Before sunset, when Halsey, Zhang Chi and the others were busy preparing for the attack on Bito Island at night, a shocking news suddenly came...... In the direction of Makin Island, the escort aircraft carrier "Liscombe Bay" was hit by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine.

"How serious?" Halsey asked.

"General!" The signal soldier replied: "The hull is heavily flooded and heavily tilted, and it is sinking......"

So Halsey knew there was no hope.

In fact, escort aircraft carriers are so vulnerable.

Because the escort aircraft carrier is not even a light aircraft carrier...... Light aircraft carriers are at least rebuilt from the hulls of light cruisers or battleships, and their hulls are still somewhat resistant to blows, and their speed and defense are relatively stronger.

The escort aircraft carrier, on the other hand, was converted from a merchant ship that was not resistant to blows, so even a single torpedo hit would be a fatal blow.

However, escort aircraft carriers can play a pivotal role.

For example, when a merchant ship transports strategic materials, it needs fighters to follow and cover all the way...... At this time, it is impossible to send the main aircraft carrier to escort the merchant ships, and the escort aircraft carriers can be competent for this task.

Another example is when the fighters of the main aircraft carrier suffer heavy losses in battle, the general situation is that the main aircraft carrier must return to the base to replenish the fighters, but if there is an escort aircraft carrier, it is different...... It is only necessary to transfer the fighters on the escort aircraft carrier to the main aircraft carrier.

Therefore, sometimes escort aircraft carriers also play the role of transporting fighters and supplementing fighters on the battlefield.

For another example, when bombing small islands such as Makin Island and Tarawa, which are basically free from the threat of enemy aviation, the main aircraft carrier will also appear to be killing chickens, and at this time, it can also use escort aircraft carriers to carry out bombing, and let the main aircraft carrier withdraw to deal with the Japanese aircraft carrier formation or more threatening targets that may come to the rescue.

Because of this, the US military built 113 escort aircraft carriers in one go during World War II.

The USS Liscom Bay, the second of the Casablanca-class escort carriers, has only been in service for a few months, and this is its first time in combat.

Through the detailed information sent by the communication soldiers, Halsey, Zhang Chi and others learned the detailed experience:

At 5 p.m., the radar of the escort aircraft carrier of the flagship "Liscomb Bay" discovered that an unknown target had appeared in the northern waters, and the commander of the group, Rear Admiral Marienix, ordered a destroyer to search for it.

And this unknown target is none other than the Japanese submarine "I-175".

What is worse is that the US Navy did not expect that the "I-175" submarine's next direction of operation would not be to escape from the US fleet, but to go straight to the fleet, so the "I-175" submarine lurked near the fleet.

At this time, the U.S. Navy fleet planned to bomb Makin Island again before dark...... In order to take care of the novice pilots on the escort aircraft carriers, the US Navy's escort aircraft carrier formation made a right turn, so that the escort aircraft carriers could sail against the wind and make it easier for the carrier-based aircraft to take off.

But this turn also happened to give the Japanese "I-175" an excellent opportunity for a torpedo attack.

At 5:13 a.m., a torpedo fired by a Japanese submarine hit the ammunition compartment of the escort carrier "Liscomb Bay," which immediately triggered a violent explosion, which in turn ignited the ship's aviation gasoline and caused a fire.

At 5:35 a.m., the hull of the escort aircraft carrier "Liscomb Bay" broke off and sank, killing 650 people, including Rear Admiral Marinnik.

This problem can be a big loss, especially since Rear Admiral Malinx is still the commander of the aircraft carrier group, which means that the aircraft carrier group is temporarily in a situation where there is no one to command.

"General MacArthur!" Halsey was silent for a while, and then said to MacArthur: "In order to avoid another sneak attack by Japanese submarines on the navy, I need to sail the aircraft carrier formation out of the waters of Makin Island!" ”

MacArthur nodded in agreement.

This is as it should be, the Navy has suffered such heavy losses that they need time to recuperate.

As a result, the 2nd Aircraft Carrier Group withdrew from the waters off Makin Island before dark.

But to Halsey's and MacArthur's surprise, the Navy's withdrawal from the waters off Makin Island caused panic among the soldiers of the U.S. 27th Division, who thought that the Navy had abandoned them, and Colonel Jones, who had just taken over as commander, struggled to keep them under control.

However, the nightmare of the US 27th Division has only just begun......

As soon as it got dark, the Japanese army launched an infiltration war against the US 27.

The Japanese army did not have many troops, but this became their advantage...... The Japanese simply sent a few soldiers to insert themselves into the junction of several U.S. troops, and then shot at each other.

The U.S. forces themselves were frightened by the withdrawal of the navy, and because it was dark, they did not dare to send troops to search for them, so they resorted to their usual tricks...... Hit the target with machine gun and artillery fire.

Needless to say, the result of such a fight was that in the end, the US 27th Division was in chaos with each other, and sometimes it was difficult to find out that it was a misunderstanding and just wanted to stop and was coldly shot.

"General!" Colonel Jones reported to MacArthur amid the sound of gunfire: "We don't know where the enemy is, but we feel that there is an enemy everywhere...... I tried to get them to stop, but no one obeyed my orders anymore, and I was almost taken for Japanese! ”

"God!" MacArthur couldn't help but let out a wail.

Halsey looked at MacArthur and said solemnly: "This is exactly why I hope that the Chinese will be the main force of this attack, they are more experienced in the battle against the Japanese and the Japanese!" ”

"Okay!" MacArthur stretched out his hands: "So now...... Can the Chinese handle this situation? ”

Obviously, MacArthur was also a little helpless, and on the other hand, he didn't actually think that Zhang Chi could solve the problem.

Halsey set his sights on Zhang Chi.

Zhang Chi smiled and replied, "I'm sorry, I think I should concentrate more on fighting the battle of Bito Island!" ”

Zhang Chi was deliberately trying to make things difficult for MacArthur, and he liked to see MacArthur's expression like a defeated rooster.

MacArthur's eyes flashed with anger when he heard this, and then he turned his gaze to Halsey.

Needless to say, MacArthur meant this, and he clearly wanted Halsey to help him.

But Halsey just shrugged his shoulders and said he couldn't do anything. In fact, Halsey didn't like MacArthur's arrogant appearance.

"Colonel!" After thinking about it, MacArthur walked up to Zhang Chi with some helplessness and said, "I sincerely hope that you can help the US 27th Division!" ”

Halsey also persuaded beside him: "Colonel, now is not the time to be vindictive!" ”

"Okay!" After thinking about it, Zhang Chi replied: "I agree to send a battalion to reinforce the US 27!" ”

(To be continued.) )