Since March 8, when Zhou set off from the mainland, the Ming Air Force began to further send additional units and ammunition to Rabaul.

On the same day, a total of 51 Type 36 B fighters of the 15th Squadron of the Fourth Destroyer Detachment of the Air Force were stationed at Rabaul No. 2 airfield.

The next day, a total of 34 Type 36 C bombers of the Second Squadron of the First Light Bombing Detachment of the Air Force were stationed at Rabaul No. 5 airfield.

Three days later, the seaplane carriers Weishanhu and Xihu arrived at Rabaul port with 13 water fighters and 16 Type 38 water reconnaissance planes.

That night, the No. 127 fleet also entered the port safely, and five merchant ships brought a large number of aerial bombs, aviation torpedoes, aviation gasoline, and spare parts for various types of aircraft.

After clarifying the general situation of the enemy on Kuah Island, the navy set the date for the launch of the operation on March 17.

In these days, as long as the weather permits, the Daming Air Force stationed in Rabaul will organize an air raid on the Kuah airport.

The Air Force dropped more than 2,000 bombs, claiming to have shot down or blown up 31 US planes of various types, and lost 11 fighters and 8 bombers, but in fact only destroyed 20 enemy planes.

Although the results reported by the Chinese side are not accurate and true, they did significantly suppress the US air force stationed on Kuah Island and created good conditions for the next landing operation of the ground forces.

As the key to the landing operation, the naval force should be more important, but the Ming Navy, which is concentrated in the Central Pacific region, seems to be a little inadequate.

The improvised T-shaped 42nd Squadron was marked with the battle cruiser Yuanxing as the flagship, and the newly restored Amagichi Ugaki was also added to the sequence.

In addition to the capital ships, there are also Qilianshan heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, 9 destroyers, 3 minesweepers, and 2 submarine hunters.

By studying the aerial photographs, the naval staff officers roughly estimated the size of the US task force deployed in New Caledonia to be about 3~4 heavy cruisers and 9~11 destroyers.

Knowing this, you don't want to draw more powerful forces?

This was because the Ming Navy was also preparing for an offensive against Midway and Wake Island, and many warships needed to be brought into port for maintenance and rest after the Battle of Tarawa.

This back and forth, there are not many warships that can be used.

At the moment, it was already a bit difficult to piece together the T-shaped 42nd fleet, and the Yuanxing Battle Patrol and the Qilianshan Heavy Patrol were both fatigued battles - they were transferred again after a few days of rest after the Battle of Tarawa.

Such a configuration worries the Perimeter style, the offensive and defensive warfare in the Pacific is too special, and it is very dependent on naval power.

When you have naval superiority, you may suffer from poor coordination and deplete your ground forces, let alone if you don't have an advantage.

However, Xiong Zhuguo, the commander-in-chief of the detachment, was full of confidence, as if he wanted to seize the time to chop melons and vegetables to end the battle.

This dark-skinned, bloody commodore has a bold personality, has long served as the commander of a destroyer formation, and his style is wide open.

On the dock of Moresby Harbor, he pointed to the Yuanxing moored not far away, and said disdainfully: "The battle cruiser was born to hunt and kill the enemy's cruisers, and Brother Zhou can put ten thousand hearts at ease, but if you look at the enemy's heavy cruisers, there are three heavy cruisers, but the actual fight is not enough at all." ”

At noon the day before departure, a briefing on the situation of the US forces on Kuah Island was finally printed.

These ink-scented pamphlets were immediately distributed to each squad, describing what the enemy was about to face based on known information.

These pamphlets, which were only a few pages, indicated that the U.S. forces on Kuah Island were divided into two parts: the Army and the Marine Corps, the former being well-equipped but lacking in courage, and the latter being well-equipped but more combative.

In addition, some examples of the 40th Infantry Division's previous battles in the Battle of Johnstone were reproduced, and the evaluations and feelings of the officers and men were excerpted.

Interestingly, to this day, the 1st Marine Brigade has never fought against the American army, not even the ragtag American troops in the Philippines, and it was the 2nd Marine Brigade that participated in the pacification of Luzon at that time.

Zhou Changfeng reminded his subordinates not to take it lightly and to be prepared for a tough battle, and suggested that the soldiers mail everything valuable back to China.

However, the officers and men of the 1st Marine Brigade did not think so, and most of them felt that Zhou was overly worried.

We have experienced three major wars in Malaya, Java and Papua, and have rich experience in jungle warfare. A few people have even contracted malaria five times, and joke that they have long been used to it.

In terms of fighting a tough battle, no matter how stubborn and tenacious the US military is, can it compare to the Australian army in the Battle of Darwin?

"Britain and the United States are carved out of a mold, pampered, cowardly, and unbearable.

