afterglow

Chapter 674: All is Silence! It is better to cut off one of the enemy's fingers than to injure ten of them

"call out--"

The 88mm diameter PzGr39 capped armor-piercing shell was fired from a thousand meters away, smashing the cast steel armor of the Sherman turret with its huge kinetic energy. Then the 59g explosive in the shell exploded, and the hot and flying shell fragments messed up the interior of the vehicle.

Such tank battles are extremely unfair from a gaming perspective, but there is no fairness in reality.

After only a few minutes of fighting, only half of the more than ten Shermans were left, and the rest were either reduced to wreckage engulfed in flames or had their turrets and hulls separated.

It was not until this moment that someone calmed down and thought of the correct way to deal with it - use a smoke bomb and get away with it!
Several smoke bombs were fired at the Ming army tanks in succession, and the white phosphorus quickly spread out thick gray-white smoke that obscured the three tanks.

The few surviving Shermans and Marines did not dare to stay even for a second, and retreated back to where they came from...

“It’s no different than target shooting.”

"happy!"

"Ah? Where did the enemy go? You guys shouldn't take it easy. You didn't even leave me a bite."

When the crew members were lamenting about their first actual combat, the radio came with a regretful complaint from the captain of car No. 3 who had broken down and fallen behind.

The reliability of the Tiger (P) is still worrying. Even during such a short-distance tactical maneuver, it broke down. One of the four vehicles in a row of the 602nd Team broke down on the way.

"Shut up! Move away. There's a fight going on over there. Go over and give them a hand."

Fighting was still going on in a neighboring defense zone. A company from the 1th Regiment of the 7st Marine Division had already blown up several bunkers, and the Ming army infantry unit that came to reinforce was firing at them.

After dealing a heavy blow to this group of American troops, the first platoon of the 602nd Team immediately rushed to the flank to assist.

The original VK4501 (P) had a 100mm thick frontal armor and 80mm sloped "shoulder" armor on both sides, which was insufficient even in the Pacific battlefield where armor-piercing shells were not as intense.

Given that the U.S. military had already deployed tank destroyers and heavy tanks in the Battle of Maui, the long-barreled guns equipped on both posed a considerable threat.

The 602nd Assault Vehicle Team stationed on Oahu decided to modify their mounts. They heard that there were still some steel plates abandoned by the US military in the Pearl Harbor warehouse, so they managed to get a lot of them.

These STS structural steels are very common on US Navy warships. Their performance is excellent and close to the level of armor steel. However, the wealthy Americans use them as structural steels, and only use inferior HTS structural steels in minor parts.

All Tiger (P) of the 0.75nd Team have three layers of STS steel plates welded on the front and left and right slopes of the vehicle body, each layer is 19 inches (mm) thick, which greatly enhances the front armor of the Tiger (P). After testing, they determined that this did not add too much burden to the suspension system and was still within the redundancy.

The Tiger, or Tiger I, had already appeared in the Battle of St. Petersburg. It was not uncommon for Allied forces in the European battlefield to encounter the Tiger.

In the original plane, only 24 Tiger I vehicles were manufactured in the 1355 months from the start of production to the end of production. In addition to the objective reasons of its own structural design, there was also the factor of Henschel Company - Henschel not only participated in the mass production of Black Panther, but also prepared for the research and development and manufacturing of King Tiger.

However, the German state-owned Henschel Company does not have these influencing factors. Coupled with the institutional advantages that cannot be ignored, the production rate of Tiger I can now reach 80 to 85 vehicles per month. The German People's Army is even well-off and extravagant enough to equip each motorized infantry division with a Tiger I tank company.

The continued strategic bombing campaign by Britain and the United States has resulted in enormous costs and losses. To date, the cumulative bombing has reached nearly two million tons, but it has not been able to prevent the normal operation of the German military industry.

The only effective air strikes were on transportation hubs, such as railway bridges and railway marshalling yards, which resulted in large quantities of weapons and equipment being stranded in the mainland or on the German-French border and unable to be sent to the front line.

"Bad news, sir. The Blue and Orange areas are under heavy fire. The 786th Tank Battalion only has 15 Shermans left. The enemy's resistance is very strong. Now only the Orange No. 1.2 beach has advanced miles in depth."

On the platform outside the bridge of the Iowa, the adjutant reported the latest progress to Richmond Turner.

"The lack of air superiority has led to this situation." The latter looked serious, pointed his finger in the direction of the land and ordered: "Let the artillery go ashore quickly, and the engineers do their best to repair the dock. We need more tanks to advance."

The unexpectedly powerful opponent thwarted the US offensive, with only some progress in the Kailua area.

The progress in other places was little to none. Only dozens of bunkers and firing points were destroyed, and the average advance distance was only a few hundred meters. The large force was still trapped on the beach, unable to advance or retreat.

At 7:45, affected by the Ming army's air raid, the third wave of landing troops was delayed by a full hour before landing.

