afterglow

Chapter 501 Chapter The enemy is retreating steadily! Important information that is long overdue
The British suffered losses from the gunship in the Old Port last year, but they also concluded that this thing was bulky and fragile.

However, the Americans have now discovered that this is not the case at all. They are also encountering such a large aircraft equipped with light and heavy firepower. Why do the British say that "heavy machine guns can pose an effective threat to it"?
The crew members of Cormorant 7 found that there were probably six or seven machine guns on the ground firing at them wildly. The intertwined fire net completely enveloped the big bird.

The 7.62mm and 12.7mm machine gun bullets made dense bullet holes in the fuselage, but they were unable to penetrate the engine and cockpit reinforced with steel plates.

Wind penetrated into the cabin from the bullet holes. The machine gunner and gunner could feel the air leakage from all sides, but they had no time to take care of it.

The short-barreled infantry gun can be installed on the aircraft because of its small recoil. The disadvantage is that the muzzle velocity is too low and the shells fly very slowly. It requires a large amount of advance and puts forward high requirements for the quality of the gunner.

The second-tier light firepower is much better. The twin-mounted 12.8mm aviation machine guns are powerful, fast-firing, and have straight trajectories. They are quite easy to use and can’t find any faults.

The exposed anti-aircraft machine gun positions were immediately attacked by counterattacks. The overwhelming firepower falling from the sky hit everyone, and the flesh and blood torn by large-caliber machine gun bullets sprayed bright red blood...

Cormorant 7 successfully suppressed the US field artillery group, forcing them not to dare to fire, and effectively supported the deployment of our own landing troops.

Three crew members were also injured. After returning and landing on the sea, the plane was riddled with holes and leaking water everywhere. If the Taihu's crane had been slower, the heavily-equipped gunship would have sunk.

The 16nd Battalion of the 47th Regiment was blocked by artillery fire at Jiaer Beach for a long time. After finally completing the battle, at :, they successfully captured the position of a US company facing them and consolidated the landing site.

That night, some infantry detachments from the 3rd Regiment and 1st Battalion tried to penetrate to the northwest and northeast, but only one detachment successfully passed through the U.S. defense line on Kauai.

"Pass my order, the artillery can go ashore. The troops who have already gone ashore gather their teams, count their equipment, and organize small-scale infiltration at night... as appropriate." Zhou Changfeng gave the instructions slowly.

At 18:11, as it was getting late, two landing craft transporting artillery collided, and four 80-type mm howitzers sank with the boat.

The U.S. infantry stationed here used Browning automatic rifles and Garand rifles to fire violently at the Ming army that repeatedly attacked. The sound of gunfire was so loud that the crisp sound of empty magazines being ejected when the latter was empty could no longer be heard.

There were two or three light spots of varying brightness floating in the night sky. The bright ones were flares fired by the Ming army's 112mm infantry cannon, and the dark ones were fired by the US military's 60mm mortars.

"Get ready, get ready!"

Both sides continued to add reinforcements, and the scale of the battle gradually increased from the initial half a platoon to the entire team participating in the battle.

"Outflank to the left!"

The fierce night battle lasted for a full six hours, with tracer bullets flying all over the sky, signal flares rising from time to time, and illumination flares never ending.

In view of the fact that all three landing sites were stable and a little tactical depth allowed the deployment of artillery units, Zhou Changfeng ordered an 80mm howitzer battalion belonging to the Third Marine Brigade to land on the A- beachhead.

At this time, a sudden burst of extremely bright light illuminated the entire battlefield as if it were daytime. It was the 128mm artillery illumination flare fired by the destroyer Lingbi.

At 19:05, the Second Battalion of the Mountain Artillery Regiment of the Third Marine Brigade selected a location at the Jiaer Beach and began to lay out telephone lines and establish artillery positions.

One battalion and one team tried to capture a mortar position just east of Lihue Airport, but the US military refused to give in.

"Report! A1 and A2 have captured the predetermined area, B1 is still fighting fiercely, and the winner is still undecided."

"Yes!" The high-spirited major's communications staff officer clasped his fists and accepted the order.

"kill--"

Triangular flags represent units - battalions and below; rectangular flags represent troops - regiments and above.

At 17:25, the commander of the th Marine Regiment and some regimental personnel successfully landed on the island.

They selected a clearing shelter in the US military's forward position and set up a front-line command post on the spot. There were still stains of blood and many bullet casings left on the ground.

"Kill that machine gun!"

In the Lu Xun's situation room, five or six staff officers were busy around the large sand table in the middle. The blue flags were removed and replaced with red ones.

The jump-bomb anti-personnel bomb fired by the rocket launcher exploded in mid-air, and the fired steel balls and short steel rods knocked down the enemy in pieces!
"Se Yuanda, oh lai!"

The Ming Army infantrymen chanted the slogans in the pamphlet, raised their guns to shoot, crawled with their guns, and gradually approached the mortar position a hundred meters away.

