Tan Renhao sent the results of the analysis and the solutions he thought of to Gan Yongxing, and as in the past, he completed the tasks assigned by Gan Yongxing on time, which is why Gan Yongxing likes Tan Renhao's "assistant". According to Gan Yongxing's later statement, if every staff officer in the headquarters could complete the task on time, then he would not need Tan Renhao to help.

"I calculated the capacity of several islands such as Midway provided by General Han Shaofeng, and if we want to hoard all the supplies on the front line, even if we can ensure that the Fifth Fleet cannot get close to these islands, there will not be enough places to store millions of tons of war materials." Tan Renhao's attitude towards work is very serious. "And the only way to reduce the size of the transport fleet and deliver war supplies to the landing force in a timely manner is to hoard war materials at forward bases and shorten the voyage time of the supply fleet."

"In other words, we have to build a few more forward bases, and attacking Wake Island is the only way?"

Tan Renhao nodded. "Yes, taking Wake Island is the only way to go. Relatively speaking, Wake Island is safer, and as long as we closely monitor the activities of the Fifth Fleet, the U.S. military will not be able to threaten Wake Island. Based on the size of Wake Island, we will probably be able to stock up on Wake Island about 1 million tons of war supplies. ”

"But loading and unloading these supplies on Wake Island will definitely be troublesome." Gan Yongxing put down the report in his hand, "The situation is the same on the other islands, only the situation on Midway Island is slightly better, and there is a temporary dock over there." ”

"It is not difficult to build a temporary pier, which is the strong point of the Marine Corps engineers. In addition, we can use transport planes to transfer supplies from Wake Island to Midway. Of course, the capacity of air freight is quite limited. So we can't put too much hope in the airlift, it's just an emergency solution. "Tan Renhao has thought of this question for a long time." The equipment for setting up the temporary dock is stockpiled on the front line, and it will only take a few days for the Marines to build a temporary dock on Wake Island that is large enough for a 10,000-ton ship to dock. ”

"Okay. So how much time does it take to attack Wake Island? ”

"This ......" Tan Renhao was a little embarrassed at this time, "There are at least 40,000 U.S. troops stationed on Wake Island, and there is no indication that Nimitz will withdraw the garrison on Wake Island." In addition, since Task Force 4 bombed Wake Island more than a month ago, the U.S. military has not been harassed. We must first estimate. The U.S. forces on Wake Island have enough combat and subsistence supplies to support them at least until they are annihilated by our Marines. Therefore, be prepared to storm Wake Island. ”

Gan Yongxing smiled and shook his head. "In other words, it's not easy to take down Wake Island?"

"There is no way to do this, at least four marine divisions must be dispatched to go ashore in two batches, maybe the combat force will be up to two divisions, but the casualties will not be small."

"Is it necessary to attack Wake Island because of this?" Gan Yongxing was obviously not very satisfied with the solution proposed by Tan Renhao, "To sacrifice thousands, or even tens of thousands, of Imperial Marine Corps officers and soldiers in exchange for a transportation voyage of 1,000 nautical miles? If the assault on Wake Island doesn't go well. I am afraid that our attack on the Hawaiian Islands will have to be delayed. ”

"There may not be such large casualties, of course, only after the Marines have made a concrete assessment of the attack on Wake Island, there will be a more definite analysis."

"Then, let Han Shaofeng do this work first, and let the Marine Corps come up with a plan."

Tan Renhao did not continue to insist. He also knew that Gan Yongxing would not approve the attack on Wake Island until the Marines came up with a detailed battle plan.

Since the capture of Midway, the importance of Wake Island has diminished dramatically. For the Imperial Navy, Wake Island is basically an isolated island, as long as the Hawaiian Islands can be captured, the American troops on Wake Island will be a dead end, and when the time comes, they may take the initiative to send a surrender telegram. Wait for the Imperial Marines to contain them. So, from 25 years. The Imperial Navy did not have any plans to attack Wake Island, and Liao Hanxiang did not spend too much energy on Wake Island, and everyone believed that the capture of the Hawaiian Islands was the key, and Wake Island had no value.

