Chapter 14 battle neurosis

The two naval battles dealt a heavy blow to Halsey's navy in the waters of the Solomon Islands. For a while, he could hardly find any cruisers that could go to sea to fight.The Japanese army took advantage of this favorable opportunity to step up delivery of reinforcements and supplies to the central Solomon Islands. Of course, Halsey couldn't sit idly by. Since it was temporarily impossible to intercept at sea, he started from the air. On July 16, more than 200 planes of Guadalcanal's "Cactus Air Force" flew towards the Japanese army's Buin Port.In the port, Japanese destroyers are nervously loading supplies, preparing to reinforce New Georgia Island.Seeing the U.S. plane approaching, the Japanese army hastily dispatched fighter jets to intercept it.

While the fighter jets were fighting, 72 U.S. dive bombers and torpedo planes broke through the interception and carried out air strikes on the Japanese ships in Buin Harbor.The Japanese warships were all leaning together, unable to move, and could only watch the bombs fall on their heads. One Japanese destroyer was sunk and two were damaged.As a result, the transport fleet had to be adjusted, and Cao Luren, commander of the Southeast Fleet, was forced to cancel the reinforcement operation. It is obviously risky to set off in one place. Caolu ordered the ships to set sail from their respective ports of call, meet at sea and then set off together.The transportation mission was completed well, but it was spotted by the US "Catalina" night plane on the way.

After receiving the report from the night flight plane, the TBF "Avenger" torpedo planes on Guadalcanal Island arrived one after another and carried out "flat mast bombing" of the Japanese fleet. "Flat mast bombing" is an ultra-low-altitude bombing method adopted by torpedo planes. The bombing height is only slightly higher than the mast of a warship. The bomb is quite powerful.In this aerial attack, two destroyers of the Japanese army were sunk, and most of the remaining ships were also injured. After that, the air attack became Halsey's weapon against the Japanese sea reinforcements.The Japanese navy was so distraught that Cao Luren moved the headquarters of the Southeast Fleet from Rabaul to Buin, and fought a large-scale air battle with the U.S. military base.

Base air warfare is different from naval air warfare.The purpose of air warfare at sea is to sink the opponent's ships, while the air warfare of bases focuses on aircraft. In fact, it is a confrontation between fighters. Among them, fighters have to participate in the fight from beginning to end, and the fighters suffer the most damage. At this time, the main fighter of the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific is no longer the F4F "Wildcat" type, but the F4U "Pirate" type. The "Pirate" type of wing is huge and clumsy, has a small field of view, and the landing speed is too fast. It is not suitable for use as a carrier-based aircraft, but this new type of fighter has become the new favorite of the shore-based Marine Corps.

The "Pirate" type has a strong body and extremely fast flying speed. As long as the "Zero" type is hit hard by it, the machine will be destroyed immediately.Therefore, as long as it is used properly, the "Pirate" type is not at a disadvantage when compared with the "Zero" type, just like the P-38 "Lightning" type of Army Aviation.The Japanese pilots were also very afraid of seeing the Corsair. They nicknamed the Corsair "The Roaring Reaper" because the sharp sound of the "Corsair" diving and attacking made them feel creepy.

On the one hand, the performance has improved, and on the other hand, the number of American machines still has an advantage.As of the spring of 1943, the monthly output of American aircraft was 9,000, while Japan could only produce one-sixth of that of the United States. The crucial "Zero" type produced only 200 aircraft per month, and the total number of aircraft in the United States reached more than 80,000. There are only more than 10,000 aircraft.Under such circumstances, there is only one way for the Japanese naval air force not to be completely disadvantaged in air combat, and that is to mobilize all the "zero" types at hand frequently to maintain local advantages as much as possible.

As a result of working overtime, the Japanese pilots were exhausted, and their rest and nutrition were not fully guaranteed.Even ace pilots will suffer from vision loss and inability to concentrate after continuous air battles, which are extremely fatal in air battles where killing planes counts every second. American pilots are different. Cactus Air Force has enough men and aircraft to ensure that pilots participate in air combat every one to three days, and also can fully prepare pilots to fight in the best mental state and health. The Air Force is getting braver and braver, and it cannot replace Halsey's anxiety.The sea and air battles were all to reinforce the ground battle on the island, but the ground battle was not satisfactory.

When the U.S. military first landed on New Georgia Island, everything went according to plan and went smoothly. The battle situation changed drastically after entering the jungle. The tropical jungles of New Georgia are denser, wetter, and less conducive to military operations than Guadalcanal.There are endless thorns in the jungle, which must be cut down with knives to make a way, and there are countless icy jungle streams in the jungle, some must be swam through, and some seem to be almost impassable. The main force of the US Army landing was the 43rd Infantry Division of the US Army. They had only undergone several weeks of jungle warfare training, and they were still at the rookie level in terms of jungle warfare and survival. They trekked 12 hours in the jungle before advancing 11 kilometers.The officers and soldiers sometimes climbed over the mountain ridges on all fours, and sometimes rolled and slid down the hillside. They were tortured to death by the jungle, coupled with the lack of supplies and hunger, many people did not even know how a day passed.

As terrible as the jungle is the Japanese raid.When night fell, the recruits fell into hell. The Japanese army hurled endless insults, set off firecrackers, and made offensive moves with bluff, so that the soldiers huddled in the foxholes could not sleep.They didn't know where the Japanese soldiers hiding in the jungle would appear, and when they would kill themselves with cold guns. In panic, even crawling snakes, terrestrial crabs, and even rotten wood glowing with green phosphorescence will be regarded as enemy sneak attacks by the terrified soldiers, and then they will shoot at them.There are more and more people suffering from "combat neurosis", which has exceeded the number of people who died in battle, causing headaches for the field medical team.

Although the original Japanese troops stationed on the island plus reinforcements were smaller than the U.S. military in numbers, the U.S. advance was still extremely slow, and the ground battle seemed likely to evolve into another Battle of Guadalcanal.Halsidon felt the rust of the sword, and years later, he reflected: "The smoke of my charred reputation still chokes me."