The discussion lasted all night, during which there were two simple wargames.

As a result of the deduction, even Zhou Yongtao had to admit that the risk exceeded the controllable range, and the two task forces might be severely damaged, or even annihilated.

If anything, it was just a matter of risk to veto the proposal to attack Jumbo Harbour.

As a result, the topic pulled back.

Without attacking Jumbo Harbor, how can we occupy the transit island in more than a month?

Discussions come and go, and there really is no way to take a trick.

In Zhou Yongtao's words, if there is really a way to lay down the transit island in more than two months, he has already thought of it when formulating the battle plan.

The only way to speed up progress is to increase the investment of troops.

Do not forget that the Marine Corps mobilized 4 Marine Divisions.

After all, the area of the transit island is less than 1 square kilometer, and there is no way to deploy it if there are too many troops, and not only will it be impossible to bring into play its superiority in troops, but it will also increase the burden of logistical support.

To put it bluntly, the purpose of sending two additional marine divisions is actually to take a step forward and occupy a certain island to the east after capturing the transit island.

That is, a double jump.

The air forces deployed on the two islands supported each other to form a complete line of defense against the Nuland forces on the eastern islands of the archipelago.

Actually, it's part of the overall plan.

If all goes well, especially if the fleet does not suffer heavy losses and the main battleships can continue to fight, they will not give the Nuland army any respite and immediately launch a second round of attacks.

Only by gaining a firm foothold on the transit island can the transit island be built as a springboard for attacking the Khowaii Islands.

According to the staff officer's proposal, the main force of the other two marine divisions was to be sent up, and the number of armored units and artillery was increased.

If possible, open a second landing ground in the southwest of the transit island.

Because the landing was successful, and artillery with large-caliber mortars was also deployed on the beach positions, it was not very difficult to open a second landing site.

If anything, what will really be tested is the logistical support capability.

However, there is no need to worry.

Logistics support is all by sea, and the most important thing that the Imperial Navy now lacks is all kinds of transport ships.

Regarding the staff officer's proposal, that is, to send Jinrui's troops to the war in advance, Bai Zhizhan also personally consulted the opinions of several Marine Corps generals, and received a positive reply.

Here, it has to do with the establishment of the Marine Corps.

Before the war, the size of the Imperial Marine Corps was not large, with a total of only 4 standing divisions and 4 divisions with only headquarters in formation, nominally 8 divisions, but the actual strength was only 150,000, including more than 80,000 civilian personnel in the headquarters and logistics departments.

As a result, at the beginning of the war, the Imperial Marines could only use 70,000 officers and soldiers, plus a group of urgently recruited reservists, to form eight divisions.

It is this, for the first year or so, the Marine Corps adopted a small formation.

It was only after the mobilization was completed, to be precise, that enough recruits were recruited, and the basic training was completed, that the large size was gradually restored.

However, this poses a serious problem.

Almost all of the Marine Divisions, there are not enough veterans.

This problem was very prominent in the battle against the island.

Although a new recruit can grow into a veteran as long as he has been on the battlefield a few times and experienced the test of war, in many cases, the veteran still has irreplaceable value.

Send recruits who have just completed basic training to the bloody battlefield, and the survival rate is frighteningly low.

On the battlefield on the island, the recruits of the Marine Corps suffered enough.

If anything, the casualty rate of the attack on the island was so high, and the total number of casualties exceeded that of the Nuland army, which had a lot to do with the fact that there were too many new soldiers.

In addition, the Marine Corps has a priority in acquiring heavy equipment after the Army.

Not to mention the past, even now, the armored weapons such as tanks and combat vehicles of the Marine Corps are almost all second-hand goods obtained from the army!

The Marine Corps is subordinate to the Navy, and the priority of acquiring equipment is definitely behind the fleet and aviation.

If it weren't for the outbreak of the Great War and the intervention of the first assistant, the Marine Corps would probably not even be able to use the second-hand equipment that the army had eliminated.

As a result, during the assault on the island, several Marine divisions formed elite units.

On the battlefield, the elite troops are mainly responsible for attacking fortifications, and other units are responsible for sweeping and occupying.

Of course, the elite troops were almost all veterans, equipped with a sufficient number of armored weapons.

According to the answers of several Marine Corps generals, only 2 elite armored regiments need to be sent to speed up the capture of the transit island.

And, of course, with the right tactics.

According to the experience of attacking the island, the most effective weapon against the enemy's underground fortifications was not the tank, but the heavy bulldozer of the engineering troops.

In addition, it is concrete.

If that still doesn't work, use the envoy incendiary that makes the incendiary bomb.

Of course, strength is key.

As long as there are enough troops, everything is easy to say.

With the affirmative reply given by the Marine Corps general, Bai Zhizhan did not delay any longer, and immediately issued an order for the landing fleet to send the elite troops of the other two Marine Divisions up.

In addition, it is necessary to make immediate adjustments to the battle plan.

The first thing that must be determined is whether or not to open a second landing field in the southwest of the transit island.

By this time, it was already noon on the 18th.

It's just that Bai Zhizhan didn't get the opportunity to go back and rest.

While he was making arrangements, the communications staff officer sent a piece of information that had just been received.

From the Sixth Bureau, forwarded by the Navy Command, the content is very simple, and there is only one sentence in total.

The "Endeavour" left the Navy Shipyard in New City in the early morning of the 17th local time, and the "Leke" is expected to leave port in the near future.

Those 2 fleet aircraft carriers have already been repaired!?

Where did Bai Zhizhan dare to delay, immediately ask the communications staff officer to send a report to the naval command.

As a result, it was not until about 3 p.m. that the payback was received.

For the time being, the Sixth Bureau can only confirm that the "Endeavour" has left the port, and the "Leke" has also started a fire and is making equipment for leaving the port, but has not obtained any information related to the maintenance of the two aircraft carriers.

Of course, the fact that 2 aircraft carriers were able to leave port indicates that the ability to sail has been restored.

If anything, the rest of the damage can be repaired during the voyage.

It's really not good, and you can continue to repair it when you get to Treasure Harbor.

If only aviation operations are considered, then it is enough to be able to sail, the flight deck and hangar are intact, and the lifts are able to operate normally.

Strictly speaking, an aircraft carrier is just a platform for carrying and operating carrier-based aircraft, and can be regarded as a large transport ship capable of allowing carrier-based aircraft to take off and land.

Compared with battleships, aircraft carriers did not look like battleships at all at the beginning of their birth.

Don't forget, the Imperial Navy sent the "Yokoe" to participate in the battle to encircle and annihilate the permanent fleet, and thus created a miracle that was not too small.

With the current situation, it is not impossible for the Nuland Navy to let 2 fleet aircraft carriers return ahead of schedule.

In the evening, the command of the Navy sent a definite message.

The "Leke" also left the port of New City, more than ten hours earlier than expected.

In addition, theoretically, these two fleet aircraft carriers can theoretically arrive at Zhenbao Harbor in early August and participate in combat operations on the transit island in early August.

Now, no one wants to sleep.