At a subsequent joint staff meeting, Army Chief of Staff Marshall and Chief of Naval Operations Stark quarreled, White House Chief of Staff Raisi and Army Deputy Chief of Staff and Air Force Commander Arnold were not easy to intervene and dissuade because of their respective identities, and other temporary participants and observers were not of sufficient level to speak out to dissuade the two heads of services......

Seeing that the two of them were arguing more and more fiercely, Admiral Leahy looked at Li Junhao, who had been quiet in these meetings and always bowed his head to write and draw, and said, "Og, can you say a few words?" ”

Well? Li Junhao raised his head, as if he had just discovered the current atmosphere, and looked puzzled.

Marshall and Stark were also tired of arguing, and each picked up a cup to drink, while Leay and Arnold both looked at Li Junhao, waiting for him to speak.

Li Junhao put down the pen in his hand, took the cigarette on the table, except for Leahy, who did not smoke, everyone else sent a circle, and after lighting one himself, he said: "In the previous wars, there have never been so many and so frequent battles to seize the island, which is ...... for all of us Including the armies of other countries, too, this is a new topic!

"From the beginning of the Battle of Kuah Island in '42, we began a counteroffensive against the Japanese in the Pacific, and the naval fleet achieved several good victories, but for the Japanese occupation of the islands in the Central Pacific, it was extremely fierce, and the casualties of the troops remained high......

"After taking over as commander of the sea and land, I seriously considered this issue, and the reasons for this can be boiled down to three reasons: first, the tenacity of the Japanese army exceeded our imagination before;

"The second is that there is an extremely anxious mood in our troops from top to bottom, eager for revenge, eager for attack, eager for victory......

"The third is the most important, because there has not been such a large-scale continuous operation to seize the island before, the navy, the army, and the Marine Corps have no experience, and the battle plan formulated is not reasonable, and even because different campaign commanders and participating units have different tactics for seizing the island each time......

"Among them, the just-concluded 'flintlock pistol' and 'bailiff' operations are still very good, but the 'current' operation is a mess!"

Speaking of this, he saw that everyone's expressions were a little wrong, Marshall and Stark opened their mouths to speak, so they raised their hands and said, "Seniors, I'm not talking about responsibility or anything, but seriously analyzing why this is?" Hear me finish. ”

Seeing that everyone had stopped, he continued: "In the 'current' operation, the 50th Task Force of the Navy participating in the war has 6 heavy aircraft carriers, 5 light aircraft carriers, 8 escort aircraft carriers, 12 battleships, 9 heavy cruisers, 5 light cruisers, plus 58 destroyers and 10 submarines, plus auxiliary ships and supply ships, the number of ships is 200 and more than 700 aircraft.

"The prepared landing force is two infantry divisions of the 27th and 36th divisions of the army, with a strength of more than 3.5 people, and three amphibious tank battalions have been specially strengthened, and what about their record?

"Facing Makin Island, which was defended by 800 Japanese troops, the 27th Division fought for four days and suffered more than 1,000 casualties;

"In the face of Betio Island, which was defended by 3,000 Japanese troops and 1,800 Korean laborers, the 36th Division also fought for four days, with 1,500 killed and nearly 3,000 wounded!

"This kind of record, just said that it is inexperienced and weak in attack, I'm afraid it can't be explained, right?"

Marshall couldn't help but argue: "The 27th and 36th Divisions are reorganized units of the New York State and Texas National Guard respectively, and they are indeed inexperienced!" ”

Arnold, who is still a member of the army, also spoke: "Yes, these two divisions have not been in actual combat before, and many problems have been exposed in the battle...... But speaking of which, Commander Pan Sen, you also have a certain responsibility - according to the original battle plan, the 2nd Navy and Army Division was supposed to be the main attack force, but you transferred it back to China before the operation! ”

Li Junhao laughed angrily, but for the sake of the other party's age and qualifications, he had to say in a tone that was not angry: "Commander Arnold, the four divisions of the sea and land have been fighting in the Pacific Theater for nearly a year, with more than 25,000 casualties, shouldn't they be withdrawn and rested?" Taking a step back, now that Hailu is changing clothes and training, can't you even wait for three months? ”

At this point, Arnold stopped talking, and Marshall and Stark were also silent—they couldn't admit that they wouldn't fight without the Marines, right?

Seeing that it was a bit cold, Leahy played a round and said, "Auger, what do you want to say?" ”

"What I want to say is that through Operation 'Current' and the subsequent operations of 'Fusiliers' and 'Bailiffs', we should draw some lessons!" Li Junhao said, "For example, for amphibious landing operations, we must conduct detailed and meticulous reconnaissance in advance, and then make a thorough plan!"

"In the course of the actual implementation of the plan, the first wave of the attack will use an experienced landing force, and at the same time it will be necessary to equip it with landing craft and amphibious combat vehicles of sufficient quantity and good quality;

"Before and after the start of the landing, the fire support and air attacks accompanying the ships should be sufficient, accurate and well-coordinated;

"At the same time, attention should be paid to the application of new equipment such as new helicopters, such as the use of modified armed Huey helicopters to accompany the landing infantry and provide synchronized fire support......

"The first wave of landing troops must have a complete set of tactics for dealing with trenches, tunnels, roadblocks, pillboxes and other defensive points, be equipped with suitable heavy equipment, have the ability to attack fortified positions, and be able to quickly occupy the beachhead and ensure the safe follow-up of the follow-up troops;

"The command of the landing operation must be timely and effective, and it must be able to coordinate with the sea, land, and air forces to carry out a three-dimensional combat mode.

"In addition, logistical support must be completed efficiently, communications must be timely and smooth, the strength of the second and third waves of attacking troops following must be sufficient, and the soldiers must be well trained and have good combat capability......

"The combination of the above factors can ensure the success of every landing and island seizure operation, so that our front-line soldiers will suffer fewer casualties!"

After Li Junhao's remarks, several military bigwigs sitting there and the people who recorded and listened around them were all stunned -- is the degree of specialization of the landing operation so high! Now listening to Commander Pan Sen, how do you think it makes so much sense?

At this time, Admiral Stark realized the meaning of his words and immediately asked: "General Pansen, is it because of the landing operation theory you just mentioned that you are changing the equipment of the sea and land forces and letting Rear Admiral Hewitt supervise the construction of a new amphibious command ship?" ”

(End of chapter)