afterglow

Chapter 630: Strong Attack; Nassau? He will never return!
The 38th Division and the 1st Marine Brigade moved their positions overnight. After the front-line command post was moved into place, Zhou Changfeng moved in and took over command.

The 1st Marine Regiment was ordered to attack the hilly area in the west, while the 2nd Marine Regiment was on guard against a possible counterattack by the U.S. troops in the direction of the Iao Valley on the left wing.

The battle-hardened and experienced officers and soldiers of the 1st Marine Brigade moved quickly and accurately to their respective positions under the cover of darkness. Except for a few units that got lost and were late, most of them were transferred to their positions in the second half of the night.

The U.S. military's harassing artillery fire never stopped throughout the entire night, and they continued to shoot without getting tired of it, as if it was an indispensable pastime for them.

This is the greatest feature of the American artillery, and the Germans felt it most deeply.

"They fired non-stop throughout the day, and even low-value targets were subjected to relentless bombardment. At night, they harassed us with aimless fire; during the day, their well-coordinated fire nearly destroyed our armored formations."

In the second half of the night, Zhou Changfeng fell asleep to the sound of rumbling artillery and woke up to the sound of rumbling artillery.

I looked at the time and it was only five in the morning. I had only slept for less than three hours.

Xiao Li was already familiar with his habits and immediately brought him a cup of warm strong tea.

"Hey? The commander is awake." A staff officer walked over quickly, stood at attention, touched his chest and saluted, reporting: "The Air Force General Office called, saying that the various units have suffered heavy losses in the battle so far. It is very difficult to maintain cover and blockade. The officers and soldiers are exhausted and urgently need to replenish and rest."

"Reply, try to hold on for two more days." Zhou Changfeng took a big sip of the bitter tea and added, "Has the naval aviation force made a plan? We can't delay any longer. A 70% chance of success is enough."

"Understood. I will send another telegram to urge you."

Before the battle began, the US military was well aware that if Maui was caught in the flames of war, two more airports would be unusable. In order to avoid losing air superiority, Chester Nimitz dispatched several aircraft carriers to form the TF-60 task force, including three escort aircraft carriers and two fleet aircraft carriers.

Among them, the Hornet was transferred a few days ago to intercept the Ming army's bait fleet together with the Essex, and was eventually sunk in battle.

However, the remaining aircraft carriers also greatly enhanced the efficiency of the US military's air force attacks in the Hawaii area.

They were arranged scientifically and reasonably to play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses - carrier-based aircraft only patrolled over the Big Island, acting as airport defenders and sharing the pressure with the Army Air Force, so that the Army Air Force could send more aircraft to Maui to fight for air supremacy and close support.

The Ming Air Force regarded it as a thorn in its side and wanted to eliminate it as soon as possible, but the war situation was tense and it was unable to mobilize enough aircraft to carry out the attack.

Despite the conflict between the Air Force and the Naval Aviation, the latter took over the mission and vowed to deal a heavy blow to the audacious and arrogant US military.

However, the HNA side kept delaying the preparations, saying that they were still studying more appropriate attack tactics. Two days later than the scheduled date, no action was taken, which made the Air Force extremely dissatisfied.

It was not until Zhou Changfeng personally intervened that HNA decided not to optimize any further and finalize the existing attack strategy.

The sun rises in the east and it's daybreak.

The engine sound that frightened the American soldiers came again from the distance, in addition to the faint sound of a single-cylinder diesel engine.

The 1st Marine Regiment, full of fighting spirit, prepared for battle and began to attack the hilly area in the west.

Xue Can arranged his three battalions in an inverted T-shape. The first battalion attacked Hill 145 head-on, the second battalion made a detour to the left to attack Hill 111, and the third battalion remained on standby, ready to follow up immediately if a breakthrough was achieved and rush to the breakthrough point to expand the results of the battle.

The brigade's engineering battalion and brigade's tank corps were also assigned to the 1st Marine Regiment before the war to maximize its offensive capabilities.

Xue Can's deployment seemed rather reckless - launching two powerful attacks at the same time, showing that he was full of confidence in his own combat effectiveness.

After a swift artillery preparation, a team of Air Force Type 38 heavy fighters arrived from the northwest. They dived and strafed indiscriminately and fired rockets continuously at any exposed targets.

The enemy's second-line position is being suppressed by our air force, and the best time to attack has arrived.

"Beep beep beep-"

A sharp and piercing whistle sounded first, followed by several consecutive red flares launching into the air.

The thunderous shouts of "Victory" spread across the plains, and hundreds of Marine infantrymen leapt out of the starting position and rushed towards the US military positions two or three hundred meters away, like a rolling blue-green wave.

The US military's counterattack fire arrived immediately, but the artillery positions had not yet recovered from the previous air strike, and now only some mortars were conducting intercepting fire.

One after another, 60mm and 81mm mortar shells fell on the Ming army's attacking forces. People were constantly swallowed by the smoke and dust, or knocked to the ground by the flying fragments.

