afterglow

Chapter 593 Let them burn, let them roll; I won’t stop until I plant the flag on the mountaintop

The noise on the battlefield gradually faded, and the counterattack launched by the 37th "Conker" Infantry Division ended hastily.

The 147th Infantry Regiment sent out a total of five companies, but due to the obstruction of the Ming fleet's artillery fire, only three companies participated in the battle, and in the end only 98 people were withdrawn, with almost all of them killed or wounded. It would even be reasonable to regard them as completely wiped out - most of the losses were attributed to the Pansy's skillful and daring deadly artillery fire.

The 723rd Independent Tank Battalion had two medium tank companies and one light tank company participating in the battle, but in the end only four Shermans and one Stuart were withdrawn.

The Ming army's landing forces also suffered heavy losses. The first batch of more than a dozen amphibious tanks and medium tanks that landed were almost completely destroyed, and two battalions lost more than half of their troops, with casualties approaching 600.

The casualties mainly came from the sudden artillery attacks from the U.S. military's rear, accounting for an estimated two-thirds.

Objectively speaking, the U.S. military's counterattack on Lanai Island actually has many noteworthy aspects.

Zhou Changfeng keenly noticed that the level of coordination among the US military's infantry, artillery, and tanks was quite good, and their courage to take the risk of launching an attack on the beach also proved their high morale.

However, it remains to be seen whether such fighting spirit can be maintained for a long time. It is possible that it will become weak after this time.

At 11:45 that day, the fourth echelon successfully landed and the Ming army reorganized its beachhead.

A large number of wounded were carried on stretchers onto transport boats, which then sailed to the Guanyuan medical ship, which was anchored alone in the open sea.

The ship is a large medical ship with a standard displacement of 1 tons, a total of 920 beds and 230 medical staff.

She was converted from a Yongning-type medium-sized cruise ship - not a luxury cruise ship, but just an ordinary cruise ship, and her target customers are the middle-class and petty-bourgeois families in the first-tier prefectures of the Ming Dynasty.

Guanyuan has strong health protection capabilities. Before this battle, it had accumulated sufficient plasma and also received 2000 bottles of 10 units of penicillin mobilized from the mainland.

Countries have not yet achieved a way to mass-produce penicillin. It cannot be described as being more expensive than gold now, because the value of a tube of penicillin is dozens of times that of gold of the same quality.

The Military Medical Department of the Ministry of War explicitly stipulates that penicillin can only be used when sulfonamide antibiotics are ineffective.

The powerful officials in the Ming Dynasty actually did not care about casualties. To put it bluntly, the value of one or two penicillins was much greater than the pension. In the eyes of the officials, the role of these life-saving drugs was actually to boost morale and stabilize the military spirit.

At 13:30 p.m., officers and soldiers of the Navy Special Service Battalion tied together the prefabricated pontoons with iron chains to form several temporary floating docks, which greatly accelerated the transportation speed from sea to land.

At 17:45 in the evening, except for the 1.02nd Regiment and the logistics troops, most of the main forces of the th Division had already landed. Together with the independent tank battalion and the st Special Service Battalion of the Navy, the number of Ming troops on Lanai Island had reached .

By this point, the Ming army had established a landing area about five miles wide and one mile deep in the southwest and south of Lanai Island. A total of 233 people were killed and 910 were injured during the entire day.

According to experience, there will definitely be a lot of casualties in a sudden landing, and this level of loss is within everyone's expectations.

The sky gradually darkened and the crescent moon hung high in the sky.

The possibility of the American troops guarding the island launching a night attack was already very low, not to mention that they had already suffered heavy casualties during the day, but the Ming army officers and soldiers still did not dare to relax.

Interestingly, Lanai is one of the world's major pineapple producing areas. The famous food company Dole bought the property rights of the abandoned Lanai Island 20 years ago, and then spent millions of dollars to build roads and bridges and establish pineapple plantations.

The resulting population also formed a town - Lanai City, but although it is called a city, the permanent population here is actually only a few thousand people.

In the second half of the night, several US torpedo boats approached from the waters south of Lanai Island, intending to carry out a surprise attack under the cover of darkness.

However, these American PT torpedo boats were soon discovered by the Ming army destroyers patrolling on the periphery. After a brief exchange of fire, the American PT torpedo boats returned empty-handed.

Although the US infantry did not move, the artillery never stopped and fired at the beach from time to time, causing considerable trouble.

A pile of oil drums hit by shells flew all over the sky, and suddenly a sea of ​​fire and more than a dozen bonfires appeared on the ground.

The next day.

Starting from early morning, the 14th Division began to organize scouts or infantry teams to conduct close reconnaissance and infiltration to explore the actual situation.

At dawn, the fleet re-planned the bombardment plan in accordance with the requirements of the landing troops and began to increase its efforts to suppress discovered and suspected US artillery positions.

