Although the commander of the Japanese African and Indian Ocean Forces, General Kotaro Nakamura, stood still and allowed the Anjiajun Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet aircraft carrier task force to lure the enemy deep into the central waters of the Indian Ocean and annihilate the main force of the Japanese fleet in the Indian Ocean region, it failed.
The battle in the Seychelles Islands has been proceeding in an orderly manner.
On the day after the Anjia Army occupied Mahe Island, the Japanese army once again dispatched the Army and Navy Air Force to conduct a fierce air attack on Mahe Island. After a night of deployment, the air defense positions throughout Mahe Island were put into use, and the sky was filled with
Aerial explosions were full of sparks from anti-aircraft shells, but the Japanese bombers, still escorted by fighter jets, flew past at low altitude without fear, dropping strings of bombs.
Due to range issues, the Japanese Army and Navy aviation forces could only stay over Mahe Island for more than ten minutes. Therefore, they focused all their attention on the evasive fleet cruising in Victoria Harbor, chased by the interceptor fighters of the Anjia Army behind them.
Desperately lowering the bombardment, trying to create a miracle, sinking a few warships, and adding a shining mark to his record, turning a blind eye to the large amounts of supplies piled up at the airport, port terminals, and landing beachheads.
You must know that since the anti-aircraft missile positions have not yet been established, the interception of Japanese fighter planes cannot be foolproof. And those strategic materials are all undisguised and can be seen at a glance. They even contain a large amount of fuel and ammunition. A bomb can drop at any time.
It may cause violent explosions.
If these supplies were destroyed, or even suffered only partial losses, serious problems would arise in An's army's expedition spanning two thousand nautical miles.
However, this was not the case for the Japanese Army and Navy pilots. After they broke through the interception net composed of Anjia Army carrier-based aircraft, their first reaction was to rush into Victoria Harbor to see what was going on. They found that the sea below was full of traces of ships. They were immediately elated and went on the run.
Lower the high ground and carry out low-altitude bombing, even if it costs precious lives.
It's a pity. Their efforts only caused some minor damage to the ships on the sea. One of the destroyers was severely damaged and had to be towed to Victoria Harbor. The Japanese took over from the British and expanded it again. Now it is completely in Anjia
Repairs are carried out at the shipyard in military hands.
On the third day, the air raids by the Japanese Army and Navy Air Force were still relatively severe, causing a certain amount of casualties to both the Anjia Army Army and Navy.
An army battalion, escorted by four destroyers, took two troop carriers and headed for Daros Island and its affiliated islands in the southwest of Mahe Island. After preparing to land, they were discovered by Japanese fighter planes and launched an intensive bombing campaign against the fleet.
As a result, a troop transport ship was sunk and about two hundred officers and soldiers were bloodied into the sea.
A supply ship belonging to the Navy was hit by a bomb while evading Japanese fighter bombing in Victoria Harbor in the evening, and the supply ship was set on fire. In addition to carrying a large amount of fuel, the supply ship also carried frozen pork, beef, soybeans, and fresh water.
and other important supplies.
Before sinking, the supply ship had been burning all night long. The flames were burning in the sky, and the entire sea was bright, making everyone who saw this scene feel heavy in their hearts.
After that, as the two anti-aircraft missile battalions of the Second Artillery Force were deployed to Mahe Island, the Japanese army suffered more and more heavy losses. The intensity of the air strikes also became weaker and weaker. In the end, as the southwest, south and southeast of Mahe Island
The islands were attacked by the landing troops of the Anjia Army, and the field airfields deployed by the Japanese army on these islands were removed one by one. The waters of Mahe Island, Victoria Harbor and nearby islands finally calmed down.
Praslin Island, forty kilometers northeast of Mahe Island, is the second largest island in the Seychelles Islands. It is four kilometers wide and covers an area of 42 square kilometers. The entire island is a mountainous granite terrain, with the highest peak
It is 427 meters above sea level. After the Japanese occupation, they built two parallel roads running through the entire island, and another road passed through the virgin forest in the central and southern mountains. At the same time, a field airport was built in Amitière in the southwest of the island, but reinforcements were sent on the first day.
