|
|
楼主 |
发表于 2010-10-2 21:33
|
显示全部楼层
Peleliu, without Gloria Honor
by Ricard
The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, was a clash between U.S. forces and the Japanese Empire in the Pacific during World War II, between September and November 1944 on the island of Peleliu.
U.S. forces were initially composed only of the 1st Marine Division, later relieved by the 81st Army Infantry Division. We fought to capture an airstrip on the small coral island. Gen. William H. Rupertus, commander of the 1st Marine Division, said he would conquer the island within four days, but due to good system developed by the Japanese fortifications and stiff resistance, the battle lasted more than two months. This battle is still one of the most controversial of the war, due to its questionable strategic value and the large number of dead. When considering the number of men involved, Peleliu had the highest casualty rate of any battle in the Pacific War.
In the summer of 1944, the Palau Islands were occupied by about 30,000 Japanese soldiers, with about 11,000 men on Peleliu, composed of the 14 th Infantry Division, also had workers from Korea and Okinawa. The Colonel Kunio Nakagawa, commander of the 2nd Regiment of the Division, led the preparations for the defense of the island.
After losing the Solomon Islands, Gilbert, Marshall and Marianas, the Imperial Army assembled a research team to develop a new strategy to defend the island and, above all, leave the suicidal Banzai charges. The new strategy was to destroy the formations of the units that landed, to form a system of fortifications similar to a hive, replace the coordinated attacks and counterattacks Banzai by attracting Americans to a bloody battle of attrition to force them to invest more resources in a direct attack. Colonel Nakagama concentrated all its forces within the island. Using the terrain to their advantage, and building a series of fortified bunkers, caves and trenches in large part connected to each other.
Most Nakagawa defenses were based on the highest point of Peleliu, the Umurbrogol coral cliff formed by a series of hills and steep ridges. Located in the center of Peleliu, Umurbrogol had a great view over much of the island, including the airfield. Umurbrogol contained about 500 caves in the limestone open, connected by tunnels. The caves were turned into fortresses with fixed positions of artillery and machine gun nests. The Japanese army also Umurbrogol fortified bases with mortars 81 mm and 150 mm and 20 mm guns, one light tank company and a detachment of anti-aircraft artillery and a naval gun mounted on the ground. The caves and bunkers were connected to a vast system of tunnels that covered the entire island, which would allow the Japanese to evacuate or to reoccupy the positions when necessary. The Japanese also would use the difficult terrain of the beaches in their favor. The northern tip of the island, instead of possible landings, had a natural barrier reef of 9.1 m with a view to a small peninsula, a place that Americans called The Point (Point). Holes were dug on the ridge to accommodate 47-mm antitank guns and 20 mm cannons. The positions were sealed and then closed, leaving only a slit to shoot at the beach. Similar positions were made over a 3 km stretch of beaches. The Japanese covered the beaches with thousands of obstacles for landing craft, mainly mines and a large number of heavy artillery shells, buried and ready to explode when stepped on. A battalion was placed along the beach to meet with troops landed, designed to slow the U.S. advance. The invaders, shattered this defense would have to go inland and take on the fortifications.
The expulsion of the Japanese around Umurbrogol is considered one of the most difficult struggles that confronted the U.S. military throughout the Second World War. The 1st Marine Division suffered heavy casualties and was kept out of action until the Battle of Okinawa on April 1, 1945. In total the 1st Division suffered over 5,000 casualties during the month of Peleliu, one third of the men who composed it were killed, wounded or were missing. The 81 th Infantry Division suffered over 3,000 casualties during their stay on the island.
The battle is controversial due to the low strategic value of the island. The airfield was used little in the subsequent attacks on the Philippines. The island was never used as a basis for subsequent raids, Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands in the north of Palaus, was used as the basis for the invasion of Okinawa. The battle was overshadowed by the return of MacArthur in the Philippines and Allied push into Germany in Europe.
Peleliu ... Honor without Gloria ....
Peleliu ... Honor without Gloria ...
Work inspired by the bloody Battle of Peleliu, which meant a high cost to American troops in the Pacific, where there were many heroes, many of them decorated ... anonymous others, being at the end of the conflict a battle and useless loss of life due to little or no strategic use given to this island
Base:
Made of styrofoam, is a base of 40 cms. Wide by 50 cms. Long, which was a characteristic of a semi hill, where is this fort, are textured with instant cement, and applied a series of natural elements (earth, stones, branches, logs, grass, repainting, etc. .) to give the characteristic typical sandy-rocky environment where the action unfolded.
Figures:
DML figures are full except for some additions DID like the Garand rifle, and cartridge and a comprehensive technical repainted from the HS to the boots, using different techniques applied Ricard method, available in different tutorials available from the Forum Group One Six.
No more ..... By Ricard ....... enjoy.
|
|
发表于 2010-10-2 21:17
发表于 2010-10-2 21:28
