"The 1st Marine Brigade was fully disembarked by the time the telegram was sent, and was largely unharmed except for the part of the artillery lost during the sea. Your Majesty, Oahu will be able to take it soon. ”

"I hope so."

The summer heat in Nanjing is unbearable, so much so that every time Zhu Lingjing will involuntarily think about the various methods of escaping the heat without air conditioning in ancient times.

The battle for Oahu has been going on for more than two months now, and the stakes are so high that any progress will be presented directly to the Imperial Front.

"The Governor's Office said that after the failure of the enemy's frantic counterattack on the island, it was just a remnant of the defeated army, and the army must be discouraged." Su Yiyi, who looked relaxed, looked out the window and said confidently: "There is an elite brigade to participate in the battle, and the enemy is just around the corner." ”

"Yes." Zhu Lingjing smiled indifferently and said leisurely: "The 'First Marine Brigade of Zhou Beizhao' has arrived, and there is no suspense." ”

After getting along for so long, Su Yiyi quickly reacted, "Your Majesty, uh......"

"It's nothing, it's just that he has won so many battles in a row, and he is almost tied to this Marine First Brigade." Zhu Lingjing shook her head slightly, "I don't care, but some people do." ”

For her, how to arrange Zhou's hot potato next is a big trouble, and it is really a headache.

was young at first, and now he is only thirty years old, but he is only a year old; Then there is the junior seniority, from the little-known major to the current major for only four years; Moreover, according to the criterion of "merit theory", such a promotion is completely reasonable.

However, the problem is that in many cases, the criterion of merit is not applicable, and a mature and well-established political field cannot tolerate such special cases.

In the same matter, Zhu Shiyan will be much more comfortable, he means that after the battle of Oahu is over, he will transfer Zhou someone from the front line and return to Beijing to take up a post in the staff office of the Metropolitan Governor's Office, which can be regarded as a disguised snow hiding for a period of time.

Considering that after the capture of Oahu, both the Ming and American armies will inevitably have to regroup their forces, at least half a year or at most a year, there will be no big waves in the Pacific Ocean.

Therefore, it is obviously better to let Zhou go back to his hometown to make suggestions, sum up experience, and guide military training.

"Thousands of miles to the plane, the vicissitudes of the ferry are like flying!"

"Hahahaha, this one is good, since the war started, we have traveled half of the Pacific Ocean by boat."

"Pacific, I hope it will be peaceful in the future."

The main generals of the 1st Marine Brigade gathered together to hold a meeting on the battlefield, although they were all on Kuah Island before, but Zhou was not there, so of course it cannot be called a "gathering".

Zhou Changfeng raised his left hand and glanced at his watch, and said lightly: "There is still half an hour left in the countdown to the general attack, so let's take our places." ”

"Order!"

The officers rushed to their units in off-road vehicles or sidecar motorcycles.

In the distance, there was a melodious sound of artillery, and it was the two mountain guns on the 585 heights bombarding any exposed American targets with impunity and condescension.

The US officers and soldiers couldn't figure out how the Ming army brought the barreled artillery to the cliff, maybe the mortar could be carried on the back by manpower, but it was a barreled artillery, and the lightest parts were dozens of kilograms.

Unfortunately, it is now difficult to counter the Ming artillery stronghold on the hill of Koorao Ridge - even the slightest miss will miss the target, either flying over it or crashing into the middle of the mountain and exploding.

There was such a scorching emergency situation in the rear, but the Ming army on the front line would not wait any longer.

At 13:45 p.m. on August 3, preparations for artillery fire before the general offensive began.

The specific plan for preparing for fire was still in accordance with the habit of the perimeter wind - the total time was shorter, but as violent as possible.

The sound of rolling and thunderous artillery rang throughout the Haleiwa area, and the depths of the Ming army's positions flashed one after another, and hundreds of shells were poured onto the American positions.

Several Ming warships anchored in Kenaka Bay were also firing, and the battleships Zhenguan and Yonghui came to replace the Longshuo, which had been damaged and was waiting for repair.

The two battleships used their three triple 352mm guns to fire alternately half-salvos at the measured American positions, and the smoke and dust from the large-caliber anti-personnel blast shells were exceptionally large, and the smoke and dust mixed with the surging flames looked particularly terrifying.

The earth shakes and the mountains shake!

The Haleiwa defense line arranged by the US military was crumbling under such a powerful bombardment, and at this time, the Ming Air Force was also involved, and dozens of dive bombers and twin-engine light bombers flew to the destination under the escort of a large number of fighters.

One of the Type 36 light bombers took a special guest, a war correspondent from home.

One after another, the bombs fell out of the bomb magazine under the belly of the plane and slowly fell to the land below 2,000 meters.

After a few moments, I looked down and saw that the large area below had been covered in a cloud of dust. The dull sound of explosions became somewhat distorted and strange because of the interference of the roar of the plane's engines.

The bomber formations and the massive explosion of bombs were recorded on camera and inscribed on small films.

