A few days ago, Fan Canyuan's unit, like other battalions, built concrete obstacles one after another along the coastline.

However, when burying concrete piles in the shallow water, the soldiers found two black, tentacled balls among the coral reefs all over the place, and then confirmed that these were mines laid by the U.S. military before, and it is estimated that they drifted out of the laying area at that time, and then they have been stuck here.

The sapper unit then reset the fuses of the two mines and removed the glass bottles filled with electrolyte in the lead tentacles.

These are two Mk6-type mines, filled with 300 pounds of ammonium picrate.

Fan Canyuan felt that since Zhou was able to use a few light aerial bombs with dumb fire that had been planted in advance to give the British a blow to the head, wouldn't his two mines be more energetic?

Therefore, he applied to keep it, otherwise it would have to be dismantled and recycled. Because the superiors think that they are going to bomb the Americans anyway, they have the same goal, how can they not bomb it?

Fan Canyuan knows that there are many uncertainties in his thoughts, where should such a big thing be buried so that it won't be discovered? Moreover, it is necessary to avoid being lured by US artillery fire.

Someone proposed to take advantage of the night to send people to quietly touch the place two hundred meters in front of the position, where they would use the ready-made craters to carry out a second excavation, and then drag the mines over and lay them!

However, the problem is that such a burial point is only more than 100 meters away from the starting point of the US attack, and it is closer to the Americans than to their own people.

In the end, Fan Canyuan decided to adopt another method, which was to put the mines in the shelter of the forward position, and wait for the enemy to attack the position before detonating.

This is more secure, the disadvantage is that the polygonal trench will greatly weaken the scope of the explosion, and it is not comparable to the radius of an explosion in an open field, and this position must be actively abandoned, so as not to accidentally blow up to one's side.

Fan Canyuan's abacus was very shrewd - the superiors did not ask to stick to the forward position, and this place could be abandoned at any time.

Anyway, it is enough to ensure that at least one mine detonates, and as long as it is successfully launched, the number of enemies killed will definitely be more than the random few shots fired by your own platoon.

That night, the soldiers pushed two mines into two shelters about 100 meters apart in a straight line.

Everyone didn't know how to transform the two into electronically controlled detonation, so they simply placed a few blasting canisters and more than a dozen packs of two-tael explosives blocks under the bottom for detonation, and connected the electric detonator and wire.

Two wires were laid for each mine to reduce the possibility of failure if one was blown up, and telecommunications were connected to a concealed observation post 150 meters behind the forward positions.

The night from June 11 to June 12 was unforgettable for the entire U.S. Army 7th Infantry Division

A group of fledgling rookies were assigned to counterattack the so-called "American territory" here, and the daytime landing operation suffered heavy casualties, with more than 300 officers and men killed and wounded, and as many as 1,000 wounded.

Due to the extreme lack of experience, there are many omissions in all aspects, resulting in a large number of avoidable losses.

For example, U.S. military medical personnel underestimated the casualties, the plasma and painkillers on the beachhead quickly ran out, and the temporary change of the supply and delivery plan was quite troublesome.

The division headquarters first went to ask the field medical battalion what medicines to be supplied, and then contacted the navy after receiving a reply, and the navy had to go to the ships carrying military supplies to look for them, so the plasma and painkillers were not delivered until more than three hours, and they were sent to the wrong beachhead!

At 21:37, the Blue Second Beach was the first to receive medical supplies, followed by the Red First Beach, but the Yellow One Beach, which was in the most urgent situation, did not receive it until 22:26.

The continuous artillery bombardment of the Ming army never stopped, and the mountain artillery regiment of the 3rd Marine Brigade took turns firing throughout the night, usually in groups of two guns, and carried out an hour-long equal rate of fire on the target beachhead, with a total of 120 rounds.

The officers and men of the Ming Dynasty in the forward positions also continued to attack with cold guns, and some preferred the Type 35 semi-automatic rifle, while others preferred the Type 21 bolt-action rifle.

The M2A4 light tanks that were destroyed during the day had not yet burned out, they lit up the surroundings like bonfires, the guns rang out, and soon the American troops near the wreckage of these tanks fled in a hurry.

Throughout the night, the U.S. fleet kept firing their cannons, ensuring that flares were floating in the sky at all times, as if the night would swallow up the troops on the beach as long as there were no flares.

Many people breathed a sigh of relief when the eastern sky revealed the whiteness of the fish's belly, and the night came to be known as the Night of Death.

After daybreak, Brigadier General Charles White ordered the beachheads to organize armed reconnaissance to test the enemy's defensive disposition.

