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Text Chapter 233 The first battle on the island

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    Chapter 233: The first battle on the island

    The disaster in Naha had just begun. On the night after the task force escaped, 350 B-29s visited the sky over Naha.  Two thousand tons of napalm bombs were dropped, and the sea water boiled. The entire military port was completely destroyed, and it had to be rebuilt if it wanted to recover.  The sharp knife held at Donghai's throat was burned to the ground.

    All this was just the beginning. On the second night, 300 B-29 bombers visited Miyako Island and Ishigaki Island. The fire burned for two days and two nights before it was extinguished. The airport was the focus of this bombing, and the rocks on the island were all destroyed.  If it's burnt, what else can be spared?  The main force of the Second Fleet returned to Shanghai to rest for a while, and three days later it headed out of the East China Sea again. This time it was not just a fleet, but two marine divisions.

    The navy does not have many ground troops. There are only three marine divisions in total, and they are not even willing to form an army.  The Marine Division is the only ground force of the Navy, and its equipment can be said to be armed to the teeth.  A Marine Division has three infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, a self-propelled artillery regiment, and what is outrageous is a tank regiment.  The Navy always has a way to get new equipment from the General Logistics Department. For example, the newly installed 40mm rifle grenades are currently only equipped by the Marine Corps in the National Defense Forces.

    With the establishment of five regiments, plus the division's automobile battalion, baggage battalion, engineer battalion, communications company, and field hospital, a Marine Division has a large establishment of more than 23,000 people.  This kind of organization is still being played by the Navy. The new troops of the Army are now in the three-three system. The old A-division organization would have been cancelled, if not for the war.

    Off the coast of Miyako Island, a task force fleet returned from a sneak attack on Naha.  The strength of the entire fleet increased dramatically.  With six aircraft carriers and seven large battleships, the Chinese navy has 90% of its assets.  At this time, the Japanese combined fleet was on its way back to Sasebo.  There is no chance to fight with Ben, and even if there is a chance to fight, Yamamoto Isoroku may not have that intention.

    ? 7 large battleships plus 20 heavy cruisers used their naval guns to bathe the palm-sized Miyagani Island with shells. The scene was spectacular and breathtaking.  All kinds of fighter planes are not lonely, they fly very low, and as long as there are live targets, they rush down to strafe and drop bombs.  There were not many Japanese fighter planes on Miyako and Ishigaki islands.  After being tortured by the continuous bombing, thirteen Zeros managed to fly up, but were immediately beaten to the ground by more than a hundred Mustangs.  A way of bullying people to the extreme.

    The Marine Division soldiers preparing to land could not see clearly what the island covered by artillery fire looked like. The entire island was surrounded by fire and disgust.  Under such fierce artillery fire, all the Japanese must die?  It will be very easy to fight later.  Many soldiers thought so.

    Although there is no Naha naval port.  It is difficult for the Japanese Navy to quickly support Miyako Island and Ishigaki Island, but the Navy's aircraft carrier battle group is still very careful to play an interception role. The destroyers are released, and radars on all sides detect whether there are any Japanese warships that risk their lives to attack.

    When the Marine Division began to land, the Japanese army only made some sporadic counterattacks. It may be because the battle was too sudden and the Japanese navy was not ready. There were only five to six thousand Japanese troops on the two islands.  The landing process went smoothly, and the small port carefully survived the artillery fire.  After the Marine Division's commandos occupied the port, when the freighter approached, Japanese artillery fire came suddenly.

    A brigade of Japanese artillery, hidden in Miyako County, used Meiji 38-style field artillery to launch a desperate attack on ships in the port.  These artillerymen know very well that once the target is exposed, death awaits them.

    As expected, while Pingliang Port was bombarded, the naval guns quickly locked onto the target and carried out violent suppression.  The artillery fire caused a lot of casualties to the landing ships. The Marines who were landing in an orderly manner had nowhere to hide under the bombardment, causing more than 100 casualties.  Shen Honglie, who was in charge of commanding the landing operations, was extremely unhappy. He picked up the microphone and shouted: "Haihang, throw napalm bombs into the city. The Japanese who die are the good guys."

    There was no plan to throw napalm bombs into urban areas in the original plan. After all, this thing is too cruel, and the gentlemen of the Navy cannot bear to use napalm bombs to deal with civilians.  Now that the casualties were large, Shen Honglie didn't care so much and directly let the carrier-based aircraft on the aircraft carrier mount napalm bombs, regardless of whether civilians were civilians or not.

    Fifty-five horizontal bombers finally have a place to be used. This kind of carrier-based aircraft equipped by the navy had no chance to appear in previous battles. The reason is that the effect of horizontal bombing is not good, and this type is called "Penguin"  The bomber was a bit clumsy, slow, and had a bomb load of less than two and a half tons.  If it weren't for the difficulty of the B-17 and B-29 taking off and landing on the aircraft carrier, this kind of special bomber would have been eliminated long ago. Now the Navy is using this kind of bomber, and the Army is still using it to tow the airborne division.  Carrying a glider.  Because the number of C-47s is insufficient, it is still a matter of interests. Domestic transport aircraft orders will naturally be given priority. This bomber (transport aircraft) manufactured by the Eurasian Group Wuhu Airport will naturally be given priority in military industry orders.