The American soldiers could see countless moving figures under the pale light. People on both sides continued to fall, and shouts of death, screams, and gunfire echoed around them.

The wounded who were shot continued to bleed, and the smell of gunpowder smoke and the smell of blood mixed together were nauseating...

In the middle of the night, when the company commander, Captain Taylor, was killed by a grenade, the U.S. Army, which had lost more than half of its troops, was forced to retreat.

In the early morning of May 5, the landing sites of the 11th Marine Regiment were all connected, and each battalion and team established mutual contact.

Zhou Changfeng ordered the brigade's chariot convoy to begin landing, and the Sixth Marine Regiment began to prepare for landing.

At this time, Lihue Airport was already covered with bomb craters, and aerial bombs and artillery shells of different sizes destroyed the two runways like the surface of the moon.

Guarding the airport is the 9th Infantry Regiment of the 60th Infantry Division of the US Army. Last night it was Company B of the rd Battalion under it that fought a fierce battle with the Ming army.

Zhou Changfeng is no stranger to this unit. When he was in Guadalcanal, the opponent of the 5st Marine Brigade, in addition to the stubborn 39th Marine Regiment, was the 39th Regimental Combat Team, and the 9th Infantry Regiment was affiliated with this th Marine Regiment. division.

The U.S. infantry used the craters on the runway to build field fortifications last night. The small craters were converted into single-person foxholes, and the large craters were converted into double-person foxholes. The remnants of Company B and the complete Company A of the Third Battalion were responsible for defending this place.

At 7:02, a sudden gunshot added another winner of the Shooting Medal among the millions of soldiers of the Ming Army.

Tian Kai, a pacesetter of the 45st Battalion of the th Marine Regiment, used a Type anti-tank gun to kill a lieutenant of the th Field Artillery Battalion, who was being ordered to set up a side observation point.

The 14.4×112mm armor-piercing incendiary bomb contained more than joules of kinetic energy and flew out of the muzzle. Half a second later, it easily penetrated the sandbag and hit the artillery officer behind.

At 10:15, Zhou Changfeng ordered a landing on Yier Beach.

The beach marked B2 is located in the northern part of Naweliweli Bay. This section of the beach, which is about 800 meters long, is relatively gentle and is more suitable for landing on the beach.

Behind the Yiji Beach is a large area of ​​hills. Unsurprisingly, the US military must have set up defensive positions there.

The surface ships of the Ming Army carried out fierce shelling on the depth of Yier Beach. The battleships Zhenguan, Longshuo and Jianwu used their respective main guns to fire continuous semi-volleys. 384mm and 400mm anti-explosive bombs raised large clouds of smoke and dust.

At 10:21, a 144mm explosive bomb hit an ammunition storage point, triggering a series of explosions.

In an instant, the hills north of Naweliweli Bay burst into flames, and the roaring explosions sounded like rolling thunder.

There were suspected signs of enemy activity on the lighthouse at the entrance of the bay, and the Xiangshan-class destroyer No. 14 Nangong was ordered to destroy it.

Five minutes later, the Nangong fired six bombs at it, and the lighthouse collapsed in the explosion and turned into rubble.

At 11:19, the nd Battalion of the th Marine Regiment, which had landed, began to advance north, but soon encountered fierce resistance. The blocking area composed of minefields and bellows-shaped barbed wire greatly hindered the advancement of the Ming army. The US military often waited for the Ming army infantry to clear the obstacles before suddenly opening fire.

Carefully arranged mortar and side-firing machine gun fire caused a lot of trouble for the 2nd Battalion of the Sixth Regiment. In two hours, there were more than a hundred casualties.

The frontline first aid station had just been set up. Only one military doctor and four medical soldiers were in place in time, and they could not handle the continuous flow of wounded people being sent down.

After successively removing several hidden machine gun fire points, the First Team of the Second Battalion of the Sixth Regiment suddenly encountered two strong bunkers.

These two bunkers are at the corners of each other and can protect each other. They are made of reinforced concrete and are extremely strong. There are minefields and various obstacles around them.

The soldiers used rifle grenades to fire smoke bombs to mark them, and the destroyer Nangong bombarded them for a quarter of an hour, firing a total of 112 rounds of 168mm anti-explosive bombs.

After the smoke cleared, the liaison officer saw that several pieces of cement had collapsed from one of the bunkers, and the twisted steel bars were exposed.

However, the bunker was still not destroyed, and the Browning heavy machine guns inside were still firing continuously.

The annoyed liaison officer requested more advanced supporting firepower, and half a quarter of an hour later the request was approved.

The battleship Evergreen was ordered to help, and she ejected a seaplane before slowly sailing into Naweliweli Bay.

Soon the gunnery officer saw red smoke rising from there.

"Target concrete bunker, 2,400 meters away, normal ammunition, full salvo ready."

The three triple-mounted 3mm main guns pointed straight at the target, and then spewed out flames amidst the thunderous roar. The muzzle blast caused the sea water beside the battleship to ripple.

