Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue waited for two hours, without waiting for more news, and finally received a telegram from Gan Yongxing, telling them to concentrate on preparing for the next stage of the campaign.

"It seems that the loss is not big!"

Hao Dongjue threw the telegram on the chart table, and then glanced at his partner who was climbing on it, "The chief of staff did not mention the matter of retaliation, and continued to carry out the planned battle plan. If the losses are heavy, then we will definitely have a new mission. ”

Tan Renhao picked up the telegram and looked at it carefully. In these two hours, they were not idle, and it only took Tan Renhao half an hour to reach a consensus with Hao Dongjue that the US bombers had only one purpose in bombing the island of Taiwan, which was to disrupt the next operational arrangement of the Tang Imperial Navy. The United States does not have the ability to land on the island of Taiwan, and now it is not even enough to defend itself, so how can it still have the strength to take the initiative to attack? And dropping a few hundred tons of bombs is only a threat, and a small threat. The political purpose of this bombing is far more important than the military purpose, and this is a sneak attack by the US commander to force the Tang Imperial Navy to change the direction of the operation!

"Just do as you are told!" 16K. Mobile station ap.

Tan Renhao straightened up, "When will the Marines start to set off?" ”

"The day after tomorrow, we still have two days of mobile standby, and we should receive news from the Marine Corps tomorrow."

Tan Renhao nodded slightly. "Then we will start rotating the duty tomorrow and arrange all the tasks first!"

The next day, Admiral Ngan Kuo-chung sent a telegram from Agrihan Island that the landing force of the Marine Corps would board the ship at night and rush to the landing site at night. Task Force 3 had to bombard Anatahan Island for three hours before dawn, while Task Force 1's bombers had to carry out a concentrated bombardment after dawn. Then the marines rushed to the beach and landed. Task Force 2 departing from Ryukyu Island will arrive on the morning of the 7th to take over from Task Force 3 to provide direct artillery support to the Marines, and naval aviation deployed on Agrihan Island and Aramagan Island will take over Task Force 1 in the morning to provide air support and anti-aircraft cover for the Marines. On the same day, Luo Yunchong's strategic strike force will concentrate on bombing US airfields on Saipan, Tinian Island, Rota Island, and Guam to prevent US fighters from taking off as much as possible.

This plan was actually 24 hours ahead of the actual one. As a result, Task Force 3 had to take on the first round of artillery support, and Task Force 1's carrier-based aircraft units would also participate in the first round of bombardment. However, the problem is not obvious, and the purpose of landing on Anatahan Island is twofold, one is to capture this extremely important island, and the other is to force the American fleet to come out for a decisive battle. Task Force 2 had enough strength to send all the "Washington Express" back at night, and if the U.S. "Z Fleet" did not come out for a decisive battle, the U.S. forces would not be able to send reinforcements and supplies to Anatahan Island. The fall of the island was only a matter of time. Task Force 3 and Task Force 1, which had completed the first round of strikes, will be withdrawn during the day, waiting for the American fleet to go north!

On the night of the 6th, Task Force 1 received a list of specific targets to bomb. In the evening, the last reconnaissance plane to fly to Anatahan Island took a large number of photographs, and on the basis of these photos, the intelligence screening personnel determined the general defensive deployment of the US military and marked the targets belonging to the carrier-based bombers of the First Task Force.

Two hours later, Task Force 1 arrived at the intended area of the sortie. Because only a wave of bombers was needed this time, Task Force 1 was 220 nautical miles away from Anatahan Island without getting too close. At half past five, the first bomber left the flight deck of the aircraft carrier. Within twenty-five minutes. The 48 "Kingfishers" and 48 "Ospreys" on the bombing mission all left the flight deck and flew to Anatahan Island in the southeast, accompanied by 36 "Falcons."

"The Third Task Force must already be shelling!"

Hao Dongjue glanced at the watch on his wrist, "It should have been two hours of fighting!" ”

Tan Renhao looked at the eastern sky. The morning star glows orange, and the sky is about to dawn.

"Half an hour after dawn, let the air defense fighters rise into the air, and deploy a small squad of fighters to the east, southeast, and south."

