"How so? How is this possible? ”

Just when the Japanese devils such as Isoroku Yamamoto and Shusei Nagano were surprised by the heavy losses of the Japanese Navy, US President Roosevelt was also surprised. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

He wasn't for Ali. The losses of the Burke fleet were astonishing - 1 heavy cruiser, 4 destroyers, 11 landing / transport ships and 3 T2 tankers were nothing at all. Can you still be afraid of this loss against the powerful Japanese navy?

What really surprised President Roosevelt was the report of the losses of the 2nd Marine Division, which landed on Palmyra Atoll.

With the bloodless capture of Midway, the U.S. military was full of optimism about the battle for Palmyra Atoll. It is believed that it is impossible for Japan to deploy heavy troops on Palmyra Atoll, and that it may be able to leave without a fight, as Midway did.

And in reality, these Americans guessed exactly right. The Japanese did not have many troops on Palmyra Atoll, less than 2,000 men. Moreover, the main battery on the island was dumbfounded by the guns of the American battleships before the start of the landing operation.

Therefore, the officers and men of the 2nd Marine Division who landed did not think that there would be any fierce fighting at first, as if as soon as their "ducks" amphibious armored vehicles and LVT amphibious armored vehicles and M4 amphibious tanks (modified from M4 medium tanks) rushed to the beachhead of Palmyra Atoll, the battle would end immediately.

But no one expected that a bloody battle awaited them on Palmyra Atoll. Previously, the naval guns destroyed only a few batteries with 203mm heavy guns, and did not destroy the light artillery and T-34 tanks hidden in the dense forests on the islands and reefs.

Therefore, when the US landing force attacked the beachhead, the Japanese 75mm and 70mm artillery and various mortars came in and smashed a large number of amphibious vehicles and landing craft that did not have much armored defense. The U.S. troops in the car and the landing craft suffered heavy casualties. And when the surviving U.S. troops rushed to the beachhead under the cover of naval guns, the T-34 tank driven by the Japanese rushed out of the dense forest with a wobble roar and bombarded the U.S. troops with the 76.2mm gun, which had long been weak on the European battlefield.

Although this cannon was of little use to the M4 amphibious tank modified from the M4A3 series of tanks - the M4A3 had a frontal armor of 76.2mm at its thickest point, and it also had an inclination angle, which the Soviet T-34/76 tank guns could not deal with at all - it bombarded all the various landing vehicles of the Americans to pieces, and the soldiers on the vehicles were either killed or jumped into the beach like crazy. However, the Type 92 heavy machine gun hidden by the Japanese army near the beach suddenly opened fire at this time, knocking down the panicked American troops one by one. The machine guns swept through, leaving patches of blood on the beach. In the end, few soldiers rushed to the beachhead, and they were also firmly suppressed by Japanese machine guns and artillery. Fortunately, several U.S. destroyers and firepower support landing ships risked running aground and approached the beachhead to open fire, giving the U.S. troops ashore the opportunity to dig improvised fortifications to avoid artillery fire.

But by this time, the U.S. troops had been stunned, and dozens or dozens of people were huddled in temporary bomb-sheltering fortifications on the beach, unwilling to attack, but unable to retreat. Except for more than 1,000 casualties and a very unstable beachhead, the first day of the battle for Palmyra Island and Reef was actually nothing.

The next day's fighting continued with heavy casualties. Due to the fierce battle at sea that took place in the early morning of that day, the Japanese troops defending the island miscalculated and thought that the American fleet had been repulsed. A counterattack was immediately launched, and hundreds of frenzied Japanese soldiers attacked with bayonet rifles and the support of three barely moving T-34 tanks.

Had it not been for the fact that the sea had blocked the way out, this disorganized attack, in the eyes of the Germans and Soviets, would have almost repelled the American forces on the beachhead of Palmyra Atoll.

In the end, it was the T-34/76 tanks that the Germans sold to Japan as scrap steel that saved the American army, which was on the verge of collapse - three tanks broke down one after the other halfway through the charge. As a result, it became a target for the US military's M4A3 and was beaten into a "torch". Seeing that the Japanese tanks were destroyed, the U.S. Marine Corps infantry, which was already about to collapse, also mustered up morale and followed the M4A3 tanks to launch a counterattack, not only repelling the Japanese army, but also seizing some territory, forming a relatively stable beachhead. This allows the U.S. military to send more landing troops and supplies to Palmyra Atoll at high tide that day.

However, after dawn, the US military was once again caught in a bitter battle. Their beachhead was repeatedly covered by Japanese artillery fire, and the road to the attack was blocked for several days by a remnant T-34/76 tank. By the time Roosevelt got his report, the bitter battle on Palmyra Atoll was still going on.