The Yonghui fired two consecutive full salvoes, with 18 rounds of 384mm anti-explosive bombs scattered within a range of tens of meters. In terms of shooting accuracy, it was not bad, but not satisfactory.

The officers and soldiers of the Sixth Marine Regiment continued to move cautiously, for fear that the bunker would suddenly come back to life.

They threw the blasting tube into the half-collapsed bunker, and then called in the flamethrower of the chemical defense platoon, which sprayed fire three times in a row, finally completely destroying the two solid bunkers.

At 13:39, the Third Battalion of the Sixth Marine Regiment also completed the landing at Yier Beach.

Zhou Changfeng opened a can and ate it with an iron spoon.

A young captain's intelligence staff said happily: "Sir, the situation is very good. The enemy is retreating steadily, just as you expected. Now it's time to retreat into the city and resist."

"boom!"

Just at this moment, a loud noise came from the sea.

Everyone followed the sound and saw thick smoke rising from the front of a warship in the distance, rising straight into the sky.

The No. 3 gun of the Yanshan heavy cruiser's No. 2 turret suddenly exploded, causing more than 20 casualties on the spot.

Everyone didn't know what happened and thought they had been shelled by the enemy.

The captain of the Yanshan immediately ordered the vehicle to reverse at full speed, and the destroyer Nangong next to it also turned on its smoke screen generator to provide cover for the Yanshan.

It wasn't until a quarter of an hour later that everyone in the fleet figured out that an explosion had occurred.

Fierce fighting continued along the entire front into the evening.

After clearing the hills north of Naweliweli Bay, the Sixth Marine Regiment planted the crimson flag on the highest hill, 107 Hill.

The Fifth Marine Regiment also drove the U.S. military out of Lihue Airport. With the support of the brigade's combat convoy, it easily repelled the weak counterattack launched by the U.S. military.

At this point, Kauai's outer defense line completely collapsed.

"...Roughly speaking, our army wiped out about a thousand enemies yesterday and today, and captured dozens of people alive. The fifth regiment suffered more than 380 casualties, the sixth regiment suffered 212 casualties, and seven tanks were lost. Repair one.”

After listening to the report, Zhou Changfeng pointed to the mountains in the sand table and said: "According to the information obtained during the interrogation of the prisoners, the Americans have built a large number of fortifications along the Kasijini Mountains. This is the most troublesome. Next, it will be okay to clear the city. Kauai is mostly made up of log cabins.”

A wooden house is good, it can be burned cleanly.

However, this is a last resort, and it is a disguised attempt to strengthen the wall and clear the field for oneself.

"Indeed, it is unlikely that the enemy will leave heavy troops to guard the city." Someone agreed.

"Look at the aerial photos." Zhou Changfeng took a few photos, "What is this? A school? The school building is a reinforced concrete building, as is the hotel 300 meters to the south. If it were me, I would definitely make a fuss about these two places. "

Considering that the morale of the US military is not high and they are probably more inclined to fight in pre-set positions in the wild, Zhou Changfeng believes that it is entirely possible to drive the US military out of the city without burning down large areas of houses.

To this end, he planned to organize an assault force composed of tanks and infantry to attack key points.

Under the cover of artillery and gunship aircraft, the brigade's combat convoy, the first team of the reconnaissance and search battalion (equipped with wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicles), the second battalion of the sixth regiment, and the first team of the chemical defense battalion directly attacked Kauai Middle School and the Belinda Hotel. Go and sweep other places in the city.

In this plan, the third battalion of the fifth regiment covered the left wing, the first battalion of the sixth regiment covered the right wing, and the third battalion of the sixth regiment served as the reserve.

While the staff were busy formulating a battle plan, a communications staff officer walked over quickly holding a telegraph newspaper.

He cupped his fists and saluted, and then said to Zhou Changfeng: "We are waiting for the edict. The admiral called us to ask about the progress of seizing the island and how long it will take to capture Kauai Island."

The latter thought for a while and said in deep thought: "It takes time to eliminate the remaining enemies, but if we only eliminate the organized defense... we should be able to do it before the fifteenth day."

"I understand."

Song Zhongkai and Ouyang Zhanghua had been worried that the missing US fleet would suddenly appear.

The enemy is in darkness and we are in the clear, and the fleet that covers the landing of the troops to seize the island is tied here, which is extremely passive from a tactical point of view.

An almost non-stop large-scale search yesterday and today found nothing, only a few US submarines were found, and the most important Saratoga was still missing.

Just at 19:27, the Yongle received the telegram forwarded by Midway Island——

According to various research, the two British aircraft carriers HMS Glory and HMS Brave passed through the Panama Canal in late April and rested in the Galapagos in early May.

An angry Song Zhongkai put his hands on his hips and complained: "How long has it been since the delivery of the Glory? How dare you send it out to sea?"

(End of this chapter)