Chapter 6554: An Elegy for Japanese Militarism

Han Yunhua knew that the World Anti-Fascist War had come to an end on the Eastern Front in Europe, and the Soviet Union launched 10 major strategic offensive operations against the German army in a row, recovering all the territory of the country, and moving the battle line outside the country, entering Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and other countries to fight, and by the end of 1943, a total of about 2 million German troops were eliminated. At the end of 1943, on the Soviet-German battlefield, the Soviet army, including about 340,000 troops of Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Czech forces and the French Air Regiment, had a total strength of more than 8.7 million people, with 207,300 artillery pieces and mortars, 12,100 tanks and assault artillery, and 14,700 aircraft.

By comparison, the Germans had only 3.7 million men, including 210,000 Hungarian troops. In terms of weapons, Germany also lagged far behind the Soviet troops, with only 56,200 artillery pieces and mortars, 8,100 tanks and artillery pieces, and 4,100 aircraft left in the German army. Therefore, in Europe, the Soviet army had an absolute superiority in forces and weapons. And that's not even counting the European Front, the Allies on the Western Front were no worse than the Soviet troops on the Eastern Front, with the total strength of the Army and Navy in Normandy exceeding 3 million, and having liberated all of France a month ago, and now heading to Portugal, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

At this time, Germany was a mud bodhisattva crossing the river and it was difficult to protect itself, and the little force in Hitler's hands could not compete with the tens of millions of troops of the Allied Army, not to mention the territory occupied before, and even the nest was almost impossible to keep. At the beginning of 1944, with the cooperation of the people of Eastern Europe, the Soviet army eliminated a large number of German forces through the Hungarian Campaign, the Vistula-Oder Campaign, the Silesian Campaign, and the Eastern Pomeranian Campaign, occupied Poland, Hungary, eastern Austria and Vienna, part of Czechoslovakia and eastern Germany, creating conditions for the attack on Berlin.

Hitler also organized a large number of troops to counterattack. However, because Germany was at the end of the war at this time, almost all the materials in the country were extremely scarce. Add to that the almost 25 hours of continuous bombardment by the Allies. As a result, Germany's major cities have become large ruins, and it is no longer possible to provide timely material support for the German army.

On the Allied side, on the contrary, the military industry of the United States developed extremely rapidly, as the war potential of the behemoth of the United States was completely stimulated. Whether it is light weapons, heavy artillery, or warships, the United States can replenish the Allied forces in a short time. And American-made ordnance has been flooding the world during this time. The British, the French, and the Soviets also used it, and of course the same was true in the Chinese theater of operations, so the Germans found it painfully. Whether it is the Americans or the Soviets, their weapons and ammunition are almost universal. The Germans, on the other hand, could not use the captured weapons and ammunition even if the battle was won.

The rapid development of the world situation has made Han Yunhua himself feel a little anxious, and if China wants to rise in a short period of time, it must not drop the chain at this time, let alone still fight with the little devils on Chinese soil at this time. Therefore, Han Yunhua gave the troops on the front line an order for the whole army to advance south at all costs, and he wanted to take the remnants of the Japanese army in the shortest possible time. Because he firmly believes that with the elite under his command, not to mention the shrimp soldiers and shrimp generals sent by China. Even if the Japanese Emperor's Guard comes now, it will be knocked down, Han Yunhua firmly believes.

Han Yunhua's prestige among the Northeast Front was of course second to none, and when all the soldiers heard that this was an order from the commander, they would immediately be full of pride. A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier, Han Yunhua is a living example, Han Yunhua has only taken a few years from a soldier to a general, and then to the current general, he himself is a miracle for the entire army, and it is the spiritual motivation for the soldiers to move forward bravely.

The toughness, perseverance and courage of the squadron in the process of advancing south made the Japanese feel frightened. On the contrary, due to the unfavorable situation of the war, the Japanese soldiers and commanders had been psychologically defeated by the Chinese, and even an incident occurred on the front line in which a Chinese soldier captured a complete infantry squad of the Japanese army, which disgraced the Japanese.

