Darwin, the largest port city in northwest Australia, faces the Timor Sea and is also known as the gateway to the north of Australia.
Because of the unique climate conditions, Darwin has no four seasons, only the dry season and the rainy season - the dry season is from May to October, and the rainy season is from November to April of the following year.
It gradually expanded and prospered due to the discovery of gold mines. In later generations, it became a slightly famous tourist city. During the rainy season, there are lush green plants and gushing waterfalls; during the dry season, the sun shines brightly and the sea breeze blows.
However, now the Australian 6th Infantry Division guarding Darwin has no time to enjoy the bright and bright golden beaches.
"We have no possibility of surrendering. Even if the devil Satan invades Australia, we will choke him to death in the water!"
At the division headquarters, Major General Richard shouted loudly.
However, someone whispered inappropriately: "This time the intruder is indeed a demon on earth..."
"Lieutenant Colonel, you can't reason with a villain when he breaks into your backyard." Richard looked at the intelligence officer and said calmly: "He dies, or you die."
Because the Battle of Demaghi a few years ago had left a deep impression on the British, and his outstanding performance in the Nanyang Campaign not long ago, some nicknames about Zhou were circulated among the British Commonwealth troops.
Zhou Changfeng himself has no interest in nicknames such as "devil". Instead, he finds it a bit baffling——
Please, I haven't done anything bad. This nickname is obviously not suitable.
Before formally attacking Darwin, Zhou Changfeng first assigned troops to land on the Tiwi Islands, two large islands located 100 kilometers north of Darwin.
The small number of Australian militia troops stationed here were unable to resist the large-scale landing of the 1st Marine Brigade and were quickly defeated, but sporadic resistance from stragglers persisted.
The beach front selection camp also accepted a low-intensity actual combat test for the first time, and the results were good.
As of October 8, when the Ming army occupied Manila, the temporary airport on the Tiwi Islands had been repaired overnight by Ming army engineers.
In the afternoon of the same day, the first batch of 24 Type 36 fighter jets arrived first, and the rest of the aviation units also arrived one after another.
In the past few days, the newly adapted boat scout team has been performing a highly dangerous mission - far-reaching and deep reconnaissance.
They set off from the Tiwi Islands in a specially modified landing craft, passed through the Vernon Islands, and arrived at the northeast corner of Shoal Bay, where they dropped their power kayaks and went deep into enemy territory alone.
This so-called power kayak is very similar in appearance to later military rubber boats. It uses a small gasoline engine as power. When you need to sneak in quietly, you can also turn off the engine and paddle manually. It can carry up to ten people.
The boat scout team has a very special organization. It has four combat teams and one support team. The combat team consists of four squads, each with nine people.
Because the trial production of the Type 39 short automatic rifle has a low priority for installation, and the war is underway, many weapons and equipment are expanding production, so only two thousand have been mass-produced to date.
After the Air Force and Army each take away some, only a few hundred are left for the Marine Corps, and they cannot be given to just one Marine Brigade without regard to the other Marine Brigades.
Therefore, Zhou's original plan to change the equipment was in vain, and he could only temporarily focus on equipping the boat scout team and the reconnaissance platoons of each regiment.
Reconnaissance units are full of praise for this kind of automatic rifle with moderate weight and power. Some people spend all day at the shooting range to familiarize themselves with the new weapon.
For these guys who lick blood from the tip of the knife, marksmanship is just one of the many necessary skills. Several of the guys with outstanding marksmanship made Zhou applaud with their superb shooting skills.
There are ten moving human-shaped targets scattered at a distance from thirty meters to three hundred meters. Some people can actually hit all eleven bullets in seventeen seconds.
Now, forty-one officers and soldiers of the fourth detachment of the boat scout team passed through Shoal Bay and sneaked ashore under the cover of the hazy night.
They hid the power kayak and trotted southward, quietly infiltrating deep into the enemy territory.
In the past few days, aerial reconnaissance and penetration reconnaissance have figured out most of the deployment of the Australian army. The mission of the fourth detachment this time is only to conduct latent surveillance and verify the reconnaissance results.
They were lurking in the woods beside a road southeast of the suburbs of Darwin, waiting quietly.
At 6:59 on October 9, the beach was bathed in the morning sunshine and was golden.
"Sixty seconds countdown." Lin Xunzhen told the time in a calm tone, then glanced sideways at Zhou next to him.
Preparations for a full-scale invasion were in place. Standing on the bridge of the battleship Longshuo, Zhou Changfeng stretched and raised his hand to glance at his watch.
As the second hand clicked through the remaining half circle, the prelude time for the action finally arrived.
