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Before the withdrawal of the original Japanese ground forces from Kuah Island, its main combat force, the 17th Army under the command of Lieutenant General Hyakutake Haruyoshi, had actually basically lost its combat effectiveness.

On the one hand, the attrition of a long-term fierce war with the US military is more important than that of Eastern Europe and North Africa in the hot and humid climate.

In addition to the whistling shells, mosquito bites, malaria rampant, and scarce supplies, the officers and men of the 17th Army were distressed.

By the beginning of 43, the 2nd Division and the 38th Division under the jurisdiction of the army were already on the verge of collapse.

All that was left of this arrogant army was a group of hungry skeletons, including their commander.

"Your Excellency, today we repelled three more attacks by the American army!"

The chief of staff, Major General Miyazaki Monday, was quite satisfied with the current situation, at least there was no danger of being driven into the sea by the enemy.

After transporting the sick and wounded, replenishing the strength of the two wings, and obtaining large quantities of weapons and provisions, the 2nd Division was regained its combat effectiveness.

The remnants of the 38th Division, which was in effect in name only, were withdrawn to Bougainville Island in the rear for repairs, or rather to wait for a major replenishment.

They were replaced by the 9th Division in Saipan, which was more combat-ready than their predecessors, and they were lucky not to sink a single troop carrier while crossing the sea.

The 11th Division, which was once part of the Kwantung Army, was not so lucky, and was ambushed by an American submarine on the way south, and directly hung an infantry wing.

"Well, very good, I believe that it won't be long before we can completely seize this island of extremely high strategic value!"

Lieutenant General Haruyoshi Hyakutake, who did not trust his assistant Miyazaki Monday, sent him to Rabaul to study aerial photographs.

At that time, it was a good thing to have a chief of staff by your side, at least if you encounter difficulties, you can discuss it.

The 17th Army now has three divisions and more than 70,000 men.

Each wing is equipped with a tank brigade of fifty "Leopards", and there is no problem at all in destroying the M4 "Sherman" of the American army.

"It's unbelievable that the base camp can actually draw troops from the Kwantung Army to support us!"

After seeing the telegram that the 11th Division would rush to Kuah's aid, Miyazaki couldn't believe the order on Monday.

The Kwantung Army was a maverick in the army, a unit that did not listen to the command, or a gang.

Half of the army's many elite divisions and regiments are gathered there, and there is no threat from the Soviet Union moving south, and life is very leisurely.

Fortunately, under the management of Umezu Mijiro, this military group that went its own way finally showed signs of improvement.

"yes~! Half a year ago, we were still worried about our troops and supplies! ”

Hyakutake Haruyoshi is telling the truth, fighting on Kuah Island, and if there are not enough troops, he can't defeat the U.S. army.

If there are enough troops, there will be insufficient food, everyone will have to starve, and in the end they will not be able to defeat the American army.

In the end, there were not many troops left, and there was not much food left, and it seemed that the officers and men of the 17th Army were more like fleeing the famine.

In this southward battle, the 11th, 12th, and 14th elite divisions were all from the Kwantung Army.

However, for the sake of predecency, the 11th Division was assigned to the 17th Army of Lieutenant General Hyakutake Haruyoshi.

The 12th Division was assigned to Lieutenant General Anda XXIII, commander of the 18th Army, who commanded the attack on Port Moresby.

The commander of the 8th Front, General Imamura, who coordinated operations in Rabaul, could directly transfer the 14th Division.

The three divisions were not organized into a single corps because they had no experience in fighting on tropical islands.

Even if the new German equipment coefficient is installed in the troops, they may not be able to exert their maximum combat effectiveness.

After two or three months of study, coupled with the words and deeds of the brother troops around him, it will be much easier to fight with the US army.

"It seems that in order to seize the islands of the South Pacific, the base camp has made up its mind!"

At first, Miyazaki thought that the base camp was just thinking about the strength of the Eighth Front, but later heard that there were bigger moves.

"Except for the U.S. military, the strength of the other enemies here is not very strong. As long as we have the oil and coal of the East Indies (Indonesia), and the rubber of Malaya, we can be invincible! ”

With the Minas oil field on the island of Sumatra, Japan's embarrassing situation of having no oil to recover has been somewhat alleviated, and at least it should not be a big problem to ensure the operation of the combined fleet.

What Hyakutake Haruyoshi didn't say was that this was under the premise of the full support of the Divine Envoy, otherwise everything would be an unattainable mirage.

