The terrible sirens of 'Woo ~~~~~' sounded rapidly throughout Johnston Island, and many Ming officers and soldiers rushed to their respective posts to prepare for the oncoming American air power. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

It was half past nine in the morning on October 23, 1941. More than half an hour earlier, a seaplane belonging to Johnston Island had spotted a large naval fleet about one hundred and twenty nautical miles northeast of the island, all flying the Stars and Stripes of the United States of America.

The seaplane was quickly shot down by American anti-aircraft fighters, but this important piece of information was transmitted back to the base on Johnston Island and then relayed. At the same time, the island's garrison was put in combat readiness.

Although there was a huge disparity in strength between the two sides, the brave Ming officers and soldiers did not give up the battle. All the planes on the airfield took off to attack the American warships, and all of them were shot down in this heroic battle. Most of the pilots died, and a small number of parachuted pilots were picked up by the US military and became prisoners of war.

Two patrol boats in the harbor also set sail with fire and sailed towards the huge American fleet with incredible courage. These two patrol boats, which are no more than 100 tons, only have 37mm guns on them, and they will face a super fleet of more than 100 ships of all kinds!

Present near Johnston Atoll was the U.S. Navy's Task Force 58, commanded by Vice Admiral Spruance.

Originally, Spruance believed that the Ming garrison stationed on Johnston Atoll, but only a few hundred of them, either fled or surrendered. But he never thought that he would still dare to attack when the strength of the two sides was so different.

"What a brave bunch of soldiers." On the bridge of the Essex, the flagship of the task force, I saw the last Ming fighter in the distant sky being shot down by a horde of air defense fighters. Spruance put down the telescope in his hand and sighed softly with a complicated expression. Brave soldiers are treated with the respect they deserve, no matter where they are.

"Sir." The communications staff officer came to his side and said in a loud voice: "The reconnaissance plane sent back a telegram saying that Johnston Island was in combat readiness, and they also said. Speaking of this, the communications staff officer paused with a strange expression.

"What else did you say?" Spruance turned to look at the communications staff officer in confusion.

"The reconnaissance aircraft reported that two patrol boats were coming at high speed in the direction of our fleet." The communications staff officer said with a look of disbelief.

"Patrol boats?" Spruance opened his mouth in surprise, took the telegram from the hand of the communications staff officer, shook his head after reading it, and said softly with a complicated expression, "Really, people don't know what to say." ”

After a moment of silence, Spruance turned to look at the combat staff officer on the side and ordered, "Attack the group of planes and attack the fortifications on Johnston Island." After a pause, he said, "Those two patrol boats will also be sunk, and their heroism will be fulfilled." ”

More than a hundred warplanes wreaked havoc on tiny Johnston Island, destroying all defenses. And the two brave patrol boats were not surprisingly sunk. More than half of the hundreds of Ming defenders were killed and wounded, and all kinds of heavy weapons were lost. However, the US fighter jet unit did not attack the airfield because they still had to use the airfield.

"Blew up the airport!" The commander of the Johnston Atoll Garrison in Daming looked at the messy position and the wounded and dead everywhere, and shouted with red eyes, "You must not leave the airport for the Yankees!" ”

The Johnston Atoll Garrison has done everything it can. Having lost the resistance they used military explosives to blow up the island's main and only major building, the airfield. After the Americans landed, it took several days to clear the place.

The loss of Johnston Atoll was like a blow to the Ming Pacific Fleet. The fleet, which had been waiting for a long time, could not wait any longer, and they had to head south to retake this important reef. Because American bombers can take off from here and come to the Hawaiian Islands for bombing and reconnaissance. This is something that the Ming Navy cannot tolerate.

Just as the Pacific Fleet of the Ming Navy was busy building forces and preparing to go south to retake Johnston Atoll, another piece of bad news came from Kiribati, which was even more distant. A large American fleet appeared in the waters off Kiribati.

Johnston Atoll is small in size, and the strength of the garrison is negligible. Therefore, the U.S. Task Force 58 successfully captured the reef with the support of the fleet with only one Marine Corps. The supply ships that followed the fleet's operations then dropped their supplies and sapper units on the makeshift docks, as well as boxes full of aircraft, and began to use the reef. Kiribati is different.

Kiribati, also known as the Gilbert Islands. Kiribati is a transliteration of the indigenous language of the local Micronesian people. The island is located in the west-central Pacific Ocean, directly south of the Hawaiian Islands. The southeast of the Marshall Islands and the northeast of the Solomon Islands are also a group of islands and reefs.

