afterglow

Chapter 532 The counterattack ends; reinforcements are coming

"Such a desperate counterattack is a bit like the Ardennes Counterattack." Zhou Changfeng said with emotion.

This attempt to persuade him to surrender made him laugh - more like the Ardennes Counterattack.

The first signature on the surrender leaflet was Brigadier General Charles White, the supreme commander of ground forces on Oahu, and also included the signatures of a series of senior generals, including Chester Nimitz.

The flyer is printed in color, similar to a promotional poster, but it can be seen that it is a bit rough due to the rush of work.

The current situation is depicted on the front in a typical American comic style - more than 10,000 Ming troops were forced to retreat to a corner of the northwest corner of Oahu Island, with three big blue arrows pointing directly at it.

On the reverse side, sumptuous dishes, clean hospital beds, and words of persuasion to surrender were written.

"With this leaflet, you can enter the area controlled by the US military without any harm. We will provide food, hot water, and medical treatment."

"Be brave and escape from the officer's control. Please be responsible for your family. They still want to see you again! Come to us and survive!"

"Man, look at the sea behind you. You are surrounded. To save your own lives, please give up resistance."

What currently worries Zhou Changfeng more is the lack of ammunition. Due to the continuous bombardment by the US fleet at all costs, most of the supplies piled up and stored on the beachheads have been destroyed.

The sergeant who came with him made a chest-stroking salute facing the sea and said solemnly: "We must persist to the end, otherwise thousands of people from the army, navy and air force will die in vain."

Zhou Changfeng thought thoughtfully, "There should be such leaflets dropped on the entire front, which will have some impact on morale."

"How many rounds of propaganda bombs were fired like this?"

The total amount of supplies that had been transferred in advance and rushed back under artillery fire was only a few dozen tons. In addition to the basic ammunition carried by the combat troops themselves, the total amount was really small and had been exhausted in this day and night of high-intensity fighting.

The naval battle from the night before to the early morning of yesterday is still vivid in my mind, or the symbols of the naval battle are still there - countless pieces of debris and the corpses of naval officers and soldiers from both sides were pushed ashore by the tide.

Standing on the beach and looking around, the endless coastline is covered with remains of various shapes, and no one has buried them for the time being.

"Send the order, urge the Air Force. They want planes and ammunition now. Why are they still dragging their feet? Don't you like to show off? Let them send a few to show off."

"Reporting back to the commander, I can't count the exact number. I guess there are Bai Laifa."

"That's right, I didn't think much about it."

Although he had requested airdrop supplies from the Air Force on Kauai yesterday, Jiang Xuan refused on the grounds that "the enemy aviation has not been completely suppressed."

Although the decline of the aggressive US military is evident, God knows whether they will launch another desperate counterattack. If you are defeated in the last five minutes, you will regret it. It is better to replenish some ammunition to be on the safe side.

The pacesetter beside him threw away the burned out cigarette butts and said, "I can't care about it now. I'll wait until the battle is over."

"Tricks? Okay!"

The intelligence staff officer who had been working hard asked for instructions after hearing this: "How about ordering it to be confiscated?"

Some people couldn't help but said: "When will we close it up? How can we just expose the corpses on the beach like this?"

The soldiers below cheered, and cheers in three languages ​​rang out for a while.

Now another whole day has passed, and if some critical ammunition is not provided, something may go wrong on the front line.

As the sun set in the west, a group of Type 35 transport planes flew to Oahu. The formation of seven transport planes adjusted their course along the coastline, and then dropped a series of airdrop boxes.

Many airdrop boxes fell to the beach, and the excited soldiers ran straight into the water and dug out precious supplies.

"Bad idea, isn't this counterproductive?" Zhou Changfeng rolled his eyes, "You seem to have no confidence at all."

In the evening of July 7, several American prisoners were released back with a reply written by someone Zhou.

The U.S. military's rear headquarters is located on the reverse slope of a hill east of Wheeler Army Airport, several kilometers away from the battle area. It is not only safe but also has a wide view.

"Silly, even the European army will not surrender voluntarily while there is still hope. I believe you all know who is at the end of the road, your army or our army. I advise you to wait and assess the situation so that you can take action yourself and avoid unnecessary casualties. . If you remain stubborn, our army will fight to the end."

Zhou was very considerate in this regard, and even wrote an English translation on the back of the letter - the word "silly" in the beginning of the text naturally became "nuts".

