Chapter 75 Chapter 8 Taste the general and look at the crabs with cold eyes

There is a good-looking beachhead on the southwest coast of Tinian Island, but the terrain behind the beachhead is dangerous, and the Japanese army has also strictly fortified it, so the US military did not include it in the plan from beginning to end. In order to find a good landing point to reduce wartime casualties, Holland Smith selected elite personnel from the Fifth Amphibious Army Reconnaissance Battalion to form a reconnaissance unit.Under the leadership of Captain Jones, the reconnaissance team sneaked into Tinian Island for two consecutive nights under the cover of darkness. The U.S. military has an attack auxiliary transport ship.This kind of ship is refitted from an over-age destroyer during World War I. It is small and light, and its main purpose is to complete special tasks.The reconnaissance team first took the auxiliary transport boat to the coast of Tinian Island, and then changed to a rubber boat. When they were four or five hundred yards away from the coast, they got into the water like frogs and swam ashore.

In the Battle of Gilbert and the Marshall Islands, the scouts of the Marine Corps performed similar missions many times and had extremely rich experience and skills. However, the reconnaissance unit was still able to deal with it calmly, neither losing a single person nor exposing the reconnaissance operation. Through this "reconnaissance across the sea", the US scouts found three other beachheads, one on the east coast and two on the northwest coast.They found that the beachheads on the east coast were covered with mines, and there were many underwater obstacles on the hidden reefs. Compared with them, the two beaches on the northwest coast had fewer mines, fortifications, and obstacles. There was no sign of Japanese military activity.

The reason for favoring one over another is that the beachhead on the east coast is similar to the beachhead that the US military has abandoned. It is located in front of Tinian Port and is easy to become the first choice for landing.The two northwest beaches are on the back of Tinian Port, and they are extremely narrow, which is not conducive to the deployment of troops. In the past, the smallest beachhead chosen by the US military was larger than the two of them combined. Obviously, the Japanese army had weighed the advantages and disadvantages of several beachheads from the perspective of the US military. They estimated that the US military would definitely not choose to land on the northwest coast.

When the reconnaissance team reported to the top, it was suggested to do the opposite—the enemy predicted that I would not go ashore from there, but I would go ashore from there, so that not only can I land smoothly, but also achieve the suddenness of the operation and obtain the effect of a surprise attack.After consultations among Spruance, Turner, Holland Smith and others, they decided to adopt this suggestion. On July 24, 1944, the Marine Corps, which had only rested in Saipan for two weeks, set off again. Among them, two regiments of the Second Marine Division took an auxiliary transport ship and launched a feint attack on the front of Tinian Port.

After 20 minutes, the two regiments withdrew, making the Japanese mistakenly believe that they had repelled each other. In fact, they had joined forces with the Fourth Marine Division and re-landed from north to south. The short distance between Tinian Island and Saipan changed the landing battle on Tinian Island from the usual "ship-to-shore" to "shore-to-shore". Straight to shore.What is even more gratifying is that almost the entire Tinian Island is within range of Saipan Island. From the first day of landing on Saipan Island, the M59 cannon transported to Saipan Island has been aimed at Tinian Island to shoot.

The M59 cannon, also known as the 155mm field gun, was characterized by its long range and high accuracy of shelling, which earned it the nickname "Long-legged Tom".From the south to the north of Tinian Island, there is basically nothing that "Long-legged Tom" can't take care of. During the Saipan landing battle, 7,000 to 8,000 shells hissed towards Tinian Island every day. When the Saipan operation was coming to an end, the U.S. military deployed about 200 field artillery, including "Long-legged Tom", on the southwest coast of Saipan in order to carry out carpet bombing on the northern half of Tinian Island.During this period, the northern part of Tinian Island suffered a total of more than 20,000 shells, coupled with the force of naval guns and carrier-based aircraft. When the US military officially landed, even the ground there was deformed, and the established positions were blown away. In addition, the Japanese army's misjudgment of the U.S. landing on the beachhead led to almost no obstacles for the U.S. Marine Corps to land.

The U.S. troops who successfully landed cleared a few landmines on the beach as quickly as possible, and then quickly left the narrow beach and fanned out.Beside them, crawler vehicles and "ducks" carrying supplies continued to drive, and they also broke the routine, stopping and driving directly to the designated material storage location. This was a seamless operation. Whether it was planned or implemented, it fully demonstrated the Marine Corps' principle of putting time and efficiency first. That is to say, from this moment on, the initiative on the battlefield was firmly controlled by Holland Smith and his Marines.

In view of the bitter battle on the first day of landing on Saipan, the U.S. military did not rush to advance inland, but settled on stabilizing its position first.By sunset, they not only dug fortifications in a section 800 meters wide and about 1,600 meters deep, but also added barbed wire protection to the front. The commander was convinced that no matter what counterattack the Japanese army took, whether it was a sneak attack or a strong attack, the Marine Corps would surely win. In the middle of the night, the Japanese "counter-assault force" really came up.