afterglow

Chapter 601 Chapter Bloody Landing; How can the glow of the Star-Spangled Banner compare to the brilliance of the sun and the moon!

Two years ago, the Battle of Tarawa, a major naval and air battle between the Ming and American armies at the beginning of the war, ended with a small victory for the Ming army.

Subsequently, more than 2,000 American troops stationed on Tarawa Atoll were wiped out, more than 200 were killed, and the rest were all captured.

Who would have thought that two years later, this coral atoll would once again become the focus of dispute.

According to data reported by the hydrographic survey boat, the water levels on the north and south beaches of Tarawa Atoll were too shallow, with a depth of only 2.5 to 3 feet, while the LCVP landing craft required a minimum of 4 feet (122 cm).

The U.S. military had to activate the backup plan and use LVT amphibious transport vehicles as vehicles for assault landings.

Amphibious expert Major General Richmond Turner developed a detailed landing plan, and the first two echelons of troops would make an assault landing in amphibious vehicles.

He chose to land on the northern beach of Betio Island. The beach, about 750 meters wide from west to east, was divided into three sections.

The westernmost section is Blue Beach No. 1, the middle section is Blue Beach No. 2, and the easternmost section is Blue Beach No. 3.

Logically speaking, the 1st Marine Division should be responsible for all beach landing missions, after all, they are the Marines. However, the Army's 124th Regimental Combat Team was determined to fight for the opportunity to perform.

As a last resort, they were also arranged to be the first batch to go into battle.

Blue Beach 1 is under the responsibility of the 1st Battalion, 124st Marine Regiment; Blue Beach is under the responsibility of the rd Battalion, st Marine Regiment; and Blue Beach is under the responsibility of the rd Battalion, th Army Regimental Combat Team.

The 7st Battalion, th Marine Regiment serves as a tactical reserve, ready to provide reinforcements at any time.

Considering that the Ming army was likely or must have built "unimaginable" strong fortifications, the commander of the 1st Marine Division, Alexander Van Grift, issued a separate order - to form four assault teams, each consisting of an infantry squad and an engineering squad, carrying a large number of explosive packs and blasting tubes.

The army did not have such foresight. They thought it was unnecessary and did not follow suit.

Come on! We have bazookas and light howitzers that can destroy fortifications from a distance, so why risk close blasting?
Before the beaching, the US fleet conducted two hours of fierce artillery preparation. Destroyers, cruisers, and battleships fired a total of 6326 shells of different calibers, and carrier-based aircraft dropped 229 bombs. Betio Island, with a total area of ​​1.18 km, was subjected to hundreds of tons of steel and explosives.

Thanks to the protection of strong fortifications, the Ming army suffered minor losses, but wired communications were severely damaged, with 70% of the lines interrupted.

At 2:3 am on February 8, the key landing operation of Operation "Translator" officially began.

More than forty amphibious transport vehicles were arranged in two staggered rows, about twenty meters apart on the left and right and about fifty meters apart from front to back, and they slowly drove towards the target beach from west to east.

The LVT amphibious transport vehicle is the iconic amphibious vehicle of the US military. The current early model LVT-1 weighs about 14 tons, has a water speed of about 10 km/h, and can carry 25 soldiers or 2 tons of supplies.

【Picture】

The four coastal defense guns that had previously attacked the US minesweeper have all been destroyed, but the remaining coastal defense guns have remained silent. Now is finally the time to show their power.

However, only half of the coastal defense artillery were allowed to open fire - this was a special instruction from Shangguan Xun.

As the order to open fire was given, in an instant, flames flashed from several hidden artillery positions in the northwest corner of Betio Island.

The next second, many columns of water rushed out between the group of amphibious transport vehicles!
An LVT was directly hit by a 144mm armor-piercing explosive bomb and instantly shattered into pieces in the flames, with broken limbs and steel fragments scattered all over the place.

Even if there was no direct hit, the damage caused by the large-caliber shells exploding underwater could not be underestimated, and several amphibious transport vehicles began to leak.

Seeing this, the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Conway (DD-507) was eager to rescue people, so it immediately rushed forward and fired continuously at the exposed Ming army's coastal defense artillery in an attempt to suppress it.

The officers and soldiers at various artillery positions were extremely excited. Finally, the other half of the hidden coastal defense artillery received the order to open fire.

The Conway was immediately subjected to concentrated fire, and several columns of water suddenly rushed up. Half a minute later, the first shell hit her engine room, but it turned out to be a dud.

Realizing that the situation was not good, the Conway turned around hurriedly and tried to turn around and break away.

However, her good luck was limited after all, and she was hit accurately by several shells immediately afterwards. The mess hall, chart room, and officers' cabins were all torn into pieces by the violent explosion!
In the next four minutes, the reckless destroyer was hit twice more and fled with a trail of black smoke, instantly losing its combat effectiveness.