Tan Renhao turned around and leaned against the railing, "After the bombers came back, the fleet immediately turned, I don't want to stay in this area for too long." When the target of the American bombers! ”

Hao Dongjue laughed, now the fleet is within the strike range of US tactical bombers, and the first task force will never enter such a dangerous sea area unless it is absolutely necessary. As long as the fleet is exposed, then the American bombers will be able to arrive within two hours, and the first task force will be destroyed.

The shelling of the 3rd Task Force began at 3:35 a.m., only five minutes later than scheduled. The fleet arrived at the predetermined sea area half an hour later than scheduled, as a result of which most of the battleships were not ready for shelling. The shelling was carried out in a salvo every two minutes, and the entire shelling lasted from 3.35 to 6.25 minutes. In two hours and fifty minutes, the fleet carried out a total of 86 rounds, and in the end even the main guns of the battleships took part in the shelling. During these 86 rounds of artillery bombardment, more than 30 warships of all sizes in the fleet poured a total of 10,000 shells on Anatahan Island, with a total bombing volume of nearly 1,000 tons.

When the bombers sent by the 1st Task Force flew over the fleet, the 3rd Task Force had already embarked on the road home, and their mission was to end the shelling before dawn and then quickly withdraw to avoid being attacked by the American bombers. At 6:35 a.m., fighter planes sent by the Navy to provide anti-aircraft cover for Task Force 3 arrived, and by this time Task Force 1 bombers had already begun to drop bombs on the American fortifications on Anatahan Island.

Heavy bombardment alternated with shelling. At 7:30 a.m., the bomber group of the 1st Task Force withdrew over Anatahan Island, because they were responsible for the first round of bombing, and the American air defense fighters had not yet arrived, so there were almost no losses, and only a few bombers were slightly damaged. As soon as the fleet bombers left, the shore-based tactical bombers of the HNA arrived over Anatahan Island, and from the 34th of July, the shore-based tactical bombers of the HNA took turns bombing the US targets on the island in squadrons. The entire bombing operation continued until 9:55 a.m., in which at least eight squadrons participated.

The first landing force of the Marine Corps rushed to the beach at about half past eight. To the great surprise of these landing officers and men, they did not encounter stubborn resistance from the US troops! Previously, on Asunción Island, Agrihan Island, and the Tang Imperial Marines would be met with stubborn resistance from the US army when they went ashore, but this time, the US troops did not seem to wake up. There was no sound of pit at all! Of course, it was a good thing that the Americans did not resist, and the Marines quickly consolidated the landing field and sent the second group to the beach by half past nine.

At this time, heavy bombers carrying out the bombing of Saipan, Tinian, Rota and Guam flew over the landing grounds. These bombers did not go south, but north. At the end of the artillery bombardment of Task Force 3. These bombers had already reached the target and dropped hundreds of bombs on US airfields. Now that they have completed their mission, they are returning to Iwo Jima and the Ogasawara Islands.

Just after ten o'clock, the 2nd Task Force "came from afar" joined the battle, and three large cruisers (short for large air defense cruisers), five heavy cruisers, and more than a dozen destroyers were all engaged in artillery support. It was only by this time that the first tactical fighters of the US military reached the skies over the battlefield, but they were immediately intercepted by the Imperial Navy fighters who had been patrolling the battlefield.

By eleven o'clock, the number of marines ashore had exceeded four regiments. There are also two engineering battalions in it. Two artillery battalions. The Marine Corps artillery has begun to set up artillery positions, and as long as the Marine Corps artillery is deployed, then the U.S. military has no hope of sending the Marines back to the sea. Of course. There was also a condition that the ammunition supplied to the Marine Corps artillery must be delivered as soon as possible.

At half past eleven, the third wave of tactical bombers of the US army arrived, and the bombers of the tenth squadron sent by the Imperial Navy also arrived almost simultaneously. The second air battle of the day broke out again. On the sea, transport ships and landing ships carrying large quantities of ammunition and supplies are approaching the beach, ready to deliver supplies to the beach. On the beach, two Marine infantry battalions had set out as the vanguard, and they would be responsible for setting up a defensive line on the perimeter of the landing ground and extending the depth of the beachhead as far as possible. In this way, more troops can be welcomed ashore and reserve space can be made for supplies.