"Our opponents are all recruits, and they haven't fought before, so I'm afraid that if we don't hear the sound of cannons, we will be so frightened that we will shrink into the pit and not come out."

"When Lao Tzu was fighting Xingzhou, he jumped into the trench and stabbed to death a tall British soldier, and the two people next to him immediately threw their guns and surrendered."

"Sin Chew doesn't count, the British are at the end of the road, the military is in chaos, the battle in Darwin last year was miserable, most of our team was killed and wounded, I came back from the injury to see, there were more than half of the faces."

Some of the soldiers reminisced with relish about their previous combat experiences, feeling that this time would not be more difficult than before.

While the Ming were preparing to carry out the operation on Kuah Island, the Americans were also trying to mobilize their troops and strengthen the defenders as much as possible.

After a vote, the U.S. military officially named the airfield built on Kuah Island after Major Richard, who died in the Battle of Tarawa.

Two reinforcements landed at Richard Airport over the course of five days, the first with 15 P-36 fighters and the second with 12 Australian Hurricane MkI fighters.

In addition, several transport planes also delivered a batch of urgently needed supplies - toffee and chocolate.

[Picture]

At midnight on 17 March, the weather conditions were basically in line with the forecast, and the operation began as scheduled.

After having breakfast in a hurry, the officers and men of the 1st Marine Brigade boarded the ship in the darkness of night, and the fleet officially departed from the harbor at sunrise and sailed southeast.

Zhou Changfeng left the bridge of the Yuanxing at this time, and he walked alone to the foredeck, and the sailors he met along the way all saluted in surprise.

The moist sea breeze blew on my face, and the salty smell immediately penetrated my nose.

The fleet maintained radio silence and controlled the lights, and the pre-dawn darkness seemed to swallow everything up, and even the neighboring warships could only see extremely faint shadows.

Gradually, the place where the sky and the sea meet in the distance has revealed the whiteness of the fish's belly, and the darkness will soon fade.

Zhou Changfeng's current mentality is like a candidate who is about to enter the examination room, and it is known that this examination room has been very anxious.

After most of the day's voyage, the fleet passed through the Luisiad Islands at midnight that day.

After dawn, there was sudden bad news that made people's hearts tremble - there were sailors on the Nanjing destroyer who were swept away by the waves, and although the lifebuoy had been thrown down, it was never seen again.

At 14:59 on March 18, the 42nd T-shaped fleet still had more than 400 kilometers left to sail from Kuah Island.

The light cruiser of the Atsojiang suddenly hoisted the signal flag of "enemy submarine found", and at the same time made a sharp turn, almost colliding with a destroyer next to it.

I saw that the officers and men of the Azok River used anti-aircraft guns to fire several points at the sea, and pointed out the location of the incoming torpedoes to the rest of the warships.

To be on the safe side, the Qilian Mountain Heavy Patrol also turned to dodge.

"Report! I heard a telegram coming from the surroundings, and it was probably the submarine! ”

"Pass the order, let Tianzuo prepare for war, and send a few planes out to be on guard." Xiong Zhuguo immediately ordered.

"Yes!"

In view of the fact that they have been discovered, it is impossible to approach Kuah Island covertly, and the US bombers at Kuah Island Airport may take off at any time to attack the island.

But unlike expected, the U.S. military did not carry out air strikes until nightfall, perhaps because it was too far away?

However, the fighter planes circling in the sky noticed that there was a PBY Catalina secretly watching from a long distance, and quickly fled when they saw the Ming fighters coming to chase them.

At 9:10 the next day, when the Yuanxing lookout post was already able to see the southern mountains of Kuah Island, the US air raid finally arrived.

Among the more than 20 planes, the Australian fighters and the US dive bombers were almost half apart.

The Type 37 carrier-based destroyer was slightly inferior to the Type 36 destroyer in terms of performance, and it was a bit difficult to face the Hurricane MkI fighter.

Fortunately, the pilots' priority now is to interfere with the attack of the dive bombers, and they cannot go all out to entangle with those fighters.

The damage caused by this weak air raid to the detachment was negligible, and apart from the downing of two carrier-based aircraft, only the Qilianshan Heavy Cruiser was hit by one aerial bomb.

On the evening of 19 March, the 42nd T-Squadron successfully reached Cape Esparnes, northwest of Kuah Island.

According to the predetermined strategy, the perimeter wind chose to land on a relatively gentle beach 2km southeast of it.

The U.S. military apparently maintained its focus on the Ming landing fleet and launched another heavy air attack.

Because the fleet was at anchor, 13 SB2U Defender dive bombers made multiple hits.

The destroyer Xichuan was hit by two 1,000-pound bombs and lost all power on the spot, and the captain hurriedly ordered to turn to the coastline in an attempt to rush the beach and run aground, but it failed.

