My own war game

Chapter 253 Bait on Land

There was a buzzing sound in the sky, and two F4F Wildcat fighters flew towards the newly opened "Red Dragon Airport" on Guadalcanal with black smoke.

As soon as the two planes landed, seven or eight people ran up to check the status of the pilots and fighter jets. Soldiers on the fire truck nearby held water pipes and were ready to deal with possible explosions at any time.

You have to know that these people are ordinary soldiers of the 1st Marine Division. Most of them were rookies who had just joined the army a few months ago, and now everyone is a good ground crew member.

The reason for this situation is not only that the battlefield is the best training ground for new recruits, but the recent fierce air battles there are also an important factor.

The two pilots were given a brief physical checkup by the medical soldiers, and after being judged to be fine, they were taken to the intelligence room nearby to report the latest battle situation. This was the most effective channel for obtaining intelligence after the aircraft carrier's radio was silent.

Vowing to destroy the "Imperial Shame" on Guadalcanal, Isoroku Yamamoto led a huge fleet including six aircraft carriers to the nearby waters to seek a decisive battle with the US military.

The daily comparison of the two sides' air power here is as follows:

Both sides had land airfields. The U.S. military had a Cactus Squadron with less than 40 aircraft of various types stationed near Guadalcanal, while the Japanese had more than 60 land-based aircraft in Rabaul far away, in addition to the naval aviation force. The Japanese had more aircraft on aircraft carriers, but the U.S. military had better quality and the quality of their pilots was slightly better.

In the first round of the battle, both sides were evenly matched.

As soon as He Chi entered the room, Major General Vandergrift came over and said, "Good news, the pilot just reported to us that our people sank a Japanese aircraft carrier (Ryūjō) in the northeast."

He Chi looked at the major general's face and found that he didn't look happy, so he said, "I'd better listen to what you say after BUT before deciding whether to applaud."

Sure enough, the next second, the admiral began to tell bad news, "But... the Enterprise was also hit by three bombs on the deck and is currently injured and has to retreat temporarily."

He Chi thought for a moment and asked, "Does that mean that the surrounding sea control is currently in the hands of the Japanese?"

"Although I don't want to admit it, this is the fact. Fortunately, half of the planes on the Enterprise will land at our airport next, so we won't be short of planes in the short term." The major general's expression was a little serious at this time.

"And the Saratoga?"

"Fletcher ordered the two aircraft carriers to patrol the southern waters in turns to prevent Japanese ships from launching surprise attacks from another direction." The major general said expressionlessly.

"At the same time, it is also the safest place nearby. At least it is outside the attack range of Japanese aircraft carriers, right?" He Chi did not hide the sarcasm in his tone.

The major general didn't say anything, which was considered as his tacit agreement. After all, the daily routine of the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal in the past period of time was eating, fighting, and scolding Fletcher. Major General Vandergrift had also privately criticized his naval colleague many times.

The major general then looked around and asked, "Speaking of our 'allies', how are they preparing?"

"I was just about to tell you, please come this way." He Chi made a gesture to lead the way, and then walked ahead alone.

The major general and his entourage walked forward about one kilometer at a time, and a tall flag was erected on a high hill (or a slope) in the distance.

"New Japan National Construction Army First Regiment"

There were probably hundreds of people wielding shovels and other tools, digging trenches in full swing. They were also building bunkers with cement newly transported from airplanes. From time to time, bursts of labor songs with Kyushu slang could be heard.

What a thriving scene. "How many people are there?" The number of people in the team before him was obviously different from before, which made the major general a little confused.

"There are only less than 50 people who can actually hold guns and fight, and this is the result of new recruits from the captured reinforcements. The others are all Koreans, just for show." He Chi shrugged.

"Can they really attract the Japanese here?" Major General Vandergrift looked at the place in front of him with some doubt.

There is nothing to block the view from all sides, the defenders are in a commanding position, and the terrain below is flat, which is very suitable for our armored vehicles and light tanks to advance and provide support. If he were a Japanese commander, he would never attack such a place by force.

"Believe me, if the Japanese were given a choice, they would rather give up an aircraft carrier formation than kill these people, just like these few days..."

Before He Chi finished speaking, a loud shout came
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

I saw a flag on the top of a distant mountain shaking violently, and then someone put the flag down. As this action was completed, the New Japanese National Army soldiers who were still working quickly dived into the bunkers they had dug like meerkats encountering their natural enemies, and in an instant, no one could be seen on the ground.

There was a buzzing sound from the sky, and four Type 97 carrier-based bombers flew over from the horizon, rushing towards the position with murderous intent.

Brush!!! Brush!!!

In a forest in the distance, several anti-aircraft positions that had been hidden for a long time suddenly revealed their camouflage, and the 37mm anti-aircraft guns showed their cold barrels facing the trajectory of the bombers.

Bang bang bang bang bang! ! ! ! ! !

Faced with the anti-aircraft firepower that was waiting in wait, the Japanese bombers were obviously unprepared. The four bombers panicked and adjusted their postures to try to dodge, but one of them was hit in the tail and crashed down.

boom! ! ! !

As the Type 97 plane exploded and hit the ground, other planes hurriedly gave up dropping bombs and pulled up again, while at the airport in the distance, some Flying Snake fighters were already preparing to take off.

After another one was shot down by a fighter jet, the remaining two Type 97s flew away to the distant sea in panic.

"This is the third time in the past few days. The Japanese are killing them like crazy. We have shot down at least five planes in this area." He Chi said, pointing to the position in front of him that had resumed its busy work.

"It seems that it is really as you said, they are the best bait." The major general nodded and finally agreed with He Chi's statement.

On that day, the 1st Marine Division temporarily adjusted its troop deployment and deployed two battalions equipped with new armored vehicles and tanks to the flanks and rear of the new Japanese National Construction Army. At the same time, it laid a high density of mines to form a minefield in that direction.

1.5 kilometers away, eight M8 cannons were aimed at this place, ready to strike hard at the Japanese who launched the charge.

At this time, dark clouds began to gather in the sky, and the bad weather near Guadalcanal began to rain again.

On the night of August 8, about 30 people of the Kawaguchi Detachment led by Colonel Kiyomizu Kawaguchi began landing on the beach east of Guadalcanal under the cover of naval destroyer fire, while another ranger force of a thousand people landed on the island from the west in a peculiar way at the same time.

(End of this chapter)