Guadalcanal 72 Years On

[kham]

It's raining a LOT on 'canal today and tomorrow - not continuously but it's *very* heavy when it does rain. *especially* at night. Of course, with all the rain clouds the nights are *pitch black*. keep this in mind the next day or two.

Nagumo and Kondo's TF meet up 450 miles N. of 'canal to refuel (a quick refueling) afterwards, they head S. IJN can't find USN CVs because, right now, Hornet is 1,000 miles SW of Nagumo

est Native scouts see "rice fires" (cooking fires) 2 miles S. of H. This seems odd because the IJA didn't cook when they were on the Maruyama trail. Don't have an explanation.

there was so much rain last night the fighter strip is too muddy to use. It dries out around noon.
Along the Matanikau, J. shelling occurs sporadically all day. Kills 6 Marines.

est Meanwhile, on Vella Lavella, coastwatcher Josselyn has given up trying to fix his radio. He'll have to sail 150 miles to New Geogia. Kennedy, the coastwatcher there, is a radio expert. A native tells him there's a missionary 20 miles away. Josselyn guesses he might be able to fix the the radio and looks for him.

Marines are low on artillery shells.
FDR tells Joint Chiefs that North Africa and 'canal have priority - even if it means other areas are shortchanged. FDR: Make sure every possible weapon gets through to that area to hold Guadalcanal

est Japan feeling the transport shortage. Each TR sent to 'canal is not delivering raw material from Java/Borneo to Japan.

King says he can divert a BB, CAx6, DDx2, SSx24, 75 fighters, SBDx41, TBFx15 to SWPac
5 transport planes, loaded with shells, depart Espiritu Santo but have to turn back because the runways are too muddy for heavy planes. Also TRx30 were already set for SWPac for November and King will get 20 more

est A Marine outpost sees Nasu's force moving up.
A US recon plane flies over de Klerk's mission at Tangarare. They get his cooperation for a Marine raid on the S. coast of 'canal.
est Puller's men have been preparing their defenses for a week.
est More indications of activity S. of Bloody Ridge. A Marine spots a J. officer far to the South examining Bloody Ridge positions with binocs. It's too late to move reinforcements to the Ridge - and there are few of those anyway. Reserves on 'canal: A Marine reserve batt. N. of H. and the reserve batt. of the 164th - E. of the Ridge That's it! Shoji (Kawaguchi's replacement) is having trouble getting in position. The jungle is heavy and the Maruyama trail doesn't go there.
est Much of Sendai division reaches their attack positions Almost all arty and mortars were left behind on the trail - too heavy. Too much rain for a raid from Rabaul
The IJA assault will be using rifles, grenade launchers and heavy machine guns only. They're attacking the same day they arrived - therefore they'll be attacking exhausted.

Enterprise links up with Hornet! Halsey tells them to head N. then turn W. at Santa Cruz. After that bear SW and keep an eye on 'canal.

[kham]

Besides Puller's men on the ridge, most of the 164th (1,000 men) defends the perimeter to the east. The 164th's guns cover approaches to Puller's front lines. Intersecting fields of fire!

Big IJN forces continue to roam N. of 'canal. They plan to completely block USN access to 'canal after Maruyama captures the airfield...allowing him to consolidate and get IJN air power installed before USN can do anything about it. IJN notes heavy radio traffic - obvious preparation for a big battle. (probably from all those recon planes and subs sending reports)

est MEANWHILE, back at the Matanikau river, there's trouble around Hill 67.
est The rain stops. Transport planes dash in from Espirtu Santo with the artillery shells.

Enterprise/Hornet head N. looking to rumble with IJN combined fleet somewhere N. of 'canal. (Halsey is aggressive!) USN SIGINT says the IJN combined fleet will move on 'canal in a day or two.

est Capt. Moore inspects C company on Bloody Ridge.

est The IJA plan is for a simultaneous attack by both forces S. of H. But on the east flank, Shoji force still isn't in position. Maruyama doesn't want to postpone the attack another day. He commits Nasu to attack tonight and if Shoji can attack in time that's great. Nasu is supposed to attack at 17:00, 90 minutes from now. The rain is so heavy, it is postponed a few hours. Note that if Maruyama postpones the attack another day the Marines would have another day to reinforce - and now they know IJA is there!

[kham]

est Gen. Del Valle tells Puller he'll have priority call on artillery tonight. There are many telephone lines and they're always on. Should be no problem contacting arty support.

