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002 - Chapter 2 - Planning the Operation · Marine Operations in the Northern Solomons

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  Speaker 1: Chapter two of Top of the Ladder Marine Operations in
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Solomons by John C. Chapin. This LibriVox recording
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  Speaker 1: is in the public domain. Planning the operation, this kind
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  Speaker 1: of strong enemy reaction in the air and at sea
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  Speaker 1: had been expected by American staff officers who had put
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  Speaker 1: in long weeks planning the Bogainville operation. Looking at a
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  Speaker 1: map of the Solomon Islands chain, it was obvious that
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  Speaker 1: this largest island, one hundred thirty by thirty miles on
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  Speaker 1: the northwest end, was a prime objective to cap the
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  Speaker 1: long and painful progress northward from the springboard of Guadalcanal
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  Speaker 1: at the south end. As Guadalcanal had been the beginning
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  Speaker 1: of the island chain, so now Bogainville would mark the
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  Speaker 1: top of the ladder in the Northern Solomons. From Bougainville airfields,
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  Speaker 1: American planes could neutralize the crucial Japanese base of Reball,
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  Speaker 1: less than two hundred and fifty miles away on New Britain.
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  Speaker 1: From Bogainville, the enemy could defend his massive air naval
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  Speaker 1: complex at Reball. Viewed from either camp, the island was
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  Speaker 1: a priority possession. There were the usual sequences of high
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  Speaker 1: level planning conferences. But on one October nineteen forty three,
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  Speaker 1: Admiral William F. Halsey, Commander South Pacific Area, notified General
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  Speaker 1: Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander Southwest Pacific Area, that the
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  Speaker 1: beaches on Empress Augusta Bay in the middle of Bogainville's
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  Speaker 1: west coast would be the main objective. This location was
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  Speaker 1: selected as the point to strike because, with the main
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  Speaker 1: Japanese forces twenty five miles away at the opposite north
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  Speaker 1: and south ends of the island, it would be the
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  Speaker 1: point of least opposition. In addition, it provided a natural
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  Speaker 1: defensive recas and once the Marines had landed in their
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  Speaker 1: airfields had been gouged out of the swamp and jungle. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: the target area would provide a site for a long
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  Speaker 1: range radar installation and an advanced naval base for PT
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  Speaker 1: patrol torpedo boats. It promised to be a campaign in
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  Speaker 1: a miserable location, and it was. There were centipedees three
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  Speaker 1: fingers wide, butterflies as big as little birds, thick and
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  Speaker 1: nearly impenetrable jungles, bottomless mangrove swamps, crocodile infested rivers, millions
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  Speaker 1: of insects and heavy daily torrents of rain with enervating humidity.
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  Speaker 1: Major General Allen H. Turnage, the third Marine Division commander,
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  Speaker 1: summarized these horrors. Never had men in the Marine Corps
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  Speaker 1: had to fight and maintain themselves over such difficult terrain
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  Speaker 1: as was encountered on Bogainville. To carry out this operation.
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  Speaker 1: Tenant General Alexandre A. Vandergrift, Commanding General one Marine Amphibious
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  Speaker 1: Corps iMac, had in his command for the operation, third
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  Speaker 1: Marine Division, first Marine Parachute Regiment, Second Marine Raider Regiment,
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  Speaker 1: thirty seventh Infantry Division, US Army in reserve. The marine
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  Speaker 1: riflemen in these units were supplemented by a wide range
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  Speaker 1: of support one hundred and fifty five millimeters artillery, motor transport, amphibian,
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  Speaker 1: tractor and signal, medical, Special Weapons CB and Tank battalions.
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  Speaker 1: The third Division had its own engineers and pioneers in
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  Speaker 1: the nineteenth Marines and artillery in the twelfth Marines. Immediately
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  Speaker 1: following Vandergriff's Operation Order practice landing exercises were conducted in
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  Speaker 1: the New Hebrides and on Guadalcanal and Florida Islands. The
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  Speaker 1: objectives assigned on Bogainville were to seize a substantial beachhead
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  Speaker 1: and build air strips, then American planes could assure final
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  Speaker 1: neutralization of the Japanese airfields on Kahili, Buka and Bonas
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  Speaker 1: Airfields at the north and south ends of Bogainville. By
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  Speaker 1: thirty one October, American planes had initially rendered the Japanese
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  Speaker 1: fields inoperable. After that would come a massive increase in
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  Speaker 1: air operations against Reball. Facing the invading Marines was a
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  Speaker 1: formidable enemy force dispersed on the island. At Buen, for instance,
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  Speaker 1: there were twenty one thousand, eight hundred Japanese. Responsible for
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  Speaker 1: the defense was an old adversary, Lieutenant General Hiriyoshi Hayakataki,
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  Speaker 1: commander of the seventeenth Army and the man the Marines
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  Speaker 1: had defeated at Guadalcanal. His main force was the sixth Division.
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  Speaker 1: Working with the ground. US forces were the aviators of
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  Speaker 1: Air Solomon's Zealand Fighters, Army Air Force bombers, and the
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  Speaker 1: First and second Marine Aircraft Wings. As early as fifteen August,
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  Speaker 1: fighter planes from VMF two fourteen the famous Black Sheep
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  Speaker 1: Squadron had strafed the Kahili airfield at the southern end
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  Speaker 1: of Bogainville. Now in October, there were repeated strikes against
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  Speaker 1: the Japanese planes at other Bogainville airfields. At sea, Halsey
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  Speaker 1: had designated Rear Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson as commander of
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  Speaker 1: Task Force thirty one. Under him were Rear Admiral Frederick C.
