Chapter 50 Sky net

"Hun-1" includes 1 old battleship, 4 cruisers and 8 destroyers.These ships loaded 2,500 Japanese troops in Mindanao and then sailed to Biak Island. Four U.S. submarines followed closely and carried out attacks along the way. The "Hun-1" fleet was lucky and did not suffer much damage in the attack, but the submarine's report on the location of the Japanese ship provided information for MacArthur and Kincaid.Kincaid quickly sent all the surface warships of the Seventh Fleet, a total of 4 cruisers and 10 destroyers, to intercept. When the naval battle was about to break out, the Combined Fleet Command suddenly received a radio reconnaissance report saying that a powerful US fleet was moving along the northwest coast of New Guinea. It seemed that the 58th Task Force had already arrived.

What the United Fleet is waiting for is the 58th Task Force. The headquarters immediately decided to stop the "Hundai Operation" and withdraw the "Hundai-1" fleet, and at the same time prepare to launch the "Adai Operation". Afterwards, it was found that the information about the 58th Task Force was purely a false report, and the United Fleet once again issued the "Operation Hundai" order.The "Hun-2" fleet dispatched in accordance with this order is relatively small, with only six barges towed by destroyers, and the relevant secret messages have been deciphered by "Caster".After Kenny received the information, he used land-based aircraft to attack the Japanese destroyer.When the voyage is sufficient, land-based aircraft have the same deterrent force as an aircraft carrier. Seeing that the situation is not good, the destroyer cut off the tow rope tied to the barge and fled in a hurry. However, under the pursuit of aircraft and submarines, there are still two destroyer was sunk.

Twice to recapture Biak Island, not only did not even touch the hair on the island, but was almost lost by others. The United Fleet realized that the US military was also determined to win Biak Island.The current situation is also becoming clearer. Regardless of the U.S. military or the Japanese military, as long as they use Biak Island as their base, their bomber fleet can greatly strengthen their own navy's assault force in the sea area where the decisive battle is scheduled. It is obvious that preventing Biak Island from falling into the hands of the US military is crucial to the "Operation Adai", so the United Fleet organized the largest "Hun-3" fleet reinforcement operation.Participating in the escort is a fleet with strong combat effectiveness and resolute combat intentions, including two super battleships "Yamato" and "Musashi", five cruisers, and seven destroyers.They were ordered to open the passage to Biak Island at all costs, allowing the Japanese ground reinforcements to land while bombarding the U.S. troops on the island.

Compared with this Japanese escort fleet, the weight of the Seventh Fleet is too light. If they arrive at Biak Island as planned, it is conceivable that the surface warships of Kincaid, the amphibious forces and support ships of the US military near Biak Ships are easily wiped out. At the critical moment, good luck once again stood on MacArthur's side.When the "Hun-3" fleet headed for Biak Island, the situation in the Pacific War suddenly changed. The United Fleet wished to have a fleet decisive battle with the U.S. military in the waters near New Guinea, but Nimitz did not buy it—it is possible to fight alone, but he chooses the location.The Fifth Fleet arrived at the Mariana Islands, more than a thousand nautical miles away, and began to prepare for the attack on Saipan.

The decisive battle area was changed to the Philippine Sea near the Mariana Islands, and Biak Island was eclipsed. The United Fleet hurriedly suspended the operation plan of Biak Island, and let the "Hun-3" fleet leave the transport ship and go to the Philippine sea to participate in the battle. The hapless Japanese defenders were thus completely abandoned.The news of Nimitz's offensive relieved MacArthur's worries. He had worried that he had encountered another Guadalcanal Island. After a long battle, he finally made up his mind to send reinforcements to the island. Fuller was considered incompetent in command, and under MacArthur's stern rebuke, Krueger relieved Fuller and replaced him with Eickelberg.Fuller is a classmate and good friend of Eichelberger at West Point Military Academy. Naturally, Eichelberger will not feel good about the execution of this order, but what makes him feel even more heavy is that the admission situation this time unexpectedly It was exactly the same as the Battle of Buna, whether it was the way of being ordered in danger or the brutality of the battle-American soldiers had to use flamethrowers and explosives to drive the Japanese army out of the cave before they could be eliminated.

When the Battle of Buna reached its most difficult stage, it was not tactics but will that determined the outcome.As before, Ekelberg rushed to the front line in person to encourage the courage of the officers and soldiers to continue fighting. For the defending enemy who lost their support, it was inevitable that the land would suffer. Under the onslaught of the US army, the Japanese commander on the island was forced to cut himself open with a sword in a cave.It took several weeks before the Japanese army in the cave was completely cleared. Except for 220 people who were captured alive, most of the rest were killed or committed suicide.In the Battle of Biak Island, the U.S. military killed 400 people, injured 2,300, and 7,000 lay down due to diseases. This was the largest casualty since the establishment of the "Poplar Army".