During the air battle on Mahe Island, all the fighter planes at this field airport were lost. Later, in order to prevent this airport from becoming a target coveted by the Anjia Army, the runway and facilities were destroyed by the Japanese themselves.
In the waters between Mahe Island and Praslin Island, the first wave of battle between the Anjia Navy and the Japanese Navy broke out.
On the evening of April 5, the fourth destroyer formation under the aircraft carrier task force advanced towards the southern part of Praslin Island to clear the way for subsequent landing forces.
Halfway through the voyage, the fleet's air and sea reconnaissance radar spotted an unfamiliar fleet coming from the north, and they immediately raised their vigilance.
As the distance between the two sides continued to shrink, the lookouts of the Fourth Destroyer Fleet spotted the shadow of the northern fleet with their naked eyes.
Since civilian ships were not equipped with friend-or-foe identification systems, Lieutenant Colonel Li Xiaofan, commander of the Fourth Destroyer Fleet, was very worried that this was a transport and supply fleet coming from the subcontinent for the Anjia Army. In order to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy, he immediately ordered the four destroyers of the main fleet, the "Mekong River", to "
The "Chao Phraya", the "Nam Khan", and the "Nan Sen" turned to sail westward, and the other two destroyers "Song He" and "Xihe" sailed to the right rear of the main team to finally determine the opponent.
identity!
As the two sides got closer, the fleet coming from the opposite side suddenly opened fire in the night, and the jets of flames lit up the sky instantly. Almost instantly, through the caliber of the naval guns and the sound of the shelling, Lieutenant Colonel Li Xiaofan determined that this was
It was the Japanese fleet, which immediately commanded the Fourth Destroyer Fleet to turn around, and the naval battle began.
The Japanese fleet, which sailed south from Praslin Island's main port, Dawan Port, and was preparing to withdraw to Madagascar, was mainly composed of ships that escaped from Victoria Harbor the previous day and small ships that were on patrol around Praslin Island, including three
Destroyers, two torpedo boats and eight gunboats, as well as more than 20 transport ships.
Among them, the three destroyers are all "Musuki" class destroyers of the Japanese Navy, namely "Musuki", "Kisaragi" and "Kikuzuki". The full load displacement of this class of destroyers is 1,445 tons, and the armament is four single-mounted three-year-old 120 mm
l
45 guns, and two triple 12-year-old 610 mm torpedo tubes, equipped with six eight-year-old torpedoes.
The Japanese troops stationed on the islands in the northern part of the Seychelles Islands were unwilling to step down from the responsibility of defending the territory when their radio communications were interfered with and no order to retreat was received. After the fleet commander Jiro Aoki tried to persuade them to no avail.
The fleet can only travel alone and set off from Dawan Port at four o'clock in the afternoon, so that in the middle of the night and the early morning of the next day, it can safely bypass the waters of Mahe Island and retreat smoothly to the south.
However, the Japanese army never expected that they would encounter the Anjiajun navy here unexpectedly. In the spirit of striking first, Jiro Aoki took the lead in giving the order to open fire.
Due to poor consideration, when the four destroyers of the Fourth Destroyer Fleet of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Anjiajun Navy turned around, the Japanese troops who fired early occupied a good torpedo attack position.
At 9:30 p.m., three Japanese destroyers and two torpedo boats fired 20 torpedoes one after another at a distance of 6,000 meters, and then all ships opened fire violently with their main guns.
After the Anjiajun naval destroyer fleet turned around, it immediately changed into a square formation. Among them, the destroyer "Nansen River" located on the right front was closest to the Japanese ship and suffered the most concentrated attacks.
The other three ships behind the ship did not dare to launch torpedoes for fear of accidentally damaging their own ship. The "Nansen River" with a displacement of only 600 tons resolutely braved the intensive Japanese artillery fire and rushed out of the queue to make way for the following warships, while using 100
mm main gun attacked the Japanese ship, while engaging the enemy at full speed, dragging thick smoke, it approached to a distance of 2,500 meters, and fired four torpedoes in succession.
