The Battle of Luzon Island was the largest battle between the Chinese, Japanese and American armies in the Pacific War. The US military lost 4.7 people, 17 ships, and 21 Japanese troops.

Surrounded by generals and officers, MacArthur landed on Luzon Island. MacArthur finally got his wish and fulfilled the oath and commitment of "I will definitely come back", and came to Manila, the capital of the Philippines, which was completely destroyed by the war.

The moment he set foot on the land, MacArthur was extremely excited.

I saw that he was holding a microphone, braved the heavy rain, and gave an impassioned speech to the people who greeted him:

"I'm 'Mai Shuai', Filipino people, I'm back...".

The Filipino people, who suffered from the cruel rule and suppression of Japanese fascism, responded to MacArthur's passionate speech with the most enthusiastic and excited cheers and applause.

Faced with this situation, MacArthur, who has always been "bullish", shed tears of excitement!On March 3, MacArthur, commander of the US Pacific Theater Command, invited those who fled with him from Herod Island to sail to Herod Island on four patrol torpedo boats along the route they left.

Unlike three years ago, he escaped from the island in the gloomy night, but this time, he returned triumphantly under the blue sky with the joy of victory.

After landing, what MacArthur saw was that there were scattered parachutes hanging on the branches left by the US military not long ago.

As for the white barracks at the headquarters, there is only a shell left.

MacArthur couldn't help feeling a lot about this. When Colonel Jones, the commander who captured the island, came forward to welcome him, he said loudly to Jones: "I see that old flagpole is still standing there, please tell your soldiers to put the flagpole on it. Hang the military flag on the top of the flagpole, and never let the enemy tear it down again!"

Bearing the humiliation of two and a half years, today finally the shame of the past, MacArthur can finally feel proud!

Chapter 1629

Just as the Battle of Luzon came to an end, Nimitz, the supreme commander of the Central Pacific battlefield, launched an unprecedented and tragic battle: the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Although Iwo Jima is a small island, it is located in a strategic location. It is just between Tokyo and Saipan, which was newly occupied by the US military, and is about 1200 kilometers away from the two places.

After the U.S. military occupied Saipan, it began to use Saipan as a base to attack Tokyo. However, due to the alarm function of Iwo Jima, the U.S. air raids on Tokyo have not been effective.

Not only that, the Japanese fighter jets stationed on Iwo Jima also took off from time to time to intercept and disperse the American fleet.

In this case, the U.S. military is bound to seize Iwo Jima to clear the way.

Conversely, for the safety of Tokyo, the Japanese army is bound to stick to Iwo Jima.

As a result, this volcanic island, which was originally uninhabited, became a place of contention between Japan and the United States.

1945年2月16日开始硫磺岛战役,美军出动了38艘航母、15艘战列舰、25艘巡洋舰以及数以百计的驱逐舰、护卫舰等辅助舰只,飞机上千架次,对硫磺岛日军3个机场和滩头阵地进行炮击和轰炸。

三日后,美海军陆战第4师和第5师在600多架次飞机和舰炮火力掩护下,以250多艘登陆艇和500多辆水陆坦克、装甲车组成5个登陆波,在硫磺岛东南部登陆。

Although the U.S. military is determined to win, Iwo Jima is very important to Japan and is a strategic location that must be defended.

For this reason, the Japanese army had been stationed on Iwo Jima for many years before, and they had sufficient preparations for food and fresh water alone.

Especially before the Battle of Iwo Jima, Japan not only sent a large amount of materials and combat personnel to the island, but also enhanced the fortifications on the island, with the purpose of enhancing the defense capability of Iwo Jima.

Iwo Jima itself is a volcanic island. Not only is the terrain on the island undulating, ravines vertical and horizontal, there are also various molten caves, cliffs and cliffs facing the sea, it is very typical that it is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

In order to fight against the U.S. military, Japan already had a defensive terrain advantage and built a large number of firepower fortifications on the island, as well as more than 20 kilometers of tunnels. Through natural caves, tunnels and artificial bunkers, Iwo Jima was connected into a permanent structure. Fortified military fortress.

Therefore, even though the U.S. military's indiscriminate bombing had sufficient firepower, the Japanese army was hiding in the fortifications that had been dug long ago, which greatly reduced the actual damage of the U.S. firepower attack.

According to post-war statistics, the U.S. military’s repeated carpet bombings on Iwo Jima have cumulatively dropped more than one million tons of ammunition, which is equivalent to an average of more than 1200 tons per square kilometer, but it still cannot effectively destroy the set target.

