It was another sunny morning in Saipan, with a cloudless blue sky. The Japanese on the island had no intention of enjoying the scenery. They were already digging holes in the ground early in the morning.
Saipan is like a giant aircraft carrier, 21 kilometers long and 4 to 8 kilometers wide. The terrain is high in the center and low on the four sides;
There are many peaks, hills, ravines, and caves on the island. The highest point is Tapoqiao Peak with an altitude of 450 meters in the center of the island;
There is a coral reef covering the entire beach on the west coast of the island. Cape Garapan divides it into two, forming a natural harbor - Tanapan Harbor on the north.
The Japanese built three field airports on the island. To the south is the flat Machikis Beach, which is an ideal landing beach;
In order to prevent the coalition forces from landing on Machikis Beach, the Japanese have been repairing the fortifications day and night. They used stones and cement to build a large number of bunkers in an area 100 meters away from the beach, with a depth of more than 1 kilometer.
The defense of the beach is not the focus of the Japanese defense, because they know that they cannot prevent the coalition forces from landing in the face of Yingjiang's powerful naval and air force firepower.
The Japanese focused their defense on the core area centered on Tapoqiao Peak. They relied on a large number of naturally occurring caves to build a large number of underground fortifications, almost turning Saipan into an underground palace. This is what the Japanese believers are doing. The confidence lies.
The Japanese were still not satisfied with this, and they still worked from dawn to dusk to dig tunnels, bringing their prairie dog spirit to the extreme.
At this time, the island's radar detected a large number of aircraft flying towards Saipan, and then a harsh air defense siren sounded.
Planes took off from the airport one after another, preparing to meet the enemy;
Saipan is only so big. If they don't take off to meet the enemy, they will have no choice but to be bombed, and there will be no place to hide.
The Japanese air force on the island is divided into two parts, one is land-based, and the other is sea-based aviation belonging to the navy, which are not under each other's control.
The Japanese Combined Fleet has three aircraft carriers and about 200 aircraft in the nearby waters. They are used as surprise troops.
The Japanese have more than 400 land-based fighter jets, and they don't know how many fighter jets Yingjiang has sent over. Neither side knows much about the actual strength of the other side.
Fortunately, Chu Xiong had a God's perspective. He reminded Yingjiang to send a high-altitude reconnaissance plane in advance to conduct photo reconnaissance on Saipan to see how many places were suitable for landing. This gave Yingjiang a clear goal.
After the commander of the Eagle Navy mastered the defense situation of Saipan, he made a plan to bomb the enemy airport as a bait to induce the Japanese aircraft to fight, and then seize the air superiority over Saipan;
The Japanese were indeed fooled and sent more than 400 land-based fighter jets to intercept and kill them. They were greeted by more than 600 P51 Mustang fighter jets.
The two sides immediately broke out in an air battle involving thousands of fighter planes. After a morning of fierce fighting, the Japanese fleet, dominated by Nakajima fighter planes, was defeated;
More than 380 aircraft were shot down, while Yingjiang only lost more than 110 aircraft. The two sides were not at the same level of strength at all.
Yingjiang lost more than 110 fighter jets without even frowning, while the Japanese lost almost all land-based air power, and the air superiority near Saipan fell into the hands of Yingjiang.
Next, the Eagle bomber group began to bombard the land fortifications on Saipan Island indiscriminately.
It's a pity that Yan Haoyu and others couldn't see it, otherwise they would have lamented that Yingjiang's wealthy people and the expeditionary force's air power were nothing compared to Yingjiang.
Thousands of bombers took turns to attack Saipan, dropping tens of thousands of bombs on Saipan, almost flattening the surface positions on Saipan. It was so arrogant.
Fighting in Yingjiang is very simple. Their tactics are all designed around how to maximize their firepower advantage. If something can be solved with bombs, they will never use infantry.
Just as Yingjiang's bombers dropped their bombs and prepared to evacuate, a huge group of fighter jets appeared in the sky. They pounced on Yingjiang's bombers like eagles catching chickens;
This time Yingjiang was careless, leaving only more than 80 fighter jets to escort, while the other main fleet returned to the aircraft carrier to replenish fuel.
Thinking they had an advantage, the Japanese sea-based aircraft group rushed towards Yingjiang's bomber group with a grin. As a result, they got mixed up with the 80 escorting Mustang fighter jets;
The Japanese's sea-based fighters are all the most advanced Zero fighters. The performance gap with the Mustang is not very big. They have a numerical advantage, so they want to teach Yingjiang a lesson.
Unexpectedly, the two sides fought evenly, and there was no one-sided situation;
Yingjiang's bomber group did not flee as Lieutenant General Nagumo expected. Instead, they formed phalanxes and rushed toward the Japanese fighter group very arrogantly.
This completely angered the Japanese commander, who despised them so much that he used a bomber group to challenge the fighter group.
"Warriors, the feast has begun. Don't pay too much attention to their fighter jets. Instead, go and destroy their bomber groups and kill the chickens!"
After the Japanese commander issued the order, he drove his meritorious fighter jet towards Yingjiang's bomber group. To his surprise, Yingjiang's bomber group not only did not evade, but concentrated fire on them.
The rain of bullets rolled towards the Japanese aircraft group like a violent storm, blasting the Zeros in the air.
Not to be outdone, the Japanese used 20mm cannons to fire at Yingjiang's bombers, inflicting heavy wounds on Yingjiang's bombers. This made the Japanese commander very depressed. Many planes were clearly bombing, but they were just watching and swaying. The ground was about to fall, but it refused to fall, much to the disappointment of the Japanese who were about to watch the show.
Using fighter jets against a group of bombers that were several times their own, they actually did not take advantage. The exchange ratio between the two sides actually made the Japanese commander want to die.
The two sides are basically losing one to one at a rapid rate. The Japanese are the first to be unable to hold on. Their more than 200 precious sea-based fighter jets cannot withstand such huge consumption.
Even if they exchange two planes for one, Yingjiang won't frown. As long as they fight for consumption, Yingjiang will chase the whistle. What they are least afraid of is fighting the Japanese for consumption.
After losing more than 60 Zero fighters, the Japanese commander became frightened and fled first.
Other Japanese fighter jets also withdrew from the battle, giving in.
In the next few days, Yingjiang's fleet visited Saipan several times every day, smashing a large amount of steel onto Saipan and plowing almost the entire island's surface several times;
Although not many Japanese defenders were killed, it wiped out the surface fortifications that the Japanese had worked so hard to build.
At the same time, after learning that there was a Japanese aircraft carrier formation nearby, Yingjiang sent a large number of fighter jets to find a decisive battle with the combined fleet.
Lieutenant General Nagumo couldn't hold it back several times and fought with Hawajang several times. As a result, he lost many troops. Although he also shot down dozens of Hawthorn's fighter jets, their own losses were even greater, losing more than 70 more fighter jets.
After losing more than a hundred aircraft in battle, the Japanese combined fleet finally chose to evacuate the nearby waters, and the time was ripe to land on Saipan!