After talking to Gan Yongxing, Tan Renhao immediately got in touch with Liao Hanxiang and asked Liao Hanxiang to arrange for Han Shaofeng to plan an attack on Wake Island. As a result, Liao Hanxiang did it more thoroughly, and the next day, a rear admiral of the Marine Corps flew back to Zhoushan from Guam to plan combat operations directly with Tan Renhao at the Navy Headquarters. Tan Renhao received the news early the next morning, and he immediately rushed to the airport to meet the major general of the Marine Corps.

The major general who stepped out of the plane was not very tall, but he was very burly, and the oversized Marine Corps was often dressed tightly on him, perhaps with muscles wrapped underneath. This left a deep impression on Tan Renhao, among the several Marine Corps generals that Tan Renhao knew, Yan Guozhong was already old, although it could be seen that he was very strong when he was young, but now he has a general's belly. Han Shaofeng is not strong, but he is quite tall, if it weren't for the fact that he often wears the combat uniform of the Marine Corps and wears him with a pair of glasses, I am afraid that many people will think that Han Shaofeng is a civilian soldier. Yuan Ye's figure is not extraordinarily strong, and he does not have much contact with Tan Renhao. The Marine Corps rear admiral in front of him is the strongest general Tan Renhao has ever seen, and he is very young, and he probably pays attention to physical exercise in normal times, and this is a serious problem for naval fleet generals.

"Long Zhen, Major General of the Marine Corps, you are General Tan Renhao, right?"

Tan Renhao nodded. "Welcome back to the Navy Command, how are you on the way?"

"Yes, at least the plane wasn't shaken apart by the current." Long Zhen laughed cheerfully, "I'm here to assist you in planning the battle against Wake Island. ”

"I know, I just talked to General Liao Hanxiang on the phone in the morning, and I heard that Han Shaofeng is sick?"

"It's not a serious illness, it's just that he caught a cold while bathing in the sea, who told him that he lacked exercise?"

Tan Renhao immediately laughed, and then asked Long Zhen to get into the car. Just a few words. Tan Renhao judged that Long Zhen was a general like Yan Guozhong, and he found out later. Long Zhen was indeed cultivated by Yan Guozhong, just like Han Shaofeng, Yuan Ye and several other Marine Corps generals. was an officer under Yan Guozhong before, and was later promoted to a general because of his merits, and he was on one side of each town. In addition, what made Tan Renhao a little unbelievable was that Long Zhen was only 26 years old. Because his complexion is relatively tanned, he looks at least 35 years old.

Long Zhen is now Han Shaofeng's deputy, although Liao Hanxiang has promoted Han Shaofeng to the commander of the Marine Corps in the theater and let Long Zhen be specifically responsible for the command of the front-line combat troops, but Han Shaofeng rarely returns to Guam, but has always stayed in Midway, and even set up the headquarters of the Marine Corps in Midway, so Long Zhen can only succumb to Han Shaofeng's subordinates and receive the title of nominal front-line commander, but he has to listen to Han Shaofeng's direct command in everything. If it weren't for Han Shaofeng returning to Guam for recuperation due to illness this time. Then Long Zhen will not have a chance to come out. These are all things that Tan Renhao knows from other sources, as well as from Long Zhen's personal file.

"It's not easy to attack Wake Island." Long Zhen sat down very generously, he simply regarded Tan Renhao's office as his own front-line headquarters. "U.S. troops have been stationed on Wake Island for almost a year, and at least millions of square meters of dirt and rock have been dug up just to build fortifications. Although we have not sent a reconnaissance unit up yet, we can be sure. Wake Island was largely hollowed out, and the U.S. military feared that a labyrinth had been built underground. Even with the support of the fleet, it is not easy to quickly take Wake Island, and the casualties are difficult to control. ”

"Didn't we have experience in dealing with Japanese underground fortifications before?" Tan Renhao walked over with two cups of tea. "And it's not the first time that the U.S. military has dug underground fortifications, we just need to occupy the surface position, and then bury the U.S. military in the ground."

"It's easy to say, but it's not that easy to do." Long Zhen took out his cigarette, after making sure that Tan Renhao didn't smoke. And he clicked it. "At least three divisions of combat units need to be committed, and it will take half a month. During this half month, the support of the fleet, especially the artillery support, will certainly not be missing. ”

Tan Renhao nodded, this was a little less than he expected.