The artillery fire lit up half the sky red, and the flickering light made people feel as if it was already dawn.

When the sun rose above the sea level, the 14th Division officially launched its offensive.

The 40th Regiment suffered heavy losses in the first day's beach landing and did not receive any offensive missions. It only rested and waited on the beachhead.

The 41st Regiment advanced northward with the strong support of the naval fleet and tank units, captured Lanai Airport at noon, and claimed to have killed more than 300 enemies.

The 42nd Regiment advanced northeastward toward the Kira-Ali Ridge, but progress was extremely slow due to the numerous strong fortifications.

During this year and more, the US military almost semi-fortified the several islands it occupied.

得益于大量工程机械的帮助，第37步兵师利用源源不断的钢筋、工字钢、钢板、水泥修建了遍布全岛的工事，至少有620个暗堡、42个坚固支撑点、30个永备炮台、17个大型掩蔽部、25个物资储存站。

According to the confessions of the prisoners, these large shelters were spacious and clean, with walls coated with cement mortar and painted. They not only had canteens, hospitals, barracks, and toilets, but also cinemas, convenience stores, and even ice cream machines.

Those bunkers and support points were arranged in a very tricky way, often built based on the terrain. Several bunkers could support each other and together guard the solid support points in the middle.

The 3-foot (0.914-meter) thick high-grade reinforced concrete was difficult to penetrate even for the 144mm naval guns of a light cruiser.

As for the permanent artillery batteries used exclusively by artillery units, they were built with reinforced concrete that was 5 feet (1.52 meters) thick, making them impenetrable to destroyers and light cruisers.

The 42nd Regiment was dizzy from fire from all directions. The US troops were firing machine guns and bombarding with mortars, and the field artillery group in the rear also provided a few rounds of support from time to time.

Because all the firing parameters of the target area have already been calculated and recorded, effective firing can be carried out directly by referring to the booklet, so the artillery fire is fast and accurate.

Infantry bombs, mortar shells, anti-tank gun armor-piercing shells, howitzer high-explosive shells... countless incoming firepower formed a dragnet!
The U.S. military suffered heavy losses from the Ming army's jumping mines and directional mines in the year before last and last year, and now it has begun to equip itself with M2 jumping mines and M9 directional mines. The former's technology comes from the French Third Republic, while the latter is a copy of the Ming Dynasty's Type directional mine.

【Picture】

The officers struggled to organize the attack, initially using tanks to lead the infantry, but the tanks were soon hit and caught fire by bazookas and anti-tank guns fired from multiple directions.

There was no other way, so everyone had to use infantry to guide the tanks. The infantry units were located dozens of meters in front of the left and right of the tanks, and they advanced forward together with difficulty.

Under the cover of smoke bombs, the soldiers bravely approached the US bunker, used blasting tubes to clear obstacles, and had to deal with the barbed wire before they could continue approaching.

After clearing the obstacles, they then used grenades, blasting tubes, and flamethrowers to annihilate the enemies hiding in the bunkers. Some modified Type 40 tracked general-purpose vehicles were also deployed to participate in the battle. They were equipped with something larger than a single-soldier backpack flamethrower. Although it still used compressed air as a propellant, the pressure was higher, the range could reach up to 100 meters, and the number of launches was also greater.

The blazing fire dragon pounced on the sturdy bunkers, igniting them into blazing furnaces. The Ming army officers and soldiers standing guard nearby felt the rolling heat waves, as if they were being roasted dry.

The 5th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 42nd Regiment was ambushed while advancing towards the eastern foot of the Kira-Aliyi Mountains, and the company was killed on the spot because it was too far forward.

The U.S. military fired continuously with 60mm mortars and fired shrapnel from two M3 37mm anti-tank guns, forming a terrifying indirect and direct firepower.

The light anti-tank gun was transformed into a giant shotgun. Every time it fired, hundreds of huge steel balls were ejected from the muzzle, sweeping across a fan-shaped area of ​​hundreds of meters!
【Picture】

In the killing zone carefully arranged by the US military, blood spurted out! More than a dozen people from the five teams were knocked down in one encounter, and the number of casualties soared rapidly in the next two minutes.

The deputy captain who took over the command was also seriously injured not long after, and finally it was the turn of the platoon leader to command the battle.

He ordered a slight retreat, threw smoke grenades to the left and right, and then divided several squads into several groups to make a detour to the flanks.

The soldiers used submachine guns and automatic rifles to attack and fire at extremely close range, defeating the American troops guarding the flanks. Anyone who resisted would be ruthlessly eliminated by rifle grenades and flamethrowers.

"Damn it! Burn that bastard to death!"

"Don't shoot, let them burn and let them go."

The officers and soldiers of the Ming army hated the anti-tank guns that fired shrapnel. The American anti-tank soldiers who were burned by flamethrowers rolled and struggled in flames, and their screams sounded distorted and weird because of the high temperature.

