Guadalcanal 72 Years On

[kham]

All IJN radio callsigns change. This cripples traffic analysis.
BTW this type of thing is common before a big operation. Another example. Intercept operators can identify enemy morse operators by their "hand" (quirks in the way they operate)
The IJN knows this. One time they replaced all shipboard morse ops before a big operation and had them transmit from shore stations .... so the USN thought all those ships were at port (location derived from Radio Direction Finding). (callsigns also changed)
IJN is terrible at breaking codes but they're pretty good at TA!

[kham]

More and more starving J. are surrendering (these are probably Korean laborers)

(Aug 17 and 18) Marines probe at Matanikau village. They encounter heavy resistance and pull back.

~ 0600 17 Aug Henderson Field is ready for operation! Very difficult for F4Fs and SBDs to fly from Espiritu Santo to H. They usually use a carrier to ferry them closer. It's 560 miles ES to H.
~ 0700 An SBD flying recon 30 miles from Wasp has a running battle with a Mavis flying boat. The SBD takes 2nd place but is able to make it back to Wasp. A Mavis is armed with 4 .30 cal MGs and a 20mm cannon.

Coastwatcher radio station at H. is up and running. H. will get much quicker reports of incoming air raids.

~1900 The 5th SNLF (500 men?) lands near Kokumbona village, delivered by Tanaka's DDs. (about 10 miles E. of H.) It's Tanaka's job to land this unit plus Ichiki's and Kawaguchi's men. He thinks they'll have a hard time on 'canal since they've never worked together. After they drop off the SNLF the DDs head for Lunga to look for trouble. It's near midnight local time. The DDs that dropped off the SNLFs mosey on down to Lunga point and bombard H. for awhile. They also sink 3 small Coast Guard boats which were on ASW patrol. Thomas Canavan, the only survivor, swims 17 hours to Florida island. The Tokyo Express is open for business and has made it's first run!

[kham]

~ 0900 18 Aug CVE Long Island departs Efate heading towards 'canal. She is ferrying F4Fs and SBDs for Henderson Field!

~1100 new Coastwatcher Kuper is back on Santa Isabel.

All the natives on the island are part of his network. They search the entire coast daily looking for downed fliers to rescue

[kham]

~ 1900 8 Bettys raid H. create a few craters on the field. AA damages 1-5 bombers. Coastwatcher Jack Read delivered a 2 hour warning.

Marines send a force (3 companies) to take Matanikau tomorrow. (this map will be handy the next couple of days)

Thomas Canavan (only survivor from the Coast Guard sinkings last night), on Florida Island, hides from scary looking natives. He sleeps. When he wakes up he finds somebody has covered him with palm fronds.

Marines guarding the Lunga beach note unusual waves. As if they were the wakes of high speed ships traveling from West to East.

[kham]

Tokyo Express delivers half the Ichiki Butai near Taivu and about 500 Yokosuna 5th SNLF at Kokumbona. Afterwards they bombard Henderson.

The Ichiki Butai lands at Taivu - 20 miles E. of Henderson.

[kham]

Right after landing, Ichiki sends a message to Rabaul: "We have succeeded in invasion."
Very confident, Ichiki decides to move against H. without waiting for the 2nd half of his unit and his heavy weapons. Also, Ichiki doesn't want to give the Marines more time to prepare their defenses. Speed! He has rifles, MGs, mortars, light artillery. Takes around 800 inf. with him, leaves 125 behind to guard supplies at Taivu. ***for all his vaunted skill and ability, most of his and his outfit's experience is from China....Marines aint Chinese peasants....

The DDx6 that dropped off Ichiki roam around Lunga like they own the place. The DDs bombard H., sink a landing craft that was used as a ferry between Lunga and Tulagi. They're still hanging around by dawn.
Adm. Tanaka's convoy (TRx4, DDx4) leaves Rabaul with rest of Ichiki Butai and some SNLFs. The Seaplane tender Chitose is nearby.
On Aug 13, Marines met a missionary from Tetere village who told them of a J. MG outpost 10 miles E (of Lunga, I assume). A reinforced platoon of 60 leaves Lunga to destroy the outpost with some of Clemen's scouts.
Based upon those suspicious waves last night, Marines suspect a landing was made to their east.
Clemens supplies guides and scouts. Marines send many patrols to the East. (not the same patrols as an hour earlier). A company of Marines attack Matanikau village. A company of Marines attacks along the coast near Matanikau. (A company is around 200-250 men. Note that the longer a company is on 'canal, the smaller it gets. Disease and combat.) Over the next 2 hours a 3rd company of Marines tries to take Kokumbona by amphibious assault. On the way, they encounter Three IJN DDs! Marine coastal artillery can't fend off the DDs so the Marines at sea must retreat.

