afterglow

Chapter 523 Reinforcements arrive; our army is clear!
Day and night change, and one day later Oahu is covered with dark clouds, the gray and dark sky is flashing with thunder and lightning, and heavy rain is pouring down.

At the dock and simple transfer area at the beachhead of the Mokapu Peninsula, the shouts of the Ming army soldiers were blurred and distorted by wind, rain, thunder and lightning. Everyone was busy covering piles of supplies with waterproof canvas to protect them from wind and rain. .

After nearly three days of hard work, as of noon on July 7, even though the US military tried every means to obstruct it, the total number of Ming troops landing on the island had exceeded 20, and a large amount of equipment had been delivered relatively complete to the shore.

The current Ming army in the northeastern part of Oahu consists of all the units of the 4th Marine Brigade, only the floating tank battalion is missing, which is still on standby on Kauai; there are also the first batch of the 3rd Marine Brigade, 6th Regiment and 3rd Battalion to land.

他们所拥有的身管压制火炮有18门80㎜榴弹炮和18门112㎜榴弹炮，以及两个团的团属突击炮队共12辆轮式突击炮，坦克完全损毁3辆，还剩11辆可用或可修理。

"...It is enough to stabilize the position. After the remaining two thousand men of the Sixth Regiment arrive, we will not add more troops to them for the time being."

Zhou Changfeng held two blue pencils in his left hand and a red pencil in his right hand, and drew two small circles on the map.

After saying that, he looked at Jiang Xuan, who was a few meters away, and said thoughtfully: "Air force... you make your own arrangements to ensure a smooth entry, so as not to be suddenly bombed by the enemy."

The last large-scale attack planned by Jiang Xuan to seize air supremacy in one fell swoop was indeed a major advance in conquering Hawaii.

He performed his duties as the frontline commander of the aviation force very well. He was worthy of being a capable person specially dispatched from the mainland by the Metropolitan Governor's Office, and he lived up to expectations.

It is not a problem to produce low-power aero engines by itself, and the aluminum output is enough for its own use, but more powerful aero engines rely on imports, and the same goes for aviation gasoline.

After a while, they got closer, and through the telescope they could see their own ships flying flags with white letters on a blue background.

When the sun fell below the sea surface, this fleet from afar finally sailed into Naweliweli Bay and began to unload the full load of officers, soldiers and equipment.

As a result, our own aviation force has a foothold on Oahu, and some fighter jets are about to move in. The aviation force's range of activities and attack efficiency have expanded, and the balance of victory will naturally favor the Ming army.

Except for the two infantry divisions whose troops come from Hamgyong Province as field forces, the rest of the army are independent regiment and brigade-level garrison units, and their quality is worrying.

At dusk that day, many boat shadows appeared on the sea west of Kauai.

The Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station was repaired quickly after it was controlled by the Ming army; Bello Airport is still under work and is expected to be repaired tonight.

In fact, the Busan Naval Shipyard has the ability to build thousands of tons of warships. In addition to the turbines still relying on imports, the weapons and equipment can also be partly solved by themselves. However, the North Koreans are leisurely dawdling in the context of this war. In fact, The progress of the project is far behind the shipbuilding plan.

The navy is also in a terrible state. In addition to two light cruisers and nine destroyers, there are only auxiliary ships such as minesweepers, minelayers, and submarine hunters.

In addition to the 17th Division, there were also two servant army units, namely the Korean 21st Regiment and the Japanese Defense Forces Second Brigade Search Brigade.

The Navy was also more cautious this time, or out of a sense of psychological security, and ultimately rejected the plan to allow this precious giant ship to be fully loaded with personnel and supplies and travel thousands of miles alone.

In fact, the best sailing strategy for this kind of high-speed cruise ship is to travel alone for thousands of miles. If you follow the fleet and sail at a slow speed of 10 knots, you will be more vulnerable to attack.

That is the luxury super cruise ship Suzaku, with an actual displacement of 7.1 tons and a maximum speed of 29 knots. This ship alone can carry nearly officers and soldiers.

However, this is the first time that the Ming Dynasty Navy has used it for ocean transportation missions. Previously, it only dared to allow the Suzaku to travel between Dagu and Guam.

If sailing alone, the Suzaku could maintain a high speed of 21 knots for a long time and speed across the vast ocean. Even if the enemy's slow submarines discovered it, they would not be able to keep up with it and could only watch the giant ship speeding along and disappearing into the distant sea horizon.

If we encounter a continuous war of attrition in the future, there is no guarantee that Ming Dynasty will still export aero engines. After all, Ming Dynasty Air Force also needs them.

Because of their dependence on their superior country, the Koreans, who were clinging to the throne, were in a state of ruin beyond imagination. Even after the Ming Dynasty ordered them to strengthen their armaments, they did not see much progress.

The only one that is still qualified is the air force. The North Koreans have established a good-quality fighter and seaplane force, but there are also hidden dangers of excessive consumption and no usable aircraft.

The most eye-catching thing is one of the sudden giant ships, which looks like a hill. At first glance, one might think that it is a battleship.