The Japanese resistance on the islands and reefs was stubborn, and every inch of land had to go through a bloody battle. What shocked the U.S. military even more was that the bloody battle lasted for 2 days, and although the U.S. troops killed thousands of Japanese soldiers, they didn't capture a single prisoner!

According to the reports of the American Marines on the island, there was no surrender of the Japanese army at all...... Even if they are surrounded by an absolutely superior enemy, even if they are exhausted, the Japanese army will fight to the death, and even if they launch a decisive charge, they will not surrender. There were even wounded Japanese soldiers who pulled grenades when American medics went to treat them......

"We have invested such a large number of landing ships (64 square nautical miles of landing fleet), so many battleships, heavy cruisers to provide artillery support, and more than 20 fighters on escort aircraft carriers to provide air cover. What the hell is going on with a tiny Palmyra atoll? ”

Roosevelt slammed the report on the conference table, his face gloomy and very unhappy.

He understands the defeat of the American army to the Germans in the Battle of England, which can be said to be invincible from the beginning of 1939 to the present! And they also have better armament than the US military, with the terrible Tiger tank, as well as the Fw-190 and Fokker Zero fighters.

However, being beaten by the Japanese army at Palmyra Atoll made it a little difficult for him to accept -- according to the information gathered from various quarters, the Japanese navy still has some strength, but their army is not good at all, and it cannot even reach the level of the First World War in Europe, and there is no motorized or mechanized one.

The only tank that worked was the T-34/76 that Germany disposed of as scrap steel...... According to the private statements of the Soviet military advisers: this tank of theirs is rubbish, and the designers who designed it should go to labor reform!

But now, a few garbage-like T-34/76s have left the mighty U.S. Marines helpless.

"Mr. President," Army Chief of Staff Marshall said to Roosevelt, frowning, "our Army and Marine Corps' ground forces lack real combat experience and are no match for our Navy and Air Forces...... So it is inevitable to pay the price of a little blood. But Palmyra Atoll will eventually be taken by us, because we have established ourselves on it, and more and more troops and supplies are coming to the island. ”

The U.S. Navy and Army Air Corps have been fighting wars for the past two years, and even if they lose more and win less, their experience is accumulating little by little.

Therefore, in the "First Battle of Midway" and the "First Night Battle of Palmyra Atoll", the US Navy did not suffer much loss in the face of the Japanese Navy.

However, the ground forces of the American Army and Marine Corps have no such experience, and although the United States now has millions of soldiers fighting on land and islands, the vast majority of them have never fired a single bullet at the enemy.

Therefore, the 2nd Marine Division, which has just entered the battlefield now, will inevitably suffer a big loss!

"Is it inevitable?" President Roosevelt asked, "So how many lives do we have to lose to take the entire Hawaiian Islands?" ”

A small Palmyra Atoll caused heavy losses to the U.S. landing force, and if this trend continues, the battle for the Hawaiian Islands will really be deadly and wounded.

If you don't know how to do it, it will really cost 1 million Americans their lives!

William. Raisi picked up the topic and said, "Mr. President, we don't actually need to take the entire Hawaiian Islands, we just need to take the islands of Niihau and Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands." ”

Niihau Island is located in the western part of the Hawaiian Islands, about 1,250 kilometers from Midway and less than 200 kilometers from Oahu. The island is flat and covers an area of about 180 square kilometres, and there are large sandy beaches along the coast of the island.

This means that the island has a large area of land where airfields, barracks and warehouses can be built. Moreover, it is within the combat radius of the P51B / C that took off from Midway, and it is not difficult to land, and it can be used as a springboard for an attack on Oahu.

As long as the U.S. military takes Niihau, then build a large number of airfields on the island, and deploy enough shore-based aircraft. Then a large number of shore-based aircraft can be used to destroy the Japanese airfields and batteries on Oahu, and create favorable conditions for landing on Oahu.

Oahu, the only island in the Hawaiian archipelago that can build a large port, is of course the main island that must be captured.

So after the seizure of Niihau, and enough construction was carried out on the island of Niihau. Next up is Oahu!

After the capture of Oahu, the Japanese troops on the other islands of the Hawaiian Islands and Christmas Island were basically cut off from the mainland, and they could be solved by siege and bombing.

After listening to William. Roosevelt was silent for a long time for Leahy's suggestion and reasoning, and then asked, "I'm afraid there will be a bitter battle on Nihau, right?" ”

William. Lehi nodded and said, "It's not just a hard battle, but it's going to be a decisive battle!" ”

"When can I start?"

"March, maybe April." William. "First of all, we must consolidate Midway and Palmyra Atoll and make them a forward stronghold, and then we can go on the offensive!" ”