Chapter 69 gentlemen's club

Holland Smith and Turner were no strangers to the 27th Infantry Division, the Army Infantry Division that trembled before the battle began during the Butaritari landing battle. After all, the Butari Tari landing battle was the amphibious maiden battle of the 27th Division. Everyone has a growth process from rookie to veteran, and they must allow others to have a stage of "catch each other with trembling teeth". What Lan Smith and Turner didn't expect was that the 27th infantry division, which was no longer a rookie, still had no improvement. On the morning of June 23, the 27th Division entered the valley east of Mount Dabocho.The valley was very narrow, less than 1,000 yards wide, and it was densely covered with jungles. The remnants of the Japanese army were entrenched on the cliffs on both sides of the valley, and on the hills full of caves.

The difficulty is obvious. What makes Holland Smith dissatisfied is that the 27th Infantry Division does not seem to have the spirit of gnawing hard bones. There are obstacles on the way forward. Instead of finding ways to bypass or attack, they must rely on artillery and air force. Only when the artillery and air force have destroyed all the main obstacles will they attack, otherwise they will stop. In the past, in the landing battle on Kwajalein Island, the 7th Infantry Division with combat experience was also so slow. Obviously, this is no longer a problem of recruits and veterans and new troops and old troops. The problem still lies at the root, that is, the US Army and the Navy. Teams have very different combat philosophies.

The principle followed by the Marine Corps is "gain time first", while the army is "preserve strength first". How much time will be wasted during this period is not within the scope of consideration.The tactics formed in this way, the Marine Corps is "attack and then defend", and the Army is "defend and then attack". The Marine Corps who "attacked and then defended" wanted to rush even if they bypassed the Japanese stronghold, but the Army that "defended and then attacked" thought that this would lead to the interception of the rear, which was too dangerous.

Before it got dark, the 27th Infantry Division stopped advancing and began to build fortifications. Under the same circumstances, the Marine Corps will definitely continue to advance until dark. As for the fortifications, it is only necessary to dig bunkers on the spot. Holland Smith could not agree with the style of play of the 27th division.Objectively speaking, steady advance also has the advantages of steady advance, which can enable the troops to have a relatively strong defense in depth, but the problem is that at this time, the Japanese army on Saipan has no ability to attack on a large scale, so why is it necessary to fortify like this?What's more serious is that the marine divisions are advancing fast, and only the infantry division in the middle is advancing slowly, which has already exposed the flanks of the two marine divisions at the same time.

The commander of the 27th Division is also a "Smith", named Ralph Smith. Including him, the leadership of the division was given a new name by Holland Smith - "Gentlemen's Club". Holland Smith said in a mocking tone that this "Gentleman's Club" has always been an aristocratic group in New York. It holds dances and banquets every year, and summer camps in summer. It looks very high-end, but it is a pity that it cannot fight. Holland Smith's nickname is "The Roaring Madman". He is a hot-tempered person who doesn't like the feeling of having a fishbone stuck in his throat and being unable to spit out or speak.He immediately told Major General Jarman, the senior commander of the Saipan Army, that if the 27th Infantry Division was not an army division and might "cause political noise", he would dismiss Ralph Smith on the spot.

Jarman hurried to find Ralph Smith. Ralph Smith admitted that his division had not been working at full strength during the day, and he was not satisfied with the progress made by the regimental commanders. In order to save face for the shameless Army boss, Ralph Smith promised Jarman that he would personally urge the 27th Division to move forward.The next morning, Ralph Smith did come to the front line in person. The battle on this day was more intense than the first day. The 27th Infantry Division suffered a lot of casualties, and the valley where they fought had a new name-"Death Valley".

Under the pressure of casualties, Ralph Smith reined in again, and the troops were not able to advance much down the valley that day. In the face of Holland Smith's accusation, Ralph Smith believed that the army had done its best, and then rushed up desperately. It was not taking the lives of soldiers seriously, and it was right to be cautious.Holland Smith said, you are so cautious here, it has almost reached the level of timidity. Holland Smith was born in the Marine Corps. In his opinion, the most important thing in an amphibious landing battle is to increase the speed of attack as much as possible. If the army's style of play is applied, although the number of casualties is small at first, it will definitely lengthen the combat time. As far as the whole process is concerned, the gain outweighs the loss.

Because of the 27th Division, the advance speed of the Marine Corps also had to slow down.Holland Smith could no longer tolerate this, and he and Turner boarded the "Indianapolis" to report to Spruance.Holland Smith told Spruance: "Ralph Smith has shown his lack of offensive spirit. His division slowed our progress and he should be fired." Holland Smith also suggested that Jarman could temporarily command the 27th Infantry Division until a new commander arrives. On the battlefield, it is not a big deal for an officer to be dismissed because of ineffective combat. Moreover, there is indeed a problem with the command of the 27th Infantry Division. Spruance nodded in agreement. There was an uproar.