The landing plan for the Marshall Islands was well studied before the attack on the Gilbert Islands.

In fact, in mid-October, Qian Sihai officially issued a combat readiness plan, calling for simultaneous landings at the Maloelup and Watje Atolls, as well as Kwajalein Atoll.

The first two atolls are the two closest Allied bases to the Philippines in the Marshall Islands, while the latter atoll, located in the center of the Marshall Islands, is home to the Allied Division.

In view of the fact that the offensive in Tarawa was not going well, the Landing Operations Command considered that the ground forces and support forces would be insufficient if the three sites were attacked simultaneously. It is advisable to re-study the battle plan for the Marshall Islands.

The personnel of the command generally agreed with the above views and proposed that the landing operation be carried out in two steps. The first atolls of Maloelap and Wattje were captured in order to build a base to support the subsequent landing operations on Kwajalein. However, they were shocked by Qian Sihai's proposal to bypass the two atolls of Magelap and Watje and carry out a landing operation directly in Kwajalein Atoll.

Many people strongly disagree with Qian Sihai's opinion. They believe that once the Kwajalein Atoll is occupied by Chinese forces, the atoll will become a target for allied shore-based aviation in the areas of Maloelap, Watje, Milley and Jaluit.

Moreover, the Allies could rely on these bases to disrupt the lines of communication between Kwajalein and the Philippines or Gilbert, and the air supply lines from Hawaii to the Allied bases via Eniwetok were not cut off.

Given Qian Sihai's insistence on bypassing several Allied bases east of Kwajalein, there were staff suggestions. First occupy the undefended Majuro Atoll in the eastern part of the Marshall Islands.

Qian Sihai agreed with this suggestion. Before capturing Kwajalein, the Majuro Atoll could be captured first, providing a base for the fleet in the operational zone.

Shore-based aviation in Majuro Atoll can also protect sea lines of communication between Kwajalein and Gilbert. Although the final battle plan was tentatively formulated for the capture of Eniwetok as a possible option, the timing of its implementation and the forces used would depend on the results and speed of the battle in Kwajalein.

The decision to take the central island of the Marshall Islands not only shocked Qian Sihai's commanders, but also completely unexpected the Allies.

The basic judgment of the Allied base camp at that time was that the next offensive of the Chinese army would be either from the Gilbert Islands towards Milley and Jaluit, or from the Philippines towards Watje or Maloelap. Therefore. to these outer atolls. Priority will be given to the manpower and material resources to resist the landing.

Qian Sihai's judgment was correct, Kwajalein's defense was relatively weak. This is a very different situation from what the Chinese Marines encountered on Betio Island. Although the Allied forces in Kwajalein Atoll numbered more than 18,000 troops, fewer than 12,200 were trained to fight.

The rest are engineering technicians, engineers, laborers (mostly Koreans), ground crews of the aviation corps, and various handymen under the command, etc.

Hardly. How useful it would be for these non-combatants to take on garrison duty. All the allies. All are said to be equipped with weapons of one kind or another. Most of them were ashamed of being captured and would rather die than give in.

The preparation of aviation fire on the Marshall Islands is shore-based aviation, with newly built airfields from the Ellis and Gilbert Islands. On 29 November, the task force, a fast aircraft carrier task force reinforced by a Pacific Fleet, arrived in the Marshall Sea with 750 combat aircraft.

While the fleet's aircraft carried out air strikes on the two atolls of Jaluit and Milley to suppress the Allied forces, one aircraft carrier task force attacked the Maloelap Atoll, another aircraft carrier task force attacked the Watje Atoll, and the remaining two aircraft carrier task forces attacked the Kwajalein Atoll. This air strike alone destroyed all the Allied aircraft on these atolls.

On the night of the 29th, Task Force 8's artillery support ships also shelled the Allied airfield at Eniwetok Atoll in order to prevent Allied aircraft from coming to support.

At dawn on the 30th, another aircraft carrier task force was sent to attack Eniwetok and destroy all the Japanese planes assembled there.

On the same day, two aircraft carrier task forces attacked the defenses of Kwajalein Atoll, and another aircraft carrier task force attacked the Maloelap Atoll and Watje Atoll.

