In order to cooperate with the operations in Southern Africa, East India voluntarily gave up the development of its navy and air force and concentrated all its energy on the army. Naturally, Southern Africa would not treat East India badly. Therefore, the equipment of the East India Army is as luxurious as that of the Southern African Defense Force. Except
In addition to the latest model of the "Tiger" tank, the East India Army has everything the Southern African Defense Force has, including helicopters.
Limited by the production of helicopters, the East India Army does not equip many helicopters, and they are all early models that have been phased out by the Southern African Defense Forces. The East India Army does not yet have the luxury of equipping helicopters to division-level units.
the point.
Even so, the 15th Division, equipped with 60 "Clouded Leopard" tanks, is still much better equipped than the backward and crude Japanese army.
"Clouded Leopard" is an export tank specially developed by Nyasaland Heavy Industry for East India. It is named because the camouflage painting on the tank resembles the East Indian animal "Clouded Leopard".
The "Clouded Leopard" tank has a total combat weight of 25 tons. It is equipped with a 75mm tank gun, a 7.7mm coaxial machine gun, and two 12.7mm caliber machine guns. The thickness of the frontal armor reaches 50mm. It uses Diesel Power's
With a 12-cylinder diesel engine, the maximum highway speed can reach 45 kilometers.
Compared with the East India troops, the Japanese army's equipment was indeed crude.
In other words, the Japanese Army's equipment has never been advanced.
Not to mention the gap between the 38-type rifle and the Nyasaland-type semi-automatic rifle. In terms of heavy firepower, the Japanese Army only has the 92 infantry gun, which is one of the few bright spots. The widely touted grenade is actually a
It is a light mortar, but its range and power are much lower than that of a real mortar.
The grenade has a range of only 300 meters and a killing radius of five meters.
This power is not even as good as the "Super Revolver" equipped by the East India Army.
It's not that the Japanese army doesn't want to equip equipment with better performance.
The reason is that due to limited technology and resources, we simply cannot afford better equipment.
This was the case for the Japanese troops that landed on Diaomen Island. The basic equipment of the soldiers was the 38-type rifle. The pistol was only equipped by officers, and it was a southern-style pistol that could jam even in suicide. The nine-type pistol that provided fire cover for the attacking troops was
The Type 2 heavy machine gun and the Type 11 light machine gun, one of them is a copy of the French Hotchkiss heavy machine gun, and the other is a crooked gun with so many faults that even Tubal is disgusted with it.
The attacking Japanese troops were relatively cautious, and were very skilled in skirmishing tactics. The soldiers crouched when they advanced, looking as funny as a winter melon with two legs spread out.
The Japanese are too short. A height of 1.6 meters is definitely tall in Japan. Many Japanese soldiers are not even as tall as a Type 38 rifle with a bayonet installed.
Just when the Japanese army started to attack, Li Feizhou and his soldiers from Coconut City in East India were already ready for battle in the bunker less than 500 meters away from the beach.
"Hold still, wait until the Japanese cross the road before shooting, don't give them a chance to escape." Before Li Feizhou could finish his words, the whistling sound of artillery shells was heard in the air.
Probably due to limited transportation capacity, the Japanese army at the beach did not even have 92 infantry guns. The naval guns provided fire cover for the attacking troops. And it can be seen that the Japanese navy is not rich now. It actually waits for the infantry to set off before firing, and
The firepower was not intensive, it was just perfunctory.
This is normal. There is only one cruiser and three destroyers in total, and the firepower cannot be called intensive.
Naval artillery also has a lifespan, and its cost is much higher than that of army artillery. The United States has now stopped trade with Japan, so it saves money when it can.
The standard of fortifications built by the East Indian Army was similar to that of the Southern African Army.
The artillery on the Japanese destroyers hardly poses a threat to the permanent fortifications, and hitting them is almost like scratching an itch.
The cruiser's artillery caliber was larger, but it was not capable of penetrating the bunker. The bombardment only lasted for five minutes before stopping, and Li Feizhou's men suffered no casualties.
After the shelling stopped, the attacking Japanese troops continued to advance and crossed the road one after another.
At this time, the roar of aircraft engines was heard in the air, and more than ten torpedo planes flew over the position, roaring towards the Japanese warships staying on the sea in the distance.
Tom tom tom tom
The roar of the 12.7mm high-level dual-purpose machine gun is heartbreaking, and the equipment of automatic weapons on the position has reached a sad level. The East India Infantry Division is the same as the Southern African Defense Force. Each division is equipped with more than 400 light and heavy machine guns.
