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Text Chapter 938 Guam, the battle flag is flying (5)

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    At four o'clock in the morning, the night is dark, like thick ink that cannot be painted.  The sea breeze roared and the branches and leaves swayed, and the heat and humidity of the day was washed away.  On the highlands of Mount Tapo southwest of Jonas, more than 800 airborne troops were hiding in the attack position. Snakes and insects were scurrying around them, and mosquitoes and flies were buzzing, making the newly arrived airborne troops suffer.  In just ten days since landing on the island, seven officers and nearly a hundred soldiers have been reduced due to illness. If it were not for the emergency shipment of a large number of anti-malarial drugs by domestic seaplane, the situation would have been worse.

    Six kilometers northwest of the highland is the last Japanese base in the south of the island, Yona Town.  The Marine Division had a chance to quickly capture this place, but because it was backed by Pago Bay, the Japanese Fifth Fleet had two troop carriers unload soldiers here during its first support, and then the naval guns established a defensive line, making it impossible for the Marines to attack.  Later, due to domestic requirements, the construction of field airports was accelerated first, which gave the Japanese army a chance to breathe.  In addition to the high ground, another regiment was arranged by Ye Zishan in Talofofu to the east, and a blocking battalion was moving towards Pago Bay, encircling all the Japanese troops in Yona in an effort to encircle them on three sides.

    There was silence in the woods on the hill opposite, but Ye Zishan knew that there were at least 500 Japanese soldiers hiding in the rainforest and caves.

    "Push the rocket launcher behind the rock. Daniel, prepare the flares. Luo Jun, level your 40mm anti-aircraft guns. There is no need for air defense now." Ye Zishan looked at the Japanese positions and began to deploy the attack.  This is a meticulous job. As an officer, you must try your best to ensure that each platoon can receive heavy fire support.  Fortunately, the rapid support of the heavy patrol formation allowed the airborne troops to finally obtain their favorite heavy weapons, mortars and the 107mm 12-barreled rocket launcher nicknamed the "seeder".  So he pulled eight rocket launchers to the highest point, and eight 120mm mortars were deployed behind the cliff. Even the 40mm anti-aircraft guns originally used to deal with Japanese air attacks after dawn were temporarily leveled.

    "Major. The navy is coming."

    After arranging the task, two eye-catching red mast lights appeared on the sea.  "Da Niu, flash bomb." According to the pre-signal, after the mast light continuously sent out two long and one short signals, Ye Zishan immediately asked the mortar to fire the flash bomb to provide the coordinates.  The island is narrow, and if there is no coordinates to blast randomly, God knows how many shells will fall on our heads.

    After two bangs, two flares landed on the hill and the town of Yona one after another.  "Let them fire at the landing point." Seeing that the landing point was correct, Ye Zishan immediately asked the signal corps to contact the navy.

    "The homing pigeon is calling the fishing boat. The homing pigeon is calling the fishing boat. Bearing 176, depth 25, width 35, flash bomb impact pointfire in ten minutes."

    "The fishing boat has received it, the flash bomb will hit the target, and it will fire in ten minutes."

    "Get down! Get down! The navy is about to open fire, get downboom, boom, boom!"

    As soon as the call ended, fire started to light up on the sea.  Two Yongxing-class destroyers providing support launched fierce bombardments on the southwest highlands and the town of Yona from five kilometers away.  In the navy, the 120-meter gun can only be regarded as a secondary gun, but for the infantry, it already belongs to the ranks of heavy artillery.  Moreover, the projectile weight of semi-automatically loaded naval guns is generally higher than that of the army, and the rate of fire is also faster.  "Boom, boom, boom." Twelve naval guns.  Thirty-three kilograms of high-explosive grenades were thrown at a rate of eight rounds per minute in an area with a length and width of less than four kilometers from Yona to the southwest highlands.  Dense artillery shells continued to explode in the rain forest, trees were pushed down, gravel and soil were scattered in all directions, and vine branches and leaves were floating in the shock wave.  The originally silent Japanese army position immediately erupted with shrill shouts.