"The casualties will be between 2,000 and 5,000, maybe not 5,700, but no one can guarantee it. In addition, the ammunition and supplies needed will certainly not be short. If we need to build a camp and a dock after the capture of Wake Island, then we have to prepare at least three engineering regiments, and a large number of engineering equipment and materials have to be sent over, and we also need to prepare for this. ”

"How much time does it take?"

Long Zhen thought about it for a moment and said, "If you are directly dispatched from Midway Island, it will take about ten days to prepare. ”

"The fleet also needs these times to be combat-ready." Tan Renhao hesitated for a moment and asked, "If you attack Wake Island, you will be in charge?" ”

"Of course, this is the rule of our Marine Corps, who plans and commands." Long Zhen said proudly, "At least this time Han Shaofeng doesn't want to rob me of my job." ”

Tan Renhao immediately laughed. "So, how many days will it take you to complete the battle plan?"

"This ......" Long Zhen touched his forehead, "Tomorrow I will go to the Marine Corps Headquarters to ask for a group of officers to come, and it just so happens that the front-line command is also going to be expanded, maybe the Marine Corps Command has a relevant operational plan, in that case, I can send the approximate combat plan in five days at most." ”

"Very good, then I'll go prepare a plane for you, and you will go to the Marine Corps headquarters today." Tan Renhao didn't want to delay time, "I will contact Liao Hanxiang and Han Shaofeng, and ask them to prepare the engineers on Midway Island, and the transfer of other materials will also be arranged in advance." Once you've completed your battle plan, return to the Front Command and launch an assault on Wake Island as soon as the fleet arrives. ”

"The naval command has already approved this ground combat operation?" Long Zhen admired Tan Renhao's style.

"This is a problem for me to deal with, don't worry, as long as your battle plan is good enough, then the chief of staff will approve this combat operation."

Long Zhen nodded and immediately got up to say goodbye. "Then I won't delay any more time, and after the personnel department reports, I'll go straight to the airport."

Tan Renhao didn't stay long, he asked Du Xing to send Long Zhen to the personnel department to sign the report. The headquarters of the Imperial Marine Corps was not in Zhoushan, so Long Zhen had to take a plane to the Marine Corps Headquarters as soon as possible. As for whether Gan Yongxing would approve the combat operation of attacking Wake Island, Tan Renhao was not worried. The main problem was that Long Zhen had to come up with a combat report that would satisfy Gan Yongxing. Whether Gan Yongxing can be satisfied or not depends on what Tan Renhao says when he explains this combat report. Therefore, Tan Renhao was not worried that Gan Yongxing would reject the attack on Wake Island, because this was the only way to solve the logistical support problem.

The next day, Long Zhen returned to the naval headquarters, and he brought with him more than a dozen officers of the Marine Corps. Four days later, a relatively complete battle plan was placed on Tan Renhao's desk, and Long Zhen did not wait for the reply of the naval command, but got on a plane and returned to the front command on the same day.

Tan Renhao spent a day reading and revising the battle plan, and then he sent it to Gan Yongxing. The result was better than Tan Renhao expected, and Gan Yongxing did not ask Tan Renhao to explain the battle plan in detail, and on August 12 he approved the combat operation of attacking Wake Island. As for whether Gan Yongxing had the intention of asking the principal, Tan Renhao didn't know, at least the principal was still in the capital at the time and did not return to the naval headquarters.

The attack on Wake Island, like the attack on Gardner Island by the U.S. forces at the time, was actually an innocuous combat operation. At a time when the Imperial Navy fleet was converging in the Pacific Ocean, Wake Island was practically of no value to the U.S. military. While Tan Renhao was thinking about taking Wake Island, Nimitz was thinking about how to withdraw the American troops on Wake Island. At least, for the U.S. military at the time, tens of thousands of officers and soldiers were still very effective in strengthening the defense of the Hawaiian Islands. As for whether Wake Island can hold back the pace of the Tang Empire's strategic offensive, this is not a key issue for Nimitz, and the first thing he has to consider is how to withdraw the tens of thousands of American troops.

It was probably with this in mind that Tan Renhao did not worry about the attack on Wake Island, which in his opinion could only be regarded as a warm-up operation before the attack on the Hawaiian Islands. The officers and men of the Imperial Marines in the Central Pacific have been silent for months, and it is time to warm up for the next operation.