When the Western Theater Command received news that federal troops had occupied Pocatello, MacArthur immediately became anxious and, regardless of the losses, ordered nearby U.S. Air Force bombers to launch an air raid on Pocatello under the cover of fighter jets.
, cooperate with the infantry to destroy the federal army here and take back the mountain.
Because he has learned that Boise and Mountain Home have been breached by federal armored forces. Federal tanks are currently rushing towards Pocatello. If the mountain pass is not taken back within 3 hours, then not only Pocatello
Lowland was captured, and all U.S. troops west of here were unable to retreat east of the Rocky Mountains through the mountain passes.
The U.S. military began to go all out. In addition to artillery on the ground, bombers also came from the sky. Various artillery shells poured on the federal paratroopers' positions. Although the federal air force also used bombers and attack aircraft to suppress the U.S. military's firepower,
This place is 700 kilometers away from Seattle, and is close to the combat radius of federal fighter jets and attack aircraft. Federal aircraft cannot stay here for too long. After dropping bombs, they have to make two turns before returning, which does not provide enough support for the paratroopers on the ground.
enough.
The U.S. military's airport is just east of the Rocky Mountains, and the closest distance is only 200 kilometers away. Therefore, in this battle, the U.S. military unexpectedly gained control of the air. Under the cover of its own aircraft, the U.S. military attacked the federal government from the east and west.
The paratroopers launched a fierce attack on the Pocatello Town Defense Line and the Mountain Pass Defense Line.
The Federal 1st Airborne Division has not participated in any battles since its establishment. When the battle just started, many soldiers did not dare to raise their heads. They just raised their guns and fired randomly from above the bunker. But as the battle progressed,
Seeing the comrades around them fall one by one, many paratroopers were bleeding. When death comes too fast and too violent, many people will be afraid, and then they will not be afraid of anything. As the saying goes, it is a leveling up.
Very anxious.
Whenever the U.S. aircraft dropped bombs or the artillery fire coverage ended, the federal paratroopers would emerge from the bombed ruins again. With their gray helmets on their heads, they continued to attack the advancing U.S. troops with rifles and machine guns.
Shooting, and those strange weapons that emitted smoke would jump out from the federal army's defense lines from time to time, or collide with US tanks or armored vehicles and explode. Or knock away mountain cannons or machine guns that US troops were shooting at close range.
The most intense battle was not at the Yamaguchi Defense Line, because it was in a valley. It was difficult for U.S. aircraft to bomb, and the U.S. artillery advantage could not be used because the terrain was too narrow. The federal paratroopers stood behind the solid rocks. As long as the enemy did not get close,
They resolutely showed up and opened fire, and they also laid a lot of anti-infantry mines on the east side of the mountain pass. Once these mines exploded, they would cover a large area, making it difficult for American soldiers to charge.
But in the town of Pocatello at the foot of the mountain, the battle was much more brutal. There were no bunkers that were too tall or too strong to use. The federal paratroopers could only use houses, trees, and burned tanks as bunkers to resist the U.S. bombardment.
, bombing and shooting, although the federal paratroopers have flares that can effectively attack targets at medium and short range, the casualties are also increasing.
The battle lasted until 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Half of Pocatello had been occupied by the US military. The paratrooper regiment responsible for defending here had been basically destroyed. There was still half of the paratrooper regiment holding on. Every road east of the town was occupied.
There were piles of corpses of American soldiers lying in the streets and ruins, but the U.S. troops were also fighting like crazy, constantly organizing charges, and planes in the sky were dropping bombs one after another on the streets where the paratroopers were.
.
On the defense line on the mountain pass side, the US military transferred another unit, and together with the original mountain brigade, launched a fierce attack on the mountain pass. In order to support the defense line in the town, there was only one battalion left on the mountain pass defense line. This time
The commander of the airborne troops has already arranged for his men to plant explosives at the mountain pass. Once the town is about to be unable to withstand it, the mountain pass will be blown down. Then everyone will go to support the town's defense line and try to support the armored division.
Arrive.
The first to arrive at Pocatello was not the armored division's tank cluster, but a reconnaissance battalion of the armored division. They drove more than 20 reconnaissance tanks. They first took out the US artillery positions from the west, and then attacked the US military's artillery positions.
