Guadalcanal 72 Years On

[kham]

est Constable Seku, one of Clemens' top scouts, leads a patrol. Based at De Klerk's Tangarare mission, they've been out 2 days. Seku's patrol find 10 J. gathering food near a river. The J. had left their rifles in a neat pile. Seku's patrol take the rifles, hide and wait. When the J. return, the natives attack with axes and spears (to avoid the noise of gunfire) and kill all the J. During the rest of their patrol they wipe out 2 more bands of stragglers from the Kawaguchi Butai - a total of 32.

Hornet's F4Fs on CAP shoot down a Betty

[kham]

Hornet's F4Fs on CAP shoot down another Betty - this one just 49 miles from Hornet. No more search planes come around. Hornet makes a clean getaway. The only effect of the raid was to warn Tanaka that his defenses around Shortlands were weak. He fixes that. It has no effect on the buildup for the Oct. offensive.

The increased size and frequency of TE runs tell Vandegrift something big is coming (besides the other intel he gets) (**aka 'Magic', also known as 'Ultra' )

[kham]

est Recon spots incoming TE run of DDx6. SBDx9 attack the TE run. DD Minegumo is almost sunk by 2 pounding near misses! She limps back to Shortlands. DD Murasame gets it almost as bad with a near miss. She also returns.
Lt. Cmdr. Eldrige, commander of dive bomber squadron VS-71, ditches his SBD off Santa Isabel. Natives snatch up Eldrige and his gunner. Coastwatcher Kuper provides Same Day Service as a float plane picks up Eldrige and his gunner the same afternoon!

H. tries something new. Tries to bomb supplies on the beach at night before they're moved inland. They use flares to illuminate. Doesn't work well. 2 TBFs crash, 5 crew die.

The TE run (DDx4) unloads W. of Lunga. --- SBDs attack... and miss.

The Marines have a plan for Matanikau.
The IJA have a plan for Matanikau.

Yes, these two plans mean the forces will bump head on creating a exciting meeting engagement. What's a meeting engagement?

Here's your handy map.

The submarine Grampus picks up 4 new coastwatchers at Brisbane. They'll be delivered to Vella Lavella and Choiseul (as Mackenzie had directed back on Aug 30)

[kham]

A plan to build an airfield on Ndeni in the Santa Cruz islands, using men that could go to 'canal, is still on the table. The Army's Gen Harmon thinks this is a bad idea and tells Ghormley. Ghormley decides to build the airfield on Ndeni but will also send the 164th Regt to 'canal and improve H. field

[kham]

IJA's Sendai division, 4th regt. start crossing Matanikau river to get ready for the Oct 8th action. Parts of a battalion cross at the ford 2,000 yards S. of the river mouth. Parts of another batt. crosses at the river mouth to set up a stable bridgehead for further reinforcement. Just E. of the river mouth. Note: Matanikau is a river AND there is a Matanikau village at the mouth of the Matanikau river)

Marines (under Edson) are marching from Lunga to Matanikau (mouth of river). They want to secure the area just E. of the river mouth to set up the offensive tomorrow.

est CVE Copahee leaves Espritu Santo carrying a Marine fighter squadron for H.

[kham]

The other regiment of Marines, advancing from Kukum toward hill 65 (2,000 yards from the coast) ...are fired upon upon several hundred yards EAST of the river. --- It's an IJA blocking force. A skirmish goes on for a few hours. (if it seems the combat today is very slow paced... it is. That's what it's like in heavy jungle) "In Europe, the land allowed movement and supported massive forces. .In the S. Pacific the land brought operations to a crawl and limited their size." Touched with Fire - Eric Bergerud

The Marines headed towards mouth of the Matanikau are now in combat 200 yards E.of Matanikau. About 150 J. are at the mouth of Matanikau, 5 Marine advance scouts were killed earlier and their bodies are bound up and displayed by the J. The J. have supporting fire from the other side of the river. --- The Marine company has little room for maneuver. About half of Edson's regiment can advance *to* the river but no further. The Marines are stalemated near the coast. The J. at the river's mouth have Marines N and E of them

[kham]

2 (small) Raider companies are called in to deal with the pocket of J. near the mouth of the river.
est The 150 odd J. at the mouth of the Matanikau try to retreat across the river. Marine Guns: "Nope" The heavily outnumbered J. 2,000 yards inland retreat. Marines settle in on hill 65. They'll be crossing the river at the ford tomorrow. 3rd batt (Edson) has the J. force pinned up against the river. The Raiders dig in for the night. (2 small Raider companies) The marines at mouth of river drive amphib tractors back and forth all night to keep the J. thinking a tank attack is imminent. There's heavy rain all night. The river will be swollen - crossings will be difficult tomorrow.

[kham]

est The heavy J. firepower around the mouth of the Matanikau keeps the Marines from advancing. Plus, a crossing at the mouth is now impractical due to the flooded river --- Marines change their offensive plan. Instead of crossing and attacking Matanikau village, units at the river mouth will simply wipe out the J. east of the river.

Marine Division HQ back at H. has figured out that this is a meeting engagement. That means the J. were about to attack and the Marines now think J. will attack tonight. (which is actually what the J. schedule was) The Marines prepare to meet an attack. They're setting up barbed wire at the river mouth and are moving up a couple of 37mm AT guns. Marines also learn from intel that the J. have a strong attack on H. planned later this month. Marines cancel their Matanikau to Kokumbona offensive and will just do a spoiling raid towards Point Cruz. (Spoiling raid means attack enough to foul up the enemies plans.) (Make him burn ammo, supplies and manpower to keep you at bay. Ammo, supplies and manpower they need for the big offensive.)

