afterglow

Chapter 627 Chapter : Cursing and mocking each other, each side made concessions; the offensive was underway

The Ming Air Force and Navy were in a difficult position, as they had to go all out to gain air superiority but could not allow the loss of too many aircraft carriers.

The Air Force was not completely confident, so the Grand Marshal's Office asked the Navy to provide strong support and cooperate with each other to complete the task.

Zhu Lingjing opposed this idea as she was worried that she would win in tactics but lose in strategy.

The aircraft carriers under construction at major shipyards will not be completed until the end of this year and the beginning of next year. Taking into account the Shanghai trials and adaptive training, it will take at least until the turn of spring and summer next year to form combat effectiveness.

It is extremely unprofitable, and even a huge risk, to lose too many aircraft carriers in order to gain air superiority.

Song Zhongkai and Ouyang Zhanghua jointly submitted a memorial, clearly stating the seriousness of the consequences.

The U.S. military's shore-based aviation B-25 and B-26 can use 1600-pound or even 2000-pound bombs, which are extremely powerful and can severely damage armored aircraft carriers.

And more importantly, these medium bombers are more flexible than clumsy heavy bombers and can adopt low-altitude glide bombing tactics with a hit rate high enough to pose a threat (compared to high-altitude horizontal bombing).

In addition, medium bombers are sturdier than carrier-based dive bombers, have thicker skin and stronger bodies, and are more difficult to intercept.

Therefore, the aircraft carrier fleet cannot cope with the large number of shore-based aviation forces in a short period of time, and a head-on confrontation will inevitably come at a heavy price.

The results of multiple simulations show that 4 to 6 aircraft carriers will be severely damaged or sunk, and conservatively speaking, 3 will be severely damaged and 2 will sink.

The severely damaged aircraft carrier will take at least half a year to repair, which means that the Ming Navy will only have three fleet aircraft carriers available for half a year.

The strength of the US military has been greatly enhanced. It still has five fleet aircraft carriers, including Enterprise (CV-6), Bunker Hill (CV-17), Constellation (CV-16), Yorktown (CV-10), and HMS Illustrious, as well as four Independence-class light aircraft carriers.

[Considering the capture of the USS Lexington, the eighth ship of the Essex class (CV-16) was renamed the USS Constellation instead of the Lexington.]

In addition, in London, Prime Minister Winston publicly declared that he would increase his support for the United States.

The Ming Navy was worried that the Royal Navy would send one or even two Glorious-class armored aircraft carriers to join the battle, which would make it even more difficult to deal with.

This concern was entirely valid, as unlike historically when it had to carry out missions in the Mediterranean against the Italian Navy, the Royal Navy was now quite relaxed after having survived the surface ship sabotage operations of the German Socialist Navy in the early stages of the war.

Now the Royal Navy’s main task is only to defend the Atlantic and Arctic Ocean transport lines, so they decided to dispatch the third ship of the Glorious class, HMS Indomitable, to assist the US Pacific Fleet.

In the memorial they submitted, Song Zhongkai and Ouyang Zhanghua explicitly criticized the Grand Marshal's Office and the Ministry of War.

The words they used were quite harsh - both the tactics and the strategy were poor and unrealistic, and the decision-making of those in the rear must not be based solely on short-term gains!

Correspondingly, some senior staff officers of the Grand Marshal's Office and officials of the Ministry of War also retorted.

They ridiculed the navy for shrinking back and not daring to make up its mind at a critical strategic moment. Such cowardice and hesitation would ultimately lead to failure and would inevitably be nailed to the pillar of shame in history.

Before this, Zhu Lingjing had been calm and composed, but in the past two days she has been feeling a little anxious, especially listening to the radio from the other side of the ocean which has exacerbated her worries.

前天晚间ABC的广播得意洋洋的宣传着造船业的伟大成就——里士满船厂开工建造的罗伯特-皮尔里号自由轮在4月9日开始铺设龙骨，几天后的4月13日就下水了，不含舾装的建造耗时仅4天又15小时。

She knew in her heart that this was just a deliberate show, just a piece of language art. There was no way a cargo ship weighing several thousand tons could be completed in four days and three nights. The entire construction period would take at least nearly a month.

But... even one month is a scary statistic.

【Picture】

Since the outbreak of the war, the German submarine force has sunk about 1100 million tons of merchant ships, and the Ming submarine force has also achieved the result of sinking about 300 million tons of merchant ships, almost destroying half of the merchant ships of Britain and the United States before the war.

However, the United States built about 610 million tons of merchant ships last year; only four months into this year, the U.S. shipbuilding industry, which is running at full capacity, has already built about 420 million tons of merchant ships, and it is expected to reach a huge 1300 million tons this year.

Last year, Ming Dynasty built merchant ships of about 320 million tons. The increase in mobilization level this year has been very effective. 182 million tons have been built in the first four months of the year. If the goal of 600 million tons is to be achieved this year, further efforts need to be made.

