After the positions on the beachhead were secured, the follow-up troops began to gradually land. At this time, the Japanese troops on the island seemed to have disappeared, and there was no trace of them.

Night soon fell, and the officers and men began to light a fire and cook on the spot, exhausted from a day's fighting, and the sweltering heat made many people almost dehydrated.

Several tracked landing craft sent a large amount of normal saline, and the officers and men did not have the equipment to take water for the time being, so they had to drink this to quench their thirst and replenish the salt lost in their bodies.

However, the cooking squad of the 1st Division still managed to get a hot meal of potato and beef stew for the officers and men, and although the weather was sweltering, a hot meal was still the only comfort for the officers and men.

U.S. Navy units and their machinery and equipment went ashore to help the expeditionary force clear the bodies of the fallen soldiers on the beachhead. The American officers and soldiers, who had previously been prejudiced against the Chinese military, also had a deep respect for these warriors after this battle.

They witnessed the whole process of landing on the beachhead, and it can be said that it was a fierce battle that had never been encountered before, and there was no doubt that the people who were able to set foot on the beachhead in the face of a hail of bullets were warriors, and every one of them deserved respect.

U.S. officers and soldiers began to pack the bodies in body bags, each of which was registered and numbered according to the chest marking, and then gathered it on a nearby landing craft and transported it back to the ship at sea.

In the crowd, a chaplain would walk up to each body from time to time, drawing a cross on his chest.

To Mu Dan's surprise, they prepared many national flags, covered each of the sacrificed soldiers, bound them with body bags, and transported them back to the transport ship in the sea.

This wordless ritual made Mu Dan feel a dignity that he had never felt before, and he knew that on many battlefields in the country, in order to prevent bacterial infection, the bodies of the soldiers who died would be buried in a centralized manner, except for some high-ranking officers, and then a monument would be erected collectively.

In addition to the constraints of manpower and material resources, another important reason for this is the contempt of many senior commanders for the lives of ordinary soldiers, and this practice of stamping the national flag for the most ordinary soldier made him feel respect for a sacrificed soldier.

Yes, they all died for their country, and they deserve this highest honor, whether he is a general in a high position or the most ordinary soldier.

When Mu Dan was in his trance, the herald ran over and told him, "The division commander ordered, go to the headquarters now." ”

He knew that this must be a new mission, so he handed the uneaten half jar of beef stewed potatoes to the orderly next to him, and ran towards the division headquarters in a hurry.

When they arrived at the tent of the headquarters, the other military commanders had already arrived, and Division Commander Dai looked at the map and began to deploy, "Our goal tonight is to occupy the Japanese airfield in the west of the island, which has been bombed by the US military before and is now grounded. But the Japanese must have placed heavy troops there. After we recaptured it, the U.S. military was able to complete the laying of steel plates in one day, and the airport was restored to emergency take-off and landing functions. ”

Division Commander Dai concisely introduced the basic situation, everyone's faces were full of solemnity, there is still a distance from the airport, if you want to take the airport, in addition to dealing with the Japanese at the airport, you must also guard against the Japanese soldiers who may come out of the ground at any time.

There is no doubt that this will be another bloody battle.

"Captain Gao." Division Commander Dai's gaze turned to a gray-faced Gaoji regiment commander on the side, "You lead the troops and take the airport tonight." ”

Gao Jiren's eyes flickered, and then he immediately said, "Yes!" ”

As soon as the words fell, a gunshot rang out outside, and everyone's eyes were immediately attracted, followed by a sparse burst of gunfire, followed by the sound of a tower in response from our machine guns.

"What's going on? Check it out. Master Dai folded the baton in his hand and asked sharply.

After a while, a guard staff officer ran in and said, "Division commander, Japanese snipers." ”

"What about casualties? Did you catch it? Deputy division commander Xiong Xiaosan then asked.

The guard staff officer shook his head, "Beat seven of us, six of us were killed on the spot." Didn't catch one. ”

Hearing this, Dai Anlan's brows furrowed slightly, and Xiong Xiaosan followed up and said: "The Japanese are good at raiding, and they will send snipers to be small and big, and they can't be taken lightly." ”

"Cha Liangzheng!" Master Dai shouted to Mu Dan on the side.

"Yes!" Mudan stepped forward.

"Take the spy company and dig out this group of little devils." Senior Commander Dai ordered.

"Yes!" Mu Dan snapped upright, turned around and shouted to the person, "Spy Company, follow me!" ”

……

Around the islands and reefs, there are traces of shelling everywhere, and the bushes not far away have been blown up, and the debris and branches of the bushes are lying in a mess, and it is from here that the Japanese snipers have just started shooting, and it is clear that they are hiding in the bushes.