And once the U.S. military stopped shelling, the Japanese army quickly got out of the tunnel again, continued to block the U.S. military, and engaged in a long tug-of-war and guerrilla warfare with the U.S. military.

Since Iwo Jima is also very important to Japan, the Japanese army on the isolated island has no choice but to resist to the death.

The 2.3 Japanese and U.S. troops resisted desperately. The tenacity was beyond the imagination of the U.S. military. The Japanese army resisted and counterattacked like a group of lunatics.

Tadamichi Kuribayashi changed his tactics of fighting hard at the beginning of the war, forbidding suicide charges, and adopted tactics of deepening strategy and depth, determined to fight guerrilla warfare with the U.S. military on the island.

Kuribayashi Tadamichi focused on tunnel fortifications, using the intricate terrain of the volcanic island to hide the artillery in the semi-underground fortifications, calculated the design elements in advance, and sacrificed the firing range in exchange for the survivability of the artillery.

Supplemented by beachhead defense, landmines are laid on the beach, side fires are arranged, and machine guns, mortars and anti-tank guns form a firepower network, which can kill and injure a large number of US troops while protecting itself.

Under such circumstances, the U.S. military could only bomb wildly and regardless of the cost, trying to smash all the Japanese firepower hiding in bunkers everywhere.

With the full output of naval guns and carrier-based aircraft, the U.S. military successfully suppressed the Japanese artillery positions. At the same time, it consumed 4 rounds of artillery shells a day, setting a record for fire support in the history of war.

Later, under the bombardment of millions of tons of artillery shells, the ground of Iwo Jima was turned into thick volcanic ash, so that the tanks fell into the floating soil and could not move forward.

The U.S. military had to rely on explosive kits and flamethrowers to advance step by step, and each step had to pay a heavy price.

The battle became intense and became an out-and-out war of attrition, with both sides suffering heavy casualties.

The criss-crossing tunnels and firepower points have become a nightmare for the US military. It can be said that the US military is unable to move an inch. In the most difficult time, it even only advanced 4 meters for a whole day.

Every step forward, they are crawling against the corpses of their comrades in arms. The heavy casualties even made the frontline commanders dare not let soldiers go into battle again.

The helpless U.S. military could only lengthen the front to attack the island a little bit, and naturally lost a lot of troops in the process.

Especially when attacking Height 382, ​​the second commanding height on the island known as the "meat grinder", the 4th US Marine Division repeatedly fell into the crossfire of the Japanese army, causing extremely heavy casualties.

It was not until March 1945, 3 that the 2th regiment attacked the high ground, but the casualties it paid were huge. The officers and soldiers of several companies were either killed or injured, and almost all companies were wiped out.

After two weeks of fierce fighting, the remaining more than 3000 Japanese troops retreated into the cave to defend. At this time, the Japanese defense force was already very weak, and they were completely passive and beaten.

But even so, the remnants of the Japanese army were still hiding in the fortifications and engaged in fierce resistance, although this resistance was already a meaningless sacrifice.

Faced with this situation, Major General Katz, commander of the 4th Marine Division of the U.S. Army, sent letters of persuasion to Lieutenant General Chumichi Aebayashi and Masuo Ikeda, commander of the 145th Regiment, the most rebellious Japanese army in Iwo Jima.

In the letter, Major General Katz first expressed his admiration for their fearlessness and heroic combat, and then stated that the Japanese army could not win, and asked them to stop resisting. The US military will treat the surrendered Japanese army in accordance with the terms of the "Geneva Convention".

But obviously, this is of no use. The Japanese side has never responded. They have long chosen to resist to the end, and it is absolutely impossible to be persuaded and educated.

The Battle of Iwo Jima was one of the most intense battles in the Pacific War. The US military suffered a total of 28686 casualties and 6821 sacrifices.

Among the 22786 Japanese soldiers, except for 1083 who were captured, all the rest, including Lieutenant General Abayashi Chumichi, were killed.

From the perspective of combat military power, the United States has an overwhelming advantage.But judging from the final number of casualties, the casualties of the US military were very heavy, and it was also the only battle in which the casualty ratio exceeded that of the Japanese army!

The Japanese army used only 10 troops to fight against [-] U.S. troops. It was a helpless move. Of course, the failure was justified, but the resistance spirit of the Japanese army impressed the world deeply.