Brigadier General Charles White read through the reply with a calm expression and said nothing.

The officers next to him were full of expectations, and they almost guessed the result when they saw this.

"Damn, they're not going to give up."

"We could no longer continue the attack. The 7th Infantry Division's logistics battalion loading dock was hit by an air attack, and hundreds of thousands of pounds of supplies were blown up."

"The personnel losses of several infantry regiments are close to their limit, and it is impossible to continue to maintain the offensive."

Although the all-out large-scale counterattack seemed to be effective at first, repelling the Ming army that landed on the island, however, as the opponent retreated to defend the defense line, our offensive was suddenly stopped.

The entire front is in a stalemate, and the brutal tug-of-war consumes steel, explosives, gasoline, and lives every minute.

The U.S. aviation force is gradually exhausted. Facing opponents with numerical advantages, the pilots can be said to be helpless.

The most recent air battle even saw twice as many Ming aircraft attacking US aircraft. Colonel Clarence, commander of the aviation unit, said that they can hold on for up to six hours after dawn tomorrow. After that, the sky over Oahu will be dark again. The playground of the Ming army.

7月29日全天美军总计有31架战斗机和18架轰炸机被击落，明军亦被损失了22架战斗机和29架轰炸机。

From dawn to sunset, the U.S. military's all-out offensive that lasted all day did not make much progress. Only one battalion-level position of the Ming army was captured along the main axis. Even if results were achieved in other places, they were lost in the end.

In contrast to the few achievements, there were heavy losses in personnel and equipment. To describe it in the words of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Schink, commander of the 501st Airborne Regiment:
"There are many bushes and woods among the rugged hills. The rugged and complex terrain is very conducive to defensive operations. There are hidden fire points and foxholes everywhere. The enemy's crossfire is suddenly shot from bushes or other difficult-to-find positions. Often a large area can be sealed off..."

"We can only quickly pass through the enemy's gunfire line in a sparse formation under the cover of smoke. Some bunkers and positions cannot be bypassed. We can only work hard to get close and blow them up with explosive bags and blasting tubes. The enemy's snipers continue to attack They kept attacking us, seriously delaying our offensive preparations..."

The U.S. paratroopers are responsible for the task of gradually advancing along the Waianae Ridge. It is relatively easy and they can control the rhythm of the attack on their own.

In comparison, the frontal attack of the 7th Infantry Division was full of disasters - two of the three regiments no longer had the ability to take the initiative to attack, and the remaining 60th Infantry Regiment only had five companies that could undertake offensive tasks.

The whole day of bloody and hard fighting had left many grassroots companies exhausted. The surviving soldiers were covered in blood and mud, their eyes were distracted and weak. Weeping could be heard intermittently on the 7th Infantry Division's position. Many people hugged their heads and cried, and some officers even had a mental breakdown.

The field hospital opened by the division's field medical camp was overcrowded, and the limited beds were already full, and the second-class seriously injured patients could not find the beds.

Due to the continuous bombing of railways and highways in central Oahu by Ming army aircraft, traffic was severely congested, and the US Army Engineer Corps was still making repairs overnight.

Ammunition, food and other supplies need to be sent to the front line. The outgoing and incoming traffic flow converges, making it extremely difficult to send the wounded to the hospital in downtown Honolulu. The trucks carrying the wounded are constantly in the crowded traffic flow. Moving slowly bit by bit...

On this night, the US military unexpectedly launched a night attack.

Zhou Changfeng's original worst-case scenario was that the enemy would make a last-ditch attack after dawn, but he never expected that it would be a surprise attack at night.

About two reinforced companies of U.S. infantry crossed the battle line from the east and middle joints of the defense line, and penetrated deep into the defense line. Rifle grenades and mortar shells hit the regiment headquarters of the 50th Regiment of the 17th Division.

The rear of the Ming army, which was short of troops, was empty. For a while, there were no troops to mobilize. The only nearby units were service units such as field cooking platoons and equipment maintenance platoons.

Chaotic tracer traces were intertwined on the black night. The soldiers opened fire with various weapons on hand, resisting desperately, and repelled the enemy's attack three times in a row.

When the U.S. infantry finally rushed into the regiment headquarters, the place was empty, empty of people, leaving only field phones, cans, lunch boxes, flashlights and other sundries that were too late to take away.

The American soldiers took away the service cap and saber left behind by the 50th Regiment Chief of Staff, and they could use them as trophies to brag about.

