At 6 a.m. on June 24, after a full speed overnight, the Ozawa fleet finally arrived at the Port of Tanapan, north of Saipan Island.

At this time, the US military on Saipan had been bombarded for more than ten hours, paying a considerable price of casualties.

In particular, the Aslilo Airport position on the south side of the island was under special care and the surface fortifications were destroyed.

After receiving many large-scale air strikes by the Air Force, Saito Yoshiji finally couldn't stand it again and organized several small-scale tentative attacks, but under the tenacious blockade of the US defensive forces, no substantial results were achieved.

Therefore, Saito Yoshiji had to give up temporarily and wait patiently for the arrival of the Japanese fleet, and then transport the troops to Makichis Beach on the south side of the island through the fleet, carry out anti-landing operations, and launch two-sided attacks on the US troops.

After arriving at Saipan, Ozawa Jisaburo soon met with Saito Yoshiji, Nagamo Tadaichi and others who had been waiting in the port for a long time.

The command module of the Heihe cruiser of the Feather Black.

After taking the seat, Saito Yoshiji couldn't wait to extend his hand and praise: "This time the Philippine Sea and Naval War Empire Combined Fleet won a complete victory, which severely damaged the US fleet and brought a lot of supplies, which really solved the urgent needs of Saipan.

Ozawa, you have made great contributions. Such great achievements will surely be remembered in history and will be remembered forever by the Yamato people!"

The chief of staff of the 31st Army, Kei Kei, nodded and agreed: "Yes, if it weren't for the Imperial Navy mobile fleet led by Ozawa, Saipan would have completely fallen into the enemy."

He was so comfortable that he could not wear flattery. But he said modestly: "Where, where, in the end, he has to rely on His Majesty the Emperor to protect him and the efforts of the Japanese Empire's air warriors!"

Nagashika Tadaichi smiled and said, "You don't have to be too humble. You have indeed made great contributions to this battle. You have effectively reversed the situation and created a brilliant miracle of war."

Immediately afterwards, Natsuki Nagato changed his mind, "But the current situation is still very serious, and we are far from resolving the crisis.

Although the aircraft carrier group of the U.S. Fifth Fleet suffered a heavy blow, they can regain strong support in a short period of time. Perhaps reinforcements have been sent in the Southwest Pacific War Zone.

Americans will never give up on the island's army forces. I expect it will not take more than three days, and they will definitely make a comeback.

Therefore, the most important thing for us at present is to take advantage of the victory and pursuing the enemy troops on the island as much as possible to completely eliminate the crisis in Saipan."

Ozawa Shisaburo immediately looked solemn: "What Mr. Natsumoto said is very true. After all, the imperial industrial production capacity and war potential are far inferior to the United States. Only by seizing various favorable fighter opportunities can we win a glimmer of vitality for the empire!"

Saito Yoshiji quickly continued: "So, please help Ozawa Jun so that the Imperial Army warriors can successfully land on the beach in the south of the island and launch two-sided attacks on the US landing forces."

"Please rest assured that this is the duty of the Imperial Navy, and it is time to let all these damn Americans die!"

Ozawa Jisaburo naturally knew that there would not be too much time left for them, so he did not drag on the mud and nodded happily.

Immediately afterwards, the Japanese fleet began to prepare for landing war artillery fire, and naval guns of various caliber were free of money to bombard the US positions.

Two hours later, thousands of Japanese Army arrived at the south Makichis Beach on a transport ship and launched a counterattack against the US-based Aslilo Airport stationed in the cover of artillery fire from the fleet.

After several hours of bloody battles, until three o'clock in the afternoon, more than 350 US Marine officers and soldiers who stayed at the airport died heroically after annihilated more than 700 Japanese troops. Aslilo Airport fell into the hands of the Japanese again.

At this time, the main force of the US military had already retreated to the jungle and mountains with complex terrain, and built several lines of defense in order to defend and wait for assistance.

Saito Yoshiji and others who had been holding back their energy were naturally unable to be satisfied with regaining the victory of Aslilo Airport. After a short rest, they ordered the troops to start attacking from the north and south directions at the same time in order to achieve a quick battle and decisive decision.

However, before this, the Japanese defensive troops on Saipan had suffered more than half of their casualties in multiple counterattacks and positional wars, especially the most capable troops, which were even more serious.

It should be noted that the US landing troops face the double suppression of the Japanese naval and air firepower, but after all, the US military forces are equipped with very strong firepower, and the officers and soldiers are also very military literacy. They still have considerable combat effectiveness in favor of defensive terrain, and are definitely not lambs to be slaughtered.

Therefore, although Saito Yoshiji and others were eager to eat tens of thousands of US landing troops in one breath in just two or three days, it was ultimately a luxury.

The two sides fought fiercely until dark, and the exhausted Japanese attacking troops had to suspend the attack.

Because for them, night combat has become an extremely unfavorable combat environment and cannot obtain effective sea and air firepower support. If forced night combat is to be fought, it will be a loss.

However, the tree wants to be quiet but the wind does not stop. The US commander is not a good man and a woman. He knows that blindly sticking to the waiting for assistance is not a good idea. So he organized several elite commandos to attack the Japanese positions late that night, achieving quite good results and recovering many positions in one fell swoop.

By the early morning of the next day, before the dawn was completely dawn, the Japanese bomber group and naval fleet began to bombard and carry out artillery preparations.

More than an hour later, the fierce and cruel ground offensive and defensive battle began again.

At 2 p.m. on June 25, the command module of the Zhenyuan aircraft carrier.

"Report to the commander, our reconnaissance plane discovered the main force of the Fifth Fleet 450 nautical miles northeast!"

"Report to the commander, the reconnaissance plane sent back news. They have discovered that the main force of the Japanese fleet in the Saipan waters, and through air observation, the Japanese ground troops on Saipan are attacking the US positions with all their might, and the situation is very critical!"

"Reporting to the commander, General Spruins, the commander of the Fifth Fleet, sent a call to request our department to immediately dispatch a carrier-based aircraft group to attack the Japanese fleet and support the US landing forces on fire on Saipan."

At this time, the Navy Expeditionary Fleet of the Tiger Army led by Liu Qiang traveled day and night and finally arrived at the sea area more than 400 nautical miles southeast of Saipan. At this time, the Japanese fleet and Saipan had entered the attack radius of carrier-based aircraft.

The US military was very clear about the importance of the Mariana Islands to Japan and had long judged that they would do their best to defend, so when the Battle of Mariana Islands was launched, the US military made sufficient preparations.

Nimitz mobilized an unprecedentedly powerful fleet and also recruited some fleets from MacArthur. However, he did not expect that he was bitten by the Japanese army, which made him ask for further reinforcements.

After consideration, MacArthur drew all members of the Huber Navy Expeditionary Fleet, which was participating in the Battle of the Papua Peninsula, to reinforce, while the rest of the troops continued to attack the Papua Peninsula.
Chapter completed!