Chapter 8 The time of death is coming

The new commander of the United Fleet, Gu He, took office, and it was time to start a fire. While rescuing Attu Island, he could also take this opportunity to fight a decisive battle to strengthen the prestige of the United Fleet. Why not do it? Koga then ordered Truk (another translation name "Klut" was used in the previous article, the same below) and Japanese warships to gather in Tokyo Bay.After a not too long time, the main force of the United Fleet was assembled on the Kisarazu Sea in Tokyo Bay.At a glance, the lineup is quite uneven, with the battleship group composed of "Musashi" and "Yamato", and the aircraft carrier group with the prefixes of "Eagle" and "Crane".

But face is hard to replace the inner child. Only an expert like Okumiya knows how weak the actual combat effectiveness of the combined fleet is. The flying skills of most aviation team pilots are not flattering. "Dry", and some are even conducting the most basic landing training during the assembly period. Burning incense doesn't help when you are free, and it doesn't help when you are busy.Seeing this terrible situation, the top and bottom of the United Fleet Command became worried.Okumiya has stayed in the Aleutian Islands for three months, and he knows that the area is very foggy. If the pilot is skilled, he can go to the Aleutian Islands. Flying in the fog may ruin the air teams one by one.

It is said that the aircraft carrier is powerful, but what does the aircraft carrier rely on, not the carrier-based air force?Without the air force, the large and weakly defended aircraft carrier will even become a burden to other ships. The Japanese army failed to build an airport in time on Attu Island and Kiska Island, but the US military took precautions and built an airport near Kiska Island.A stable island airport is like an unsinkable aircraft carrier. Even if battleships and cruisers drive up, they will only be beaten. Koga held a battle meeting on the "Musashi" for several days, and concluded that fighting in the north was too dangerous to fight.

The big assembly turned into a labor-intensive tour. The mighty ships crowded in Tokyo Bay, but they dared not go north.Until May 21st, Kawase looked forward to the stars and the moon, but never saw anyone coming from above, so he had to bite the bullet and lead the fleet to set off from the Paradise Base, preparing to go to the vicinity of Attu Island to find out the wind. The Combined Fleet had practically abandoned the Japanese forces on Attu Island.On May 21, the captain of the island's garrison, Yamazaki Yasuyo, only caught a glimpse of a Type 1 Falcon fighter jet flying over, and carried out a symbolic attack on the US ship with trepidation.

At this time, Kincaid had realized the problem of being unable to attack for a long time. The main reason was that the battleships serving as fire support did not fulfill their duties. Although they successfully supported the landing of the US Seventh Division, they did not destroy the Japanese positions. Kincaid then ordered the battleships to focus on bombarding the Japanese positions.Without a position to rely on, the Japanese had no choice but to retreat to a high ground near the northern coast, and then dig trenches to hold on, relying on hidden firepower points to stop the attack.By the end of May, the Japanese troops retreating to the high ground had exhausted all their artillery shells, and there was not much ammunition left for light weapons, and they were in a situation of running out of ammunition and food.

On May 29, Kawase, who was still circling around Attu Island, received a telegram from Captain Yamazaki, saying that he had destroyed confidential documents, destroyed the wireless telegraph, and would make a final assault on Yunyun.Since then, Yamazaki's headquarters has been cut off from the outside world. At dawn on this day, two hours before dawn, thousands of remaining Japanese soldiers suddenly rushed down from their positions on the hillside.They screamed "The Japanese drink blood like wine", while holding bayonets to charge into the emptiness of the US positions.This is the largest death squad charge launched by the Japanese army since the start of the Attu Island landing battle. If they encounter the U.S. Marine Corps, especially the "butcher" type of ruthless characters like the 1st Marine Division, the Japanese will probably only drink their own blood up.But the U.S. Seventh Division was obviously far behind. The U.S. soldiers at the front were all stunned, and they couldn't stop the opponent's fierce offensive.

The Japanese army attacked two command posts, broke into the field medical center, and massacred the wounded and sick. After dawn, the Japanese army was not so lucky.The cold weapons quickly lost their usefulness, and the U.S. troops gathered from all around surrounded them. Under the intensive firepower, it was like mowing grass, and the crazy Japanese soldiers were swept to the ground one after another. In the early morning of May 30, the remaining Japanese troops carried out their last charge.A Japanese soldier wrote in his diary: "I will turn into a smiling god in the thick fog. I am just waiting for my death."

With the U.S. military already on guard, such a charge could only usher in a collective death for the Japanese army.Looking at the terrifying long row of corpses, the U.S. military couldn't help but marvel at the fanaticism of the other side's Bushido spirit. Of the 2,600 Japanese soldiers, about 500 killed themselves with grenades.In the end, except for 28 people who were captured, the rest were either killed or committed suicide.About 600 U.S. troops were killed in battle, 1,200 were wounded, and nearly 1,500 were unable to fight because they could not adapt to the polar climate.For the Americans, the cost of this casualty was considerable.

The Attu Island landing battle became a lesson for the attack on Kiska Island.Kincaid learned his lesson, configured polar equipment for the landing force, and conducted special polar combat training. In addition, he asked the air force to drop 1,200 tons of bombs on Kiska Island. Three months later, the US military launched another landing operation.However, it was only after the troops landed that they discovered that the island was not defended by Japanese troops.It turned out that as early as three weeks ago, the United Fleet took advantage of the opportunity of the blocked US formation returning to refuel, dispatched several cruisers and destroyers, and quietly picked up all the garrison troops.

This is exactly the same as the withdrawal of troops from Guadalcanal. It seems that you can also withdraw experience if you always retreat.