In comparison, historically, Japan built merchant ships of 26 tons in 77, 170 tons in , and million tons in , which was too weak.

Therefore, Zhu Lingjing inevitably felt a little anxious - continuing to delay might not be beneficial. Should she consider a bold attack and decide the outcome in one battle?

Zhou Changfeng sent a telegram at the right time, reminding her not to be impatient at this juncture. After all, the war has been going on for several years and there is no need to rush. The most taboo in the game between big countries is to make a one-time deal without leaving any backup plan. This is not a small country gambling on its national destiny.

Taking her own considerations into consideration, Zhu Lingjing chose to trust the judgment of the front-line commander after careful consideration.

We must take the initiative in our own hands. How can we just wishfully expect the Americans to be willing to negotiate? The cost of negotiation depends on how many cards we have.

Finally, after several rounds of heated debate, the military chose to back down and the navy also made some concessions.

After a period of debate and argument, the hesitant command finally reached a consensus in mid-April.

First, unless there is a critical necessity, the Navy will not send aircraft carriers to participate in the battle for air supremacy over the Hawaiian Islands in principle.

Second, the Navy must ensure stable logistical supplies for the landing forces and resist any US naval forces that threaten Maalaea Bay.

Article 3: On the premise of achieving Article 2, the Navy is allowed to independently decide on appropriate strategies to attack the US military, and the Grand Marshal's Office and the Ministry of War will reduce remote control command.

At this point, the parties that had been in dispute for a long time finally reached a consensus.

The British Royal Navy had long ridiculed the Ming Navy as essentially a servant of its army masters—although servants were paid more than their masters.

As the maritime force of a traditional land power, the Ming Navy has been controlled by the military since the beginning of the war, with few opportunities to make independent decisions. Most of the time, it plays the role of "the army's maritime escort."

Although the navy always accounts for the largest proportion of military expenditures, in the subconscious of the military elites, it is ultimately just a consumable. If necessary, the Grand Marshal's Office and the Ministry of War can destroy the navy fleet without any concern.

Did the Ming Dynasty build a navy to seize control of the sea?

No, no, no, the Ming Navy was a military branch used to prevent others from having complete control of the sea, thereby covering the army's landing. In short, objectively speaking, the battle for air supremacy in Hawaii was indeed a strategy that did not allow the Ming Navy to participate in the war. Injuring the enemy by 1,000 would only cost you 800, and it might even have the opposite effect.

In addition, the results of luring and destroying two US aircraft carriers were quite brilliant and the results were solid. The Ming Navy can be said to have won autonomy in principle.

Two days and nights passed in a flash.

In mid-April, the European battlefield sounded the clarion call for large-scale mechanized operations. The roar of countless gasoline engines rang out on the vast plains of Tsarist Russia, and the muddy land was covered with tracks.

The U.S. 9th Army and the British 30th Army collided head-on with the approaching German Army Group R. Finally, a battle broke out with thousands of tanks competing on the same field.

In the distant heart of the Pacific Ocean - the Hawaiian Islands, the Ming army ground forces on Maui Island also received orders to prepare for war.

The soldiers originally thought that this island-taking operation would be no different from previous ones - three days to decide the outcome, and then a few more days to wrap it up would be victory.

As a result, more than ten days had passed, and tens of thousands of our troops had not advanced very far into the territory. When we turned around and stood on tiptoe, we could see the beach behind us.

The officers and soldiers of the Ming army were tired of staying in trenches and foxholes day after day. Their greatest entertainment every day was to watch the air battles between the planes of both sides in the sky and then place bets on who would win.

The ground fighting during these days never stopped, mainly focusing on encounters and ambushes centered around reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance, as well as the search and rescue of parachuted pilots.

The U.S. Army Air Force was not as extravagant and generous as the Navy Air Force and could not afford to reward the pilots with ice cream equal to their weight. So the price the Army Air Force offered to the Maui defenders was - 100 pounds of Coca-Cola and 10 pounds of chocolate (not the unpalatable D rations) for every pilot they recaptured.

U.S. soldiers, sick of field rations and canned Spam, were so motivated that they mobilized two companies and several tanks to search for two crew members who were traveling together last week.

The Ming army was not so generous. There was still a gap in the various supplies needed for the subsequent attack, and they had no spare energy to prepare additional rewards. Zhou Changfeng was also willing but unable to do so.

The Air Force was greatly touched and worked hard to allocate several Type 32 service aircraft specifically for airdropping rewards. It promised the ground troops that they would reward them with 200 cans of yellow peaches and 200 packs of cigarettes (20 sticks) for every pilot they rescued.

As a series of combat orders were issued, the officers and soldiers were gearing up for a big fight. Several battalion commanders of the 38th Division were already competing to see who could be the first to break through to the northern beach.

