On the sea, the fleet that had stopped was quietly outside Manila. The sky was full of patrolling carrier-based aircraft, and except for the destroyers who were on guard against the Allied submarines on the perimeter, the remaining cruisers and battleships formed a line, with all the main guns aimed at Manila.

On the largest Huo Quai, it is located above the Pacific Theater Tactical Command Center, which is the command center of the battleship detachment of the South China Sea Fleet, also known as the combat service center. Controlling all the tasks and actions of the entire battleship squadron is the brain center of this battleship squadron.

And at this time, the naval ships attacking the Philippines, through temporary formations. At this time, Huo Qubing controlled a Kunlunshan-class battleship and all the air defense cruisers here, and its exclusive mission was mainly to support the marines on the ground and provide them with artillery attacks or cover.

In the temporary fleet command center, more and more information was coming in from the ground forces, and the fleet's naval guns roared an average of once a minute. This also shows the heavy ground combat mission and the defensive capability of the Japanese army.

"The ground forces called, the southeastern zone, coordinates XXXXXX, naval artillery support is needed, the target is three meters in diameter, it is a circular target. Our troops are fifty meters away from the target. ”

"Order the fire control center, with coordinates XXXXXX as the center, and twenty meters around as the key target."

"The ground forces called, requesting intensive fire support from rocket artillery, and the target of the attack was centered on coordinates XXXXXX."

"Command the fire control center, deliver this coordinate to the cruiser formation. Self-assess the intensity of rocket artillery attacks. ”

……

Voices like this continue to sound in this combat service center, and every naval communications officer waits for the headset, constantly answering the messages received by the wireless, and then shouting out loudly, and the combat commander conveys the order to attack to the fleet's fire control department.

On the ground battlefield, in Manila, on the battlefield where Lin Xiaohu and his company are located.

At the cost of two soldiers being wounded, Lin Xiaohu's combat squad destroyed the pillboxes on the east side, and the other two pillboxes lost their cover. Greatly reduced power. It was successively broken by two other groups of sharp knife squads. The defending Japanese troops were all killed, and none of them surrendered, of course, even if they surrendered. The Chinese side will not accept it either.

At this time, the Japanese army in the center of the city focused on defending the target. Already exposed to the offensive edge of the Marine Corps. It was not just the headquarters of the Japanese defense of Manila. It is also their biggest reliance.

They were able to capture three Japanese pillboxes so quickly, thanks to their mobile and flexible tactics, which gave full play to the melee advantage of assault rifles. And the role of the flamethrower is also very important. The two cooperate with each other, complement each other's advantages, and cooperate tacitly.

Of course, they could have called for artillery support, but the results were not very good. These Japanese bunkers were too strong, and unless they were hit twice in a row by large-caliber naval guns, they might be able to break through directly. It's like the Japanese defense group at this time, and the bunker on the shoals before. These unusually strong fortresses were not destroyed under the fire of naval guns.

It's not that China's naval guns aren't sharp, if their target at this time is the Yamato, then one shell can blast a hole of at least three or four meters. But when these naval guns are faced with thick reinforced concrete, it takes a lot of effort. It will be reinforced concrete under the action of steel inside, and it will have a lot of toughness. It's not that quick to crack.

The reason why they boldly built the defensive ring in the center of Manila under the attack of Chinese naval guns and aerial bombs is because these Japanese troops have enough confidence in the defense facilities in this area.

Indeed, neither the bombardment before the landing, nor the shelling after the landing, did not cause much structural damage to the buildings, which were completely surrounded by reinforced concrete. Even though the reinforced concrete outer structure on it is full of big holes that have been blasted open, it has not caused much damage to the overall structure.

Against such a guy, you might need a missile or a super-heavy bomb like the one used to bomb the three mountains. In this way, it will cause extensive damage to this defensive circle.

After more than ten minutes of hard fighting, all the personnel of the Sharp Knife Company quickly converged after completing the early attack mission. The wounded were left in the care of other units to help transport them to the hospital ship on the sea.

The others continued to advance into the city, targeting the Japanese headquarters. They weaved through at high speed, ignoring the attacks of a small number of Japanese stragglers hiding in the rubble, and rushed straight to the Japanese headquarters in the center of the city.

After passing through a piece of ruins, the Japanese headquarters stood impressively 100 meters ahead, and the outer defense line was divided into three configurations, with dense trenches and pillboxes, and barbed wire at the outermost edge, and the defense was extremely tight.

Lin Xiaohu, Zhang Dawen and others were the first to approach the Japanese headquarters, and immediately used a handheld radio (the oldest mobile phone, Super Super Big Brother) to directly contact the division headquarters, hoping to concentrate their forces on the key assault. In particular, the support of armored forces is needed.

The Japanese positions were heavily defended, and if the sharp knife companies attacked separately, it would be difficult to break through the Japanese defenses. At the same time, without the help of tanks, a forced attack will also cause huge casualties.