.
Company B under Li Feizhou has 181 officers and soldiers. It is equipped with a total of 12 light machine guns, in addition to three mortars and two heavy machine guns. The number of automatic weapons and equipment is more than that of a Japanese army brigade.
With so many automatic weapons, the attacking Japanese troops were in trouble.
A squadron of 200 men was simply not enough space for the many machine gunners. Many machine gunners had not even finished a single magazine, and all the attacking Japanese troops had been wiped out.
The officer leading the team suffered the worst. At least a dozen precision shooters made the officer leading the team their first target. As soon as the battle started, they were beaten into a hornet's nest.
Next are the senior veterans who carry grenade launchers. These soldiers need a long period of training to be proficient in using grenade launchers. After being targeted by a precision shooter, they only need one bullet.
If you come down again, there will be no more.
The machine gunners who accompanied the infantry attack were given special attention, and they were wiped out by grenades after just two bursts of fire. The grenade shooters in East India also underwent long-term training, and they were able to hit wherever they wanted from a distance of two to three hundred meters.
The annihilation of the attacking force was not the end of the landing force. The Japanese did not expect the battle to end with the first wave of attacks. The British and Indian forces could still sustain two or three rounds. The first wave was just a tentative attack.
However, the result of annihilation of the entire army was enough to surprise the Japanese.
The intensity of firepower of the East Indian troops exceeded the Japanese expectations.
To launch an attack against a position with complete fortifications, more heavy firepower and even armored troops are required to cooperate. Sending light infantry to attack would mean death.
To the despair of the Japanese landing force, they had lost the opportunity to retreat. The first wave of attacks by the Southern African Air Force were all concentrated on a cruiser and three destroyers escorted by the Japanese.
Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Navy had just undergone a large-scale modernization, mainly adding more anti-aircraft weapons.
The "more" here also depends on who you compare with.
Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese combined fleet had no rivals in East Asia, and there was a serious lack of emphasis on air defense.
Adding more anti-aircraft weapons does not mean that combat effectiveness will be immediately achieved. After all, sailors operating anti-aircraft weapons also need long-term training.
Southern Africa dispatched not only torpedo planes, but also dive bombers.
The bombers dropped bombs at high altitude, and the torpedo planes made a surprise attack on the sea. The Japanese cruisers rushed left and right, zigzagging on the sea to avoid the bombs in the air, but not the torpedoes in the water. The tail was hit in the first wave of attacks.
, losing power.
When a warship loses power, it becomes a living target. The destroyer closest to the cruiser began to approach the cruiser in an attempt to provide assistance, but was accidentally hit directly in the belly by a torpedo.
After the outbreak of the European War, the displacement of destroyers produced in southern Africa exceeded 3,000 tons, which was almost the same level as light cruisers.
Japan's destroyers are still treaty-type destroyers of about 1,500 tons.
The torpedo charges in southern Africa exceed 600 kilograms.
If a destroyer with a displacement of 1,500 tons is hit by such a torpedo, the consequences will be extremely tragic.
The performance of southern African torpedoes is relatively reliable, and misfires are rare.
After the Japanese destroyer was hit by a torpedo, it quickly expanded like a balloon, then broke directly into two parts from the middle, and disappeared from the sea in just ten seconds.
With such a fast speed, basically no one can be spared.
The cruiser that was hit by a torpedo was not spared.
After losing power, although the sailors on the cruiser continued to fight back desperately, they could not change the fate of being hit continuously. When the second torpedo hit the middle of the cruiser, the unlucky cruiser exploded and sank like the destroyer just now.
The remaining two destroyers realized the seriousness of the situation at this time. The captains of the two destroyers did not have the courage to fight to the end and chose different directions when escaping. Unfortunately, no matter how fast the warships were, they could not be faster than the planes. They
Nor did it escape the fate of being sunk.
When the last destroyer was sunk, it was less than half an hour before the battle broke out. The Japanese troops who landed on the beach had not yet organized a second attack, and the battle on the sea was over.
The Southern African Air Force is also abominable.
After sinking all the escorting warships, they actually ignored the Japanese transport ship and allowed the transport ship to approach the landing troops.
Presumably the captain of the transport ship thought that this would provide protection for the landing force.
But the landing troops couldn't even protect themselves.
The East India Army is not only equipped with a large number of light and heavy machine guns, but also a large number of artillery. Not counting mortars equipped to the company level, only heavy artillery, each division has about 60.
