The aircraft bombing had just ended, and the task force's naval guns began to conduct saturation bombing of the Japanese beach positions, focusing on the Japanese positions in Kadena and Chatan;
All battleship main guns are used, with a caliber exceeding 280 mm. Every time a gun hits, there are almost no survivors within a hundred meters. Even hiding in the trenches is useless. The huge shock wave will shatter a person's internal organs.
This is also the reason why Ushijima Mitsuru did not place the main force on the beach position. Let alone tens of thousands of people, even a hundred thousand people would not be enough to blast the Japanese naval guns;
If you want to protect yourself from naval gunfire, you can only dig tunnels on the reverse slope of the mountain ridge. This is what the Japanese did.
However, Ushijima Mitsuru was reluctant to give up the tidal flat position, so he arranged for a regiment to defend. Under the saturation attack of the Hawk-chan naval gun, this regiment had already suffered most of its casualties before even seeing the shadow of the landing force, and the remaining remaining soldiers were Hiding in the dilapidated trenches and shivering.
As soon as the artillery preparations were extended, the First Chinese Marine Brigade began to carry out beach landings. At the forefront were dozens of amphibious tanks from the tank regiment;
Behind the amphibious tanks were 150 large landing craft and 80 small landing craft, carrying more than 6,000 Marines from the 1st and 2nd Marine Regiments, and landed along the Kadena and Chatan coasts.
When the tank group rushed onto the beach, the remaining Japanese soldiers fired wildly at the tank group with their 92-heavy machine guns, and the bullets rattled the front armor of the tanks.
The tank group did not take the Japanese machine guns seriously at all. They stepped on the accelerator and rushed towards the Japanese firepower.
The few remaining anti-tank guns also opened fire on the tank group. A 37-mm bullet hit a Sherman DD tank. The commander Xu Xin was startled and cursed:
"Damn it, the little devil's cannon was quite accurate. He almost sent me to the west. Li Xiaoliu, I cannonballed him!"
After the driver stopped the tank, the main gunner Li Xiaoliu quickly adjusted the firing angle of the gun barrel and fired one shot at the Japanese anti-tank gun. The shell accurately hit the target and exploded one of the Japanese 37 cannon into parts.
The front armor of the Sherman DD tank can barely block the attack of the 56mm main gun, but the 37mm gun has nothing to do with it.
After dozens of tanks rushed onto the tidal flat, like dozens of wild bulls, they rushed into the Japanese tidal flat position and rampaged, using tank guns to knock out the Japanese firepower points one by one. It took less than an hour to occupy the tidal flat position. Eliminate the remaining more than 1,000 Japanese.
The tanks successfully seized the beach and built a steel defense line along the beach to cover the landing of subsequent troops;
Half an hour later, the First and Second Marine Regiments successfully completed the landing, followed closely by the First and Second Divisions of the National Salvation Army.
In this way, more than 40,000 troops landed on the Kadena and Chatan coasts. After making slight adjustments, they attacked the central and northern airports on the island, with the goal of occupying the Japanese field airports.
Unfortunately, when the Marine Regiment accompanied the tank regiment to the airport, the Japanese had already destroyed all the facilities at the airport and the airport was no longer usable;
At noon, the First Division of the National Salvation Army arrived at the Chatani-Sajukawa-Naka Airport line;
The Second Division arrived at the Chatan-Kurefuji-Ulao line.
In the afternoon, the New Seventh Division and the Second Division of the Independence Army also completed the landing and took over the defense lines of the two divisions of the National Salvation Army.
After the main force of the expeditionary force completed the landing, they were not in a hurry to advance deep into the enemy. According to the unified deployment of the general headquarters, the two divisions of the National Salvation Army went straight to the Shuri defense line, which was heavily fortified by the Japanese;
This caught the Japanese off guard. They did not expect that the expeditionary force would seize seven inches of them as soon as they took action, rendering their perimeter useless.
The Shuri Defense Line is built along the mountains, running from south to north, stretching for dozens of kilometers. If we were to attack from south to north like Takajima in another time and space, attacking one hill after another, no amount of troops would be enough. .