The officers and soldiers who marched forward bravely ignored their comrades who had fallen around them, and continued to take turns to cover the leap.

Under the bright sunshine of Hawaii in late spring, the whole mountain and field seemed to be filled with the reflection of gleaming bayonets!

At the starting position of the attack, recoilless guns and tanks were firing continuously, and the fiercely strafing American firepower points were suppressed one after another. Anyone who was slow to move their positions would inevitably be blown away.

"Bring me the blasting tube!"

"Have!"

"Pull the fire! Take cover!"

"one two three four……"

After a loud and violent explosion, the accordion wire fence at the front of the US military position was blown to pieces.

Before the flying smoke and dust dissipated, a large number of figures emerged from it, shouting loudly and charging towards us.

Faced with such a fierce attack, Hill 145 and the adjacent small mound soon could not withstand the attack, and dozens of Ming troops poured into the front lines of the positions of Companies H and J of the 165rd Battalion of the th Infantry Regiment.

Warrant Officer Song Zhao just graduated from the Chengdu Army Weapons Academy last year. The ongoing Battle of Maui is his first time to participate in actual combat. The breakthrough team he led was the first to break into the enemy's position.

"Da da da da——"

Suddenly, the sound of Browning heavy machine gun fire came from the flank, and within a few seconds, seven or eight people were shot and fell to the ground.

It turned out that two American heavy machine gun teams had moved to the backup firing positions. Seeing that the Ming army was about to break through, they hurriedly set up their machine guns and fired crazily.

Song Zhao looked back and saw that the two platoons following behind were suppressed and could not advance or retreat. He quickly called on the rocket launcher shooters in the breakthrough team to eliminate the enemy's firepower points.

"puff!"

The first round was a dud, and the mechanical fuse had a large impact angle and was easily ineffective.

The shooter quickly reloaded and fired a second bouncing personnel-killing bullet, destroying a heavy machine gun while being shot and killed by a US sniper.

Song Zhao left a few people to suppress the sniper with light machine guns, and led the remaining four people straight to the remaining heavy machine gun.

The journey of just a few dozen meters was extremely difficult. They encountered many enemy soldiers along the way. When they reached the destination, only Song Zhaohe, a new recruit, was left.

The US heavy machine gun team had just finished firing a canvas belt and was about to move. They were horrified and quickly drew their guns for self-defense. At this close distance, both sides fired almost simultaneously. The recruit was shot in the face and fell to the ground. Song Zhao, who was injured in the left thigh, threw away the automatic rifle with an empty magazine and drew his pistol, but the second round jammed.

He angrily threw his pistol at the only remaining enemy soldier, then rushed over with his left leg bleeding. The two men wrestled with each other, and the burly American corporal undoubtedly had the upper hand.

In the life-and-death fight, Song Zhao shouted the new recruit's name loudly. The latter struggled to touch the automatic rifle, but his face was covered in blood and his eyes were blurred by blood, so he could not see clearly. He could only fire the last few bullets randomly.

Song Zhao, who was dazzled by the punches, felt his body relax. The enemy soldier collapsed to the ground with a scream. Song Zhao used his last bit of strength to pick up the bayonet and stabbed it into his chest, then fainted.

"The machine gun is gone!"

"Kill!"

"Go! Go!"

"Follow me! Hooray!"

The firepower of the US military suddenly became sparse, and the Garand semi-automatic rifles and Browning automatic rifles were not enough to stop the fierce attack of the Ming army.

A large number of Marine infantry poured into Hill 145 and the adjacent small mound, and the American troops on the position panicked and immediately wavered.

Just as H Company and J Company were about to retreat, K Company, sent by the battalion headquarters to reinforce, arrived, and the collision of the two groups of people led to a fierce close combat...

Further west on the battlefield, the fighting was equally fierce.

The Second Battalion made a detour to the left and attacked Hill 111, which was defended by Companies B and C of the 165th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army. There were concealed fire points and bunkers built halfway up the mountain and at the foot of the mountain, causing heavy casualties to the unsuspecting Ming army.

After all, several hidden firepower points were just earthworks. Once exposed, the recoilless guns could easily destroy them, but they could not do anything about the sturdy bunkers.

The First Team of the Engineering Battalion assigned to the Second Battalion was ordered to clear the remaining two bunkers. The imported remote-controlled blasting vehicles seemed suitable for use in this situation?
So the Marine Corps engineers began to deploy the Erica demolition vehicle on site.

Through wired remote control, a "mini diamond tank" slowly drove towards the distance amidst the hail of bullets.

Although the operator tried his best to avoid potholes and obstacles, the wires trailing behind the remote-controlled blasting vehicle got tangled before it had gone far and could not move.

Everyone had no choice but to send out the second vehicle, and after driving for a few minutes, it finally arrived near the target bunker.