As a result of these air raids, the Allied air forces in the Kwajalein area were completely wiped out, and the coastal defense facilities of the Marshall Islands were also damaged.

During this period, the landing assault force of the amphibious combat unit was on its way to cross. About 200 ships transported 53,000 assault troops (half of them the Army and half of the Marine Corps) and 31,000 infantry. As this large fleet approached the Marshall Islands, a fleet of logistical supply ships then sailed into the Majuro Lagoon, ready to provide the naval forces with the logistical support they needed at all times.

As a result, the fleet has a temporary forward base and can not rely directly on the Philippines. This forward base has gradually moved forward, and the scope of support has been continuously extended forward, expanding into the eastern Pacific.

On the 30th, the Northern Assault Formation and the Southern Assault Formation sailed to Kwajalein Atoll respectively. Following the three-day intensive aviation fire preparation carried out by the carrier-based aircraft of the fast aircraft carrier, the surprise attack was carried out with naval guns and escort aircraft carrier-based aircraft.

The Chinese Navy has conscientiously drawn lessons from the Tarawa landing operation and has achieved good results in this operation. The targets that should be attacked first were Roy and Namu. The two islets are located at the northern end of the Kwajalein Lagoon and are connected by a dam between the two islands.

Kwajalein Island is 44 nautical miles south of the two small islands. By weight, the Chinese army dumped three times more bombs and shells on Kwajalein than on Betio Island.

The aircraft carried out a precise bombing of the selected target. The artillery support ship group corrected the firing direction and distance according to actual needs, and switched to armor-piercing shells and air-dropped penetrating aerial shells.

On 1 December, the landing force seized the islands of Roy-Namu and several small islands near the islands of Djojarin. After that, amphibious combat ships and close fire support ship groups. From narrow passages into calmer lagoons, artillery was deployed on the newly occupied islands to cover the main landing grounds.

During the day and at night, underwater demolition teams composed of skilled swimmers conducted reconnaissance of the approach route to the landing site under the cover of naval guns. They ascertained that there were no mines or other obstacles laid near the shore and beaches, and that the reefs and waves did not pose a great threat.

During the night, the Allies were repeatedly shelled by destroyer forces to harass the Allies and weaken their resistance.

As soon as it was dawn on the 2nd, preparations for direct fire before the assault landed began. Thereupon. The two-day preparation of aviation fire and naval artillery fire finally reached a climax. And this time there is also the support of two Admiral-class battleships, and the firepower is greatly strengthened.

Naval guns fired heavily at Roy-Namu and Kwajalein from close range, and shore guns on neighbouring islands fired longitudinally. And in the sky above the trajectory of artillery. There are also Djinn bombers in the Gilbert Islands. Bombs weighing five hundred kilograms and one ton were dropped on Kwajalein.

When naval gun fire is suspended, dive bombing and machine-gun fire are carried out by the carrier-based aircraft of the aircraft carrier. The commanders of the amphibious combat units, the commanders of the landing force divisions, and their staff officers exercise unified command over the coordinated actions related to fire preparation and assault landing on a newly built amphibious combat command ship.

Then. Tracked landing vehicles are still not enough to transport all the landed troops to the shore through the reef. However, the tracked landing vehicles used in this operation were all equipped with armor and machine guns. In addition, the Southern Assault Forces compensated for the lack of tracked landing vehicles with amphibious combat utility vehicles of the Army. The tracked landing vehicle was transported by a tank landing ship to the sea near the departure line, and then slowly advanced to the landing site by relying on its own power.

While approaching the shore beach of Roy Island, the tracked landing vehicle was involved in several collisions. However, the landing force, which had two battalions in parallel, was able to go ashore in an orderly manner. On the approach, the Allied defenders fired several shells in the direction of the landing craft, but none of them hit. As soon as the landing troops came ashore, they came under heavy fire from machine guns on the left side. At the same time, many Japanese soldiers with bayonets shouting "10,000 years old" fiercely rushed towards the landing troops of the Chinese army on the beachhead, and this kind of brute action was also of no avail.

The Marines advanced in depth without pause, moving swiftly. Roy Island was almost entirely occupied by the airfield, and there was no vacant land to build houses and other facilities, and the troops defending the island could find little shelter to conceal themselves and fight the enemy. Before nightfall, Roy Island had been occupied by Chinese troops.