    Private Akira Yamamura, holding his gun, hid in a small weathered cave and screamed at the top of his lungs, trying to boost his courage.  As a recruit of the 55th Division, he came from Shikoku Island until ten days ago when he heard that Chinese commandos could easily tear apart naval defenses like paper.  After a large number of Chinese marines and airborne troops landed on the island and easily seized the Apra Port, they realized that the imperial army and navy were not as invincible as domestic propaganda claimed.  At least for these ten days, with the help of a large number of aircraft, the navy was unable to regain control of the sea from beginning to end.

    Densely packed cannonballs exploded around the cave, and brown soil and sandstone continued to wash away the entrance. As the cannonballs became denser and denser, the narrow cave began to tremble, and tiny gravels clanked against the helmets.  Seeing that the cave might collapse at any time, the shouts of joy from his companions suddenly came from all around.  Looking through the air holes at the back, artillery flashes appeared on the north ocean surface of the two China destroyers. Saipan's Imperial Fifth Fleet has arrived!

    "Major, the Japanese warships are coming! The navy said that they must deal with the enemy ships first." The signal soldier carried the radio on his back and rushed into the bunker with a peephole.  "Damn it, sooner or later! Contact the Second Regiment and take action immediately. By the way, tell the navy not to let the Japanese ships come near! Get up, get up! Don't pretend to be dead, just scream at the top of your lungs."  Ye Zishan looked at his watch and saw that the bombardment was four minutes shorter than expected, so there must be a lot of surviving Japanese troops.  But he had no choice. Before the navy completely defeated the Japanese navy, the battle to seize the island was like this, so he immediately ordered a pretend attack andThe Japanese army used heavy firepower to lure them out, but they did not forget to contact the navy to block the Japanese ships and cancel the remaining support bombardment.

    The airborne troops got out of their bunkers one after another, relying on the trees and rocks to shout loudly and get into a charging posture. The commandos also quickly fell down and crawled towards the high ground.  The light and heavy machine guns and 40mm anti-aircraft guns ambushed behind the bunker also fired violently in disguise, drawing out countless lines of fire in the dense forest.  "The enemy is coming!" The nervous Japanese army didn't know that this was just a feint attack. Hearing the sergeant's cry, Yamamura immediately put his face on the 38 rifle, and repeatedly searched the bottom of the high ground with his small eyes.  However, because the shelling just now caused debris to accumulate at the entrance of the cave, blocking the shooting sight, he had to lean out slightly.  With the help of a signal flare, he and his companions discovered the crawling black shadow beneath the high ground.  "Kill them." The sergeant raised his saber and personally directed four 75mm mountain cannons and two heavy machine guns to fire at the crawling black shadow.  But what surprised Yamamura was that the Chinese ** team on the opposite side seemed to have no artillery, and they allowed their own side to fire without taking any measures to suppress it.  "Do they want to rush over and fight hand-to-hand?" Thinking of this, Yamamura immediately pulled out his bayonet and stuck it under the muzzle of the gun.

    "Hoo hoo ho bang bang." The bullets streaked in the night. The mountain village had only fired two shots before the rifle jammed.  Due to insufficient copper and inadequate special coating technology, when the painted steel-cased bullets are used in areas with heavy salt spray, they need to be oiled first to prevent them from jamming.  But Guam was attacked by surprise.  He was in a hurry when he came out, and he had been fighting for the past few days, so he didn't have time to refuel.

    Shancun immediately retreated into the cave. As soon as he exited Stinky Egg, he heard a strange whooshing sound.  Looking up again, more than a dozen bright fireballs exploded around the mountain cannon and machine gun positions.  "Boom, boom, boom" These explosions were extremely fast, as if thirty-five cannons were firing at the same time, covering the position in an instant.  "What is this? Why is there no sound of shelling? Daxi-kun! Kono-kun!" The Japanese army had never seen a rocket launcher that fired very softly, so they were stunned by the rocket bombs falling from the sky.  The firepower points attracted by the airborne troops' feint attack were destroyed in an instant.  Yamamura shouted to his comrades around him, but nothing but explosions were explosions. Until an arm stretched out from the side, he thought it was a comrade who was about to go into the hole to escape, but when he pulled harder, he realized that his hand was light and fluttery.  When he looked again, he realized that this was not a comrade who had taken refuge in a cave, but a piece of corpse with an arm attached.

