"Keep your heads..." Lieutenant Peter Hollemback's shout was cut off as an artillery shell exploded maybe fifty feet away from the open topped invasion transport. Behind, he could hear the five Montana class battleships thundering away at the beach, dueling with Japanese gun emplacements on the mainland. Above, aircraft buzzed over the landing beaches, strafing and shelling anything that was stupid enough to stick its head up. Off to his left, Peter could see one of the massive assault transports that had been attached to the fleet. They were heavily armored, with several inches worth of armor plating. They had no guns, and two huge clam-shell doors in the front. Their purpose was to carry tanks directly into the heart of the amphibious assault. Once more, one of the battlewagons thundered, the shells creating huge plumes of sand as they exploded.
Behind him, the landing master called out, "One minute to the beach!" Hollemback hefted his M1, hunkering down a second later as small arms fire pinged off of the sides of the landing craft. The soldiers double checked their ammunition, unable to see over the metal walls they were hiding behind.
"Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed by they name."
Peter heard the private next to him, Pvt. Mackenzie he remembered, begin to say the lords prayer.
"Your kingdom come, your will be done."
"Thirty to beach!" The pilot shouted.
"On earth, as it is in heaven..."
A mortar round struck next to the transport, shrapnel embedding in the metal above Peter's head.
"Give us this day, our dally bread..."
Machine gun fire ripped through the air, as an anti-tank shell caught one of the assault ships, exploding harmlessly against the hull.
"And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."
"Ten to beach!" The pilot ducked down as another mortar shell exploded near the the small barge.
"For yours is the Kingdom, the glory and the power... forever and ever, Amen."
"Go!" Peter shouted as the ramp went down. Looked like it would be a dry landing. The ramp had gone down on the sand. During the invasion of Okinawa the ramps had gone down too early, and his squad ended up wading to shore.
As he rushed off the transport, Peter immediately. found a shell-hole and dove into it; joined quickly by his radio operator and an Army Air Core spotter. "Get those bombers on target!" Peter yelled to the spotter over the explosions and weapons fire, "And get those battleships firing on the positions more ashore. The Japs aren't going to wait long before putting artillery on us." Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the beach began to explode as the expected Japanese artillery began to hit.
******
"Alter fire, commence counter-battery action against Japanese artillery." Clenching the rail, Grand Admiral Halsey wasn't thrilled with this. The carriers had been pulled away to hunt down a Japanese fleet, leaving the big gun ships here to support. It would be interesting if the Japanese decided to sail their fleet at this point. He couldn't help that at this point though. As the Montana's guns fired again, Halsey quietly prayed that the Army Air Core spotters he was relying on weren't sending him after telephone poles. The captain ordered, "Test Fire battery one." The third gun on one of the turrets fired, testing the range. One of the radio operators turned, "Admiral, Air Core reports that we have correct range."
Halsey allowed himself a small smile, "Thank god for machinery eh? All vessels copy firing settings." The guns on the Massachusetts, Delaware, California and Florida elevated and rotated as lights flashed from the bridges of the ships. Around them, the smaller battleships, Iowa class, began to bring their guns to bear. A minute later, amongst radio messages from the front line units reporting that the artillery was getting closer, a communications officer called that the other ships were ready. Halsey turned to the captain, "All batteries, all ships, fire for effect."
******
Captain Isoru Kamigira called off another set of fire orders from the beach. The Americans must not be allowed to breach the defensive lines he had been ordered, and a key part of that was to hit them with artillery. So far, his heavy battery had been doing its job, putting shells on the beach, slowly rolling towards the water. Only one American shell had hit nearby, and he figured it had to be from an aircraft. There was no way the American battleships could get their range without sustained fire.
He picked up his binoculars, just barely able to make out the American battleships in the distance. He saw their guns flash, the fleet of ships suddenly illuminated by gun flashes. They were too high to be aiming at the beach... they must be aiming at the batteries.