They are the 17th Infantry Division of the Army, a unit organized in Huzhou Prefecture with a long history.

The two airports were also renamed as Ningyuan Airport and Pingyuan Airport respectively.

The North Koreans' countermeasure is to stockpile more in order to be prepared, but the problem is that aviation technology is advancing rapidly, and the 800 to 900 horsepower stored in the warehouse are now outdated.

The reason why the additional troops to Hawaii this time were to bring along some slave country troops was purely because the imperial court wanted to evaluate and test their combat effectiveness.

On the battlefield of the South Asian subcontinent, the Annan army, navy and air force, which cooperated with the Ming army in fighting the British army, performed reasonably well, at least they could complete the defense or containment tasks well.

Zhou Changfeng didn't like these two slave country troops very much. He felt that they were a waste of precious transportation capacity.

The next day, the remaining members of the 6th Regiment of the 3rd Marine Brigade set off by boat to go to the Mokapu Peninsula as the last temporary reinforcement.

The 17th Infantry Division of the Army that has just arrived still needs a day or two to rest and recuperate, and it will also take time for various heavy weapons to be transported to the landing ship one by one.

The resume of Zhong Dexin, the commander of the 17th Division, is relatively unique. His family was originally engaged in business, but due to the lack of foundation, there was a risk that it would be difficult to maintain it for a long time. While his father was looking for a backer, he also firmly believed that forging requires one's own hard work, so he asked his younger son Zhong Dexin to He joined the army and studied at Yanjing Armed Forces College.

The first impression that this teacher in his prime left on Zhou Changfeng was that he was shrewd, and his words and deeds showed that he was good at making small calculations.

"I arranged the landing deployment in the Haleiwa area like this. With Kenaka Bay as the boundary, the beach in the north is divided into two sections, Beach A and Beach A, and Puweji Beach in the south is also divided into two sections, Beach B and B. and Ototan.”

Zhou Changfeng pointed to an aerial photo and explained the arrangements for the beach grabbing operation.

"The two beaches in the north are under the responsibility of the 3rd Marine Brigade and 5th Regiment. They are mainly defensive. You don't have many troops. Don't take risks. Just hold the beachhead position."

The confident Yu Daixin clasped his fists and accepted the order: "There is a town behind this beach. There are many houses, so it is easy to delay the process."

"Your 17th Division will be responsible for B1 and B2 in the south. Open up a large enough landing site. For the time being, it's enough to push four or five miles south, and clear Kenaka Bay to the east." Zhou Changfeng continued, looking towards Zhong Dexin.

The latter's expression was calm, but there was no full agreement in his words. He just nodded and said: "It all depends on the arrangements of the imperial edict. After we get ashore there, there is a river to the east that is suitable to be used as a barrier to block the enemies on the east side."

"Of course, if things go well, the day-and-night advance suspension line can be extended to this point." Zhou Changfeng, expressionless, took out a red pencil and drew a line on the map. "Eight miles away from the coastline, large forces cannot go deeper."

Next, Jiang Xuan, who is in charge of the Air Force, also talked about the support plan throughout the process.

Since the Air Force has consumed too many aerial bombs in the past half month, the existing aerial bombs are relatively tight and cannot continue to squander it.

And because Zhou is not willing to wait for the transport fleet that will arrive six days later, the bombing by our own aviation forces will be greatly reduced during this landing operation.

"...the amount of bombs dropped will be much less, the targets of deep air strikes will be limited to individual intersections and assembly areas, and the number of sorties will be fewer. You must be prepared, the enemy's dispatch may become faster."

After finishing speaking, Jiang Xuan glanced around at everyone present. "It's okay. What are you afraid of? The enemy forces on this island are all poorly organized and in disarray." Yu Daixin was very confident.

Although the bombers lacked aerial bombs and had to reduce their sorties, the fighter jets were no problem. They had more than enough bullets and plenty of aviation gasoline.

And because dozens of fighter jets have been stationed at the airport on the Mokapu Peninsula, Oahu's air supremacy has become stronger.

In the next two days, preparations for the landing operation were in full swing.

On the pier of Naweliweli Bay, barges sailed back and forth, and small boat-like traffic boats also kept going back and forth between land and ships.

Someone was waving small flags with both hands, guiding tanks and armored vehicles to slowly drive into the landing ship; soldiers carrying bags and rifles lined up in long lines and boarded the freighter along the springboard...

June 7, afternoon.

Kauai is as sunny as ever, but the Fleet Meteorological Unit has given a worrying estimate - there are more cumulonimbus clouds around Oahu, and another storm may be coming.

Followed by a series of inquiry telegrams, some from the court, some from the emperor, and some from the governor's office.

"'The situation is good, don't worry, just wait until the 38th Division and the 1st Marine Brigade are in place.' Just give them a unified reply. I don't have much time to chat with them!"

"Yes."

After careful consideration, Zhou Changfeng decided to carry out the landing operation as originally planned.

