During World War II, the combat effectiveness of Japanese soldiers was very strong. According to the recollections of some veterans, during the white-knife war, two or even three people could deal with a devil, and those who could kill the devils one-on-one were very powerful warriors at that time, and there was a man named Lu Junsheng who killed 27 devils by himself, ranking first in the entire North China Military Region, and was considered a super combat hero.
And we want to talk about this character today, alone, to resist the attack of 3,000 Japanese soldiers and kill 2,000 of them. Yes, you read that right, 2000! This is the legendary hero of the U.S. army, John Basilon. So, under what circumstances did John Basilon achieve this counterintuitive record?
After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the U.S. military gained the upper hand in the Pacific through the great victory at the Battle of Midway. In order to reverse the disadvantage, the Japanese Navy took the initiative to seize Guadalcanal and many nearby subsidiary islands, which guarded the gates of the South Pacific and the central route between New Zealand, Australia and New Zealand.
The loss of Guadalcanal meant that the U.S. military lost control of the South Pacific, so retaking Guadalcanal was the top priority of the U.S. military at that time. Fortunately, because the Japanese Navy did not inform the Army to send troops to garrison Guadalcanal in order to seize the merits, the US military seized this gap and sent heavy troops to attack Guadalcanal and regain control of Guadalcanal. Of course, the Japanese also understood the importance of Guadalcanal, and after their defeat, they sent 30,000 Japanese troops to counterattack to retake Guadalcanal.
It was in this context that John Baslon made a brilliant debut. At that time, he and his teammates were stationed on a dangerous high ground to defend against the Japanese attack. How many people are in Basilon's team? 15 people! How many enemies are they dealing with? 3000 Japanese troops.
At the beginning of the battle, the Japanese army, bent on retaking Guadalcanal, launched a frenzied attack on the American positions. Because of strategic things, the Japanese army did not have heavy weapons to assist the attack, and the firepower and the US army were very different. With the support of the so-called "Bushido Spirit", they pounced on the American army with their flesh and blood without the support of heavy firepower. In 8 hours, 12 people were killed in Basilone's team, and there were 2 wounded numbers that could not fight, and only Basilone could fight.
In the face of the crazy Japanese army, Basilone did not choose to escape, and with two machine guns (one of which was still repaired by himself) and two pistols, he stubbornly repelled countless Japanese charges and stubbornly held his position.
During this time, the bullets ran out, and Basilone had to shuttle between the positions of the two sides, looking for bullets while defending. In this way, the repeated fighting continued all night, until reinforcements arrived in the early morning of the next day. During this time, the Japanese army suffered heavy casualties, and according to statistics, 2,000 Japanese troops were killed by Basilon, and he became famous in the first battle.
After the Battle of Guadalcanal, Basilone was awarded the U.S. Military's highest honor: the Medal of Honor. He is the second Marine to receive the honor.
After receiving the Medal of Honor, Basilone returned to the United States, where his heroic exploits were widely circulated, with thousands of people, government officials, actors and the media participating in his celebrations of his return to the United States. According to the rules, a soldier who had received the Medal of Honor could no longer go to the battlefield, but Basilone missed his comrades and repeatedly strongly demanded to return to the battlefield, and the Marines finally agreed to his request. Later, Baslon was killed by a shelling during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
If we carefully consider the battle of Guadalcanal, John is brave and fearless, but the Japanese army has no heavy fire support, unfavorable terrain and other factors, which is also an important reason for him to become a hero, so it is difficult to replicate this battlefield myth with one enemy and a thousand enemies.