My own war game

Chapter 264: Each Has New Tricks

At the end of September 1942, Haruyoshi Momotake waited for his trump card - the three troops coordinated by the Imperial Headquarters finally arrived at the Guadalcanal beach.

[The 8th Tank Regiment of the North China Expeditionary Army]

[Kwantung Army 4th Heavy Artillery Regiment]

[Twenty-third Army Independent Tenth Mountain Artillery Regiment]

The arrival of these three heavy weapons units greatly boosted Haruyoshi Momotake's courage, but the surge in numbers also made the already tight supply situation of the Japanese army even more strained.

So after confirming that he had a trump card, Lieutenant General Baiwu decided to give up his previous petty fighting and take the first step.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM !!!!!!!!!!!!
Flames continued to rise near the Red Dragon Airport. This was the long-range fire suppression from the Kongo battleship and other ships that came to reinforce the Japanese army.

In order to win this battle, Haruyoshi Momotake was ruthless and used his influence to make the naval battleships bombard Guadalcanal without gaining air superiority, risking being bombed. At the same time, the Type 105 mm howitzers of the th Heavy Artillery Regiment of the Kwantung Army also began to bombard the US positions regardless of ammunition.

"Anyway, the food will be consumed before the shells, so we might as well fire them all out!" These were the exact words of Captain Kato.

Boom, boom, boom!!! The barbed wire defense line that had been built before was blown to pieces by heavy artillery. At least one battalion of soldiers began to charge towards the US military position under the cover of supporting firepower.

“Onboard!!!!”

Puff puff puff puff! ! ! !
The soldiers in the front were knocked to the ground by the sudden firepower. In the distance, six US M3 light tanks used 7.62mm machine guns to fill the lack of firepower on the front line and blocked the Japanese infantry outside the gap in the barbed wire.

boom! ! boom! !
There was a loud noise, and the M3 tank in the front was attacked from an unknown direction. The armor was directly penetrated and it lay on the ground.

In the distant jungle, several Type 47 45mm anti-tank guns appeared. This type of gun was copied from the mm anti-tank gun captured from the Soviet Union in Nomonhan. It was Japan's latest anti-tank weapon and was also sent to Guadalcanal by the headquarters.

"Back up! Back up quickly!" The captain of the leading vehicle ordered loudly, but the M3 tank had just started to retreat when the anti-tank gun on the opposite side opened fire again.

Boom! Boom! As the explosions sounded, two more M3s were destroyed.

This anti-tank gun has an improved firing rate. Theoretically, it can fire up to 20 rounds per minute. However, skilled artillerymen on the battlefield can basically fire 12-15 rounds per minute, making it a nightmare for highly mobile light tanks.

"Board! Board!" Seeing their own artillery achieve results, the Japanese infantrymen were greatly encouraged and launched another charge. Behind them, 8 Type 95 light tanks appeared.

"He, it looks like Halloween is coming soon, and the Japanese have brought out all their new toys." Edson, holding a telescope, said to He Chi beside him. He did not show any panic in the face of the Japanese's aggressive attack.

"It seems like we need to give these guys some candy to make them behave themselves." He Chi nodded, then picked up the landline phone beside him and said something.

Soon, on one side of the battlefield, the flag of the First Mixed Brigade of the New Japanese National Army was raised. (It was still a regiment a few days ago, but Kojiro is getting better and better at it.)
The military flag with chrysanthemums and rice ears as the main body fluttered in the wind, launching a huge group taunting skill to all Japanese troops on the entire battlefield.

"Baga! Charge! Kill these shameless traitors!" The first one to lose his patience was the commander of the tank regiment. These troops transferred from North China were very arrogant and had the illusion that "the Imperial Army is invincible" in their heads. They actually urged the light tank troops to launch a charge.

Soon, the Type 95 tank rushed to the front of the team with its super high mobility, and charged straight towards the position of the New Japanese National Construction Army, leaving behind the infantry that it was supposed to protect.

brush!
Long steel pipes suddenly appeared on the New Japanese National Army position in front, and the black front end was aimed at the tank in front.

Woo!!!! Woo!!!! Woo!!!! Woo!!!! Woo!!!!
A peculiar sound was heard, and in the eyes of the observer in Type 95, small black dots like a swarm of bees were enlarging in front of them.

BOOM!!!! BOOM!!!! BOOM!!!! BOOM!!!! BOOM!!!!

Explosions rang out one after another. The Type 12 tank, which had only mm of front armor, was torn apart effortlessly by this suddenly appearing weapon. The interior of the tank was instantly penetrated and caught fire.

The bazooka was still in the small-scale production stage at the end of 1942. He Chi emptied the entire General Electric Company's inventory through the relationship with Roosevelt Jr., and 1200 first-generation M1 bazookas were delivered to Guadalcanal by General Turner's fleet at the last minute. They were almost thrown into the battlefield as soon as they were unpacked. This can opener prepared for medium and large tanks of the German army was simply an overkill for the Type , and each Japanese tank had at least three bazookas to take care of it at the same time.

All 8 Type tanks were destroyed.

The sudden attack stunned the Japanese infantry who were halfway through the attack. They were supposed to follow the tanks, but for a moment they didn't know whether to advance or retreat next.

But soon they didn't have to think about it anymore.

The camouflage of more than a dozen large gasoline barrels in the trenches on both sides was torn off, and a few seconds later a group of explosive packs weighing more than 6 kilograms "flew" over their heads.

boom! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
When the smoke cleared, the front of the entire Japanese assault formation looked like a piece had been bitten off, with at least two hundred people lying on the ground. Some were obviously dazed by the explosion and were spinning in circles with their rifles in their hands, not knowing which direction to go.

The Japanese attack eventually withdrew as several P39 fighters began to dive and strafe the ground.

Both sides suffered losses in this battle.

Some of the American frontier fortifications were destroyed by heavy artillery, but at least the position was held.

In terms of tanks, the US military lost three M3 light tanks, while the Japanese army directly scrapped an Type squadron.

On the infantry side, more than 80 American soldiers were killed in the shelling, while the Japanese suffered more than 400 casualties.

And this was only the first day of high-intensity fighting between the two sides.

"Gentlemen, what do you think about today's battle?" Major General Vandergrift asked everyone at the evening military meeting.

"It's not good. The Japanese firepower has obviously increased significantly. It has reached the level where they can engage in artillery battles with us, especially their newly adopted rapid-fire anti-tank guns. Even the new Sherman will be threatened." The first to speak was the artillery commander, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Walker.

"Their tanks are not very good, but as far as I know, there are at least 30-40 of them on the other side. We are not at a disadvantage in terms of numbers." Tank commander Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Ritchie also expressed his concerns.

"The infantry's firepower seems to be stronger than before."

"And the enemy battleships' bombardment..."

Several officers talked about the increase in the strength of the Japanese army, but at this time Major General Vandergrift found that He Chi was silent.

"He, why don't you speak?"

He Chi raised his head and looked at the people in the room, then said, "Everyone is right, but the other party actually has a very serious problem."

"what is the problem?"

He Chi coughed lightly and put on the airs of an intelligence officer. "Everyone, according to the intelligence from the British, the enemy on the other side was drawn from various battlefields by the Tokyo headquarters in order to completely destroy the New Japan National Army."

"The Kwantung Army, the North China Garrison, the 23rd Army, the 17th Army, so many armed forces from different regions have never cooperated before, and they don't even know each other..."

“He, what you mean is…” Edson seemed to remember something.

"You said that with so many troops mixed together, if the sentries see unfamiliar faces, will their vigilance be as high as usual?" After saying this, He Chi took out several sets of different military uniforms obtained from the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)