[kham]

Marine artillery bombards Matanikau and continues for the next hour and a half.

Part of the company attacking Matanikau breaks through J. lines with a *Bayonet Charge*

They link up with the company on the beach and it's mop up time.

[kham]

~0700 19 Aug Thomas Canavan (coast guard survivor) tries to swim to Tulagi from Florida island. Tides turn him back. At Espiritu Santo they heard about the IJN DDs running wild. They send one B-17 to solve the problem. They sent the right one.
The B-17 drops a bomb on DD Hagikaze off Lunga and the IJN DDs hightail it out of there!!
DD Hagikaze takes serious damage. A gun turret is destroyed, 33 killed, 13 wounded, top speed only 7mph
The B-17's commander, Major Jim Edmundson, thought they had sunk a CL
B-17 air crew always, I MEAN ALWAYS, think they sink whatever ship they're bombing. Always.
Marines up and down the coast saw the bombing. They enjoyed the show!

Aug 19-20 Ichiki marches towards H. (making good time, marches on beach at night - lurks in jungle during daytime) Ichiki's diary: "No enemy at all. Like marching through a no man's land."

[kham]

Now that the DDs are gone Marines raid Kokumbona village. As suspected, this is where many of the J. who fled Lunga were based. While at Kokumbona, they find the mass grave of the Goettge patrol.
65 J. dead. 4 Marines killed, 11 wounded (from both the Matanikau and Kokumbona actions). Then the Marines return to Henderson and set up the W. perimeter to the E. side of the Matanikau river.

Why doesn't Vandegrift hold onto this territory? He's being conservative. He knows that if he doesn't lose, he'll win this campaign. He keeps his perimeter well defended and does patrols and raids to keep the J. from building up.
Patrol heading for the J. MG outpost is ready for lunch. They enter an orange grove for snacks. (about 5 miles E. of Ilu river.) Let's look at the extra firepower Marines carry on patrol.
Native scouts tip the Marines about a J. patrol just before contact! They find 34 J. nonchalantly walking near Red Beach (where the marines landed). In a 30 min fire fight Marines kill 32. 2 J. escape into the jungle. 3 Marines killed, 3 wounded. They're IJA not the SNLFs the Marines have seen so far! The patrol returns with their wounded and lots of captured documents. Docs include map of Marine positions, codebook for ship-to-shore communications during landing operations. Even names of Marine units! The map has the marine positions accurate but there's no indication of strength. Marines note the weak defenses along the ilu are well mapped out.
Vandegrift figures out the J. attack is coming from the E. He deploys some of his limited barbed wire at the ilu river mouth backed up with 37mm AT using canister shells. (other sources say Marines scrounged that 1 strand of barbed wire from the abandoned coconut plantation on the other side of the river) Marines think they're defending Tenaru river. It's the ilu - they have bad maps. Further inland the ilu is 30 yards wide so the sandspit at the river mouth is the obvious place to cross.

~2100 IJN DDs bombard Henderson field.

[kham]

est Tulagi bombarded by IJN Cruiser - a B-17 chases it away
Nimitz tells Ghormley that carrier planes must be used to defend 'canal against J. landings. Ghormley doesn't want to risk his CVs. Est IJN recon planes spot USN CV TF 500 miles W. of Bougainville. It is reported as at least CV, CA, DDx2. Reasonable to assume there are more ships than that but it doesn't seem like a large force. Yamamoto thinks the 3 CVs he has out can easily handle them. BTW, that sighting tells the J. that the Americans plan to stay on 'canal. They wouldn't be risking CVs if they were leaving. est Thomas Canavan (coast guard survivor) tries to swim to Tulagi from Florida island. He makes it! est Based upon the captured map, defenses along ilu beefed up. A full battalion added along with 2 anti-tank guns and 12 75mm howitzers. Marines expect an assault that night. Marines have the beach well defended but are unsure of the size of the force to the East. They decide not to send more troops to patrol to the E. - reinforce the line instead. Even after reinforcements, there are only about 100 men defending the mouth of the ilu river. The extra men went into extending the defensive line to the south more than beefing up existing defenses.
CVE Long Island is near San Cristobal - 190 miles from H. Launches F4Fx19, SBDx12 for H.!