However, it was not all smooth sailing for the Chinese landing force, and when the first wave of the landing force attacked Namu Island, only part of the assault force reached the departure line. As a result, the landing on this small island with many buildings appeared to be disorderly and the use of troops was scattered.

Fortunately, the marines did not encounter resistance and other obstacles on the water-line beachhead. However, once inside the island, the situation is completely different. Rubble and coconut trees and logs were everywhere, making it difficult for Chinese tanks and landing troops to move, while Allied snipers had a place to hide.

In order to gain time and pass through this area as soon as possible, the assault forces had to leave a number of fortified anti-landing positions to the follow-up units in order to destroy them using explosives and flamethrowers.

During the course of the battle on the island, ammunition stored by the Allies exploded, causing serious casualties. Later, the Marines attacked the bunker full of torpedo heads for an Allied combat command post, causing an even larger explosion. When the bunker exploded, the entire island was immediately enveloped in acrid smoke, and then many pieces of mixed earth and metal shards flew towards both the attacking and defending forces.

That night, the assault force was not calm all night, with Allied attacks in front and random fire from friendly forces behind. After dawn, the Chinese army annihilated the nearby Allied forces and quickly attacked the northern shore.

Shortly after noon on the 3rd, the Chinese army announced the occupation of Namu Island.

The Chinese army suffered a total of 346 casualties on the northern islands of Kwajalein Atoll, of which 96 were killed and 250 wounded. All 1,345 Allied soldiers on the island were killed; Of the 3,200 other personnel, with the exception of 40 Korean laborers and 51 allied soldiers who were taken prisoner, the rest were killed while the fire was being prepared.

The plan of the landing operation on Kwajalein Island was basically the same as that of the 4th Marine Division. As with the landings in the northern part of the reef lake, two regimental combat teams captured the main objectives in the south and a third regimental combat team occupied several small islands in its vicinity.

But the topography of Kwajalein Island is different from that of Roy-Namu Island. A landing on the lagoon-bordered side of Kwajalein would expose the landing force to Allied flank fire from the shore. Therefore, it is not possible to land from here. It was also not advisable to land on the side of the ocean, where the waves were too strong and the Allied forces were more tightly defended.

Only the narrow western side is suitable for landing, but several battalions of the two regimental combat teams that landed here could not advance at the same time, and could only land one battalion after another.

The landing battle on Kwajalein Island did not show any chaos on the Roy and Namu sides, and it was fought quite beautifully. The landing on Kwajalein Island went relatively smoothly, of course, because of the calm of the operational waters, but the main reason was that Collett learned the lessons of the landing on Attu Island and after that, he repeatedly conducted rigorous training for his troops.

The tank landing ships assembled to the west of the departure line were equipped with tracked landing vehicles with boarding troops. The dock landing ship released a mechanized landing craft carrying the King Tiger main battle tank, as well as amphibious armored vehicles and tanks launched directly into the water.

These landing craft precede the lowering of the vehicle personnel landing craft by the transport ship. Arrange a column according to the boat wave and make a circular movement. Three infantry landing craft were the first to sail towards the enemy shore and, using 40-mm guns and rocket artillery, fired at the landing site.

9 o'clock. The control ship, located on the wing of the departure line, signaled to the 1st wave to attack from the departure line, as planned. The first wave had 16 tracked landing vehicles. 16 amphibious armored vehicles and 2 control boats.

When attacking, the formation is neat. Then. The remaining three waves came out one after the other at intervals of 4 minutes. The landing craft were all striking at a speed of 5 knots towards the shore. When the landing craft approached the shore, the battleships and cruisers in the distance stopped firing at the shore, and the fire shifted to depth.

Then 4 destroyers in the vicinity continued firing at the landing shore beach. It did not stop until the landing force reached the shore. The first wave is 180 meters away from the beach. The infantry landing craft were ready to shoot at the flanks of the formation.

At 9:30, the first wave went ashore on time as planned. After the tracked landing vehicle was unloaded, when it returned to pick up the landing force on the landing craft that was separated by the reef, the amphibious armored vehicle went ashore and continued to move forward to cover the landing field.