The "Nankang", which was the same model as the "Nan Sen", then turned around. Lieutenant Colonel Li Xiaofan led the "Mekong River" and "Chao Phraya River" with a displacement of 4,018 tons, and moved forward on the original route. He saw that the Japanese ship had launched a torpedo.
They changed to a single column to bombard with artillery. Knowing that the opportunity for the torpedo attack had been missed, they had no choice but to lead the two ships to continue turning to avoid the upcoming torpedo attack and seize a favorable launching position.
The "Nankang" saw the two main destroyers changing direction, and relied on its small body to move quickly. It quickly changed direction and followed the two ships, barely avoiding the dense swarm of torpedoes.
The destroyer "Nansen River" was surrounded by flames. It still persisted in fighting. In order to regain its formation, it also turned to move, but it hit two torpedoes head-on. Two thunderbolts were heard in succession, and huge water columns rose into the sky. "Nansen River"
The ship sank into the sea with its one hundred crew members.
At this time, a torpedo launched by the "Nansen River" hit the Japanese destroyer "Kiuzuki". The torpedo explosion spread to the ammunition compartment, triggering a chain explosion that caused the ship's speed to drop sharply and the steering gear to malfunction.
The destroyer "Kisaragi" sailing behind the ship, because the smoke generated by the firing of the front main gun obscured its view, it did not discover in time the "Kiuzuki" in front of it, which lost control and its speed dropped sharply, and crashed into it.
The Kikutsuki made matters worse. The right side of the stern was damaged and a large amount of seawater poured in.
Although the "Kisaragi" was not seriously injured, its speed was greatly reduced and it could no longer continue to pursue the ships of the Fourth Fleet. As a result, the Japanese army was left with only Jiro Aoki's flagship "Musuki", two torpedo boats, and eight gunboats.
Despite the situation, the Japanese fleet was still chasing after them, and sailing on the flank of the Japanese fleet were the destroyers "Songhe" and "Xihe" of the Fourth Destroyer Squadron that were rendezvousing with the main force at full speed. Because the Japanese had just launched all the torpedoes at once.
After they got out, Aoki Erlang had no choice but to order to bombard them with naval guns.
At this time, the "Songhe" and "Sikhe" suddenly turned around and fired four torpedoes at once. The "Musuki" hurriedly maneuvered to avoid it, but was still hit by a torpedo on the side. The ship's hull was flooded, its speed dropped sharply, and it lost
combat effectiveness.
Seeing this, Li Xiaofan quickly led the destroyer formation to rush forward. The "Mekong", "Chao Phraya" and "Nankang" fired twelve torpedoes in succession, and the three Japanese "Musuki" class destroyers sank unwillingly into the sea.
.
The rest of the Japanese torpedo boats, gunboats, and transport ships were in chaos. They tried to escape but were unable to escape. The "Mekong" and "Chao Phraya", formerly the "Mogador" class super destroyer, with a speed of 43 knots, were beaten into pieces one after another.
Fireball, in the end only six transport ships surrendered, and the rest sank into the sea.
At four o'clock in the morning the next day, the flotilla carrying the Third Regiment of the 1st Marine Division appeared outside the large bay southeast of Praslin Island, preparing to launch a landing operation on Praslin Island.
Under the reasonable and rapid bombardment of the navy, the first wave of assault battalions successfully landed on the beach southeast of Praslin Island at 7 a.m. They encountered considerable resistance along the way, but the Japanese army lacked effective coastal defense artillery.
, relying solely on the combination of rifles and machine guns is obviously unable to withstand the rapid and powerful attack of the Anjia Army Marine Corps.
In fact, the terrain of Praslin Island is very suitable for Japanese-style defense methods. There are jungles everywhere, the terrain is dangerous, and there are many natural caves hidden in it.
However, it is obvious that the focus of Japan's defense of the entire Seychelles Islands lies on Mahe Island, and it did not devote too much energy and leisure time to giving full play to the natural advantages of Praslin Island. Of course, it is also possible that the Japanese army did not expect the Anjia Army to meet
It came so quickly that the field airport, which was the first link of the entire defense system, had just been built and before there was time or no way to deploy tight defenses, the Anjia army had already arrived.
