After the U.S. military failed in the Battle of Coral Sea, the Japanese took advantage of the situation and took over the New Hebrides, Loyalty Islands and Hunter Island, the U.S. Army and Marine Corps stationed on New Caledonia, and the Pacific Fleet.
Many ships of the Ninth Fleet were cut off from their supply lines by the Japanese navy and were forced to be stranded on the island of New Caledonia, where every day seemed like a year.
In mid-August, New Caledonia had been besieged by the Japanese army for nearly four months. As the U.S. Army's land-based combat aircraft ran out of fuel and ammunition, air supremacy returned to the hands of the Japanese army again.
At the same time, due to long-term consumption without any supplies, the food supply of the US military has become increasingly tight day by day. From three meals a day to one meal each in the morning and evening, to recently only one meal per day, a large number of US soldiers cannot bear the hunger and pressure.
In despair of their future, they all chose to surrender to the Japanese army.
The U.S. military's combat effectiveness has declined so sharply that it is shocking.
In early September, as hunger spread significantly, the US military in New Caledonia completely lost their enterprising spirit. They no longer took the initiative to launch counterattacks against the Japanese troops entrenched in the north, and minimized their activities to avoid body heat consumption. They could only passively stick to the southwest.
The port of Noumea in the center, the mountains near the coast road and the central confrontation line, waiting for the arrival of reinforcements who do not know where they are.
However, fortunately for the Allies, the Japanese army launched a full-scale counterattack in the Solomon Islands, Gilbert Islands and Line Islands at this time. The front was spread too wide. Although they were advancing everywhere and good news came, every time they occupied an island, the Japanese army
Some people have to be left to guard these hard-won islands, right? This will quickly dilute the Japanese army's strength!
So far, the Japanese army on the island of New Caledonia still only has three divisions and three infantry regiments fighting against the US military when they landed. After the war situation entered a stalemate, the two special attack divisions lost time to act.
and space. Actively choose to evacuate from the island.
Relying on its advantages in numbers, equipment, and training, the U.S. military can maintain the front line for the time being. However, no one is sure how long it can last in the face of a situation where everything is at a loss.
Trapped on the island, telegrams from Vice Admiral Frank Fletcher, commander of the U.S. Ninth Fleet, and Major General Holland Smith, commander of the amphibious operations force, urging reinforcements flew to Washington like snowflakes.
Worried that the U.S. military on New Caledonia would run out of ammunition and food before surrendering to the Japanese, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff chose to land in Argentina and Chile to ensure the Strait of Magellan and the Drake Strait, two important maritime transportation routes.
In order to ensure the smooth flow of the line, Nimitz and MacArthur were also instructed to send troops to relieve the siege as soon as possible.
As early as when he left the Philippines, MacArthur suffered from the conscience torture of his officers and soldiers being captured but unable to do anything about it. Now seeing that New Caledonia was about to follow the footsteps of the US military in the Philippines, he could no longer sit still and rushed to American Samoa overnight.
At the Port of Pago Pago, emergency negotiations were held with Nimitz, and a bold battle plan was finally formulated:
Temporarily integrate the Fifth Fleet and the Seventh Fleet into the Third Fleet, combine the power of the three fleets, break into New Caledonia in one fell swoop, and rescue the besieged Army and Marine Corps, as well as the severely damaged Ninth Fleet.
Fleet and Pacific Theater Command named this plan the "Steam Engine" plan.
The difficulty in rescuing the lone army on the island of New Caledonia is that the waters around the island are under strict surveillance by the Japanese army and navy. The Japanese army has deployed many air fleets on the surrounding islands, coupled with the powerful Japanese military alliance.
The fleet didn't know where to hide, and was always ready to deal a fatal blow to the invading US fleet, which made the US military full of fear.
At the same time, the long-term blockade caused the ships of the U.S. Ninth Fleet trapped in the port of Noumea to lack fuel, and some ships were severely damaged. They were unable to sail away and escape, and had to receive assistance from external forces.
Starting from September 12, the US military took advantage of the cover of darkness to use submarines and high-speed transport ships to deliver food and a large number of ship parts, maintenance machines, technicians, and repairs to the US military on the island of New Caledonia.
The bombed shipyard repaired a number of ships that were damaged by the Japanese army, navy and air force during the early war.
On September 18, the battleship detachment of the U.S. Pacific Fleet raided the Japanese-occupied Nauru Island, destroying more than 30 combat aircraft parked at the airport, and then moved southwest, pretending to reinforce the Solomon Islands.
In order to attract the attention of the Japanese navy.
On the night of September 19, a large fleet consisting of four heavy cruisers, eight light cruisers and 16 destroyers approached the New Hebrides and bombarded Espiritu Santo under the cover of darkness.
Island, Malekula Island, Epi Island, the Japanese airfield on Efate Island, and finally arrived at the sea off Port Vila. They bombarded the port occupied by the Japanese army and escaped before dawn.
Lieutenant General Halsey, commander of the Third Fleet of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet, who was assigned to take charge of the rescue work, did not dare to hope that he could divert the powerful Japanese aircraft carrier formation away. He also dispatched several cruiser formations and destroyer formations into the Coral Sea and took action.