From the beachhead from Hongyi to Huangyi, the US military successively dispatched a number of combat patrols to pierce the forward positions of the Ming army like needles, in an attempt to find out the specific layout of the positions and lure the concealed fire points to open fire.

Since Zhou Changfeng did not have many troops here, the defense was weak, and it was easier for smaller American patrols to break into position.

Six hundred meters in front of the Laner beachhead, a patrol of Company B of the 32nd Infantry Regiment jumped into the trench one after another, and then a fierce exchange of fire broke out with the Ming troops who rushed to hear the news.

Unlike the hard-pressed Marines, the U.S. Army now has a completely new arsenal — armed with an M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle or Thomson submachine gun, wearing an M1 steel helmet, and an automatic rifleman wearing an M37 ammunition belt.

This kind of firepower was quite ferocious in close combat, with both sides strafing and throwing grenades at each other, and the fight was inextricably linked.

Twenty minutes later, the patrol retreated.

According to the results of the armed reconnaissance, Division Commander Charles chose to attack the Ming army's positions behind the Laner and Huangyi beachheads, with four companies responsible for direct attacks, and three other companies to take over or reinforce at any time.

"If successful, we can secure a position that is 1,500 yards wide and 1,000 yards deep, but it will be a dangerous salient and I think we have to be prepared."

"It's sir!"

The 57th Field Artillery Battalion, which had completed its tactical deployment on the beachhead, began to attack the forward positions of the Ming army, covering all exposed firing points and suspicious targets.

The Ming artillery then opened fire, forcing the American artillery to hastily suspend fire preparations.

The US planes that arrived from various airports on Oahu also carried out fierce air strikes that seemed to cover the sky and the sun, and the results seemed to be very good, but the US troops who had suffered bloody losses yesterday no longer believed what they saw with their eyes.

At 11:48, the cowering 7th Infantry Division finally began to take the initiative.

The 1st Battalion of the 21st Infantry Regiment was ordered to attack the Blue 2nd direction, and the 2nd Battalion was responsible for attacking the Yellow 1st direction.

Usually the U.S. military is accustomed to having the first company perform assault missions, similar to the Sharp Knife Company, the second company is responsible for covering, feints, and attracting firepower, and the third company serves as a tactical reserve.

Under normal circumstances, the third company will not take over when the first company's assault is blocked, and only when the first company successfully opens a breakthrough, the third company will follow up to expand the results.

All of a sudden, rows of tea-gray figures appeared on the golden sand, and the roars of "go go go" and "move your ass" came and went.

[Picture]

Yesterday's fate of F Company of the 17th Regiment is still vivid, and it is becoming more and more exaggerated, which causes the soldiers to be quite uneasy, and no one wants to be chased all the way like yesterday's unlucky bastard, and then end up with a disgraceful death of being shot in the back.

"Bang! Bang! ”

The sound of gunfire came suddenly, and the soldiers hurriedly lay down.

The wounded who were shot let out a howl of pain, which was quite frightening, but the officers and non-commissioned officers were still urging, and everyone could only continue to move forward.

Surprisingly, however, resistance was minimal today, with no incoming fire other than sporadic gunfire.

The target positions had been blown to pieces by the fleet and aircraft, and the ground was littered with twisted, sectional barbed wire.

The 1st Battalion A Company "attacked" the Ming positions at a slight cost of four casualties, and the estimated stubborn resistance did not occur, and the dilapidated positions were empty.

The company commander took out his flare gun and prepared to load a blue flare into it, signaling that the place was under control.

At this time, a few hundred meters to their right was the first to take off a blue flare - this means that the E Company of the 2nd Battalion next door has also easily occupied the target position.

"Captain, they're a minute ahead of us." A sergeant said lightly.

But just as the captain loaded the flares and raised his gun to the sky, he was about to pull the trigger......

In the concealed observation post more than 100 meters behind the position occupied by E Company, several Ming soldiers confirmed that most of the invading enemy had entered the position.

The sergeant tossed the burning cigarette in his hand, took the detonator and shook the power crank a few times, then pressed it down hard.

"Boom! Boom!!! ”

The loud noise startled the commander of Company A, who was about to pull the trigger of the flare gun.

As far as the eye could see, a violent explosion rolled up smoke and dust in the sky, and the location of E Company was covered by billowing smoke.

Also shocked was someone from Zhou, who was far away in Kajini Mountain.

Two hoarse earth-shattering roars in a row made his heart tighten when he was in the command headquarters!

Zhou Changfeng immediately pulled out his legs and walked quickly to an observation port, and raised his binoculars with a frown to look at the direction of the explosion.

Could it be that such a violent explosion was caused by the fact that the ammunition depot was hit and exploded?

Or maybe the American battleship opened fire, and the explosion just now can only be done by large-caliber naval guns or heavy bombs.