      Napalm bombs set a small urban area on fire. The previous night bombings were aimed at military targets, but now the bombings do not care about the lives of civilians.  The generals of the Wehrmacht only care about the lives of their soldiers.

    The fire was set off in a timely manner. More than 3,000 Japanese troops were hiding in the city. More than half of them were injured or killed by the fire. When they ran out of the fire scene in embarrassment, what was waiting for them was the ruthless shooting of the Marine Division soldiers.

    The landing on Ishigaki Island will be carried out later. After fully learning from the experience of Miyagani Island, Ishigaki County will be lit first, and then the official landing will be carried out.  As a result, the casualties caused were much smaller. The landing operations on the two islands lasted three days, killing and wounding more than 5,800 Japanese troops and taking no more than 15 prisoners.  Our army suffered about 300 casualties, most of which were caused by that shelling.

    For this reason, the Navy has set a new rule. Anyone who mentions civilian casualties is irresponsible to the soldiers.  Japan launched a war and should pay the price for the war.

    The Japanese combined fleet that returned to Tokyo was still inflicting wounds and could only watch as Miyakojima and Ishigakijima were captured.  The fall of these two islands means that the connection between Japan and the Southeast Asia can only take the long route of the North Pacific.  In fact, this route is now full of crises. The Sino-US joint fleets are fighting for their lives. Every day, Japanese merchant ships are sunk by heavy patrol artillery. Of course, with just a few warships, it is impossible to destroy the entire route.  If everything is cut off, there will always be fish that slip through the net.

    The defeat of the navy caused considerable turmoil in the Japanese political arena!  The power of the army began to rise. At this time, the Japanese navy and army still did not forget the internal fighting. They first defeated their opponents before fighting according to their own will.

    Konoe Fumimaro's cabinet was forced to step down. The army, which had not yet tasted its power, won a complete victory in the internal struggle. Army Minister Sugisugimoto came to power to form the cabinet. Nagata Tetsuzan, known as the representative of the rational faction, became the minister of war. Tojo  After all his efforts, he failed to jump up, so he had to take over the post of chief of general staff.

    The new cabinet is still faced with the problem of war and the problem of defeating the Chinese army on land.  In this regard, the Army's previous plan to attack from North Korea now seems to be more intense. The Army needs a victory to secure its position.

    But this proposal to increase offensive intensity cannot be passed smoothly within the army.  Sugimoto held a cabinet meeting, at which the new Minister of War Nagata stated on the spot that the army's attack could not be overwhelming like that of the navy.

    Emperor Hirohito asked him: The war has reached this point, and the empire needs a victory to boost morale. Why do you object?

    Nagata replied: "The empire's war resources are limited. The current resource reserves can only maintain the intensity of the current war for up to one year. And this war has just begun. The routes to Southeast Asia are now basically cut off, and resources are not available.  Is the supply empire only prepared to end the war in one year?"

    "Your Excellency, as Minister of War, don't you think that you are being cowardly?" Navy Minister Mitsumasa Yoneuchi naturally took a bite when he found an opportunity. Nagata Tetsuzan showed indifference in the face of such an attack: "Your Excellency, although the Navy does not admit it, the Navy is actually defeated.  Under the premise that the Nanyang route cannot be guaranteed, how can the empire's military production be maintained? How long do you think you can last just by obtaining resources from North Korea and the Far East? If I were you, I should take the blame and resign instead of sitting here and talking.  .¡±

    "Isn't the Army claimed to be invincible? It can defeat the Chinese Army, occupy Manchuria, and seize China's resources." Mitsumasa Yoneuchi began to quibble, avoiding the topic of his resignation.

    "Didn't the Navy once claim to be invincible? Your Excellency actually believes in the statement of boosting the morale of the people? As soldiers, we must calmly face the enemy's strength. After many mobilizations in the Sino-Soviet War, the Chinese Army has reached a scale of  Eight million, according to the Chinese establishment, is 160 armies. The total strength of the Sino-Soviet front line is about five million, maybe a little less. So, may I ask, how many armies does the empire have now? After multiple mobilizations,  The total strength of the empire is 150 divisions, of which 17 are Class A divisions in Nanyang, 38 are Class B divisions, and 22 are divisions in the Far East. Your Excellency thinks that all the remaining divisions should be piled up.  Can we win in Korea? Is there no need for the mainland?" Nagata Tetsuzan and Yoneuchi Mitsumasa had a quarrel. It was a dispute between the army and the navy. Although neither Sugisumoto nor Tojo could agree with Nagata, they both kept their mouths shut. Now they want to  Consistently external.

    "The empire can launch a new round of mobilization!" Minai's mouth was still tough, and Nagata sneered: "Then please first ask the navy to stop the construction of the Musashi and give up the steel to the army, otherwise our infantry can only carry wooden sticks.  Fight the Chinese.¡±

    "Baga!" Minai jumped up, pretending to draw his sword, Nagata looked at him with a sneer without changing his expression.

    An imperial meeting broke up unhappy. After Hirohito and Xini, the army decided how to fight.  .  )
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