Marines don't want to overextend with a big J. attack coming this month. The Army's 164th Regt, Americal division, finds out they'll be reinforcing H. They start loading their transports in Noumea. The airbase at Buin is finished. Zeros based at Buin have a much shorter trip to 'canal. Half as far. 30 Zeros and Hamps (the shorter range Zero) will be based at Buin. (it's a small base) Zeros will be based at Buin in a day or two (a reminder, J. captured Buin in *March*.)

Yamamoto postpones the trip of the fast transports to 'canal. He will not send them without air cover and the new airfields on Bougainville don't have the planes and ground crew ready.

3 Marine battalions, 2,000 yards upstream (S.), are slowly crossing the Matanikau. They're using a ford but the swollen river slows everything down. It takes all day. (these are the units that will do the spoiling raid)

[kham]

2 Marine raider companies are pecking away at the J. force E of the river mouth. These companies are small, they're what's left over from the Bloody Ridge battle last month.

est The new Marine fighter squadron flies F4Fx20 from CVE Copahee to H. They relieve what's left of 3 other used up squadrons. Arriving with the squadron is the ancient relic, **27** year old Joe Foss. Other pilots call him Old Fox. Foss had a hard time getting assigned to a fighter squadron due to his advanced age. ( Compare to present-day drivers and you can only marvel...)



The J. West of Matanikau (at the mouth) charge East and attack into the Marine raiders. It's grenades and hand-to-hand! The raiders have their positions well concealed. the J. are moving almost shoulder to shoulder so Marine firepower has full effect. During the initial rush, J. pushed past some Marines without seeing them. Those Marines fired on the J. rear, then moved back to the main Marine lines. There are heavy casualties on both sides but most of the J. are repelled. The Marines pull back to their 2nd defense line. The J. and Marine perimeters are entangled. It's pitch black. The commander of the Raider A company is sharing his foxhole with a J. without knowing it. They don't talk to each other. Eventually, the commander's runner returns. He notices and kills the J.

Tonight's TE run features Nisshin, DDx6. They carry 740 troops, 6 AA guns, and the 2 150mm howitzers left over from the last run. They're able to make the run safely despite air attacks in the afternoon and around sunset. Also on this TE - Gen. Haruyoshi Hyakutake - taking personal charge of the October offensive. His HQ is at Kokumbona. He'll have the Sendai division plus 2 battalions of the 38th division (the 38th has the *heavy* arty - 150mm Howitzers) Most of the Sendai division arty arrives with him. (lighter, more mobile artillery) As Hyakutake lands a lot of food is unloaded. Starving remnants of the Kawaguchi Butai help move the food inland - then steal it. Hyakutake is so dismayed by the condition of the remnants that he doesn't do anything about the loss of food. Hyakutake: "The operation to surround and recapture Guadalcanal will truly decide the fate of the Pacific War" Even as he said that, he was holding back substantial infantry at Rabaul (another division) to use in New Guinea after he captured 'canal.

American victories in land battles here so far were due to better firepower, mobility and air support. Japanese command blamed the losses on lack of fighting spirit. Throughout the night the Marines and J. near the mouth of Matanikau are slowly killing each other. There's no more big attacks, just 3-4 men at a time sneaking around, throwing grenades and stabbing. "In no theater of war, during the 20th C, did infantry experience as much combat at point-blank range as they found in the S. Pacific." "Because the dense jungle battlefield lessened the tactical effectiveness of modern weapons, the war became a ... ferocious slugging match between light-infantry armies at extremely close quarters." Both quotes from "Touched With Fire" Eric Bergerud

[kham]

H. attacks last nights TE run on the way out. No damage.

est The J. position E. of the mouth of the Matanikau has been wiped out due to the all the small unit combat that went on *all night*. About half the J. were able to escape across the river.

est TRs McCawley and Zeilin depart Noumea carrying the 164th Regt. Should reach 'canal Oct 13. They're escorted by DDx3, other escorts. Adm. Scott is backing them up. He has CAx4, DDx5 and is ready to deal with IJN surface forces. Scott is near Rennel island. He's been practicing night combat for weeks. Distant support provided by CV Hornet's TF and BB Washington's TF Hornet is 180 miles SW of 'canal. Washington is 50 miles E. of Malaita.

est (next few tweets dealing with the raid W. of Matanikau river cover a few hours) 7th Mar Regt. crosses the Matanikau 2,000 yards inland. A battalion turns N. and quickly moves onto hills 73 and 75. Nothing interesting happens with this group over the next few hours. A 2nd batt moves further W before turning and heads to hill 72. Over the next hours, this group finds a few J. here and there. Before anything can develop, they're told to return. The last battalion goes even further West before turning and has hills 66, 81 and 80. From Hills 81 and 80, they can see J. in a ravine on their left. Perfect targets for mortars! The J. can't stay in the ravine with all the plunging mortar fire. They move up the hillside of hill 83... Rifles and MGs cut them down. They can't go up the hill! This goes on for hours until the Marines are out of mortar ammo. Then a few P-400s fly by and finish the job with bombs and cannon. Vandegrift decides he's tired of the J. messing around E. of the Matanikau. It's time to occupy it that area permanently. He'll use 2 reinforced battalions to hold the E. side of the river from the coast 2,000 yards to hill 67.
The mouth is the only place tanks and heavy equip can cross. If they cross, they can run up the beach to Lunga. Marines set up 37mm AT guns and hide 75mm tank destroyers nearby.