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High-Tech Warlords Volume 1 (Seven Hundred and Forty-Four) Sunset on Okinawa

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    From April 5 to 19, the battle for Okinawa was mainly an artillery battle.  On April 19, the battleships and cruisers of the maritime artillery fleet approached Okinawa, and heavy artillery bombarded the Japanese bunker positions.  The bombardment lasted for an hour, and the army troops immediately launched a charge and advanced 500 to 800 meters.  General Wang Chaoyong once wrote: "This reminds me of the Battle of Verdun. The Japanese army's tactical defense is as flexible and coordinated as the Germans back then." The leading troops of the Chinese army advanced step by step, pushing the Japanese army on a ridge  The fortifications were destroyed section by section, and finally they reached the top of the mountain.  They thought they could go down the mountain smoothly and continued to move forward.  In fact, this is not the case. There are no fewer fortifications on the shady slope of this mountain than on the sunny slope.  It seems that it is not easy to go up the mountain, and it is also difficult to go down the mountain. The Chinese army must break through the Japanese bunker defense line.  These lines of defense were like miniature Maginot Lines, with electric lighting and ventilation equipment in the bunkers, and rail-mounted rocket launchers.  The Chinese army used tanks with flamethrowers to replace soldiers carrying flamethrowers.  One day, the Japanese army launched a counterattack, recaptured a village and approached an airport.  The 27th Division of the Chinese Army was replaced by the 1st Marine Division. This transfer immediately stimulated combat effectiveness.  The Marines immediately realized that "the southern front was more difficult than the northern front."  Due to insufficient supplies of ammunition, the pressure on the Japanese could only be tightened and relaxed.  The Japanese "Sakura" attack planes hit two ammunition transport ships and destroyed all 40,000 tons of bullets and artillery shells on the ships.  Fu Renxuan made a prompt decision and ordered the ammunition to be airlifted from the Philippines.  Okinawa has become a big fire pit that cannot be filled with military supplies.  However, for China, which has strong national power.  Affording this expense is not a problem.  On April 30, General Ba Tianlei held a press conference and believed that China's manpower must be cherished first, even if this battle takes more time and pays a very high price.  On May 7, it rained heavily again, hindering the movement of heavy weapons.  In Ba Tianlei's staff, many officers proposed to "launch a decisive attack" and wait for an opportunity to land behind enemy lines if necessary.  Ba Tianlei refused to adopt these suggestions.  May 11th.  After fierce hand-to-hand fighting, the Chinese army advanced another 800 meters.  In the first month of the battle, the Marines fought in northern Okinawa and lost 95 men; half a month later (when the troops attacked south), the death toll reached 852.  Within 6 weeks, the Chinese Army lost 3,500 men.

    On May 14, 1946, the aircraft carrier "Xia Yu" was bathed in the faint morning light and sailed on the sea in the southern corner of Kyushu under the sky, heading northwest 340°.  Task force planes took off to attack the airfield.  The mast of the "Xia Yu" hangs the flagship emblem of the aircraft carrier fleet commander, Admiral Zhang Qifan.  Zhang Qifan boarded the "Xia Yu" three days ago.  The "Chongqing" where he was originally stationed was hit hard by two Japanese suicide planes and suffered serious losses.  Now Zhang Qifan has nothing but the clothes he is wearing.  All other luggage items were destroyed.  The Japanese "Kamikaze" attack team is no longer all novices, and has begun to include some experienced veteran pilots.  Such unbridled abuse of one's most precious talents will certainly not last.  However, this approach is still extremely effective until these talented pilots are exhausted.

    At 6 o'clock in the morning on May 14, the radar of the "Xia Yu" discovered five groups of Japanese aircraft.  Chinese fighter jets are already in the air.  About 25 minutes after the Japanese plane was discovered, people on the deck of the aircraft carrier saw several planes falling from the sky far behind the ship, trailing flames and smoke.  The air battle was conducted entirely in the clouds.

