The grounding of the ship Higgins finally happened in the early hours of the morning.

On the one hand, this is because the water level gradually decreases as the tide recedes at dawn; On the other hand, the U.S. Navy was always worried about the lack of equipment and wanted to transport a little more, and after transporting some more, it hoped to transport another batch of them with the mentality of luck, and as a result, three Higgins ships were stuck in the reef and could not move as they did on the first day of landing.

However, the U.S. Navy seemed to be prepared for this, and the countrymen watched in amazement as a "Sherman" tank drove off the Higgins and drove through the water at a depth of one meter like a crocodile...... The Chinese army is also equipped with "Sherman" tanks, so fellow villagers know very well that the "Sherman" tank wades to a depth of only 0.91 meters, and beyond this water line, it means that seawater will pour into the tank's engine from the air intake to stop it, and the "Sherman" tank seems to be completely unaffected.

It was only after the "Sherman" tank came ashore that the countrymen discovered the secret...... The Americans carried out a simple modification of the "Sherman" tank, they made an open and curved "iron bucket" at the top to cover the butt of the "Sherman" tank, and sealed it with an asphalt-like compound at the joint to prevent water leakage, which made the "Sherman" tank look like it was about 2 meters extended, which looked very ugly, but effectively enabled the "Sherman" tank to safely wade through the water at a depth of more than one meter.

Even after the tank landed, it was easy to remove and throw away...... This made fellow villagers and other Chinese soldiers all sigh at the creativity and industrial capabilities of the Americans, which Chinese soldiers could not even think of, but the US military could easily do it.

But the focus is not on the feelings that this "Sherman" brought to fellow villagers and Chinese soldiers, but more importantly on the Japanese troops hiding on the "Saida Maru...... Since the sky was already bright at this time, they also saw this scene clearly on the "Saida Maru".

The shock and morale blow it has dealt to them has been unparalleled.

The reason for this is: if the US Navy can transport the "Sherman" tanks to Bito Island in this way, then does the Japanese counteroffensive still make sense?

This is indeed true in theory, because if one "Sherman" can be transported in this way, it will inevitably be transported in a second and third......

And the Japanese army knows a lot about the performance of the US "Sherman" tank...... Although the Japanese Navy Special Marine Corps did not have much combat experience, the reputation of the "Sherman" tank in the Japanese army could be described as "thunderous", because it was a tank that the Japanese army was almost equipped with to effectively destroy it, unless it was blown up by a person holding an explosive pack or a magnetic mine.

As a result, the landing of this "Sherman" tank immediately caused quite a stir in the transport ship "Saida Maru."

"Your Excellency, Captain!" A Japanese soldier whispered to Takeji Shiraishi: "If we let the American ghost animals bring a few more 'harvesters', then do we still have hope?" ”

Japanese soldiers secretly called the "Sherman" tank a "harvester" because it could almost be said to be used to harvest lives on the battlefield...... Of course, this nickname of "growing up others to destroy their own prestige" can only be said in secret, and if the commander knows it, it will be punished.

Takeji Shiraishi also felt very helpless, he always thought that the Japanese army should launch a counteroffensive last night, and he could lead the troops to cooperate, but he didn't expect that the large army had not moved. As it stands...... Everyone knows that the hope of victory is disappearing one by one.

"Wait!" Takeji Shiraishi ordered: "Maybe there aren't so many 'harvesters' in the United States, calm down!" ”

Takeji Shiraishi's guess was right, the U.S. Navy did not plan to send "Sherman" tanks to Beato Island again, but the reason was not because there was no as Shiraishi guessed, but because the U.S. Navy lacked Higgins ships...... Having lost too many Higgins ships on the first landing, the U.S. Navy would not be able to deliver equipment, supplies, and reinforcements to Beato Island with a few more Higgins.

But Takeji Shiraishi will be able to hold his breath, but the rest of the Japanese army will not be able to hold his breath.

Some Japanese soldiers were muttering in small voices:

"Wait? Wait any longer, and the less likely you are to be able to fight the enemy! ”

"It's the captain who is scared, so he just wants us to hide here and survive!"

……

So, a Japanese soldier pointed his gun at the sea, and his finger gently pulled the trigger. There was a group of U.S. soldiers busy carrying supplies down the stranded ship Higgins......

A young U.S. Marine struggled to make his way through waist-deep waters, and finally came to the side of the Higgins, grinning at the crew and saying, "Hey, give me a heavy one, that might save me a few trips......"

He didn't finish his words, he was still going to say, "I'm fed up with the smell of corpses in the sea!" Because the sea was full of the corpses of the soldiers of the 2nd Marine Regiment who had died during the landing the day before, most of those bodies had been washed away by the sea, but many of them were still stuck in the coral, they were rapidly decomposing in the sea, and some of them were gnawed by the sea life like a rag tied to white bones.

Out of respect for the corpses of his comrades, he did not say this.

Soon, he had an extra ammunition box on his shoulder.

"Be careful!" The crew on the boat admonished: "This is Bazooka's rocket!" ”

The meaning of this is clear to anyone who has used Bazooka, who has just been developed and sent to the battlefield urgently, so there are many flaws, and the instability of the rocket is one of them.

The moment the Marines turned around with the ammunition box on their backs, gunshots rang out...... Then I heard a loud "boom", the ammunition box exploded, and several Marines were instantly engulfed in flames, or more precisely, they should have been torn to pieces by the explosion, and then the flames quickly rushed into the Higgins ship, and soon the Higgins ship exploded into a fireball in the terrified eyes of the Marines.

"It's Japanese!" The US Marines, who came to their senses from the shock, shouted: "They are on board!" ”

"Quick, turn the tank over!" One of the officers shouted: "We're going to give those damned Japanese a good look!" ”

And on the "Saida Maru", Takeji Shiraishi angrily scolded: "Bastard, you guy who doesn't listen to orders!" ”

But now it's too late to scold anything, looking at the U.S. troops who turned their guns to the "Saida Maru", Takeji Shiraishi had to yell: "Everyone, the last moment has come!" Rush with me...... Long live the Emperor! ”

(To be continued.) )