For multiple reasons, Zhou Changfeng not only deployed heavy troops for a frontal attack, but also arranged a supplementary attack on the right wing, thereby exerting additional pressure on the U.S. military and disrupting and delaying possible counterattacks by the U.S. military.

The main attack force was led by heavy armored units, and the 38th Division, as one of the prospecting divisions, undertook most of the frontal attack tasks.

With the 603rd Independent Assault Vehicle Team as the spearhead, the 112th Mechanized Infantry Regiment and the division's tank battalion were responsible for breaking through to the north along the main axis of the attack; the 113th and 114th Motorized Infantry Regiments followed closely behind, responsible for covering the left and right wings.

The two ocean-going mixed regiments of the First Landing Army were responsible for defending the west and east sides of the positions to prevent the US troops from counterattacking and attacking the landing positions directly; the First Marine Brigade served as a tactical reserve to deal with various emergencies.

The fact that he kept the 1st Marine Brigade as a reserve shows how cautious Zhou Changfeng was. He firmly believed that the U.S. military would most likely carry out a reverse landing, and at the same time he could not completely rely on guarantees from the navy.

After the 23rd Division ended the landing battle on Kahoolawe Island, only the 69th Regiment and the Nagoya Volunteer Corps were left to defend, and the main force of the division moved to Maui by boat.

Due to the frequent air raids by the US military in recent days, half of the ships were damaged to varying degrees and the transport capacity was significantly reduced. It is estimated that it will take two or three days for the 23rd Division to transfer.

Zhou Changfeng decided not to wait any longer and launched the attack as planned.

On the evening of April 4, the Ming army's landing troops completed their preparations for battle, and the planned participating troops received sufficient supplies and began to enter the offensive starting positions.

In the early morning of April 4, all U.S. military units received an emergency warning from the headquarters at the same time - the enemy's front-line activities increased, the frequency of radio communications increased significantly, and they were preparing to respond to the upcoming offensive by the Ming army.

At dawn that day, when the Ming army began to prepare their artillery fire, half of the sky was lit up in advance.

Except for some self-propelled artillery that were damaged, the 34th Mountain Artillery Regiment had 112 11mm self-propelled howitzers and 144 mm self-propelled howitzers participating in the battle.

The 33th Field Heavy Artillery Brigade of the First Landing Army also took action at the same time. A total of 144 35mm howitzers from two battalions roared in unison, while the 112 mm cannons from the other two battalions remained silent - their mission was to suppress the enemy's artillery.

At 5:30, the navy also got involved. Taihangshan, Yuanshou and Yuanding began firing at the calculated depth coordinates of the US military positions. 208mm and 352mm high-explosive bombs fell heavily, and the rising fireballs were particularly tall and eye-catching.

With five minutes left on the countdown, the division's self-propelled rocket artillery battalion carried out a salvo in strict accordance with the firepower plan. More than a dozen 144-unit 270mm rocket launchers fired rockets in less than half a minute.

The unprecedented and terrifying firepower made the people in it feel like the earth was shaking in the true sense. The main position of the US military was almost completely engulfed by flames and smoke. One bunker after another collapsed, one trench after another was blocked, and one telephone line after another broke.

The fierce artillery fire illuminated the sky in orange-red, and the continuous flashing lights were particularly dazzling.

In the U.S. military's headquarters in the Iao Valley, busy staff and officers came and went. Lieutenant General Simon Buckner stared at the map.

"The Chinese are moving! Some say they are moving into assault positions!"

"Sir! Our communications with the 711th Tank Battalion have been cut off, and we are unable to contact the 106th Infantry Regiment either."

"Where are the artillery units? Tell them no matter what, to counter those damn enemy artillery immediately!"

The U.S. military did its best to respond. The 433rd Heavy Field Artillery Battalion began to fire in short bursts at several assembly areas that the Ming army was most likely to use after prior scouts, firing four rounds at each location; the 426th Armored Artillery Battalion began to fire at the exposed Ming army artillery positions, trying to suppress them.

The unilateral artillery preparation gradually turned into an increasingly fierce artillery battle, and the Ming army units also suffered losses.

The 155rd Battalion of the 7th Motorized Infantry Regiment had just entered the assembly area and had no time to find cover when more than a dozen 105mm high-explosive bombs flew over; the th Mechanized Infantry Regiment, three kilometers away, was also bombarded by the M Priest mm self-propelled howitzers.

Inside the front-line command post on the beachhead, Zhou Changfeng was observing the situation behind the artillery scope.

A staff officer walked up to him quickly and said anxiously, "Report! The 112th Regiment was attacked by enemy fire, and the 1st Battalion suffered heavy casualties. Please postpone for 25 minutes to reorganize."

"Is there anything wrong with the regiment headquarters? Is the communication between the regiment and the battalion down?"

"No, no."

"Then join the battle as planned." Zhou Changfeng glanced at his watch and leaned closer to the artillery scope, "If we delay any longer, the enemy planes will come."

(End of this chapter)