afterglow

Chapter 536: Did you try to persuade me to surrender before? The final battle - Aloha Tower

At that time, the commander of the Pacific Fleet, who was in danger, left the post he had held for several months and evacuated to the Big Island of Hawaii, 345 kilometers southeast of Oahu.

This dealt another blow to the morale of the remaining U.S. troops on Oahu, but the negative impact was already minimal-because morale was already quite low.

The president, who was far away in Washington, believed that there was nothing to regret about this battle. The commanders and soldiers had tried their best, and they could not be blamed for the fall of Oahu.

In the final analysis, this is a self-inflicted evil caused by the United States - if the size of the army had been maintained at a decent level during the interwar period; if the army had been fully expanded immediately after the war broke out; if one division of the expeditionary force sent to Europe had been transferred to Hawaii three months ago. go……

Before this, there were many opportunities to save the situation, but unfortunately the deal was already done and there were no more what-ifs.

"... We cannot lose our bases in the Pacific. Maui, Lanai, and the Big Island should be defended with all our strength to repel the Chinese. Otherwise (equal to) we will lose the entire Pacific. It will be difficult for the fleet to sail two thousand miles and possess Enemy battle with a large number of aircraft..."

"...The influence of air power on the battle situation was decisive. We had to supplement the aircraft of the Hawaiian defenders. A clever naval staff officer, Major Samuel Williams, came up with a good idea to allow us to quickly attack Kahului. Deploying planes to Shiloh’s airport..."

Ernest King, currently the commander of the Atlantic Fleet, wrote a special report and presented it to the president to clarify his views.

The voyage from the west coast to Hawaii is about 3800 kilometers, and there are no islands or reefs in the middle that can be used for parking, transit, and rest. This means that the US military fleet has to cross the vast ocean and go straight to its destination after leaving home, which invisibly increases the difficulty. class.

Numerous large-caliber coastal defense guns are still guarding Pearl Harbor, so even though the sea off Oahu has been blocked by the Ming Dynasty fleet, free passage is still possible inside the harbor. Just be careful to avoid the wreckage of ships sunk by Ming army air strikes.

In an instant, flames shot into the sky, and shock waves swept through a few seconds later.

An aviation force of this scale is daunting and is enough to deny the counterattack of the US fleet. Even if the performance gap between shore-based aircraft and carrier-based aircraft is ignored, the US military still needs 20 to 24 aircraft carriers to compete with it.

The steel frame of the crane at the pier was coated with thermite, and the dazzling white light was dazzling. The extreme high temperature melted the steel into a red liquid, and the huge crane collapsed with the squeaking sound of twisted steel!

Another problem also arises - it is impossible for the Ming army not to send a fleet to defend Hawaii. It deploys 8 to 10 aircraft carriers as a mobile strike force and has 600 to 800 carrier-based aircraft.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Eight Air Force Type 37 dive bombers taking off from Weiyuan Airport on Kauai flew over the city, dropping leaflets advising them to surrender. Thousands of pieces of paper fell like flowers from a goddess in the sunset.

The last naval personnel at Pearl Harbor are boarding ships and evacuating, and the remaining dozen transport boats and barges will transport them to Honolulu or the Kapolei area.

Because the participating ministries gradually became loose during the continuous pursuit, Zhou Changfeng ordered to stop the pursuit one kilometer west of the city, build fortifications, and gather the troops.

The silence that lasted all night exhausted the patience of the Ming army soldiers, and many of them could not wait to take over the city.

As for the "good idea" mentioned by Ernest King, it is actually to use the two existing aircraft carriers, the USS Saratoga and the USS Enterprise, as sea transit airports, anchored between Hawaii and the West Coast.

At the same time, some artillery units received a batch of freshly printed leaflets, loaded them into propaganda bombs and fired them towards Honolulu.

On the evening of August 8, a search team from the 4st Marine Reconnaissance Battalion and a reinforced platoon from the st Marine Regiment met in the western suburbs of Honolulu.

In this way, aircraft taking off from the mainland can land on the aircraft carrier to resupply, and then take off to transfer to reinforce Hawaii.

"I have worked at Pearl Harbor for eight years. The enemy has eight minutes to arrive and the port will be destroyed in eight seconds." Someone wrote in his diary.

Moreover, the Ming Army occupying Hawaii can station a large number of air force units. There are three airports on Kauai and six airports on Oahu, and they can be further expanded. Theoretically, the Ming Army can deploy a force of 2000 to 2400 aircraft in the Hawaiian Islands. Huge air force.

If you are willing to continue to resist, then go to Kapolei in the west; otherwise, go to Honolulu in the east.

The soldiers of the Ming army could see the top of the Aloha Tower in the city. If they looked through the telescope, they could also see the big clock above.