"Divisional headquarters, I am the Sharp Knife Company, and we have advanced to the Japanese headquarters, and now we are requesting support from armored troops. Please reply if you receive it. ”

"This is the division headquarters, and the roadblock trucks have been gradually cleared over to your side, and it is estimated that it will take another half an hour before the tanks can pass through. The other party is already a turtle in the urn, so you must be patient and do not attack blindly, so as not to cause unnecessary casualties. ”

"Sharp Knife even understands." After Lin Xiaohu finished speaking, he glanced behind him, and at this time, the other combat squads had already arrived. The company commander of the Sharp Knife Company was standing behind him at this time.

"How's it going?"

"Report to the company commander, I have already requested support from the division headquarters. It's just that the division headquarters said that it would take another half an hour for the tanks to arrive here. And the division headquarters asked us not to attack blindly until the tanks arrived. ”

"Continue to observe, and we can't let go of any disturbances." After the company commander finished speaking, he also took out a handheld radio from his backpack.

The scientific and technological content of this hand-held radio station is not very high, and it has appeared in the Marine Corps in the United States in the later stages of World War II. It is usually used as some sharp knife units, deep behind enemy lines. The limited communication distance makes this handheld radio station not suitable in some places. Generally, it is a call within 20 kilometers, and there is no way to receive it if it is far away.

After observing the Japanese defensive position, the company commander of the Sharp Knife Company used a hand-held radio to get in touch with the fleet, requested 20 minutes of artillery support, and reported the location of the Japanese defensive position.

After that, he ordered all the team members to retreat 20 meters, hide and wait, and watch the "fireworks festival" casually.

The Japanese troops were all hiding in the fortifications, and it was impossible to see their key defensive areas from the surface, so they could only bombard them with artillery fire first, destroying some fortifications and barbed wire on the ground to alleviate the obstacles during the attack.

The support artillery fire came in an instant, almost all of them were guns with a caliber of more than 100 mm, including twelve 406 mm naval guns, which were so powerful that one shot could collapse a building. However, this is only in peacetime, on the command of the Japanese army in front of you, and it takes a lot of artillery bombardment to be effective.

When the commander of the Sharp Knife Company transmitted the coordinates to the fleet combat service center, the combat logistics center looked at the coordinates and directly turned all the main guns on the Huo Qubing to this place. Because this is the key target of the Marine Corps, it is the most valuable and at the same time the most difficult bone to gnaw.

Hordes of shells roared through the air, and the sound of explosions came one after another, shaking people's hearts and ears.

The Japanese headquarters was covered with countless shells, and the already dilapidated surface defenses were now completely destroyed. The iron horses that had been bent and deformed were completely cleared in a blink of an eye, and the barbed wire fence was also blown to pieces, revealing many gaps and losing its blocking effect.

And the Japanese headquarters is still standing under artillery fire, the outside is constantly reinforced, layer after layer of reinforced concrete walls, the inside is also very large, the inside is reinforced with coconut wood and sandbags, the top is twice the thickness, unless it is a 406 mm caliber heavy artillery direct hit more than twice, otherwise it is difficult to penetrate and destroy.

The naval guns of the Temporary Assault Fleet of the Chinese National Defense Forces continued to attack continuously for 30 minutes, as if they wanted to vent all their anger, and there was no intention of saving shells, and they bombarded non-stop.

Never before had the Japanese troops hiding in the fortifications encountered such a heavy artillery fire, and the previous shelling had only been non-stop, and never had there been such a powerful and intensive shelling of a place.

In the face of such fierce artillery fire, feel the sound and vibration of the artillery that continues to invade from all directions. Many Japanese soldiers were blown up and lost their minds, rushed out of the fortifications with shouts, ran and bumped into each other, and were blown to shreds on the spot, turning into a mass of minced meat and scattering in all directions.

The company commander found that the artillery bombardment of the attacking fleet seemed to have lost control, and the artillery preparation for the scheduled 20 minutes had expired, but there was no intention of stopping, and the bombardment density was gradually increasing.

By this time, a large bulldozer had moved to the back, and the conical propulsion surface, with the roar of the high-horsepower engine, pushed the large rocks on the ground to both sides. Remove a road for the tank units in the back.

Thinking of the shelling that was still going on at this time, he already somewhat understood what was going on. Obviously, his request for support must have been altered. Of course, there is probably also the fleet's dissatisfaction with the building in front of it, which was originally an indestructible naval gun. I had encountered a helpless mountain before, and now I have encountered a building that cannot be blasted open in a short time.

There is no way for them to accept the mountain, after all, it is a product of nature, and the size has long been defensive. But now the target is several buildings, this is not a war fortress, and if it is blocked by such a thing, of course the attacking fleet will be very unhappy. It's also a very normal thing to hit a few more times, anyway, on the integrated supply ship, there are too many shells. When it runs out, the integrated supply ship can also quickly return to its home port to resupply and come back. (To be continued.) )