Run-and-run tactics were used to block the Japanese army's maritime supply lines, hoping to disrupt the Japanese army's operational deployment and obscure the true movements of the U.S. Navy.
On September 22, the U.S. submarine responsible for detecting the movements of the Japanese fleet reported that it had discovered the main force of Japanese aircraft carriers in the waters of Ende Island in the southeastern Solomon Islands. The telegram stated that the huge fleet almost covered the entire sea surface. It was expected that the Japanese Navy would attack the U.S. battleships.
They understood the movements of the fleet and took the initiative to annihilate the US battle fleet. At the same time, they cooperated with the army to first resolve the war in the Solomon Islands and then go south for a decisive battle with the US Navy.
Subsequently, a reconnaissance plane departing from the Tuvalu Islands confirmed the submarine's report and stated that the Japanese fleet was passing through the Melanesian Basin and heading towards the Nukumanu Islands. This was the course that the battle fleet had deliberately exposed in the early stage. At the same time,
, New Georgia Islands, Santa Isabel Island and Guadalcanal, where fierce fighting is currently taking place, are also the reasons for the Japanese troops to set out.
Lieutenant General Halsey called again and again to confirm the news. Although he mourned for the more than 20,000 American troops who fought bloody battles in the Solomon Islands, he knew that the opportunity must not be missed and he immediately led the main force of the fleet to cover a large number of transport ships.
Departing from the North Island of New Zealand, we headed north to the Port of Noumea to officially carry out the evacuation mission of US troops on the island of New Caledonia.
As expected, no trace of the Japanese fleet was found along the way. On September 25, when the transport fleet entered the port of Noumea to carry American soldiers, Lieutenant General Halsey led the main fleet northward, on the one hand, to guard the northern Coral Sea.
The Japanese fleet may appear in the sea at any time. Buy enough time for the transport fleet to withdraw its troops. On the one hand, it will attack the Japanese airport in the northern part of New Caledonia to eliminate the Japanese air threat to the port of Noumea.
The transport fleet brought a large amount of fuel, ammunition and food, and the U.S. military on the island of New Caledonia cheered. Not only the well-preserved warships of the Ninth Fleet in the port of Noumea can cruise out to sea and cooperate with the main fleet, land-based fighter jets
It also took off again after a month, and had the capital to defend the port of Noumea and regain air supremacy.
Although someone suggested to Halsey that they could simply take advantage of the absence of the main force of the Japanese fleet and cooperate with the sea and land to wipe out the Japanese troops on the island of New Caledonia in one fell swoop and reverse the U.S. military's predicament in the Central Pacific. However, the U.S. military was
Having been trapped for many months and suffering from long-term hunger, Halsey was already unable to fight. For Halsey, the first priority was to evacuate the hundreds of thousands of troops on the island as quickly as possible.
Halsey knew very well that in order to evacuate all hundreds of thousands of people safely, the transport fleet would have to spend at least half a month traveling back and forth between New Zealand and New Caledonia five or six times. At the same time,
The commander of the Ninth Fleet, Rear Admiral Frank Fletcher, would definitely be reluctant to leave behind those dilapidated warships that were in urgent need of repair. It would take a lot of convincing to convince this young naval officer to abandon warships that could not be repaired in a short period of time and were difficult to sail far away.
According to the current battle situation, it is best to use explosives to completely blast the warships that cannot move away. If they are simply scuttled, they may be picked up by the Japanese army, repaired and put into use again. It is best to destroy them completely, and even the port channel will be destroyed.
Blocking them together will prevent the Japanese Navy from using the facilities at the port of Noumea for at least the next few months.
In Halsey's view, the port of Noumea has not been breached by the Japanese Army, Navy and Air Force for several months. Now that the U.S. Army's land-based fighter jets have regained their combat capabilities, coupled with the anti-aircraft guns at the port, the departure of the main fleet is enough to ensure transportation.
The fleet was safe. However, no one expected that as soon as the main fleet left, the airport in the port of Noumea would be attacked by Japanese aircraft at night, and more than thirty aircraft were lost in one fell swoop.
The radar showed that Japanese aircraft were coming from the east, but the Japanese field airfield on the New Hebrides Islands had just been bombarded by a cruiser formation. Repairs would take some time. There was no reason to launch a counterattack so quickly. Could it be a Japanese aircraft carrier?
The formation appears?
Halsey was shocked and immediately sent three "Casablanca" class aircraft carriers cruising in the southern waters of New Caledonia to detect the source of the Japanese aircraft group.
It didn't matter. A Japanese aircraft carrier fleet was discovered early the next morning. At this time, the Japanese fleet was fleeing eastward at full speed. Perhaps it wanted to hide in Port Vila, the largest port in the New Hebrides, and place its fortress guns there.
Under the protection of anti-aircraft guns, or bypassing the New Hebrides Islands and heading north to join the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet in the Solomon Islands in the north.
