Perhaps he could land troops twenty miles behind...
Perhaps he could land troops twenty miles behind the Japanese lines and have them advance along the coastBut the jungle was too thickThere were places where they would have to leave the shore and there was an impenetrable forest along the coast behind Botoi
An idea had formed, not even articulated, and he held it numbly, conscious at first only that he had an ideaHe got out of bed, and trod over the duckboards in his bare feet to examine some aerial photographs in his deskCould a company do it?
It was quite possibleHe could send a company in assault boats completely around the island, have them land on the unexplored northern shore, which was separated from Toyaku and his troops by the Watamai mountain rangeThey could strike out directly across the middle of the island, go through the pass adjacent to Mount Anaka and descend into the Japanese rear, where they could attack the beach at Botoi Bay and hold it until he balenciaga yellow bag could land a battalionIt would be a plausible attack, for the beach defenses at Botoi were pointed toward the sea; like almost all Japanese positions, there was little maneuverability in the fire lanesThe timing will be a bitch on thatBut what a conception it wasThere was an unorthodoxy, a daring about it, which appealed to him greatlyCummings did not concern himself with that, howeverAs in all such moments when he was considering new plans, his mind had become practical and directQuickly, he was estimating the distancesIt was twenty-five miles across the island to the Japanese side of the pass, and from there it was seven miles to Botoi BayWithout any delaying incidents a company could do it in three days, two if they were to push themselvesHe studied the aerial mapsThe terrain was formidable, of course, but not impassable on the other side of the islandThere was a fringe of jungle not more than a few miles wide at the necklace pearl chanel water's edge, and then a relatively open march over hills and kunai grass until they would reach the mountains and the passThe problem was to find a route through the jungle in the Japanese rear once they were through the passIf he were to send a company out they would almost certainly blunder into an ambush
Cummings sat back in his chair and musedHe would need reconnaissance firstIt would be too expensive, too risky, to tie up a company for a week when the thing might be impossibleA patrol of a few men, a squad or two, would be the better ideaThey could go out, break a route, reconnoiter the trails in the Japanese rear, and then return over the way they had come to be picked up by the boatsIf they got back without trouble, he could send out a company and pull off the planCummings stared at the lamp for a few secondsThe first reconnaissance patrol would take five days, at most six, and on their return he could dispatch a chanel white j12 watch company that could reach Botoi in three daysFor safety's sake, he could allow ten days altogether, or eleven actually since he couldn't start it until tomorrow nightHis attack would begin in two days, and by the time he would be ready to launch the Botoi Bay invasion it would be nine days oldWith luck some penetration might be made by them, but it was unlikely the frontal assault would be that successfulAs it was, the timing might be very opportuneThe thing had its appeal
Whom could he send out on the first patrol? He thought at once of recon, and then deliberated, searching his memory for what he knew of themThey had been in the rubber boats but there were only a few of those men left, and since then they had been relatively inactiveThe night the Japanese had attacked across the river they had acquitted themselves well, very wellThere was that platoon leader Croft whom Dalleson had mentionedBest of all, they were a vintage tank watch small platoon, and he could send them all outIf he were to split a larger platoon, the men who would have to go would be bitter at their bad luck in being selected
With a little shock he realized that Hearn was to be assigned to recon tomorrowIt wasn't a particularly good idea to send out an officer who would be unfamiliar with his platoon, but he couldn't leave the success of a patrol like this to a noncomAnd Hearn was intelligent with the physical requirements necessary for such an extended mission -- at this instant Cummings considered Hearn coldly, as though he were totting up the merits and demerits of a horseHearn could manage it; he probably had a flair for command
A reaction was setting inThis new plan had a great many risks, almost too many to depend on itFor a few moments Cummings considered dropping itBut the initial investment was cheap enoughA dozen or fifteen men and if it went badly for them nothing was vuitton gold bag los