The strong combat effectiveness displayed by the special combat unit of the Eighth Route Army has boosted the morale of the officers and men of the 1st Marine Division of the US Army. The division commander, Vandervan der Grift, asked the Allied Command to ask the Eighth Route Army Special Operations Team to join the 1st Marine Division. The Allied Command, through the consent of the Chinese Theater Command, approved the special operations team of the Eighth Route Army to join the 1st Marine Division. The Special Combat Team of the Eighth Route Army was renamed the Tigers Special Combat Team, and it was under the direct command of the headquarters of the 1st Marine Division.

On the battlefield filled with gunsmoke, the Japanese army was attacking like a tide. The Kawaguchi Division, exhausted from the repeated battles, withdrew to rest and recuperate, and the Sendai Division, the 2nd Division of the Japanese Army, continued to attack. The predecessor of the 2nd Division of the Japanese Army was Northeast Zhentai, and the base camp was in Sendai at that time, so it was called the Sendai Division. The 2nd Division, as a division of the Japanese army, can be described as a distinguished achievement. During the First Sino-Japanese War, the 2nd Division participated in the Weihaiwei Siege.

During the Russo-Japanese War, he served as the 16th Army of which Hei Mu was the general of Zhen, and fought in Jiuliancheng, Liaoyang, Shahe, Fengtian and other places. In 1931, the 2nd Division was transferred to the northeast to garrison, and the 918 Incident broke out not long after. As the fuse of the 918 Incident, the main force of the 2nd Division captured Beidaying and Mukden, and then moved to Changchun, Jilin, Qiqihar and Harbin. The 2nd Division returned to China in 1933 for reorganization, and in 1937 it was again transferred to Northeast China and stationed in Harbin.

After the outbreak of the 77 Incident, a wing of the 2nd Division was requisitioned into the customs to fight, and participated in the Chahar operation and the Battle of Xuzhou. In 1940, the 2nd Division returned to China again to accept the reorganization and replenishment of troops, and according to the order of the Japanese army base camp, a wing of the department formed the 28th Division of the Japanese Army as the core, and the 13th Division was formed on the basis of the remaining troops and reserve troops of the original 2nd Division. The Japanese 2nd Division and Kumamoto's 6th Division were recognized as the most combat-ready units in the Japanese battle sequence.

After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the 2nd Division participated in the capture of Guawa, and after the capture of Guawa, the 2nd Division was assigned to guard and sweep the mission. So, naturally, the 2nd Division was involved in the fateful Solomon Islands operation. After the main forces of the 2nd Division landed on Kuah Island, the nightmare began. Because the Kawaguchi Division is a reserve division and belongs to the C Division, the strength of the Kawaguchi Division is only more than 10,000 people, and the troops are distributed on several islands, so the combat effectiveness is relatively weak.

The 2nd Division is a type A division, with a full strength of 23,000 troops. There was no doubt that the heavy responsibility of capturing the American positions and recapturing the airfield fell on the shoulders of the 2nd Division. On September 24, the Japanese 2nd Division launched its second general attack, and the Japanese support artillery was suppressed by American artillery and ravaged by American bombers. In order to strengthen the defense, the LTTE went into operation to assist the US military in strengthening its defense.

The LTTE was a 10-man combat team and dispersed into US positions. The Japanese offensive was in full swing, and in a fortification, Li Gang and a team member served as a blocker. Li Gang's archery skills were worse than those of his subordinates, so he held a telescope to observe. The U.S. military's new telescopes are very advanced and have a distance scale on them to represent data. A Japanese commander was spotted in the left front, 1 km away. Accompanied by Li Gang's guidance, the sniper aimed the muzzle of the gun in front of the left and found the target in the scope.

An American company commander was also observing the target, "800 meters away, 600 meters shooting!" "The sniper pulled the trigger, only to see the Japanese commander fall to the ground." ok!” The U.S. company commander gave a thumbs up. Li Gang was indifferent and continued to look for a target??????。 On the 24th and 25th, the Japanese army launched a large-scale total attack with heavy losses. In just two days, the Japanese 2nd Division lost a third of its commander, and the commanders of the 16th and 29th Infantry Wings were killed.

Not only that, a large number of middle and lower-level commanders of the Japanese army were killed in succession, which greatly affected the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army. However, the Japanese 2nd Division almost went mad, and the result was an even heavier price regardless of the cost. Two days after the large-scale Japanese attack, the offensive momentum was sharply reduced, and the all-out offensive was forced to shift from a focused offensive. In the face of the unfavorable situation, the Japanese base camp sent Lieutenant General Budweiser to inspect the isolated island, and then learned that the US military on Kuah Island was strong and very difficult.

Immediately, the Japanese army headquarters ordered the 38th Division to be transferred to Kuah Island, and planned to form the 17th Army, which was personally commanded by Lieutenant General Budweiser. At this time, the commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Sanmoto 56, ordered that all the aircraft carrier forces under his command be concentrated in a decisive battle with the US fleet, and strive to destroy all the US aircraft carriers. After continuous fighting until mid-October, the Japanese ground offensive on Kuah Island was thwarted, and problems arose between the two sides due to the gradual escalation of naval battles and the lack of timely logistical supply.

