The heavy bombardment carried out by the air forces of the fleet of the Tang Empire at night somewhat caught the American troops by surprise. Even Bradley and MacArthur did not expect that on the night of the 19th, the Tang Imperial Navy would concentrate three task forces and dispatch thousands of bombers to deal with the vanguard of the US forces in Tentfield.

The first round of bombing began at about ten o'clock, because the bombers of the three fleets departed at different times and were not at the same distance from the bombing site, so the arrival time of the aircraft groups was different, and this round of bombing lasted until about eleven o'clock. The bombers of the three fleets arrived in four groups, mainly bombing the urban area of Tentfieldtown, the American military camp on the outskirts of the city, and several major transportation arteries nearby.

These incendiary bombs not only played the role of illumination, but also significantly more effective than bombs when dealing with targets over a large area. At that time, the bombers of the Second Task Force mainly used incendiary bombs, and only the aircraft carriers of the Second Task Force had relatively sufficient incendiary bombs in reserve, while the Fifth Task Force and the aircraft carriers of the theater fleet did not carry many incendiary bombs.

In the first round of bombing, Hao Dongjue arranged one squadron of "water birds", two squadrons of "sea eagles", and one squadron of "golden eagles". All "sea eagles" carry incendiary bombs, while other fighters carry ordinary bombs. This is the standard night bombing method for Task Force 2. The specific bombing tactic is to have the best lead aircraft identify the bombing target and drop the first incendiary bomb. Then, the other horizontal bombers dropped all the incendiary bombs around them, and when the fire reached its maximum, the dive bombers and fighter-bombers entered the sky over the target and bombed the key targets one by one by using the lighting effect of the fire. And this time it was Colonel Gao Junhan who led the team, and the two incendiary bombs he dropped landed accurately in the center of the US military camp. One of them was less than 300 meters away from Bradley's headquarters. Thankfully, Bradley was able to retreat quickly, and five minutes later, his headquarters was burned to the ground when the other horizontal bombers dropped incendiary bombs.

Comparatively speaking, the combat efficiency of the bombers dispatched by the Fifth Task Force and the Theater Fleet was not as high as that of the Second Task Force. At that time, Task Force 5 bombed a number of major transportation arteries outside Tentfield, destroying dozens of U.S. vehicles but failing to cause more damage. Theater Fleet bombers concentrated on the town of Tentfield, dropping hundreds of bombs and destroying two-thirds of the town's houses.

Just after twelve o'clock. The second group of bombers from Task Force 5 reached the vicinity of Tentfield, and the second round of bombardment began. This time, Task Force 5 followed the tactics of Task Force 2 by first dropping incendiary bombs at the U.S. camp, followed by dive bombers and fighter-bombers. As a result, Task Force 5 carried a limited number of incendiary bombs. Therefore, instead of concentrating on fire attacks, the main function of incendiary bombs is to illuminate them, so that other bombers can find their targets.

The second group of bombers of the theater fleet arrived at about half past twelve and still concentrated on bombing the town of Tentfield, and in nearly half an hour of bombing, more than 100 bombers dropped hundreds of 100-kilogram and 50-kilogram aerial bombs. By the end of the bombing, almost the entire town of Tentfield was in ruins. The town, which had a population of less than 5,000 people, simply could not withstand such a heavy bombardment.

The second batch of bombers of Task Force 2 arrived at about one o'clock in the morning. More than 180 warplanes continued to bomb the US military camp intensively. This time, Hao Dongjue used all the incendiary bombs, even the "water birds" were hung with incendiary bombs. Only the two squadrons of "Golden Eagles" that carried out bombing missions were still hung with ordinary bombs. It was also the most violent "fire attack" of the whole night. The group dropped 150 500-kilogram incendiary bombs on and near the US military camp. The incendiary bombs themselves can continue to burn for about half an hour, and if other materials are ignited, the fire is simply uncontrollable. The fire in the U.S. camp burned until after dawn, and the U.S. officers and soldiers also experienced the horror that the Japanese had endured back then.

There were two rounds of bombardment in seven batches. The losses of the American army were extremely heavy. By the end of the bombardment, the vanguard of the three divisions under Bradley's command had practically lost their combat effectiveness, and even the march was very difficult. In the more than 20 hours of bombing, at least 18,000 US officers and soldiers were killed or wounded, and more than 1,200 vehicles were destroyed, while the three US divisions had a total of 1,500 vehicles. This also reflects a new feature on the battlefield, that is, the absence of air supremacy. Then it is impossible for any ground forces to move smoothly on the battlefield, and. Sea power can determine land power. After just over 20 hours of bombing, the US mobile units were blocked from the battlefield and could not reach the battlefield in time, which was precisely the ultimate purpose of the bombing.

Before daybreak, MacArthur's reinforcements arrived at Tentfield, and Bradley reorganized his troops. But the problem is that it is too late for the US military to rush to the tower at this time. Moreover, at dawn, Task Force 2 also dispatched bombers, focusing on bombing bridges and tunnels between Tentfield and Tower. Even if the U.S. forces were able to move on without being bombed, it would take at least two days to reach the tower, and after two days, the Imperial Marines had successfully landed, and there was little point for the U.S. troops to rush over.

By this time, on the beach south of Tari, the battle had entered a white-hot state.

Task Force 1 bombers arrived at the landing site after dawn, and 108 bombers from three squadrons dropped hundreds of bombs on the landing beaches in three sections. And on this battlefield, the bombers are not the main force, the real main force is the third task force that has been refilled with ammunition and returned to the battlefield.

