New Caledonia is located in the South Pacific Ocean, 1,500 kilometers off the east coast of Queensland, Australia. Noumea is the capital www.biquge.info and main port of New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific Ocean. It is an important relay port station for sea and air traffic between the United States and Australia.

At the end of 1941, after the start of the Pacific War, the U.S. South Pacific Fleet had its headquarters in Vanuatu, on the island of Espírito Santo, in the northern part of the archipelago, and built an airfield on the island.

When the 1st Onboard Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Abe began shelling Guadalcanal, northeast of New Caledonia, the 1st Mobile Fleet under the command of Tadaichi Nagumo quietly approached two hundred nautical miles from Espírito Santo, taking advantage of the cover of night.

When the sky in the east was white, 18 Type Zero fighters, 55 Type 97 torpedo attack planes, and 32 Type 99 dive bombers on the two aircraft carriers Akagi and Kaga rushed out of the deck in an orderly manner, assembled over the 1st Mobile Fleet, and then turned around and rushed to the southwest.

The group of planes pulled down in the sky, distributed at a low altitude of 150 to 300 meters above the sea surface, and quickly rushed towards the island of Espírito Santo.

An hour later, a black horizon flashed over the surface of the ground in the distance.

Seeing the island of Espírito Santo appear in front of him, the commander-in-chief of the attack aircraft group, Mitsuo Fuchida immediately gave the order to attack.

Eighteen Zero fighters accelerated away from the group and arrived over the target ground first, looking for the exact location of the port and airfield.

A terrible siren sounded, waking up the soldiers and civilians on the island who were still asleep.

The Type 97 torpedo attack aircraft is a multi-functional aircraft among the Japanese carrier-based aircraft, which can be used as a reconnaissance plane before the start of the battle, and can carry both the Type 91 torpedo to participate in the battle and the bomb for horizontal bombing.

After receiving the information of the Zero fighter, Mizu Yuosa Fuchida personally led the Type 97 attack aircraft group, which had been transformed into bombers, and rushed to the airfield in the southeast of the island.

After arriving at the airport, the first thing that caught the eye of Mitsu Yusaku Fuchida was the neatly parked fighter planes on the runway of the airport.

"There are a lot of big guys, kill them."

The two Zero fighters had already launched an attack, one after the other, flying low over the US fighters, 20 mm cannons and 7.7 mm machine guns opened heavy fire, and a dense stream of shells flew towards the neatly parked B-17 Flying Fortress fighters.

After the two Zero fighters swept over, none of the 24 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers parked on the ground were spared, and the tail of the two fighters was directly interrupted by mottled bullet holes on the tail of the erected tail.

The Type 97 ship-attack aircraft group followed closely behind the fighters and dropped bombs on the airfield.

500 kg, 250 kg and 60 kg bombs, raining down on the airfield.

Neatly parked planes are overturned by the blast of air or shattered into parts.

The navigation tower, the hangar, the pilot's residential area were hit by bombs one after another.

After the violent explosion, a raging fire broke out in the predominantly wooden construction area, and billowing black smoke rose immediately.

On the runway of the airport, an F4F Night Cat fighter jet braved heavy bombardment and tried to force a take-off, but a dark shadow swept over his head and dropped a 500-kilogram aerial bomb on the runway directly in front of it.

The Wildcat pilot was caught off guard, had no time to turn around and evade, and plunged headlong into the sudden burst of fire.

Broken wings, shattered fuselages, spinning landing gear flew out of the flames and flew in mid-air.

After the explosion, the Night Cat disappeared, leaving only a large crater on the runway.

Another Wildcat fighter dodged craters on the runway, staggered to accelerate, and rose into the air.

However, as soon as the plane left the ground, and before the landing gear could be retracted into the belly, two Zero fighters suddenly rushed out from behind the plane.

The shell first hit the area between the propeller and the engine room, and then extended to the cockpit.

