The Green Inferno PTO (id:#61139)

(ASL Journal # 9 ID: SC CG I)   [next]   [previous]

Cape Gloucester, New Britain Island 1944-01-02 (6 others)

Overview:

Following their nearly uncontested landing at Cape Gloucester’s Yellow Beach, “The Old Breed” – the 1st Marine Division – began its push southward to clear Target Hill, Hill 660, and Borgen Bay. After a short but intense fight to clear Target Hill, General Rupertus, commanding general of the division, unleashed General Shepard to the southeast with a composite group as a semi-independent command. This force, comprised of units from the 5th and 7th Marine Regiments, was tasked with passing through the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment’s area of operation and advancing to a phase line called “O-1,” thereby pinching 2-7 out of the line and moving them into Regimental Reserve. 2-7 had been dug in along a section of a muddy stream that was unmarked on the maps of the area selected for the advance. The stream that 2-7 had advanced to and used to anchor their beachhead perimeter was the same stream that, a bit farther west, Japanese Col. Kenshiro Katayama was busily fortifying in anticipation of this advance. Soon to be dubbed “Suicide Creek” by the Marines, the stream was a steeply-banked, muddy mess averaging 30-40 feet in width. As 3-7 Marines approached it they scattered or bypassed Japanese outposts which sought to gauge their strength. Upon arrival at the creek, the Marines attempted a hasty assault across it, only to be met by devastating small arms, machinegun, and mortar fire. Kenshiro’s troops succeeded in stopping cold the Marine advance. Lt. Col. William Williams of the 3-7 Marines knew that he would require more firepower and requested armor support. Tanks were available, but the jungle was too dense to get them forward. Marine Pioneers were therefore tasked with building a jungle road to the stream and then building a ford to get the tanks and Marines across the stream and into the Japanese defense network. After two days of fruitless punching and counter-punching which resulted in significant casualties, the Marines were finally ready for their push. With a combined arms task force in place, the Marines were ordered on the morning of the 4th to make one more push across the stream. This time, even with a vicious Japanese response, the Marines had the combat power to get the job done. The tanks made the difference since the Japanese had limited anti- armor assets. The infantry’s primary mission was to keep suicidal Japanese from placing high explosive charges on the tanks. After many such attacks the Japanese realized that the Marine tankers were too much for them and began to pull back into the jungle to reorganize for their next fight. “The Old Breed” had successfully dislodged the Japanese.

Defender: Japanese (141st Infantry Regiment and 2nd Battalion, 53rd Infantry Regiment)  

Errata (source)