Battle of Wheeler Field

Forces| 5,000 Union Infantry2,500 Union Marines100 Union Infantry Fighting Vehicles20 Union Tanks | 509 American Marines10 Canadian Marines105 American Infantry16 British Infantry1 Patton Medium Tank50 Irish InfantryRelief Force :

The **Battle of Wheeler Field** , otherwise known as '**The Stand of The 700**', was a Last Stand Battle fought between the 12th of August 1952 and the 16th August 1952. The Battle was fought during The Summer Offensive of 1952 in the War of The Pacific and effectively ended the Pacific Front of the War.

A combined 700 strong force of American, British, Canadian and Irish Infantry and Marines supported by one Patton Medium Tank, under the command of Colonel Jim G. Adams defended the Wheeler Air Force Base on O'ahu, Hawaii. They faced a 8,000 Strong force of Union Marines, Infantry, Tanks and Infantry Fighting Vehicles. Only 52 men out of the 700 would survive the Battle and be rescued by the ANZAC Relief Force. Despite the losses, The 700 held their position and prevented the fall of Hawaii.

The Free Atlantic States used the event as a representation of Atlantean resolve and defiance against the Union of East Asian Soviets. The Battle halted a 3 month Long Union Offensive and some have said the confidence gained at Wheeler Field influenced the poor planning of Operation Homesick.

## Prelude

With the opening of the Summer Offensive on the 2nd of June 1952, The Free Atlantic States knew some of the major targets would be Midway, Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. This threat was confirmed when on the 26th of June, The Union began the Battle of Midway. By the 1st of July, Midway had fallen and the FAS Generals decided to reinforce Hawaiian Bases. Some of these bases was Wheeler Air Force Base and nearby Hickham Air Force Base in Pearl Harbour, O'ahu, Hawaii.

500 American Marines were stationed at Wheeler on the outset of war but by the fall of Midway, 100 American Infantry joined the 600 Marines. After the fall of Dillingham Air Base on the 7th of August 1952 beginning the Invasion of Hawaii, 50 Irish, 16 British 14 American and 10 Canadian soldiers fell back to Wheeler Field to bolster the defences and stage a last stand. The 10,000 Strong Union Landing Force in the North would have to take Wheeler before being able to take Pearl Harbour with a degree of success.

On the 9th of August, Union Naval Aircraft began to attack Pearl Harbour and later in the day, Roughly 8,000 Soldiers with 120 Armoured Vehicles began the March from Dillingham AFB to Wheeler Field. The 700 Strong FAS Force commanded by Col. Adams were completely cut off and on their own. Pearl Harbour was being weakened by Air attacks and unable to dispatch a relief force. By the 11th, The Union Force had encircled Wheeler Field. A Battle of the Ages was set to begin. The Americans and Irish held a Sector North of the Base, American-British in the West, American-Canadian in the South and a Combined Force to the East.

## The Battle

### First Day - 12th August 1952

The First Day of the Battle was loud. In the Early Hours of the morning, Union Forces supported by their Armour attempted to break FAS Defences in the North. 500 Union Marine and 200 Infantry with 5 IFVs flung themselves onto FAS Lines in the Northern Sector and tried to overwhelm the outnumbered defenders. At Midday, the firefights were still raging and the Irish and American Soldiers holding the North had not lost any ground. They had not taken any casualties. However by 6pm, The Union dispatched 5 Tanks and 6 Close Air Support Jets which forced the Americans and Irish to retreat back into the Airbase. The Americans and Irish took minimal casualties during the fighting and the Union lost over 200 Soldiers in the Capture of the Northern Sector.

In the Late Evening at 1150 pm, The remaining American and Irish soldiers launched a counterattack and despite taking heavy losses, managed to push back and recapture the Northern Defensive Sector. The Force even managed to destroy 5 IFVs and one of the Medium Tanks.

### Second Day - 13th August 1952

The Second Day was not as eventful as the First. Minor Skirmishes occurred on all 4 Fronts but the main news came from Pearl Harbour. The Battle of Pearl Harbour at sea had begun to turn into the FAS' Favour. An Aerial Strike from the Aircraft Carrier, ASN Eastview, managed to knock out the Union Aircraft Carrier , The PNS Yasutake.

The Attack forced the crew of the Yasutake to scuttle the ship meaning only 5 Aircraft Carriers were left operational at Hawaii. The PNS Tadasu outside of the Union Landing Zone had to move back into the waters around Pearl Harbour and could no longer support the attacks on Wheeler Field. The Union no longer had air support. This was a minor morale boost to the defenders inside Wheeler AFB who could not use any of their outdated fighter planes due to the proximity of The Union Forces.

