Chapter 587 Tiger of South Asia (6)

At dawn, the hazy moonlight appeared and disappeared in the clouds. On the sea, the main fleet of the Combined Fleet was arranged in a 60-nautical-mile-long column and sailed southeastward. It was majestic and magnificent, and every move was the demeanor of the Pacific hegemon.

"Sir, the Tarawa garrison sent a battle report. Today they used the special attack team to severely damage the North Carolina, but the enemy successfully landed on the beach, and the entire warship became a fixed firepower point."

"A battleship was destroyed on the first day? Sakura is amazing!" Kondo Nobutake said happily, "It's actually the North Carolina-class. There are only two battleships of this level in the US Navy, right?"

"There are two in total, and we also destroyed the Washington."

"Beach landing, the Americans learned from us quite quickly..."

A bunch of people talked and were excited, only Hori Teikichi had a calm face and said with a slightly regretful tone: "This way, the enemy's firepower has been strengthened, and I'm afraid the defenders can hold on for a shorter time."

"This..." Everyone was silent. They also remembered that when Mutsu forced a collision and ran aground, it killed and wounded the Panamanian garrison with the firepower of naval guns. Although the loss was heartbreaking, the effect was really great. Now it's the Americans' turn to practice this.

"The defenders fought well. Major General Shibasaki deliberately put the enemy on the beach, creating a melee and a tug-of-war between the enemy and us to avoid continuous attacks by large-caliber naval guns. At least 1,500 enemy casualties were caused today, and our casualties were close to 500."

"How many people are there on the island in total?"

"Including Korean laborers, less than 5,000."

"Can it still hold out for 9 days?" A staff officer subconsciously replied, but then thought it was wrong. According to this casualty ratio, the defenders may not be able to hold out for 9 days - the speed of collapse will only get faster and faster.

"Call them back and try to maintain the manpower as much as possible and persist in long-term combat." Hori Teikichi sighed, "It will take a month for the reinforcements to arrive..."

Kusaka Ren nodded and executed the order.

No one thought that Hori Teikichi was deceiving the defenders. From the overall situation, it was a very clever strategy to let the Marines hold back the enemy and the main fleet cut off the supply line, which was much better than rushing over to fight. No one thought that the sacrifice of these thousands of Marines was not worth it. When the Combined Fleet was fighting in Europe, the army defending the islands died in batches, all for the overall situation.

If there was no such overall view, the navy would not have to ask small warships to cover the main battleships and soldiers to cover the officers. After all, everyone has the same life and no one owes anyone anything.

What they didn't know was that Nimitz was also stunned when he received the report of his own casualties. On the first day, strictly speaking, the first half day, the US military not only lost a 40,000-ton battleship, but also suffered 2,000 casualties. He discussed with Holland, Halsey and others for a long time and believed that it was necessary to adjust the fighting style and give full play to the firepower advantage.

The daybreak in Tarawa was earlier than in the Indian Ocean. In the dawn, the guns of the stranded USS North Carolina opened fire first. After a night of hard work, the damage control team finally blocked the huge hole in the battleship and used a water pump to discharge nearly 4,000 tons of seawater. However, due to the low tide, the warship could not retreat, but became more seriously stranded, and there seemed to be a big problem with the outer bottom of the ship. In a word, this ship is destined to stay here.

The only good news is that the other facilities of the ship are operating normally, and most of the dual-purpose guns and the remaining main guns can be used. Nimitz requires more reliable and accurate fire suppression to cover more infantry landings and advances.

According to this order and Holland's request, the battleship formation continued to bombard the Japanese firepower points determined and indicated by the infantry. The ships were shaking under the recoil, spewing orange and scarlet smoke, pouring 4-caliber shells onto Betio Island, and blasting smoke again.

The bombardment started with sporadic and intermittent sounds, and in an instant the roars became one. If you look down from the vast sky at this time, you will find a long road of red light from the muzzle to the island. The sky above Betio Island was shrouded in smoke and clouds, the flashes of the shells exploding rose and fell, and the sand columns that soared into the sky erupted one after another, like water columns stirred up during a naval battle.

Suddenly, a shell hit the Japanese ammunition depot buried underground. The huge kinetic energy penetrated the coconut wood, steel plates and concrete covering it, causing a huge explosion that shook the earth. After a while, a mushroom cloud at least 300 meters high was formed - a quarter of the defenders' ammunition was set off in an instant.

At 9 o'clock in the morning, Colonel Connally arrived at the pier. Now most of the officers in the landing force were either dead or injured, and the situation was extremely chaotic. The regiment commander himself could only command the entire regiment in the front, and the two battalions of the 7th Regiment that were reinforced were also assigned to the vanguard to cooperate in the battle. He stood in waist-deep water and used a radio station carried by a sergeant to do his best to communicate.

