Chapter 979 Nimitz's Counterattack (12)

In the evening of July 25, Nimitz led the TF48 main fleet southward, but did not go along the coastline, but closer to the southeast. Hewitt and Patton seized the time to board the ships with troops from the 1st Army Division and 1st Cavalry Division.

Although Clark was not satisfied with Patton's intervention to seize equipment from other troops, this was an order from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and since this unit was also responsible for landing behind enemy lines, he had no choice but to accept it.

The situation on the frontline continues to deteriorate:

Starting from early in the morning, the U.S. Army Air Forces continuously dispatched fleets of aircraft to attack the German troops, trying to block the rapid advance of the German ground troops and buy time for their second line of defense to be deployed.

Shaoken had already moved his troops to the deep mountainous areas in advance, with little loss. The U.S. Army Air Forces fought fiercely with German fighter jets, and piles of Ta-152, DO-412, P-51, A-26, and B-24 fell to the ground. , although there are more US military aircraft, the German Air Force, which has fought in Europe and experienced hundreds of battles, is superior after all. It constantly seizes opportunities to bleed the US military fleet. At the same time, it also restrains the Tornado self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, 88mm anti-aircraft guns and ball lightning on the ground. U.S. Army aviation offensive.

The fierce air battle lasted from morning to afternoon. The German army lost 31 fighter jets and the US military lost 75 fighter jets and attack aircraft. The battle loss ratio was nearly 1:2.5. The German army also lost more than 10 additional tanks (armored vehicles).

At around 6 o'clock in the afternoon, under the afterglow of the setting sun, the German Fw-190 ground attack group, which had not shown its face all day, suddenly appeared from a low altitude and poured a large number of incendiary bombs, rockets, and aerial bombs on the US military positions. The entire defense line was blown to pieces, and the fierce firepower announced the beginning of the night battle. For more than an hour, the rapidly advancing German offensive troops began to storm the U.S. second line of defense.

This place is only more than 100 kilometers away from Victoria and is built on the Dorsey River and Lignaris. Due to its larger width, both the troop density and the defense system are not as powerful as the first line of defense. Coupled with the new defeat of the US military, the defeated soldiers who retreated from the front infect the two regiments originally deployed here with their sense of defeat. In particular, they described the Sherman Organ's "falling from the sky and overwhelming the earth" in a horrified tone. "Rain of Steel" and precise fire from German tanks 2,000 meters away caused morale to plummet.

Before the Shaoken assault group arrived, the more than 7,000 U.S. troops were already in panic. It was only the strong support of the Army Aviation that allowed them to hold on. When the German Fw-190 launched a ground attack in the evening, the panic reached its climax.

As night fell and the US military fleet retreated, the Germans, who had rested for most of the day and fully replenished fuel and ammunition, launched an offensive frenzy. Two heavy armored battalions, the 508th and 509th, took the lead and attacked suddenly. Behind them, there was a Tiger tank battalion deployed across the board. The Sherman Organ poured out its firepower without hesitation, and the U.S. Army was immediately shaken—the German tanks were not only more numerous, but also of better quality. What's more troublesome is that the German artillery shells are so accurate in the dark night that the US military's own artillery shells often don't know where they fly.

Although Hewitt dispatched a cruiser detachment to provide emergency naval gun support, after all, there is nearly 800 kilometers of sea route from El Salvador to here. Even if the fleet rushes as fast as possible, it is still more than 200 kilometers away from the war zone.

In addition to infantry, the U.S. military guarding the second line of defense also has 2 heavy equipment battalions and 1 artillery battalion. The artillery has been almost wiped out by the German ground attack aircraft. The infantry is obviously not of much help in this kind of tank battle. The only ones that can be relied on are the own tank battalions and tank destroyer battalions.

The tanks and tank destroyers of the two sides were firing at each other across the Dorsey River. The M24 used by the US military was obviously no match for the German Tiger, Tiger 2 and Sherman Organ - American tanks were constantly being hit, exploded or caught fire, but the German tanks were unbelievable. The ground is tough, and the two sides form an extremely sharp contrast. .

In less than an hour, the U.S. military was defeated in the fierce battle, losing a total of 29 tanks, but only barely destroyed 4 Tigers and 2 Tiger 2s.

This disparity in exchange ratio was unbearable for the Americans, so the two armored battalions had to retreat while fighting, hoping to distance themselves and rely on the Dorsey River to block the continued German offensive. To this end, the US military also blew up a vital highway bridge in advance.

Seeing the performance of the U.S. military, Shaoken, who was commanding from the front, showed an imperceptible smile: He knew that things were not so easy in the Dosi River. In the early morning, he had dispatched 2 armored grenadier battalions, 1 Panther battalion, and 1 Raider. The anti-tank battalion (equipped with an 88mm anti-tank gun) detours upstream, otherwise it should push through Victoria in one go instead of waiting until now.

By the time the frontal attack on the US military was launched, the roundabout troops had been basically deployed. As the battle across the river became intense, the roundabout troops quietly blocked the US military's retreat.

At around 8 o'clock, the U.S. military had just gathered up the troops that had retreated from the river bank to regroup. The German outflanking troops behind them began to attack, killing the U.S. troops and causing chaos.

