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High-Tech Warlords Volume 1 (742) Battle of Okinawa

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    On March 9, a Chinese Marine Corps patrol arrived at the southeast coast opposite the landing location, and the news of seizing Sado Island was not officially announced until March 17.  To this end, Shen Honglie issued a special communiqu¨¦: "The battle on Sado Island has ended, and all organized Japanese resistance has ceased. A small group of Japanese troops are still resisting on the cliffs, but they will soon be eliminated by our army." Sado  The battle on the island was extended for 26 days, and the cost of this battle was very high: "The Japanese army lost 41,200 people. The Chinese army's death toll reached 3,126, the highest number in the entire Pacific battles, with 625 missing and 17,658 injured."  "In order to annihilate the Japanese troops on the island, the Chinese army dropped 80,000 tons of bombs and artillery shells.  The last two paragraphs of the communiqu¨¦ summarize the battle: "Since March 16, Chinese pilots have used the central airport on Sado Island. The southern airport has become a Chinese base for bombing the Japanese mainland from the three eastern provinces several days ago."  Midway station for the Hongyan bomber group."

    In early March 1946, Task Force Fu Renxuan had just returned to the Mariana Islands from Leyte Island and anchored on the lagoon of Ulithi Island.  Ulithi Island is roughly similar to the main islands described before, and there is nothing special about it.  At that time, this reef island, like Yakushima or Majuro Island, was also built as a "temporary base".  In addition to some necessary ship repair and supply facilities, the island also has places for soldiers to rest.  After Fu Renxuan's task force anchored, the crew began to rest as ordered.  Small boats came and went on the blue lagoon water, transporting soldiers to the beach and to the bar.  The island's barroom is covered with palm fronds.  The size and specifications are exactly the same as those in Hollywood barrooms.  As soon as these customers arrived, they were told that there was no alcohol in the bar, not even a glass of beer, and there were no women in sight.  Despite this, many people still visit this aptly named entertainment venue to spend a few hours ashore off the ship.  The day passes by sunbathing on board, spending a few hours ashore in the prefabricated clear water bar, and watching a movie on board in the evening.  Soldiers were cautious when talking about the war.  But they have a lot to think about.  Rumors about setting sail for an expedition were endless. After a few days, it was true that there was no smoke without fire. These speculations became more and more concrete. Everyone believed that the next destination of the expedition would be Okinawa.

    On the evening of March 10, there was a peaceful scene on Ulithi Key.  During the day, the sun was shining brightly, and in the evening, the setting sun left a fiery red afterglow on the horizon.  The tropical sunset turned into a starry night scene in an instant.  island.  People still work by the light of searchlights.  Ships moored on the lagoon are subject to a principled "blackout" through the aircraft carrier's wide middle cabin and the decks of many other ships.  You can see lights flashing on the movie screens.  Ships that do not show movies allow most of the crew to watch movies outside the ship.  What was shown that day on the "Prince Bismarck" aircraft carrier (a "Xingtian" class fleet aircraft carrier, modified from the hull of the German warship "Marquis Bismarck" during World War I, so named to commemorate the victory) was  what movie.  The middle deck of the hangar was packed.  While the movie was playing, the audience seemed to feel that the aircraft carrier was shaking slightly. In an instant, a huge explosion drowned out the voices of the characters in the movie.  The people present burst into laughter.  The dialogue on the screen was still going on as if nothing happened, but now no one cared to listen to what was being said.  The siren sounded, and everyone ran to their fighting posts.  There was a fire on the flight deck.  Several explosions were heard from the stern of the ship, but none were as loud as the first explosion.  From other ships, the aircraft carrier's fire could be seen reflected in the dark water.  All crew members are required to return to their respective combat positions.  It can be heard from the noisy discussion that a malfunctioning aircraft unfortunately crashed on the "Prince Bismarck".