"Boom-boom-boom-" The deafening roar instantly overwhelmed all movement, and the rumble of the fleet's salvo seemed to penetrate the sky.
The strong blast of wind from the three triple-mounted 400mm main guns carried by the Longshuo swept away the sea on the side, causing large ripples and billowing waves!
Carrier-based aircraft taking off from the three light aircraft carriers Tianshi Zuoyuan, Tianshi Right Yuan, and Fomalhaut Division formed more than a dozen well-organized formations and pounced directly on the beachhead, attacking the already identified aircraft carriers. The second-line position exploded into a sea of flames.
The Ming Dynasty Air Force's deployment of fighter jets to the Tiwi Islands Airport was slightly slower. 41 Type 36 light bombers, escorted by 16 fighter jets, flew over the city of Darwin and then headed towards the Australian 6th Infantry Division in the suburbs. Hundreds of aerial anti-explosive bombs and incendiary bombs were dropped at the assembly area...
"Hey, my attitude this time is even bigger than last time."
"Yeah, half the sky is filled with smoke."
"It seems that more incendiary bombs were thrown this time, and they were almost half-shot."
The soldiers of the boat scout team lurking in the forest were talking quietly, while several officers gathered together and pointed at the map.
In order to deal a heavy blow to the enemy both materially and spiritually, the Ming Air Force spared no expense in using a large number of thermite incendiary bombs and carried out violent air attacks on the Australian army assembly areas.
The mixture of aluminum powder, magnesium powder, ferric oxide, potassium chlorate, etc. reacted violently. The high temperature of more than 3,000 degrees Celsius melted the steel. Any combustible material was inevitably ignited. Flesh and blood quickly ignited in such extreme flames. Carbonization.
At this moment, a slight whistle suddenly came from not far away, and all the officers and soldiers became alert instantly.
This is the signal that represents "enemy situation discovered".
Everyone soon saw a convoy coming from a distance-three motorcycles, a car, and a Bren machine gun truck.
A warrant officer couldn't hide his excitement and whispered: "Austin sedan, it's unmistakable, there's an officer in it."
"Don't hit cars, capture them alive." The captain leading the team ordered without hesitation to prepare to ambush the convoy.
Everyone waited calmly and calmly, staring at the slowly approaching motorcade.
The muzzles of assault rifles and light machine guns were pointed at the unsuspecting Australian soldiers, and the safety guards were clicked open.
Those who rode in cars behind the battle lines during the battle must have been officers, and they probably carried combat documents with them.
Such battle situations were very common in history. In the late war, German army officers stationed in northern Italy were often ambushed by guerrillas, so much so that Marshal Kesselring repeatedly emphasized not to ride in a car for the sake of comfort.
"beat!"
"boom!"
Following the command of the detachment commander, the detonator lever was pressed hard, and the electronically controlled mine buried in the middle of the road exploded!
The Bren machine gun truck was blown upside down on the spot, and the front windshield of the car behind was also shattered by the shock wave.
The sound of intensive strafing did not sound, but was replaced by the sound of "dah-dah-dah" gunshots.
Many Australian soldiers were knocked down by bullets as soon as they picked up their Enfield rifles, and those soldiers who crawled away from the wreckage of the Bren machine gun carriage were quickly blown to pieces by thrown grenades.
At a close range of tens of meters, these elite officers and soldiers quickly killed all the Australian soldiers with sharp bursts of fire. Some even fired only four shots from beginning to end.
Major Allston was unlucky today. As the liaison officer of the 3rd Fighter Wing of the Royal Australian Air Force, he was planning to go from the airport to the frontline headquarters, but he was captured on the way?
Both he and the driver were pulled out of the car by Ming army soldiers and then taken to the woods nearby.
"Boss! This is an air force lieutenant colonel, and this is his bag."
"Okay, take it with you, it's time to move."
Although this little ambush was very brief, there was an explosion and a firefight, and it may have been detected by the enemy patrol.
After moving to a hidden location chosen before moving to another place, the officers and soldiers of the fourth detachment began to interrogate the big fish they had caught.
Major Allston understood Chinglish, but he refused to answer and only glared angrily after being punched.
"There is no way the Australians will surrender to the invaders. I can only tell them that I am the liaison officer of the 3rd Fighter Wing."
"Forget it, leave him alone." The officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty simply ignored this strong point.
The detachment commander asked the lieutenant who was looking through the briefcase next to him: "What is the document in this bag written about?"
"It's something like a briefing..."
"Do you have a map?"
"have."
The fourth team's ambush and capture of prisoners deep into enemy territory yielded great results. Although the briefcase carried by Major Allston did not contain a defense plan for the ground forces, it could be roughly judged by the combat division of the air force units.
