The first wave of Marines finally succeeded in landing on the beach. Then, everyone took out two thin wooden boards from behind and put them on their feet before they started to move forward.
It must be said that the Japanese responded very quickly. After using these planks, they moved much faster and were able to walk on smooth ground in the quagmire.
Seeing this, the commander of the Japanese Marine Corps, Mizutani Colonel, had a proud smile on his face. This method of marching in the swamp was something he came up with. Now it seems that it is very effective.
It was already dark, and tens of thousands of Japanese marines landed on the island one after another in the dark, moving towards the mountains directly in front of San Marino Island.
The soldier Akita was marching. As a new soldier, Akita felt very uneasy. This was his first time participating in a battle. In the darkness, with all around him unable to see his fingers, Akita worked hard to move forward and was about to leave the quagmire on the beach.
"Whoosh~"
A harsh sound rang out from the air, and a bright light shot into the sky. The next moment, the entire beach position was illuminated as bright as day, and what lit up the sky turned out to be a flare.
"It's so bright!"
Akita didn't realize what the light meant, but the veteran Tada Shun beside him screamed: "It's a Yankee flare!"
"Disperse!" Another voice shouted. At this time, tens of thousands of Japanese Marines were completely exposed to the flares. The next moment, countless artillery shells and bullets fell into the Japanese crowd like a downpour.
The Japanese army was still in the quagmire and could not move quickly in a short period of time. Under the attack of artillery shells and bullets, the Japanese fell one by one.
"Forward! Forward!"
An officer shouted while holding a command knife.
These Japanese officers with combat experience knew that only by getting out of the quagmire on the beach as soon as possible could they move quickly and launch an attack on the mountains in the center of San Marino Island.
"Whoosh~"
"Whoosh~"
Illumination bombs rose into the sky one after another, and the entire beach was dazzlingly bright, just like daytime. The Japanese Japs were completely exposed to the defenders' sight. The density of Japs on the beach was too high. Each shell seemed to have eyes, and it was accurate.
Explosions in the gathering area of Japs, especially the 150mm large-caliber howitzer, almost every shell can kill at least a dozen Japs. The entire beach has become a Shura hell at this time, and the quagmire area on the beach is covered with
The mutilated corpse of the fallen Japanese was mixed with blood, and the entire quagmire area had turned a reddish-brown color.
Akita was extremely panicked when he heard the sound of the shells. Under the command of the officer in front, Akita kept running forward. The sound of explosions kept coming from his ears. Akita's mind was in a daze, and he finally passed the most dangerous place.
In the swamp area, looking around, Akita was surprised to find that the crowds were much thinner.
"Kill him!" the officer in front shouted with a command knife, but before he could finish his words, he was shot into a honeycomb by a row of bullets. Under the illumination of the flare, Akita could clearly see that the officer's body was shaking continuously.
, and finally collapsed to the ground.
This was the first time Akita saw such a tragic war scene. He was so frightened that he peed his pants. He suddenly fell to the ground and stuck his butt out looking for cover everywhere. However, all obstacles from the beach to the mountains in the center of the island had been cleared.
It's clean, where can Akita find cover?
He wanted to run back, but the beach was crowded and he couldn't go back at all. Akita gritted his teeth and had to crawl forward with his butt stuck out. Akita saw countless dazzling muzzle flashes on the mountain, and those stupid people rushed forward.
The marines were mopped down one by one, and Akita was so frightened that he almost cried.
"Get up! Move forward!" A boot kicked Akita hard on the butt. Akita looked back and saw a second lieutenant kicking him viciously. Akita refused to get up. The second lieutenant took out a pistol from his waist and shouted to Akita:
"If you don't get up, I'll kill you!"
Akita plugged his ears and raised his butt high, looking like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water.
After waiting for a long time, Akita didn't hear any movement. Akita turned around in surprise, only to find that the second lieutenant had already fallen to the ground, his entire skull had been blown out, and his brains were flowing out all over the floor.
At this time, the beach has become a hell of Shura, with corpses everywhere. Akita saw that the people behind him were much sparse, so he took two wooden boards from the second lieutenant's corpse and put them on his hands, using both hands and feet, and returned to the way he came from.
In the chaos, no one noticed Akita. Akita used his hands and feet to crawl to the shore with all his strength. Many people were seen trying to grab the boat and escape, and the scene was very chaotic.
Akita suddenly became energetic. He knew that this was a time when his life was at stake. He stood up suddenly, pushed his way to the front of the crowd, and rushed into a small boat. The small boat could hold about fifteen or six people.
, but many people were trying their best to squeeze upwards, and there were more than twenty hands outside the boat holding on to the edge of the boat and refusing to let go.
"Let go! Let go!"
Seeing that the boat was overloaded and showing signs of sinking, the people on the boat desperately pushed down the soldiers who were climbing on the boat. However, the soldiers risked their lives and kept climbing up the boat.
