New Caledonia is located in the South Pacific Ocean, 1,500 kilometers from the east coast of Queensland, Australia. Noumea is the capital and main port of New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific. It is an important relay port for sea and air transportation between the United States and Australia.

At the end of 1941, after the Pacific War began, the US South Pacific Fleet set its headquarters in Vanuatu, San Espiritu Island, north of the archipelago, and built an airport on the island.

When the first onboard fleet commanded by Lieutenant General Abe began shelling Guadalcanal Island, the first mobile fleet commanded by Nagamoto Tadonica was northeast of the New Caledonian Islands, using the cover of the night to quietly approached two hundred nautical miles from San Espiritu Island.

When the sky in the east turned white, on the two aircraft carriers, Akagi and Kaga, eighteen Zero fighters, fifty-five Type 97 torpedo attack aircraft and thirty-two Type 99 dive bombers, rushed out of the deck in an orderly manner, gathered over the First Mass Fleet, and then turned around and rushed to the southwest.

The fleet lowered its height in the sky, spreading at a low altitude of 150 meters to 300 meters from the sea surface, and rushed to the island of Saint-Espiritu.

An hour later, a dark horizon flashed on the sea in the distance.

Seeing the island of Saint Espirito appear in front of you, the commander-in-chief of the attack aircraft group, Colonel Mizuho Shinda immediately issued an attack order.

Eighteen Zero fighters accelerated to leave the fleet and arrived above the target ground first, looking for the specific locations of the port and airport.

A shrill alarm sounded, waking up the soldiers and civilians on the island who were still immersed in their sleep.

The Type 97 torpedo attack aircraft is a multi-functional aircraft among Japanese carrier-based aircraft. It can be used as a reconnaissance aircraft before the battle begins. During combat, it can carry the Type 91 torpedo to participate in the war or carry bombs for horizontal bombing.

After obtaining the information about the Zero fighter, Colonel Mizuo Fuchida personally led the Type 97 attack group that turned into a bomber and rushed to the airport in the southeast of the island.

After arriving over the airport, the first thing that came into Colonel Mizuo Furida's eyes was the neat fighter planes parked on the airport runway.

"There are so many big guys, kill them."

Two Zero fighters had already launched an attack. They flew over the US fighter jets at a low altitude, with 20mm cannons and 7mm machine guns firing violently, and dense guns and shells flew towards the neatly parked B-17 air fortress fighter.

After the two Zero fighters passed, none of the 24 B-17 aerial fortress bombers parked on the ground were spared. The tail wings of the aircraft were covered with mottled bullet holes, and the tail wings of the two fighters were directly interrupted.

The Type 97 ship attack group followed closely behind the fighter and threw the bomb to the airport.

500kg, 250kg and 60kg bombs fell onto the airport like raindrops.

The neatly parked aircraft queues are overturned by explosion air waves or broken into parts.

The navigation tower, hangar, and pilot residential areas were hit by bombs one after another.

After the violent explosion, a raging fire rose in the building area dominated by wooden buildings, and rolling black smoke immediately rose.

On the airport runway, an F4F Night Cat fighter was bombing violently and wanted to take off forcibly, but a black shadow flew over his head and threw a 500-kilogram aviation bomb on the runway directly in front of it.

The wildcat fighter pilot caught off guard and had no time to turn around to avoid it. He plunged into the sudden burst of flames.

The broken wings, the broken fuselage, and the rotating landing gear flew out of the flames and flew in the air.

After the explosion, the Night Cat fighter disappeared, leaving only a huge bomb crater on the runway.

Another wildcat fighter avoided the craters on the runway, staggered and accelerated, and took off.

However, the plane had just left the ground and before the landing gear could be put into the belly of the plane, two Zero fighters suddenly rushed out from behind the plane.

The shells first hit the part between the propeller and the nacelle, and then extended to the cockpit.

The cabin glass was smashed, and a few bloody flowers were sprayed out of the cabin. The wildcat fighter plunged head toward the ground...

At the same time, over the Luganville port adjacent to the airport, the Type 99 bombers were in a formation of three, constantly throwing 250 kilograms of bombs onto the port's construction and parked warships.

The USS South Dakota, the main force of the South Pacific Fleet, became the primary target of the attack with its huge hull and was mainly visited by Japanese carrier-based aircraft pilots.

The South Dakota set sail urgently over the warship with anti-aircraft guns, trying to leave the port to avoid air strikes, but two 250 kilogram bombs that fell to the stern of the ship interrupted its intention.

Two bombs fell to the stern of the ship and exploded two tall white water columns. Under the violent attack of the shock wave, the propeller that had just begun to rotate quickly slowed down and then stopped.

The battleship South Dakota can only float on the sea and become a living target for bombers.

Six 250 kilogram bombs were successively hitting the South Dakota, two on the stern deck, one on the head deck, and three in the middle.

Thick black smoke surged out from all the gaps in the battleship, surrounding the South Dakota, drifted over the harbor with the wind, blending with the black smoke rising from the harbor, covering the sky.

When Colonel Mizuo Furida led the fleet back, another even more tragic massacre was taking place in the southeastern waters of Guadalcanal.

The Guadaldon supply fleet, which is mainly powered by the North Carolina, encountered the same fate as the NB-14 fleet and was enjoying the joint sea and air strangle battle of the joint fleet.

After the first round of air strikes from the two aircraft carriers Xianghe and Ruihe, a transport ship and two troop transport ships were sunk, and the battleship North Carolina was hit by a Type 91 torpedo and two 250 kilogram bombs.