    At 6:50, the warning radar discovered a lonely "ghost", 20 nautical miles away and 200° southwest.  The height is 2600 meters.  The tail guns on the ship were all pointed in this direction, and they would fire as soon as the "ghost" appeared.  At 6:54, the "Ghost" appeared and quickly approached the aircraft carrier.  It flew into the clouds for a while, then resolutely broke out of the clouds and descended when it was about 6 kilometers away.  This is a "Gale" fighter jet.  The Chinese ship's anti-aircraft guns opened fire.  The Japanese plane rose into the clouds again.  The anti-aircraft guns continued to fire.  People were in front of the radar, on the deck, and on the bridge closely monitoring the approach of the Japanese aircraft.  A pair of eyes turned to the clouds where the Japanese plane was hidden.  Everyone on the ship entered their respective combat positions at 4 o'clock in the morning.  All planes that have not taken off have been empty of gasoline and stored in storage.

    This Japanese aircraft flew from the stern of the ship, with an orientation of approximately 150° to the starboard side, which is an angle of 30° to the centerline of the aircraft carrier.  The Japanese plane was obscured by clouds and the ship was still invisible.  Anti-aircraft guns continued to fire at Japanese aircraft based on targets reported by radar.  Soon the anti-aircraft machine guns also opened fire.  All the guns fired fiercely at this invisible Japanese - a "ghost". It was really a very strange scene.

    At 6:56, the "Xia Yu" turned the rudder and sailed 345° northwest.  The Japanese plane broke out of the clouds at 170 degrees southeast and began to dive.

    The dive angle of attack of the Japanese aircraft is not large, no more than 30°, and the speed is about 450 kilometers per hour.  There is no doubt that this is a suicide plane.  It approached the aircraft carrier calmly and flexibly to avoid being hit prematurely.  It quickly changes altitude up and down, corrects direction, and aims to turn left and right rudders.??Aircraft carrier.  This Japanese pilot was so experienced that anyone who saw him attacking could not help but gasp.  In a moment, everything will be over, and the result can only be that the kamikaze attack aircraft crashes on the "Xia Yu". Other endings are difficult to imagine at the moment.  Generally in similar situations, regardless of the extent of damage, there will always be casualties.

    The artillery and machine guns of various calibers on the ship were roaring, and even the rifles were firing.  The Japanese plane flew over under heavy raindrops of artillery fire. The fuselage had been hit in several places, and flames and black smoke were trailed from the tail.  But it still swayed slightly and attacked the aircraft carrier, getting closer and closer. Its wings formed a straight line, appearing in front of people's eyes like a sharp sword.  The deck of the aircraft carrier was deserted. Everyone except the gunner was lying down.  This flaming and screaming bolide slid across the "ship island" and hit directly behind the forward lift platform, making a thunderous noise.

    In this thunderous sound.  The entire aircraft carrier shook.  The officer standing on the bridge was dazzled by the blazing light from the explosion.  After the strong light flashed, the flight deck was lifted up, and a 40-meter-long steel plate rolled up like a banana peel; one-third of the lift platform was blown off, and it flew more than 100 meters into the air.  Such a large piece of steel plate danced in the air like a bird, and then fell on the sea. At the same time, billowing smoke filled the entire deck, which was extremely thrilling.  Seconds later, emergency personnel wearing asbestos overalls rushed into the smoke.

    A total of 12 people on the ship were killed.  Judging from the astonishing momentum of the explosion, the material losses must have been extremely serious.  But in fact, apart from the blown holes and the lifted deck, only a few headers were blown off.  The bomb on the plane broke away from the plane at the last moment of the Kamikaze attack plane's fall, penetrated two decks, and exploded above a cabin filled with toilet paper.  The pile of paper in the cabin acted like a spring cushion, blocking the downward explosive force. As a result, the explosive force rushed upward and shattered the lifting platform above.  After the explosion and fire, several aircraft parked in the hangar cabin and furniture in several officers' bedrooms were burned.  After the fire broke out in the bedding indoors, a plume of smoke emitted.  But it didn't cause any great fire.  After the header pipe exploded, more than 2,000 tons of seawater entered the ship.  It will take several weeks to repair the deck.  but.  Generally speaking, the "Xia Yu" was quite lucky. It survived the disaster and passed another dangerous hurdle.  Japanese suicide planes also severely damaged the "Kuafu" and "Chongqing", almost sinking them.  The two aircraft carriers were battered by the bombings and were in pieces. The ship was full of corpses and stunk for several days.  All Chinese who saw them sailing back to the port were shocked.  The "Xia Yu" only needs to bandage its minor new injuries, just like a veteran looking for a military doctor with scars all over his body.  The military doctor always bandaged him while joking with him.  Today, only the 12 soldiers who were killed in the bombing can no longer joke about it.  The last impression they took away from the world was the "Kamikaze" attack aircraft that was dragging flames and growing rapidly in size, and its sword-like straight wings.