The officers and soldiers of the assault battalion quickly took control of the ports and towns near the Great Bay and began to build fortifications.
Immediately afterwards, two battalions of Marine officers and soldiers disembarked directly from the port pier without any stop. They immediately divided into two groups, one way going south along the ring road, then turning west to seize the field airport there, and the other group.
Follow the ring road to the north to search.
A small number of Japanese troops relied on caves and fought stubbornly. They were greeted by rockets and flamethrowers. As well as a hail of Vulcan shells from armed helicopters, the locations where the Japanese troops were entrenched were uprooted one by one.
The Japanese army is good at jungle warfare. They often carry out brutal and brave but unorganized counterattacks. They are proficient in infiltration. They use their familiarity with the terrain to go around the opponent's rear from the woods or other cover places to carry out surprise attacks. Especially the religious ones.
Such fanaticism made the Japanese army fight to the end in a hopeless environment, making useless sacrifices and never surrendering.
The battle on Praslin Island lasted for a full week. With the help of armed helicopters, about 400 Japanese soldiers were wiped out, and another five prisoners were captured alive. More than 40 Japanese soldiers were hidden in the offshore reefs.
Kayaking. Escape to Cullius Island, one kilometer north.
But just two days later, Qulius Island, which covers an area of about three square kilometers, was also attacked by the Anjia army, and the remaining Japanese armed forces were completely wiped out.
In the east of Praslin Island, at 6 o'clock in the morning on April 8, the sky was slightly bright. Two battalions of the 1st Parachute Division carried out a parachute drop at the junction of the mountains and plains in the northern part of La Digue Island. La Digue Island is
The fourth largest inhabited island in the Seychelles Islands. It is located east of Praslin Island and west of Felicite Island, covering an area of about ten square kilometers. The highest point on the island, Eagle's Nest Mountain, is located in the middle of the island, with an altitude of more than 300 meters.
rice.
Since the attack on Praslin Island was launched two days ago, the Japanese troops on the island were already prepared and built a relatively tight beachhead. However, no one expected that this attack would come from the sky.
.
During the airborne landing, the two battalions of airborne troops were fired upon by the Japanese high-level dual-purpose machine guns and rifles deployed in this area. Fortunately, the sky was not completely bright yet and the field of vision was insufficient. Therefore, during this parachute operation,
There were only more than a dozen casualties among officers and soldiers. The paratroopers repelled the Japanese counterattack at the parachute landing site, and it took half an hour to complete the assembly and attack the Japanese troops deployed on the beach from behind.
The Japanese defensive forces were in disarray and had to abandon the beachhead they had finally established and retreat to the high ground in the center of the island.
The Japanese army relied on the island's dangerous terrain and the honeycomb-like dense caves to mount a tenacious resistance to the Anjiajun paratroopers. Since the overall terrain of La Digue Island is high in the east and low in the west, with cliffs on the east, it was impossible to conduct combat at all.
, so the troops can only attack from the west to the east.
The paratroopers did not carry heavy weapons such as rocket launchers and recoilless rifles. The initial attack method they adopted was to use general machine guns and automatic rifles to block the entrance of the Japanese army's cave under the cover of offshore naval guns. Then they quietly approached the strike team at the entrance of the cave and attacked them.
Grenades were thrown into the cave entrances one after another, and then the caves were filled with thick smoke and air waves.
At the same time as the paratroopers attacked, a battalion of Marine Corps officers and soldiers began to carry out the landing. Two powerful IV half-track armored combat vehicles that could climb a 45-degree slope were put into combat. Heavy equipment for anti-cave operations also gradually
Sent to the island.
The Japanese troops on La Digue resisted for three days. At four o'clock in the afternoon on the 11th, the Japanese stronghold on the main peak of Eagle's Nest Mountain was removed. More than 300 Japanese troops on the island were killed in battle, and the Anjia officers and soldiers also suffered seven casualties.
The cost of more than ten people, and this is just a microcosm of the island war in the Indian Ocean.
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The emperor sadly begged for rewards, subscriptions, and support!
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