But what is strange is that the main force of this fleet is two light aircraft carriers converted from merchant ships, and their sailing speed is not very fast. With such a small force, do the Japanese dare to challenge the powerful Third Fleet?
Halsey felt unbelievable for a moment, and even had worse plans. He speculated that this was most likely a reconnaissance fleet to understand the movements of his own fleet. The real main force might be in a certain area of the Coral Sea. After receiving the report,
Be ready to go south to intercept the transport fleet at any time.
This possibility is not impossible. Looking at the history of the Japanese combined fleet, surprise attacks have occurred frequently. This is almost the nature of the Japanese. Although the escort fleet commanded by Major General Carey Turner is quite powerful, including two battleships and five
It has an escort aircraft carrier, two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and twelve destroyers. Unfortunately, the air power is still slightly weak. If it encounters the main force of the Japanese combined fleet, safety cannot be guaranteed.
Under this circumstance, Lieutenant General Halsey ordered the fleet composed of three "Casablanca" class aircraft carriers to continue to track the mysterious Japanese aircraft carrier fleet and not to alert the enemy. If the situation is found to be wrong, they can immediately go south and place them on land.
Under the protection of fighter planes, he waited for his troops to rescue him.
Halsey led the fleet in a circle to the north, dropped a bomb on the Japanese airfield in the northern part of New Caledonia, then hastily ended the air raid and returned south.
On September 27, the "Casablanca" class aircraft carrier formation found out that the Japanese fleet had entered Port Vila, so it returned south with satisfaction. Who knew that in the early morning of the next day, when it sailed to the waters near Mare Island in the southern part of the Loyalty Islands?
, suffered fierce air attacks by Japanese aviation forces, as well as torpedo attacks by Japanese submarines and night attacks by light ships.
The ships of the entire formation were either sunk or damaged, and three "Casablanca" class aircraft carriers lost power.
After receiving the distress message, Halsey decisively ordered the US land-based fighter planes on New Caledonia to rush to the rescue. At the same time, he personally led the main force of the fleet through the strait between Cunnier Island in the south and directly entered the waters of Mare Island.
, it turned out that the U.S. military's reinforcement fighter planes were outnumbered and no match for the Japanese fighter planes. Three "Casablanca" class aircraft carriers had been towed away by Japanese warships.
After the Japanese aircraft drove away the US land-based fighters, they continued to attack the US fleet's warships together with submarines. Many ships were injured in the air strikes. Seeing that they could not recapture the aircraft carrier, Halsey had to order an evacuation from the battlefield and return to the port of Noumea for rest and recovery.
Misfortunes never come singly. When the main fleet arrived in the southern waters of New Caledonia, it received an emergency report that something had happened to the transport fleet!
It turned out that the transport fleet spent a day and a night to finally fill all the transport ships. On the morning of the 27th, the escort fleet protected the transport fleet and sailed out of the port of Noumea. After sailing on the sea for a day, Yuno
The waters north of Fok Island were intercepted by the sudden appearance of the Japanese Combined Fleet No. 1 and No. 6 Air Fleet.
Under the siege of fourteen Japanese aircraft carriers including Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Taiho, Unryu, Amagi, Katsuragi, Kasagi, White Crane, Green Crane, Black Crane, Red Crane, and Yellow Crane, the battleships escorting the formation,
The escort carriers, light and heavy cruisers and destroyers were all sunk, and all the more than 70,000 American troops on board were captured.
In desperation, Halsey hurriedly led the main force of the fleet to the rescue and sent a large number of carrier-based aircraft to attack the Japanese fleet. However, he was desperately intercepted by the Japanese carrier-based fighter jets. Later, he was hindered by the Japanese fleet's intensive air defense firepower and failed to succeed.
Facing the more powerful Japanese aircraft carrier formation, Halsey felt that with the emergence of the main force of the Japanese fleet, the fighter plane to withdraw troops had been lost, and he did not dare to dock at the port of Noumea on the besieged New Caledonia island.
Evacuate quickly from the Fiji Sea to the port of Nuku'alofa in Tonga.
After this battle, the U.S. Navy had to stop the rescue work of the U.S. troops on New Caledonia. The Pacific Fleet was busy resting and reorganizing the fleet. The Japanese also felt that there was a possibility of escape for the U.S. troops on New Caledonia, so they immediately stepped up their efforts.
time to send reinforcements to the island and prepare for a large-scale ground offensive.
The Japanese Combined Fleet tightened the naval blockade and established seaplane bases on Elizabeth Reef, Norfolk Island and Hunter Island. Subsequently, the Japanese First and Sixth Air Fleets destroyed the weak southern part of New Caledonia.
The U.S. Air Force regained absolute air supremacy.
On the night of October 2, the U.S. military in New Caledonia, which had just returned to food and clothing, once again experienced food shortages. In this case, Vice Admiral Frank Fletcher, Major General Holland Smith and a hundred others
Several generals took advantage of the darkness to take a transport plane to leave New Caledonia and fly to the port of Suva in the Fiji Islands.
The U.S. troops on New Caledonia, led by Colonel John Richard, surrendered to the Japanese. The war on New Caledonia ended.
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