"boom!"
A rocket accurately hit the enemy's firepower point, killing several Japanese hiding inside;
Pulling the rocket launcher tightly, they knocked out two Japanese firepower points in a row. The Japanese's cross fire network was torn apart. The National Salvation Army took the opportunity to charge and quickly rushed forward.
Captain Uehara took out two grenades and threw them into a tunnel entrance. After the explosion, he got in first, and the other two team members followed him in to dig out the rat hole;
Uehara was lucky. The inside was only a dozen meters deep. A few of the Japanese inside were knocked down by the grenades he threw in. Most of them were killed. Only two or three were still struggling, and he stabbed them one by one with his bayonet. die.
After eliminating the Japanese inside, Uehara's team safely exited the cave and continued their attack.
In Chalan Gannuo, the 1st Marine Brigade was still digging fortifications. They adopted the method of digging tunnels to advance slowly, which made the Japanese who were preparing to fight them very depressed;
Seeing that the position of the 1st Land Combat Brigade was getting wider and wider, and if it continued like this, it would completely gain a foothold. The Japanese commander, Colonel Hikoshiro Ohashi of the 18th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Division, decided not to wait until dark, and marched toward the enemy at dusk. The positions of the 1st Marine Brigade launched a counterattack.
Their counterattack was supported by the field artillery wing. Dozens of light and heavy artillery launched a fierce bombardment at the 1st Marine Brigade at the risk of being bombed by aircraft, causing many casualties to the officers and soldiers of the 1st Marine Brigade.
Immediately, a regiment of Japanese soldiers formed a dense battle formation and launched a charge towards the position of the 1st Marine Brigade.
The first brigade immediately called for naval gun support. Within a moment, more than a dozen warships docked one kilometer away from the coastline launched a fierce bombardment at the Japanese artillery positions, destroying each of the Japanese cannons;
After suppressing the Japanese artillery, the tank regiment rushed out of the position and launched a countercharge against the Japanese.
Hundreds of Sherman DD amphibious tanks rushed towards the infantry of the 18th Regiment on a front of about 4 kilometers.
Tank guns and vehicle-mounted machine guns fired wildly at the Japanese, knocking down Japanese infantry in groups;
The infantry regiment of the Marine Brigade also took the opportunity to rush out and accompanied the tank regiment in launching a countercharge against the Japanese, protecting the flanks of the tanks from attacks by the Japanese suicide squads.
A regiment of Japanese infantry was obviously no match for a tank regiment and an infantry regiment. It only lasted for more than ten minutes before it began to collapse. The tank regiment took advantage of the situation and advanced for nearly ten kilometers in one breath. The corpses of the Japanese soldiers were everywhere. , the 18th Wing suffered heavy losses.
The troops advanced a few hundred meters below Tapocho Peak before stopping. The tanks of the tank regiment formed a large fan at the foot of the mountain;
The infantry regiment turned to defense on the spot and began to dig trenches and build a new line of defense.
The Second Infantry Regiment also advanced a few kilometers and also switched to defense on the spot. It formed a stepped defense circle with the First Infantry Regiment, forming horns with each other.
Although the 1st Marine Brigade advanced nearly ten kilometers, the new brigade commander Zhao Hui (He Zhenhua no longer serves as the Marine Brigade Commander) knew that they only occupied superficial positions;
There are also a large number of mouse holes underground, hiding a large number of rats. They dare not come out during the day, but they will definitely come out at night to fight back.
As the backbone of the Old Seventh Company, Zhao Hui had previously commanded the artillery, but he was very familiar with tunnel warfare in Liu Town. This time he was transferred to the Marine Brigade by Chu Xiong to serve as the brigade commander, in order to use his rich combat experience. Fight the tunnel battle with the Japanese.
Zhao Hui knew that to deal with the ubiquitous Japanese tunnels, he must first stabilize himself, and then use the tunnels to deal with the Japanese tunnels.