Although the Japanese army ultimately failed in this battle, from a strategic point of view, they achieved their expected operational goals: to make the US military pay a heavy price and delay the progress of the US military.

"Report to Commander, the Central Pacific Theater Command of the Allied Forces has sent an urgent telegram!"

On the morning of March 3, when Yang Fan was dealing with military affairs in the office of the General Headquarters of the Huben Army, Huang Hong hurriedly knocked on the door of the office.

Chapter 1630 The Heavenly Might Is Unpredictable

"Please come in!"

Yang Fan immediately put down the teacup in his hand, and responded to the door.

"Yes!"

Immediately afterwards, Huang Hong twisted the handle and gently opened the door and walked in, but seeing Wu Juan sitting at Yang Fan's desk, he quickly apologized and smiled, "Boss, Minister Wu, I didn't bother you." Let's work?"

Wu Juan shook her head and smiled, "No, I'm just chatting with the chief executive."

"That's good, that's good!"

Huang Hong nodded quickly, and then handed over a telegram with both hands, "Commander, the Central Pacific Theater Command of the Allied Forces has sent a telegram that the Allied Forces will launch a large-scale strategic bombing of Tokyo, Japan on the night of March 3th." , Ask our army to give full support and cooperation!"

"Ok!"

Yang Fan nodded lightly, then immediately took the telegram and looked down.

The wording of this telegram is quite harsh. Although it did not clearly point out that Yang Fan was playing the routine of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight and reaping the benefits of the fishermen, the lines were full of dissatisfaction. It clearly pointed out that Yang Fan should launch a comprehensive strategic counterattack against the Japanese army as soon as possible to contain the and weaken propulsion resistance in the Pacific theater.

After Yang Fan finished reading, Huang Hong said with a smile: "The Americans have suffered several big losses from the Japanese devils in a row, and now they are really pissed off!

I am afraid that Little Japan will soon be subjected to a devastating strategic bombing. Their small size is really not enough to see! "

"There have been several bloody battles in a row, and each time there were tens of thousands of heavy casualties. It would be strange if they were not in a hurry or furious."

Yang Fan put down the telegram, looked up at Huang Hong, and asked in a thoughtful tone, "Then how do you think we should respond to this telegram? I want to hear your opinion."

Huang Hong suddenly felt a little embarrassed, and replied hesitantly: "Boss, where do I have any good opinions, especially when it comes to the strategic level, how dare I speak nonsense!"

Yang Fan waved his hand and said seriously: "You don't have to be restrained, I really want to hear your real thoughts now. The so-called one person counts the short and the other counts the long, and brainstorming can only benefit the most."

"Boss, then I'll do the trick."

Huang Hong coughed lightly, and said solemnly, "The first thing to say is that the current Axis alliance is at the end of the road, and our allied camp has already won the victory. I estimate that this protracted world war will end in half a year at most!

Especially in the European battlefield, Nazi Germany is already a certainty, and it might be wiped out in two or three months! "

Yang Fan smiled slightly and said: "Well, these words are very insightful, don't stop, keep talking!"

"Ok!"

With Yang Fan's affirmation, Huang Hong continued happily, "As for Little Japan, the situation is a bit different. Although the overall strength of the devils has been continuously weakened in the past two years, they are far from their heyday. That's great.

But they still have a total strength of more than 700 million, and these devil soldiers are extremely stubborn and brutal under the poison of militarism, and their combat effectiveness and lethality must not be underestimated. "

"So, my humble opinion is that the dog in the water must be beaten hard, but we must always keep in mind the ancient saying that the poor should not chase after them. Once the Japanese devils are completely cornered, they will have three points if they bite back.

For example, a series of bloody battles such as the Battle of Guadalcanal, Saipan, Guam, Luzon, and Iwo Jima in the Pacific battlefield are enough to illustrate the problem. "

Speaking of this, Huang Hong added superfluously: "Our Huben army has never been discouraged in war, but it doesn't mean that we have to use human lives to fill it like other countries!

Therefore, I firmly believe that the steady and steady strategy adopted by the chief is the most sensible strategy, so that we can not only eliminate the vital forces of the devils continuously, but also protect ourselves to the greatest extent! "

Yang Fan raised his brows and asked with a smile: "Aren't you guessing what I mean by what you said, and want to take the initiative to cater to you?"

Huang Hong quickly waved his hand, and explained nervously: "No, no, sir, what I said is really from the bottom of my heart, how dare I presume!"

"Okay, don't be nervous, I know what you mean. Now you go and inform the generals above the military level to come to the headquarters for a meeting at two o'clock this afternoon."

