Chapter 86 Mystery

If the Japanese only saw the American and Australian soldiers half dead from exhaustion, it would be "the lampstand of Zhangba - it can illuminate others but not themselves". On this short-lived trail, people may be "half dead", but they have already To the brink of "not alive". The closer to the "Devil Mountain", the steeper and more difficult the road was. At the same time, as the distance from Buna, the starting base, was getting farther and farther away, the supply line was stretched, and the Japanese army's material supply became more difficult.A soldier of the Horii detachment wrote in his diary: "The sun here is scorching hot. The troops are marching in the jungle without roads. The jungle is unspeakable. We are thirsty and want to drink water, and our stomachs are empty."

"Caster" deciphered a telegram sent by Horii to Hyakutake, which described the difficult situation of the Japanese army in detail. "Magic ants" are gradually losing their magic power, pinching the telegram, MacArthur was greatly encouraged.Many of MacArthur’s subordinates and staff were evacuated from the Philippines with him, known as the "Bataan Gang". It's the little Japanese devil's turn to feel better!" "Caster" didn't just get this piece of information. Another telegram they deciphered was more important, showing that the Japanese navy was about to send troops to land at Rabi in Milne Bay and occupy Rabi Airport.

MacArthur built three airports in Rabbi, which he planned to bomb Rabaul in the future and used as an intermediate stopover base for the air force.If these airports fall into the hands of the Japanese army, the consequences will be extremely serious. Japanese bombers can threaten Port Moore, Guadalcanal Island, and even MacArthur's new air force base in Brisbane.Not only that, but Milne Bay itself is a better port than Mo Port, and it is closer to Mo Port. Starting from Milne Bay, the Japanese army can easily launch an amphibious landing operation on Mo Port. However, from the deciphered telegram, MacArthur found that the Japanese navy had seriously underestimated Milne's defensive strength. They judged that the rabbi defenders had only two or three companies, so the landing force they sent was not strong.

This is good news that can make people laugh until their eyes are closed. MacArthur immediately transferred the 18th Brigade of the 7th Division of the Australian Army, which had just been transferred back from North Africa, to Rabbi. The 7th Division of the Australian Army has three brigades under its jurisdiction. This unit is the top-ranking unit in the Australian Army.In addition to the 18th Brigade, 1,300 U.S. troops were also transferred to the rabbi, bringing the total local strength to 9,500, of which 6,500 were pure combat soldiers. Milne Bay is shrouded in mist and rain all year round, and the build-up of Allied forces goes unnoticed by the Japanese, and all of these movements are carried out in high secrecy, so as not to let the Japanese know that their codes have been broken .MacArthur ordered the rabbi's Allied commander not to "show off his wealth" prematurely-it is a great achievement to make the Japanese feel that you are really weak and weak.

Steamed buns can't be sold immediately after they are placed on the steamer. Only by putting them on a long line can they catch big fish.Lao Mai's deceitful deception really fooled the Japanese army. On the afternoon of August 25, under the escort of cruisers and destroyers, the Japanese transport fleet approached Milne Bay. The "flying fortresses" on the three airports had already been prepared, but the sudden storm covered the Japanese army that day, and the Allied fighters only prevented some of them from landing.That night, under the command of Colonel Hayashi Shojiro, 1,170 officers and soldiers of the Fifth Sasebo Marine Special Marine Corps were able to go ashore.

The landing point of the Japanese army was a narrow beach sandwiched between a steep mountain wall and the sea, and it was raining heavily, making it difficult for the troops to deploy.The next morning, when the weather cleared and it was ready to launch, the Japanese were greeted by an air strike by Allied bombers, which destroyed most of the supplies and severely damaged a transport ship. Australian troops on the New Guinea battlefield.Most of the clothing, equipment and all weapons of the Australian Army are of the British style, but are mostly manufactured in Australia, with slight differences from the British originals.