In the battle just now, the US tanks basically faced the German heavy armored battalion on the other side of the river, exposing their vulnerable sides and rear to the German outflanking troops. Although the frontal defense of the Panther and the Raider is not strong, they are all equipped with 88mm tank guns that can eat people, so they can hit them accurately.

More importantly, the U.S. military was completely unprepared for the German roundabout actions, and was caught off guard and was thrown into disarray.

The German armored grenadiers equipped with half-track tanks played an efficient assault role. Two battalions were fanned out, using MG42, STG43 and recoilless guns to clear the panicked American infantry. The latter's fortifications were also facing the opposite bank like the tanks, and there were no fortifications available for defense. They rushed over and shouted "surrender if you surrender your weapons" everywhere on the battlefield, and then the American soldiers surrendered one after another.

But the unexpected situation also happened: the remaining Japanese-American soldiers of the 442nd Regiment fought desperately with various weapons, and the sound of "board" was heard everywhere on the battlefield, and they even launched a suicide attack. The fierce explosions and gunshots made Shao Ken and others who were watching the battle on the other side of the river confused. From time to time, the radio on the command vehicle heard the exclamation of the army officers: "The Japanese soldiers in the hands of the US army are crazy, they are carrying out suicide attacks!"

"Assholes, we are the German army! Put down your weapons! We treat Japanese prisoners well!"

This scene made the three Japanese observers (two lieutenant colonels and one colonel) who were attacking with the troops furious: they could have destroyed an American division during the attack on Rio, but the 442nd Regiment made a fuming rescue. Last night, the 442nd Regiment covered the retreat of the US army, and today it played a suicide attack again-making these observers unable to raise their heads.

"Baga! Baga! How could the Great Japanese Empire have such scum!"

"Sir, show no mercy, shoot them all!"

Under the counterattack and blockade of the remnants of the 442nd Regiment, some American officers and soldiers who were originally very shaken and ready to surrender took the opportunity to pick up their weapons again, but not many people stayed to fight the German army. Most of them still looked for trucks and armored vehicles nearby, ready to break out of the siege under the leadership of tanks - except for the 442nd Regiment, who would be willing to play suicide attacks and board-board charges?

The German army took a lot of effort to finally suppress the chaos caused by these hundreds of Japanese-American soldiers - although they only accounted for one-sixth of the number of American troops, they caused a full two-thirds of the casualties of the German army. If other American troops had not just run away, they would have caused more trouble to the flanking troops.

At 12 o'clock in the middle of the night, the flanking troops finally controlled the situation. Those Japanese soldiers who played board-board attacks were either killed by the German army or died together in the suicide charge. Only a very small number of people escaped the encirclement.

After a hard fight, the Shaoken Group seized the second line of defense with a beautiful pincer attack blitzkrieg. At this time, the US support fleet had arrived less than 50 kilometers from the coast, but the US military could no longer wait for naval artillery support.

There were nearly 100 US tanks/tank destroyers assigned to this unit (including the US troops who retreated from the first line of defense). More than 50 were destroyed by the Germans in the battle, more than 20 were captured, and only more than 20 escaped. Many people were just glad to escape the German encirclement last night, but they didn't expect to be caught again the next day - why would they have escaped so hard if they had known it earlier!

In the battle, more than 3,000 of the more than 7,000 US soldiers were captured by the Germans (including the wounded), nearly 2,000 were killed (nearly half of them were Japanese soldiers from the 442nd Regiment), and more than 2,000 escaped the encirclement and fled north. What shocked Schauken and other German officers was that only about 20 Japanese officers and soldiers were captured and surrendered (among whom 10 were unconscious after being injured). He said to the Japanese observers with a heavy face: "The descendants of your country are so brave, but it's a pity that they serve in the wrong way."

The three observers were ashamed and bowed together: "Sir, I'm sorry to trouble you."

Sauken waved his hand: "Forget it, it's not your fault. We also have the SS American Division, which is said to be very brave on the Eastern Front, much braver than they used to be."

A staff officer whispered: "This must be a problem with the American system."

Sauken smiled, the American system, alas... Fortunately, Americans are not very good at fighting. If they were well-equipped, rich in supplies, large in population, and strong in industry, would they still be able to fight? Would Germany still have a place in this world?

"Sir, I just interrogated the prisoners and learned that the American fleet will come to support soon!" Lieutenant Colonel Boll, the operational staff officer of the Schauken group, reported the situation.

Shawken was very surprised, but also very fortunate. If the U.S. warships were firing at the enemy when the battle was in full swing, it would be troublesome: "Clean up the battlefield quickly, stay away from the coastline, and don't show too much light to avoid being noticed by the enemy."

Due to the lack of reliable instructions from the army on the shore, and the poor sighting conditions in the dark, the commander of the U.S. fleet hesitated again and again, and finally gave up the bombardment. Not only did he give up the bombardment, he also took the warships to the deep sea to avoid being ambushed by shore-based artillery

Early the next morning, Nimitz received another emergency telegram from the army: "The second line of defense is lost!"