Guadalcanal 72 Years On

[kham]

Keep this map handy*. I'll be referring to obscure places, named on this, over and over again. 26 Bettys raid H. F4Fx12 intercept. J. are able to bomb before interception. 28 killed or wounded at H. and a P-400 blown up. 5-7 J. planes shot down Rabaul now has 40 Zeros that can reach H. H. has 11 flyable F4Fs. The typical air raid on H. "Guadalcanal: The First Offensive"

[kham]

*24* F4Fs (ex-Saratoga) arrive at H.!!

De Klerk reaches the giant village of Nala, pop. 200, in the center of 'canal. The natives have just killed a patrol of 16 J. ..... and are worried about repercussions. De Klerk praises them and now the natives are friendly. They send a runner to Gold Ridge, 8 miles away. Don MacFarland is there again with his radio.
Lt. Nakayama finds a starving J. in the jungle. He's been there since Aug 7. "Please soldiers, avenge us!"
Runner gets back from gold ridge. Macfarland askes De Klerk to come to him and he'll take everybody to H.

The typical naval bombardment. "Guadalcanal: The First Offensive"
IJA strategy used at Bataan and New Guinea - If an attack from a certain direction is blocked by impassable terrain the IJA will try to pass that terrain and attack. Since Aug 11, the Marines have considered the terrain S. of H. to be impractical for an attack.

[kham]

Vandegrift is aware of moving J. forces around H. but doesn't know how strong they are. He feels he may be outnumbered. He prepares plans to conduct guerrilla war if H. falls.
F4Fx31 (!) scramble to meet an air raid. 2 bombers are shot down by AA. Marines claim total of 10 Bettys, 3 Zero downed! Marines did their overhead run *just* as the Bettys release their bombs. They hit the Bettys hard. People on the ground see 6 Bettys falling at the same time. It's possible 16 Bettys in all were lost! (counting damaged ones that didn't make it back to Rabaul) 1 F4F pilot killed in crash landing, 1 wounded and med evacced. The bombs dropped on the Ridge, not the airfield! A Corporal: "Some goddamn rest area! Some goddamn rest area!"
With the Ridge taking the heat it's obvious to the Marines that something is going on. Scouts report a large J. force E. of the Tenaru. Raiders and Paras meet J. rifle fire when patrolling S. of the Ridge. They dig in on the S. part of the Ridge.
Artillery is a rich man's weapon. USA has a lot of artillery and the IJA... has a lot of mortars. A howitzer has a short barrel and fires its round in a high arc. A gun might fire the same size round but it uses a much larger propellant charge. A howitzer uses a smaller charge, experiences less pressure - it can be more light weight. The M2 weighs a feather-light 3,750 pounds and fires a 33 pound shell (holding 5 pounds of TNT) up to 12,000 yards. The main killer is shrapnel from the thick case. M2 howitzer has a sustained rate of fire of 4-6 rounds a minute. (without overheating) A good crew can fire more than 10 rounds a minute. They fired as fast as possible during the battle to come and used water to cool down one barrel while the other howitzers kept firing. Edson has 12 M2 105mm howitzers attached to him (and has 2 other batteries on call) (pic from 1950s) The view from the S., looking N. to H. Note how the only non-jungle path to H. goes over the ridge. The jungle is not only thick, it obscures the real obstacles - ravines and steep hills covered with slick mud. The Ridge is shaped like a "T" with the cross facing S. Want to get to H.? Have to walk down the stem.

[kham]