8：15，美军第38“龙卷风”步兵师第133野战炮兵营最先就位，布设好电话线后该营开始以105㎜榴弹炮提供炮火支援。

At 8:40, the fourth wave of landing troops landed, this time mainly consisting of tanks, medical and engineering units. The 787th Medium Tank Battalion and the 820th Heavy Tank Battalion successively drove onto the beach.

截止当天上午9：30，美军已有11个步兵营、3个炮兵营、3个坦克营上岸，总兵力约9200人。

Drawing on lessons learned from previous landing battles, this time the U.S. military assigned a fire liaison group to each Marine battalion, which is able to independently, promptly and quickly call for naval artillery fire support, and each group is directly connected to several warships at the same level.

It has only been a few hours since the battle started, and the US military has fired 127 large-caliber artillery shells of 2.3 mm and above!

As for small-caliber artillery shells, there were countless of them, not including various aerial bombs and rockets, setting the highest intensity of fire support since the outbreak of the Pacific battlefield.

"Tsk... it's all smoke, I can't see clearly."

Zhou Changfeng was just complaining about the smoke and dust that covered the sky and blocked his observation when Chen Jie, commander of the 22nd Division, called him.

He said in a strangely excited tone: "Commander-in-chief! This artillery fire is unprecedented and unheard of! These guys are so arrogant!"

"How many casualties have you suffered? Withdraw to the main defense line before the enemy attacks again."

"The loss of our department is not too great, about 300 people in total. All the battalions are in good condition, so we can hold out for a while without any problem."

So you guys are still excited, right?

Zhou Changfeng laughed dumbly and reminded again: "In short, don't fight hard, just defend the front line as appropriate."

"As ordered!"

The 22nd Division has a tougher style, or is stubborn and the greater the opponent's reaction, the more excited they get.

Soon, the 1st Marine Division in Kaneohe and the 4th Marine Division in Kailua began to move again, trying to advance in depth again.

The US army advanced with difficulty under the strong support of artillery fire, trying its best to expand the landing site. It was naturally inappropriate to respond to the battle completely passively. The Ming army's defensive strategy was to block the US military's actions with bunkers, minefields, and barbed wire, forcing them to stop and deal with the ubiquitous firepower points, and then wait for an opportunity to send a small-scale infantry unit to carry out a tactical counterattack.

The 1st Marine Regiment and the 7th Marine Regiment did not find any good solution and could only carry out the battle to capture the points step by step. The progress was very slow. The 7th Marine Regiment had lost nearly 25% of its combatants at the hands of the Ming army's guns and artillery.

At this moment, the second air raid of the day arrived as expected.

The air raid was carried out by the Air Force, all of which were Type 37 interceptor bombers Golden Eagle, with no escort required. There were a total of 500 Golden Eagles, half of which were equipped with kg bombs and half with torpedoes.

The Golden Eagle, known for its high speed, was not afraid of the Hellcat's interception - the Hellcat was not necessarily as fast as it, so the interception of more than 20 Hellcats was in vain.

Amid the shrill sound of air defense sirens, golden eagles flew over Kaneohe Bay, heavy bombs whistled and fell, and a series of tall water columns suddenly appeared on the sea surface...

The air strikes disrupted the US fleet's bombardment, and the artillery support suddenly quieted down. Now only a few artillery battalions are still firing.

The pressure on the Ming army suddenly decreased, and the American troops attacking from multiple directions felt the resistance doubled.

The two bulky behemoths were driving slowly and laboriously across the bumpy field, followed closely by seven or eight truck-mounted anti-aircraft guns.

The distance from the concealed location to the previously selected preset position was not very far, but the road was completely bombed to pieces, and the surrounding land was full of craters of varying sizes and depths, shaped like the surface of the moon. The journey of a few kilometers felt as difficult as dozens of kilometers.

After great efforts, Jiuhua and Wutai finally arrived at one of the preset positions.

The two steel behemoths were parked on the reverse slope behind the earth slope, about sixty meters apart. The eight truck anti-aircraft guns of the two mobile anti-aircraft artillery platoons were parked a hundred meters behind them.

Lay out telephone lines to establish wired communications, check that wireless communications are in good working order, and then prepare for battle!
The view here is good and the shooting range is wide. Sitting in the captain's seat of the Jiuhua, Feng Ziyu can clearly see the advancing American tanks and infantry troops a thousand meters away.

Because they are equipped with professional optical rangefinders, the ranging accuracy of these two big guys is second to none.

"The enemy's last tank, 1,400 meters away, moving at a slow speed, usually one round, short delay, calibration, ready!"

It is obvious that the terminology of Feng Ziyu's instructions is very different from that of the tank soldiers.

"put!"