The soldiers' bodies and broken hull fragments, as well as black oil stains floating on the sea, and more soldiers fell into the water were squatting in groups, grabbing all lifebuoys or lifeboats that could be used to save themselves from being swallowed by the sea.

Destroyers and cruisers ran on the sea, actively rescuing soldiers who fell into the water. However, the second attack fleet from the Flying Eagle and Falcon aircraft carriers made the chaotic U.S. fleet even more chaotic.

The second wave of air strikes had just begun, and more than a dozen tiny columns of smoke appeared on the northern sea surface.

Under the smoke pillar, Nagamon and Muroo two battleships were escorted by the surrounding light battleships and rushed towards the US fleet surrounded by aircraft.

When the lookout saw the Japanese fleet, the last trace of fighting spirit of the US fleet disappeared without a trace.

"Release the smoke and the fleet retreats."

After receiving the order, starting from the battleship North Carolina, warships of all sizes released large swaths of smoke covering the sea and themselves, threw down the slow-moving transport ship, turned around and fled south quickly.

Seeing that the US warship was intending to escape, Lieutenant General Mikawa decisively ordered the second onboard fleet to separate troops, leaving behind a heavy cruiser and two destroyers to capture the US transport ships, and personally led the main force of the fleet to pursue the US fleet.

Relying on the highway, the battleship of the North Carolina broke away from Lieutenant General Mikawa's fleet, but could not get rid of the fleet above his head.

Two Type 99 bombers and three aircraft formations rushed from the stern of the North Carolina ship. The moment they passed by the warship, four 250 kilogram bombs hit accurately.

The fragments of steel and broken flesh and blood flew into the sky, and the fire broke out near the bridge, and the air became hot in the burning flames.

Two torpedoes followed closely to the port side of the North Carolina, completely ending the battleship's escape journey.

When Lieutenant General Mikawa led his fleet to catch up with the North Carolina, the warship was already dying.

The hull was seriously tilted to the left, with an inclination angle of nearly ten degrees. Most of the hull was covered by black smoke, revealing only a blurred corner of the bow and tail of the ship.

The two battleships rushed forward immediately and launched the last blow to the North Carolina.

The armor-piercing projectile of the 410mm naval gun blasted violently at the port side of the North Carolina.

The destroyer also rushed to the port side to launch a torpedo attack.

In less than twenty minutes, the battleship North Carolina lies on the sea and sinks into the surging waves.

The second attack aircraft group of Japanese troops returned one after another. The aircraft group of Xianghe and Ruihe aircraft carriers were replaced. These fighters had been replenished and came to the battlefield as the third wave attack aircraft group, and cooperated with the second onboard fleet to continue chasing US warships.

The one-sided massacre lasted for a whole day until in the evening of that day, two of three troop transport ships were sunk and one of four transport ships was sunk, killing one severely.

The fleet's flagship USS North Carolina, as well as two heavy cruisers and four destroyers, were wiped out.

In the evening, Lieutenant General Sanchuan embarked on his way home with prisoners of war, three transport ships and a troop transport ship.

In the north of Guadalene, the suppression of artillery fire on Henderson Airport lasted until the night finally stopped.

After waiting patiently for more than an hour, seeing that the Japanese warships did not launch another shelling, the US military near the airport became active again and began to repair the airport.

On the east side of the airport, the First Marine Corps under the First Marine Division launched a defense in the direction of Tassinberg Village.

On the positions of the battalion and company, five figures penetrated into a half-underground bunker one after another.

Five people sat around a log table, staring at the dinner on the table in a daze.

Private Glennnunu said with a frown, "It's compressed cookies and lunch meat again. In this weather, you should eat ice cream and iced coke."

The big man Abraham stroked his beard and teased Glenn: "The ice cream thing will only appear in his sleep."

Private Daryl shook the bangs on his forehead and said expressionlessly: "We will kill the Japanese on the island sooner and return to the rear. You will have whatever you want to eat."

Another private Morgan said nothing, just bowed his head and chewed heavily.

The compressed biscuits and lunch meat actually made a pious feeling in his mouth.

Squad leader Sergeant Rick was dullly smoking a camel brand cigarette and asked Morgan curiously.

"Morgan, don't you feel nauseous when you eat the same food for a month in a row?"

Morgan shouted food in his mouth and said vaguely: "I was hungry during the Great Depression. It's already good to have a bite of food. Don't be picky about food."

Rick sucked two cigarettes, then pressed the cigarette butts out, picked up the can and said, "I am also a person who has been hungry during the Great Depression, so I can't be picky about food."

Seeing Rick take the lead, Glen and the other two had to pick up the food that was hard to swallow on the table and endure the torture of dinner.

"Boss, the Japanese shelling finally stopped. How much supplies did they send to the monkeys on the other side?"

Faced with Glen's boring question, Rick said: "I don't know. When they eat and start the attack again, you can catch one and ask."

"They want to attack? Humph," Abraham sneered contemptuously.

"I peeked at them at the front line during the day. Their soldiers were so thin that they were only a skeleton left. They were shaking when they walked. Looking like the zombies in the novel, I was very suspicious whether they could still pick up the gun with their current physical strength."

The only five remaining people in the class had another tasteless dinner while chatting.

After midnight, Sergeant Rick suddenly woke up.

Putting on his helmet, Rick walked out of the sleeping bunker and looked toward the direction of Henderson Airport to the west.

In the darkness, a large and small fire broke out from the Henderson Airport, which was particularly dazzling against the night.

Abraham was also awakened by shelling, walked to Rick and said, "The Japanese were bombarding the airport again, and I thought they were leaving."

"I feel very bad. The Japanese must be planning a large-scale offensive."

Rick said worriedly.
Chapter completed!