As the night falls, the rain starts. It's *HEAVY* rain. Night plus heavy clouds. It's pitch black tonight.
IJA's *intended* plan of attack. The Japanese Army and Navy are only theoretically on the same side. (Guadalcanal: The Carrier Battles by Eric Hammel)
J. start sneaking up to the wire. Can't be seen but Marines hear the alarms (the shell fragments) It's pouring rain. *POURING RAIN* On the outpost S. of the ridge: Marines phone in - they see *thousands* of J. coming around both sides of the hill! J. are bypassing the hill to maintain surprise - they don't know the Marines are in phone contact. Alert given, the platoon exploits the dark and rain and sneaks away east into the jungle.
The rain both slows and conceals the IJA advance. They weren't seen until they reached the wire. IJA sappers start cutting the wire. The usual exchange of taunts begins... "Blood for the Emperor! Marine You Die!" "To hell with your Goddamned Emperor! Blood for Franklin and Eleanor!"
est Nagumo's CVs and escorts refuel all night

Puller: "Commence firing." Many, many MGs cut down attacking Js. Some break through line - J. and Marines do hand to hand. Marine mortar, artillery and MGs open fire. (During tonight's attack, 1 Marine machinegunner fired 26,000 rounds.) The MGs are critical - they prevent the follow-on units from exploiting breaches opened up by the first assault. Puller has some of the best machine gunners and mortar men in the Corps. They chew into the 29th Regt. Maruyama hears gunfire on the right. Is it Shoji?
The most intense fighting is in front of "A" company
The first assault is beaten off. The 164th, firing from the side, tears into the retreating IJA. During this lull, Puller calls Del Valle. "Give us all you've got. We're hanging on by our toenails." Del Valle vows to fire until his ammo runs out.
est During a lull, one of those elite machine gunners, John Basilone, has to move in front of his unit's guns ... to move aside bodies - keeping fields of fire open. (over the next 15 minutes) The 2nd assault. IJA apply heavy pressure all along the line. One place that is attacked frequently... that gate in the barbed wire that was in front of C Company. Since it wasn't closed up tight until dusk the IJA thought it was still a weak point.
est Capt. Beasley, Puller's operations officer, thinks the IJA will break though tonight and overrun the airfield. He sends a message to V. (who's off the island tonight) warning him of the possibility. Beasley also asks the local commander that the reserves be committed to Puller's line.
est Maruyama gets a report that Shoji's attack has hit the airfield!
(For the rest of the night.) A total of *Eight* assaults hit Marine lines. Those assaults keep splintering the defenders into small groups that reform and retake their positions. Marines going all out with the #MoreDakka principle. One company fired 1,200 81mm mortar shells!
est USN recon spots those IJN CVs again.
est Nasu's attack is knocked back by overwhelming firepower He attacks again and again and but each attack is weaker. (Maruyama) Still no word from Shoji. Gunfire is louder and louder

[kham]

est Sgt. Basilone is in charge of a MG unit. He's everywhere, running ammo, moving guns to better positions, guiding fire, clearing jams, swapping barrels. At least once he takes over a MG position after everybody else is killed or wounded. (**The Pacific pretty much got this scene right, even though they abbreviated some of the battle)

[kham]

est Yamamoto got the (mistaken) message that the airfield was captured He orders his main force forward to meet USN in *decisive battle*. (**great googly moogly,these retards redefine the term!)

Yamamoto also sends in CL Yura, DDx5 to bombard H. - supporting IJA's inf. attack in daylight. Nagumo isn't so confident. Not happy about the lack of confirmation - VERY not happy about not knowing where the USN CVs are. There's been no sightings for a week! Nagumo asks Yamamoto to be cautious. Yamamoto is angered. He says that if you don't know where the USN CVs are then find them! (**Yes, and the last time I followed YOUR fucking orders, that worked out SOOO well.... )