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  Speaker 1: Sherman with the carriers TF thirty eight, and Rear Admiral
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  Speaker 1: Aaron S. Tip Merrill with the cruisers and destroyers TF
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  Speaker 1: thirty nine. Their job was to soften up the defenders
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  Speaker 1: before the landing and to safeguard the marine held beachhead
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  Speaker 1: sidebar third Marine Division. With Japan's initial conquest spread over
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  Speaker 1: vast reaches of the Pacific, it quickly became obvious that
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  Speaker 1: additional marine divisions were sorely needed. Accordingly, a letter from
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  Speaker 1: the Commandant on twenty nine August nineteen forty two authorized
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  Speaker 1: the formation of the third Marine Division. There was the
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  Speaker 1: third Marines, which had been activated first on twenty December
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  Speaker 1: nineteen sixteen at Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, deactivated
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  Speaker 1: in August nineteen twenty two. The regiment was again brought
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  Speaker 1: to life on sixteen June nineteen forty two at Camp
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  Speaker 1: Le June, North Carolina, and strengthened by boots from Paris Island.
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  Speaker 1: Its commander, Colonel Oscar R. Caldwell, soon led it to Samoa,
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  Speaker 1: arriving there in September nineteen forty two. Intensive training in
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  Speaker 1: jungle tactics and practice landings took place there. Then, in
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  Speaker 1: March nineteen forty three, it received a substantial number of
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  Speaker 1: reinforcing units and became a full fledged regimental combat team,
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  Speaker 1: beefing up its strength to fifty six hundred. Finally, in
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  Speaker 1: May nineteen forty three, it sailed for New Zealand, where
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  Speaker 1: the third Marine Division would come together. Also with World
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  Speaker 1: War One routes. The ninth Marines was born twenty November
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  Speaker 1: nineteen seventeen at Quantico, Virginia, and was sent to Cuba.
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  Speaker 1: From there, it moved to Texas before being deactivated at
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  Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Navy Yard in April nineteen nineteen. Reactivated on
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  Speaker 1: twelve February nineteen forty two at Camp Elliot, California, under
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  Speaker 1: Colonel Lemuel C. Shepherd Junior, it underwent training at the
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  Speaker 1: new Camp Pendleton, similarly reinforced by one January nineteen forty three,
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  Speaker 1: It was ready as a regimental combat team with fifty
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  Speaker 1: five hundred men. Movement overseas brought it to New Zealand
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  Speaker 1: on five February nineteen forty three. The third infantry regiment
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  Speaker 1: that would make up the division was the twenty first Marines.
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  Speaker 1: It was formed from a cadre of well trained men
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  Speaker 1: from the six Marines who had just returned from duty
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  Speaker 1: in Iceland, arriving at Camp Lea June on fifteen July
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  Speaker 1: nineteen forty two. The cadre was augmented by boots from Paris,
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  Speaker 1: Island and officers from Quantico. Colonel Daniel E. Campbell assumed
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  Speaker 1: command and the training began moving to join the other elements.
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  Speaker 1: The regiment arrived in New Zealand eleven March nineteen forty three.
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  Speaker 1: The reinforcing of the infantry regiments to make them into
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  Speaker 1: self sustaining regimental combat teams, drew heavily on their two
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  Speaker 1: complimentary regiments, the twelfth Marines and the nineteenth Marines. The
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  Speaker 1: twelfth Marines was a salty old unit led by Brigadier
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  Speaker 1: General Smedley D. Butler in China in the nineteen twenties.
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  Speaker 1: Its Antecedent was a small provisional contingent sent to protect
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  Speaker 1: American interests in China and designated the twelfth Regiment Infantry
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  Speaker 1: four October nineteen twenty seven. The twelfth was reactivated at
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  Speaker 1: Camp Elliot on one September nineteen forty two for World
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  Speaker 1: War II as an artillery regiment under command of Colonel
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  Speaker 1: John B. Wilson. Concluding its training, the regiment arrived in
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  Speaker 1: New Zealand on eleven March nineteen forty three. The nineteenth
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  Speaker 1: Marines was different. It was made up of CBS engineers, bakers,
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  Speaker 1: pile drivers, pioneers, paving specialists, and many old timers from
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  Speaker 1: the twenty fifth Naval Construction Battalion at the US Naval
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  Speaker 1: Advance Base, Port Hunami, California. It too was formed at
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  Speaker 1: Camp Elliot and its birthday was sixteen September nineteen forty two.
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  Speaker 1: This was the regiment with pontoons for bridges, power play ants,
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  Speaker 1: photographic dark rooms, bulldozers, excavators, needles, thread and water purification machinery.
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  Speaker 1: No landing force would dare take an island without them.
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  Speaker 1: Colonel Robert M. Montague took command of the unit in
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  Speaker 1: New Zealand on eleven March nineteen forty three. The division's
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  Speaker 1: first commander was Major General Charles D. Barrett, a veteran
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  Speaker 1: of World War One. He assumed command in September nineteen
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  Speaker 1: forty two, but left a year later to take charge
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  Speaker 1: of iMac and the planning for the Bougainville operation. His
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  Speaker 1: assistant division commander had been Brigadier General Allen H. Turnage,
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  Speaker 1: and upon Barrett's death, he was promoted to major general
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  Speaker 1: and giving command of the division, which he would soon
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  Speaker 1: lead at Bogainville. End of Chapter two