He ordered the 1st and 2nd Marine Regiments to deploy their defenses step by step, and then dig tunnels from the ground down in battalion units to build their own circular fortifications.
In this process, it is very likely that the enemy's tunnel will be dug out. Once the enemy's tunnel is found, use a flamethrower to burn it.
Cleaning up section by section does not require the elimination of many Japs, but it means squeezing the Japs’ space for activities.
Saipan is so big, with a depth of just over 20 kilometers and a width of only a few kilometers. Once you capture one section, you can consolidate it.
If the Japanese want to launch a counterattack from inside the tunnel, they can only do so at night, and there is no chance during the day;
As soon as night came, the Marine Brigade retreated into the circular trench and stood ready. At the same time, several emergency units were formed in company units, equipped with a large number of submachine guns and semi-automatic rifles. Once they heard the sound of gunfire from any direction, they would immediately provide support. .
Unwilling to accept defeat, the Japanese emerged from the hidden exit of the tunnel at night and launched a counterattack against the Marine Brigade. The two sides fought in a melee around the trench;
The Japanese troops and firepower were at an absolute disadvantage, and the Marine Brigade was well prepared, so although their counterattack caused some chaos, it had little impact on the overall situation.
Basically, when one comes out, one will be exposed, and then it will be eliminated by the emergency teams surrounding it.
There are a large number of fixed forts on Tapoqiao Peak. They will also launch artillery attacks on the Marine Brigade's positions from time to time, causing certain casualties to the Marine Brigade, but they are still within the endurance of the Marine Brigade.
After finally surviving the longest night, when a new round of red sun rose again, the Japanese who had been struggling all night finally stopped. They turned to defense again, and it was the Chinese's turn to launch an attack.
On the second day, the second echelon of the expeditionary force began to land;
Unwilling to fail, the Japanese navy once again sneaked close to the waters near Saipan and used large-caliber naval guns to bombard our landing troops, causing heavy casualties to the landing troops.
The Eagle Navy once again dispatched more than 300 aircraft and dozens of warships to find the Japanese Navy for a decisive battle;
The Japanese Navy did not show weakness and sent out its remaining 100 or so aircraft and the Eagle Fleet to engage in a fierce battle over the sea on the western front of Saipan.
After more than an hour of fierce fighting, most of the Japanese fleet was shot down, and Yingjiang also paid the price of dozens of planes being shot down.
Although the Japanese Navy carrier-based aircraft fought bravely and achieved a 1:1 battle loss ratio with Yingjiang, such a war of attrition is obviously not something the Japanese can afford.
The loss of dozens of fighter jets is nothing more than a loss of weight for Yingjiang's huge fleet of more than 300 aircraft, but the Japanese's carrier-based aircraft have almost been lost.
After destroying the Japanese escort aircraft, Yingjiang's fleet pounced on the Japanese fleet like an eagle catching a chicken. One warship after another was sunk, and the Japanese fleet was severely damaged. Most of the 55 warships were hit. Shen, only a small part escaped.
After destroying the Japanese fleet, the landing became much easier. In just one morning, the New 6th Division and the New 7th Division successfully landed in the direction of Chalan Gannuo and on another beach.
In this way, there were three troops on the island. After landing at the Majisiqi Beach in the south, the Foot Pot Chicken National Salvation Army had advanced about 3 kilometers in depth after a day and night of fierce fighting;
The 1st Marine Brigade on the western front reached the foot of Tapoqiao Peak, the commanding heights of the island, and received reinforcements from the New Sixth Division.
The New 7th Division completed the landing from the beach on the eastern front and marched east to west with the National Salvation Army. It quickly penetrated the Japanese defense line and cut the Saipan defense line into two sections, the north and the south.
The Japs' activity space was further compressed, and the expeditionary force was divided into southern and northern parts, each fighting on their own.
The campaign objectives of the first phase of the Battle of Saipan have been achieved, and the next step is to defeat them one by one.