Lt. Col. Frisbie calls Puller: "Do you still need reinforcements?" Puller "***YES*** For God's sake, don't hold back!" (**Somehow I suspect Chesty said a few other adjectives, but you get the gist ) Col. Fuller (filling in for V.) agrees to commit the only reserve force on the whole island. The reserves are only a mile away but it's pitch black and they're going to have a hard time finding the right place to go. (they could "march to the sound of the guns" but they might get fired on if they show up in the wrong place)
est Puller is down to 500 effectives. (over the next half hour) It's so dark Marines have to go back and guide each detachment of the 164th's reserves by hand to their positions.
The 164th brings a lot to the party - they have M1 rifles!
IJA attacks are weakening - so is Puller's line. Now the 164th reserves are in place. #MoreDakka! The 164th (not in reserve) have a couple of 37mm ATs in their defensive line. Now those 37s are blasting away with canister - doing horrible things to massed IJA formations. Now that the 164th reserves are in line, their M1s are firing so rapidly the J. can no longer reach the barbed wire!
est Around dawn - the attack collapses. There's about 1,000 J. bodies in front of Marine lines. The Marines and Army now pack so much firepower that's it's unlikely a direct frontal assault can take them. Nasu's 29th Regt. was the best in Sendai division. It's now ruined. Maruyama's staff advises retreat. Maruyama says no and commits the division's reserve to Nasu. They'll attack at the same point tonight. (**The strategic brilliance of the Jem'Hadar! )
What happened to the Marine outpost platoon? 42 eventually made their way back to Marine lines. The other 4 were MIA.

[kham]

est SBDx6 take off from the fighter strip for dawn patrol - chancy because strip is too muddy but they make it.
The Fighter strip is barely usable. Very muddy at dawn. As the day progresses it gets drier.

est Nagumo is told a US recon plane was shot down near his ships. He assumes USN knows his position.
*Dugout Sunday* begins at Henderson Field There was so much artillery and bombing Marines wanted to stay in their dugouts all day.

This is will be the busiest day of the campaign for Marine air power. All those carriers out there *have* to bump into each other pretty soon! Here's your handy scorecard. Ref IJN . Ref USN CVs Enterprise and Hornet are in 2 TFs but so close together I consider them one giant TF for this order of battle. Of course, most of the Order of Battle info came from Hammel's book.

est A Dawn Patrol SBD spots DDx3 inbound 35 miles away. These are DDs headed for Koli point with troops (Akatsuki, Ikazuchi and Shiratsuyu)
est Attacks on bloody ridge end for the rest of daytime
Nagumo heads N. Since he doesn't know location of USN CVs he's vulnerable to surprise attack.
est TR President Coolidge hits mine near Espiritu Santo Carrying parts of an Army division headed for 'canal. Men rescued, equipment lost.
J. favor H. with a 155m every 10 minutes... all day. Main strip shut down due to damage and mud.
8 Zeros and a recon plane observe H. Fighter One is too muddy for F4Fs to take off. The J. recon observer isn't sure who controls H. One of the planes buzzes the airfield to find out. He finds out the hard way. Shot down by every gun that can fire!
Yamamoto learns IJA does *not* have the airfield and the ships he's sending in are in danger. He orders those ships to turn back. CL Yura and the DDx5 on their naval gunfire support mission don't get the word. Recon SBD spots CL Yura, DDs Akizuki, Harusame, Murasame, Yudachi, Samidare. They're 110 miles away and headed in to provide gunfire support to the IJA which they think are occupying H.

est Yamamoto expects the USN CVs to be in the area when H. is attacked. He orders Adm. Kondo and Nagumo to seek and destroy them. Attack "regardless of weather and enemy planes" (**Not so much the super-genius depicted in movies, hmm??)
est 2 APDs, Trevor and Zane are delivering AvGas and 4 PT boats Of course, they deliver these in the daytime - when it's safe.
est PBY spots the IJN force that has BBs Kongo and Haruna It reports their position then maneuvers for an attack. The PBY is dropping depth charges on the Battleship Haruna! No damage.

[kham]

est Nagumo's CVs have been shadowed all morning by a PBY.

*Finally* Fighter One is dry enough. Joe Foss leads F4Fx5. They lure 6 Zeros into a pattern that allows the F4Fs to climb from 1,500 to 6,000 feet before the dogfight starts *5* Zeros shot down!

est Adm Kusaka, at Rabaul, *still* thinks IJA control H. He keeps sending in more Zeros to land. This leads to lots of air combat all day.

The DDx3 headed to Koli point are off Lunga now. (don't know if the DDs made it to Koli or not) A big surprise to US ships which expect to have the waters off 'canal to themselves in the daytime.

est A medic finally gets ahold of Puller to treat his shrapnel wounds. Tries to evacuate him - writes the order ...Puller: Take that damn label and paste it back on the bottle. I remain in command here!