The officers and soldiers of the special service company began to bend their waists and slowly grope their way towards the bushes, because it was a dragnet search, they needed to protect themselves when they were advancing, Mu Dan waved his hand, several people waved shovels to dig the advancing foxholes, and some people crouched behind the bushes and guarded with guns.

Others sweated through the woods with sapper shovels and machetes, and the thick, dense shrubs were shelled, but the remaining roots and stumps were still difficult to cut down. There was a deathly silence in the bush, and the only thing that could be heard was the grunting of officers and soldiers digging foxholes and cutting down trees, and the heavy breathing of officers and soldiers.

Before this battle, Mudan wrote a poem called "Bombing Tokyo",

"Our long nightmare, our chaos,

Our poisonous days are long overdue,

It's just that there is a link that it refuses to relax,

Blow it up so that our wounds can be closed. ”

He had longed to take the poem with him into Tokyo, to set foot on that island nation, and to accomplish the joy that a victor should have, but on this night, which was as dead as a night, he had to abandon those ambitions, because every battle could kill you.

After searching a distance of several hundred meters, there was no trace of Japanese snipers.

Perhaps these devils had already run away, but just when everyone was relieved, suddenly, a soldier who stood up was shot by a bullet that pierced his skull, and the white* and blood jumped out.

"Sniper! Sniper! Nine o'clock! The officers and men roared loudly, and all the fire was fired in the direction of nine o'clock, and for a time the bushes where the bullets hit were beating wildly, and all the officers and men instinctively crouched down, but there was no movement on the opposite side.

"Do you want to rush over and have a look?" Commander Wu of the spy company asked Mu Dan in a low voice.

Mu Dan shook his head, "It's not appropriate to risk the past, cover the fire, let * go up." ”

The spy company did not have a configuration, but before the battle, each company was assigned to the company according to the requirements, mainly because the Japanese often hid in the tunnels, and * was one of the most effective weapons against them.

This tall and stocky flamethrower was temporarily matched, and the team called him a black egg, with a bit of ridicule, after Mu Dan beckoned him over, he gestured to him, pointed to the position in front and said: "We cover you, you go and burn that piece clean!" ”

After the black egg was ordered, he slowly moved forward with his waist bent. Mudan was on this side directing the fire cover, and the light and heavy weapons once again opened untargeted fire on the opposite side, and the bushes jumped wildly again.

After the black egg groped for the predetermined position, he lay on the ground and raised the head of the gun, and after pressing the ejector, there was a boom, and a fire dragon suddenly sprang up, and the dark night suddenly brightened, and the surrounding bushes were crackling, and the smell of fresh plants burnt mixed with the smell of gasoline immediately diffused.

Sadly, there was no sign of a single person.

"Strange!" When Mu Dan was puzzled, the black egg waved his hand to this side, and then he yelled, "Sir, come and see this!" ”

As soon as Mu Dan waved his hand, the officers and men of the special service company immediately rushed forward, and in the bushes, under a burnt stump, was a narrow tunnel entrance.

No wonder the Japanese snipers were out of nowhere, they had already dug countless wooden piles like this on Peleliu Island, and such an exit extended to undoubtedly be the underground base of the Japanese army.

Mu Dan wiped the sweat from his face, and he called the herald and said, "Quick, report this situation to the division headquarters!" ”

As he spoke, Company Commander Wu took the lead, holding an M3* and preparing to go down from there with a few soldiers, but was stopped by Mu Dan.

He waved his hand to signal the black egg to come over, and asked him to aim the muzzle of the * into the hole, and with a bang, there was a cry of a Japanese soldier crying and screaming from inside.

"Throw *! Throw*! Company Commander Wu and his entourage threw * down one by one, and after a dull bang, there was no movement inside, only the sound of crackling and still burning.

At this time, Company Commander Wu went down with people, but except for a Japanese soldier who was blown to pieces, there was no one else.

The tunnel inside had been blocked, which means that the Japanese had long thought that it might be discovered, so they abandoned the hole.

This method of warfare that the Japanese had developed in the bushes was found in more places, and there were dozens of them on the beachhead alone. What's even more surprising is that the Japanese have very cleverly set up several gates, and these pit entrances are full of twists and turns, and the crossings are also buried with triggers*, so you need to be extra careful when entering.

The next step was to drive the more than 10,000 Japanese soldiers out of the underground, and there was no doubt that everyone knew that a difficult battle awaited them.