Iron Cross

"The 8th Air Force suffered heavy losses. General LeMay was killed in action. The surviving officers and soldiers have returned to the country. The main commanding officers are under investigation to determine whether there were errors in command or intelligence leaks..." Nimitz smiled bitterly, "The Germans treated those killed in action The lists of officers and soldiers were read out one by one on the radio. In the past two days, the list of those killed in the African campaign was also read out. The total number is in the thousands, and the number of prisoners is even greater, maybe more than 30,000. This does not include the British... The domestic atmosphere is very The people are depressed. The president has been questioned by Congress twice in a row about the failure of the war, and the pressure is very great."

Everyone sighed but were helpless.

Although the Pacific Theater is currently the best-performing theater. Not only has it emerged from the shadow of the defeat in the South Pacific naval battle, but it has also regained a lot of lost ground. The self-confidence and combat capabilities of the troops' officers and soldiers have also been significantly enhanced. However, the overall situation is crumbling day by day. Everyone is worried about the situation. Now that the combined fleet has returned in large numbers, coupled with the failures in other battlefields, it feels even more heavy pressure is coming.

"Washington places its hopes of winning the war in the Pacific?"

Nimitz nodded: Although Washington did not say it clearly, General Kim's attitude said everything.

"So we are asked to help defend India?" MacArthur raised his brows, seeming a little displeased.

"That's not true. That is the British's own business and is beyond our reach. The Admiralty hopes that we can destroy the Japanese transport fleet and, if possible, fight a small-scale battle to weaken the enemy's spirit. My thoughts may be more positive. If the Japanese army really launches a large-scale attack on India, will they use this opportunity to attack other islands or cut off their supply lines, and use operations on other battlefields to contain the Japanese army’s actions?”

As soon as he heard that he didn't have to go to India to fight the Japanese, MacArthur's face suddenly looked much better. He asked Halsey: "Can the fleet intercept the enemy's transport fleet?"

"It depends on the situation. If it is the main escort of the combined fleet, it will be more difficult with our current strength. But if there are only ordinary warships to escort, we can still get results by taking a surprise attack."

Nimitz agreed: "Washington also means the same thing. We hope that we can put enough pressure on Japan but not easily find a war with the Japanese army. If the Japanese army really attacks India, it will be a protracted war. We can Wait until the enemy is exhausted before moving out."

"There are only two ways back to Japan from the Indian Ocean: one is through the Strait of Malacca, and the other is not." Halsey stood up and drew on the map, "I think Japan will definitely choose to go through the Strait of Malacca, which is not only a short distance , and it is relatively safe, and other roads are under the threat of our army. After crossing the Strait of Malacca and leaving Singapore, we enter the South China Sea surrounded by Malaya, Borneo, Philippines, and Indochina, and then go north along the coastline of mainland China through the Taiwan Strait. Being able to go all the way to Japan - this section of the road is relatively advantageous to the Japanese army. Not only can it be covered by land-based aircraft, but the distance is not far. "

“There are many difficulties in attacking on this section of the road. There are only three opportunities to carry out the mission of breaking diplomatic relations: one is in the Java Sea just out of the Strait of Malacca, one is in the Sulu Sea in the middle part of the South China Sea, and the other is in the South China Sea. The exit is not easy to attack anywhere." Halsey scratched his head at this. "The fleet is easily exposed when the enemy is looking around."

Nimitz also frowned a little. After looking at the map carefully, he said: "Indeed, this is equivalent to going deep into the enemy's core control area. Exposing any link will cause adverse situations, or should we send a submarine to break up the relationship?"

Halsey shook his head: "In recent times, the enemy has improved its anti-subconscious and capabilities. The combat effectiveness of submarines has not been high. Relying on aircraft to lay mines in Malacca is also very unreliable. It has almost never been successful..."

"So there is nothing we can do?" MacArthur was a little anxious. "I don't want the tanks that the Japanese devils begged from the Germans to become killers against army boys."

"Can we ambush near Aceh in the Dutch East Indies and hit the enemy before they enter the Strait of Malacca?" Major General Sutherland made a suggestion.

Nimitz's eyes lit up: This is an idea. The sea area there is wide, and you can escape immediately after a successful attack. However, he quickly thought of a key question: "Is there enough time? Where is the Japanese fleet's current position?"

"Notice from the British side: Appeared in the Maldives around the 19th, but there is no follow-up news..."

"If the enemy fleet goes together with the transport fleet, the speed will not be less than 200 nautical miles per day." Halsey shook his head, "If they go back now, it will take up to a week to turn into the Strait of Malacca. Our fleet will move at the highest speed It will take 10 days to reach there at high speed - it is extremely easy to miss, unless we can determine that the enemy is still staying in the Maldives, but this seems unlikely. "

"So what do you think?"

