Chapter 20 get on your horses now

The speed at which MacArthur recovered New Guinea surprised the Japanese base camp. Before MacArthur and Halsey jointly launched the Wheel Battle, which one was more important, New Guinea or the Solomon Islands, was the focus of debate in the Japanese base camp.The Army insisted on the former, while the Navy favored the latter. As a result, it was divided into two parts, with each in charge of one share. The Army’s Imamura was mainly in charge of New Guinea, and the Navy’s Cao Luren was mainly in charge of the Solomon Islands. Now there is no need to argue, Imamura has lost New Guinea, and Caoluren has only Bougainville, the last island in the Solomon Islands.Bougainville became the only barrier between Rabaul and the U.S. offensive forces. Once the island was captured by the U.S. military, not to mention Rabaul, even Truk, where the United Fleet Headquarters is located, would be lost.

The Japanese navy and army once again became grasshoppers on the same rope.The base camp ordered Imamura to transfer all reserve forces to Bougainville, and the Sixth Division, the culprit of the Nanjing Massacre, landed on the island as the main force to guard the airport.The United Fleet was also ordered to cooperate with the operation at the same time. At this time, the fuel stored by the United Fleet in Truk was exhausted, and Koga hurriedly asked Tokyo for help.However, due to insufficient transportation capacity and devastating attacks on transportation lines by the Allied forces, Japan's domestic heavy oil reserves are running low. If the combined fleet continues to dispatch large ships, the Military Command estimates that the fuel will only be sufficient until mid-November.

Fukuru Shigeru, the new Chief of Staff of the United Fleet, suggested to Koga that he might as well transfer the flying team of the First Aviation Battle from Truk to Rabaul, so that even if the aircraft carrier is not dispatched, it can still fight with the main force of the US military. Ozawa Jisaburo's First Air Battle had been training in Japan. After the Second Air Battle was abolished, he drove to Truk for standby.However, Ozawa opposed going to war easily, saying that unless the US aircraft carrier came to challenge him, he would never waste his troops in a bottomless pit of attrition.

Ozawa's attitude was so firm, Kohe hesitated for a moment.It was Halsey who helped Koga make up his mind. On October 27, American troops landed on Mono Island, south of Bougainville.If the U.S. military establishes an advanced aviation base in Mono, several Japanese bases such as Buin will be paralyzed due to the cut off of the rear supply line, and Rabaul will also be under the threat of U.S. aircraft.More importantly, this island will be an excellent springboard for the U.S. military to attack Bougainville. Once the island is occupied, it will show its potential to bend its bow and shoot eagles.

Imamura was in a hurry, but his land-based aviation was exhausted and he could neither fight back nor defend himself.Koga believed that the situation was serious and he could not sit idly by. Regardless of Ozawa's objection, he issued the "Operation Lu" order in the name of the commander of the United Fleet, ordering the main force of the Air Force of the First Air War to be transferred to Rabaul and sent to Bougainville. air combat. The new landing battle posed a great problem for Halsey.As the last level of the strategic ladder, the U.S. military cannot "leapfrog" or make detours. It knows that its bones are hard enough, but it must be gnawed.

The area and terrain of Bougainville are similar to those of Guadalcanal, and the basic nature of U.S. battles is also similar. Initially, they were assaults on limited targets, that is, as long as they captured and defended the airport, they did not need to control the entire island immediately. However, Bougainville It was difficult for Weir to do a Guadalcanal-style raid. The reason is very simple. Bougainville is the last line of defense of the Japanese army in the Solomon Islands. Seeing the US army approaching step by step, the chains are getting tighter and tighter. up. Strategic surprise attacks are no longer possible, but tactical surprise attacks still have opportunities.Bougainville is a large island, and the Japanese army cannot fortify everywhere, and the main force is concentrated near the airport and the southern part of the island.Halsey thought that he could choose a place where the Japanese army was weakly defended to land—the island is covered with deep mountains, dense forests and swamps, and there are only a few narrow paths that can pass. The beachhead has also been consolidated early on.

As for the airport, there is no need to grab the ready-made goods from the Japanese like they did during the Battle of Guadalcanal, and build one by ourselves. Based on the information provided by coastal scouts and reconnaissance planes, the only eligible landing beachhead is Torokina Point in Queen Augusta Bay.Calculated according to the itinerary standard of the jungle, once the US troops landed at Cape Torokina, even the Japanese army closest to there would not be able to arrive in time. But there is also a problem with this landing point. There is only one flat land around it, and that flat land is a swampy country, which is not suitable for building an airstrip.

Everyone debated for a long time, and finally Halsey made a decision: "It will be in Torokina, please get on your horse now!" The landing operation was named "Operation Cherry Blossom" and was undertaken by the First Amphibious Army.Van der Grift, the head coach of the "Butcher of Guadalcanal", who became famous all over the world because of the Battle of Guadalcanal, was appointed as the commander of the army as a lieutenant general and was in charge of commanding the initial stage. Beginning on October 27, Vandergrift made a series of "short jabs from the right" and launched a landing on some small islands around Bougainville.These small islands are not particularly important. Some of them are captured to eliminate possible threats on the communication line, and some are purely feigned attacks to cover the real landing operation.

The Japanese army couldn't see Vandergrift's intentions. When the US army captured an island, they desperately counterattacked there, gradually losing their balance and center of gravity. On November 1, Vandergrift finally delivered a "powerful left hook" and the ships carrying the 3rd Marine Division arrived at Queen Augusta Bay. Landing on the beach at the corner.