The 2d Marine Division still had five more hours of hard fighting on Betio the morning of D+3 before the island could be conquered. Late in the morning, General Smith sent this report to Admiral Hill on _Maryland_: Decisive defeat of enemy counterattack last night destroyed bulk of hostile resistance. Expect complete annihilation of enemy on Betio this date. Strongly recommend that you and your chief of staff come ashore this date to get information about the type of hostile resistance which will be encountered in future operations. Meanwhile, following a systematic preliminary bombardment, the fresh troops of McLeod’s LT 3/6 passed through Jones’ lines and commenced their attack to the east. By now, Marine assault tactics were well refined. Led by tanks and combat engineers with flamethrowers and high explosives, the troops of 3/6 made rapid progress. Only one bunker, a well-armed complex along the north shore, provided effective opposition. McLeod took advantage of the heavy brush along the south shore to bypass the obstacle, leaving one rifle company to encircle and eventually overrun it. Momentum was maintained; the remaining Japanese seemed dispirited. By 1300, McLeod reached the eastern tip of Betio, having inflicted more than 450 Japanese casualties at the loss of 34 of his Marines. McLeod’s report summarized the general collapse of the Japanese defensive system in the eastern zone following the counterattacks: “At no time was there any determined defensive.... We used flamethrowers and could have used more. Medium tanks were excellent. My light tanks didn’t fire a shot.” [Illustration: U.S. Navy Combat Art Collection _“Tarawa No. II,” a sketch by combat artist Kerr Eby, reflects the difficulty in landing reinforcements over the long pier throughout the battle. As Gen Julian Smith personally learned, landing across Green Beach took longer but was much safer._] [Illustration: _Marines fire a M-1919A4 machine gun from an improvised “shelter” in the battlefield._ Department of Defense Photo 63495 ] The toughest fight of the fourth day occurred on the Red Beach One/Two border where Colonel Shoup directed the combined forces of Hays’ 1/8 and Schoettel’s 3/2 against the “re-entrant” strongpoints. The Japanese defenders in these positions were clearly the most disciplined--and the deadliest--on the island. From these bunkers, Japanese antiboat gunners had thoroughly disrupted the landings of four different battalions, and they had very nearly killed General Smith the day before. The seaward approaches to these strongpoints were littered with wrecked LVTs and bloated bodies. [Illustration: Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 63455 _A Marine throws a hand grenade during the battle for the interior of the island._]