The American battleships were ordered to turn their guns and try to destroy these exposed Ming army coastal defense guns.

The two heavy coastal defense guns that had not fired a shot until now finally received the order - aim at the largest ship and hit it hard!
Dismantling old naval guns and reusing them as coastal defense guns is a common practice in countries around the world, and the Ming Dynasty is no exception.

The 192㎜, 46-caliber naval gun manufactured thirty years ago is older than most soldiers, but it is still strong and can still fire 101㎏ shells. Its power should not be underestimated.

The closest battleship, the USS South Dakota, became a target without realizing it. The muzzles of two coastal defense guns were pointed at her, and detailed ranging and firing element calculations were being carried out.

A few minutes later, the two opened fire one after another.

A moment.

"Shh! Shh!"

Several dozen meters in front of the South Dakota's port side, two huge columns of water splashed high!
The American sailors on the deck were stunned and in disbelief, and even stopped what they were doing.

After being stunned for two full seconds, a lieutenant shouted: "Oh my God! This is the water column of an eight-inch shell!"

At almost the same time, the officers on the bridge also realized that the situation was not good, and the captain hurriedly ordered to evade.

However, at this moment, the South Dakota was conducting shelling on the opposite shore, and the huge battleship could not speed up in a short period of time, so everyone could only pray that the shells would fall into the sea.

It is normal for things to go against one's wishes, and this time is no exception.

One of the two 192mm armor-piercing explosive shells fired in the second round successfully hit the target. It went straight through the turret of a twin-mounted 127mm dual-purpose gun in the middle of the port side and exploded with a loud bang!

"boom!!!"

In the blink of an eye, the central building of the South Dakota was engulfed in the smoke of the explosion, more than a dozen fire points emerged, and the sailors were blown to and fro by the shock wave.

The violent vibration caused the South Dakota's defective power supply system to malfunction, the circuit breaker in the No. 3 switchboard tripped, the No. 5 and No. 6 generators were disconnected from the power grid, and the feeder circuit breaker also tripped.

The South Dakota suddenly lost all power supply, the turret could not operate, and the electrical equipment failed.

In the next half quarter of an hour, the unfortunate battleship was hit by several shells in succession, and its superstructure was in ruins and covered with scars.

Although this level of attack did not pose a fatal threat, it made her feel very embarrassed.

Next, she would need to spend a month returning to her homeland, repair for a month or two, and then spend another month returning to base. In this way, nearly half a year was gone.

This is why fleets should avoid engaging coastal defense artillery fire; it is simply not worth it.

However, the current situation is rather special - the US military has discovered that the Ming army has few coastal defense artillery and that they have an overwhelming advantage.

At 8:33, the North Carolina and Washington joined forces to bombard and suppress the Ming army's coastal defense artillery.

At 8:40, three Dauntless dive bombers launched an attack impatiently. The heavy bombs they dropped seemed to have detonated the shells, and the chain explosions shook the earth.

At 8:43, the first echelon of amphibious transport vehicles approached the beach. Because almost all of them were rookies, they were inadequately trained, and they were terrified by the cruelty of the battlefield, so the neat formation at the beginning became scattered in the end.

"Report!"

After reaching the beach, several anti-tank guns placed in hidden bunkers opened fire at the same time.

One after another, the 48mm armor-piercing explosive shells effortlessly penetrated the 0.5-inch (12.7mm) thick front armor of the LVT amphibious transport vehicle and then exploded inside.

The LVT that was hit emitted black smoke and made a "crunching" sound of metal twisting and collision, as if it was groaning in pain.

"They're using us like we're targets with a shotgun!"

"Damn it! We have to get out of here! Now!"

The Marines at the rear of the vehicle threw the weapons and equipment that were in the way out of the vehicle, then turned over and climbed out from both sides to pick them up.

The American Marines who rushed onto the beach had no chance to catch their breath and were immediately hit by Ming army artillery fire.

Mortar shells fell one after another, and each explosion would knock down several people; the few surviving LVTs were also blocked by the remaining concrete obstacles on the beach that had not been cleared, and they were caught in a dilemma.

Training is training, exercises are exercises, and actual combat is actual combat. The fledgling 1st Marine Division faced a brutal baptism like a storm.

The 12 112mm howitzers of the Ming Army's Mixed Heavy Firearms Battalion in Tarawa bound the firing parameters according to the calibrated area and directly carried out effective firing.

The shells that fell like raindrops made the entire beach and water area a mess. The beach of more than 700 meters from west to east on the north side of Betio Island turned into a living hell on earth!
The second echelon that followed closely behind also came close, but they also suffered heavy losses.

The Marines who left the amphibious transport vehicle were pinned down, and a barrage of machine gun bullets and mortar shells completely blocked the entire beach.

