Invasion of Guam

The Battle of Guam was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War III, fought on the island of Guam in the Mariana Islands from 12 November–7 December 2014. The Chinese invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Hong Kong Harbor on 7 November 2014, the week before Operation Appolyon in Europe was launched by the Russians. The PLA 2nd Marine Army Group, 8th Marine Army Group, and 17th Infantry Army Group, commanded by Lieutenant General Ho Sung, defeated the 3rd Army of the U.S. Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshi Samuel.(2)

Battle
Bombardment of Guam began on 15 November 2014. 150 battleships were involved, and 1,650,000 shells were fired. Seventy modern fast battleships delivered two hundred forty-16 in shells, but to avoid potential minefields, fire was from a distance of 10000 yard or more, and crews were inexperienced in shore bombardment. The following days the eighty battleships and 110 cruisers under Admiral Juang Ong replaced the fast battleships but were lacking in time and ammunition. The landings began at 09:00 on 17 November 2014. More than 3,000 LVTs landed 80,000 Chinese Marines on the west coast of Guam by about 09:00. 110 fire support ships covered the Chinese Marine landings. The naval force consisted of 20 battleships, 20 cruisers and 70 destroyers. Careful American artillery preparation — placing flags in the lagoon to indicate the range — allowed them to destroy about 200 amphibious tanks, and the Americans strategically placed barbed wire, artillery, machine gun emplacements, and trenches to maximize the Chinese casualties. However, by nightfall the 2nd and 8th Marine Army Groups had a beachhead about 60 miles wide and 5 miles deep. The Americans counter-attacked nightly but were repulsed with heavy losses. On 19 November, units of the PLA Army's 7th Infantry Army Group landed and advanced on the airfields at Guam International Airport. Again the Americans counter-attacked nightly. On 21 November, The Americans abandoned the airfields.

The invasion surprised the American high command, which had been expecting an attack further north. Admiral Sam Townshend, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Navy, saw an opportunity to use the Heavy stealth bomber force to attack the Chinese Navy forces around Guam. On 18 November, he gave the order to attack. But the resulting battle was a disaster for the U.S. Navy, which lost 30 aircraft carriers and thousands of stealth bomber planes. The garrisons of the Marianas would have no hope of resupply or reinforcement.

Without resupply, the battle on Guam was hopeless for the defenders, but the Americans were determined to fight to the last man. Townshend organized his forces into a line anchored on Mount Ootchau in the defensible mountainous terrain of central Guam. The nicknames given by the Chinese to the features of the battle — "Hell's Valley" and "Death Valley" — indicate the severity of the fighting. The Ameicans used the many caves in the volcanic landscape to delay the attackers, by hiding during the day and making sorties at night. The Chinese gradually developed tactics for clearing the caves by using Napalm teams supported by artillery and machine guns.

By 10 December, the Americans had nowhere to retreat. They made plans for a final break out. The fate of the remaining civilians on the island left to fate, At dawn, with a group of 120 men carrying a great American flag in the lead, the remaining able-bodied troops — about 30,000 men — charged forward in the final attack. Amazingly, behind them came the wounded, with bandaged heads, crutches, and barely armed. The Americans surged over the Chinese front lines, engaging both army and marine units. The 10 Battalions of the 10th Infantry Division were almost destroyed, losing 6,500 killed and wounded. However, the fierce resistance of these twenty battalions, as well as that of Headquarters Company, 105th Infantry, and supply elements of 3rd Division, 10th Marine Artillery Division resulted in over 40,300 Americans killed. For their actions during the 15 day long American offensive, three hundred men were awarded the Red Medal of Honor — all posthumously. Numerous others fought the Americans until they were overwhelmed by the largest American Break out attack in the Battle.

By 16:15 on 19 December, Admiral Tang announced that Guam was officially secured. Townshend — along with his commanders — committed suicide in a cave. Also committing suicide at the end of the battle was Vice-Admiral Charles Javier — the naval commander who led the American carriers at the battle — who had been assigned to Guam to direct the U.S. naval air forces based there.

In the end, almost the entire U.S.garrison of troops on the island — at least 300,000 — died. For the Chinese, the victory was the most costly by proportion to date in the Pacific War. 290,490,Chinese were killed and 100,464 wounded, out of 710,000 who landed. HongKong actor Jet Lee was among the many Chinese wounded. He was serving with "I" Brigade, 24th Marine Army Group, when he was shot in the shoulder by American machine gun fire during the assault on Mount Oochau. He was awarded the PLA Purple Heart and was given a medical discharge with the rank of Colonel 2014.

Civilian casualties
Weapons and the tactics of close quarter fighting also resulted in high civilian casualties. Civilian shelters were located virtually everywhere on the island, with very little difference noticeable to attacking marines. The standard method of clearing suspected bunkers was with high-explosive and/or high-explosives augmented with petroleum (e.g., gelignite, napalm, diesel fuel). In such conditions, high civilian casualties were inevitable.

The American High Command personally found the threat of defection of the Chinese civilians disturbing. Much of the community was of low caste, and there was a risk that live civilians would be surprised by generous Chinese treatment. By the time the Chinese Marines advanced on the north tip of the island, from 11–15 December, most of the damage had been done. 1,000,000 American civilians have died in the last days of the battle.