At this time, MacArthur still advocated concentrating his forces to organize a landing operation in the Bismarck Islands and capture Rabaul in one fell swoop. However, Nimitz believed that the Japanese army in Rabaul had formed a solid defense and deployed nearly 700 shore-based aircraft.
It can receive support at any time, including the seven aircraft carriers of the Combined Fleet. However, the US military has only four aircraft carriers in the Pacific at this time. It is weaker than the Japanese army and cannot act rashly. Therefore, Nimitz proposed to land in the southern part of the Solomon Islands and land in the newly occupied area.
An airport was established on the island, and then with the support of aviation, it gradually advanced, step by step, and finally captured Rabaul.
In the end, Nimitz's proposal was approved, and the name of this offensive operation was called "Lookout." However, Nimitz and MacArthur disagreed over the command of the campaign, and finally the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided that the first phase
The naval battle was dominated by Nimitz, and the second and third phases were commanded by MacArthur. The purpose of the battle was to eventually capture the New Britain Islands and New Ireland Island, and then capture Rabaul.
However, an unexpected situation occurred. The US military reconnaissance plane discovered that the Japanese army had built an airport on Guadalcanal. After the Japanese army built the airport, planes taking off from this airport were able to reach a series of islands in the South Pacific, seriously threatening the relationship between the United States and Australia.
sea lines of communication, so the US military immediately adjusted its deployment and changed the first phase target of the "Observation Tower" to Guadalcanal.
In the Hawaiian Islands, Lieutenant General Gormley was in charge of the command of the South Pacific Force. At this time, Admiral Nimitz and Lieutenant General Gormley were sitting in the office of the Pacific Fleet. Lieutenant General Gormley said: "General Nimitz
, the Japanese army has a very strong force in the Solomon Islands, but our army has a weak force and does not have an absolute advantage over the Japanese army in terms of strength. Moreover, our army's material supplies and other preparations are not ready. Now we have to move the landing site forward, which is difficult.
It's very big, I request to postpone the attack."
Nimitz said: "General Gormley, we must take Guadalcanal in the shortest possible time, otherwise, the Japanese army will cut off the transportation line between the United States and Australia, and then occupy the entire Australia. We must not allow this to happen.
"
Seeing Nimitz's resolute attitude, Gormley had no choice but to say: "Okay, General Nimitz, I agree to attack Guadalcanal, but I need a month to prepare. At the same time, I need the Chinese army with rich combat experience and
Our troops attack Guadalcanal at the same time."
Nimitz said: "Okay, I will order the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Hawaii and the Marine Corps to attack Guadalcanal, but we must determine a date for the attack."
"Then - August 7th," Nimitz said.
"Okay, let's set it for August 7th." Although Gormley was somewhat reluctant, he agreed to Nimitz's request.
In the following time, the entire Chinese expeditionary force stationed in the Hawaiian Islands was ordered to prepare for departure at any time. As for where they were going, the Americans did not explain it out of confidentiality considerations.
So Liao Yaoxiang and Wang Yaowu met with Xu Rui to discuss the goal of this operation. Wang Yaowu was not familiar with the situation in the South Pacific, so he did not speak. Liao Yaoxiang believed that the goal this time should be Rabaul, but Xu Rui
He didn’t agree. He felt that the target of the Americans was probably Guadalcanal. As for why, Xu Rui certainly couldn’t say that he came here in disguise. In the original history, the Americans did this, and Xu Rui couldn’t be sure about this either.
Some things in space don't change.
But Xu Rui firmly believes that the US military will definitely land on Guadalcanal, because intelligence shows that the Japanese on Guadalcanal have built a new airport, which will seriously threaten the previous sea lines of communication between Australia and the United States. Naturally, the Americans cannot sit idly by and watch.
ignore.
After hearing Xu Rui's thoughts, Wang Yaowu and Liao Yaoxiang both agreed. They thought that Xu Rui's analysis was thorough. It seemed that the target of the US military attack this time must be Guadalcanal.
Wang Yaowu said: "I don't know how good the defense of the Japanese on Guadalcanal is, and how likely it is to win this victory."
Xu Rui sighed and said, "This battle must be won."
Wang Yaowu said: "Since we must win this battle, why are you sighing?"
Xu Rui said: "I heard that the Japanese army on Guadalcanal built strong fortifications. Our troops are undoubtedly taking chestnuts from the fire for the Americans. I don't know how many Chinese soldiers will be buried in foreign lands."
When Xu Rui said this, everyone felt heavy. Liao Yaoxiang said: "Yes, for China's post-war status as a great power, we must make sacrifices. There is no way around it."
Wang Yaowu said: "Future generations will remember everything we have done for the country."
Xu Rui said: "If my guess is correct, the first stage of the Battle of Guadalcanal should be a sea showdown. The United States and Japan will have a decisive battle at sea. If the United States wins, then we can land on Guadalcanal in the next step.
If the US military is defeated, we may have to delay landing on the island."