Despite the unexpected losses caused by intelligence errors, MacArthur did not slow down because of this, but "leapfrogged" at an even more alarming speed.Soon, Biak Island became the rear of the American battlefield in the Southwest Pacific. On July 30, the troops of the Southwest Theater had entered Cape Sansapo in the west of New Guinea Island, completing the New Guinea part of the New Guinea-Mindanao route, which also marked the complete end of the New Guinea campaign.In more than three months, the U.S. military advanced nearly 1,000 nautical miles, occupying five Japanese strongholds on the way, breaking through the original goal of "leap forward 400 nautical miles", and achieved the actual "Thousand Miles Great Leap Forward".

Behind the rapid leap forward are many Japanese strongholds and islands that were bypassed or left behind by MacArthur. Among them, Wewak has a heavy force, and most of the remaining forces of the Japanese 18th Army are concentrated there.As early as when Jayapura was occupied, Ekelberg and others worried that the "leapfrog" would be too fast, and the 18th Army would take the opportunity to pounce from behind.MacArthur didn't care at all. When he issued a battlefield communique to the press, he said: "This operation has laid a net for the Japanese 18th Army distributed in New Guinea."

Lieutenant General Anda 23rd, the commander of the 18th Army, has been waiting for the opportunity and reinforcements in order to concentrate his forces to break through the "heavenly net", but two months have passed, and the net has not only not been loosened, but has become tighter. It was no longer possible for them to retreat to the west of the island of New Guinea. Reinforcements and provisions were not received, and the 18th Army turned into a motherless child.Adachi was very frantic. He issued a mobilization order to his subordinates: "I can no longer find any strategy and tactics to get rid of the current predicament. Therefore, I intend to overcome it with our Japanese bushido spirit."

Under the command of Anda, the 18th Army launched an attack on Aitape, 100 miles away, in an attempt to capture Aitape and then capture Jayapura.Unexpectedly, Kruger had already sent troops to reinforce Aitape and built a solid defensive position. The machine gunner set up a machine gun, and all the Japanese soldiers who rushed up became food delivered to their door.In the first attack on Aitape, more than 10,000 Japanese troops were killed, while the U.S. defense line did not see any loosening. By August 10, 1944, the 18th Army was cut into three sections by the outflanking and counterattacking U.S. forces, and all attempts to break out of the encirclement ceased.Anda sadly admitted: "The history of this army (referring to the 18th Army) is a tragedy."

Any bypassed strongholds and islands, as long as there are Japanese soldiers on them, are more or less a threat to the rear.When Washington asked how to deal with these lone Japanese troops, MacArthur replied that these remnants of the Japanese army were no longer able to organize an attack, and they did not pose any threat to current and future operations, so they should be ignored now. MacArthur was very shrewd in his calculations. In the battle of New Guinea, bases that were useful for future wars, such as Jayapura, Waked, and Biak, were all inevitable, even if it was a hard bone, but if Wewak Waiting for the "remaining dregs" to be occupied one by one, the U.S. military will spend incalculable lives, materials and even time, and in fact there will be no benefit at all. Ignore it, not to say that there is no need to stare at it, otherwise, if you are not careful, the loach may also turn out to be a big wave.What MacArthur really used to deal with the Japanese army was the Marine Corps Air Force and submarine forces that remained behind. The marine aviation brigade is responsible for routine bombing and surveillance, and the submarine force is responsible for blocking the sea line of communication, tracking and attacking the ships that the Japanese army came to reinforce with the "wolf pack tactics", and the latter completely blocked the besieged Japanese army's request for help the road. In the first four months of 1944, 125 Japanese ships were sunk, most of them transports carrying reinforcements and supplies to the Pacific islands. In naval warfare, everyone is dependent on sea lines of communication, and the United States is no exception.However, unlike the U.S. submarines that consciously launched attacks on Japanese merchant ships and transport ships from the beginning of the war, Japanese submarines mainly targeted U.S. warships. By the time they discovered that the strategic direction was wrong, it was already too late.Tojo also saw this, and he hated it deeply but felt helpless at the same time. Later, he put the submarine attack launched by the U.S. military together with the "leapfrog tactics" and the fast aircraft carrier, and listed it as the three major forces for the U.S. military to defeat Japan. The key factor. On those strongholds and islands that were tightly sealed off, the remnants of the Japanese army could only use various methods to survive. For example, the 18th Army established a protracted war system, using farms to open up wasteland and other methods to prevent soldiers from starving to death. As the Pacific War drew to a close, a U.S. destroyer stopped a Japanese hospital ship at sea.The hospital ship stated that it was going to the besieged island to evacuate wounded soldiers, and at the same time requested the US military not to attack it in accordance with the Geneva Convention. Japan has not signed the "Geneva Convention", and it does not abide by it, but the US military still allows it to pass based on a humanitarian standpoint, but requires that it must be inspected when returning.The hospital ship complied, and later the U.S. military doctor boarded the ship for inspection and found that more than 200 wounded soldiers on board were dying.Even with the best care en route, the military doctor judged, half of them would probably not make it back to Tokyo alive. No matter how tragic the story on the island was, MacArthur dismissed it. There is no unrepayable debt in the world, and now it is time for the Japanese to repay the debt. Sansapo and the Philippines are only separated by water. How to return to the Philippines faster and realize his long-cherished wish is what Lao Mai really cares about.He will continue to launch an overwhelming counter-offensive fury, watching the blood-red sunset speed up to the west with his own eyes.