    "It's our turn, come on! Run, run, run!" After destroying the Japanese firepower with a fake attack, the airborne troops quickly rushed out of the bunker.  The veterans who have been fighting in the northwest for a year are by no means comparable to the Japanese recruits. The tough and skilled airborne troops move in squad units, moving left and right quickly.  And you can always find cover.  In addition, for this mission, each squad was equipped with two fully automatic rifles. Together with the "tearer" general-purpose machine gun and various types of artillery, they completely suppressed the Japanese army who only had rifles and grenade launchers.

    "For the emperor! For the empire! For mother" Yamamura hiding in the cave had bloodshot eyes.  Completely forgetting that shouting would reveal his position, he shouted every time he fired to embolden himself.  Just after he hit the third Chinese airborne soldier, a grenade flew in from outside the cave.  Roll into the deep corner of the cave.

    Boom!

    The explosive air wave carried the rocks and gravel and surged out from the entrance of the cave.  Flames and gravel made his back bloody.  But before he could climb out, an even more terrifying flame suddenly shot in from outside the cave.  "Flame gun" As soon as the last thought came up, the mountain village was burned to charcoal by gasoline and flames.

    While the airborne troops attacked Jona, attacks were also launched in Agana and other places.  More than 7,000 Marines and airborne troops fought bloody battles. While most of Guam was engaged in fierce fighting, Agana Beach due north was also extremely busy.  "Quick, put down the lifeboat! Climb down, hurry up." Outside the shoal, a dozen destroyers and ad hoc cruisers gathered in a group. The sailors on the deck were busy lowering the rope ladder, cutting the lifeboat cables, and urging the army to disembark.

    After all, the destroyer is not a dedicated landing ship. It is really difficult for the Fifth Fleet to quickly send two thousand troops and equipment ashore.  In addition, they did not dare to turn on the lights, so many soldiers fell into the water without a firm grip, and even two 70mm infantry guns fell into the sea.  In order to protect the landing site, Kondo Nobutake had to place all four light cruisers on the outer wings and the Kumano heavy cruiser in the middle to ensure that the ten most powerful 203mm naval guns could support any side.  The artillery and torpedoes of other ships are also ready. As long as there is any disturbance, they will be full fire.  "Tell them to hurry up. This is a war, not hanging out in the fish market!" The noisy and chaotic scene made Nobutake Kondo dizzy. He paced back and forth along the deck corridor, looking nervous and anxious.  You must know that the terrain in the north of Guam is very special. There are cliffs more than ten meters high along the coast. There is only Ajana, a shallow sea, and there are no obstacles around it. If another submarine appears at this time and releases a few torpedoes, what will happen to the Fifth Fleet?  The dead ones don¡¯t even know.

    But the more urgent it is, the more accidents occur. Dozens of wooden lifeboats have obviously passed through the shallow sea.On the shore, an iron-hulled traffic boat passing behind was in bad luck. Seeing that it was about to approach the reef, a ball of water suddenly exploded from the bottom of the boat.  "Boom!" The explosion was so sudden and violent that it directly lifted the traffic boat and then dismembered it into parts.  "It's a mine, Baga! The Chinese have laid mines! Damn it, what are the sentries on the shore doing? Quickly, use machine guns to shoot the beach to clear the channel." The explosion also frightened the fleet, and when Kondo Nobutake re-emerged from the protection of the guards,  Only when I came out did I understand what happened.

    This is a shallow beach!  There are army sentries patrolling the shore 24 hours a day to protect the landing site. How could there be mines?  Could it be said that all the army on the island have become loyal?

    In fact, he was wrong. Beidao was still under Japanese control.  As for these magnetic mines, they were quietly deployed by the submarine a few days ago.  Originally, the submarine captain wanted to blow up the warship, but because he failed to calculate the tide well and misjudged the ocean current, he was washed into the shoal by the sea water. Even the sentries on the shore did not know.  The wooden lifeboat passes with no problem.  But the traffic boat had an iron shell and was detonated.

