afterglow

Chapter 510 A tragic day; hate iron but not steel!
From the perspective of the US fleet, the target beach was completely shrouded in flames and thick smoke. The sailors believed that the bombing and shelling were very successful and should have greatly weakened the enemy.

"Sir! We can't find any targets to attack." The captain of the California said confidently.

Looking around, the entire beach has been turned into scorched earth by the horrific and indiscriminate bombing. The island is completely silent, and there is no sign of Ming army activities.

Brigadier General Charles White, commander of the 7th Division, also agreed with the Navy's judgment - after such fierce artillery preparations, the Ming army on Kauai must have suffered great losses. He estimated that it would only take three to four days to retake the island. .

However, on the other side of the battlefield...

Following Zhou Changfeng's order, Yu Daixin and a major a few steps away actually said eagerly in unison: "Fire!"

The captain's communications staff member held the microphone in his right hand and held the bottom of the microphone in his left hand. He nervously said: "Each department will fire according to the original plan, and all departments will fire according to the original plan!"

This final silence lasted for about six seconds. Starting from the seventh second, the anti-tank gun in the hidden bunker on the forward position suddenly sprayed out muzzle flash, firing the first shot of the Ming army's defensive battle on Kauai.

The famous LCVP landing craft has not yet appeared. The U.S. military currently uses the LCM landing craft imitated by the British army. It is 14 meters long, 4.3 meters wide, has a displacement of 29 tons, and has a maximum speed of 7.5 knots.

【Picture】

Ten seconds later, at Hong Er Beach, the landing craft numbered LCM-124 was the first to rush onto the beach.

The sergeants and officers shouted "go" repeatedly, and the American soldiers in the boat passed between the corpses and wounded on both sides. Their boots stepped on the blood of their comrades before stepping onto the beach.

This is equivalent to throwing a grenade into a crowded crowd. Blood splashes everywhere, and screams of pain come and go!
Like the mainstream anti-tank guns, the Type 38 also uses a semi-automatic wedge-type breech. After each firing, the latch will be automatically opened and the empty shells ejected, and the loader only needs to load new shells.

A 112mm anti-explosive bomb landed just two meters away on the right side of a landing craft, causing waves nearly twenty meters high.

However, bursts of thunderous roars were immediately heard from the depth direction, and the sound of rolling artillery excited the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers and frightened the US officers and soldiers.

In just one minute, half of the landing craft that were about to rush onto the beach were hit. The worst was the one in charge of Lanyi Beach. It was hit by six explosive rounds in a row. There were only six or six Army officers and soldiers left in a platoon of the boat. Seven people can still move.

Dozens of explosive sites appeared in the 2,500-meter-long landing area from south to north in a very short time, and the entire beachhead was quickly shrouded in smoke from the explosion.

Fire suddenly appeared, smoke and dust filled the air, broken limbs and arms flew into the sky with blood mist, and fragments of khaki military uniforms slowly fell...

Compared with a tank, this large and slow target is like a living target.

Next, the rest of the landing craft on the entire front rushed onto the golden beach under the bright sunshine one after another.

Not far away, a few panicked infantrymen were still debating whether they should lie down or disperse first, and as a result, a shell landed in front of them.

"After arriving on land, we must kill the nearby enemies and control the landing area!"

On the left and right sides of the boat were bodies and wounded leaning against the bulkhead - all of them killed by anti-tank guns.

While the anti-tank guns at the forward positions fired more and more vigorously, the positions of the Mountain Artillery Regiment of the Third Marine Brigade remained silent - according to the plan, they had to wait until the enemy had come ashore and started to seize the beach before launching artillery bombardment.

80mm and 112mm anti-personnel explosive shells fell one after another, and the Mountain Artillery Regiment of the Third Marine Brigade directly launched effective fire at the beachhead based on the long-determined shooting points.

Only five minutes after the battle started, the first wave of US landing troops suffered losses of more than 300 people.

The pedals in front of the landing craft were lowered and hit the ground heavily.

Amidst the screams, shells dropped one after another in a beautiful parabolic trajectory.

The 48mm armor-piercing explosive shell fired by the Type 0.25 anti-tank gun flew towards the target a thousand meters away, easily penetrated the bow armor of the landing craft with a thickness of only 6.35 inches (mm), and then exploded internally.

A landing craft whose cockpit was hit lost control and yawed to the left. The one on the left couldn't dodge and could only watch it hit...

Carrying Garand semi-automatic rifles, they filed out and rushed towards the suddenly clear front.

The 7th Infantry Division, which lacked the baptism of war, performed terribly, was in disarray, and many companies cowered.

