In this attack on Iwo Jima, the U.S. military's attack lineup was not an aircraft carrier formation. On February 14, Rear Admiral Brandy led an attack force consisting of six battleships, 12 escort carriers, five cruisers and 16 destroyers.
The fire support formation left the temporary naval base on Saipan and arrived at Iwo Jima on the morning of the 16th.
During the three days from the 16th to the 18th, the U.S. Air Force and Navy once again carried out crazy shelling and bombing of Iwo Jima. By the time the U.S. troops landed, a total of more than 24,000 tons of artillery shells and bombs had been consumed. According to this
In proportion, Iwo Jima would have withstood the bombardment of 1,200 tons of explosives per square kilometer on average, but the Japanese army relied on their solid underground fortifications to suffer minor losses.
On the 19th, the US military mobilized the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions to launch a landing operation on Iwo Jima. The Navy fleet dispatched battleships, cruisers and destroyers to provide fire support for the attack. Just this,
A total of 38,550 naval gun shells with a caliber of more than 127 mm were consumed, and the density of fire support was unprecedented.
The first batch of 30,000 people to land, including six infantry regiments, six artillery battalions and two tank battalions, occupied a narrow beach and prepared for the second attack. After dark, in order to prevent Japanese sneak attacks, the warships continuously fired illumination bombs.
Turn the dark night into white.
Unfortunately, Lieutenant General Kuribayashi Tadamichi had no such plan at all. The firepower gap between the two sides was too big, and the other side was supported by carrier-based aircraft and naval guns, so such a sneak attack could only be a living target.
On the 20th, the 4th Division of the U.S. Marine Corps, with the support of naval guns and tanks, captured an airport on Iwo Jima. This was relatively smooth, but the 5th Division of the U.S. Marine Corps advanced a hundred meters straight.
Eighty meters.
Facing the Japanese mountain independent garrison of the 28th Infantry Regiment of the 5th Division, composed of the Japanese 312th Infantry Battalion and the 10th Rapid-Fire Artillery Battalion, they had a very tenacious will to fight. Every inch of land must be fought for, and the Japanese army had a large number of fortifications.
The building was built in a cave, and the 28th Infantry Regiment was helpless.
Later, under the cover of tanks, grenades, explosive packs, flamethrowers and other weapons were used to eliminate the Japanese troops who were shooting covertly in the cave one by one. Bulldozers were even dispatched to directly seal the entrance of the cave. The captain of this independent defense team, Kanehiko Osato, was
Die in battle.
On February 21, the Japanese army dispatched thirty-two aircraft in a desperate charge against the U.S. Navy's fleet. The U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier Saratoga was severely damaged and the escort aircraft carrier Bismarck Sea was sunk.
In just three days, more than 1,200 US troops were killed, more than 6,000 were injured, more than 500 were missing, a heavy aircraft carrier was damaged, and an escort aircraft carrier was sunk. This can also be seen from this.
The brutality of the Battle of Iwo Jima.
At this time, Chen Mingxiang also got the news about Miao Bin from Nagatsu Sahiju, Kawamoto Youtarou and Shifang Ryoji.
This was a reception banquet held by the headquarters of the Thirteenth Japanese Army in Shanghai for Lieutenant General Tokawa Jiro, the commander of the Japanese Sixth Army who came to Shanghai. Chen Mingxiang was also invited to attend.
On January 25, the Japanese Army Staff Headquarters ordered that the headquarters of the Sixth Army of the Kwantung Army's combat sequence stationed in Hailar be moved to Hangzhou to strengthen combat command in Zhejiang Province against the US landing. Its subordinate units were organized into
Joined the Third Front of the Kwantung Army.
Lieutenant General Tokawa Jiro, commander of the Japanese Sixth Army, and Major General Kudo Ryoichi, chief of staff, led the headquarters' two colonels, three lieutenants, and two majors, a total of seven staff officers, as well as a field artillery brigade directly under the headquarters, and two rapid-fire artillery pieces.
A squadron, an automobile squadron, a communications team, a special agent team and two hospitals set out from the station on February 11th and arrived in Shanghai on the afternoon of the 19th.
The Japanese Sixth Army and the Thirteenth Army are both corps-level headquarters, and the status of the two sides is equal. It is just that the Thirteenth Army has more divisions and has a larger jurisdiction. However, after the Sixth Army arrived in Hangzhou
, the 70th Division stationed in Jinhua will be assigned to the Sixth Army's order of battle.
Negotiations were held between the two headquarters and part of the work was handed over. On the evening of the 21st, Nagatsu Sahishi hosted a banquet in honor of Tokawa Jiro and the staff of the headquarters.
"Your Excellency, you mean that the Yamashiro government sent Miao Bin, deputy director of the Examination Yuan of the Jinling government, as a special envoy to Japan to have private peace talks with Prime Minister Iso Kuniaki and prepare to end the war conditionally? How is this possible?" Chen Mingxiang was stunned.
He really couldn't believe the news. The battle between the Japanese army and the Yamashiro government had not stopped. Seeing that the situation was getting more and more favorable, the U.S. military had reached Japan's doorstep. At this time, peace talks were suddenly called for. He suspected that he had heard it wrong.
Already.
"Yeah, it's not just you who finds it surprising after hearing it, I feel the same way. But if you think about it carefully, it's not that surprising. The empire's situation is currently at a temporary disadvantage. The US military is launching a fierce attack on Iwo Jima. The next target may be
It’s Okinawa, approaching the mainland of Japan step by step.”
"Although the Shancheng government suffered successive defeats in the war with the imperial army, it thought quickly and saw this. It believed that our empire's defeat was certain, so it wanted to have private peace talks with the empire."
"The entire North China region and the areas outside the customs are occupied by the imperial army. In these two important areas, the Shancheng government has no army at all. On the contrary, the underground party still has strength, especially in the North China area, which is far away from Yanzhou.
It’s not very far outside the customs.”
"The Yamashiro government was worried that after the empire failed, the underground party would take the opportunity to control these two areas, and then control the entire China. That's why they had this idea to complete the occupation and layout of the country with the help of the imperial army." Kawamoto Yoshitaro.
road.
It was also because of the fear factor of the underground party that it actually rose to the level of being more terrifying than the Japanese invaders. Chen Mingxiang felt that the head of the mountain city government was simply unreasonable!
Can’t you see the atrocities committed by the Japanese army in China, including rape, robbery, burning, killing, and looting? Can’t you see the miserable life of the common people under the iron heel of the Japanese army?
Peace talks, using the hands of invaders to complete the occupation of the whole country, is this worthy of the compatriots who died at the hands of the Japanese army? Is it worthy of the anti-Japanese soldiers who died in the battle? Just when the Japanese army launched Operation No. 1, the mountain city government troops suffered dozens of casualties
Ten thousand!
Not only Chen Mingxiang, but also Wang Zhen, who was sitting next to her and pouring tea, also felt extremely disappointed. The government of the mountain city where she was located would actually use such a method to end the war. It was so despicable and shameless!
"Since it is the intention of Prime Minister Iso Kuniaki, does this also represent the intention of Iso Kuni, His Majesty the Emperor agrees to hold talks?" Chen Mingxiang asked.
