Empire Conquest

Chapter 510 - 506: Strong Attack

As expected, Transfer Island quickly turned into a bloody battlefield.

Although the Empire’s Navy had prepared extensively, and the gunfire preparation before landing lasted four hours, practically plowing Transfer Island, the island was simply too small. It was extremely difficult not only to maneuver but even to gain a foothold after landing.

The soldiers of the Empire’s Marine Corps and the Newland Army personnel crowded onto the narrow beaches of Transfer Island.

Upon entering the phase of ground assault, including the large-caliber naval guns, many support fire weapons became entirely ineffective.

It must be admitted that the Newland Army’s preparations were more thorough.

Regardless, as Transfer Island is the westernmost island of the Howay Islands, it is a vital base that must be captured for advancing and seizing the Howay Islands.

Long before joining the battle, the Newland Army had begun strengthening the island’s defense systems.

Over two years were enough for the Newland Army to transform Transfer Island into a formidable fortress.

Of course, the importance placed on Transfer Island is largely connected with the rise of the Air Force, and indeed, the value of Transfer Island was manifested in air combat.

Because there was no water source, Transfer Island remained a barren island until the advent of the carrier.

The first use of Transfer Island was for the construction of a seaplane dock, serving as a transfer station for the postal route across the East Ocean.

However, it was not until the year 95 of the New Calendar that the value of Transfer Island became apparent, coinciding with the opening of transoceanic passenger routes.

Shortly after landing on Transfer Island, precisely on the third day, the Empire’s Marine Corps witnessed the masterpiece of the Newland Army.

On July 11th, the Marine Corps, after a harrowing cost of over a hundred casualties, captured a bunker, accurately described as an underground defense fortification.

Subsequently, they discovered that this was just a part of an entire underground defense system!

The key lies in the fact that all tunnels and caves were deeply buried underground, at least fifteen meters below the surface, accessed via vertical shafts.

In crucial areas, such as ammunition depots, fuel storage points, and troop bunkers, the roofs were reinforced with several meters of steel-reinforced concrete to withstand direct hits from 400mm naval shells or 500kg air bombs. Due to the sandy soil on the surface, craters could be quickly filled.

This bunker could accommodate about a battalion of troops.

If not for accidentally blasting the main tunnel leading to the rear, which isolated the bunker, the Marine Corps would not have been able to capture it.

Evidently, this was just the tip of the iceberg.

This also explained why the Newland Navy hadn’t dispatched a fleet.

In the face of a robust underground defense system, the firepower advantage of the Empire’s Navy was rendered nearly useless, and it could only send the Marine Corps to force an attack on the island.

No matter how powerful the Imperial Fleet was, it couldn’t play much of a role.

This meant that capturing Transfer Island would undoubtedly require a tremendous cost and consume a significant amount of time!

Early on July 12th, after consulting with the leaders of the Wei Jun and other fleet generals as well as several commanders of the Marine Corps, Bai Zhizhan sent a telegram to the Navy headquarters proposing adjustments to the battle plan. Not only was there a need to extend the duration of combat, but also to deploy the Reserve Team ahead of schedule.

However, the key was to expand the scale of the landing area and set up temporary anchorages.

According to Bai Zhizhan’s intention, the Navy needed to send auxiliary vessels swiftly to provide more robust support for the Marine Corps and lessen the operational burden on the frontline troops.

Undoubtedly, the most important vessel was the hospital ship.

After several days of fighting, the hospital aboard the landing ships was already overwhelmed, forcing some of the wounded to be transferred to the battleships of the Special Mixed Fleet for medical treatment.

Given the state of affairs over a few days, the medical capabilities of the Special Mixed Fleet would soon reach their limits.

Fortunately, the Empire’s Navy had over a dozen professional medical ships, six of which were in the support fleet.

Of course, they had to dispatch a Supply Ship as soon as possible to provide more heavy weapons and ammunition to the Landing Forces, thus alleviating the pressure on the supporting Fleet.

No matter what, the battle on Transfer Island was fought with great difficulty.

The Newland Navy, on the other hand, didn’t come to cause trouble.

It was probably because the defenders on Transfer Island had shown great valor, so in these past few days, the Newland Navy had only delivered supplies to Transfer Island by seaplanes during the night, bringing a glimmer of hope to the soldiers guarding the island, and on their return flights, they carried away the more seriously wounded.

The main threat, instead, came from the Newland Army Air Force.

After several previous bombing operations targeting the Special Mixed Fleet had ended in failure, with very heavy losses including hundreds of heavy bombers shot down and thousands of aircrew killed, the Newland Army Air Force adjusted its tactics. Instead of hunting the Special Mixed Fleet, they focused their attacks on the Landing Fleet and the Landing Forces, setting the bombing for nighttime.

For several consecutive nights, Newland Bombers frequented the landing site.

The threat wasn’t considered significant.

With the cover provided by the supporting Fleet, and cruisers equipped with radar capable of performing anti-aircraft duties at night, and, as the Marine Corps deployed sufficient searchlights on the beach, the Newland bomber groups entered at high altitude and dropped bombs from high altitude.

Nevertheless, the threat should not be underestimated.

As a result, the Marines had to evacuate the transport ships assembled at the landing site during the night, forcing the Landing Forces to stay inside shelters as much as possible.

According to plans, the transportation of heavy equipment and ammunition supplies was to be conducted at night!

Because resupply could not be carried out during the night, they had to schedule it for the next morning, thereby significantly shortening the attack time during the day.

Of course, the efficiency of the supply operations had also decreased considerably.

Unable to bring heavy equipment and combat supplies ashore, the Marine Corps had to control their advancement speed to avoid excessive consumption.

It must be said that this was the most severe problem faced by the Marine Corps after landing.

At any time, the Frontline Commander had to be aware of their ammunition and ensure a resupply before nightfall as much as possible.

If there was not enough prepared ammunition, defending against Newland troops’ reprisals during the night would be difficult.

After dark, launching reprisals under the cover of night was the main mode of operation for the defenders.

They hid underground during the day and only came out at night.

Unlike on Sai Island, the defenders on Transfer Island rarely launched reprisals without a clear purpose, and their actions were much more tightly organized.

Often, they exhausted the Landing Forces’ vitality by sniping and firing blank rounds.

According to the frontline soldiers, this constant fear and unrest, never being able to relax, was simply torture on the nerves.

Actually, this was why Bai Zhizhan had requested the urgent deployment of the Reserve Team.

The difficulties were real, but there were also ways to overcome them.

While making requests to the Navy Headquarters, Bai Zhizhan also mentioned that capturing Transfer Island according to plan should be feasible without major deviations.

Now only one Marine Division had been utilized, the Reserve Team was also a Marine Division, with two more Marine Divisions having completed combat mobilization.

If need be, all Marine Divisions could be pulled in!

The fierce battle for Transfer Island continued until July 17.

That morning, like usual, Bai Zhizhan went to the officers’ mess for breakfast, then to the Command Bridge to relieve Li Mingbo, who had been on duty overnight.

However, before he had finished eating, the Communication Advisor hurriedly approached.

He brought a telegram that had just been received, and it was Li Mingbo who had asked the Communication Advisor to find Bai Zhizhan.