    It has to be said that Kondo Nobutake and the Fifth Fleet were really unlucky tonight. Not to mention losing a heavy cruiser on the way, they all reached the shore and actually detonated mines that were washed away by the waves.  A violent explosion swept through the shoal, and hundreds of Japanese soldiers were instantly submerged in water several meters high, and all surrounding boats were overturned.  The explosion and fire made Kondo Nobutake worried, and he immediately ordered the army to be forcibly driven into the sea.  Let them wade through the water, and then let each ship maneuver to the deep sea to prevent being attacked.

    The cold orders made the Army yell. Many soldiers were forced by naval officers to jump into the sea. Cannons and ammunition boxes were also pushed directly off the ship. There were scenes of shouting and chaos everywhere.  But Nobutake Kondo didn¡¯t seem to hear Army¡¯s curse.  For him, the life and death of two thousand troops cannot be compared with the safety of the Fifth Fleet.  His worries were justified. Just as the sailors were driving the army into the sea, the heavy cruiser Xi'an and the light cruiser Fuchunjiang, together with two destroyers, were quietly approaching from 18,000 meters away.  In order to prevent the "cat's eye" from discovering him, Colonel Bai Fuan, the captain of the Xi'an, had already ordered all lights to be turned off, and the four warships sailed entirely on radar.

    "Captain. After entering 15,000 meters, do you still want to move forward?" The navigator was unsure about paying attention, because no one knew how far the "cat's eye" carefully cultivated by the Japanese army could see (in fact, only targets of 5,000 meters could be seen at night).  Moreover, the information on the 93 oxygen torpedo obtained by the Intelligence Department has always had a fishbone stuck in the throat of the navy.  50 knots/20,000 meters, 42 knots/32,000 meters, 36 knots up to 40,000 meters!  The thunder head is charged with 490 kilograms of explosives!  Just see this string of numbers.  No captain was willing to approach the Japanese ship at night when visibility was poor.

    Bai Fuan is the nephew of Bai Yutang, the current chief of staff of the First Fleet and the famous Qingdao naval battle ace submarine captain.  There was such a teaching from an uncle. He knew that the Navy could no longer accept heavy losses, so he decided to stop advancing: "Turn right at 57 degrees. Keep parallel to the Japanese ship, and the fire control radar starts positioning."

    The Xi'an-class heavy cruiser is a cutting-edge heavy cruiser that was only delivered in the first half of the year.  A total of six ships were built in the 1936 naval plan, but six more were added after the war.  As a post-treaty heavy patrol, the standard displacement of the Xi'an class has soared to 18,800 tons, the full load is as high as 22,500 tons, and the maximum speed is 33 knots.  But this is not what attracts the navy. What really makes the navy excited is the 1937 L56/210mm rapid-fire naval gun that has been developed by the Nanjing Naval Factory for ten years.  The maximum range of this gun is as high as 31,050 meters, and it can reach 28,350 meters when firing 139 kg armor-piercing projectiles.  The biggest innovation is the fully automatic loading machine developed by combining French flexible loading technology (can be loaded at any angle) and the drawings provided by Yang Qiu, making the theoretical maximum rate of fire as high as ten rounds per minute, and a single door can pour the maximum amount of ammunition per minute.  13.9 tons of ammunition, when using armor-piercing projectiles, it can penetrate 103 mm homogeneous armor at a distance of 25,000 meters.

    The data is very strong, and the armor-piercing efficiency and range meet the requirements. However, the Navy has only reached a speed of eight rounds per minute in actual measurements. This is because the Nanjing factory used a high-speed ammunition hoist made in the United States during the experiment, but it was later purchased by the Roosevelt Administration.  I don't agree to sell it, because the craftsmanship I imitated cannot reach the level of the original.  But even so, the Navy decided to adopt it and equipped the Xi'an class with nine artillery pieces of this type.  In order to maximize the effectiveness of artillery, the Xi'an class is also the Navy's first warship equipped with radio fire control radar.