The oil storage tanks in the Upper, Lower, and Middle areas were also blasted one by one, igniting huge fires. The flowing diesel and heavy oil were blocked by earth embankments (protective walls), and each area became a veritable sea of ​​flames. , about 390 million tons of fuel oil were burned.

The Navy Yard's Double Ten Dock was named after its length of 1010 feet. Naturally, this large dock, which could maintain any giant ship in the Pacific Fleet, could not escape the fate of destruction. U.S. military engineers dug a large number of explosives to fill the holes, and deployed a total of 21 tons of explosives and 760 artillery shells. After the earth-shaking explosion, the dilapidated Double Ten dock was in a mess.

There were continuous booming explosions. The supply warehouse and parts warehouse were blasted and destroyed by US military engineers. The remaining materials inside were also poured with gasoline and burned.

It was not until dawn, less than twenty minutes before the deadline given by Zhou Changfeng, that a Dodge SUV with white flags on both sides of the front of the vehicle drove into the area controlled by the Ming army.

The visitor expressed his acceptance of a series of terms on the surrender leaflet. The surrender order was issued by Brigadier General Jacob Devers, and the subsequent surrender ceremony could be carried out at any time.

The officers in the headquarters suddenly smiled, and some people breathed a sigh of relief. This saved them from the disaster of war and saved a lot of trouble.

Street fighting is too easy to close the gap between the two sides. Although the US military in front of them is already defeated, if they really want to resist and fight to the end, they may suffer hundreds or thousands of casualties.

8月5日9：15，美军第9步兵师师长雅各布准将率领一众军官乘车来到了檀香山西郊。

More than a dozen white flags had been hoisted in the middle of the battle lines between the two sides, and a wooden board with the conspicuous white words "Cease-Fire Zone" written on it had also been erected. Four small tables had been put together to form a large table.

Logically speaking, one should dress more formally for such an occasion, but Zhou's regular clothes were left behind in the stranded Luxun. The battleship was beaten a lot in the following days, and was hit by three or four missiles all the time. bombs and more than a dozen artillery shells.

So Zhou Changfeng simply came to the scene wearing a field uniform, with a pistol holster on his waist, binoculars on his neck, and three colored pencils in his breast pocket.

As soon as they met, he smiled and said: "A few days ago you persuaded us to surrender."

Hearing this, the Americans opposite looked unnatural.

After a brief silence, Brigadier General Jacobs replied calmly: "Unfortunately, we did not succeed."

"This battle has been fought back and forth, and it is indeed not easy." Zhou Changfeng nodded slightly and commented: "The reason for your failure is arrogance. If you are willing to send one more division, the final outcome will be difficult to say. "

A lieutenant colonel staff officer of the 9th Infantry Division couldn't help but said: "The Germans are too strong, and any division sent to Portugal is important."

If we conduct a review of the battle, at first glance, there is nothing wrong with the deployment of the US military before the battle started.

The strength of the Hawaiian Islands, excluding garrison units, totals the 24th Infantry Division, the 7th Infantry Division, the 9th Infantry Division (less than one infantry regiment and one artillery battalion), two tank battalions and one self-propelled anti-tank gun battalion.

Most of these troops are directly defending Oahu. If they can be used properly, there is hope that the Ming troops who landed on the island can be driven into the sea. Even if it fails, they can hold on for another month or two. The biggest mistake of the US military was the counterattack on Kauai. This battle was meaningless and caused the 7th Infantry Division, which was originally fully equipped, to suffer heavy losses - more than casualties.

Although the US military urgently airlifted the 501st Airborne Regiment to strengthen Oahu's defense, this was far from making up for the mistakes.

Seeing that the draft said a ceasefire at midnight tonight and surrender tomorrow morning, Zhou Changfeng decisively refused, "A ceasefire at midnight today, and then surrender tomorrow? No way."

He asked the US military to surrender in more than two hours, that is, at 12:00, otherwise an attack would be launched immediately.

Brigadier General Jacob had no choice but to agree.

Trucks with loudspeakers were driving on all the main roads in Honolulu, informing citizens that the remaining US military forces had given up resistance and that the city would be ushered in by occupying forces in the afternoon.

Half-collapsed houses can be seen on the streets, as well as a lot of scattered debris and rotting garbage. Due to the imminent threat of war, the order of the city has become somewhat chaotic.

Honolulu administrative officials were instructed to stick to their posts, maintain order and stability as much as possible, and wait for the occupation forces to establish an interim government and then transfer jurisdiction.

However, a considerable number of people feared persecution and chose to take advantage of their authority to flee to the dock, or they forged documents and pretended to be ordinary people.