The battleship fired a huge bomb with more power than any bomb, and the accuracy of the shelling at close range was quite high. The Third Task Force began shelling US shore fortifications at about half past four. Chang recommended new and did not do any new tricks. As was customary, during the night bombardment, he arranged for the seaplanes to drop flares and keep the battleships as close to the coastline as possible, and then the lookouts provided the shelling parameters for the guns and the seaplanes for corrections. In the two hours before dawn, the shelling of Task Force 3 was not heavy. The main thing is that the targets are illegible, and the main shelling is permanent fortifications, and there is no need to waste ammunition at this time.

After daybreak, the shelling of the 3rd Task Force, as well as the 1st Task Force Artillery Formation, which was still active on the battlefield, reached its climax. This was the most intense stage of the fire strike before landing, and in this short hour or two, the main purpose of the fire strike was not to destroy how many enemy fortifications, but to paralyze the enemy's defense system and make the enemy's defense troops lose their ability and confidence in combat.

It can be said that this is the most critical stage before landing. The Imperial Marines have been fighting in the Pacific for more than four years. No less than 100 landing campaigns, large and small, have been fought, and a great deal of actual combat experience has been summed up, and one of the key lessons is that in the hours before the marines go ashore, the firepower is not about accuracy, but about density. It is necessary to strive to drop as much ammunition as possible into the enemy's positions in the shortest possible time. The effect of the strike may not be very good, but the shock produced by it is by no means what precision shelling and bombing can achieve. And this practical experience has also been tested many times.

From the Solomon Islands, the Navy paid great attention to the preparation of firepower before the landing. During the Port Moresby landing operation, three hours before the landing, the fleet and aviation dropped a total of 2,500 tons of ammunition on enemy positions. In the attack on Port Vila, two hours before the landing, the various fire support units dropped a total of 4,000 tons of ammunition on the American positions. This time was no exception, according to Yan Guozhong's request, the third task force. Task Force 1, as well as the fire support flotilla of the Marine Landing Fleet, had to dump at least 8,000 tons of ammunition on U.S. positions before the Marines could come ashore. This is equivalent to 16,000 500-kilogram aerial bombs, 7,000 400-mm bombs, and 35,000 rounds of 200-mm artillery shells. 160,000 rounds of 155-mm shells, or 100,000 rounds of rockets!

What kind of concept is this, if the guns of all the battleships of the 3rd Task Force are fired at the maximum speed, then within two hours, a maximum of 4,000 tons of shells will be fired, and this also counts the anti-aircraft guns on the battleships of the 3rd Task Force. Since all 360 combat aircraft of the 1st Task Force were dispatched and each time they took off with the maximum bomb load, it would take at least 30 batches to drop 8,000 tons of bombs. And at that time in the landing fleet there were 24 fire support vessels. Of these, 16 fire support vessels are equipped with rocket artillery and 8 are equipped with naval guns. Even if these fire support ships deliver ammunition as quickly as possible, they can deliver up to 3,000 tons of artillery shells and rockets in two hours.

It can be said that in order to complete the task assigned by Yan Guozhong, all the warships in the three fleets had to do their best to throw shells and bombs at the US positions, and there was no extra time for the gunners and pilots to aim at the targets. At that time, the guns on the more than 20 destroyers that were advancing to the coastline were firing almost blindly, and as long as it looked like a hidden fortification of the American army, a few shells would be fired at it.

At seven o'clock, the fire support ships of the landing fleet also joined the shelling. When the rocket launchers from those ships began to fire in a salvo, the scene was extraordinarily spectacular. When all the rockets were fired, the entire fire support ship was shrouded in smoke, and I didn't understand that the ship was releasing smoke. 16 fire support ships fired a salvo at the same time, thousands of rockets roared and smashed into the positions of the American troops, one salvo was enough to cover an area of two square kilometers, blowing the sand and gravel on the beach to pieces, and the ground turned black!

It was also at this time that the first batch of officers and men of the landing fleet mounted the landing craft and began to storm the beach at half past seven. The speed of the landing craft was only about 12 knots, which was not very fast, and it took about an hour to wash up on the beach, and within this hour, the support fire of the fleet completely broke out.

At eight o'clock, the firepower hit reached its climax, and the main guns on the nine battleships of the Third Task Force all participated in the shelling, although the firing speed of the 400-mm cannon was very slow, but every salvo fired, there was a loud sound like the sky was collapsing, and when the nine main guns fired in the same direction, the hull of more than 50,000 tons would move several meters away in the opposite direction, and as long as it was hit by a 400-mm shell, even the American fortifications buried deep in the ground would be completely destroyed.

Heavy shelling continued until 8:25 a.m., after which naval artillery fire began to extend behind the American lines. Hundreds of landing craft carrying officers and men of the landing team approached the beach. The entire landing site is divided into three sections, of which the frontal width of the "A" landing field in the north is 3 kilometers, the frontal width of the "B" landing field in the middle is 4 kilometers, and the frontal width of the "C" landing field in the south is 3 kilometers. And on this 12-kilometer landing site, at least one Marine Division will be the first to go ashore, and the second batch of Marines will have more troops than two Marine Divisions. That is to say, within four hours in the morning, Yan Guozhong will commit three marine divisions and more than 50,000 Marine officers and men, and according to the plan, at least 100,000 Marine officers and men will go ashore during the day on the 20th, and the entire landing field will be extended to the west by a distance of 5 to 10 kilometers to establish a solid defensive line.

As the landing craft rushed to the beach, three squadrons of bombers sent by Task Force 1 whizzed across the shoreline. Most of these bombers carried small bombs, and they were not in a hurry to drop them, and their mission was to bomb the exposed hidden firing points of the American army. Then, a group of fighters with bombs and rockets also arrived over the landing site, and the first batch of landing craft washed up on the beach, and the combat operation of landing on the Australian mainland officially began!