At this time, an officer on the ship took out his command knife and cut off the arm of a Japanese soldier who was hanging on the boat. With a scream, the Japanese soldier with the broken arm fell into the sea.
Seeing the officer doing this, Akita and the soldiers on the boat imitated the same pattern. They drew their bayonets from their waists and kept slashing at the bottom of the boat. In the end, there were dozens of hands hanging on the boat and they headed towards the warship in the distance.
Looking at the constant explosions and chaotic crowds on the beach, Akita felt as if he had narrowly escaped death. He knew that his life had been saved...
Less than two hours had passed since the Japanese Marines launched their attack on San Marino Island. The entire beach was covered with the corpses of Japanese soldiers. There was blood and body parts everywhere, and there were many wounded soldiers who could not be evacuated in time.
Continuous screaming and wailing.
According to post-war statistics, there were nearly 10,000 Japanese Marines who landed on San Marino Island. In the end, less than 1,000 of them were safely evacuated to the transport ship. In two hours, 9,000 Japanese Marines were bloody on the beach.
Many years later, Akita, who was already in his dying years, recalled the scene at that time to a reporter who visited him. He shed tears and said, "The island was full of corpses. The mire on the beach was almost filled with corpses. I ran as hard as I could and killed him."
A dozen enemies seized a machine gun and saved three seriously injured comrades. That scene is something I will never forget...
Although the reporter ultimately did not understand how Akita rescued three seriously injured comrades, he was still moved by Akita's "heroic deeds" and wrote a report of tens of thousands of words, letting people know about Akita.
The existence of "heroes"...
On the Kaohsiung, Commander Kondo Nobutake saw the scene on the shore, and his face turned pale. To be precise, the Marine Corps' attack could not be called a battle. What they faced was just the massacre of the enemy. Kondo Nobutake did not expect that
, the firepower of the "U.S. Army" on the opposite side was so powerful, and the violent storm of shells and bullets made it impossible for people to avoid it.
Since the outbreak of the Pacific War, this was the first time for Kondo Nobutake to encounter such a tragic battle. Kondo Nobutake could not help but feel angry. If he could not occupy San Marino Island as soon as possible, he would become a laughing stock in the eyes of everyone, especially Takasu Shiro.
That guy will definitely compete with me for credit. If Takasu Shiro takes away the credit, it will be his biggest failure.
"Let Mizutani come to see me!" Nobutake Kondo said.
"Your Excellency, Commander, Colonel Mizutani is unable to come." An officer whispered.
"This coward doesn't dare to come to see me!" Nobutake Kondo yelled angrily.
The officer said: "Colonel Mizutani was blown to pieces by the 'American' cannons during the landing operation just now, and even his body can no longer be found."
After hearing this, Nobutake Kondo took a deep breath. He didn't expect that Colonel Mizutani would die so miserably.
"Your Excellency, Commander, we must first eliminate the cannons on San Marino Island, otherwise we will not be able to land at all," the officer said.
"Immediately order all warships to attack San Marino Island with all their strength, and at the same time request aviation assistance from Nagumo Chuichi!"
"Hai!"
Off the coast of Hawaii, dozens of warships surrounded eight aircraft carriers including Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Ryujo, Kasuga Maru, Shokaku, and Zuikaku and began to move forward.
When Nagumo Chuichi heard the news that Kondo Nobutake suffered heavy losses in his attack on San Marino Island, he couldn't help but feel a little disdainful. He said to himself that this idiot Kondo wouldn't even be able to fight without air support. It seems that his plane will have to fly tomorrow.
Sent out to attack Hawaii's airports and aircraft. As long as the American air power is eliminated, the entire Hawaiian Islands will be at your fingertips.
Nagumo Chuichi immediately ordered all warships to move closer to San Marino Island, and prepare for a large-scale air raid on San Marino Island early the next morning.
At this time, Nagumo Chuichi was very satisfied. After winning several major naval battles that were related to the fate of the country, Nagumo Chuichi has become a national hero in Japan. There is news that the commander of the combined fleet, Marshal Yamamoto Isoroku, may
Return to Tokyo and take up the post of Minister of the Navy. If this is the case, as long as this battle is fought successfully, the position of the new commander of the Combined Fleet will most likely fall to him.
Therefore, Nagumo Chuichi is very eager to express himself. Of course, he also knows that he cannot make enemies, so he is willing to serve as an auxiliary force during the meeting in order to win the support of these fleet commanders. Now, the Second Fleet is in a dilemma, and it is himself
When the First Air Fleet showed its prowess.
Nagumo Chuichi's First Air Fleet has a total of eight aircraft carriers and three to four hundred carrier-based aircraft. Although in terms of the number of fighter aircraft, there are not as many as the US military in Hawaii, the aviation forces under Nagumo Chuichi are all veterans.
The performance of the fighter jets is also better than that of the US military's P-40 fighter jets. Nagumo Chuichi believes that as long as his tactics are correct, he is fully capable of annihilating the US military aviation in Hawaii and gaining air supremacy over Hawaii.