With a loud bang, this naval gun that had been stored in the warehouse for more than 20 years made its first actual combat roar since its manufacture!
The 112mm armor-piercing explosive shell accurately hit the M6A1 heavy tank, and the shell filled with 1.6kg of Gu's explosive penetrated into the interior and exploded.

The six members inside were killed on the spot, and the flames from the ammunition explosion broke through the hatch on the top of the turret like a volcanic eruption!
The huge muzzle flash exposed their position, and the attacked American soldiers immediately noticed where the attack came from.

However, the Wutai also opened fire. The 160mm rear-loading mortar it carried fired a high-explosive shell weighing hundreds of pounds. The shell flew slowly at an initial velocity of 290m/s.

The moment the shell touched the ground, as much as 9.2 kg of explosives detonated successfully, and high-speed fragments and shock waves swept across a radius of dozens of meters, shaking the earth and causing smoke and dust to rise into the sky!

A two-meter-deep pit appeared at the landing point, and the casualty range was as large as six basketball courts. An entire platoon of Company B of the 1st Marine Regiment was either killed or injured, and a Sherman car next to it was also paralyzed.

For a few seconds, the entire battle area seemed to be completely silent. A steel helmet that was blown nearly a hundred meters into the sky fell down with a clang.

At about the same time, the second wave of air strikes also ended.

Three 500 kg bombs nearly missed the destroyer USS Preston (DD-379), causing severe damage. The underwater shock wave tore through her hull, and large amounts of seawater poured in through the cracks.

During the first air raid two hours ago, the battleship Nevada was hit by a torpedo. This time she was not so lucky again. After avoiding several torpedoes, she was hit by a special torpedo in a circular route.

The violent explosion tore apart the hull of the old battleship. The shock wave and high-energy bubbles ignited many objects. The Nevada was facing a serious threat of flooding and fire!
"Good news, good news. The Air Force reported that an enemy battleship was seriously damaged. Identification of the ship type is estimated to be an old Nevada-type."

"Oh?" Zhou Changfeng was quite surprised to learn that a US battleship was suspected to be severely damaged. After a little consideration, he made an impromptu decision: "It is better to cut off one finger of the enemy than to injure ten fingers of the enemy. Let's do our best to sink it and add a bonus!"

It’s an old ship so what. A battleship can be considered a national treasure no matter what. Besides, the Nevada-class ship is not particularly old, right?

Under Zhou's instructions, the Ming army's air force immediately suspended subsequent air strike plans and instead challenged the plan to focus on attacking the USS Nevada.

The damage caused by the previous torpedo to the Nevada was still within an acceptable range, so the US military did not let it withdraw from the battle.

But now it was different. Realizing that the battleship was seriously damaged, the vigilant Richmond-Turner immediately ordered to cover her retreat to the northeast.

The Saratoga's VF-3 fighter squadron was specially assigned to escort it, and the Army's 7th Air Force also received an order to organize an escort formation to cover the Nevada.

Just as everyone had worried, the Ming army planes swarmed in, with large numbers of planes taking off from Kauai, Niihau, and Oahu and heading towards this place.

The first round of siege against the Nevada came soon. 21 Haidongqing and 23 Type 500 dive bombers belonging to the Navy's shore-based aviation force took the lead in the attack. The US planes tried desperately to intercept them, so only one kg bomb hit directly, and half of the Ming army's planes were destroyed.

The second round of siege followed closely. Two aerial torpedoes hit the port side, which soon caused 2600 tons of water to enter. The captain had to order water to be poured into the port side, barely restoring the balance of the hull, but the speed dropped to 14 knots.

The third round of siege completely nailed the coffin for the Nevada. Two more torpedoes and three bombs hit directly, and there were many near misses. After the No. 2 and No. 3 main shafts stopped, the Nevada, which was seriously flooded, had only 8 knots left, and the superstructure also caught fire due to the explosion.

The matter has come to this, and there is nothing that can be done about it.

Just as the captain gave the order to abandon ship, a submarine lurking ten kilometers away was watching all this with a keen eye.

The U.S. military's outer anti-submarine patrols have been very strict in recent days, and the several Ming submarines operating in the nearby waters have had no chance to take advantage. It was not until now that Lixia B No. 25 found a chance to take action.

At 15:12, Lixia B No. 9500 fired all six 512mm torpedoes at the bow at a time at a distance of m, and then immediately dived to the maximum depth for concealment.

The Nevada has now tilted severely to the left and is almost capsizing. The sea is filled with lifeboats and crew members who have jumped into the sea to escape.

At least two torpedoes hit the target, and the Nevada, which had just capsized, exploded violently after being hit by the torpedoes. Flames and steel fragments sprayed out in all directions, and thick gray-black smoke rose into the blue sky.

The escort destroyer DeLong, which came to rescue the drowned crew, was unfortunately affected. The glass was instantly shattered, the superstructure was in a mess, and the entire ship lost power and drifted away with the ocean current...

【Picture】

(End of this chapter)