In his previous life, Chu Xiong had specially studied the Shuri Defense Line. The best attack route to crack the Shuri Defense Line would be to attack from east to west. The narrowest point is only a few kilometers deep and can be easily penetrated.
The previous aerial bombardment caused great damage to the Shuri defense line. The surface fortifications were almost bulldozed and the defenders suffered heavy casualties.
Chu Xiong's tactics were to break through the middle and then spread out to the two wings;
After the first and second divisions were deployed, they launched an attack from east to west. The location of the assault was right at the waist of the Japanese defense line.
The Japanese's defense line was deployed in steps along the mountain range from south to north, a bit like a long snake formation. Now the First and Second Divisions of the National Salvation Army launched an attack from the waist of the snake. This will cost the Japanese's life. .
The First Division and the First Division are also lined up. The two divisions are about ten kilometers apart. It is like two sharp knives thrust into the waist of a long snake. If it is penetrated, the Japanese's "snake body" ” will be cut into three sections;
The middle section is about ten kilometers, the southern section is about 25 kilometers, and the northern section is about 17 kilometers.
To the south and in the middle is the 3rd Division, and to the north is the 15th Division, which cannot be supported by the front and rear.
The troops defending in the middle are the 68th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Division. A regiment has to defend a line of defense of about ten kilometers, lined up in a row;
Their opponents were two entire divisions. The most uncomfortable thing was that they had no depth at all. Two hours after the National Salvation Army launched the attack, they could no longer hold on and asked the division headquarters for tactical guidance.
Lieutenant General Mitsuo Yamamoto of the Third Division had no choice but to mobilize the main force of the 6th Regiment from the "Snake Head" position to support the 68th Regiment's defense line, and was able to barely withstand the attack of the National Salvation Army.
The National Salvation Army used its regiment as a unit to continuously attack the Japanese defense line, and the battle between the two sides became intense;
The Japanese hid in the trenches built along the mountain ridges and resisted tenaciously, refusing to give up an inch of ground.
The National Salvation Army's offensive was carried out in waves, regardless of casualties. The tactics were very simple. The infantry charged after the artillery bombardment;
In order to provide fire support to the National Salvation Army, the Expeditionary Force Headquarters specifically asked Takajia to coordinate a dozen warships, parked in the waters east of Ryukyu, only 1 kilometer away from the coastline, and the naval guns could hit the Shuri defense line.
Yingjiang sent two communication liaison teams to stay at the two division headquarters and can call for naval gun support at any time.
The National Salvation Army has never fought such a prosperous battle, so although there were heavy casualties, morale has always been high.
The two regiments of the Third Division resisted the attack of naval guns tenaciously, and suffered very heavy casualties. Often when a line of defense was exposed, it would attract an overwhelming naval attack. There were only ten defenders on the defense line, and then It was captured by the National Salvation Army troops.
"Onboard!"
The soldiers of the Second Regiment of the National Salvation Army had just taken down a line of Japanese defense. They rushed up the mountain ridge while shouting slogans. They were everywhere they looked.
"Ta-ta-ta-ta..."
"Boom boom boom..."
Tongues of flames once again appeared on the mountain ridge, and a large area of soldiers from the 2nd Regiment was knocked down. Another Japanese defense line appeared on the mountainside not far from them. This was the defense line of the 2nd Brigade of the 6th Regiment. , there are more than 1,000 Japanese.
The Second Regiment of the National Salvation Army was pushed back two to three hundred meters. This was to make room for the naval guns to avoid accidental damage.
Major Masataka Toshima, the second captain of the Japanese 6th Regiment, watched the National Salvation Army being beaten to pieces and running away, and proudly said to the staff officer, Captain Hanomiya:
"Hanomiya-kun, do you see that this group of puppet troops have no fighting power at all? They are cannon fodder for the Chinese people. They will not end well if they become dogs for the Chinese people."