Another minesweeper was sunk, and more than 30 sailors, who had not had time to evacuate, sank with the ship into the Iron Bottom Bay.

"Don't leave it at that, Brother Zhou must put himself first, be careful!"

Xiong Zhuguo personally led the main force of the fleet led by the Yuanxing and Qilianshan to shell the Kuah Island airfield, leaving several destroyers, submarine hunters, and minesweepers to protect the transport fleet and unload the 1st Marine Brigade.

Zhou Changfeng and several members of his entourage left the Yuanxing in a traffic boat and rushed straight to the beach of Kuah Island.

The boots on the soft, damp sand feel like Singapore, Darwin, and Moresby.

Not far away, landing craft were going back and forth to the beach and the convoy of transport vessels, transporting groups of soldiers ashore.

More than 40 amphibious tanks of the floating tank battalion also drove into the sea from the landing ships one after another, slowly heading towards the beach.

Soldiers wielding glowing signal sticks are directing traffic, dispatching vehicles ashore to drive deeper so as not to block the beachhead.

The officers of the battalions and teams were also commanding loudly at the top of their voices.

"Two teams in one row, two teams in one row!"

"In!"

"Take your people, go out two miles to the southwest to be on guard."

"Yes! Got it. ”

At midnight on this day, the temporary headquarters of the 1st Marine Brigade was completed.

Outside the tent, gasoline generators were humming, light bulbs were hung on the shelves inside, and folding tables and chairs were set up.

Xie Wancheng was supervising the unloading of heavy weapons at the beachhead, while Zhou Changfeng and Zhao Hanfeng were talking with several staff officers.

“…… As far as the distance in a straight line is concerned, the distance between the enemy and our armies is fifty miles, and in view of the difficulty of this place, the terrain coefficient must be calculated to be larger, at least one point two. Zhao Hanfeng said.

Zhou Changfeng bent down in front of the table, then picked up the red pencil brush and drew a line.

He looked at the few people present and said: "I intend to make such an arrangement, a main regiment will arrive at the hill on the south side of the airport on the 22nd, enter the starting position of the attack that night, and begin the attack at dawn on the 23rd; The 4th Battalion of the 2nd Regiment and the 4th Battalion of the Floating Combat Vehicle launched a feint attack on the west side of the airfield at the same time. ”

After pausing for a few seconds, he added: "The fifth battalion and the convoy are ready, and the feint attack on the west flank can turn into a strong attack at any time depending on the situation." ”

To the north of Richard's airfield is the sea, and the only three directions available for the Ming army to attack are south, east, and west.

The east side is definitely not good, it is necessary to make a big circle more, at least a day is wasted, and at the same time, it will consume too much physical strength of the soldiers.

On the south side of the airfield, there is a hill that the U.S. military named Adelson Heights, and it is surrounded by dense rainforest, which is very conducive to the concentration and concealment of infantry units.

Now that there is fleet support, in fact, Zhou can completely adopt a more radical strategy - using the brigade convoy as the spearhead, and directly along the coastline from west to east.

However, in this way, the flanks of your own attacking forces will be exposed to enemy fire from Adelson Heights, and there is also a risk of being cut off by the counterattack.

After careful consideration, Zhou Changfeng did not choose this tactic, and decided to give priority to capturing that hill and moving mortars, recoilless guns, and anti-aircraft machine guns to the top of it, so as to achieve an overwhelming advantage over the American army.

The sun rises and the moon sets.

Following the proactive style of the 1st Landing Brigade, Xue Can ordered the organization of two powerful infantry detachments to carry out combat reconnaissance missions in the southeast direction.

Both were based on infantry platoons, with an additional heavy machine gun, one mortar, and two rocket launchers, numbering more than 50 people.

The Ming soldiers trudged through the complex and bumpy jungle and finally reached an open field 1.5 km southwest of the target hill, Adelson Heights.

Just when everyone was about to rest for a while, suddenly, there was a loud gunshot!

"There is an ambush !!"

"Boom! Rumble! ”

The explosions of grenades also rang out one after another, and the dense bullets knocked down many people in a single breath.

"Hidden!"

"Da-da-da-"

"it! Protect the heavy machine gun and fight back for the girl! ”

Before the lieutenant who led the team could speak, the Type 37 heavy machine gun had already begun to roar.

Smoke casings flew out of the gunfire as the gunpowder whistled out, and the machine gunner rained dozens of rounds in a high-velocity pattern toward the flickering muzzle flame on the far slope.

The 7.36mm machine gun bullets scattered dirt and leaves in all directions, instantly overshadowing the old Browning water-cooled heavy machine gun!

Just ten seconds later, with a crisp "bang", the mortar shell smashed down with a scream.

"Boom!"

[Picture]

(End of chapter)