Many soldiers were so shocked by the tragic scene that they hid behind the shattered concrete cube barriers and did not dare to move. Some even ran back to the landing craft.

This was left to the free play of the troops garrisoned at the forward positions. In the mortar bunkers, the gearing soldiers continuously put shells into the muzzles, and the mortars made a crisp banging sound when fired.

The artillery shells falling from the sky blasted the American soldiers who were standing still until they howled like ghosts and were in a dilemma.

Before the operation began, the US military made a smart decision to send a few tanks up during the first wave of attacks to provide cover and support for the infantry.

However, the real situation was very different from what the staff imagined. The M2A4 light tank that finally got off the landing craft was simply a moving target.

Combat anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft machine guns, anti-tank guns, recoilless guns... All kinds of anti-tank weapons were concentrated on the eye-catching US tanks. The weak light tanks were quickly destroyed and turned into steel coffins worth more than 10,000 US dollars.

The beach was strewn with corpses of American soldiers, and the remains of various weapons and equipment could be seen everywhere. The water at the beach was soaked in blood red.

The golden beach illuminated by the bright morning sun turned into blood-stained gold!
Company F of the 17th Regiment in charge of Lan Er Beach performed the most bravely. Although some officers and soldiers were missing due to organizational chaos, they still tried hard to launch an attack.

They rushed to the Ming army's forward position on the left front, trying to capture it.

Nothing happened in the first few hundred meters. There was no movement at all on the damaged position that had been indiscriminately bombarded. The enemies had either retreated or were all dead?
When the distance was less than 70 meters, someone triggered the tripwire, and the anti-infantry mine was immediately thrown up and exploded violently.

Steel balls and short steel rods shot out in all directions, and a large area of ​​the surrounding US troops was knocked down in the blink of an eye.

Immediately afterwards, a sharp and piercing whistle cut through the din of the battlefield. Rifle grenades, mortars, rocket launchers, light machine guns, heavy machine guns, submachine guns... all kinds of weapons fired almost at the same time!
All kinds of firepower came over in an overwhelming manner, and the U.S. military, which was hit back at such a close range, suddenly became a mess and became a living target in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers.

"Listen up! Come in, come out! Come in, come out!"

"kill!"

"Beep beep beep-"

Defending this place was a reinforced platoon from the Third Brigade and the Fifth Regiment. The lieutenant leading the team immediately ordered a countercharge.

The U.S. troops who had just been attacked hastily had not recovered yet. They were still lying on the ground and shooting randomly. Faced with the Ming Army infantry who suddenly jumped out of their positions and shouted and rushed towards them, they immediately fell into chaos. Some people quickly turned around and ran away, but they were still smart. In fact, most of the rookie army infantry were still in a state of confusion.

Captain Fred, the commander of Company F, yelled eagerly, but was quickly knocked down by a rocket-propelled grenade. When he reluctantly opened his eyes in pain, dozens of figures had already rushed more than ten meters away.

Fred pulled out his pistol and shot three times and knocked down one of them. He was immediately shot to death by a powerful 9.6×20mm shot.

F Company's offensive collapsed in the blink of an eye. The panicked American soldiers ran back, and some people were constantly hit to the ground by bullets flying from behind...

The Ming army only pursued them less than a hundred steps away, and only half of the more than 100 men from Company F who participated in the attack escaped.

There were more than 30 corpses scattered on the road about 120 meters long. Most of them were shot in the back, fell to the ground, and their heads were facing the beach. Many of the corpses still had long crawling marks and blood stains behind them.

An hour and a half later, this scene was photographed by a reporter from the Third Marine Brigade.

In the afternoon, on the battleship Colorado, Commodore Charles White stared at the beach without blinking.

In radio communications, U.S. military officers on the beach were shouting hysterically, asking for fire support and reinforcements.

It has only been half a day since the landing. The ten companies that landed in the first wave may have suffered casualties of one-third or more. What a terrifying figure this is!

The first wave of attacks made no progress. From the red beach to the yellow beach, no position was captured. More than a thousand officers and soldiers were suppressed by the Ming army on a beach about 2,500 meters long from north to south and less than 200 meters deep. .

The brutality of the battle made some people in the division have trembling hands. Is it necessary to send out a second wave of troops?
Such a battle situation also surprised Zhou Changfeng. He found that he had overestimated the combat effectiveness of the US military.

If you think about it carefully, today's U.S. Army has not experienced the ordeal of war and is extremely lacking in actual combat experience. It is estimated that it will not be able to fight ordinary land battles, let alone complex amphibious operations.

According to the confession of a wounded prisoner, the 7th Infantry Division was well stationed on Oahu, but suddenly received an order to counterattack Kauai, and then came over on a landing craft in a daze.