    The bones of the Japanese pilot were picked up, put together, and placed on the corner of the deck together with the blackened wreckage of the plane.  Only the upper body of the pilot's corpse was relatively complete. From the tears in his uniform and shirt, it could be seen that the pilot's muscles were very developed and strong.  There is sparse hair on the brown skin, a right arm and head are still connected to the upper body, and the head is tilted on the shoulder; the thick neck has become limp like a rag doll, and the eyes are still wide open.  Soldiers from the entire ship lined up and filed past the body of the suicide squad member.  The soldiers did not want to look at the swollen face and dull eyes of the deceased.  They just stared at the buttons on their uniforms.  I thought that these buttons would fall into the hands of some lucky senior officer and serve as a beautiful war souvenir.  The black button is engraved with the Kamikaze team emblem: a cherry blossom with three leaves.  The Japanese poet Motoi once wrote: "If you want to know where the soul of Yamato is, just watch the wild cherry blossoms bloom towards the sun." There is also a proverb that says: "The beauty is not as beautiful as the cherry blossoms, and the courage is not as brave as the samurai."

    On the island of Okinawa, the two armies continued to compete and the fierce battle remained as before.  On May 9, the Chinese army captured a highland they called "Zuizi Mountain".  The Chinese artillery immediately occupied the high ground and took advantage of the Japanese artillery positions.  However, after the Chinese army occupied the high ground, it rained heavily and heavy weapons and military supplies were blocked. Therefore, the tactical progress achieved this time did not have the expected effect.  On the night of the 24th, Japanese military aircraft unexpectedly delivered harassment commandos to various airports in Okinawa.  The Chinese army saw a group of ferocious demons emerging from the darkness, throwing grenades and explosive packets everywhere, completely disregarding their own life and death.  The Japanese commandos killed more than a dozen Chinese soldiers and destroyed only 6 aircraft.  The Japanese military command must have placed great hopes on this operation. Its original intention was to severely damage China's air force in Okinawa, making it unable to repel the large-scale risk-taking attack by Japanese suicide planes.  The Japanese Air Force wasted no time in destroying the last remaining preparations.All the reserve forces were engaged in fierce fighting, which put the Chinese navy, army and air force in a difficult situation.  Chinese military pilots take to the skies every day and even take off several times a day.  The pilots of the 3rd Squadron of Task Force Fu Renxuan conducted frequent sorties like this, which lasted for 77 days.  Sailors on the ship are almost always on alert.  Mechanics and maintenance teams are on duty late into the night every day, waiting to inspect and maintain aircraft.  On the destroyer serving as a "radar picket", life is really difficult for sailors.  These small ships take turns performing missions.  Guards were on the cordon for 3 out of 6 days.  During these three days, the sailors could not sleep and could only find time to lie on the deck or on the floor of their rooms for half an hour; they could only wolf down a ration between battles.  One destroyer was attacked by 50 Japanese aircraft on the radar cordon.  These 50 aircraft did not attack at the same time, because with so many aircraft attacking one destroyer, the target was a bit too small. However, the attacks by Japanese aircraft continued; the destroyer shot down 20 "Gods" with anti-aircraft guns in one day.  "Wind" attack aircraft.  Some destroyers are really lucky. Under the fierce attack of Japanese planes, they can't be destroyed or beaten. It's amazing.  For example, the destroyer "Jijixing".  It was able to drive to a ship repair base alone after being severely damaged by two bombs and six suicide planes.  As mentioned before, many destroyers were bombed and sunk.  The last large-scale suicide attack was carried out in pouring rain on May 28.  On the same day, Wu Qianlong came to replace Fu Renxuan and became the supreme commander of the entire force in the Okinawa theater.  No formal or informal reasons were given for this personnel change, and subsequent explanations were not entirely satisfactory.  Perhaps the Chinese Supreme Command understood Wu Qianlong's mistakes in the Battle of Leyte Gulf faster than the victims. It can also be considered that the Supreme Command found that a "dinosaur-style" onslaught on Okinawa was needed.  But in this case, why is Ba Tianlei, who is always cautious and stingy with troops, allowed to retain the command of land warfare?