No one fired a shot, everyone just watched coldly until the other party was burned to charcoal...

The American field artillery group on Lanai Island greatly delayed the movements of the Ming army, and the docks, beach positions, military stations, roads, etc. were bombarded from time to time.

The fleet's suppressive fire was not very effective. Although the seaplanes responsible for calibration could guide the fleet to fire in a timely manner, in most cases they could only silence the enemy for a while.

Over the past two days, more than half of the ammunition of the two battleships, Yuanshou and Zhenguan, had been consumed.

Zhou Changfeng was worried that the Air Force's guarantee of "ensuring air supremacy for at least five days" would only be effective for three or four days, and he couldn't help feeling anxious.

After two days and one night of research, the U.S. military engineers have roughly figured out how to clear the new bombs used by the Ming army - the anti-disassembly fuse on the bullet is extremely difficult to remove, so just forget about disassembling it.

According to the size of the bullet, they used steel plates to weld a customized simple mine plow and installed it on the front of the Stuart light tank.

The tanks drove back and forth on the runway, and on average one-third of the bullets they hit would explode, quickly clearing the airport runway with flames and smoke.

Therefore, the effectiveness of the Ming Air Force's punctual air strikes is becoming less effective.

Previously, they were able to seamlessly connect and ensure that the airports on Molokai and Maui remained paralyzed. Gradually, the US military had enough time to launch several fighter jets.

On the third day, the sun rose.

On the orders of Zhou, a team of torpedo bombers belonging to the navy flew to Lanai Island and dropped a large number of fuel incendiary bombs on the Kira-Aliyi Mountain line, which was thickened gasoline mixed with oleic acid and palm oil.

Soldiers in groups of three or four were eating steamed buns and drinking soup, enjoying the spectacular sight.

I saw that the ground thousands of meters away was ignited by the thickened gasoline of the incendiary bomb, and half of the mountain seemed to be on fire.

The wind fanned the flames, and the gentle sea breeze helped spread the fire. After a few minutes, the sea of ​​fire all over the mountain almost engulfed the Kira-Aliyi Mountains.

The rolling heat waves made people subconsciously raise their hands to cover their faces, and the raging flames were shocking.

The military reporters were extremely excited and took photos one after another, capturing this spectacular scene on small pieces of film.

This set of photos should be called...Fire from Heaven!
This move was very effective and significantly suppressed the U.S. artillery forces on Lanai, and the annoying artillery fire was finally reduced.

Zhou Changfeng ordered a general attack and to end it as quickly as possible.

The clarion call for the general offensive has been sounded, and the American troops defending the island have been divided. Many troops have lost direct contact with the headquarters and can only fight on their own.

However, faced with strong permanent fortifications, bunkers, minefields, obstacles, and anti-tank cones, the Ming army's advance was still slow and laborious.

As the sun set that day, an infantry detachment from the 8th Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 41st Regiment, after a bloody battle, broke through numerous blockades and obstacles and rushed to the top of Mount Kira.

The team had 29 people when it set out, but now only 11 people were left. They hoisted a small crimson triangular flag.

Shortly afterwards, the 148th Infantry Regiment of the US Army, trapped on the Kira-Ali Ridge, sent a combat patrol to launch a counterattack and recaptured the top of Kira Mountain.

In the early morning of the fourth day, the Third Battalion of the 41st Regiment attacked again, vowing to plant a flag on the top of the mountain and never give up.

After five hours of fierce fighting, they captured Mount Kira for the second time.

Several days of fierce fighting caused the 14th Division to suffer heavy losses and was unable to continue its operations, so Zhou Changfeng ordered the 114th Regiment of the 38th Division, which was the reserve force, to join the battle.

Starting from noon that day, a small number of US military aircraft appeared over Lanai Island, and a small-scale air battle broke out in the afternoon.

On the fifth day, the 114th Regiment successively cleared two strong support points and successfully annihilated the US military command on Lanai Island.

By this time, the U.S. military on Lanai had collapsed and lost its organized resistance, and the Battle of Lanai could basically be declared a victory.

In this battle, all the US troops on the island were wiped out, with only a few hundred people escaping across the sea in small boats.

美军死3174人、伤6015人，另有约万人被俘，损失坦克61辆、各种汽车1320辆，第37步兵师、第723坦克营、第130海防炮兵营不复存在。

明军亦付出了多达万人伤亡的巨大代价，2538人阵亡和不治、7450人负伤，37辆坦克、271辆汽车、75艘登陆艇不可恢复性损失。

In the Battle of Lanai, the total casualties of the Ming army exceeded those of the U.S. army, with the 14th Division bearing the majority of casualties. This avenged the defeat on Molokai, but it also severely damaged the army, with a 50% loss of personnel, and it would take several months for the Ming army to recover.

"It's finally settled." Zhou Changfeng breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the flags flying on the peaks of the Kira-Ariyi Mountains.

(End of this chapter)