At this time, a detachment ordered to come from the Mokapu Peninsula for reinforcements arrived in time.

In the evening, they set off from Kaneohe Bay in nine landing craft and circled north along the Oahu coastline. Now they finally arrived successfully.

This detachment is two teams from the 2nd Battalion of the 6th Regiment of the 3rd Marine Brigade - it turns out that because the Mokapu area is relatively isolated, it can be said to be impregnable after seizing the Nuuanupali Pass. The 4th Marine Brigade is more than enough to guard it.

"Okay, here comes the timely rain, let them go over immediately and eat this enemy that has penetrated deep!"

Zhou Changfeng immediately ordered this detachment to go non-stop to clear out the enemies who attacked at night to meet the urgent need.

This infantry detachment, with a total number of only more than 300 people, moved quickly and rushed from the beachhead in only a quarter of an hour.

The battle was extremely fierce. There were no less than five dazzling spots floating in the night sky at every moment. Under the snow-white light emitted by the flares, the officers and soldiers of both sides fought together. There was me among you, and you among me.

"Rush over there!"

"Follow me and don't stop."

"Come on -"

"Kill them all!"

The sound of gunfire was drowned out by the loud shouts of killing. Marine officers and soldiers fought enthusiastically. The US night attack unit that was retreating while fighting was entangled and unable to break through.

They had to form a circular position and hold on, but they were defeated after an hour and a half.

Of the 319 U.S. troops who participated in the night attack, only 95 surrendered and 21 escaped. The rest were all killed, including 7 officers.

The Ming army also suffered heavy casualties. Remains of different postures were scattered throughout a three-mile radius. Medical soldiers searched for the surviving wounded on the battlefield where the smoke had dispersed. Many of the dead officers and soldiers were still lying down or crawling.

While cleaning the battlefield, a fallen soldier was still holding his rifle tightly, with several deep scratches carved on the butt. The well-informed field cook platoon officer said that this was to record his own results. A scratch represents the kill of an enemy soldier.

The morning of July 7th finally arrived. After yesterday's bloody battle all day and night, more than a thousand people could not see the rising sun.

The U.S. military's artillery fire was on time just like yesterday, with hundreds of howitzers firing at once. However, the forward observation post at the front position found no sign of the U.S. military gathering.

An air battle ensued, with dozens of fighter jets of different shapes and colors competing in the blue sky, with the loser hanging under a white parachute slowly falling.

Four Type 38 heavy fighter jets acted as fighter-bombers, passing by at a high speed of only 200 meters at a very fast speed, and dropped more than a dozen aerial bombs on the US military positions.

The U.S. military's offensive stopped, and the large-scale counterattack that started with a naval night attack and lasted for two days and two nights finally came to an end.

"Long live! Long live!"

"I won, I think I won, it's not easy..."

The officers in the headquarters couldn't help it. Some jumped up for joy, while others laughed and cried.

The 17th Infantry Division was basically exhausted. Most of the front-line units were left with nothing but empty frames. The remaining number of many squads and platoons could be counted on one hand. What was even more embarrassing was that there was not much ammunition left.

"The last time we encountered such a battle was in Darwin, and the 27th Division almost fought to the death." Zhou Changfeng breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling more relaxed than ever before, and the big stone in his heart that had been hanging high for several days finally fell. .

"At least the 27th Division has enough ammunition, so we can open up and fight." Zhong Dexin pretended to be calm, smiled wryly and pointed in the direction of the beach in the distance, "All the supplies under my command were blown up to the sky."

"Your division is the first to win this battle, and you deserve it." Zhou Changfeng commented seriously.

Zhong Dexin sighed, "I don't know how long it will take to recover after being beaten like this."

"Elite divisions get stronger the more they fight, and the spirit and vigor of a heroic unit can be passed down for a long time."

"This...is indeed true."

After spinning for several days, Zhou Changfeng could no longer hold on. Feeling sleepy, he decided to take a good nap to replenish his energy.

"Good news! Great news!" A communications staff officer rushed over with a telegraph newspaper as if it was flying. He stood up straight and handed it over with both hands. "Reinforcements will arrive on Kauai tomorrow night. The 1st Marine Brigade will arrive." "

"What happened to the gyroplanes I wanted? The ship wasn't sunk, right?"

"Uh... the situation is unclear. The fleet said that only one ship was attacked and sank."

[Schematic diagram of the Battle of Oahu]

(End of this chapter)