After checking the intelligence, it can be basically concluded that the results of the aerial reconnaissance and deep penetration reconnaissance these days are correct.
This situation was sent back to the fleet via radio, and Zhou Changfeng quickly learned about it.
"Okay, we are inseparable, you can feel confident and bold!" It can be seen that the commander of the 27th Division is quite excited.
Zhou Changfeng stared at the large-scale map and said relaxedly and confidently: "However, I still have to emphasize that entering the city without permission is strictly prohibited. We must first annihilate the enemy forces in the wild and complete the encirclement of Darwin before proceeding."
In order to avoid being trapped in street fighting and being tied down with a large number of troops, Australian troops should not enter the city before clearing the suburbs of Australian troops.
As the firepower preparations before the landing gradually came to an end, countless landing craft left the fleet and slowly sailed towards the target beach.
White tracks were left on the blue sea, like a comb sweeping across the sea.
The Marine Corps officers and soldiers could vaguely see a cloud of water splashing from time to time near the distant coastline. It was the advance engineer unit of the beach front selection battalion blasting hidden underwater obstacles...
When the Ming army landed in Darwin in large numbers, the war situation in the Philippines had basically taken shape.
The main battle on Luzon Island ended with more than 600 US military casualties and more than 1,800 Philippine casualties, but there were as many as 7,000 deserters. For example, the Philippine 21st Infantry Division only had half its strength.
The Ming army's combat attrition was quite small, with more than 300 people killed, more than 900 injured, and 43 people died of serious injuries.
A large number of U.S.-Philippine coalition forces successfully retreated to the Bataan Peninsula, where heavy troops gathered for a while.
The 11th, 21st, 31st, and 71st Divisions of the Philippine Army, as well as the remnants of the 26th Cavalry Regiment, the 45th Infantry Brigade, the 86th Field Artillery Brigade, the 102nd Tank Battalion, and the 104th Tank Battalion of the US Army, together with service auxiliaries The total number of troops reached 100,000.
The Bataan Peninsula is 24km wide from east to west and 48km long from north to south. It is full of dense jungles and there are two ancient extinct volcanoes in the middle of the peninsula.
Back then, the Philippine guerrillas took advantage of the complex terrain here to resist Marshal Mai's father, and they fought for three years.
Things have turned, and now it is Marshal Mai's turn to use the Bataan Peninsula to resist the mighty Ming army.
The retreat was generally going smoothly. Douglas had just arrived at Corogido Island. From here, he could use his telescope to see the dark red flag flying in Manila across the bay.
Corregidor Island has long been completely fortified, and the entire island looks like a giant tadpole when viewed from the sky.
It is only 3.6km away from the southern tip of the Bataan Peninsula and is located at the entrance of Manila Bay. The large-caliber shore guns deployed on Corogido Island can pose a fatal threat to ships trying to enter and exit Manila Bay.
If we use an image metaphor, Manila Bay is like a big kettle, and Corogido Island is the key cork.
Because of this, Douglas was quick to confidently brag to the outside world.
"...They may have grabbed the water bottle, but the cork is still in my hand."
【Picture】
However, the Ming army obviously did not agree with his rhetoric and quickly launched a tentative attack.
The third and fourth battalions of the 3rd Tank Brigade each deployed two teams, using 25 Type 38 medium tanks and 24 Type 37 light tanks to rush southward along the relatively gentle eastern part of the peninsula.
The 128th Regiment of the 43rd Infantry Division was responsible for accompanying the attack. With the support of fierce artillery fire and air strikes, it used good infantry-tank coordination tactics to tear apart the defense line of the Philippine 31st Infantry Division.
The 102nd Tank Battalion of the US Army was ordered to face the danger and quickly launched a counterattack. 39 M2A2 light tanks rushed menacingly in an echelon formation towards the Ming army's unsteady foothold.
"Enemy tank! Load armor-piercing shells in one round."
The two sides launched a fierce tank battle, but the US tank force was at a disadvantage both in quantity and quality.
The M2A2 is the predecessor of the famous M3/M5 Stuart light tank. It is equipped with a 37mm tank gun, and its overall performance is not bad.
However, the armor-piercing projectile fired by this tank gun could only penetrate the Type 37, which was also a light tank. The US tank soldiers watched helplessly as the 37 mm armor-piercing tracer projectile trailed an obvious trail and smashed into the front of the Ming army's medium-sized tank. Sparks fly!
Each American tank was turned into a blazing bonfire. There was no doubt about the outcome of the battle in this situation.
【Picture】
(End of chapter)
