More than an hour later, the US military finally retreated under the cover of artillery fire.

Only more than 700 American soldiers responsible for this attack were able to return, and most of them were carrying injuries of varying degrees. The final statistics of the casualties of this battle were as high as 70%, which was higher than the casualties of 50% in the Battle of Tarava. What made the US military even more angry was that they had to leave some of the wounded when they retreated.

Needless to say, what the result of these wounded people is, they are either killed by the Japanese or captured by the Japanese. The former is better, at least not much pain, if they are captured by the Japanese, they will die after being tortured. The Americans knew this in the previous war. When they conquered the Japanese underground fortifications, they found that they were captured by the Japanese who were tortured by the Japanese without regard for human form. Even so, the Japanese ended their lives at the last moment.

"So" Zhang Chi asked.

Zhang Chi asked if this was to let the Chinese troops go, and the Chinese team was used to taking over the hot potato.

"Commodore Johnson feels that the 3rd US Army Division still has a chance!" Halsey replied: "He plans to launch another attack tomorrow morning!"

Since Halsey said that, Zhang Chi would not answer. If the Americans could solve the problem, Zhang Chi would be happy to be idle. After all, war will kill people, so Zhang Chi was unwilling to show off.

What Halsey didn't tell Zhang Chi was that Johnson attributed the failure of this attack to the mistakes in the plan, that is, as he said, he should not attack from the lagoon direction, but from the sea direction.

Halsey was a little dissatisfied with this: "I must remind you, Brigadier General! The Chinese troops and the 7th Infantry Division also attacked from the lagoon direction, and their attack went very smoothly!"

"What you said is indeed true, General!" Johnson replied: "But the situation of Kwajalin Atoll is different from the other two atolls. Look at the topography of Kwajalin Atoll."

As he said that, Johnson pointed to the map and said, "This Kwajalin Island has a half-moon concave shape towards the lagoon, which makes it naturally encircle the lagoon. Moreover, the elite Japanese troops stationed at Kwajalin Island, and we cannot regard it as equal to the other two atolls!"

Although Halsey did not agree with Johnson's words, because at this time he was already suspected of being unfavorable to the attack on Kwajalin Atoll, it was very likely that the Japanese were prepared because they missed the offensive opportunity.

But this is at least unproven for now, so Halsey cannot use it to accuse Johnson.

Halsey really wanted to hand over the task of attacking Kwajalin Island to the China Team, but at the same time he also knew that even if political factors were put aside, he should not rely too much on the China Team in military terms, because this may affect the morale of the US military. The US soldiers would think that anyway, the brave and invincible China Team was playing the vanguard in the front, so it doesn't matter whether the US military can fight.

Therefore, Halsey believes that the US military should also be allowed to exercise.

So Halsey asked Johnson: "So Brigadier General, how do you think you should fight this battle?"

"It's obvious!" Johnson said: "We should attack from the front because the front is a half-moon protruding side. Attacking from the front means we form a natural encirclement against the Japanese, but because the front line is longer, we need more amphibious landing vehicles."

As he said that, Johnson turned his attention to Halsey.

Halsey nodded: "I can meet your requirements. In fact, in order to ensure victory in the battle, we have done the work of recruiting amphibious landing vehicles before this, and a hundred amphibious landing vehicles will arrive tonight!"

"Great!" Johnson replied: "Then we have nearly two hundred landing vehicles, tank landing ships and infantry landing gunboats can also come in handy at that time, and with the Higgins ship that can still function before the tide is low, I believe we will easily destroy the Japanese defense!"

Johnson's offensive plan can be said to be uninnovative, this is just the traditional tactics of the US military, using shells and equipment to pile them up.

If there are any advantages of this plan, as Johnson said, attacking from the front can surround the Japanese army and can better leverage the US firepower advantages. At this time, the US military also invested in tank landing ships and infantry landing gunboats.

Especially the tank landing ship, this thing can load a "Sheerman" tank in one breath. In order to meet the needs of landing, it is equipped with a ballast water tank system, which adjusts the draft depth by injecting and drainage to meet the different draft needs of long-distance voyage and landing. When landing, the draft at the front is 1.2 meters, and the draft at the rear is 3 meters, and the draft at the front is only 2 meters.

So it is conceivable that by then these tank landing ships can be loaded with batches of "Sheerman" tanks to land. Of course, since the draught in the rear requires about meter, the landing should be carried out as much as possible before the tide recedes.

But then again, even if the sea water recedes, the tank landing ship will be stranded. You should know that the front draft is . The Sherman tank only needs to be equipped with a drainage device to wade in.

So Halsey thought about it and felt that Johnson's plan might work.

After all, the "Sheerman" tank can be regarded as a giant for the Japanese army. At this time, the 3rd US Marine Warfare Division had three tank landing ships, and then transferred two of the two assigned to the Chinese team and the 7th Infantry Division, so there were 7 tank landing ships in the direction of Kwajalin.

This means that the US military can transport more than 100 "Sheerman" tanks at one time to launch an attack on the Japanese. It is conceivable that no matter how strong the Japanese are, their fortifications will be ruthlessly crushed under the tracks by these tanks.

Halsey's idea is right. If this battle is fought like this, the Japanese army will not be able to withstand the attack of the US. After all, the "Sheerman" tank is an invincible existence for the Japanese army. The Japanese army has no effective equipment to destroy it. Especially the 61st Japanese garrison stationed in front is a rookie who has never fought a war. They cannot rush to the tank with explosives or magnetic anti-tankrei like the elite Japanese troops on the Myanmar battlefield, holding explosives or magnetic anti-tankrei to bomb the tank.

But Halsey missed the point, that is, the Japanese aviation brigade has not been destroyed yet. At this time, they are ready to go on Mili Atoll, and Kwajalin Atoll is an important base that the Japanese must defend, so the Japanese will inevitably invest in the air force in the defensive battle of Kwajalin Atoll.
Chapter completed!