As soon as his mind hit on this, a shell exploded almost exactly on top of one of the battery's guns. The soldiers manning it were sent flying, an arm flying by Isoru as soldiers were dismembered by shrapnel and the force of the blast. A second later, the entire hill that the battery was located on began to explode, shells carpeting the field. One of the shells struck the tent where they were storing ammunition. The huge 16" shell easily set off the smaller artillery shells, sending a massive fireball high into the sky. The shelling was sustained for a minute, then dropped off as the Americans turned their attention to another battery.
******
Schwartz hated ground attack missions. That was why he was flying cover for the fly boys below him. He flew through the flack that the Japanese were throwing up, but even with the amount of shells that the Japs were throwing up, it was difficult for them to hit the fast moving fighters. The fighter bombers banked over and dove down. Arming his rockets, Schwartz decided to get rid of a little drag. Rolling over, he pulled back on the stick, flying down towards a road chocked full of Japanese trucks, troops and tanks. To one side he saw the explosion of flame as the fighter bombers hit the artillery positions with napalm, turning back to the road, he flipped his P-51 over, his squadron falling in line behind him. As he came down the road, he let his rockets fly, saving his machine guns for any enemy fighters. Pulling up to avoid the shrapnel, he lopped back over, radioing, "If any of you ground pounders have napalm left, hit this road. We're causing a little backup."
"Roger, thanks for the info."
He circled around, watching for enemy aircraft while waiting for his squadron mates. Sure to form, the rockets had destroyed several Japanese trucks and there was a large backup forming. As more troops and equipment piled up, trying to move the burning, and wrecked, vehicles, US fighters bombers dropped down low, almost clipping the telephone poles. The fighter bombers opened up with their cannon, then, started pulling up early. As they did, canisters of Napalm released from their pylons. From his low altitude, Schwartz could see soldiers, covered in flaming napalm, running, trying to escape their own deaths.
With a flick of the stick, Schwartz turned back to the beach. There was more work to be done today.
******
Lt. Hollemback jumped into the trench and nailed one Japanese soldier with a shot to the head, his Sargeant jumping in behind him, and riddling another Japanese soldier with his Thompson. Behind him he heard the thud of boots on concrete as more soldiers jumped down into the trench. Peter flattered against the wall to allow the flamethrower operator to get closer to the concrete bunker that overlooked this part of the beach. The trooper squeezed the handles on his flame-thrower, the pressurized jelliedgasoline shooting into and over the bunker. A Japanese officer, Katana in hand, charged out, and was instantly caught by the torrent of flame. He fell to the ground, screaming as he burned. After a second, he stopped screaming, and Hollemback carefully stepped by him, spinning to clear a cross trench.
He heard muttering in Japanese from around a corner. Setting down his rifle, he pulled out a grenade and pulled the pine, counting, "One... two..." and rolled it around the corner. Peter grabbed his rifle and moved back quickly, crouching as he heard a shout, followed by an explosion, followed by screaming. He turned around the corner, shooting a wounded Japanese soldier who was reaching for his weapon. The ground above the trench was hit by a shell, and Peter reflexively jumped back around the corner, a Japanese tank slowly rolling over the trench. As it cleared the trench it exploded in a blast of flame.
******
"Hit!"
Saul grinned, darn right it was a hit, clear in the side, a perfect hit. "New Target!" He shouted, calling out the degree in reference to the hull. The Sherman's turret rotated to bring the HVAT cannon to bear. The gun fired and struck another one of the outdated Type 95s that the Japanese were throwing at him. The Japanese tank exploded nicely, its crew caught without time to bail out. They had been ordered to push off the beach, and push they would.
******
As Peter cleared the last bunker in his section, he sat down in a relatively untouched dungeon and took a drink from his canteen, looking at hisSergeant, "Well, I guess that was our welcome."
"Actually Sir, it wasn't big in the hospitality department."
Peter chuckled, "Well then, welcome to Japan." He said, lifting his canteen in a toast.
Sargeant Michael Jones returned the gesture, "Aye Sir, welcome to Japan."
The Japanese are out even quicker than I imagined.