[Picture]

At 14:00, two red flares flew into the sky on time.

The trumpeter checked the reed of the suona, and then blew the horn that represented the initiation of the attack.

Suddenly, the sharp sound of suona and whistle were mixed together, and soon mixed with the shouts of the soldiers, and the US defense line seemed to have been overwhelmed by the indomitable momentum at this moment.

In addition to the 14 Type 38 A medium tanks in the 1st Marine Brigade's convoy, the remaining 3 Type 38 heavy tanks available in the 1st Battalion of Assault Vehicles also participated in the attack.

The 1st Battalion of Attack Tanks initially lost maintenance units on the way to sea, and continued to suffer losses in a series of battles after landing on the island.

At present, there are 11 heavy tanks in the remaining part of the battalion to be repaired - so that the number of completely destroyed tanks is not very large, mainly because the negative impact of the lack of effective protection has exacerbated the losses.

He did not believe the reconnaissance report provided by the 17th Division, and insisted that "seeing is believing, and the results of one's own investigation are the most reliable."

Therefore, the 1st Marine Regiment has carried out many infiltration reconnaissance and fire reconnaissance from last night to this morning, and the results are very satisfactory.

Because the failed counterattack lost too many troops and equipment, the defense line can be described as leaking everywhere - for example, a position is just right to be defended by a fully equipped company, but now that most companies have been reduced by half, how can it be possible to ensure a tight defense?

The troops were stretched thin, and it was difficult for a skillful woman to cook without rice, and the US commanders could only barely fill the most critical areas by demolishing the east wall and making up the west wall.

The officers and men of the 1st Marine Regiment, who had been on the battlefield for a long time, were extremely sophisticated, and they were able to find out the details of the enemy in front of them and find out a number of weak joints.

Accurate intelligence, proper logistics, and high morale were the cornerstones of victory, and the 1st Marine Regiment undoubtedly achieved all of them.

Less than half an hour after the battle began, a huge gap was torn open in the Haleiwa line.

Knowing the current predicament of the US army, the Ming army marched forward with confidence, marching south and rapidly approaching the Wheeler Army Airfield in central Oahu.

At 15:17, an hour and a quarter of an hour after the launch of the general offensive, the Haleiwa line had collapsed.

The remainder of the 7th and 9th Divisions began to retreat, and some of the troops were divided and surrounded by the rolling Ming army, and although they resisted to the death, they were destined to be unable to wait for relief.

Brigadier General Charles White had long anticipated a possible bad situation, so an organized retreat was planned in advance. However, the current road to the south is still difficult, and the air raids of the Ming army aircraft have greatly interfered with the retreat operation.

In addition to bombing the logistics line, the killing and wounding of personnel by aircraft is far less effective than the blow to morale, and continuous air raids can inflict a heavy blow on the spirit, and can significantly delay and disintegrate a force.

Gunfire was constantly heard from the back of the retreating procession, which was the troops covering behind the hall exchanging fire with the pursuing Ming troops.

The road east of Wheeler Army Airfield is a bleak picture of burning trucks and jeeps, estimated to be hundreds, with many dead bodies interspersed between the damaged vehicles, and steel helmets, water bottles, shovels, and other equipment scattered everywhere on the ground.

At 16:25, a rapid search detachment consisting of two Type 40 wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicles and three off-road vehicles approached the Wheeler airfield.

They made a detour of several hundred meters, and from the northwest they rushed through the outer line of defense and rushed onto the runway of the airport in the face of bullets fired from all directions.

I saw the wreckage of more than a dozen planes lined up at the end of the bomb cratered and dilapidated airfield, all of which were P-40 fighters and B-18 bombers that had been destroyed on the ground a few days ago.

"Hahahaha, this bullshit defense line is really leaking on all sides, and the donkey skills are poor!"

"Stop talking nonsense, go around the east, and then hurry away."

"Damn! Chariot! Enemy tanks in the direction of ten o'clock, ten o'clock ... Seven hundred meters. ”

Two Jimsi trucks and an M2A4 light tank appeared seven hundred meters away in front of the left front of the Ming army's search detachment, and the white five-pointed star painted on the side of the tank's turret was clearly visible.

Strike first!

The two Ming reconnaissance vehicles immediately aimed and fired, and the roar of the machine guns "boomed", and the two fire whips were staggered towards the American tank.

In these years, armored vehicles did not have a vertical stabilizer, and the accuracy of firing between them could only be described as casual, but the continuous fire of the cannon showed a unique advantage in the exchange of fire in this situation.

The commander of car No. 4 observed at least three shells hitting, one ricocheting and the other two should have actually penetrated - the M2A4 light tank was weakly armored and should not be able to withstand the 20.8mm armor-piercing tracer rounds.

I saw that the tank stopped after firing the second shot, and a wisp of black smoke came out. Seconds later, the top hatch of the turret was pushed open, and several U.S. tank crews hurriedly abandoned their vehicles and fled.