    The fire on the "Prince Bismarck" was extinguished, the alarm was lifted, and the crew dispersed.  The next morning, after the stern of the "Prince Bismarck" had cooled down, I took a look.  It was discovered that it was the wreckage of a Japanese plane and its pilot.  This is the pilot of the Japanese "Kamikaze". He took off from the Daito Islands and flew 800 nautical miles before crashing the plane into a "resting" Chinese aircraft carrier.

    The Fu Renxuan task force set sail for Okinawa at 7 o'clock in the morning on March 14.  it's clear.  The sea was calm, the fleet formed a column, and the destroyers sailed at the front.  This task force now includes 10 heavy aircraft carriers, 6 light aircraft carriers, 8 battleships, two new heavy cruisers, 24 light cruisers, and 40 destroyers.  In addition, there are "amphibious forces" and a bombing force to join the task force on the ocean surface of Okinawa.  It is not that simple to detail this vast fleet one by one.  For example, the "Xia Yu" aircraft carrier (a "Xuanyuan" class fleet aircraft carrier) specializes in carrying night-flying fighters (equipped with radar) and night-flying torpedo aircraft. When operating during the day, it belongs to the 4th Squadron of Fu Renxuan Task Force, and at night it  Together with its escort "barrier", it became the 5th Squadron of Task Force Fu Renxuan, under the command of Rear Admiral Gu Shaolong.  The highest operational command was handed over to Lu Zhi ShenhaiArmy Major General.  Task Force Fu Renxuan set sail for the Ryukyu Islands, where Okinawa is located, and attacked the airports on neighboring islands. The attack force approached Okinawa at the same time; then, the task force supported the bombing.

    After the fleet left the port, the course was officially reported to all crew members.  Training exercises also began immediately.  Dive bombers pounced on the towed targets at sea, and anti-aircraft guns fired at the towed targets in the air.  The officers and soldiers of the entire fleet took this last training very seriously.  Everyone agreed that the capture of Okinawa would be a difficult battle.  Japanese radio stations have repeatedly claimed that the closer the Chinese army gets to Japan's mainland defense line, the more intensive and intense the resistance will be, and they will eventually be annihilated.  This is no nonsense.  Japan's defense capabilities can be seen from the defense of Sado Island.  Now, Japan's navy and air force could operate close to their bases.  People have rumors that the Japanese army will use suicide planes in large numbers.

    Although Okinawa is 950 nautical miles away from Tokyo (460 nautical miles from Nagasaki), it is still part of Japan.  The shape of Okinawa is very irregular, with a jagged coastline. The island is 180 kilometers long and varies in width. The wide part is 38 kilometers and the narrow part is only six kilometers.  According to pre-war estimates, there were 300,000 inhabitants on the island (there were two large cities, one with 60,000 inhabitants and the other with 30,000 inhabitants).  The Chinese believe that as of March 1945.  Japan has 60,000 troops stationed on the island.  According to photos taken by reconnaissance aircraft, there are five airports on Okinawa.

    On March 16, the task force met the oil tanker on the ocean surface, and each ship immediately refueled.  The sky was overcast and the sea was rough.  The crew on the oil tanker and the crew on other ships chatted with each other across the boat and looked up at the clouds from time to time.  After the oil tanker left, the fleet formed its formation again and headed for the Ryukyu Islands at a speed of 25 knots.  A common concern aboard this massive fleet is: "Before aircraft carrier aircraft attack Japanese airfields. Will we be exposed?"

    The Chinese call the black shadows that appear on the radar screen "ghosts."  At 21:40 on March 17, the loudspeaker sounded in the brightly lit room of the "Xia Yu" intelligence command post.  The room immediately became silent.  A dull voice sounded from the loudspeaker: "'Ghost' appears at 142¡ã, distance is 72 nautical miles." Two telephone operators sat in front of the switchboard, changing the plugs on it with the same movement: "'Ghost' appeared at 142¡ã  ', 72 nautical miles away." The typist began writing notes on the silent typewriter.  An officer walked out of the room.  It was pitch dark outside, and the sentry could only vaguely make out the ship closest to the "Xia Yu" in the fleet.  In this dark night, the radar detected three aircraft and determined that the distance of the aircraft was more than 130 kilometers.  A few minutes later, another group of "ghosts" were discovered.  Interrogators (identification friend or foe on radar) identified the aircraft as Japanese.  The task force may have been discovered.