The blood of the injured and dead soldiers dyed the beach red, and every inch of land was littered with broken limbs, which was a horrifying sight.

Half a quarter of an hour later, the third team arrived on time, but no progress had been made so far.

The third echelon was riding on LCVP landing craft. The draft of this type of landing craft was already very shallow, but the water level on the beaches around Betio Island was even lower, so the landing craft were trapped and unable to move.

Some Ming army anti-tank guns turned their guns and began to attack these motionless fixed targets.

The shell penetrated the bow hatch and exploded inside, which was like throwing a grenade into a group of people. The American soldiers packed inside were either killed or injured.

"Sergeant, Sergeant! Their anti-tank guns are firing at us!"

"Captain! What should we do?!"

"Get off the landing craft! Do you hear me? Get out of here and wade ashore!"

In order not to sit and wait for death, the landing craft lowered the front hatch, which made a clicky sound and created a circle of waves.

The Marines rushed out of the landing craft and trudged through the thigh-deep water...

【Picture】

What a terrible situation!

The organizational structures of various departments were completely disrupted. Officers could not find soldiers and soldiers could not find officers. The American officers and soldiers on the beach could only fight on their own and were completely unable to organize effective actions.

The Marines lay down at the water's edge on the beach and used engineer shovels to dig simple lying shelters to avoid incoming fire.

On Blue Beach, a captain was shot in the head and killed on the spot. Lieutenant Ralph of the 1st Battalion, st Marine Regiment, found that he had become the highest-ranking officer here.

The radio that the communications soldier was carrying had broken down and could not be used. Now he had no way of contacting his superiors and could not request fire support. He had to try to open up a landing site with the troops at hand.

There were corpses everywhere and rivers of blood. More than a dozen destroyed amphibious transport vehicles were still burning. The surviving officers and soldiers came from a variety of units, including infantry, engineers, medical soldiers, amphibious transport vehicle drivers, landing craft drivers... all kinds of people.

But fortunately, one of the assault teams ordered by Division Commander Alexander Van Grift happened to be here.

"Okay, Marines, guys, listen up, staying in this killing zone is waiting for death, we must advance..."

"boom!"

As he spoke, a shell exploded not far away, and everyone subconsciously lay down tightly on the blood-stained beach.

This disorganized group was the first to attempt an offensive, hurling smoke grenades as they advanced with difficulty.

First use blasting tubes to clear the minefields and barbed wire around the Ming army's bunker, and then approach little by little.

The assault team found that blasting tubes could not damage the sturdy reinforced concrete bunker, so they had to use more powerful explosive packs.

They eliminated two firing points, cleared a small section of trenches, and managed to open up a position two to three hundred meters deep on the beach.

The American army was in chaos due to poor communications, and the Ming army was also troubled by the same problem at this time.

The fierce artillery fire and air strikes before the landing caused 70% of wired communications to be interrupted. The headquarters of the Defense Command lost contact with most of the troops and could only use unreliable radio to communicate. Most of the messengers sent out never returned.

Shangguan Xun asked with a stern expression: "At present, Plan No. 2 is the most suitable. Have all the departments been contacted?"

Liu He clasped his fists and replied, "The Third Battalion has not yet contacted the assault artillery team, but the rest have been transmitted."

Shangguan Xun is now making a difficult decision, that is, whether to launch a counterattack.

The risks and costs of a counterattack are too great. Once it fails, not only will it fail to kill the invading enemy, but it will also sacrifice a large number of troops in vain, which will lead to the subsequent defense being weak and will soon collapse.

If that happened, he would become a negative example - a fool! A general who harms the army! An incompetent general can kill thousands of soldiers!
After hesitating for a moment, Shangguan Xun made up his mind to launch a counterattack.

He had confidence in the weapons and morale of his men, and the Air Force promised to provide full support, and the poor performance of the US military was beyond description.

"Commander, the enemy in section B4 looks even worse. The other two sections have advanced somewhat, but they are the only ones who are cowering where they are." said a staff officer, wiping the dusty map with his hand.

Liu He groaned and said, "The style of their clothes seems to be different too. I'm afraid they are from the army."

"If you want to pick on the weak, you can use them as a breakthrough point!" Shangguan Xun used the joint of his index finger to make the final decision. "According to the plan, all units will enter the departure positions and then send a telegram to Nauru to inquire when the attacking air force will arrive. The exact time must be arrived."

"Understood sir." The staff officer took the order and left.

Liu He, feeling both excited and nervous, put down the telescope and said to Shangguan Xun: "Fighting in this tiny place is like fighting with your back to the river. Both the enemy and us are in this situation. Let's see who is more ruthless after a fight."

He clenched his fists and asked for orders: "Our country is the sun and the moon, how can the glow of the Star-Spangled Banner be compared! Commander, I want to lead my troops to attack, and I will not return until I win."

(End of this chapter)