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11-02-2006, 05:28 AM
Ordinary Marines: Guadalcanal’s Lonely Patrol During World War II
An unsung unit patched together from a depleted battalion of 2nd Division leathernecks cleared the way for the legendary Carlson’s Raiders on Guadalcanal.
By Stanley C. Jersey
Attacking Marine positions along the Tenaru River late in the evening on August 20, 1942, the Japanese assault ended in a bloody shambles, as 777 of the colonel’s 916 men became casualties. A second attempt by 3,000 soldiers to push the Americans off Mukade Gata (Ridge Hill) on September 12 produced similarly bloody results. The bulk of what remained of Kawaguchi’s shattered command retreated to the west, but small parties of his soldiers, cut off from their units, struck out on their own to the east.
Having held Henderson Field, the Marines now faced the task of destroying the enemy on both sides of the island and trying to secure, once and for all, the first steppingstone in the Solomon Islands chain. While much attention was focused on Japanese positions on the western part of the island, General Vandegrift knew he would have to do something about roving bands of enemy soldiers reportedly in and around Aola. Following the series of brutal encounters with the Japanese, however, Vandegrift did not have enough men left to launch a full-scale attack in two directions. Instead, the “Old Breed” commander decided to send a small raiding party from nearby Tulagi Island to neutralize Japanese strongholds around Aola.
Link (http://www.historynet.com/wars_conflicts/world_war_2/4295552.html)
An unsung unit patched together from a depleted battalion of 2nd Division leathernecks cleared the way for the legendary Carlson’s Raiders on Guadalcanal.
By Stanley C. Jersey
Attacking Marine positions along the Tenaru River late in the evening on August 20, 1942, the Japanese assault ended in a bloody shambles, as 777 of the colonel’s 916 men became casualties. A second attempt by 3,000 soldiers to push the Americans off Mukade Gata (Ridge Hill) on September 12 produced similarly bloody results. The bulk of what remained of Kawaguchi’s shattered command retreated to the west, but small parties of his soldiers, cut off from their units, struck out on their own to the east.
Having held Henderson Field, the Marines now faced the task of destroying the enemy on both sides of the island and trying to secure, once and for all, the first steppingstone in the Solomon Islands chain. While much attention was focused on Japanese positions on the western part of the island, General Vandegrift knew he would have to do something about roving bands of enemy soldiers reportedly in and around Aola. Following the series of brutal encounters with the Japanese, however, Vandegrift did not have enough men left to launch a full-scale attack in two directions. Instead, the “Old Breed” commander decided to send a small raiding party from nearby Tulagi Island to neutralize Japanese strongholds around Aola.
Link (http://www.historynet.com/wars_conflicts/world_war_2/4295552.html)