In 12 minutes, 1,200 landing troops came ashore, then grouped their ranks and prepared to continue the offensive. Although the Allied forces defending the island resisted with light weapons, the landing force suffered no casualties. This landing, like all previous victorious landings, was very satisfying.

By sunset on 2 February, some 11,000 troops had landed on Kwajalein Island. However, the progress of the fighting on the shore was much slower than that of the Marines attacking Roy and Namu.

There are three reasons for this: first, it is necessary to eliminate the strong Allied forces defending the island;

secondly, the chosen landing area compelled them to attack the whole island in sequence, and the island was thin and long, and the front of the attack was narrow, and the defenders could resist and delay the actions of the landing force with fewer troops;

Third, in order to reduce unnecessary casualties, the infantry tactics of positional combat in the First World War were followed. Under the cover of artillery and aircraft, they advanced for three days with the typical tactics of steady and steady fighting, pressing the remaining hundreds of Allied troops to the north of Kwajalein Island and beginning the final encirclement. By noon on the 4th, all effective Allied resistance had come to an end.

The Chinese army suffered 177 casualties on Kwajalein Island and its nearby islands, of which 37 were killed and 140 wounded. The Allied garrison consisted of about 2,200 ground troops and 3,200 other personnel. All but 125 Korean laborers and 49 allied soldiers were taken prisoner.

During the four days of the battle, the fleet remained in the nearby seas, ready to provide support at any time. The Chinese ships did not suffer any damage, except for a few shells hit by Allied shore artillery.

The landing command then decided that the Kwajalein operation no longer needed to use tens of thousands of military reserves, so it decided to seize the Eniwetok Atoll without losing any time.

It is intended that an additional logistics base will be built here to support the island-crossing operations that continue eastward.

However, Eniwetok Atoll is the largest atoll in the western Marshall Islands and is relatively exposed. It is just over 1,000 nautical miles from Midway, less than 700 nautical miles from Majuro Island and less than 600 nautical miles from Pohnpei Atoll.

In order for the Allies not to be able to prevent the Chinese army from attacking the Eniwetok Atoll, the above-mentioned Allied bases had to be blocked. One might think that attacking Eniwaitok Atoll before the battle for Kwajalein Atoll is completely over would be difficult and risky.

However, Qian Sihai did not hesitate to agree. and ordered the parties concerned to provide all necessary support for the implementation of this new offensive.

When the Allied base camp had to admit that the Marshall Islands could no longer be defended, they retreated their defensive lines to the line from the Mariana Islands in the south to the west of the Lane Islands through the Phoenix Islands in the east.

In order to gain time to rebuild their depleted aviation, the Allies gave the garrisons of the islands east of this new line a suicidal mission to weaken the Chinese army and delay its movements.

After the loss of Kwajalein Atoll, Majuro Island was completely exposed to the offensive of the Chinese army, and MacArthur carefully withdrew most of the naval forces to the islands of the Lane Islands, leaving only 2 light cruisers and 8 destroyers in the Majuro area. In order to protect the local naval forces and the cargo ships of the base.

During this period. The United States is stepping up the training of pilots on its own soil. As soon as the pilots of the shore-based aircraft mastered the flying techniques, they drove the planes westward along the new line of defense and stationed at Majuro and other forward bases in the Caroline Islands.

The United States attempted to use this approach to build a military force along this new line of defense capable of defeating any invading enemy.

By mid-December. There are 1,365 aircraft on Majuro Island. There are also 200 aircraft ready to fly from the Allies to the Mariana Islands.

The above was the situation before the Chinese army attacked Eniwetok. In this case. Task Force 8, the landing force, departed from Majuro and Kwajalein. Head towards Eniwetok.

The aircraft carrier task force dispatched one task force to serve as a support mission in the landing area, while the other three aircraft carrier task forces headed southwest for Majuro Island.

By this time, the bombers of the Army's 7th Air Force had already moved 900 nautical miles from Tarawa in order to paralyze the Allied forces in Pohnpei with one heavy air strike after another.

Surrounded by coral reefs, Majuro Island is one of the best bases in the world. During the period of the Japanese Mandate, it was considered an impregnable fortress, either as the "Philippines of Japan" or as the "Gibraltar of the Pacific".