### Third Day - 14th of August 1952

The Third Day saw some of the most brutal fighting. The Full roughly 8,000 Force attacked on all sides. The FAS Forces had to retreat back into the Airbase and even lost control of the North Eastern Section of the Runway. The FAS also took heavy losses during the 14th and were whittled down to less than 600 men. The Union took large losses as well, loosing another 2 Tanks, 6 more IFVs and 500 Soldiers. However, The Union now controlled all of the area surrounding the AFB and all that was left was to destroy the defenders inside the Military Base. During the Evening, a Second Attack was launched. The Union tried to steamroll over the tired and increasingly outnumbered FAS Defenders. But, they held the line and refused to give an inch of ground. The Atlantean effort also came with a heavy cost of life with 95 Soldiers being killed, mostly American Infantry.

In the Afternoon, a Squad of Irish Soldiers on patrol around the Hangars discovered a dusty tarp covering a vehicle. Upon taking the tarp off, they discovered a M4 Patton Medium Tank which was used from 1941 in the War of Liberation by The USA to 1949 before being decommissioned. The Tank was left in the Hangar after the Hawaiian National Guard acquired it from the FAS Army in 1950. The Squad of Irish Soldiers commandeered the Tank and drove it to the HQ where it was presented to Col. Adams who allowed the Irish Soldiers to keep and use the Tank.

### Fourth Day - 15th of August 1952

In the Morning of the 15th, a large scale attack occurred once again on all fronts. The attack lasted the whole day and the Union even managed to breach the AFB and fighting broke out on the streets of the airbase and on the Runway. The Atlanteans suffered a majority of their overall losses in this final attack and by the evening, only 134 Soldiers remained standing and the HQ was under threat being only defended by the remaining Irish Soldiers and the Tanks.

However, news reached Col. Adams that the Battle of Pearl Harbour had ended and the Union Navy had to retreat. Pearl Harbour also informed Adams that General Henry Wells and a contingent of Australian and New Zealand Soldiers from Hickham Air Force Base were now on their way to Wheeler. After this news, the Union launched their final attacks on the small HQ District The FAS Soldiers still held.

At 1154 pm, The 3,000 Strong Australian and New Zealand Force arrived from Hickham. By now only 52 Defenders were left and ammunition was running low, the next attack was expected to be a brutal, hand to hand, last stand.

### Fifth Day - 16th August 1952

At 0102 am ,Gen. Wells' Force hit the Southern Front and the defenders at Wheeler charged out from their positions and engaged the Union Forces. The Union Force was destroyed in the engagement. By 0300 am, The Frontline was split North and South with Wheeler field being entirely under FAS Control. With over 3000 Dead Asian Soldiers, General Shichiro ordered the retreat of the remaining Union Forces under General Lai Hong to the Landing Zone for Evacuation. At 0415 am after an hour of heavy fighting and Union retreat, Shichiro and 50 of his finest men launched a suicidal charge into the Atlantean advance.

Shichiro and his men fought bravely and cut down many Australian Soldiers with their Japanese Samurai Swords. Many Australians who were there gained the respect of Shichiro and his determination to fight a losing battle. He and his 50 men died after 30 minutes of fighting and stalling the Atlantean Advance on the final soldiers of the Union Landing Force. Shichiro and his men died surrounded by 67 dead and 34 wounded Australian Soldiers.

At 0515 am , The Union Army had fully evacuated from O'ahu, suffering over 5,000 Casualties in The Battle of Wheeler Field and a further 10,000 in The Battle of Pearl Harbour.

## Aftermath

Despite the 93% Casualty Rate suffered by the FAS Defenders, they prevailed against all odds and achieved their mission. The Last Stand was a tactical victory and Pearl Harbour was saved by the Stand of the 700. Had Wheeler Field been defeated, The 10,000 strong Union Force would have easily overwhelmed Pearl Harbour and Hawaii would have fallen. Colonel Adams was promoted to a Major General for his actions in defending Wheeler Field and the remaining 51 men were given medals of valour.

For The Union, The Battle was a humiliating defeat. A Force of 700 encircled Soldiers managed to defeat a force numbering 100 Union Soldiers to every 7 FAS soldiers. Over 5,000 Soldiers from the Union were killed and they lost a very competent General in the Final Minutes of the Battle. The Union's Summer Offensive was stopped dead in it's tracks. After a series of losses and defeats suffered at the hands of The Union, The Battle of Wheeler Field was a great moral boost and also showed The Union that the War was far from over.