Turner and McCain have just flown in to meet Vandegrift. (*This one item destroys any retcon over the years of how the USN *didn't abandon the Marines; The problem wasn't at the pointy end, it was who was in charge. None the less, if they had followed Ghormley's plans the Marines could have expected resupply maybe in 1945 or 1950....)
Kawaguchi has to be concerned. His force has become scattered on the jungle march and he can't communicate with all of them.Lt. Nakayama reaches the Matanikau river. He contacts the Oka unit! Oka breaks radio silence and send a message that he's moving E.
Edson's afternoon patrols S. of ridge finds Kawaguchi's force. Size of force unclear. Edson plans many patrols tomorrow morning to find out. Pilots from Wasp ferry in replacement warplanes. This is good for morale because Marines now know USN CVs are in the area. The evening SBD search finds *3* groups of IJN warships in the area. One group, including CL Tenryu, is an obvious bombardment force. Marines make sure their planes are well dispersed that night.
Ridge defended by 5 Raider companies plus the Parachute battalion. Para batt is worn down to about company size. Raider companies B and C and the Paras are on the ridge (Paras are the furthest E.) Companies A and D are in reserve. Company E (heavy weapons*) is on the stem *HMGs, mortars. Kawaguchi's force starts sneaking N. From now until the main attack starts there are little skirmishes here and there.
Kawaguchi is surprised that there's a big ridge between him and the airfield! No time to find a new route. Yes, he's just *now* found out about the Ridge. (there's no good maps of this worthless island) Kawaguchi: "The time has come for you to give your lives for the Emperor." K. thinks H. has 5,000 defenders - total. There can't be that many in front of him since he's attacking from the least likely place!
*Ref timing of this battle. Just about every source has a different timeline.
Kawaguchi's platoon leaders put Xs of white tape on their backs ...
Turner, McCain, Vandegrift decide they need the 7th Marine Regt. brought in and will ask Ghormley to send them. So what if training isn't finished! Turner will take 7th Marines to H. - escorted by every CV and other warship in the SWPac. McCain will get more planes for H. - even if he has to steal them. They go to sleep at 9pm... just as the IJN bombardment starts.
J. sneaking up to Marine lines are surprised to find rifle shots hitting nearby in response to minor noises. A PFC finds a microphone on a wire! The Marines have their out-defenses wired for sound! (This microphone business is something I've never heard in American accounts but I've heard it twice in J. accounts. Who knows?) Kawaguchi's forces have been scattered during the fast move through the jungle today. He'd like to reorganize them but the attack *has* to go in at 9pm. So he sends whatever forces are available. Kawaguchi's men creep closer. Marines toss a few grenades. Marines have men beyond their front lines in listening posts. Some of them are overrun. A marine gets bayoneted. The Ichiki arty diversion to the E. of H. starts! The IJN bombardment of the ridge starts! IJN float plane drops flare S. of H. (almost over the ridge) 4 J. warships bombard the Ridge Some overshots kill a few of Kawaguchi's men. The Ridge bombardment lasts 20 minutes - then drifts back to the airfield. 3 pilots killed. A smaller force, 200-400, attack on the East across the ilu.
Kawaguchi: "Totsugeki!" (charge)
C company, on the eastern part of the T Cross, takes the biggest hit. C has to give ground, J. infiltrate their lines. The attack is well organized. Men chop down brush in front of hidden MG positions to open up lines of fire. A big surprise for the Marines! J. throw strings of firecrackers as a distraction when they hit the Marine lines. (I'll talk more about these firecrackers towards the end of the battle. They're significant)
With C company giving ground, B companies flank is exposed. Both B and C pull back to their 2nd defense line. With companies falling back, Major McKennon moves his company up to cover the gaps. Capt. Torgeson fires up the Paras and they counter-attack. As the J. meet the Para attack McKennon's MGs cut them down "like ten pins" Father de Klerk is still at Nala, resting up. He visits a nearby hill and watches the battle today and tomorrow. Quite a show! The J. assault on the B company line falls apart because the elements of C company that *didn't* pull back are causing havoc in the middle of the J. attack. Staying in their foxholes, shooting everything that's not in a foxhole.
That huge IJN force (Zui/Sho, Yamato and so on) is about 200 miles N. of 'canal waiting for word that the airfield has been captured.
Heavy skirmishing the rest of the night (about 6 more hours). By sunrise the J. are back in the jungle S. of the ridge.

[kham]

IJN doesn't know if the attack has captured airfield or if it even happened! Rabaul sends 2 recon planes and 20 Zeros to investigate. If J. control field, Zeros will land and support IJA (they'd have about half their fuel so they can fly a lot of short range missions) (Dawn) Fighting dies down, there's time to eat. Edson: They were testing. Just testing. They'll be back. But maybe not as many of them. Or maybe more. (smiles) Marines had 12 killed last night. Not clear how many J. died but it wasn't a lot.
Raider companies B and C retake their positions. (it takes a few hours. they keep getting shot at from the jungle) They notice the food they looted from Tasimboko was relooted by the J. last night. Kawaguchi had expected last night's attack to be decisive but he wasn't able to organize his force the way he wanted. Kawaguchi: because of the devilish jungle, the brigade was scattered all over and completely beyond control. ..
In my whole life I have never felt so helpless....
Ghormley tells Vandegrift they'll be a major attack by Kawaguchi tonight. V. tells Geiger that if Marines have to abandon perimeter, make sure the planes fly out first. Geiger says ok, but I'm not leaving. Kawaguchi pulls back S. He has 100s of wounded, 800-1,000 effectives. He decides to attack again tonight. He doesn't expect to win now, just prefers dying in battle. The Marines are holding the ridge with only 300-400 men. K. has better chances than he thinks.
F4Fx18 fly in - ferried by Hornet. The pilots fly out on DC3s later that day. That is, many of the used up pilots flew out later that day. Sometime today, Edson pulls a brilliancy. He moves his 12 105s absurdly close to the ridge - 1,000 yards or less away. (So close gunners have to dig holes so the guns can recoil without hitting the ground (barrels are pointed almost straight up)) Why? Edson assumes J. will cut his phone lines so he wants the arty close! Orders can be yelled or sent by runner with little delay. Raiders/Paras try to push forward in the daylight. Can't make progress so they pull back 250 yards to dig in a better position on the ridge that afternoon. F4Fx17 intercept the recon mission from 5 hours ago. 3 zeros down, 2-3 F4Fs down and 1 pilot killed. Recon planes report (by radio, I assume) Marines hold H. *and* there are arty positions worth bombing to the E. of H. 20 miles East. Around Taivu and Tasimboko...