    The "Xia Yu" responded immediately in accordance with its new function as a "night-flying aircraft carrier".  At the beginning of the war, few people on the "Xia Yu" thought about it.  A fleet of fighter jets might have taken off in the dark of night, but now it was a daily occurrence.  Nothing can stimulate the creative spirit in people like war, which is a tragic fact.  Everyone is accustomed to operating aircraft on the deck at night, taking off, forming formations, and flying to invisible targets without any scruples.  A few hours later, the night birds flew back.  Just like when they set off, they landed directly on the aircraft carrier.  They shot down two Japanese twin-engine planes, and the rest were already flying away.

    On the 18th, the sun did not rise on the rolling sea.  The sky gradually turned white.  The weather is cool and humid, a typical Japanese climate.  At 5:45, the first batch of aircraft began to take off from the flight decks of each aircraft carrier, and several task force wings were formed in the sky above the task force.  After the planes took off, they ascended to high altitudes and formed into flying wings, arranged layer by layer in the sky. Their mission was to protect the fleet and "sweep" all airports.  The duty officers of each ship's warning radar are crouched in front of the small fluorescent screen to monitor any suspicious "ghosts" that may appear.  Despite this, the sailors standing on the deck still looked up at the cloud-covered sky.  There was nothing anxious in their hearts, they were just a little nervous.

    At about 7 o'clock, a "ghost" appeared on the radar screen.  At 7:37, a Japanese single-engine plane emerged from the clouds.  The anti-aircraft guns sounded like thunder and were as fast as lightning, tearing the sky apart.  Japanese planes swooped down.  The people watching the battle on the ship invariably raised a question: "Is this a suicide plane?" A shining silver bomb appeared in the sky, and it did not look like a suicide plane.  The Japanese plane rose a little before being hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashing.  The bomb didn't explode.  At 8:07, a Japanese twin-engine aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft artillery while attacking the "Longxing" aircraft carrier and exploded in the air.  The task force continued to be attacked by single or small groups of Japanese aircraft throughout the day, but no ships were seriously damaged.  So far, there have been no attacks from suicide planes.

    At the same time, the task force aircraft??Bombed military facilities in the Ryukyu Islands.  The pilots had prepared for what Japanese radio said was an "increasingly intensive and intense" counterattack.  However, they encountered only weak defenses wherever they went, and were even caught off guard in most places.  Under normal circumstances, an airport should be on alert from the moment the Fu Renxuan task force is discovered.  However, when Chinese pilots flew over some airports, they saw several Japanese aircraft still lined up safely in front of the hangars, and then they saw Japanese people running around.  But.  It's too late.  In an instant, the airport turned into a sea of ??flames.  Rockets fired from the plane turned the airport upside down, and clouds of thick smoke and fire engulfed everything on the airport.  Japanese planes in some places were forced to take off, but they were shot down because they were weak and outnumbered.  There is a huge gap not only in the number of aircraft between the two armies, but also in the quality of the aircraft and weapons, as well as the quality of the pilots.  That day, approximately 500 Japanese aircraft were destroyed on the ground and another 100 were shot down.  The Chinese pilot returned home happily.  At this time, Zhang Qifan happened to receive a report from a reconnaissance plane: "Large warships assembled at Kure Port." Kure City is an important port on the inland sea south of Honshu, the main island of Japan.

