Chapter 656: The Final Battle (2)

Whether it is Okinawa or Iwo Jima, the resistance of the Japanese army is extremely stubborn, which has to be admitted, and at the same time remember the fact that the Japanese are not only ruthless to their opponents, but also to their own people, which neither the Chinese nor the Americans can compare. When the Allies attacked Okinawa, they encountered desperate resistance from the Japanese army, and the number of American casualties in this battle was as high as 48,000. About 12 Japanese soldiers were killed, and only 7,400 were captured, and the vast majority of Japanese soldiers would rather commit suicide by seppuku or detonate a grenade than surrender. During the Battle of Okinawa, the casualties of Okinawan civilians in the Battle of Okinawa were also staggering. At that time, about 470,000 people lived in Okinawa, and about one-third of them were killed. According to U.S. military figures, 140,000 civilians were killed in the Battle of Okinawa, including those killed by artillery and air strikes, and those forced to act as soldiers by the Japanese army, and some Okinawan civilians committed mass suicide under the force of the Japanese army.

In addition, at the height of the fighting, the Japanese military and the prefectural government demanded that schools organize teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17 who were under the age of military service to become "iron-blooded imperial teams" to conduct military training and directly join the army to participate in battles in times of emergency. According to statistics, at that time, 1,780 teenagers from 12 middle schools in Okinawa were forced to "volunteer" to join the "Iron and Blood Imperial Team" to join the Japanese army to participate in the fighting, and more than half of them, about 890 people, were killed. In addition, the girls' schools were also ordered to organize girls to serve as nurses in field hospitals, and the nurse units such as Shandanhua, Baimei, Zuiquan, and Wutong were formed with the girls' schools as the basic unit and named, and these students who had only undergone basic military training had very little chance of surviving on the battlefield, and the madness of the Japanese was astonishing.

After occupying Okinawa, the Allies quickly returned to the aid of Iwo Jima, and the Chinese Navy and Army also rushed to Iwo Jima by warship to participate in the battle. In the battle of the Ryukyu Islands, although the squadron suffered many casualties. But the results did surprise the Allied side, and there were squadrons in almost the most intense theaters. Especially the Chinese special forces. Those squadrons wearing dark green uniforms quickly won the recognition of the Allied command for their fighting will and combat effectiveness. In addition, the squadron was the first army to storm Naha, so the Allies decided to give the Chinese Navy free of charge 3 heavy cruisers and 12 troop transports plus 22 torpedo boats that captured the Japanese Navy. The vast majority of these ships are already scarred and of little value in the eyes of the Americans. However, these ships with serious damage are undoubtedly fragrant and sweet for the Chinese Navy.

The Battle of Iwo Jima is still ongoing. This was the last barrier for the Japanese army to defend the country, although it was clear to the Japanese army that there was no point in holding on, because the Ryukyu Islands had already been lost. The country is broken. But now the entire Iwo Jima sea area has been blockaded by the Allies. With the strength of the Japanese Navy, it was simply not able to withdraw so many troops to the Japanese mainland. So the Japanese could no longer think of any other way than to wear down the Allies to the death.

The fate of the Japanese troops on the island was sealed, and Lieutenant General Kuribayashi, the supreme commander of the Japanese army, knew where his fate would go. But like the pilots of the Japanese suicide planes, they had come to see this sacrifice as a patriotic consciousness, so every Japanese soldier fought tenaciously. Every step forward for U.S. forces on Iwo Jima comes at a huge cost. Fighting has become out-and-out attrition, sometimes advancing only a few meters throughout the day. The heavy casualties discouraged even the officers from throwing their soldiers into battle.

In the struggle for the 382 Heights, the second commanding height on the island, the 4th Marine Division repeatedly fell into the crossfire network of the Japanese invaders, and the casualties were extremely heavy, so the 382 Heights were called the "meat grinder", and the casualties of the combat troops were as high as 50 percent, and the experienced company, platoon commander, and sergeant major were killed and wounded, and many company commanders were served by second lieutenants or sergeants, while platoon and squad leaders were served by ordinary soldiers.