The cabin glass was shattered, several blood sprays erupted from the cabin, and the Wildcat fighter jet plunged headlong into the ground······

At the same time, over the port of Luganville, adjacent to the airport, Type 99 bombers in formations of three dropped 250 kilograms of bombs on the harbor buildings and parked warships.

The battleship South Dakota, the main force of the South Pacific Fleet, became the primary target of attack with its huge hull, and was heavily patronized by Japanese carrier-based pilots.

Escorting the battleship with anti-aircraft guns, the South Dakota set sail in an emergency attempt to leave the harbor to escape the air attack, but two 250-kilogram bombs that landed on the stern of the ship interrupted its intentions.

Two bombs landed on the stern of the ship, exploding two tall white water columns, and under the violent impact of the shock wave, the propeller that had just begun to spin quickly slowed down, and then stopped.

The battleship South Dakota could only float on the surface of the sea and became a live target for bombers.

Six 250-kilogram bombs accurately hit the South Dakota, two on the aft deck, one on the bow deck, and three on the middle complex.

Thick black smoke poured out from the cracks of the battleship, enveloping the South Dakota, drifting with the wind over the harbor, merging with the black smoke rising from the harbor and obscuring the sky.

When Mizu Yusaku Fuchida led the group back to the sea, another even more tragic massacre was unfolding in the southeastern waters of Guadalcanal.

The Kuah Island Supply Fleet, with the USS North Carolina as the main force, is suffering the same fate as the NB-14 fleet, and is enjoying the combined sea and air strangulation battle of the Combined Fleet.

After the first round of air strikes from the two aircraft carriers, Xianghe and Zuihe, one transport ship and two troop carriers were sunk, and the battleship USS North Carolina was hit by a Type 91 torpedo and two 250-kilogram bombs.

The corpses of the soldiers, the fragments of the broken hull, and the jet-black oil stains floated on the surface of the sea, and more soldiers who fell into the water gathered in groups, clutching on to any lifebuoys or lifeboats that could be used to save themselves from being swallowed by the sea.

Destroyers and cruisers rushed to the surface of the sea, actively rescuing soldiers who had fallen overboard, but a second group of attack aircraft from the aircraft carriers Flying Eagle and USS Hayabusa added to the confusion of the American fleet.

The second wave of air raids had just begun, and more than a dozen tiny columns of smoke appeared on the sea surface in the north.

Under the pillar of smoke, two battleships, Nagato and Mutsu, under the escort of the surrounding light warships, cleaved the waves and rushed towards the American fleet surrounded by the aircraft group.

When the lookout post spotted the Japanese fleet, the last vestiges of the American fleet's fighting spirit disappeared without a trace.

"Release the smoke and the fleet retreats."

Receiving the order, starting with the battleship USS North Carolina, the battleships, large and small, released large clouds of smoke to obscure the sea and themselves, threw down the slow-moving transports, turned around and fled quickly south.

Seeing that the U.S. warships intended to escape, Vice Admiral Mikawa decisively ordered the second onboard fleet to divide its forces, leaving behind a heavy cruiser and two destroyers to capture the U.S. transport ships, and personally led the main force of the fleet to pursue the U.S. fleet.

Relying on high speed, the battleship USS North Carolina threw off Vice Admiral Mikawa's fleet, but could not shake off the group of aircraft overhead.

Two Type 99 bombers and three planes rushed from the stern of the USS North Carolina one after another, and at the moment they passed the battleship, four 250-kilogram bombs hit accurately.

Fragments of steel and broken flesh flew into the sky, and a fire burned near the bridge, and the air became hot in the flames.

Two torpedoes hit the port side of the USS North Carolina on the heel, ending the ship's escape once and for all.

By the time Vice Admiral Mikawa led the fleet to catch up with the USS North Carolina, the battleship was already dying.

