noffsinger Chapter 1085 Landing Operation (1)
Chapter 1085 Landing Operation (1)
One month later, at the operations command post.
The sand table shows the terrain of three large islands, several smaller islands, and some reefs. The islands and reefs are surrounded by a large expanse of blue sand, representing the blue ocean.
Japanese flags were planted on all three large islands. In addition, Japanese soldiers were stationed on two smaller islands to the northwest of these three islands.
The operations staff pointed to the three southern islands with a wooden pole and said, "Based on our reconnaissance aircraft's continuous reconnaissance over the past few months and the analysis of the photos we've taken, we've discovered that there are approximately 300 guerrillas on these three large islands, exceeding the size of a squadron!"
"On the westernmost island of Xidao, the Japanese deployed three coastal defense guns, approximately 206mm in caliber. Any ship sailing south from Victoria Harbour was within the firepower of these three coastal defense guns."
"The Japanese knew we didn't have any large warships, so they weren't worried at all that we would land and attack them from the south. They only built bunkers, trenches, and other fortifications on the flat terrain in the north of Nansan Island, and deployed artillery emplacements and light and heavy machine gun positions!"
"The Japanese devils are very cunning. Every time our reconnaissance planes and bombers fly over, their soldiers carry their guns and hide in the pits to avoid the bombing. Our bombers have bombed the three southern islands more than a dozen times, but they have only blown off a layer of their fortifications!"
"According to observations from reconnaissance aircraft, there were originally more than 300 local residents on Nansan Island, but it is estimated that they have all been wiped out by the Japanese devils!"
After listening to the operations staff's explanation, Zhang Yunhe asked, "They haven't built any fortifications on the southern coast of Nan San Island. Is it possible for us to sail around Nan San Island and launch an attack from the south?"
The operations staff shook his head and said, "It's basically impossible. Even if the sea is calm on the south side of the island, the current is very strong. The boats we can use for amphibious operations are too small and have no power. We simply cannot resist the impact of the current with just oars and manpower!"
"If there are storms, they are usually very large. Not to mention small boats, even larger motorized fishing boats cannot withstand such storms. Therefore, we can only launch a landing attack from the north coast of the three islands!"
"Furthermore, 5 kilometers northwest of Nansan Island are Shangjiao Island and Dongzui Island. The Japanese have deployed a small detachment and a coastal artillery piece on each of these two uninhabited islands. These two artillery pieces are blocking our ships' southward route! So if our army wants to land and attack the Japanese on Nansan Island, we must first remove these two thorns in our side. Otherwise, when we attack the Japanese on Nansan Island, the coastal artillery pieces on these two islands will attack our ships."
Zhang Yunhe nodded and looked at Tian Tao, asking, "Alright, Colonel Tian, tell me your battle plan!"
Tian Tao immediately stepped forward and walked to the sand table, saying, "The first step of our battle plan is to remove this thorn in our side, Shangjiao and Dongzui Island. Recently, the weapons company has produced an armed transport helicopter, each of which can carry a squad of soldiers at a time!"
"We have decided to airlift one platoon of troops each to Shangjiao Island and Dongzui Island at dawn tomorrow. We will take advantage of the Japanese soldiers' exhaustion to carry out rappelling operations. The Japanese will never expect our soldiers to descend from the sky. We will win the first battle of the landing operation!"
After listening, Zhang Yunhe approved of the tactics and then asked, "Have these soldiers who are rappelling been trained in the relevant way?"
"After more than ten days of rappelling training, the soldiers are now very familiar with rappelling!" Tian Tao said.
Zhang Yunhe nodded and asked, "Then how do we attack Nansan Island?"
Tian Tao said, "After taking Dongzui and Shangjiao Islands, we immediately launched an attack on Nansan Island. We first sent bomber groups to bomb the Japanese trenches, bunkers, and barracks on the island. The Japanese may hide in the tunnels, but that's okay. We will then proceed with the next step of the operation."
"In this area, we discovered that a northeasterly wind would blow around noon. When the wind was blowing from the northeast, we would immediately launch smoke bombs from the ships onto the island. Once the smoke rose, it would obscure the Japanese soldiers' vision, and our troops would take the opportunity to land!"
"During the landing, fighter jets will conduct air strikes against the Japanese positions, and armed helicopters will fly over the coast to provide air support for the landing troops, destroying the Japanese machine gun and bunker positions, and strafing the Japanese defensive positions and trenches."
"After the fighting started, the Japanese soldiers' attention was drawn to the enemy. We then sent transport helicopters to airlift three infantry platoons of soldiers to the back of the Japanese defensive positions to rappel down and stab them in the back!"
Zhang Yunhe asked, "How many troops are you planning to deploy for this amphibious landing operation?"
Tian Tao replied, "This only includes the 500-person infantry combat unit deployed by the army; the army aviation and air force are not included!"
Zhang Yunhe stared at the sand table for a while and nodded, saying, "Alright, let's proceed with this plan. We'll launch the attack at dawn tomorrow!"
"Yes, sir!" Tian Tao and the other officers in the operations command room stood at attention and saluted in unison.
After the pre-battle meeting, Zhang Yunhe, accompanied by Tian Tao and others, visited the 500 soldiers selected to prepare for the landing operation, as well as three platoons of soldiers from the Army Aviation Brigade. These soldiers had undergone the most rigorous training in the past month, and their food was better than that of other units, with fish, meat and rice every day.
While inspecting the preparations, Zhang Yunhe asked, "What are the arrangements for medical support?"
Tian Tao replied, "In addition to the medics in each squad providing medical services, we have also prepared six dedicated medical transport helicopters to fly to the rear of the front-line battlefield at any time to transfer seriously wounded soldiers back to the island for emergency treatment!"
Zhang Yunhe then inspected the field hospital's medical equipment, medicines, and supplies, and the results were satisfactory.
At dawn the next day, at 5:5 a.m., six transport helicopters, fully loaded with two platoons of soldiers, flew southwest from a military camp in Mahuangjiao. The helicopters' lights flashed incessantly, and the rotors spun at high speed, creating a loud whistling sound.
The soldiers on each transport helicopter were somewhat nervous, after all, this was the first time most of them had launched an attack against the Japanese.
On a transport helicopter, a veteran squad leader gave his soldiers a final pre-battle pep talk: "Brothers, don't be afraid. The more afraid you are of dying, the faster you will die. That's my experience!"
"The Japanese devils only have one head and two arms. They still have single-shot, manually loaded Type 38 rifles, while we have automatic rifles that can fire in bursts. If we encounter the Japanese devils, no matter what, you all open fire first. Once you open fire, more than a dozen bullets will have been fired, while they may have only fired one bullet. You can think about it yourselves, who is more likely to be hit first?"
"That's right, the Japanese devils will definitely die first!"
"But remember one thing: if a fight breaks out later, you must fight according to our usual tactics training. Don't panic. If there is cover nearby, hide behind it. If there is no cover, lie on the ground and fire. Try not to expose any part of your body to the Japanese soldiers' line of sight!"