Thus ended the battle on Beato Island and the Battle of Tarawa came to an end.

The reason why it is said to be "the end" rather than the end is because, as mentioned earlier, Tarawa is an atoll with 26 islands of various sizes.

Of course, Beato Island was the largest of the 26 islands and the main defensive position of the Japanese army, while the other islands were defended by few or no Japanese troops.

For example, Bairiki Island was defended by only 20 Japanese troops, and Baikman Island was undefended, so before the war, the US military's estimate of these islands was basically not worth mentioning.

But after the battle on Beato Island, the situation changed somewhat.

This was due to the rapid rout of the Japanese troops on Bito Island, and the fact that there was no way to escape, coupled with the low water level between the islands at low tide during the day, some Japanese troops with good water chose to swim to other islands to escape. As a result, the fighters of the 2nd Marine Regiment of the United States Marine Corps had to take landing vehicles (due to the low tide level, the Higgins ship could not carry soldiers to land) one after another to the small islands of the atoll to eliminate the remnants of the enemy.

However, after the war, I realized that there were still some fish that slipped through the net.

This is not to say that the US Marines did not search carefully, nor that the Japanese army was deeply hidden, but that some Japanese troops have exceeded the imagination of the US military...... There were actually some Japanese soldiers who just carried some floating objects and floated to unnamed islands more than a dozen nautical miles or even dozens of nautical miles away, and the US military had no intention of searching these small islands at all.

It can also be seen that the Japanese people's will to survive is actually very tenacious, which seems to contradict their "Banzai Charge" at every turn.

Although the Battle of Tarawa was not strictly over, Beato Island was confirmed to be safe, so Major General Hill and a group of war correspondents landed on Beato Island to inspect it.

A French war correspondent described the scene on the island, which apparently frightened the vast majority of war correspondents who had never been to the battlefield, with bomb craters everywhere and the original coconut trees on the island blown away, as described by a French war correspondent: "If it weren't for the destroyed bunkers, civil fortifications, and blood and stumps that had not had time to cover up, I would have suspected that I had landed on the moon." ”

It should be said that this metaphor is very vivid, because Beato Island is like the moon, and the crater is like a crater on the surface of the moon...... A photograph taken by a U.S. military pilot from the air proves this French journalist's analogy.

After Major General Hill landed on the island, a brief flag-raising ceremony was held.

Amid the melodious sound of military trumpets, the Star-Spangled Banner and the Rice Banner rose between two torn palm trees...... The reason for the two flags is that before the American troops landed in Tarawa, it was British territory, and the American troops at this time still helped the British reclaim their colonies in principle.

Of course, a group of war correspondents would not let go of this good opportunity and rushed to take pictures on the sidelines, but Page noticed that Major General Hill's face did not seem to be very good.

Page knew why Rear Admiral Hill had such a look on his face, because he would soon have to deal with reporters and bombing because of the poor performance of the American troops.

Sure enough, as soon as the horn stopped, reporters surrounded one after another:

"General Hill, are you satisfied with the performance of the American troops in this battle?"

"Of course!" Major General Hill replied: "They fought valiantly, which is why they were able to capture Beato Island in such a short time!" ”

"But General Hill...... Your expectation is to take Bito Island in one day! The French journalist asked: "And it ended the fighting with almost no casualties, but now it is much beyond that!" ”

"This can only be said that the battlefield is unpredictable!" Major General Hill replied.

"General Hill!" Page grabbed the front, smiled and stretched the recorder to the front, and asked Major General Hill, "What is your basis for the performance of the Chinese army in this battle?" ”

"Uh...... This one! Major General Hill couldn't help but blush: "Of course, they also fought bravely, as I said before, they are all good!" ”

"But I remember you didn't say that before!" Page didn't intend to let Major General Hill go so easily: "I remember...... You've said before that the Chinese military has achieved all sorts of brilliant results with the support of the powerful U.S. Navy, and you didn't think the Chinese army would be used in this battle, did you? ”

"There's nothing wrong with me saying that!" Rear Admiral Hill replied: "Just like this victory we have achieved, including the Chinese army, of course, it was achieved with the support of the powerful US Navy!" ”

Major General Hill: This is clearly holding on.

But when it comes to rhetoric, how can Major General Hill compare to Page, who is a journalist.

Page let out an "oh" and then asked: "Then how does the general explain that the American army cannot take Bito Island and Makin Island with the support of a strong navy, and there is a situation that is unfavorable to the US army and may even be defeated by the Japanese, while the Chinese army will turn the whole tide of the war as soon as it appears?" ”

"This ......" Major General Hill had a little helplessness and a bit of begging in his eyes: "This should be said that the Chinese army appeared at the right time and in the right place." I think if the U.S. military had appeared at the right time, it would have had the same effect! ”

"General Hill ......"

"Ms. Paige!" Major General Hill knew that it would not be good for him to let Page continue to ask questions, so he interrupted Page and said, "Regarding these questions, I think you should interview those Chinese soldiers, I think they will give you satisfactory answers!" ”

"No!" Page looked at Major General Hill, who looked like a defeated rooster, and said, "I've got a satisfactory answer!" ”

Page knew that what she was doing now had nothing to do with the interview, she just didn't like Rear Admiral Hill's previous insults to the Chinese military. All she wanted was Major General Hill bowing his arrogant head in public.

But then Page found the Chinese army, as Major General Hill said.

"Hello!" Mr. Page greeted the Chinese soldiers in half-baked Chinese, and held up his camera to take pictures of the warriors.

Chinese soldiers smoke cigarettes and smile at the camera.

For some reason, Paige quickly and naturally felt a sense of intimacy and security when he saw them, which made Paige himself startled.

Suddenly, Page noticed that the Chinese soldiers stood up one after another, and Paige's camera followed the eyes of the soldiers, and he saw a familiar figure walking down from the landing vehicle that had just landed.

(To be continued.) )