    After May 28th.  There was some movement within the Japanese defense lines.  The Chinese army found that the Japanese retreated to the second line of bunker defense, while the Chinese army slowly advanced in the mud.  The Japanese artillery was silenced.  It may be that there are no cannons left, but it seems more likely that they have run out of shells.  According to military experts' estimates, there are about 12,000 Japanese in southern Okinawa, densely packed into a small area.  This can only indicate that it will be very difficult to conquer this last defensive stronghold.

    On June 10, after a burst of shelling and bombing, the Chinese army launched a full-line offensive. The main target was the Japanese defense line on a steep slope 150 meters high and 5 kilometers long. This steep slope was called Dak.  Only then did the Japanese army reveal a heavy artillery fire network, suppressing the Chinese offensive.  but.  The Japanese defenders in Dake were obviously making a desperate struggle, at best just to delay for a few days.  Ba Tianlei ordered parachutes to be used to airdrop a surrender letter to the Japanese, giving them 36 hours to consider accepting the "honorable surrender" proposal.  The 7th Marine Division and the 97th Marine Division used this period to use their outstanding mountaineering skills to climb the steep slope despite Japanese artillery fire.  After 36 hours, the Japanese army did not respond, so the Chinese army launched another general offensive on June 13.  On June 17, Ba Tianlei ordered another one-hour ceasefire and sent armored vehicles with loudspeakers.  He once again urged the Japanese troops to surrender honorably.  Twelve Japanese emerged from the bunker and raised their hands in surrender.  An hour later, the Chinese army opened fire again.

    In the final stage of this critical battle, the close combat was extremely fierce.  reached the pinnacle of the entire war.  Japanese women also participated in the war with the Japanese army.  The Japanese soldiers all had grenades on their waists and rushed out of the cave like a swarm. They jumped under the Chinese tanks and blew up the tanks. The Chinese troops blocked the attack with flamethrowers.  The enemy defenders on the steep slope have turned into death squads, and it seems that they must be eliminated one by one.  On June 18, General Ba Tianlei went to an outpost command post to observe and direct the final charge.  The Japanese artillery opened fire, and a shell exploded next to Ba Tianlei.  Due to serious injuries, Ba Tianlei died a few minutes later.  This is also the God of War's reward for this commander who was too stingy with the lives of his soldiers.  General Ba Tianlei was the first Chinese general commanding an army to die on the battlefield since the Pacific War.  The next day, Lieutenant General Ma Bufeng, deputy commander of the Army's 96th Division, also died in Okinawa.  The time has come to capture this defensive stronghold.  On June 21, China issued a communiqué officially declaring the failure of Japanese resistance in Okinawa.

    The battle to conquer Okinawa lasted 82 days (original plan was 70 days).  The Chinese army lost 5,270 people (infantry, sailors and pilots) and nearly 40,000 injured; it lost 422 aircraft (120 of which were destroyed on the damaged aircraft carrier); the losses at sea were: 115 warships were sunk, 79  The ship was damaged.  The Japanese army lost approximately 124,000 men and 4,300 aircraft on Okinawa.

    The Chinese government’s announcement of this result shows that victory in the Pacific War is undoubtedly imminent.  The Chinese Supreme Command fully believes that things will be much better now than during the period of setbacks, and that they can stand upright and face public opinion; and the Chinese government also firmly believes that the public will be greatly shocked by the disparity in losses between the enemy and ourselves, and will therefore praise the command of the Chinese generals.  competence.  HoweverThe result was just the opposite. Once the battle report was published, it immediately caused an uproar.

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