As early as a few months ago, at the Imperial War Meeting, with the consent of Prime Minister Tojo Kochi, Chief of Army Staff General Sugiyama Moto, and Emperor Daiharata Higashi Minoru Minoruhiko.

The base camp decided to transfer 20 to 25 divisions from a certain large country and the Burma battlefield to the south to help the islands of the South Pacific and launch an attack on Australia.

If India is not attacked, Burma is not so important, and in Southeast Asia, as long as Thailand and the former French Indochina are held.

The British army, which was fighting in Burma, was somewhat caught off guard by the sudden and drastic retreat of the Japanese army, especially since the other side abandoned some important strategic nodes that had been captured after a bloody battle.

The commander-in-chief of the British forces in India, Admiral Auchinleck, was not sure whether this was a ploy by the Japanese to lure the enemy deeper, so he did not act rashly.

Allies who are fighting in concert with them are faced with a double choice, to stay on the battlefield in Myanmar or to go back and grab territory!

Because this was also the case on the battlefield of a certain big country, the Japanese army decided to conditionally give up part of the occupied area after consultation with the other side.

The condition referred to here is that the other side must use gold to buy weapons for the Japanese army, and second-hand and brand new products can be chosen!

It has become meaningless and worthless to fight millions of people on the other side here, and it is better to pack up and go to the South Pacific.

If you can only eat one steamed bun and cake after all, everyone will choose cake without their brains getting into tons of seawater.

The Tojo chick with the small belly chicken intestines and the god make the adult look inseparable, on the surface perfunctory this kid, secretly very wary of this uninvited guest.

Anyone who threatens his power, Tojo Chick will do whatever it takes to clean it up.

Yamashita Fumi, who was known as the "Malay Tiger" in Southeast Asia, was transferred by Tojo Chi to manage the Kwantung Army, which was empty-eyed, because of his high military achievements.

Now let this "tiger" come out of the mountain again, firstly, because Yamashita is familiar with fighting in the tropics.

Second, Tojo Chick also wanted him to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor on the battlefield, and in the end he was directly killed by the US military, which was perfect......

After the base camp made a strategic decision, three divisions and regiments were transferred from outside the Guan, and seven divisions and regiments were recruited from the Guan, which is equivalent to the establishment of five armies.

Since weapons and ammunition, and even tanks and armored vehicles will be sold to the former enemy, the troops will be lightly armed, so the retreat is very fast.

It took less than two months for these troops to go from handing over the defense area, assembling and boarding ships, to arriving at the frontline areas in Southeast Asia and receiving new equipment.

Within the Kwantung Army, there was great dissatisfaction with the arbitrary decisions made by the base camp, which they believed was far more strategic than the mainland.

Even if he gave up his homeland, he could not give up the Kanto, but the commander of the Kwantung Army, Umezu Mijiro, still faithfully obeyed the orders of his superiors.

Under the premise that the Soviet Union had no desire to go south, and Japan did not have the need to attack northward, the Kwantung Army would not enter the pass to fight, so there was no need to continue to retain such a large number of combat troops.

Both the base camp and Tojo Chick want to take this opportunity to completely eliminate this rebellious bastard group.

As long as they are transported to the South Seas, it will be much easier to pack them up, which is no better than fighting on the mainland.

When they arrived on the island, if they still went their own way, they would directly let the navy cut off the supplies, and look at the plight of the defenders of Kuah Island.

"Think about it, as long as the vast number of officers and soldiers work together, the empire will be able to obtain an entire continent in a short period of time, where there are no earthquakes and tsunamis, the territory is vast, the products are abundant, and the climate is pleasant, which is very suitable for the residence of Guomin, isn't this the vision pursued by the emperors of the past dynasties?"

Under the deception of Wakatsuki Shin, capturing the whole of Australia has become the preferred strategy of the base camp.

Australia has 7.61 million square kilometres, which is 20 times the size of Japan.

Surrounded by the sea and sitting on the advantage of two oceans, it contains tens of billions of tons of iron ore, hundreds of millions of barrels of oil, and other natural resources are also extremely rich.

This is irresistibly alluring to the base camp, especially since the population of this country is only 10 million.

It was decided that the enemy's mobilized forces would not be very high after all, which greatly reduced the difficulty of occupying this place.

It would be nice to be able to move from a small island full of dangers to a large island full of supplies.

It's a long way from the continental United States, and even from Hawaii, where the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet command is located.