Because of its strong airdrop capability, the U.S. military can at least meet the minimum supply requirements. However, the 2nd Division of the Japanese Army was not supplied in a timely manner by sea, which greatly affected the combat efficiency, and in addition to the heavy casualties of the Japanese army, especially the large number of commanders killed, the morale of the Japanese soldiers was affected. By mid-October, the Japanese offensive had exhausted, the two sides were temporarily in a state of standoff, and the focus of the battle began to shift to the sea.

In accordance with the characteristics of the Japanese army, which is good at night naval warfare, the US fleet command has installed a new SG shipborne radar, and has used the radar to carry out night artillery drills. Vice Admiral Kemley, commander of the U.S. South Pacific Fleet, judged the Japanese intentions and used the USS Hornet and USS Washington as striking forces. Rear Admiral Coster was ordered to take on the task of transporting troop carriers and searching for enemy landing fleets. He commanded a cruiser fleet consisting of the heavy cruiser flagship USS San Francisco, the heavy cruiser USS Salt Lake City, the light cruisers USS Bowes and USS Helena, and five destroyers.

On 7 October, Coaster led the fleet to Kuah Island, reaching the vicinity of Lynell Island on the 9th. On the morning of the 11th, a long-range patrol plane discovered a huge Japanese artillery bombardment fleet 210 kilometers northwest of Kuah Island. After receiving the report, Coaster decisively led the fleet north to Sa'ao Island to meet the Japanese naval shelling fleet, and thus the third most tragic naval battle of the Solomon began.

Tropical ocean nights are foggy and visibility is extremely poor. The fog in the sea made the Japanese observation sentries lose their experience, and almost lost the Japanese army. The Japanese shelled the commander of the fleet, Rear Admiral Muto, and led the fleet to grope in the dark. At about 21 o'clock that night, the lookout sentry dimly saw the shadow of the mountain on Sa'ao Island. The darkness was getting deeper and deeper, and the Japanese fleet was forced to slow down. At this time, the flagship Aoba spotted three hazy shadows on the sea at 15 degrees on the port side, about 10 kilometers.

The self-confident Japanese, based on their previous experience, believed that it was their own escort destroyer, because the night had always belonged to the Japanese (they could not be contacted by radio, and the target would be exposed), and the Americans did not dare to challenge it. At 21:30, the light cruiser Helena in Coaster's fleet raised the alarm, and the echo of the warship clearly appeared on its SG radar screen, and the Japanese ship was located at a distance of 6 nautical miles at a distance of 285 degrees on its port side.

Soon, the shipboard radar of the light cruiser Bows also scanned the Japanese ship, but the old SG shipboard radar of the San Francisco could not identify the ship from the vague echoes. The fleets of both sides got closer and closer, and it was not until 4600 meters that Coaster's radar confirmed it. He ordered the fleet to form a T-shaped attack queue. At this time, the Japanese fleet was not alert at all, and when it was like a headless fly, the artillery of the US ship let out an earth-shattering roar, which was a complete surprise attack.

On the pitch-black sea, several flares rose in the sky, and the Japanese flagship of the Aoba was exposed to "broad daylight". At this time, the USS Salt Lake City, HMS Helena, and USS Bourses were bombarded with concentrated naval guns. At present, the bridge of the flagship Aoba caught fire, and Muto, including many officers and men, were either killed or injured. The Aoba's main gun firing command and communication equipment were all destroyed, and the No. 2 and No. 3 cannons were hit, and the Aoba lost its combat effectiveness and had to withdraw from the battlefield with the right-turning rudder of the skyrocketing fire.

In order to cover the flagship Aoba, the Japanese cruiser Furutaka risked death to insert diagonally into the U.S. fleet. A heavy rain of bullets quickly smashed into the Furuda, which was hit by successive bullets and caught fire, sinking the next day. In the fierce battle, the US ship USS Boess was seriously injured and sank six nautical miles north of Saao Island on the second day. The Japanese Kinugasa participated in the First Battle of the Solomons and was an old slippery man with a lot of experience. When the American ship suddenly opened fire, it hurriedly turned its rudder into a favorable firing position to open fire and fire torpedoes.

After the outbreak of the naval battle, the US destroyer USS Duncan behaved very actively, desperately charging forward in an attempt to fire torpedoes at the Japanese ships. As a result, the Duncan was caught between the American and Japanese warships, and was caught in a fire by double artillery fire, and sank 6 nautical miles north of Sao Island. The U.S. destroyer **** Holt was also heavily damaged and withdrew from the battle. There was a comical scene in the scuffle, and Coaster couldn't tell if the warship was friend or foe. He asked Tobin, the captain of the ship, and Tobin said helplessly: "General, I don't know who is fighting?" ”

Coaster had no choice but to give the order to stop firing, and the cannon fell silent and terrible. At this time, the searchlight of a US warship was shining on the Japanese destroyer Fuyuki, which was 1,400 meters away, and all the searchlights of the US military were suddenly concentrated on it. At this time, the deck of the Snow Blowing Horn was in tatters, and there was no way to fight back. The ship's guns roared again, and the Blowing Snow could not support a large explosion and sank in an instant.

The scuffle continued, with the Nionoga fighting bravely and inflicting heavy casualties on the Salt Lake City and others. The two sides fought to the death, constantly increasing the number of "steel bottom graveyards", and devouring the battleships one by one in the dark night??????。