After Huang Hong left, Yang Fan looked at Wu Juan and said, "Juanzi, are there a lot of unpleasant rumors now?"

"This, how should I say it!"

Wu Juan showed a look of embarrassment, and really didn't know how to deal with this problem.

"Hey, when did I become a loner with unpredictable Tianwei?"

Yang Fan showed a bitter smile, and sighed softly, "Even if no one dares to say those words to me, in fact, I know the current state of public opinion very well!"

Compared with the fiercely heated European battlefield and the Pacific battlefield, the Huben Army has indeed been a bit thunderous and rainy for more than half a year, and the intensity is even less than that of the national army's frontal battlefield.

The "Campaign No. 3" launched by Japan focused on the direction of the Kuomintang-controlled area. The entire campaign has lasted for half a year. It has successively captured 100 provincial capitals and more than [-] cities, causing heavy casualties to the national army. Tens of millions of Chinese people are trapped. Under the iron hoof of the Japanese army.

Naturally, the Huben army would not be idle. Under the heavy siege and interception of the Japanese army, they steadily advanced all the way north, forced a bloody road, and regained one town after another. Bingfeng has advanced to the vicinity of Tianjin and Beiping. Most of Hebei has already fallen into the bag.

The Huben Army in Guangxi and Guangdong also fought vigorously. They not only withstood the crazy Japanese attack, wiped out a large number of enemy forces, and regained a large area of ​​lost land.

Generally speaking, it can be said that the scenery here is unique, and the record is very eye-catching.

Mr. Yang did a good job on the surface and acted very seriously, but these things can't be hidden from those who care, and at the same time, they can't be hidden from his own generals.

Especially in the Pacific battlefield, which is already close at hand, Yang Fan is actually fully capable of sending a powerful naval fleet and army to participate in the battle for islands.

But Yang Fan didn't do that, because he knew that on those islands that are easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is difficult to give full play to the advantages of technical equipment, and no matter how many people go there, it can only be spent recklessly and filled with human lives!

Therefore, not only the outside world has a lot of opinions on Yang Fan's actions, but even radical remarks and criticisms, even there are many criticisms internally, thinking that Yang Fan's actions are not pure and selfish.

Speaking from the conscience, Yang really didn't use all his firepower to do things, and he didn't fight to death like the Soviet, American and British allied forces regardless of the cost of casualties.

Yang has already known the end of the war in advance, and knows that the atomic bomb will be born in a few months. At that time, you only need to plant a mushroom cloud in each of the two places in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and you will be able to directly let the dead carry it to the end The Japanese Empire obediently surrendered.

Under such circumstances, there is really no way for someone Yang to let tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of hot-blooded men fall into the darkness before dawn!

Wouldn't it be nice to let them live well and see the day of victory?

Chapter 1631 Fire Attack

Wu Juan smiled sweetly at Yang Fan, and comforted her softly: "Brother Fan, I know you must have your reasons for doing this. Let others say what they want to say. Anyway, I know that the whole Huben Army is absolutely loyal to you." No, I have nothing but admiration and gratitude for you.

Because we all know that this is not only to preserve the lives of the officers and soldiers to the greatest extent, but also because the Japanese devils are too inhumane. They always threaten the lives of Chinese people, so let us throw them at the rats! "

What Wu Juan said is also the truth. Liberating the occupied areas and attacking the enemy's homeland are completely two concepts.

Attacking the enemy's homeland, the attacker can carry out indiscriminate bombing without any psychological barriers, smashing all obstacles, no matter how many civilians in the enemy's country are killed.

Just like the bombing of Dresden last month.

The Dresden Bombing was a large-scale air strike against the eastern German city of Dresden jointly launched by the British Royal Air Force and the U.S. Army Air Forces from February 1945th to 2th, 13. One of the controversial events.

In this bombing, the British and American air forces dispatched more than 2000 sorties of bombers, and dropped a total of about 3900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary bombs in the four rounds of air raids.

The incendiary bombing was strictly carried out according to the standard procedure at that time: first, a large number of high-explosive bombs were thrown, and the roof was lifted to expose the wooden structures such as beams;

Then a large number of incendiary bombs were dropped to ignite the timber structure of the house, and high-explosive bombs were dropped to thwart the firefighting efforts of the fire brigade.

It all culminated in a fire whirlwind that lasted for some time, with temperatures in the center soaring to 1,500 degrees Celsius.

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