Chapter 68 deceptive propaganda

The naval battle was "finished", but the land battle on Saipan had just reached its climax.According to the idea of ​​Lieutenant General Holland Smith, the commander-in-chief of the US military in Saipan, in fact, the Japanese should know that they are doomed before the naval battle has begun.Not only did they fail to drive the U.S. troops into the sea, they were also forced to retreat step by step, and all of their large-scale counterattacks ended in failure. What made Holland Smith particularly puzzled was that the Japanese soldiers on the island seemed to have gone beyond the point of death. The Japanese soldiers actually fought harder and harder, and became more frustrated and courageous, showing no signs of collapse.

It was later learned that one of the reasons is that the Japanese have a "self-deception" ability.Although they suffered miserably and embarrassingly in every battle, whether it was internal publicity or reports, they all talked about how heroic they fought, and every retreat was portrayed as an amazing victory without exception. The reckless enemy suffered terrible losses". After the war, the U.S. military seized the radio manuscripts of the Japanese Saipan Command.If Holland Smith didn't know the actual battle process clearly, but just read these telegrams, he would definitely think that the Japanese army was winning the battle, and it was a very beautiful victory.In other words, if the Japanese soldiers on Saipan were not given a magic mirror, they would never know how weird their imaginations were.

Before the naval battle broke out, Turner had sent the Army's 27th Division ashore as a reserve ahead of time, and a large number of US troops began to swarm into Saipan, but Saito thought he could drive the US troops back to the sea. At this time, the communication network of the Japanese army was dilapidated, the communication ability was very poor, and the terrain was complicated. The attack originally scheduled for dusk was not officially launched until 10 hours later. Its target was the US Marine Corps assembled on the outskirts of Garapan , The offensive method is still tanks plus infantry, a total of 25 tanks, with 500 marines.

The tank didn't help much last time, but this time it helped, but it was a waste of help-the U.S. military heard the characteristic creaking sound of the tank and asked the support ships to fire flares. As soon as the flares hit the sky, the position of the attacking Japanese army was completely exposed. Guns fired from the American positions. In less than an hour, most of the tanks were destroyed or abandoned. The Japanese soldiers who lost the support of the tanks continued to attack, but they rushed until dawn. He also failed to get out of the ugly Yinmao. After dawn, the Japanese field hospital in the valley was full of wounded soldiers, at least 1,000 people, and the painful groans of the wounded soldiers resounded through the valley.At this moment, they finally returned to their normal state. One wounded soldier told the nurse: "After I was wounded, I only thought about my wife. For her, I want to live. But I am dying..."

The wounded soldier's left eye was as big as a ping-pong ball, and it was covered with maggots, while the right eyeball had been gnawed out by maggots. Although he was not dead, he looked more terrifying than dead.While pinching the maggots for him, the nurse comforted him: "The reinforcements will definitely come. You must persist until then, because your wife is still waiting for you." The Japanese base camp did not care about the hellish situation of the Saipan defenders, and was still obsessed with continuing this meaningless battle.Tojo, who also served as chief of staff, sent a telegram to the 31st Army in the name of the Emperor: "Continue to bravely kill the enemy to relieve the Emperor's worries."

Maj. Gen. Jingji Jingji, chief of staff of the 31st Army, replied: "I vow to make Saipan a stronghold in the Pacific Ocean, and I will die to repay the emperor's favor." With the emperor's so-called attention, the Saipan defenders became more stubborn, not only refusing an inch during the day, but also attacking with mortars at night.The U.S. Marine Corps suffered a lot of casualties, and medical personnel kept loading corpses on trucks. However, this did not change the fate of the Saipan defenders. On the day the "Xianghe" and "Taifeng" sank one after another, Holland Smith was ready to capture the entire island.With the end of the Mariana naval battle, he is even more sure of winning, because the Fifth Fleet and Task Force 58 will be able to concentrate on supporting the landing force from then on, and some amphibious combat ships that have temporarily withdrawn from the combat sea area will also return. .

On the other hand, after losing the last hope of getting reinforcements, Nagumo and Saito's countermeasures were to continue to deceive the soldiers. They fabricated a series of victorious news, saying that the Japanese navy had won a complete victory in the entire Pacific Ocean. The fictitious "sinking tonnage of the U.S. Navy" is actually two or three times more than the U.S. Navy's real number. The Japanese soldiers habitually accepted this kind of deceptive propaganda, until the last moment of the Saipan landing battle, they thought that reinforcements would come.Saito, on the other hand, issued a death order, demanding to fight to the last bullet, making the U.S. military pay a heavy price for capturing Saipan.

By the end of the naval battle, the southern part of Saipan was almost completely occupied by the US military. On June 22, 1944, the Second Marine Division and the Fourth Marine Division began to advance northward in a staggered manner, while the Army's 27th Infantry Division was responsible for destroying the remnants of the enemy who were divided in the south. The topography of Saipan is very different from the north to the south. The south is flat and low, mostly sugarcane fields and open land. Due to the upward pressure of the volcanic force in the north, many narrow ridges and deep grooves are formed on the ground. There are caves made of coral and limestone everywhere. Cannons can't hit it, and it has become a natural and excellent fortification.

The U.S. Marine Corps has always believed that time is the most important factor on the battlefield. Their tactical philosophy is to attack the enemy continuously until the enemy loses balance.To this end, the vanguard troops will continue to advance around the cave, while the rear troops will slowly clear the cave with flamethrowers and explosive charges. The marine division advanced very fast, and by dusk, the width of the front of the battle line had expanded by more than 3,000 meters.As a result, the frontal forces were not enough, so Holland Smith hurriedly transferred the 27th Infantry Division to the front line to undertake combat tasks in the central region.