Zhou Changfeng didn't know whether to be angry or laugh - even the pre-war drills were omitted. Is the US military treating itself as a soft persimmon?

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, that's a waste of human life." Yu Daixin shook his head slightly and speculated: "I'm afraid the upper-level dignitaries are too anxious and ordered the attack."

Zhou originally expected that the US military could capture the forward position today, but now it seems that there is no chance.

In fact, he did not deploy too many troops on the front line at all. The forward position was very weak. It was essentially used for warning and surveillance, and at the same time, it provided cover for combat defense artillery and mortars.

No, why are you such a bad guy in the US military? You are pushing forward!
Zhou Changfeng picked up a pile of documents and shook it, and said, "What should we do? It seems that all the plans we made to rush the work were in vain."

Everyone in the headquarters laughed.

Zhou Changfeng then suppressed his smile and said thoughtfully: "The enemy's large force must find a stable landing point, and they will probably choose a spot to attack tomorrow."

According to the information confessed by the prisoners, everyone also knew that our side had misjudged that the attacking enemy was not one or two regiments, but the entire 7th Infantry Division. In addition, Oahu received reinforcements from the 501st Airborne Regiment.

But this is nothing. The poor performance of the US military today has doubled Zhou Changfeng's confidence, not to mention that he has already made complete preparations.

The main forces he has on hand include the 3rd Marine Brigade with a total of more than 7,000 people, and the 4th Marine Brigade and 7th Regiment with more than 2,700 people. These professional infantry units add up to exactly 10,000 people.

In addition, there were ground service units arriving with the Air Force units, including more than 400 people from the Third Service Detachment of the Air Force.

In addition to these, after some warships were sunk, the crew did not evacuate with the fleet, but instead organized into armed sailors, with a total of more than 300 people.

Air Force ground crews and Navy ship personnel also received emergency training and were issued weapons and equipment - the beautiful weapons captured during the previous capture of Kauai were just in use.

Compared with the forward position built by drafting rate, the next three lines of defense are a more solid moat.

The second and third lines of defense are expected to be completed in six and seventeen days.

The third line of defense, which is still under construction, surrounds the headquarters at the southern foot of Mount Kaweikini. The soldiers made use of the terrain according to local conditions and changed the natural caves into caves for hiding troops and concealing firepower points.

All bunkers and solid support points are not allowed to exist alone. They must be the horns of each other and be able to cover each other. Their respective shooting areas have a certain overlapping range and eliminate dead spots as much as possible.

It makes sense for those solid support points to be named "solid"——

The Engineer Battalion of the Third Marine Brigade used steel plates and I-beams to strengthen it, which can withstand direct hits from 105mm high-explosive bombs. It also used steel plates and lever principles to create a valve that can rise and fall. If the enemy approaches, the valve can be closed to prevent Grenades and blasting tubes were thrown in.

In order to resist the huge threat of flamethrowers, the entrance to the cave has been artificially changed to an upward slope with two consecutive turns. In principle, all bunkers based on the modification of caves should have backup exits and backup vents dug.

The headquarters is even more impressive. The cave where it is located is already huge. The Ming army has opened a total of five main entrances and two backup entrances, all of which have been modified to prevent flamethrowers.

The engineers and soldiers also dug three wells overnight, and the supply was greater than the consumption. The Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers in the headquarters even took the time to put beer into baskets and put it into the well water to chill it.

The Third Marine Brigade field hospital was stationed in it, with a total of 280 beds; a perfect projector seized from a movie theater in the urban area of ​​Kauai County was also placed in it. The only drawback is that it only has one and one-third of the movie. film.

Zhou Changfeng is very satisfied with this masterpiece. Although there are many shortcomings, considering the limited time, it is not satisfactory to achieve this.

Boy! Impregnable!
At 16:24, the second wave of US troops came ashore, and the Ming army greeted their arrival with artillery fire.

As the sun set, the U.S. military was still stuck in the narrow landing area on the beach and had not made any progress.

In a shelter located at the No. 3 forward position of B, Lieutenant Fan Canyuan of the 1st Battalion of the 6th Regiment was discussing issues with several non-commissioned officers.

"...It's quite risky. We need to find a few brave people to go."

"Relax, I'll take action and keep it safe!"

Because the Battle of Demaji was the first direct confrontation between the Ming Army and the British Army, the specific process was used as a model for the entire army to study.

What impressed Fan Canyuan deeply was that someone Zhou buried the dumb bombs dropped by the British aircraft in front of the position, and then detonated them when the British troops came to attack. The effect was outstanding.

Although he didn't have aerial bombs on hand, he did have two... mines.

(End of this chapter)