"So......" After a moment of silence, Ernest asked Roosevelt: "Do we want to change our strategic direction before it's too late?" ”

"God, of course not!" Roosevelt replied: "The Japanese are not fools...... If we had changed the direction of the attack, they would certainly not have launched an attack on China. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info Do you know what to expect in this way? The Japanese will bring back most of their troops, which will make it doubly difficult for us to attack the Japanese mainland! ”

Ernest nodded, this situation is obviously not what the United States wants to see.

"So ......," Roosevelt said, "we're going to keep attacking the Philippines until Japan strikes at China and can't extricate itself!" ”

Roosevelt then raised the telegram in his hand and said, "In the meantime, we may consider Halsey's suggestion...... Halsey was right, the Japanese, of course, would strengthen the defenses of Ryuhuang and Okinawa. If we send Chinese troops to attack these two islands at the right time...... For example, after the Japanese offensive in China has been launched, the Japanese may not be able to take this small army seriously. Therefore, without affecting the overall strategy, it may also be feasible to use the Chinese to weaken the defense of the Japanese on Ryuhuang Island and Okinawa Island! ”

Then Roosevelt made up his mind: "Just do it, tell Halsey to tell the Chinese that they can prepare for Peleliu!" ”

Soon Zhang Chi received the news that Washington agreed to his plan, and Zhang Chi's half-hanging heart finally fell to the ground.

Roosevelt certainly could not have imagined that in Zhang Chi's plan, it was not as simple as taking the two islands of Liuhuang and Okinawa.

But for now, other things are put aside, and the immediate thing is to help the 1st Marine Division take the island of Peleliu.

Zhang Chi flew to the aircraft carrier "Essex" where Halsey was located that night...... At this time, the new 1st Division was rushing from Rabaul to the island of Peleliu, and it was at this time that Zhang Chi was on his way to the front to find out what was going on.

At this time, it was raining lightly, and although it was daytime, the visibility was also poor, and the American pilot who flew the plane even reminded Zhang Chi to prepare for an accident before landing...... Despite the good quality of the US pilots, it is quite difficult to land safely on an aircraft carrier in such weather conditions.

But fortunately, the plane only violently bumped when it landed, and then it stopped firmly on the deck of the aircraft carrier.

As soon as he got off the plane, Halsey greeted him warmly and shook Zhang Chi's hand: "Colonel, I knew that we were under the same military flag after all, you know?" Major General Rupertes almost jumped for joy when he heard that you were going to reinforce the 1st Marine Division, you should have listened to his exclamations and even repeatedly confirmed the time of your arrival! ”

"Maybe we can't do anything about Pelleste!" Zhang Chi replied.

Halsey laughed, "If you're all helpless, then I won't hesitate to suggest that the president jump over this island!" ”

After a pause, Halsey said, "There's something I ought to tell you, Colonel...... The Japanese have already launched an attack on the Chinese troops! ”

"Oh!" Zhang Chi couldn't help but stop and asked, "Do you know how many troops they have?" ”

"It's not clear yet!" Halsey replied, "There are hundreds of thousands...... Your 'guess' has come true! ”

Of course, there are not only 100,000, but the correct one should be more than 500,000...... The U.S. military has always underestimated the strength of the Japanese army, because the U.S. military always considers the strength of the Japanese army in terms of the logistical capabilities of the Japanese army. But the problem is that the supplies that the Japanese army needs are not at all in the same order of magnitude as the supplies that the US military can understand, especially the Japanese troops fighting in China can be said to have no need to carry food, they can get the food they want by burning, killing and looting.

But even so, thousands of people starved to death in the near offensive launched by the Japanese army...... It can also be seen how poor China was at that time, and the Japanese army sometimes couldn't grab anything even if it was burned, killed, looted, and even the Japanese army starved to death.

"May I go to see General Rupertes?" Zhang Chi asked.

"Now?" Halsey looked at Zhang Chi in surprise: "Don't you need to rest for a while?" ”

"I'd like to find out first!" Zhang Chi said.

"Okay!" Halsey nodded.

It's more troublesome to go to the front...... The reason is that Rupertus is a marine, and he can't use an aircraft carrier as a command ship like the Navy, so Zhang Chi first took a lifeboat to a warship, and then the warship took Zhang Chi to Rupertus's landing ship group, and then took a lifeboat to the command ship of the 1st Marine Division's flagship "Mount McKinley".

The "Mount McKinley" command ship is an amphibious command ship, which was converted from the US military's "general auxiliary ship", and is also the first command ship of this type to be specially modified for amphibious command.

Needless to say, what is the reason for this, before that the US military used battleships as flagships, which seems to be easy to understand...... Battleships, with strong firepower and thick armor, were once the "pride of the sky" of the navy in the era of cannon giants, and it was normal to use it as a flagship to command operations.

But after a battle, various problems soon appeared: the cabin was small enough to accommodate the command department, and the cannon fired and shattered the electrical circuit, paralyzing communications, etc.

Soon after that, the US military began to modify the so-called "general auxiliary ships" as specialized command ships, and it is needless to say how to refit them...... Enlarge the cabin, strengthen the electronic communication equipment, and so on.

On the one hand, this shows the strength of the U.S. military's industrial capacity, and on the other hand, it also shows that the U.S. military operated very efficiently, at least during World War II...... If you make a mistake once, you will not make it again, and you will be able to learn from your mistakes and immediately come up with a new piece of equipment that is more suitable for the battlefield.

"Colonel!" Several U.S. officers greeted him, led by an officer with a mustache and a tired look on his face, holding his hands and saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Colonel!" I'm Rupertes, the commander of the 1st Marine Division! ”

"General!" Zhang Chi saluted Rupertes.

Although Zhang Chi had fought with the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal, it was the first time he had seen Rupertes...... The reason was that at that time, the strength of the 1st Marine Division was divided into several parts and fought in different positions, and Zhang Chi's contact was limited to the 1st Marine Regiment.

Then Ruperster introduced a few more staff officers, of course, Zhang Chi did not remember their names, which has always been Zhang Chi's weakness.

At this time, Zhang Chi's mind was only to finish the damn Peleliuu Island as soon as possible, so that the Chinese army could concentrate on driving to Liuhuang Island. (To be continued.) )