"Someone! Call District B2. ”

"Order!"

Zhou Changfeng walked to the side and took the microphone, "Hey! Is the head of District B 2? No? I'm Zhou Changfeng, let your chief officer come and answer the phone! ”

At this moment, the forward position of No. 3 is filled with gray smoke and dust that is constantly spreading and reaching into the sky, and if you look down from above, there are two large pits that are very conspicuous.

The Mk6 mine already had a 300-pound charge, and Fan Canyuan's subordinates also added fuel to the fire by stuffing some explosive blocks and blasting canisters next to the mine, and the actual explosion power was by no means inferior to the ordinary shells fired by the battleship's main guns.

The Mk13 high-explosive bomb fired by the Iowa-class battleship weighed only 69.7kg of explosives, which is probably less than half of the amount here.

The terrible explosion tore apart the officers and men of nearby E Company on the spot, and the stumps, broken arms, and earth and rocks that flew into the sky fell within a radius of three kilometers.

Suddenly, the entire beachhead was as dead silent, and time seemed to stand still at this moment.

The Ming troops who calmly withdrew from their positions were also uncomfortable, and many people under Fan Canyuan's command were also shocked by the shock wave, and some people were unlucky, and their shoulder blades were smashed by a flying stone.

In the concealed observation post, which was only about 150 meters away from the bombing point, the three Ming officers and soldiers who were hiding in it were knocked to the ground by the rushing blast airwaves, and the overwhelming shock wave overpressure made them feel as if their internal organs had been punched.

"Tell Shangguan, don't worry, the movement just now was made by my subordinates, he was thinking about leaving some big surprise for this enemy last night, and I was afraid that he would reimburse hundreds of people in one go!"

"Well, I know."

Hearing the report of the chief officer of District B2, Zhou Changfeng's hanging heart was put down.

He didn't care how the front-line troops tossed up the big moves, it was a good thing to have such subjective initiative, and it was too late to be happy.

As for where the explosives came from and how they were carried out, it was not up to him as a commander to get to the bottom of it, and it was not enough to assign a staff team to senior commanders to share affairs.

In fact, Zhou Changfeng just cared about who was bombed, but now he knows that it is an American, so it doesn't matter.

Company E of the 2nd Battalion of the 32nd Infantry Regiment suffered combat attrition of more than 60 people in the explosion just now, a quarter of whom are likely to be classified as missing.

In addition, dozens of people were injured to varying degrees, and the commander of Company E was seriously wounded, and a whole company withdrew from the battle in a daze.

Suffering from this setback, the US offensive was forced to pause for more than an hour.

It was only at 13:30 p.m. that the 7th Infantry Division resumed its offensive.

After occupying the forward positions, the US forces advanced in depth, and the resistance they encountered increased little by little.

By 15:05, Company H of the 3rd Battalion reported advancing 600 metres and had captured an anti-tank gun and a field telephone.

However, the good times were short-lived, and the U.S. forces soon ran into the first line of defense—in fact, from this moment on, it was a real position.

The command post opened by the third battalion was discovered by the experienced Ming army because it was not hidden enough, and then multiple 80mm and 128mm mortar shells whistled down.

The battalion headquarters suffered heavy casualties, but the battalion commander, Major Ted, was spared because he was on the front line to direct the battle.

However, only forty minutes later, an anti-aircraft machine gun concealed by the Ming army on the flank seized the opportunity and opened fire suddenly, killing Major Ted and seven officers and soldiers accompanying him in one fell swoop.

In the face of the main defensive line carefully arranged by Zhou Changfeng, the three-and-a-half-hour attack of the American troops did not make an inch, and Company A of the 701st Tank Battalion, which was assigned to the 7th Infantry Division, strayed into the minefield because it got lost.

In the midst of the rumbling explosions, the US tank crews thought that they had been ambushed by anti-tank guns, and in a hurry, they drove around, and the result was even worse, as many tanks were damaged and blown up, and they had to abandon their vehicles and evacuate......

The clumsy performance of the Americans made Zhou Changfeng feel a little emotional, and facts have proved that the price of favoring the Americas is not small, and the result of the slack of armament is to spend twice or even three times the price on the battlefield to make up for it.

The current U.S. military is not the U.S. military that has been overwhelming and experienced in the past four or four or five years in history, and the Ming army here is not the Japanese army that was at the end of its rope at that time.

At the moment, it's like a rookie duel is ruthless, which is unfair in a sense, but unfortunately this is a battlefield, and there is no such thing as fairness.

Zhou Changfeng took a sip of the teacup, "Get ready, send a small good news in advance, it's a ...... Tell me peace. ”

"Yes!"

(End of chapter)