"The military power of the Japanese Combined Fleet is still very strong, and it also has an advantage in aircraft carriers. The U.S. Pacific Fleet may not be its opponent." Liao Yaoxiang said.
"The production capacity of the Americans is so strong that they built several large aircraft carriers in less than a year. The current Pacific Fleet has recovered its strength from before the Pearl Harbor incident. In terms of strength, it is far behind the United Fleet.
Not big, and the US military has an absolute advantage in quality in carrier-based aircraft. With this battle, the good days of the combined fleet may come to an end," Xu Rui said.
"I think it's still hard to tell who is stronger and who is weaker. This time the victory in the sea outside Guadalcanal is still unclear," Wang Yaowu said.
Xu Rui said: "In modern naval battles, the strength of ships no longer plays a decisive role. What really matters is air power. Therefore, the performance of fighter aircraft will play a decisive role. The American Mustang fighter is changing
After installing the British engine, the combat effectiveness has been greatly improved, and it should be able to gain a certain advantage in the duel with the Zero."
"Xu Rui, you are too optimistic about the performance of American fighter planes," Wang Yaowu said.
"Commander Wang, we can wait and watch the show. Then you will know who is right and who is wrong."
"Okay, then I want to see if the Americans can really gain an advantage." Wang Yaowu laughed and said...
The Americans' Battle of Guadalcanal is unfolding in full swing. For this naval battle, the Americans have dispatched hundreds of warships. The main force of the Pacific Fleet has been deployed, including four aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet and 300 aircraft carriers in the Southwest Pacific Theater.
Set up shore-based aircraft.
On July 26, all troops began to assemble in the waters of the Fiji Islands. This time, the US military dispatched its most powerful 1st Marine Division.
The 1st Marine Division was the first elite unit in the United States to conduct special training for combat. However, as the scale of the war expanded, a large number of outstanding and well-trained officers and sergeants from the 1st Marine Division were transferred to serve as the newly formed Marine Corps.
The backbone of the 2nd and 3rd Marine Divisions. Therefore, most of the members of the division are new recruits who have just joined the army. Naturally, their combat effectiveness is not as good as that of the old 1st Marine Division.
Among the three regiments of the 1st Marine Division, the 5th Regiment has just arrived in New Zealand. The 7th Regiment is almost entirely composed of new recruits. It has just completed the basic training of recruits and is a group of rookies. The 1st Regiment with the strongest combat effectiveness is still on its way to New Zealand.
On the way to the South Pacific, the division commander, Major General Vandergrift, originally thought he still had half a year to train his soldiers, but ended up on the battlefield so soon. Therefore, after reading the battle plan, he nicknamed it "Operation Plague."
In view of the dire situation of the 1st Marine Division, at Gormley's request, Xu Rui's Third Regiment went to New Zealand as the first batch of combat units of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.
New Zealand is a picturesque and beautiful place. However, the US military encountered many difficulties after arriving in New Zealand. First of all, the preparation time for the battle was only four weeks, and the preparation work was extremely tight. Since it was the rainy winter in New Zealand, the heavy rain for days caused the dock to
The order was very chaotic, and many combat supplies were submerged. At this time, the dock workers went on strike again, so the troops of the 1st Marine Division had to unload and load the goods themselves.
Gormley's headquarters was also in chaos. Due to insufficient troops, at the strong request of Gormley and Vandergrift, three battalions of the 2nd Regiment of the 2nd Marine Division joined the 1st Marine Division, finally making up for it.
However, these three regiments have not conducted strict and systematic landing warfare training. The most important thing is that their tactical level and combat effectiveness are very low.
Gormley conducted a drill on July 28. As a result of the drill, the performance of the three regiments was very poor. The division commander, Major General Vandergrift, had to comfort himself by saying: "It is the custom in Hollywood that a bad rehearsal predicts success."
performance."
Just when the preparations of the US military were in chaos, Xu Rui led the third regiment to New Zealand.
It was raining heavily, and the soldiers of the Third Regiment were wearing raincoats and preparing to disembark. It was only then that they were notified by the Americans that due to the dock workers' strike in New Zealand, they had to unload and load the combat supplies themselves.
The Americans suggested that Xu Rui work three shifts so that he could work faster.
Xu Rui was furious. If the war was fought on a domestic battlefield, then of course there would be nothing to say. Even if they were exhausted, the soldiers would try their best to unload and move the goods. But this was abroad, and the Americans had already made arrangements when they came.
, when they arrived in New Zealand, their troops just had to rest well and be energetic enough to participate in the battle, but when they came here, they turned out like this.
"If you want me to move the goods by myself, there's no way!" Xu Rui said angrily.
"But commander, if we don't move ourselves, we won't be able to complete the preparations for the battle within the specified time." He Shuya said.
"Look at the dock workers holding signs over there. They are on strike. They are going on strike at this time. This is a great opportunity. It is clear that there are Japanese spies secretly causing trouble. Naturally, we cannot be lenient towards Japanese spies and must catch them.
They, do you understand what I mean?" Xu Rui said meaningfully to He Shuya...