Today there are 7 air attacks on H. field! (So many my books don't even detail them all.) MEANWHILE back at Hill 67, the Marine battalion keeps digging in. A large IJA formation, (Col. Oka's 124th Regt.) was seen yesterday vanishing into the jungle 1,000 yards S. of Hill 67. There was a mortar exchange today between the Marines on the hill and IJA in the jungle. 3 Marines killed, unknown what happened with IJA.
est At the ridge: Puller's men dig in some more and add more heavy weapons - 4 37mm AT guns. The marines and army reorganize. Marines cut the length of their defensive line in half, Army moves into the old positions. The defensive line is now much stronger *but* there's only a 175 man reserve. Any IJA breakthrough could be catastrophic. During the day, Marines hunt down J. stragglers who had penetrated last night.

est The IJN DDx3 go after the tug Seminole and a small boat delivering AvGas to H. from Tulagi! Gunfire from the DDs is hitting Seminole! The small boat is already sinking. On Seminole: "Abandon Ship". She sinks shortly thereafter. Fortunately, the DDs were using AP shells which mostly didn't detonate inside Seminole (no armor). Only one man on Seminole was killed.

[kham]

est The DDs pursue APDs Trevor and Zane. F4Fs strafe the DDs. The DDs abandon their pursuit and return to Lunga to shell Marine positions. There was some gunfire exchanged before the DDs broke off their pursuit. 3 killed on Zane, Trevor got a hit on one of the DDs . After Marine shore batteries hit Akatsuki 3 times the DDs depart. 4 killed on Akatsuki.

est the F4Fs that strafed the DDx3 return to H. to refuel and reload. Things get crazy.
Jack finishes the war with 10.5 kills and a Navy Cross.

Fighter One is dry enough for a SBD attack to take off for the CL, DDx5 (Yura and friends) sighted 3 hours ago.

[kham]

PBYs report 2 J. CVs 360 miles from Ent/Hornet. IJN and USN are approaching each other at a combined speed of 50 mph. Adm. Kincaid prepares a strike. He'll hold back about half his bombers for a 2nd strike - copying IJN tactics from Eastern Solomons.

At the N. entrance of Indispensible Strait, Yura is jumped by SBDx5 led by John Eldridge. Eldridge takes his time setting up the attack. BTW, Eldridge doesn't worry about his bomb sight fogging up. He has so much experience, he aims using rivets on his engine cowling! 2 bombs hit the Yura's stern! Yura is flooding. DD Akizuki takes a near miss and Yura has a near miss as well. Her stern very low in the water, Yura and her escorts head back towards shortlands. Eldridge delivered a 1,000 pound message to Adm. Tanaka (on Yura) to tell him who is in control of H.!

Rabaul's recon spots TF-64 (BB-Washington) 170 miles SE Tulagi. More worries for Adm. Kondo. Kondo tells Nagumo to send an airstrike after BB Washington. That's funny because the IJN have their force set up with an Advance Force designed to draw bombers away from their CVs. Now Kondo wants to send Nagumo's bombers after the USN BB! Nagumo tells Kondo, "Nah, bro". The BB is way too far away to hit us and we still don't know were USN CVs are. Attack cancelled.
est Around this time, Nagumo, suspecting a trap, turns his CVs north. The shadowing PBYs, busy avoiding Zeros, miss this move and lose contact with the CVs for awhile.
CL Yura attacked by P-39x3. No damage. 2 near misses with bombs. Near misses keep piling on the minor damage.

There's almost continuous air combat over Henderson Field! Here's a page from the Marine log book for H. Enterprise launches a 200 mile search, W to N by NE. (now and next 20 minutes) B-17x6 attack BB Kirishima (striking force, vanguard group) no hits.

IJA plan for tonight's attack on the ridge Remnants of the 29th will do a frontal assault, and *all* of the 16th follows them. Maruyama almost goes all in.
Vals dive bomb US planes parked at the edge of the main airfield - destroying many. Those planes were set out as bait. They were being scavenged for parts.

[kham]

Enterprise launches a strike on Nagumo's carriers! SBDx12, TBFx6, F4Fx11. Plan is for strike to fly 150 miles out then attack based upon reports from the searchers. If there is no report, they'll return. What happened? After they fly out, there's no report but they wait an hour before returning. Many planes almost run out of fuel.

est Another attack on Yura. SBDx4. No hits. Near miss on Yura and Akizuki Yura is taking on a lot of water. Her Capt. tries to beach her

The Enterprise search finds nothing. The IJN CVs, fearing a trap after the PBY spotting, had turned N. Nagumo is cautious, not stupid!
Yamamoto sends a message to Nagumo telling him to "Attack with Vigor" The tone of the message is derogatory to Nagumo.

SBDx4, P-39x4, F4Fx3 attack Yura. A P-39 drops a 500 pounder on Yura! Another near miss on DD Akizuki