Judging that the location was appropriate, the engineering captain decisively gave the order to detonate. The operator pressed the detonator button, and a dazzling flash burst out. The bunker was instantly enveloped in flames and thick smoke. The deafening thunder-like roar made the soldiers cheer again and again.

Everyone followed suit, intending to destroy the remaining bunker in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately, the last Erica demolition vehicle was hit by concentrated fire from the frightened American troops while driving and was destroyed halfway.

The operator simply pressed the detonator button. The violent explosion of dozens of kilograms of explosives was so shocking that the Ming army soldiers on the position felt the shock wave coming towards them.

Frightened by this, several American infantrymen stationed in the bunker had no intention of holding on and fled in a hurry.

The biggest obstacle was resolved, and the Second Battalion launched the attack without hesitation.

Under the cover of heavy machine guns, recoilless guns, and mortars, hundreds of Marine infantrymen stormed Hill 111. Company B, which was under the greatest pressure, was torn to pieces within minutes...

The fighting in the hilly area in the west was so fierce, but the scene in the plain area in the east was quite different.

The 132th Armored Infantry Regiment, the Divisional Tank Battalion, and the rd Heavy Tank Corps were still powerful, and in just three hours they defeated the US nd Infantry Regiment.

The 33rd "Golden Cross" Infantry Division to which the regiment belongs is a "garbage recycling plant" in the U.S. Army sequence and is famous for its poor military discipline because all the violators unwanted by other divisions are stuffed into the 33rd Infantry Division.

Although they are quite brave, their technical and tactical levels are relatively poor - this is the evaluation of front-line commander Liang Xin.

The Ming army's mechanized forces rushed forward, broke up the US positions, divided and surrounded them, and then defeated them one by one.

The American stragglers who resisted stubbornly were ruthlessly annihilated by flamethrowers, recoilless guns, and blasting tubes, and charred corpses could be seen everywhere.

Some Type 40 general-purpose vehicles were converted into flamethrower armored vehicles. In order to save transportation capacity, the Ming Dynasty's military industry department chose to only manufacture flamethrower kits locally. After shipping them to Hawaii, they were handed over to the army's repair shop for self-modification.

The Type 50 individual backpack flamethrower has a maximum range of 90m and can only fire short bursts of a dozen times. The vehicle-mounted flamethrower has a maximum range of 7m and can spray 100L of gasoline per second. It is usually equipped with four L sandwich fuel tanks and two compressed nitrogen tanks. The sandwich is filled with water to increase safety.

"Sir, we can't hold on any longer."

"Their tanks are too powerful, and artillery and bazookas are ineffective!"

"We need all the support we can get, Mr. Commodore!"

Brigadier General Ronald, the commander of the U.S. military in Kahului district, personally came to the front line to supervise the battle. The scene was extremely chaotic. He saw groups of defeated soldiers fleeing in panic, including many officers.

The military police at the checkpoints only dared to stop the fighting with words rather than forcefully, for fear of being shot by the fleeing soldiers.

The half-track vehicle carrying Brigadier General Ronald and his entourage was also targeted by the Ming army's tanks. The second M3 half-track vehicle was hit by an 80mm armor-piercing shell, and all the crew members were either killed or injured.

The soldiers quickly pulled Ronald out of the first vehicle and hid in a nearby shelter.

The situation was so critical that Ronald had to send out the last reserve troops at hand to join the battle - the remnants of the 737th Tank Battalion and the 640th Tank Destroyer Battalion.

After yesterday's tank battle, the two battalions now have only about twenty armored vehicles left. The result of trying to stop a vehicle with a mantis arm is that their armored vehicles melt away like snowflakes.

He also ordered the organization of an emergency combat team - a team of more than 200 people including regimental staff, guards, military police, engineers, and communications soldiers.

In the afternoon, even such a team was involved in the blocking of the Ming army's attack. A lieutenant vividly described it as: This is like using a red wine bottle cork to block a gushing fire hose.

The most critical help came from the air support of the Army Air Force and the Marine Corps Air Force. A large number of US aircraft forced their way through the interception of Ming army fighters and the fierce firepower of ground self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. In the two close support operations, they lost 7 A-20 Bostons and 8 SBD Dreadnoughts.

That afternoon, Lieutenant General Simon Buckner sent a combat engineer battalion to reinforce, and finally managed to stop the Ming army, which was at the end of its strength.

At the same time, in the direction of Oahu, a group of new aircraft that had never appeared before took off one after another.

After studying strategies for a long time, HNA finally took action.

The first team of the Third Torpedo Brigade of the Ming Navy launched 23 cutting-edge Type 500 interceptor bombers, all of which were equipped with two kg armor-piercing explosive bombs and auxiliary fuel tanks. They maintained a low altitude of four to five hundred meters and flew in a neat formation towards the waters south of the Big Island of Hawaii.

Their targets were the four aircraft carriers of the TF-60 task force: the Nassau, Cole, Bogue, and Bunker Hill.

【Diagram of the third stage】

(End of this chapter)