This is a typical equatorial climate, the weather is hot and humid, the temperature is maintained at about 20 or 30 degrees all year round, and the annual precipitation is about 1,600 mm. The island is flat and there are no higher mountains. It mainly grows coconut and pandanus.

Unlike Johnston Atoll, the land area here is very large. With a land area of more than 300 square kilometers, Kiribati is definitely a very large island. In the middle of the circular island is a lagoon deep enough to moor large ships. The Ming Dynasty built three airfields here, and dozens of warplanes were stationed.

In addition, the Ming Dynasty also built a port and a variety of facilities and fortifications here. The total number of military personnel of all types on the island is about seven thousand. This is not something that the Marines who follow the fleet can take.

As a result, the U.S. Navy's Task Force 57, which was tasked with attacking the area, had a large landing fleet within its establishment. Approximately two Marine divisions, with a force of nearly 30,000 men, will seize the island with the direct support of Task Force 57. In charge of the campaign to seize the island was Vice-Admiral Halsey.

"Left full rudder!" On the bridge of the Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Franklin, the flagship of Task Force 57, the captain tightly manipulated the rudder in his hand and killed the rudder to the left. The huge aircraft carrier is like a dark whale, leaving a white trail on the blue sea.

"Boom !!" With a loud bang, on the sea not far to the right of the Franklin, a huge column of water rose into the sky, and the highest point of the water column was almost level with the battleship. This is a heavy armor-piercing bomb dropped by a dive bomber of the Daming Navy. Unfortunately, it didn't hit the target.

"What a brave bunch of soldiers." Vice Admiral Halsey, who was smoking a pipe, shook his head slightly as he watched the Ming dive bomber, torn to pieces by the dense anti-aircraft fire, plunged headlong into the sea not far from the left front of the Franklin.

Since the discovery of the 57th Task Force, the shore-based aviation of the Ming Navy stationed on the island of Kiribati has poured out of its nest and launched a decisive attack on this fleet, which is far more powerful than itself.

Nearly 70 warplanes were wiped out under the crossfire of hundreds of U.S. Navy air defense fighters and the dense anti-aircraft fire installed on the ships. However, they also wounded the USS Valley Forge and sank a U.S. Navy destroyer.

"Alright." Halsey clapped his hands, drawing the attention of everyone on the bridge to himself, "The enemy attack is over, it's time for us to perform." Order the attack group to strike at once! ”

Task Force 57, which has eight large fleet aircraft carriers, is very powerful. They sent two waves of more than 100 attack waves to bombard Kiribati island. All airfields on the island were destroyed, and many positions were destroyed. However, these fighters did not find the small local fleet of the Ming Navy mentioned in the intelligence.

"No boats?" After receiving the report from the front-line aircraft, Halsey put down the message with only a slight surprise. For a miniature fleet of no more than a few small boats and an old destroyer, it was not enough to enter his eyes. He thought the miniature fleet had fled early. After all, the difference in strength between the two sides is so big, staying is just a waste of death.

"The artillery fleet is moving forward to carry out artillery attacks, and the boys of the Marine Corps are ready to officially launch a landing operation tomorrow during the day." Halsey quickly gave the latest order.

Soon, the artillery flotilla consisting of several heavy cruisers and a destroyer sped away from the Grand Fleet and accelerated in the direction of Kiribati. They will clear obstacles for the marines with their own large-caliber artillery.

The sound of intensive artillery fire resounded throughout the afternoon, and the Ming defenders, who had been attacked by the heavy artillery of the US Navy, did not choose to return fire, but endured it silently.

The heavy weapons in the hands of the defenders could hardly threaten the battleships that were drifting on the sea. Once the target is exposed, it is very easy to be destroyed by American warplanes hovering in the sky. The defenders decided not to say a word, gathering strength and waiting for the Americans to let their blood flow when they landed!

As the fiery red sun began to sink below sea level, the sub-fleets of Task Force 57 had already begun to eat dinner. In the early sky, the fighter planes that had ravaged the defenders all day gradually began to recycle to the aircraft carriers. Not only the fighters, but also those reconnaissance planes returned to their motherships one by one.

The mentality of Americans is still relatively relaxed. After all, with the help of powerful anti-submarine forces and the cover of bad weather, they successfully got rid of the tracking of the Daming ocean-going submarine and successfully arrived near their intended target. The Ming garrison here is very weak, and the nearest dangerous Ming naval fleet is far away in the Hawaiian Islands, and they feel very safe.

It's just that the Ming Navy is not an ordinary opponent! (To be continued.) )