The hull was heavily tilted to the left, tilting at an angle of nearly ten degrees, and most of the hull was shrouded in black smoke, revealing only the blurred corners of the bow and stern.

The two battleships rushed forward at once and delivered the final blow to the USS North Carolina.

Armor-piercing shells from 410-mm naval guns hit the waterline section of the port side of the USS North Carolina.

The destroyer also rushed to the port side to launch a torpedo attack.

In less than twenty minutes, the battleship USS North Carolina lay on the surface of the sea and sank into the raging waves.

The second group of Japanese attack planes returned one after another, and they were replaced by the groups of planes from the aircraft carriers Xianghe and Zuihe, and these fighters were replenished and came to the battlefield as the third wave of attack planes, and continued to pursue and kill the US warships with the second onboard fleet.

The one-sided massacre lasted a whole day, until the evening of the same day, three troop carriers were sunk in the U.S. fleet, two were sunk, one of the four transports was sunk, and one was heavily damaged.

The fleet's flagship, the USS North Carolina, as well as two heavy cruisers and four destroyers, were all destroyed.

In the evening, Vice Admiral Mikawa carried prisoners of war, three transport ships and one troop transport, and set out on his way home with a high spirit.

To the north of Kuah Island, the shelling of Henderson Airport continued until the night finally stopped.

After waiting patiently for more than an hour, seeing that the Japanese warships did not launch any more shelling, the American troops near the airfield became active again and began the operation to repair the airfield.

On the east side of the airfield, the 1st Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division of the United States Marine Corps defended itself in the direction of the village of Tacingberg.

On the position of a battalion and a company, five figures successively burrowed into a semi-underground bunker.

Five people sat around a log table, staring at the dinner on the table in a daze.

Private Glennunu said with a frown: "It's compressed biscuits and luncheon meat again, in this weather, you should eat ice cream and iced coke." ”

The big man Abraham stroked his beard and teased Glenn: "Ice cream is something that only happens in your sleep." ”

Private First Class Daryl shook the bangs on his forehead and said expressionlessly: "Let's kill the Japanese on the island as soon as possible, and when we return to the rear, you will have whatever you want." ”

Another private, Morgan, didn't say a word, just bowed his head and munched.

Compressed biscuits and luncheon meat, eating in his mouth actually had a pious feeling.

The squad leader, Sergeant Rick, sulked on a Camel cigarette and asked Morgan curiously.

"Morgan, don't you feel sick to your stomach after eating the same food for a month in a row?"

Morgan shouted food in his mouth and said vaguely: "I was hungry during the Great Depression, and it's good to have something to eat, don't be a picky eater." ”

Rick took two puffs of his cigarette, then extinguished the cigarette butt, picked up the can and said, "I'm also a hungry person in the Great Depression, and I can't be a picky eater." ”

Seeing Rick take the lead, the three Glenn had to pick up the unpalatable food on the table and endure the torture of dinner.

"Boss, the Japanese shelling has finally stopped, how much supplies did they send to those monkeys on the other side?"

Faced with Glenn's boring question, Rick said, "I don't know, when they are full and attack again, you can grab one and ask." ”

"They're going to attack? Hmph," Abraham sneered contemptuously.

"I peeked at them during the day, and their soldiers were so thin that they were only skeletons, and they staggered when they walked, looking like the zombies in the novel, and I was very skeptical that they would be able to pick up a gun with their current physical strength."

The only five people in the class had a tasteless dinner in small talk.

Just after midnight, Sergeant Rick woke up.

Buckling up his helmet, Rick stepped out of his sleeping bunker and looked in the direction of Henderson Airport to the west.

In the dark, large and small fires erupted from Henderson Airport, which was particularly dazzling against the backdrop of night.

Abraham, also awakened by the shelling, walked up to Rick and said, "The Japanese are shelling the airfield again, I thought they were gone." ”

"I have a bad feeling that the Japanese must be preparing a major offensive."

Rick said worriedly.