Suddenly, a loud bang came from the distance on the right hand, and a large mass of flames burst out and swelled to a height of tens of meters, and a scorching wave of air whistled and blew!

This was the nervousness of the American sappers at Wheeler Airport, who mistook the search detachment for the attack of a large Ming army, so they hurriedly detonated the underground oil storage tank......

The U.S. resistance in this area was lackluster, and the original plan was to delay the Ming attack for six hours, but because of the unstable morale of its own troops and the great confusion of the position, the whole line was defeated in only two and a half hours.

The only place where there was a fierce battle and repeated attacks was a 207-high ground at the eastern foot of the Wyanai Ridge in the west.

The reconnaissance battalion of the 1st Marine Brigade encountered this tough bone after completely annihilating an infantry company of the American army, and about 50 enemy soldiers were stationed here, armed with many heavy machine guns and mortars, in an attempt to slow down the advance of the Ming army.

The battle continued until sunset that day, when the officers and men of the reconnaissance battalion paid a heavy price of 19 killed and 50 wounded before pulling out the nail that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

At the same time, the 7th Infantry Regiment of the 17th Infantry Division was cut off by the rapidly advancing 1st Marine Regiment due to its slow movement, and it was soon encircled.

At 17:30, the follow-up 2nd Marine Regiment then launched an attack, carrying out centripetal assaults from the east, west, and north.

The flares never stopped, and at least five dazzling points floated in the sky at any given moment, illuminating the area as if it were daylight.

The isolated and severely understaffed 17th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army came to an end that night.

The tail flames of the rockets tore through the dark sky soaked in the sunset, the Type 40 wheeled assault guns that accompanied the advance dumbed out any exposed machine-gun fire, and the large numbers of Marine infantry shouted and charged, and many American troops were killed in foxholes by grenades......

The battle lasted until midnight, when the regimental commander, Lieutenant Colonel Hallett, was killed by mortar shells while retreating with the regimental headquarters, and the regiment was subsequently destroyed, and the regimental flag was found under an overturned jeep by Ming officers and soldiers who were cleaning the battlefield.

This is the first time since the beginning of the war that the Ming army has captured a complete regimental flag, after the 8th Regiment of the 4th Marine Brigade also captured the regimental flag of the 19th Infantry Regiment, but unfortunately it was in tatters.

The gunfire gradually stopped in the second half of the night, but it took a lot of effort to capture the rout of the American troops that had run all over the mountains.

Zhou Changfeng slept very deeply this night, and for most of the month, he had never been so relaxed mentally.

When he woke up refreshed, it was the morning of August 3rd.

"How's the troop doing?" He asked as he brushed his teeth.

Zhao Hanfeng propped his hands on the table and stared intently at the sand table, "The enemy still has a defensive line left north of Pearl Harbor, and a regiment stopped in front of the enemy formation to gather the team, and now we are waiting for the reconnaissance detachment to withdraw to see how the enemy's position is deployed." ”

"Looks like we're going to meet that 296th Regiment."

"Yes, the only enemy on Oahu that is fully armed, that's all."

Zhou Changfeng glanced at the sand table full of small red and blue flags, "Tell Xue Can, just be neat, finish the work, and then don't need me to teach, right?" ”

By 8:00 a.m. on Aug. 3, U.S. forces on Oahu had withdrawn to the Kipapa Line, just three kilometers south of Pearl Harbor.

Brigadier General Charles White, commander of the ground forces, was promoted to the rank of major general in the Army on instructions from Washington, in which the War Department described him as "brave, intelligent, and sound in command."

"Any substantial reinforcement would be more useful than this piece of paper." Charles White complained.

He is now powerless, Oahu has become a mess, and it is only a matter of time before it falls, and the latest statistics show the current embarrassing situation of the US military-

Only 7 companies of the 7th Infantry Division remained to reach 50% personnel, and the artillery units had 13 howitzers and 2 anti-tank guns left; Only 2 companies of the remaining 9th Infantry Division were combat-ready, and only 8 howitzers remained in the entire barreled artillery.

Although the 501st Airborne Regiment was fully formed, it was only half of its strength, and only the 296th Independent Infantry Regiment, which had been cobbled together with the garrisons withdrawn from Wake Island and Midway, was the most complete at the moment.

The most ironic thing is that because the Ming army's air raids and previous counterattacks were too wasteful, there was also a shortage of artillery shells in Oahu's stockpile, mortar shells and howitzer shells were basically exhausted, and the shore defense artillery shells were extremely abundant, but they could not turn their guns to bombard the Ming army coming from the north.

The Pacific Fleet Headquarters building was bombed by Ming planes, and at this moment, smoke was rising from the piles of rubble and rubble, and there was a crowd of people, and this was the Navy personnel who were burning tens of millions of pages of documents and materials.

Not long after Brigadier General Charles White received the order for promotion, Chester Nimitz also received instructions from Washington to evacuate Pearl Harbor by submarine and continue command at Hiro (the island of Hawaii).

(End of chapter)