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009 - Chapter 9 - Epilogue and Bougainville Finale · Marine Operations in the Northern Solomons

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  Speaker 1: Chapter nine of Top of the Latter 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 epilogue. There were, however, two
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  Speaker 1: minor land operations to complete the isolation of Reball. The
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  Speaker 1: first was at Green Island, just thirty seven miles north
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  Speaker 1: of Bogainville. It was a crusty eight mile long, four
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  Speaker 1: mile wide oval, ring three islands of sand and coral
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  Speaker 1: around a sleepy lagoon, and only one hundred seventeen miles
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  Speaker 1: from Roball to General Douglas MacArthur. It was the last
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  Speaker 1: step of the Solomon Islands campaign. The task of taking
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  Speaker 1: the island fell to the fifty eight hundred men of
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  Speaker 1: the third New Zealand Division under Major General H. E. Barrowclough,
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  Speaker 1: lest the eighth Brigade, which had been used in the
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  Speaker 1: Treasury's operation. There was also a contingent of American soldiers,
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  Speaker 1: seabees and engineers, and cover from aerosol marine planes under
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  Speaker 1: Brigadier General Field Harris Rear Admiral Wilkinson had Task Force
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  Speaker 1: thirty one, whose warships would wait for targets. Although Green
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  Speaker 1: Island would get no pre invasion bombardment. The atoll ring
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  Speaker 1: was too narrow and bombardment would pose a danger to
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  Speaker 1: island inhabitants. Late in January nineteen forty four, three hundred
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  Speaker 1: men of the thirtieth New Zealand Battalion and seabees and
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  Speaker 1: engineer specialists went ashore, measured and sized up the island's potential,
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  Speaker 1: found spots for an airfield, checked lagoon depths, and sought
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  Speaker 1: accommodations for a boat basin. All of this warned the Japanese,
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  Speaker 1: but it was too late for them to do anything. Then,
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  Speaker 1: on fourteen February, Japanese scout planes warned the one hundred
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  Speaker 1: two defenders on Green Island that a large Allied cos
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  Speaker 1: envoy was on the way, shepherded by destroyers and cruisers.
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  Speaker 1: Japanese aircraft from Reball and Cavying attacked the convoy by moonlight,
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  Speaker 1: but at zero six forty one the landing craft had
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  Speaker 1: crossed the line of departure unscathed and were almost to
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  Speaker 1: the beach. Within two hours, all were ashore unopposed. Then
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  Speaker 1: the Japanese dive bombers came roaring in, but the Allied
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  Speaker 1: Anti Aircraft Fire and Marine fighter planes VAMF two twelve
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  Speaker 1: were enough to prevent its hits on the transports or
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  Speaker 1: beach supplies. New Zealand patrols got only slight resistance a
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  Speaker 1: few brief firefights. By nineteen February, the thirty third, thirty
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  Speaker 1: seventh and ninety third Seabees were laying an airfield on
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  Speaker 1: the island. By four March, a heavy B twenty four
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  Speaker 1: bomber was able to make an emergency landing on the
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  Speaker 1: Green Island strip. Three days later Air Saals planes were
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  Speaker 1: staging there, giving the strip the name Green. Soon B
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  Speaker 1: twenty fours were her to strike the vast Japanese base
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  Speaker 1: at Truck. The second operation saw the seizure of Emeirah Island.
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  Speaker 1: It was well north of Green Island, seventy five miles
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  Speaker 1: northwest of the New Ireland enemy fortress of Cavying, actually
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  Speaker 1: Kevying had been considered as a target to be invaded
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  Speaker 1: by the third Marine Division, but higher authorities decided the
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  Speaker 1: cost would be too high. Better to let Cavying die
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  Speaker 1: on the vine. Taking Emeirah and setting up air and
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  Speaker 1: naval bases there would effectively cut off the Solomon Islands
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  Speaker 1: and the Bismarck Archipelago from the Japanese it would be
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  Speaker 1: a small investment with big results. Emirah is an irregularly
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  Speaker 1: shaped island in the Saint Matthias Group, eight miles long
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  Speaker 1: four miles wide, with much jungle and many hills, but
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  Speaker 1: with room for boat basins and airstrips. The natives said
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  Speaker 1: there had been no Japanese there since January, and air
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  Speaker 1: reconnaissance could find none. The units selected for the landing
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  Speaker 1: bore a famous name in the lore of the Corps,
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  Speaker 1: the Fourth Marines. The original regiment had been the storied
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  Speaker 1: China Marines and had been part of the desperate defense
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  Speaker 1: of Batan and the subsequent surrender at Corrigidor and the Philippines.
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  Speaker 1: Now it had been reborn as a new independent regiment
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  Speaker 1: composed of the tough and battle hardened veterans of the
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  Speaker 1: raider battalions. The Fourth Marines arrived at Emirah shortly after
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  Speaker 1: zero six hundred on twenty March nineteen forty four. The
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  Speaker 1: Marines and sailors fired a few shots at nothing, then
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  Speaker 1: the Amphibian tractors opened up, wounding one of the Marines.