Connally was not an unknown person. He was a senior Marine officer who had received rigorous training and was experienced. He was originally a colonel staff officer of the 5th Amphibious Corps Command. He personally participated in the formulation of the entire plan for the Battle of Tarawa and was relatively familiar with the terrain and enemy situation on the island. Because he understood the whole situation, Holland gave him the command of the 3rd Marine Regiment, which was responsible for the first attack.

Unfortunately, according to the plan, he had to take command after the troops controlled the beach, so the landing batches were ranked in the 4th and 5th batches. Unexpectedly, the first three batches went up in chaos, and the North Carolina's heavy damage and beaching were even more severe. Exacerbating the chaos, he could only take command in advance, but the fighting was too fierce at the beginning of the landing. The TBX short-range walkie-talkies and TBY mid-range radios equipped by the US military generally failed after being soaked in water, and almost all communication troops were injured. His communication with the beachhead was intermittent, and his communication with the battleship group behind was completely blocked. In the end, the battalion commanders contacted the fleet directly. Due to the confusion and conflicting signals reported to each other, the battleship group did not dare to fire with its main guns during the melee, and could only rely on the 127mm firepower of the destroyers to suppress it - and this could not help the Japanese army.

When he went to the island the next day, Connery not only had a communication team of four people, but also directly established contact with the battleship gun group. Under the on-site coordination of front-line artillery observers, the US artillery fire became more and more precise, and the Japanese firepower was more accurate. Defenses were constantly being destroyed.

After a morning of fierce fighting, the number of U.S. troops ashore reached more than 1,600, and there were more than 30 tanks. The trestle is also controlled by the US military, which can facilitate landing craft to transport materials and supplies up, and then send injured officers and soldiers down. The situation seems to be improving little by little.

The Marines who regained their confidence plucked up the courage and began to attack the Japanese firepower points one by one in company and platoon units. With the cooperation of tanks, they successively captured some bunkers and air-raid shelters. However, the Japanese army's bunkers along the coast were densely packed and supported each other, and the US military had to pay a high price every time it captured a location. In just one morning, the four battleships fired more than 2,000 main gun shells, and there were countless 127mm shells.

Colonel Connally set up his headquarters in a large air-raid shelter, which was divided into many maze-like cells. There were still Japanese troops in the cave, and shouts could be heard from time to time. Being so daring, he had no time to send all the troops to clear out the enemy troops, so he had to set up half a platoon of guards at the door. Since the battalion commander who occupied the Red Beach was killed in the battle, the few soldiers were at a loss what to do. Connery believed that B Company, where the loud-voiced Curt belonged, fought the best on the first day, so he asked him to act as battalion commander on the front line.

Company B temporarily formed a reinforced company and crossed the second seawall and advanced more than 200 meters into the island - this was the company that advanced the fastest. Even so, the company's casualties reached more than 40 people. In addition to the battle losses on the first day, the company quickly returned to the prototype of a standard company from a reinforced company.

The US military's advance speed on the second day was slightly better than that on the first day, and the casualties were also smaller. The landing site had been expanded to three times that of the first day. The soldiers who landed later did not need to be suppressed on the beach like the previous five groups of comrades. After paying the price of nearly 3,000 casualties and more than 300 tanks, tracked vehicles, and landing ships, the 3rd Marine Division finally gained a foothold on the three beaches where it was scheduled to land, but it was still very early for them to completely clear out the area. .

Several senior generals looked sad after reading the battle report and did not dare to take it lightly.

Holander's voice was hoarse: "Our army suffered heavy losses. The 3rd regiment that attacked first lost nearly 40% of its soldiers and half of its officers, and its combat effectiveness was weakened to the point where it was unsustainable; the 7th regiment received 2 reinforcements on the first day. Battalion, the losses of these two battalions reached a quarter today. In the evening, I sent the remaining 1 battalion of the 3rd Regiment and the 3rd battalion of the 7th Regiment. Even so, the strength was still insufficient; Division Commander Brigadier General Devin is ready to take command tomorrow, and he requested that the 13th Regiment and the engineer battalion directly under the division be sent up as well..."

"Can we rely on these troops to complete the task of occupying the entire island tomorrow?"

Holland shook his head: "I really want to say yes, but the fact is no."

Halsey sighed and handed him the fleet report: "More than half of the battleship's main battery shells have been consumed, and the 127mm shells have been replenished twice. We can last for up to 2 days with such high-intensity firepower as today. If the 4th If you can't take it down yet, you can't expect such a fierce naval gun attack to support you from the fifth day."

Nimitz added: "This is because the North Carolina and the Indiana each have a problem with a naval gun, and the ammunition is saved for other main guns. Otherwise, it will not be able to sustain it for even 4 days. The Marine Corps must find a way out." ”

"I strive to end all battles within five days." Now Holland dare not say the heroic words of clearing out the enemy forces in three days.

Nimitz did not force him, but said patiently: "Give yourself some room. I will give you 7 days, but the casualties must be reduced. I don't want to see the 3rd Marine Division lose its combat effectiveness after this battle."

"Yes, sir!" Holland glanced at him gratefully, feeling slightly more relaxed.