"Attack in other directions, such as New Britain Island." Halsey suggested. "Currently, New Guinea, Bougainville, Munda and other surrounding islands are all under the control of our army, forming a semi-arc encirclement of New Britain Island. The remaining Japanese troops are all huddled on New Britain Island. If we can successfully land, it will not only be possible to annihilate these Japanese troops, but also capture Rabaul in the north of the island, which is a very important Japanese naval base. "

"New Britain and Rabaul are very valuable targets, but..." MacArthur's voice was much lower. "There are a lot of Japanese troops on the island, maybe 80,000 to 100,000. We need at least 5 to 6 divisions to attack. This requires high logistical support and firepower support. If we can't take them down all at once and it becomes a stalemate, the follow-up situation will be very troublesome - after all, after the Panama Canal was interrupted, our supply also encountered many problems."

Although his meaning was very tactful, it was very clear: New Britain was not an easy bone to chew.

This is not okay, that is not okay, everyone in the conference room became anxious, there is no fool who can become a general, they know very well what it means to win a battle in the current state: not only can it ease the political pressure of the president and superiors, pave the way for future promotion and reuse, but it can also become a bright spot when the global allies are in a downturn, allowing Washington to increase its support to the Pacific direction - many people believe that the reason why the Pacific battlefield has not been opened up for a long time is due to the policy of "Europe first, Asia later". Although they dare not expect to reverse this policy immediately, at least it can greatly enhance the importance of the Pacific theater.

"Do you have any good ideas?" Nimitz asked Major General Holland Smith, the commander of the 5th Amphibious Army, who did not speak much but kept staring at the map - this is the reinforcement force that was just allocated to the Pacific theater some time ago.

"I want to fight here." Holland-Smith pointed to the Gilbert Islands on the map. "From the location point of view, this is the only way from the Marshall Islands to the Australia-New Zealand line. If we can occupy this place, we can not only build a frontier defense line between the Solomon Islands and Australia and New Zealand, but also threaten the Marshall Islands and Truk Anchorage."

The islands in the Gilbert Islands are relatively small, but Tarawa is relatively large. It looks like a water bird and consists of a series of islands and reefs. There is a lagoon in the middle. The east and south sides are about 33 kilometers and 22 kilometers long respectively. The west side is a continuous reef with a deep waterway leading to the lagoon in the middle. The real land part is the largest island reef of Tarawa-Bito Island, but the whole island is only 3,700 meters long and about 500 meters wide, with a total area of ​​1 square kilometer. The island is the defense core of the Japanese army in the Gilbert Islands and has the only bomber airport.

"The Japanese army has strengthened its defenses to a certain extent. Although there is no accurate information, I think the number of defenders is estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000."

Attack Tarawa? Everyone's eyes lit up and they quickly started to discuss: Obviously, compared with New Britain Island, Tarawa is not so difficult to attack. The location and strategic value of the island are also very important. Once the island is captured, the entire Gilbert Islands will fall into the hands of the US military. The key is that attacking such a small target just fits Washington's contradictory psychology of "winning but not taking risks", which is simply perfect.

Halsey immediately agreed: "The fleet is still strong now, and with the addition of army troops, I agree to fight a medium-sized battle here and completely control the islands."

Kenny measured the distance between the Marshall Islands and Tarawa and found that it was nearly 800 kilometers, which means that after the battle starts, air support from the Marshall direction can be basically ruled out. If the Japanese airport can be paralyzed in the first time, Tarawa will be completely defenseless against aircraft carriers.

Major General Sutherland believed that the estimate of 3,000-5,000 defenders on Tarawa should be reliable. After all, it was just an island with an area of ​​just over 1 square kilometer, and the Japanese army could not accommodate more troops. His only hope was to act quickly. Now the main force of the Combined Fleet was in a hurry to return to the mainland. It would take at least 50 days to go back and forth, and the entire battle must be resolved within 50 days.

Nimitz and MacArthur studied the map carefully, then looked at each other and nodded tacitly. The opinions of several bigwigs were highly consistent, and the decision to attack Tarawa was immediately passed.

Nimitz named this battle "Electric Shock" and prepared to mobilize the main force of the Pacific Fleet and the two Marine Divisions of the 5th Amphibious Army as the core to quickly eat up the island in the posture of a lion fighting a rabbit. Even if the Japanese aircraft carrier formation arrived later, it would only be empty. If Japan did not send the main fleet, it would try to eat up this fleet as well.

Considering that this campaign was mainly based on fleets and amphibious landing forces, and that the two war zones overlapped, MacArthur nominated Nimitz as the supreme commander of the campaign, and agreed to mobilize all necessary resources in his war zone, and promised to defend the line between New Guinea and Bougainville Island during the attack to avoid the worries of the attacking forces.

"Since everyone is highly consistent, we will immediately form a reliable combat plan and report it to Washington." Nimitz said, "I want to give a big welcome gift to Hori Teikichi who has returned!"