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  Speaker 1: The CEBs got right to work on the airfields even
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  Speaker 1: before the island was secured. In no time. They had
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  Speaker 1: laid out a seven thousand foot bomber strip and a
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  Speaker 1: five thousand foot stretch for fighters. All was secured until
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  Speaker 1: attension fell on a little neighboring island with a Japanese
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  Speaker 1: fuel and ration dump. Destroyers blew it all to debris,
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  Speaker 1: then spied at sea a large canoe escaping with some
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  Speaker 1: of the enemy hardly bloodthirsty. After this placid operation, the
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  Speaker 1: destroyer casually pulled in close. The Japanese chose to fire
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  Speaker 1: a machine gun. It was folly. The destroyer was forced
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  Speaker 1: to respond. The canoe didn't sink and was brought alongside
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  Speaker 1: with the body of a Japanese officer and twenty six
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  Speaker 1: living enlisted men who may have privately questioned their officer's judgment.
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  Speaker 1: Bogainville Finale. These were small affairs compared to the finale
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  Speaker 1: on Bogainville. With the withdrawal of the third Marine Division
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  Speaker 1: at the U s end of nineteen forty three, after
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  Speaker 1: it had successfully fought its way up to the final
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  Speaker 1: defensive line, the two army divisions, the thirty seventh Infantry
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  Speaker 1: and the Americal took over and extended the perimeter, with
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  Speaker 1: only sporadic brushes with the Japanese. Then, in late February
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  Speaker 1: and early March nineteen forty four, patrols began making almost
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  Speaker 1: continuous contact with the enemy. It appeared that the Japanese
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  Speaker 1: were concentrating for a serious counter attack. On eight March,
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  Speaker 1: the one hundred forty fifth Infantry of the thirty seventh
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  Speaker 1: was hit by artillery fire. Then the sixth Division, parent
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  Speaker 1: of the old enemy, the twenty third Infantry, attacked hard.
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  Speaker 1: It took five days of very severe fighting with support
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  Speaker 1: from a battalion of the one hundred forty eighth Infantry,
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  Speaker 1: combined with heavy artillery fire and airstrikes, to drive the
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  Speaker 1: determined Japanese back. Meanwhile, the one hundred twenty ninth Infantry
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  Speaker 1: had also been heavily attacked. The enemy kept coming and coming,
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  Speaker 1: and it was a full nine days before there was
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  Speaker 1: a lull on seventeen March. On twenty four March, the Japanese,
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  Speaker 1: after reorganizing, launched another series of assaults with even greater pressure.
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  Speaker 1: This time they also threw in three regiments of their
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  Speaker 1: seventeenth Division. The artillery of both American divisions, guided by
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  Speaker 1: cub spotter planes, fired the heaviest support mission ever to
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  Speaker 1: be put down in the South Pacific area. That broke
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  Speaker 1: the back of the enemy attackers, and the battle finally
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  Speaker 1: was over. On twenty five March. Major General Griswold, the
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  Speaker 1: core commander after eight major enemy attacks, wrote in a
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  Speaker 1: letter four days later, I am absolutely convinced that nowhere
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  Speaker 1: on Earth does there exist a more determined will and
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  Speaker 1: offense of spirit in the attack than that the Japs
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  Speaker 1: exhibited here. They come in hard, walking on their own dead,
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  Speaker 1: usually on a front not to exceed one hundred yards.
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  Speaker 1: They try to effect a breakthrough, which they exploit like
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  Speaker 1: water running from a hose. When stopped, they dig in
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  Speaker 1: like termites and fight to the death. They crawl up
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  Speaker 1: even the most insignificant fold in the ground like ants,
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  Speaker 1: and they use all their weapons with spirit and boldness.
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  Speaker 1: Difficult terrain or physical difficulties have no meaning for them.
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  Speaker 1: The Americal Division had advanced along the thirty seventh in
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  Speaker 1: the March to April period, with its last action thirteen
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  Speaker 1: to fourteen April. This ended the serious offensive action for
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  Speaker 1: the two army divisions. The enemy had been driven well
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  Speaker 1: out of artillery range of the airstrips twelve thousand yards
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  Speaker 1: away for Americans. This marked the end of the Boganville Saga,
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  Speaker 1: a tail of well trained units filled with determined, skillful
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  Speaker 1: men who fought their way to a resounding victory. The
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  Speaker 1: Third Marine Division had led the way in securing a
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  Speaker 1: vital island base with the crucial isolation of Rebaul, thus
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  Speaker 1: ensured end of chapter nine, end of Top of the
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  Speaker 1: Latter Marine Operations in the Northern Solomons by John C. Chapin,
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  Speaker 1: read by Aaron Bennett.