The counterattack of the US army began at this time, and it came suddenly, and the ground force of the counterattack was very fierce! The first shells to fall on the landing site were hundreds, and in just a few minutes, thousands of shells fell! At least hundreds of American artillery pieces took part in the shelling operations, and these guns were so well concealed that they were almost impossible for reconnaissance aircraft in the air to detect. This is very similar to the deployment of the Japanese army on Ryukyu Island and Iwo Jima in the past, first hiding heavy weapons. Wait for the Don Army to land and then counterattack!

The beach immediately turned into a sea of fire and blood, and in the first round of shelling, hundreds of marines (especially the engineers, who were busy unloading supplies) were killed, and three transport ships were hit by shells, and the ammunition on them was immediately detonated, and none of the officers and men on board nor the sailors were spared. In the heavy shelling that lasted for several minutes, the losses of the Marines were extremely heavy, and most of the guns of the two artillery battalions that were not ready for battle were destroyed, and a lot of the supplies piled up on the beach were destroyed!

Before the shelling was over, the American infantry launched a storm. Although four regiments of marines had already gone ashore by this time, most of the officers and men were concentrated on the beach, and they did not disperse at all, let alone build a solid defensive line. The beachhead is precarious, and the US army may come at any time and drive these nearly 10,000 Imperial Marines into the sea!

Task Force 2's support artillery helped the Marines withstand the first round of American attacks, and then the fleet's support artillery fire began to extend into the American artillery positions. The firing range of naval guns is far above the range of American artillery, especially those large-caliber guns on the Grand Patrol and Heavy Cruise, which are not only powerful, but also have a very long range, and the only drawback is that the shelling speed is a little slower.

At 11:55 a.m., the 10th group of bombers from the HNA arrived, and fifteen minutes later, three squadrons of bombers that had taken off from the island of Aramagan were also killed, and two other squadrons of fighters with bombs arrived. It was not until 12:15 that the American counterattack was suppressed.

From 11:30 to 12:15, in this short 45-minute battle, the Marines lost more than 800 officers and men, wounded more than 1,500, and lost eighty percent of the supplies sent to the beach. The Marines' efforts throughout the morning were almost all in vain!

It can be said that the brutal landing battle was just beginning at this time. At half past five in the afternoon, the landing flotilla carrying the second batch of landing troops returned to the landing ground and sent the officers and men of the other four regiments of marines to the beach before dark, along with the second convoy, which brought a large amount of combat supplies urgently needed by the marines, especially ammunition, first-aid medicines, and rations.

In the afternoon battle, the American troops carried out several rounds of counterattacks, and even broke through the outer defense line of the landing field at one point, and engaged in brutal hand-to-hand combat with the officers and men of the Imperial Marines, but in the end the American counterattacks failed. The artillery battle between the two sides never stopped, first with the 2nd Task Force suppressing the American artillery, and at 2 p.m., the Marine artillery went into battle. At half past three, HNA deployed four squadrons of fighters (while reducing the number of sortie bombers, because the sortie rate of HNA airfields was limited) to seize air supremacy over the islands. The water reconnaissance aircraft of the 2nd Task Force flew over the island and began to provide artillery data for the battleships, as well as the artillery of the Marine Corps.

The artillery battle was fought until dark, and both sides were tired, and then it stopped for the time being. During these hours of artillery fighting, both sides were damaged, but the Imperial Navy and Marines still had the upper hand. In particular, the artillery fire of the Second Task Force was extremely fierce and sharp, and in the last three hours of the artillery battle, because of the command and guidance of the landing point observation planes, the artillery of the fleet and the Marine Corps had greatly improved the accuracy of their shelling, and many US artillery pieces were just about to prepare for a counterattack when a batch of shells smashed over. Of course, this is just the beginning, and the night battles will be even more fierce.

The 1st Task Force left the attack area after recovering the bombers, and they could only watch the battle while waiting for the decisive battle with the American fleet!