The gunfire that lasted for who knows how many days and nights finally stopped. Groups of Ming army planes flew over the city without bombing.

The long-lost peace seems to be coming? But this is only a temporary phenomenon.

Out of fear, many shop owners closed their doors and refused to sell any goods, even if the police knocked on the door and refused to answer.

In order to maintain market stability, they had to force their way in and take out the goods to set up stalls.

The trunks of some cars were filled with all kinds of luggage, and the back lids could not be closed. The couple took their children and drove out of the city toward the towns of Kaimenki and Kahala in the southeast.

Many people can't say why they want to go there, they just feel that more remote villages and towns are more suitable for refuge.

Near a clinic, Heller, a reporter for the travel magazine "Holiday", hurried home with some medicines. On the way, he witnessed several stores and department stores being robbed. Films, cameras, watches, cans, and pasta were all robbed.

There was a fierce exchange of fire between the robbers and the arriving police, bullets flew everywhere, and the surrounding pedestrians fled in panic...

At 12:12 noon, an advance team composed of one unit each from the th Division and the st Marine Brigade took the lead in entering the city of Honolulu from the western suburbs along the highway.

There were two overturned buses filled with rocks at the intersection as roadblocks. The US military, which had lost all its technical equipment, was unable to move them away, so it had to wait for Ming army tanks to drag them aside.

At the same time, a battalion of the 4th Marine Brigade crossed the Koolau Ridge and entered the city from the northeast through the Nuuanupali Gale.

However, an unexpected battle started a quarter of an hour later - there seemed to be a group of American troops still resisting near Aloha Tower.

"What the hell is going on? Didn't you receive the surrender order? Go and ask for it."

"Order!"

It was not until half an hour later that the situation was discovered. It turned out that they were some stragglers who refused to carry out the order and were unwilling to surrender Honolulu without resistance.

This U.S. force includes more than a hundred people from the 7th Infantry Division plus some officers and soldiers from other units, as well as a small number of National Guard troops, totaling nearly people. They are built around the Aloha Tower under the command of Artillery Captain Martinez stronghold.

Brigadier General Jacobs and the Mayor of Honolulu were very worried that this would anger the occupying forces and lead to unpredictable consequences. They quickly explained that this was not intentional. They really did not expect that anyone would refuse to surrender.

"Jun Zuo, can we still fight?" Xie Wancheng tilted his head and held the microphone between his legs, looking at Zhou Changfeng aside.

"Do you understand the beauty of adulthood?" The latter stretched and looked at the Aloha Tower in the distance and said relaxedly: "Seeking mercy will lead to mercy. If the enemy does not surrender, he will be destroyed."

The final battle did not start quickly because they could not use too much force, so Zhou Changfeng and others pondered for a long time before deciding on the specific strategy.

The 1st Marine Brigade combat convoy sent four tanks, and the 2nd Marine Regiment Assault Artillery Team sent three wheeled assault guns to provide support. The 6th Battalion of the 2nd Regiment was responsible for the main attack task, and the brigade's chemical defense team was also dispersed and strengthened.

Aloha Tower, a clock tower built fourteen years ago, is a landmark building in Honolulu, but it was unexpectedly destroyed when the battle was about to end.

After more than three hours of fierce fighting, all six surrounding buildings have been cleared, and the Marine infantry, accompanied by tanks and armored vehicles, slowly advanced forward.

In the evening, the remaining enemy soldiers had been compressed into the square where the Aloha Tower was located, but the battle continued, with bullets shooting at Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers from all directions.

阿罗哈塔整洁的外墙被一发又一发的48㎜和80㎜杀爆弹打得坑坑洼洼，密集的7.36㎜步机弹将之凿得千疮百孔，大时钟的时针和分针永远停在了18：16上。

"Come up with the left and right sides together, pinch them together, and let the chariot drive forward. Don't be afraid."

"His grandma's meal is almost here."

"Brothers, work harder. It's time to have dinner after all the hard work!"

"What is this called, 'Destroying this fainting food'?"

The three wheeled assault guns successively exhausted their ammunition reserves and had to withdraw from the battle to replenish their ammunition.

It was getting late, and the fire became more conspicuous. The tracer bullets fired by the light and heavy machine guns intertwined into a fire net, and the blazing fire dragon spit out by the flamethrower seemed to be baring its teeth!
Some Marine infantrymen wearing Type 39 personal protective equipment bravely launched an attack, using submachine guns and automatic rifles to engage in close combat with enemy soldiers within easy reach...

The battle at Aloha Tower ended at sunset, and the Battle of Oahu finally came to an end.

The biggest problem has been solved, but there are still many troubles facing the Ming army generals.

[Capturing Oahu is of great significance, so...]

(End of this chapter)