enemy Submarine Found" and at the same time turned sharply, almost colliding with a destroyer next to it.

I saw the officers and soldiers of the Asojiang using anti-aircraft guns to fire several bursts of fire into the sea, indicating the location of the incoming torpedoes to the other warships.

To be on the safe side, the Qilianshan Heavy Patrol also turned to dodge.

"Report! I heard a signal being sent out from the surrounding area. It's probably the submarine!"

"Send the order, let Tianzuo prepare for war, and send a few planes out to be on guard." Xiong Zhuguo immediately ordered.

"As ordered!"

Since our own side has been discovered, it is impossible to approach Guadalcanal in a concealed manner. US bombers at Guadalcanal Airport may take off at any time to carry out air strikes. But unlike expectations, the US military waited for nightfall and did not carry out an air strike. Perhaps it was because the distance was too far?

However, the fighter jets circling in the sky on alert discovered that a PBY Catalina was secretly watching from a far distance. When they saw the Ming army fighter jets coming to drive them away, they quickly fled.

At 9:10 the next day, when the Yuanxing's lookout post could already see the southern mountains of Guadalcanal, the US air strike finally arrived.

Among the more than two dozen aircraft, the Australian fighter jets and the US dive bombers were almost evenly matched.

The performance of the Type 37 carrier-based destroyer is slightly inferior to the Type 36 destroyer, and it is a bit difficult to face the Hurricane MkI fighter.

Fortunately, the pilots' first priority now is to interfere with the dive bomber attacks, so they don't have to go all out to fight with those fighter jets.

This weak air attack caused minimal damage to the squadron. In addition to two carrier-based aircraft being shot down, only the Qilianshan heavy cruiser was hit by an aerial bomb.

In the evening of March 3, the T-19 Squadron successfully arrived at Cape Espanyol in the northwest of Guadalcanal.

According to the planned strategy, Zhou Changfeng chose to land on a relatively gentle beach 2 kilometers southeast of it.

The US military obviously maintained its attention on the Ming army's landing fleet and launched another fierce air attack.

With the fleet at anchor, 13 SB2U Vindicators scored multiple hits.

The destroyer Xichuan was hit by two 1000-pound bombs and lost all power on the spot. The captain hurriedly ordered to turn to the coastline and tried to beach it, but failed.

Another minesweeper was sunk, and more than 30 sailors who were unable to evacuate sank with the ship into Tiedi Bay.

"Let's just say goodbye. Brother Zhou, you have to put yourself first and be careful!"

Xiong Zhuguo personally led the main force of the fleet headed by the Yuanxing and Qilianshan to bombard Guadalcanal Airport, leaving several destroyers, submarine hunters, and minesweepers to protect the transport fleet and unload the First Marine Brigade.

Zhou Changfeng and several entourage left the Yuanxing in a transport boat and rushed straight to the beach of Guadalcanal.

The feeling of stepping on the soft and wet sand with your boots is no different from Singapore, Darwin or Moresby.

Not far away, landing craft were going back and forth between the beach and the transport fleet, transporting groups of soldiers ashore.

More than forty amphibious tanks from the floating tank battalion also drove into the sea from the landing ship one after another, and slowly drove towards the beach.

Soldiers holding luminous signal batons were guiding traffic, and dispatching vehicles ashore to drive deeper to avoid blocking the beachhead.

The officers of each battalion and each team were also shouting instructions at the top of their voices.

"Two teams in a row, two teams in a row!"

"exist!"

"Take your men and head southwest for two miles to be on guard."

"Yes! Got it."

At midnight that day, the temporary headquarters of the 1st Marine Brigade was completed.

Outside the big tent, the gasoline generator was humming, light bulbs were hung on the shelves inside, and folding tables and folding chairs were also set up.

Xie Wancheng was supervising the unloading operations of heavy weapons at the beach, while Zhou Changfeng and Zhao Hanfeng were talking with several staff officers.

"...In terms of straight-line distance, the enemy and our armies are fifty miles apart. Since this place is difficult to walk, the terrain coefficient must be increased, at least 1.2." Zhao Hanfeng said.

Zhou Changfeng bent over the table, then picked up the red pencil and drew a line with a swipe.

He looked at the people present and said: "I plan to make the arrangement like this. The main force of the first regiment will arrive at the hills south of the airport on the 22nd, enter the offensive starting position that night, and start the attack at dawn on the 23rd; The battalion attached to the floating tank battalion simultaneously launched a feint attack on the west side of the airport."

After pausing for a few seconds, he added: "The fifth battalion and the chariot convoy are ready. The feint attack on the west side will turn into a strong attack at any time depending on the situation."

To the north of Richard Airport is the sea, and the only three directions available for the Ming army to launch attacks are the south, east, and west.

The east side is definitely not possible. It would take one more big circle, which would waste at least one day and consume too much of the soldiers' physical strength.

There is a hilly area on the south side of the airport, which the US military named Adelson Heights. There are dense tropical rainforests around that place, which is very conducive to the assembly and concealment of infantry units.

Now that there is fleet support, Zhou can actually adopt a more radical strategy - use the brigade's chariot fleet as the spearhead, and directly attack from west to east along the coastline.

However, in this way, the flanks of our own offensive troops will be exposed to the enemy's firepower on the Edson Heights, and there is also the risk of being intercepted by the counterattack.

After careful consideration, Zhou Changfeng did not choose this tactic and decided to prioritize the capture of that hilly area and move mortars, recoilless rifles, and anti-aircraft machine guns there to achieve an overwhelming advantage over the US military.

The sun rises and the moon sets.

Following the proactive style of the First Land Warfare Brigade, Xue Can ordered the organization of two powerful infantry detachments to conduct combat reconnaissance missions to the southeast.

Both are based on infantry platoons, with additional reinforcements of one heavy machine gun, one mortar each, and two rocket launchers, with a total number of more than fifty.

The soldiers of the Ming Army trudged hard through the complicated and rugged jungle full of quagmire, and finally arrived at the target hill - an open area 1.5 kilometers southwest of the Edson Highlands.

Just when everyone was about to rest for a while, suddenly, there was a loud burst of gunfire!

"There's an ambush!!!"

"Boom! Boom!"

The explosions of grenades also sounded one after another, and the dense bullets knocked down many people in one breath.

"hidden!"

"Da da da - da da -"

"Fucking batch! Guard the heavy machine gun and fight back!"

Before the lieutenant leading the team finished speaking, the Type 37 heavy machine gun had already started roaring.

Amidst the "thump, thump, thump, thump" gunshots, smoking shells flew out, and the machine gunner poured dozens of bullets at a high rate of fire toward the place where the muzzle flash was flashing on the slope in the distance.

The 7.36mm machine gun bullets hit the head and face, scattering soil and leaves, and instantly overwhelmed the old Browning water-cooled heavy machine gun!

Just ten seconds later, with a crisp "bang", the mortar shell screamed down.

"boom!"

【Picture】

(End of this chapter)