    With the help of modern electronic technology, the Xi'an locked the closest light cruiser Longtian in just two minutes.

    "Captain, they still need two hours for the Wuhan's telegram." After the navigator informed the movement of the two heavy cruisers pretending to support Agrihan Island, Bai Fuan decided to kill a few ships first.  Of course, he is not a reckless man. Even if the Xi'an class completely suppresses the Japanese heavy cruiser, he is not so arrogant as to think that he can destroy the Japanese Fifth Fleet with one heavy cruiser and one light cruiser.  "Let the Fuchunjiang fire with our ship, sink two ships as soon as possible, and then move closer to the Wuhan." Bai Fuan looked at his watch. It was now 4:10 in the morning, and the sky would gradually lighten up in forty minutes.  The Japanese flight from Saipan will arrive in an hour.?

    After receiving the order, the nine 210mm naval guns were quickly raised.  At the same time, the 12 155mm naval guns of the Fuchunjiang, which was two ships away, also raised at the same time. After the gunnery commander sent the coordinates detected by the fire control radar to the light cruiser, he waved his arm fiercely: "School firing.  Five rounds, fire!¡±

    "Boom!" Following this command, the nearly 20,000-ton ship suddenly shuddered, and the nine naval guns roared at the same time. The gunfire and strong wind shattered the air and swept along the deck.  In less than twenty seconds, the radar was the first to receive the reflected signal of the shell falling into the water. The fire caused by the explosion was also captured by the optical fire control and range finder at the same time. This data was quickly sent to the fire control room in the bridge bottom through the telephone line.  The three rounds of bombardment were over before the Ryutian could respond.  By the time the Longtian's four 140mm naval guns flashed and the shells whizzed down a few kilometers away on the Xi'an's starboard side, the ballistic computer had completed the calibration calculation and the new coordinates were fed back to each gun position.

    In order to sink the enemy ship as soon as possible, the gunnery commander issued a full speed order: "One minute, full speed!"

    Even the sailors of the Xi'an have only seen the sight of naval guns firing at full speed during sea trials.  At that time, because I was in a relaxed mood, I didn't feel anything. But now, when the nine naval guns entered full speed mode, I suddenly felt that my ears were filled with the sound of howling air after the shelling.  "Boom, boom, boom" Just after the first minute, seventy-two armor-piercing bombs roared towards Ryutian.  What is the concept?  In the words of Captain Yoshikawa, the "cat's eye" on the Ryota: "I saw the first water column, but before I had time to report it, the second round of shells had already fallen. Then came the third round, and the fourth round, until I was completely  It's impossible to tell how many shells fell." Yoshikawa was not exaggerating. It took nearly seventeen seconds for an armor-piercing projectile to fly fifteen kilometers, and at this time the third round of loading had already begun.

    Fifteen kilometers is not the best range for heavy patrols, but there is always a probability!  Even if the current fire control radar is far less accurate than optical fire control, it cannot withstand 72 shells falling in one minute.  In the sixth round, the Xi'an fired a straddle shot, and in the eighth round, two armor-piercing shells hit the starboard side and chimney of the Longtian at the same time.  "Found the fire, found the fire! Calculate again. Thirty seconds to preparethe second round, full speed!" After receiving the hit signal, the gunnery commander decisively stopped shooting and calculated the ballistics again. When the first  The secondary ballistic coordinates were entered into the turret, and the Ryota, which had served for twenty years, was pronounced dead.

    Seventy-two armor-piercing bombs roared away again, and this time six directly hit the Ryutian light cruiser, which was only fully loaded with 4,350 tons.  The roaring explosion spread simultaneously from the triple 533mm torpedo launchers between the two chimneys of the Ryota and the mine racks on the lower deck of the ship's stern. The three ready-to-fire torpedoes were detonated after being smashed by armor-piercing shells to protect the armor shell. The mission was thought to be over.  Later, 22 anchor mines mined around Guam were also detonated

    It has only been four and a half minutes from the time of firing until the big explosion occurred on the Ryuda Nobutake Kondo and other ships of the Fifth Fleet behind him had just fired their third shell.
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