Until the Allied forces arrived on Okinawa, the U.S. forces on Iwo Jima were almost unable to move an inch, and although large forces had already landed on the island, it was still a long time before the fighting was completely over. The arrival of a large Allied force on the Okinawa side was indeed good news for the Allied forces, because the 382 Heights had been fought for six days, and the Allied forces had suffered nearly 10,000 casualties here, but they still had not been able to take this high ground. Because the Japanese positions were arranged very reasonably, there were almost no shooting dead ends, and there were still a large number of auxiliary positions, so it was necessary to eliminate the Japanese positions on the flanks one by one and remove the flank threat before it was possible to move forward, so the battle was extremely cruel and fierce.

The Japanese positions on the left flank were arranged in the same way as Heights 328, which the Allies called Heights 326. The encounter of attacking the 362nd Heights was the same as that of the 4th Division on the 382nd Heights: as soon as they attacked the top of the hill, the Japanese invaders on the flank immediately blocked the retreat of the American troops with intensive firepower, and then wiped out all the American troops who attacked the high ground with in-depth firepower and ferocious counterattacks. The Japanese army had already mastered the attack procedures of the US army, first aviation fire preparation, then naval artillery fire bombardment, then ground artillery fire, and finally infantry attack, so the Japanese army always dodged the US artillery fire in the tunnel, and then entered the position to meet the infantry attack, and the US army's offensive again and again failed.

The arrival of Li Dingguo made General MacArthur very happy, and the performance of the squadron on Iwo Jima had reached the Allied command, especially Li Dingguo, a general of the Chinese Army, who won the respect of the American army with his cold face and rigorous attitude towards the army.

In particular, the strong combat effectiveness of the Chinese special forces surprised the US military even more, and Admiral MacArthur decided to //.no advertising// to replace all the American troops attacking the 328 and 326 heights, and let Li Dingguo's troops go up and give it a try.

Regarding the attack on such a well-fortified Japanese position, Li Dingguo can be regarded as full of experience, and he knows very well that if he orders the troops to rush forward like this, he will definitely suffer heavy losses, and besides, the weapons and equipment of the squadron are not as good as the Americans, and the artillery fire is even more insufficient, even if the US troops are willing to provide fire assistance, it is not a way. Therefore, Li Dingguo thought about it and decided to use the most conventional tactics of the squadron to deal with the Japanese to carry out a surprise attack, and at dawn on April 7, the squadron ** quietly approached the Japanese position with the help of the dark night before dawn without any artillery preparations, and suddenly launched an attack. The Japanese army was caught by surprise and captured the 362 heights in one fell swoop.

This was followed by a series of assaults by the troops. Finally captured the 328 heights before dark. Not to mention that the casualties of the troops were not large, and the results were extremely brilliant, and with the addition of the squadron, the US army felt very relaxed. On the 8th, the U.S. military launched a general offensive. The 12th Field Division of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, which was responsible for the central breakthrough, was in a state of rapid progress. When encountering an insurmountable Japanese position, they tried to bypass it and continue to advance, although it left many "nails" for the subsequent US Marine Divisions of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Marine Divisions. However, the squadron broke through the Japanese defense line in the shortest possible time. Two days later, they reached the west coast, occupying a stretch of about 800 meters of coast and splitting the Japanese army into two parts.

On 9 April, when the U.S. forces occupied the unfinished No. 3 airfield, Lieutenant General Kuribayashi learned that the U.S. forces had broken through the defensive line and split the Japanese in two, and immediately organized troops to counterattack. It was difficult to carry out a frontal attack, so a night infiltration counterattack was carried out. He ordered the troops to cross the American lines as much as possible. Infiltrate the rear of the U.S. military and reopen the two wings. Since these tricks used by the Japanese are precisely those used by the squadron on the Chinese battlefield, the squadron knows the Japanese tactics well. Under Li Dingguo's reminder, the U.S. military discovered the Japanese army's movements, and the flares fired illuminated the night as if it were day. [This chapter is not finished, please click on the next page to continue reading!] ］