    China¡¯s heavy bombers have ¡°pushed the war into the heart of Japan.¡±  March 10th.  Tokyo was bombed for the 20th time. 300 "Hongyan" bombers taking off from Fengtian base dropped 2,000 tons of bombs on Tokyo.  "I have never seen such a spectacular scene as the Tokyo fire," General Jiang Dawei said when he got off the plane: "Every district in the city is burning, and residential areas within a 38-kilometer radius of Tokyo have been razed to the ground." March 13  , Osaka, Japan's second largest city with 3 million residents, was looted by 400 "Hongan" bombers, and the fire spread over an eight-kilometer radius.  The pilots of the task force received special treatment and received the task of bombing military targets.  They flew over several Japanese cities without dropping a single bomb, looking down from above.  These cities are just one big shiny little square field, vulnerable to attack.  They braved heavy fire from anti-aircraft guns.  Attacking warships anchored in Wu Port, more than 30 were shot down by anti-aircraft artillery.  According to the report, the Japanese ships that were severely damaged were: 1 battleship, 1 hybrid battleship (battleship converted into aircraft carrier), 3 aircraft carriers, 1 light aircraft carrier, and two cruisers.

    On March 19, the ships of the task force continued to be attacked by Japanese aircraft.  The aircraft carrier "Kuafu" was hit by two bombs.  When an aircraft carrier is seen being hit from another warship, it is generally difficult to deduce the severity of the damage.  Sometimes there is no damage, sometimes it causes disaster. Everything depends on the point of explosion, not where the bomb lands.  The two bombs that fell on the Kuafu caused a series of catastrophic fires and explosions.  Although the aircraft carrier did not sink, it could only be towed away by a cruiser.  A few minutes after the "Kuafu" was hit, the same class ship "Xingtian" was hit.  Only one bomb severely damaged the "Xingtian", but it could still sail on its own.  The day of the 19th passed like this.  After Chinese planes attacked Wu City.  The task force that originally formed a long snake formation on the waters of Shikoku Island and Honshu Island regrouped and headed south.

    In the early morning of March 20, the task force drove slowly at a speed of 15 knots to avoid falling behind the "Kuafu" towed behind.  The soldiers on each ship were surprised.  They have been spared large-scale air attacks.  At around 16:00, when the warning radar detected a "ghost" flying from the north, the soldiers were already in place.  The escort aircraft group is already in the air, but due to the gloomy weather, at least some Japanese aircraft will escape the interception.  This is indeed the case.  At 16:30, several Japanese planes broke out of the clouds and then focused on attacking the "Kuafu".  The Japanese plane did not hit the "Kuafu", but another warship was damaged. "The aircraft carrier 'Xia Yu' was hit and could no longer conduct air combat." On the night of March 20, "Xia Yu" and "Kuafu" were  The "Father" and the "Xingtian" were sent to Ulithi Island together.  Some of the night-flying fighters on the "Xia Yu" were temporarily assigned to other aircraft carriers in the task force.

    The General Operation Order stipulates that before attacking Okinawa, the Kerama Islands must be captured first.  These small islands are arranged in a line ranging from 19 to 72 kilometers west of the Okinawa Islands.  In March 1945, these small islands were inhabited.  The Japanese were on every rock in the archipelago.  From an ethnic point of view, the appearance of the residents of the Kerama Islands is somewhere between the native Japanese residents (round faces) and the people of Zhejiang Province, China.  They are gentle, kind and hard-working. They have been busy in their small farm for many years and live in houses with stone walls and tiles.  The islands are defended by a garrison of more than 800 people and have no air force.  It is not difficult to imagine how these islands were "conquered".  The Chinese fully intended to live in harmony with the locals, allowing them to survive the destruction of their targets on the island.  The Chinese treat the islanders with a naive curiosity.  However, these islanders are still Japanese, and for them, the exact meaning of "foreign barbarians" is the devil.  They saw with their own eyes the tools of war laid out one by one, which strengthened their belief that the "foreign barbarians" were the devil.  So, ?They committed suicide by the hundreds.  Chinese soldiers later discovered that among the corpses of adults were those of children who had been killed by their parents before committing mass suicide.

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