Captain Hanomiya was not as optimistic as Major Toshima. He said worriedly:
“Toshima-kun, you and I have both fought in China and have personal experience of the dangers of the puppet army;
In the past, the imperial army drove the Chinese puppet troops to fight with the Chinese army, letting their own people fight their own people, and the losses were all Chinese people.
Now the Huaxia people treat others in their own way, and the corpses all over the ground are all Yamato people. Huaxia and Eagle Sauce only consumed some cannonballs;
They can fight such a war, but the empire cannot.
If things go on like this, the empire's military resources will be exhausted and all adult men will be wiped out. By then, the Yamato nation will really be in danger. "
After listening to this, Major Toshima's mood became heavy. He is a graduate of mainland China and has a certain strategic vision. He nodded and said:
“What Yumiya-kun is worried about is that unlike China, the empire has sufficient military resources;
There are only 70 million people in the empire. According to the maximum mobilization of 8 people per soldier, the empire can arm up to 10 million people. In the past few years, it has consumed at least 2 million people. The local arsenals are already all worked by women. ;
In terms of consumption, the empire could not compete with China. Now they are using a large number of puppet troops to fight. Once they are defeated in the mainland, the number of puppet troops will increase sharply.
His Majesty’s 100 million pieces of jade, in the end, it might be one of his own people beating his own people, and Huaxia and Yingjiang will watch the fun——"
"Bagaya Road, heavy artillery!"
Just as he was talking, Toshima heard the sound of a group of artillery shells breaking through the air. He turned pale with fright. With his experience, he knew it was a naval gun. Now his brigade would be in bad luck, even if they were hiding in the trenches. It's useless. This is a naval gun. It's useless in shallower tunnels. It will be killed by the shock wave.
As soon as Toyoshima finished speaking, dozens of large-caliber naval artillery shells fell on their position, covering Toyoshima's brigade. A large number of Japanese were killed and wounded, trenches were flattened, and some tunnels were destroyed. It collapsed and the Japanese inside were buried alive.
Takao-chan's naval guns fired more than a dozen rounds. To Toshima and Hanomiya, it felt like a century had passed;
The tunnel where their headquarters is located is the deepest and has the best defensive effect. They can still feel a faint pain in their internal organs. You can imagine the miserable situation of others.
When the bombardment stopped, Toshima spit out a mouthful of thick phlegm with bloodshot eyes and dust, and said to Captain Hanomiya:
"Hanomiya-kun, the casualties of this round of artillery troops are estimated to be more than half. The group of Chinese lackeys will definitely rush up next. You go to the first squadron and make sure they resist it. Tell them that if they retreat, they will reach Kyushu Island!"
Hanomiya accepted the order with a hey, and when he arrived at the first squadron, he found that the situation was worse than they imagined;
Most of the fortifications and trenches have been blown up. There are only ten troops left, and more than half of them are wounded. There is no way to fight like this.
If a brigade goes forward, one attack will be wasted. A regiment cannot withstand several losses. Once the Chinese defense line is penetrated, the Shuri defense line that the Japanese have high hopes for will be cut off, and the consequences will be disastrous;
Thinking of this, he said to the captain of the first squadron:
"Matsui-kun, those lackeys are about to charge forward. We must resist it. If we retreat, we will reach Kyushu!"
"Hanomiya-kun, what can I use to withstand? My squadron is under a round of artillery fire and I can't even gather a small team. What can I use to withstand an enemy ten times my size?"
"Onboard!"
Thousands of the National Salvation Army shouted slogans and rushed up all over the mountains and plains. A surviving tunnel fire poured dense bullets on them, mowing down more than a dozen National Salvation Army soldiers in an instant. The excited Captain Hanomiya waved his fist;
Before he could be happy for a moment, a bazooka rocket hit it from a hundred meters away. After an explosion, the fire in the tunnel went silent.
After a while, he saw with his own eyes two flamethrowers rushed to the tunnel fortifications and sprayed a long pillar of fire at the entrance of the tunnel;
Then he saw the burning men running out of the tunnel in pain, and then being burned alive to ashes.
Hanomiya closed her eyes in pain...