The attacking fleet's 8th Task Force not only debunked the myth of Majuro's impregnability, but also proved that an aircraft carrier force could paralyze such Allied bases without the support of shore-based aviation.

On 17 December, the 75,000-ton battleships Weiqing and Huo Quai, two cruisers and four destroyers, were operating in the waters near Majuro in order to sink Allied warships attempting to escape through the waterway between the reefs.

In order to prevent the Japanese ships from cleverly slipping away from the attack of the carrier-based aircraft of the Eighth Task Force and the naval guns of the battleships, Qian Sihai contacted Di Wolf and sent 10 submarines to patrol the waters around Majuro in advance.

On the night of 17-18 December, aircraft carrier-based aircraft, guided by airborne radar, bombed Allied ships in the Majuro Lagoon.

At dawn the next day, the aircraft carriers, which had already begun to evacuate, made a final air raid with all their might. During the two-day air raid, about 1,200 Allied planes were destroyed, more than 170 were damaged, and 15 Allied ships were sunk, including 2 cruisers, 4 destroyers, 59 cargo ships and 25 oil tankers.

The Chinese army lost 25 aircraft, and the aircraft carrier Qiantangjiang (converted aircraft carrier) suffered heavy losses. The aircraft carrier was hit by Allied torpedo planes during the night, and this was the only Allied counterattack in the course of this operation.

It has been proven that the so-called "indestructible Majuro" is nothing more than a myth. During the 20-year period of trusteeship, Japan did not invest in the construction of the Maginot Line on the oceans, as many people imagine, but on the construction of its fleet.

Task Force 8 annihilated Majuro's Allied air forces, leaving the entire island group isolated and paralyzing the entire Marshall Islands.

On 18 December, the planes of the Chinese Army's Micronesian Air Force did not spot a single Allied aircraft over the Marshall Islands.

After successfully attacking Majuro, Qian Sihai sent two more task forces from the 8th Task Force to attack the Phoenix Islands.

On the afternoon of December 22, the rapid southward advance of the Chinese army achieved brilliant results, disrupting the enemy's defensive deployment. Lieutenant General Kakuharu Tsunoda, commander of the Allied shore-based aviation forces in the Phoenix Islands, had just transferred 550 torpedo planes and bombers from the continental United States ahead of the fighter squadron.

On the morning of the 23rd, carrier-based aircraft of Task Force 8 attacked the Phoenix Islands. Before the arrival of the Allied fighter squadron, the Allied torpedo planes and bombers were annihilated in one fell swoop.

No less important for the Chinese army was the annihilation of the Allied air forces in the Phoenix Islands by aerial photography of the Allied airfields and beaches suitable for landing.

While the task force went to attack the Allied bases in the distance, the landing force seized Eniwetok Atoll using tactics similar to those used to attack Kwajalein.

However, the ratio of the Chinese landing force at Kwajalein to the Allied garrison was about 6:1, and less than 3:1 at Eniwetok.

Therefore, only one of the three islands in the Eniwetok Atoll can be captured at a time. The landing mission was carried out by the 4th Marine Division and the two landing teams of the 27th Infantry Battalion, which had participated in the Makin landing operation.

Although it was impossible to take the last resistance in the Marshall Islands at once, the Allied army, which had lost all support, could only gradually disappear. Everything is just a matter of time.

By this time, the Chinese army had cleared all the allied forces on the islands around the Kwajalein Lagoon, relying on Roy, Namu and Kwajalein. The Chinese army then moved around the heavily fortified atolls of Watje, Maloelap, Milley, and Jaluit to other islands of the Marshall Islands, while frequently carrying out air raids on the bypassed Allied bases, weakening them, and blockading them.

These Allied bases had no other way to supply and reinforce than for submarines to enter and exit, and as a result, they could no longer pose any threat to the rear of the attacking forces of the Chinese army. Instead, these islands are of great use to the Chinese military, which can use them as a combat target for training new pilots.

When Christmas arrives in the West, the entire Marshall Islands will completely fall into the hands of China.

The next to face China, in addition to the island group east of Australia in the southern hemisphere, is the last gateway to the United States, Hawaii. (To be continued......)