As expected, the Transit Island soon turned into a battlefield of blood and fire.

Although the Imperial Navy was well prepared, and the artillery preparation before the landing lasted for 4 hours, and it was almost a plough of the transit island with shells, but the transit island was too small, not to mention the use of its strengths, and even after landing on the shore, it was very difficult.

The soldiers of the Imperial Marines, the Nuland soldiers on the transit island, all crowded on the narrow beach.

After entering the stage of attacking fortified positions on the ground, a lot of support firepower, including large-caliber naval guns, was simply useless.

It must be admitted that the Nuland army was much more prepared.

In any case, Transit Island is the westernmost island of the Khowaii Islands, and it is also the forward base that must be captured for the attack and occupation of the Khowaii Islands.

Long before entering the war, the Nuland army set out to strengthen the defense of the transit island.

More than two years was enough time for the Nuland army to build the Transit Island into a strong fortress.

Of course, the fact that transit islands are valued has a lot to do with the rise of the air force, and it can even be said that the value of transit islands is reflected in aviation operations.

Because there was no water source, the transit island was always just a desert island before the birth of the aircraft carrier.

The first use of the transit island was the construction of a seaplane pier to serve as a transit point for the trans-Guia postal route.

However, it was not until 95 years after the new calendar, with the opening of transoceanic passenger routes, that the value of the transit island was reflected.

Shortly after landing on Transit Island, the third day to be exact, the Imperial Marines were presented with the masterpieces of the Nuland Army.

On July 11, at the terrible cost of more than 100 casualties, the Marines laid a bunker, an underground fortification, to be precise.

After that, it turned out that this was only part of a whole set of underground fortifications!

The point is that all the tunnels and caverns are buried deep underground, at least fifteen meters above the surface, and are accessed up and down through vertical shafts.

In important areas, such as ammunition depots, fuel storage points and cantonment shelters, the tops are reinforced with several meters of reinforced concrete, which can withstand direct bombardment from 400 mm shells or 500 kg aerial bombs. Because the surface of the ground is sandy, it can quickly fill in the crater.

This bunker can hold about a battalion of troops.

If it weren't for the accidental blowing up of the main tunnel to the rear, isolating the bunker, the Marines would not have been able to occupy the bunker at all.

Obviously, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

In fact, this also explains the question of why the Nuland Navy did not send a fleet over.

In the face of a strong underground defense system, almost all the firepower superiority of the Imperial Navy has become a decoration, and the only way to send marines to attack the island is to attack.

No matter how powerful the Imperial fleet was, it didn't play much of a role.

This means that there will definitely be a huge price to pay, and it will take a lot of time to build the transit island!

Early in the morning of 12 July, after consulting with the commanders of the fleet such as the Guards and several commanders of the Marine Corps, Bai Zhizhan sent a telegram to the Navy Command, proposing to make adjustments to the battle plan, not only to extend the combat time, but also to put the reserve in advance.

However, the key is to expand the size of the landing site and set up temporary anchorages.

According to the intention of the White Stop War, the Navy must send auxiliary ships as soon as possible to provide more effective support to the Marine Corps and reduce the combat burden of the front-line troops.

The most important thing to say is the hospital ship.

After a few days of fighting, the hospital on the landing ship was already overcrowded, and some of the wounded had to be transferred to the battleships of the task force for medical treatment.

In a few days, the task force's medical capabilities will soon reach their limits.

Fortunately, the Imperial Navy has more than a dozen specialized medical ships, six of which are in the support fleet.

Of course, it is also necessary to send supply ships over as soon as possible to provide more heavy weapons and ammunition for the landing force and reduce the pressure on the support fleet.

Either way, the battle on the Transit Island was extremely tough.

To say, the Nuland Navy did not come to cause trouble.

It was probably because the defenders of the transit island behaved very bravely, so in the past few days, the Nuland navy only used patrol planes to deliver supplies to the transit island at night, bringing a glimmer of hope to the officers and men guarding the transit island, and by the way, transporting the seriously wounded when they returned.

The main threat, contrary to the Nuland Army Air Corps.

Because the previous bombing operations against the task force had all ended in failure, and the losses were very heavy, hundreds of heavy bombers were shot down, and thousands of crew members were killed, so after entering the stage of landing operations, the Nuland Army Air Force adjusted its tactics and no longer went to trouble the task force, but focused on the landing fleet and the landing force, and also set the bombing time at night.

For several nights in a row, the landing site was visited by the Nuland bomber group.

To say, the threat is not very big either.

Because of the cover provided by the support fleet, the fact that the cruisers had radars capable of performing air defense missions at night, and the fact that the landing marines had enough searchlights on the beaches, the Nuland bomber group entered from high altitudes and dropped bombs at high altitudes.

However, the threat remains one that cannot be underestimated.

As a result, the Marines had to evacuate the transport ships assembled at the landing site at night, allowing the landing force to stay in bunkers as much as possible.

According to the arrangement, the supply of heavy equipment and ammunition was carried out at night!

Since there was no way to replenish supplies at night, they could only be scheduled for the next morning, which greatly reduced the attack time during the day.

Of course, the efficiency of replenishment operations has also been greatly reduced.

Heavy equipment and combat materiel could not be brought ashore, and the Marines had to control the pace of advance to avoid excessive attrition.

It should be said that this is also the most serious problem faced by the Marine Corps after the landing.

At all times, the front commander must keep an eye on the ammunition in his hand and make sure that he gets a replenishment before dark.

If there is not enough ammunition prepared, then in the night battles it will be difficult to withstand the counterattack of the Nuland army.

After dark, using the cover of night to launch a counterattack was the main way for the defenders to fight.

They hide in underground bunkers during the day and only come out at night.

Unlike on the island side, the defenders of the Transit Island rarely launched counterattacks without a clear purpose, and the operation was much more organized.

In many cases, the energy of the landing force is consumed by firing cold guns and air guns.

In the words of the officers and men on the front line, this kind of fear at any time and not being able to live in peace for a moment is simply mental torture.

In fact, this is also the reason why Bai Zhizhan asked for the reserves to come up as soon as possible.

Difficulties do exist, but there are ways to overcome them.

While making a request to the command of the Navy, Bai Zhizhan also mentioned that it would not deviate much if it was possible to capture the transit island according to the plan.

Only now has one marine division been used, the reserve is also a marine division, and two more marine divisions have completed combat mobilization.

It's a big deal to pull all the marines up!

The storming of the transit island continued until 17 July.

On this morning, Bai Zhizhan went to the officers' canteen for breakfast as usual, and then went to the commander's bridge to replace Li Mingbo, who was on duty at night.

As a result, without waiting for him to eat breakfast, the communications staff officer hurried over.

A telegram that had just been received, and it was Bai Zhizhan that Li Mingbo asked the communications staff officer to come to.