Zhang Chi's plan was approved by Halsey, who even thought it was the only way to free the 2nd Marine Regiment.

Although MacArthur still had a slight discussion about this plan, Tarawa was not his main attack, and his attack on Makin Island was not going well, so he did not say anything more.

The time was tentatively set for nine o'clock in the evening.

It should be said that nine o'clock is not a good time for a sneak attack, because at this time the enemy has not even fallen asleep, and it can even be said that it is the most energetic time. Plans like Zhang's should be set after midnight or early in the morning.

But circumstances did not allow Zhang Chi to wait until then.

On the one hand, this is because if it is too late, the Japanese will probably have launched an attack on the US 2nd Marine Regiment and annihilated it, and on the other hand, Zhang Chi does not know if the US officers and soldiers of the 2nd Marine Regiment can hold out for so long.

As the regimental commander Shopu said in his report: "General, although this is very discouraging, I must tell you that some of us have already advised me to surrender to the Japanese!" ”

This is the combat habit of the US military...... When they think that they can't change the situation of the war, they will choose to surrender from the perspective of their lives, and this is not shameful for them.

At this time, the US troops trapped on Bito Island, they lacked food and ammunition, and the most fatal thing was the lack of water, and many wounded were even in a coma because of the lack of water, so it was not easy for the US troops to hold out until now, so "holding out for a few more hours" was considered an excessive and unrealistic request.

During this time, Halsey did several jobs.

The first was to order transport planes to drop supplies, including medicines, ammunition and fresh water, on the island of Bito.

Of course, most of these materials were actually thrown into areas controlled by the Japanese army, or thrown into the sea and washed away by the sea. But these are not problems, anyway, even if the ammunition is picked up by the Japanese, it will not be used, and the Japanese will not lack fresh water, and if one of these materials reaches the hands of the 2nd Marine Regiment, it may save many lives.

The second is that under the guidance of the 2nd Marine Regiment, the artillery Zhuyuan was adjusted.

This is the advantage of the command being able to get in touch with the 2nd Marine Regiment, and after the warship fires a shot, it can clearly get from the artillery observers of the 2nd Marine Regiment whether the shells are far or close, and then slowly adjust until the shells can accurately hit Beato Island.

Of course, the main purpose of this is to clean up the entrance to the lagoon...... There were mines laid by the Japanese army.

The third is to ask Shope to gather his troops and push forward as far as possible.

The reason is that it is too dangerous to hold on to the embankment, and on the one hand, after the tide rises at night, the sea water is likely to flood the side where the 2nd Marine Regiment is hiding, and then the 2nd Marine Regiment will be forced out by the sea.

On the other hand, the 2nd Marine Regiment had to have a little bit of defensive depth, even a little distance, so that it would not be vulnerable to a Japanese attack.

Colonel Shopp also recognized this, and his efforts were to gather his forces and launch an attack on the Japanese...... It was not easy to do this, because at this time, the 2nd Marine Regiment suffered heavy casualties, the structure had been disrupted, most of the commanders had been killed or wounded, and even because most of the communication tools were flooded and could not be used, the various units could not coordinate with each other.

But the 2nd Marine Regiment still took the initiative to organize a desperate charge.

Among them, a lieutenant named Hawkins led 34 fighters, using explosives packs, bayonets, and shovels, to advance 300 meters step by step...... Keep in mind that the width of Beato Island is only 500 meters.

This provided a lot of space for the troops that had gathered later, and also made it possible for them to build defensive positions, otherwise the 2nd Marine Regiment would probably not be able to withstand even a single charge after nightfall.

It is a pity that Lieutenant Hawkins died in this battle.

Later, in recognition of his achievements, the U.S. military named the airport on Beato Island Hawkins Airport.

As for Wu Shimin's two battalions, more than half of them were killed or wounded in the first time...... In fact, more than half of every unit that rushed through that "dead sea" was killed or wounded.

Perhaps because they were in a Jedi, Wu Shimin and other troops adapted from the Military Command Einsatzgruppen exerted extraordinary combat effectiveness...... If there is any hope of escaping, Wu Shimin and the others may still choose to escape, but this is a small island.

Wu Shimin got a chance to talk to Zhang Chi, but in fact, Zhang Chi asked Colonel Xiao to bring Wu Shimin to the radio to talk to Zhang Chi.

"Battalion Commander Wu!" Zhang Chi said to Wu Shimin: "The situation was beyond our expectations, no one expected this. ”

Zhang Chi was a little against his will when he said this, but the fact is that he had long known that this would be the result.

"I understand, Master!" Wu Shimin replied: "What is the situation now, do we still have any hope of going back alive?" ”

"Of course!" Zhang Chi replied, "We must wait until the evening tide to send reinforcements to you!" ”

Of course, this is fake, but this is not to deceive Wu Shimin, but to worry about leaking the news so that the Japanese army can get information.

"So you have to support until the night!" Zhang Chi said: "I can't say the specific time, you know, military secrets!" ”

"I understand!" Wu Shimin replied.

Wu Shimin is not the first day of being a soldier, and of course he knows that he can't expose the time of the attack in plain language on the radio.

"There's a good chance the Japanese will launch a counterattack on you after dark!" Zhang Chi continued: "During this time, the only ones who can save you are your own people. You have to do your best to get a little bit of defensive depth and set up some fortifications like other Yankees, and persistence is victory, you know? ”

"Yes!" Wu Shimin responded.

There is a saying that "trapped beasts especially fight", people will be stimulated to their potential when they reach the moment of life and death, and the facts have also proved that these soldiers of the new 28th Division are not unable to fight, but that their ideological attitude towards the enemy is not correct enough...... The Chinese soldiers, even if they are soldiers like the new 28th Division, have a wealth of experience in dealing with the enemy, and this "enemy" is precisely the Japanese, so as long as they overcome their inner fears, it is not a big problem for them to surpass the Yankees who do not have much experience on the battlefield and rely on airplanes and artillery most of the time.

So Wu Shimin led the only remaining more than 300 people, and used the cover of the crater to dig a gap in the Japanese defense line and advance 200 meters. In the past 200 meters, a lot of U.S. troops have even been sheltered and assembled here.

However, what Zhang Chi, Halsey and MacArthur did not expect was that as night fell, the first problem was not Beato Island, but Makin Island, which MacArthur thought was in sight of victory.

(To be continued.) )