If Australia can be seized quickly, then Washington will be beyond the reach of no matter how thunderous it is.

If it succeeds, then Tojo Chick will surely become famous for all ages, surpassing Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi combined.

"Boom ............"

There is just one small obstacle, and that is the US military on Kuah Island!

The 17th Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Haruyoshi Hyakutake, was a stoic substitute who would not flinch in the face of mosquitoes, hunger, dampness, heat, and shells.

But the 1st Marine Division commanded by Major General Vandergraft on the opposite side is not a bully who is afraid of the soft and the hard, otherwise it would not have fought with them until now.

The 1st Marine Division landed on Kuah Island in early August last year, and more than half a year has passed since the battle.

Instead of being driven into the sea by the Japanese, this ace unit of the U.S. Marine Corps pushed the enemy into a small corner of the west.

Despite the merits of the US aircraft carrier task force and logistical support, it is undeniable that the 1st Marine Division is indeed brave and good at fighting, especially being able to learn war in the course of war.

One First Marine Division is difficult enough, and when the Second Marine Division and the 25th Infantry Division of the Army land on the island, Hyakutake Haruyoshi's 17th Army will only have the ability to parry, and there will be no power to fight back.

One of the main reasons why the 25th Infantry Division was later retained was that it had been one of the first divisions of the U.S. Army, and that it had fought on Kuah Island.

"Jack! Now I can be sure that I will not go to hell when I die! ”

In between the shelling of both sides, Corporal James took a sip of orange juice, looked at the dense rainforest in front of him, and said to his comrades with certainty.

“…… Why? Can you not predict the prophet? How did I not know? ”

Jack leaned into the trench, lazily smoking a cigarette, wondering when he would be able to return home and be reunited with his family.

"Because I'm already there!"

Anyone who hears what James is saying in his heart agrees with this statement.

Kuah Island is privately called the green hell by the US military, and it is the devil who fights them.

Only those with super perseverance and excellent luck can be removed and repaired intact.

During the attack, the U.S. military not only had to face the fortifications built by the Japanese army, but also the terrain was tortuous and basically had no way out.

And you have to worry about the Japanese snipers who are not afraid of death, hiding in the corner and shooting cold guns, and killing several people to kill each one.

It would be even better if the enemy launched the Pig Rush, and machine gun fire would be able to finish them off.

But since the beginning of this spring, this kind of good thing has hardly happened, replaced by endless attacks and stubborn resistance.

No one knows what these dwarfs, who don't seem to be as tall as their chests, rely on to keep fighting here.

The American officers and men suddenly felt that the closer they got to the end, the more they felt that the Japanese resistance was becoming more and more intense.

It dawned on them when they found a heavy tank (Leopard) capable of destroying the M4 "Sherman".

During the offensive, the U.S. military had to experience extremely brutal jungle warfare every day.

The degree of daunting is unimaginable for soldiers in other battlefields.

Bullets flew at the speed of the leaves, and before they could react, they could end the lives of many people.

Many times, the U.S. military is unable to identify and determine the specific location of the enemy, and can only use the method of dynamic coverage to carry out the sweep.

Even so, every step forward comes at a huge cost in terms of casualties.

Even the logisticians, who were only responsible for supplying supplies, had the highest respect for the soldiers who had been evacuated from Kuah.

After inspecting the battlefield and the wounded soldiers, even the generals said that hell is nothing more than that.

In order to capture Guadalcanal, which covers an area of 5,302 square kilometers, the US military has lost more than 40,000 men.

However, still by May '43, the U.S. forces on the island did not meet the strategic expectations of MacArthur and Nimitz.

The situation became more and more anxious, and the remnants of the Japanese army stubbornly held the small land in the northwest corner of Kuah Island.

Faced with the 1st Marine Division and the 25th Infantry Division of the Army, they still did not intend to abandon there.

Around this area, the two sides engaged in a three-month tug-of-war, and the losses were extremely heavy, which can be described as a river of blood.

Lieutenant General Halsey, commander of the South Pacific Theater, knew that once the Japanese abandoned the area, it would mean a complete defeat in the battle for Kuah Island.

So he encouraged his subordinates excitedly many times: "Boys, work hard! Let them know how good we are and drive all the Japanese into the sea to feed the fish! ”

As long as the enemy's sharp offensive to the south is thwarted on Kuah Island, then it is equivalent to regaining the initiative in this war.

In another half a year, they will usher in a powerful counteroffensive by the US army!