Up the Numa Numa Trail PTO (id:#57835)

Heat of Battle (Buckeyes! ID: Buck07)   [next]   [previous]

Numa Numa Trail, Central Bougainville 1944-02-14 (11 others)

Overview:

The jungle on Bougainville looked the same as the jungle on New Georgia, but for the Buckeyes of the 37th ID, the situation was quite different. Instead of occupying the whole island, Army troops seized just enough territory on which to establish airbases from which they could dominate the surrounding area on their road to Rabaul. By early 1944, the 37th ID and the Americal ID occupied a fortified perimeter around several airfields, but the Japanese were massing their forces for a counterattack to throw the Americans off the island. On February 14. the 145th Infantry sent a reinforced platoon of Buckeves and two platoons from the colorful Fiji Infantry Regiment into the jungle to collect intelligence on Japanese preparations. Six miles outside the perimeter, the patrol found what they were looking for. Fiji scouts found the Japanese first: the forward elements of the Magata Unit, one of the main Japanese counterattack groupings.

Defender: British / American (Company A, 129th Infantry Regt, 37th Infantry Division / Fijian Infantry Regt.)  

Errata (source)