The Chinese fought very well, this is the evaluation given by the Americans to the squadron, when they learned that the squadron **** has advanced the front to the south by more than 500 kilometers in less than a month since crossing the river, and has also taken Nanjing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and other big cities, the Americans were surprised. Although the Japanese have gone downhill, their combat effectiveness is also good, which is obvious to all in the Pacific, but it is surprising how the current Japanese can't even beat the squadron that needs relief from the United States and the Soviet Union.

With such a record of the Chinese there, the Americans are really embarrassed to be lazy, otherwise they will be put on their heads a big hat that even the Chinese cannot compare, which is unacceptable to proud Americans, especially American soldiers. Therefore, the US Department of Defense ordered Admiral MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz to immediately launch fire reconnaissance on Iwo Jima and the Ryukyu Islands, and at the same time to carry out landing operations on the islands as originally planned.

In fact, there is no way to attack Iwo Jima, although the U.S. military also knows that the Japanese army on Iwo Jima is heavily guarded, not only has heavy troops stationed, but also has complete fortifications, and attacking Iwo Jima will definitely cause heavy casualties to the army. But no matter how many objective reasons there are, Iwo Jima really has to be attacked, and it has to be taken. Because since the U.S. military captured the Mariana Islands, it began to establish aviation bases, so as to dispatch B-29 heavy bombers to attack the Japanese mainland. However, the Mariana Islands are nearly 1,500 nautical miles from the Japanese mainland, and the B-29 can only carry 3 tons of bombs due to the range limitations, which is only 30% of the maximum bomb load of the B-29. Moreover, because the flight range was too long, the fighter could not escort the whole process, so the B-29 could only carry out area bombing at an altitude of 8,000 to 9,000 meters, and the effect was very unsatisfactory, forcing the US military to find a middle place as a transit point.

Located in the southern part of the Ogasawara Islands, Iwo Jima is the second largest island in the archipelago, with a length of about 8,000 meters, a width of about 4,000 meters, and a shape that resembles a ham, with an area of about 20 square kilometers. In the southern part of the island there is an extinct volcano called Mt. Oriba, which has not yet cooled completely. 160 meters above sea level. The fog erupts all year round, and the smell of sulfur permeates the island, hence the name. Iwo Jima is 650 nautical miles north of Tokyo and 630 nautical miles south of Saipan in the Mariana Islands. It is almost between Tokyo and Saipan, so its strategic position is very important. The Japanese troops on the island could not only provide early warning to Tokyo. Moreover, it can take off fighter planes to intercept them, and even constantly dispatch planes to attack US airfields on Saipan and other places, which greatly reduces the role of US military strategic bombing on the Japanese mainland. Iwo Jima for the U.S. military. It's like a fish in the throat. If the U.S. military occupies Iwo Jima. All the disadvantages turned into advantages, and the range of the B-29 from Iwo Jima was halved, and the bomb load could be doubled; If the fighter takes off from Iwo Jima, it can provide the B-29 with escort throughout the journey; Even medium bombers such as the B-24 could take off from Iwo Jima to strike the Japanese mainland; What's more, Iwo Jima can also be used as an alternate airfield for B-29s, for injured B-29s to make an emergency landing or refuel. Therefore, the U.S. military is bound to win Iwo Jima!

According to the battle plan formulated by the US military, the ground forces participating in the operation are the 5th Amphibious Army. It has the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions, with a total of about 60,000 people. by Holland. Lieutenant General Smith commanded; The landing formation and support formation were led by Kelly. Lieutenant General Turner commanded; Task Force 58, commanded by Vice Admiral Mitchell, was responsible for air and sea cover; There are about 500 landing ships, about 400 warships, and about 2,000 aircraft ... [This chapter is not finished, please click on the next page to continue reading!] ］