The Japanese army also has heavy artillery, including the Taisho 7-type 150mm heavy cannon, the 90-type 240mm heavy cannon, the 96-type 150mm howitzer, and the 98-type 320mm mortar, all of which are quite powerful.
However, these heavy artillery can only be equipped with specialized heavy artillery brigades, which belong to the battle-level artillery establishment. Division artillery is equipped with very few, either mountain artillery or field artillery, and most of them have a caliber of only 75 mm.
75mm!
This is not as large as the mortars equipped by the East India Army.
The East Indian Army, like the Southern African Army, is equipped with 150mm heavy artillery at the division level, and its firepower output is more than one level higher than that of the Japanese divisions.
While the Southern African Air Force was dealing with Japanese warships, the artillery of the 15th Division was bombarding the Japanese troops that had landed on the beach.
As mentioned before, in order to clear the firing range, all the buildings and trees on the beach have been cleared away. The Japanese troops on the beach did not even have any cover and were completely exposed to the artillery.
The shell of a 150mm howitzer weighs about 50 kilograms. People within a 20-meter radius of the center of the explosion will be directly torn apart. This is how most of the missing persons on the battlefield came to be.
Within a radius of 50 meters, even if it is not torn apart, it will be killed by the shock wave.
Debris still has lethality beyond 100 meters, and 200 meters is considered a safe range. However, if there is no protection during the explosion, temporary deafness may occur at a distance of 200 meters.
Not to mention 100 meters away.
A radius of 50 meters means that when a 150mm grenade falls, everyone in a circle within 50 meters of the center of the explosion will be killed.
The artillery of the 15th Division had already made a firing list for the beachhead, and firing one round at a time was like sweeping the floor, cleaning up all the garbage.
What's more, the beachhead is less than 500 meters away from the 15th Division's position and is completely within the range of machine guns and mortars.
When the heavy artillery began to roar, the machine guns and mortars on the front line were also idle.
The Japanese officers and soldiers who landed on the beach were completely miserable. They were overwhelmed by artillery shells of various sizes. The East India Army's artillery shells seemed to be free of charge, and they had no intention of capturing prisoners. It seemed that this posture was to eliminate all Japanese officers and soldiers on the beach.
Don't worry about the combat mission at this time. The most important thing is to leave the beach. No matter how brave you are, you don't want to die worthless.
There is only one direction to leave the beach. Opposite the beach is the 15th Division's defense line.
Without any orders from the officers, the surviving Japanese officers and soldiers began to rush towards the 15th Division position.
This should be considered an attack.
The machine guns that had just stopped for a while started roaring again, and the barrels of many machine guns were not yet cold.
The smarter Japanese soldiers rushed across the road and lay down to pretend to be dead.
There were still crazy Japanese soldiers charging with bayonets drawn and howling.
Without exception, they were all given intensive care and died miserably. Many of them were directly shot in two by heavy machine guns.
The battle is actually over now.
When the last Japanese soldier fell, the intensive gunfire finally stopped.
At this time, Li Feizhou led his soldiers out of the bunker and prepared to clean the battlefield.
Diaomen Island is located in the tropics, and it is quite hot in December. If the corpse is not disposed of in time, it is likely to cause a plague.
The environment of Diaomen Island is still so good, so we must pay attention to its protection. The corpses of these Japanese officers and soldiers must be buried in time. It is best to plant trees on the tombs to at least give their descendants a place to worship.
"Pay attention to replenishing your gun. Even if it is broken in two, don't forget to replenish your gun. If you didn't die in the battle just now, but died in a despicable sneak attack, it would be too tragic." Li Feizhou did not forget to remind him.
's subordinates.
The East Indian Army has logistics provided by Southern Africa, and bullets can be used freely for free.
Li Feizhou's soldiers were very obedient, and gunshots started to appear one after another.
There were indeed Japanese soldiers who pretended to be dead and tried to make a sneak attack. However, before they could even lift their heavy 38 caps, they were knocked down by East Indian soldiers armed with semi-automatic rifles.
Some frightened Japanese soldiers knelt down and raised their hands in surrender.
But even before he raised his hand, he was hit by a series of concentrated shots.
Li Feizhou is very happy. None of his men have been injured or killed so far. This is a good record.
"Sir, do you want to accept prisoners?" A soldier with a look of unbearable asked Li Feizhou for instructions.
"Prisoners? What kind of prisoners? Everyone here is dead. There are no prisoners at all." Li Feizhou's attitude was firm. Regarding the Japanese, the East India Army never wanted prisoners.
