Chapter 27 31 Burke

On November 24, everything was ready.The artillery of the seven battalions concentrated their firepower, and field guns ranging in caliber from 75mm to 155mm roared at the front.The 1st Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment served as fire cover at the same time, firing machine guns at the Japanese army on the position. At 9 o'clock in the morning, the third battalion of the third marine regiment was on the left, and the second battalion was on the right. They jumped out of the position and began to launch a massive assault. The U.S. military prepared for three days, and the Japanese army was not idle.The 23rd Infantry Regiment also brought in artillery, and the artillery's combat skills were excellent. The range of the artillery was adjusted very accurately.The fierce and accurate firepower caused great losses to the US military, and the number of casualties reached the highest peak in the entire Bougainville campaign.

The artillery killed the infantry on both sides almost equally. When the marines rushed through the "Fire Hell" with nine lives and one death, the resistance of the Japanese army had dropped to close to zero. The dead bodies of soldiers and the ruins of fortifications. Pushing forward, the range of the artillery was not enough to fully suppress, and the resistance of the Japanese army became fierce again, and an organized counterattack was launched from the left flank of the third battalion, posing a detour threat to all the advancing troops. The officers and soldiers of the third battalion rushed forward, and after some bloody hand-to-hand combat, the threat was lifted.Immediately afterwards, the battalion moved forward again without even taking a breath.

At this time, the distance from the starting position was already 800 yards away, and the Marine Corps was rectifying and setting up mortar positions in order to launch an assault on the second target line. After the resumption of the assault, although the resistance of the Japanese army was still tenacious, its forces had been dispersed and disorganized, so its actual combat effectiveness was very weak.Under the cover of mortars, the third battalion and the second battalion pressed past like a steamroller, and finally reached the second target line. On the morning of November 25, Geiger called in a new force, the Ninth Marine Regiment from the left, and the Marine Assault Regiment from the right, and continued to advance.After a day of fierce fighting, in order to preserve its strength, the last remaining formed unit of the 23rd Infantry Regiment fled in the dark.

The fierce battle known as the "Battle of the Forked Road" has come to an end.After the war, the U.S. military found 2,014 corpses of Japanese soldiers in the jungle. However, no accurate statistics have been made on the number of Japanese casualties. re-existed. When the Battle of Pifa Crossing Road took place, Hyakutake still hadn't figured out the real intention of the US military, so he could only wait and see the development of the battle.After the battle, he thought he had figured it out, and thought that his original estimate was correct. The purpose of the U.S. military landing was to seize the airport.

Don't waste too much manpower and energy to take the initiative to attack or counter-land, it will prove uneconomical.After making up his mind, Hyakutake collected the remnants of the Japanese army that had retreated to the inland of Bougainville Island, and joined forces with the Sixth Division and other troops to establish a new inland defense line.This line of defense takes the island airport as the core of protection, and is far beyond the maximum range of the US artillery. The Japanese army inside the line of defense is only waiting for the "crazy" Americans to attack, so that they can implement their tactics of waiting for work.

What worries Hyakutake now is not the landing of the US amphibious force, but the air force.The Japanese had six airfields on Bougainville, most at Buin in the south and one at Buka in the north.This is the Buka Airport, which has become unusable due to frequent air raids by US planes. In addition, compared with Buin Airport, the defense of Buka Island where Buka Airport is located is weak, and Hyakutake is worried that Geiger will take advantage of it.To this end, he asked the Navy to quickly dispatch cruisers to transport Army reinforcements to Buka Island in the "Tokyo Express" manner, and at the same time withdraw redundant aircrew from the island.

On November 25, the United Fleet mobilized five destroyers to form a formation, three of which were manned and two escorts.On the evening of this day, the American night flight plane discovered the Japanese fleet in flight and quickly reported it. At this time, the aircraft carrier groups of Sherman and Montgomery had been transferred from the Solomon Sea Area, and the naval combat mission in this area was still undertaken by the Third Fleet in the South Pacific alone.After receiving the enemy's report, Halsey's combat staff calculated that the US ship must sail at an average speed of 31 knots (that is, travel 31 knots per hour) in order to reach the destination within the specified time.

Halsey thought of Burke's destroyer force. Their destroyers were all new ships built after the outbreak of the Pacific War, namely the "Fletcher" class destroyers. The "Fletcher" class destroyer is considered the best destroyer during World War II. It is equipped with an SG-type sea search radar, with fierce firepower and excellent endurance. However, although the destroyers of Burke's force are known as "little beavers", their maximum formation speed usually only reaches 30 knots.Halsey personally issued an order to Burke: "Burke, you must sail at 31 knots and reach about 30 nautical miles west of Buka Island. If you encounter an enemy, you know exactly what to do."

Burke immediately organized a squadron of five destroyers and headed towards the destination at a speed of 31 knots.Because of this allusion, he himself later had a new nickname - "31 Burke". When the squadron arrived at a narrow strait called Cape St. George, they spotted the Japanese ship through radar.Burke was the founder of the destroyer "Ancient Roman Warfare", but by accident, the first one to become famous became his successor, Moosbrugger. This time, he can finally implement his own military proposition in person. up. The first half of the naval battle at Cape St. George was almost a replica of the naval battle at Weila Bay.Burke also divided the fleet into two. He led three destroyers around the flank of the Japanese army, fired 15 torpedoes at two of the Japanese ships serving as guards, and then turned to evacuate.

It was dark that night, but in Burke's view, the dark night was "an ideal opportunity for a torpedo attack."Sure enough, the Japanese fleet was unaware of the U.S. attack and continued to advance.Burke's torpedo hit point was calculated very accurately, and the torpedo hit the two unlucky Japanese ships impartially.After hearing the sound of the explosion, the other two U.S. destroyers that had occupied their positions in advance began to shoot, sending the two Japanese ships into the bottom of the sea. If there is any difference between the naval battle of Cape St. George and the naval battle of Weila Bay, it is that there is an extra pursuit process.Under Burke's command, the American ships launched a fierce pursuit of three Japanese ships loaded with ground troops.

After chasing for more than ten minutes, Burke suddenly ordered the "little beavers" to turn around, and then the crew saw three "spear" torpedoes explode behind.If the U.S. ship did not make this action, it is very likely that some ships will be recruited. Everyone was very surprised by Burke's command ability and ability to predict danger. So lucky. The Burke Squadron sank another Japanese ship during the pursuit, and chased until it was about 60 nautical miles away from Rabaul before turning back before dawn. In the early days of the Pacific War, Japanese destroyers and cruisers held the initiative for a long time, and the destroyer captains of the U.S. Navy suffered repeated setbacks and endured the most difficult battle tests, even after the Battle of the Wheels began.As one American sailor who participated in many destroyer battles said: "Everyone in the Solomon Islands deeply felt that every minute paid a heavy price." With the unremitting efforts of Burke, Moosbrugger and others, they finally formed their own strategies and tactics, and their combat skills became more mature and sophisticated.The Battle of Cape St. George was the last time the Japanese army used the "Tokyo Express". Since then, the Japanese never dared to use destroyers for this sneaky business.