[kham]

Turner and McCain fly back to Espiritu Santo. Nice night to have visited! Air raid. Marines get 5 Bettys, 1 F4F crashed on takeoff. The raid attacks "marine" arty positions at Taivu. But that's actually Kawaguchi's supply base! Marines find 11 Zeros strafing IJA positions near Tasimboko. They dogfight them at low altitude. It's a wild melee - planes zipping in and out of clouds. The ex-Hornet pilots need to be reminded - Don't Dogfight Zeros! 2 Zeros down, 3-4 F4Fs down and 2 badly damaged. At lower altitudes and lower speeds, the advantage a Zero has in dogfights increases.

[kham]

J. bombers attack the Ridge and adjacent points
On the ridge, C company moves into reserve, A and D replace them.
Edson reorganizes his defense lines. Pulls back 100 yards giving his MGs more open space to exploit.2nd Batt, 5 Regt. sent to Ridge as reserve force. They're walking and won't get there until after dark. They need to cross the runway but all the aircraft activity stalls them.

[kham]

Vandegrift working on plans for guerrilla war if he loses the airfield tonight.
Turner, as agreed last night, asks Ghormley for permission to transfer 7th Marines to 'canal.
Ghormley stalls, Nimitz overrules him. 7th Mar will move ASAP

[kham]

de Klerk's expedition makes an attempt to get to H. but there's too many J. from the Kawaguchi attack running around in the jungle.They head to Gold Ridge instead.
2 float zeros zip over H. at low altitude and shoot down an SBD trying to land. AA gunners are outraged. 10 minutes later... AA gunners open up on the next planes to fly over H. They are SBDx12, TBFx6 ex-Saratoga! Luckily, they miss. J. bombers attack the Ridge and adjacent points..

Time for Trash Talk on the Ridge. J.: "US Marine be dead tomorrow" Marines: "Hirohito eats shit!" (pause) J.: "Eleanor eats shit!"
The pilots at H. know what's at stake. "Fire in the Sky..." - Eric Bergerud

[kham]

The effective strength of the Marines dug in on the ridge is about 300. (I think Edson's reserve (C company) is about 100.) There's a reserve battalion nearby under Col. Whaling. Vandegrift will decide when to use them. Marines defensive lines are better - they've been fine tuning them all day. It's a moonless night. Edson: "This is it. There is only us between the airfield and the Japs. If we don't hold we'll lose the 'canal." Flares over the ridge. 2 battalions attack!
Kawaguchi attacks in the same place. This time, B company defends. A B co. platoon is quickly isolated and surrounded. B company's line falls apart - there's a 200 yard gap and J. start pouring through it! There is now only 1 line of defense between the J. and the arty. J. are close enough that infiltrators take pot shots at the arty from the jungle. Largest force attacks center of ridge, the other one infiltrates through the jungle west of ridge and splits the raider position. The cutoff platoon pulls back 250 yards. Edson's command post is on the highest, most exposed part of the ridge. He sees everything. Loud mouth NCOs yell fire direction at the 105s. Edson stays at this post, exposed, almost all night. He needs to see what's going on to give orders. PFC Tom Watson is a clerk with the Howitzer battalion's HQ unit. Howitzer gunners are shocked at the orders they receive. They're often firing within *50* yards of the front line! J. tactics made the howitzers more effective. The Para batt, on the far E. of the line, wasn't attacked last night. IJN have DDx7 bombarding the Ridge.