He asked the Air Force to bomb the roads, railways, and railway yards in central Oahu two hours in advance and to use double the amount of bombs dropped.

Jiang Xuan reminded that this might result in the aircraft being out of ammunition, but Zhou still insisted on this order.

In the middle of the night on July 7, countless ships left Kauai.

Looking down from the night sky, you can see the dazzling navigation lights flashing on the dark sea.

Not long after, in order to prevent collisions and sneak attacks by US submarines, the escorting destroyers on both sides fired flares continuously, illuminating the originally dark sea brightly.

At dawn, Zhou Changfeng sat aboard the amphibious command ship Lu Xun. Under the escort of the fifth formation commanded by Major General Wei Yingchun, the huge landing fleet approached the northwest waters of Oahu Island in a mighty manner.

第五编队本来只有北落师门号轻型航母、2艘水上飞机母舰、1艘轻型巡洋舰、6艘驱逐舰、3艘火力支援舰，现在又得到了3艘轻型巡洋舰、9艘驱逐舰，还有永平号与章和号战列舰的加强。

The landing operation was carried out by Fomalhaut's carrier-based aircraft detachment for direct air cover, and the remaining warships provided shore artillery support.

At 7:23 on July 5, the fleet began artillery preparations for the planned landing area in the Haleiwa area.

The huge roar of the Jianwu-class battleship's twin 384mm main guns penetrated the sky, and hundreds of kilograms of anti-explosive bombs fell, erupting into surging mushroom-shaped smoke.

The whistling sound of "咻廻廻廻" was sharp and ear-piercing, and 144㎜ rockets flew towards the beach, triggering a series of dense explosions.

6：49，从考爱岛威远机场和怀远机场起飞的16架战斗机、23架俯冲轰炸机、11架双发轻型轰炸机飞临瓦胡岛中部。

Transportation facilities that had been bombed many times before were now attacked again on a scale far greater than before.

The screams and roars of falling aerial bombs were continuous, dust was flying, and smoke obscured the sun. The roads and railways repaired by the US Army Corps of Engineers overnight were once again destroyed.

The sleepers were broken and shattered, the rails were bent and deformed, and the Y3 steam locomotive manufactured by the Norfolk and Western Railway Company was overturned to the ground by the shock wave of the bomb.

The 501st Airborne Regiment, as the general reserve force, was ordered to move to the defense line near Wheeler Army Airport. However, due to serious losses in transportation facilities, they can only march there on foot.

The 602nd Tank Destroyer Battalion also received the same order. It was even more difficult for them. The M75A2 half-track equipped with a 1mm field gun had been plagued by continuous mechanical failures due to its heavy load.

At the same time, in the Haleiwa area, the Ming army had begun to land on the beach.

Dark clouds gradually enveloped the top of the head, and the blue sky became darker and darker, finally turning into gray.

At 7:27, the first echelon of the fifth regiment of the third marine brigade took more than twenty landing craft and rushed to the beach together with dozens of amphibious tanks from the floating tank battalion.

At the Luxun's bridge observation station, Zhou Changfeng stood behind a thirty-fold observation mirror, carefully observing the progress of the battle.

Suddenly, a white light flashed and a drop of water fell on him.

"Boom——"

The loud thunder resounded across the sky and the sea!
The number of raindrops also increased rapidly, and within ten seconds it became a heavy rain.

A few minutes later, the first Type 35 amphibious tank rushed onto the land, its tracks rolling over the beach of Haleiwa.

On a width of about three kilometers from southwest to northeast, landing craft and amphibious tanks rushed onto the beach, and a large number of Ming troops swarmed to land.

The U.S. military resisted little or almost no resistance on the beachfront. The Ming soldiers could only hear sporadic gunshots - some of which were accidental shots from their own side.

However, the downpour and the suddenly strong sea wind caused a lot of trouble.

Compared with the first echelon, which was generally smooth, the formation of the second echelon was chaotic, and many landing crafts went astray. They planned to go to B1 Beach and landed on B2 Beach, but the reinforcements of A1 Beach broke in by mistake. Kenaka Bay…

The US military's shelling also started at this time. 75mm and 105mm high-explosive bombs fell one after another, and a series of explosive points instantly appeared on the beach.

However, this did not cause much hindrance to the Ming army, especially the 3rd Marine Brigade and 5th Regiment that landed on Jiayi Beach and Jia2nd Beach. With their experience, they maintained order and dug temporary bunkers, and began to send reconnaissance teams and patrols deeper. .

The Army's 17th Infantry Division was in slightly worse condition, but Zhong Dexin's shrewdness was well proven - they had been stranded on Saipan for two months before, but they did not waste their time. Zhong Dexin planned multiple attacks of varying sizes. The landing exercise can be regarded as laying a relatively solid foundation.

Behind Zhou Changfeng, a lieutenant colonel and staff officer couldn't help but sigh: "Tsk, tsk, tsk, it seems to be going well so far. Our army is moving smoothly."

The former was speechless and said quietly: "This is just the beginning, don't talk big."

【Picture】

(End of this chapter)