The reserve team launched the attack.
But the reconnaissance tank is still a reconnaissance tank. In addition to running fast, it does not have strong firepower. It only has a 37mm cannon and a 12mm machine gun. The defense is relatively weak, and the frontal armor is only 30mm. After they unexpectedly destroyed the US military's
After the artillery position was established, they soon fell under the siege of the US military reserves. Without the protection of the infantry, the tanks fell into a melee, and they had no choice but to be wiped out one by one.
But their desperate attack was not in vain. After the US military spent a long time to eliminate the tank reconnaissance battalion, the sound of rumbling engines came from the west highway, and hundreds of federal medium tanks emerged from the overwhelming dust and smoke.
After rushing out, the leading troops of the 4th Armored Division finally arrived.
The US military can deal with a dozen light tanks, but they cannot deal with hundreds of medium tanks, not even with the help of aircraft. A large tank cluster can not only use the anti-aircraft machine guns on the tanks to deal with low-altitude flying targets, but the 40 tanks in the cluster can also deal with them.
mm and 20mm self-propelled anti-aircraft guns are the nemesis of low-altitude aircraft.
More importantly, the U.S. military's offensive momentum was suppressed, and the battles were often fought in one breath. When the U.S. military saw a large number of federal tanks appearing behind them, no matter who was commanding them, the soldiers would think one thing in their hearts:
Question: Enemy reinforcements have arrived.
As long as people think about this problem, people will become more rational. Once a person becomes rational, he will not be so concerned about death when he charges again. He will think rationally, is there any point in charging again? Is it time to retreat?
Or simply surrender. Anyway, human legs cannot run over the tracks of a tank.
Soon the situation on the battlefield changed. The American troops who originally wanted to escape no longer had any hope of escaping. They chose to surrender or escape into the jungle on the west bank of Falls Lake. Street fighting in the town of Pocatello
It also gradually calmed down. But the fighting did not
It's not over yet. On the Yamaguchi defense line, a battalion of paratroopers faced an attack by more than 2 brigades of U.S. troops. They could no longer withstand it. The U.S. artillery shells had already reduced the ground level of the Yamaguchi. More importantly,
The paratroopers are running out of ammunition.
At this time, the tank troops at the foot of the mountain did not rush to the mountain pass defense line to shoot at the US military. Instead, they drove a few tanks to an open space, protected them with self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, and then began to load the iron racks on top of these tanks.
A small torpedo-like shell.
A few minutes later, a cloud of dust rose up from the town of Pocatello. In the dust, streaks of fire could be vaguely seen flying toward the mountain pass, accompanied by a harsh "swish" sound. In less than a minute, 4
All the Saddam cannons were fired, 72 120mm cannons
All the rockets with a large diameter were fired into the valley. The location of the two US military units that were attacking the Yamaguchi defense line were instantly submerged in the flames and smoke of the explosion. Together with the artillery positions and reserve teams, hundreds of US soldiers and their commanders
The officer was reduced to ashes within seconds.
The U.S. military, which was suddenly hit by heavy firepower, fell into chaos in a short period of time. The commanders of the two U.S. forces also made errors in their judgment. In their opinion, an artillery attack of this scale would require at least two heavy artillery regiments.
Completed, and the two heavy artillery regiments mean that at least the main force of two divisions of the federal army has come for reinforcements.
Breaking through the defenses of two divisions of the federal army from a narrow mountain pass area, not to mention the current two brigades of US troops, even 10 more brigades would not be able to defeat them, not to mention that the other side also has heavy weapons and air support. At this moment, this
The two U.S. brigade commanders reported their current situation to the Western Theater Command while organizing their troops to retreat in an orderly manner to prevent the enemy from launching a counterattack.
After five hours of fierce fighting, the town of Pocatello fell into the hands of the federal army. As the main force of this surprise attack, the 3rd and 4th regiments of the federal 1st Airborne Division successfully defeated 1 US division and 2 US troops.
The brigade blocked the east and west sides of Pocatello, but the casualties of these two regiments were also very high. The 3rd Regiment only had more than 200 people left after the war, and the 4th Regiment only had more than 700 people who survived. (To be completed.