Along with the Japanese army landed, there were two light tanks. These two tanks were not damaged, and the Japanese army approached the airport in the dark at night.The Australian army was defending the periphery of the airport. Due to the lack of anti-tank weapons, they had to retreat towards the airport. The Japanese army was rushing vigorously, but the tanks failed and their tracks sank into the mud.A group of people simply dropped their tanks and rushed to the airport runway. The US machine guns and anti-tank guns were waiting there, and the open runway was very easy to fight. The Japanese army couldn't hold it, and was forced to retreat to the jungle.

This was a trap set by MacArthurbu, and the Japanese gradually understood it as the days passed.On the island, the Japanese Marine Corps was actually at a numerical disadvantage of 1:10, how could it be possible to attack?Lin Zhao became anxious, and his head became hot, so he repeated the same trick, a "Long Live Assault", rushed up to a group of living people, fell to a pile of dead people on the ground, and then "Long Live Assault", the living people turned into dead... The brutality of the Japanese Marine Corps is no less than that of the Army.Lin Zhao issued an order to the soldiers "shoot to kill", and all the Australian soldiers who had been captured due to injuries were tied to trees and stabbed to death one by one with bayonets.Lin Zhao wanted to intimidate the Australian army by massacring the prisoners of war, but this "psychological offensive" backfired. After the counterattack Australian officers and soldiers found out, they were furious. Instead, they aroused unprecedented fighting courage. They rushed and fought all the way. Overwhelming.

The Japanese army didn't even have to stay in the jungle and was driven all the way to the beachhead landing point. Two commanders were killed. Although two-thirds of the officers and 560 soldiers remained, only 200 of them were capable of combat. Lin Zhao quickly sent an urgent telegram to Rabaul, requesting reinforcements.At this time, Hyakutake received instructions from the General Staff Headquarters, asking him to give priority to Guadalcanal—the Japanese base camp had realized that they could not hold on to the two large-scale battles in New Guinea and Guadalcanal at the same time, so they decided to sacrifice New Guinea. Priority, Lin Zhao's urgent call only ended up being ignored.

It was not until four days later that the 770 reinforcements still sent by the Sasebo Marine Corps arrived at the rabbi, but this little extra force did not help to change the situation of the battle.After a week of fierce fighting, Lin Zhao's troops ran out of ammunition and food, but still failed to tear through the defensive positions of the Allies, so they had to retreat by destroyer. The Japanese Marine Corps dropped the bodies of more than 600 companions. During the pursuit, the "Flying Fortress" also sank a Japanese destroyer. "The enemy fell into the trap, and the result was very tragic," MacArthur said in the communiqué issued.

This was MacArthur's first victory in the Pacific War, and it was also the first time the Allied Forces smashed the Japanese amphibious assault.Before the Rabi defensive battle, MacArthur faced a dilemma, that is, which side to send follow-up reinforcements to, New Guinea or Milne Bay. Now that the Japanese attack on Milne Bay has been repulsed, the answer is self-evident. On the 29th, MacArthur threw two battalions of the Australian Seventh Division into the Owen Stanley line of defense.One of the two Australian battalions that originally defended "Devil's Mountain" was replaced and the other was defeated. The North African battlefield was fighting in the desert, and "Devil Mountain" was fighting in the jungle. There was a clear difference between the two. Facing the Horii Detachment, which was good at jungle warfare, even the elite of the Australian Seventh Division showed discomfort. On September 5, the Japanese army broke through the Australian defense line and approached the pass of the mountain range, which is also the steepest part of the Kokoda Trail - the "big gap". The "big gap" is as high as 2,500 meters above sea level, and only one person can pass through the narrowest point. When the Australian army retreated, the wall-like jungle hillside became "an enemy as difficult to deal with as the Japanese."By September 6, one of the two battalions of the Seventh Australian Division had lost half its strength, and the other had only one company left. MacArthur was amazed that the "half-dead" Japanese army had such a powerful attack power. At the same time, the Australian army was invincible, and even the Australian Seventh Division was struggling to achieve good results, which made him deeply disappointed. I don't really believe in the combat effectiveness of the Australian troops."