Marines enter the war at Salamaua 12/22/41

[robot]

Salamaua New Guinea
12/22/1941
0300 Hours

I have been given the honor of commanding the 4th Marine Expeditionary force here in New Guinea. Its going to be a tough grind im sure. Over 90 % of the force are kids, with ages ranging from 18 to 24 and im sure a couple only 17 if I know my men. Less then 10% are from the chinese campaign during the Boxer rebellion there. These are in command of the platoons in the 3 companys. each company will have 3 platoons of riflemen with these tough old gunnys runnin that show. Also one platoon of Engineers with six squads instead of the normal 5. 1st platoon in each Company will have 2 sec of 30 cal HMG and one 50 Cal Plus 2 60MM Mortars. While the other 2 platoons will have one of each.

Each company also will have in tow 2 37mm ATG. Plus a sec of 50 cal AA. Attached to HQ Company will be 6 81mm Mortars and 6 75mm Howitzers plus 3 FO. D CO will be three platoons of stuarts as support. Several sec of scouts and jeeps as transportation for them round out my core.

All and all they seem to be ready and have been well trained. Will see how quick some of the kids grow up under fire or break this battle will give me a fine picture of there metal.

It is raining some but vis is at least 500 feet but tough to see that far with all the heavy jungle that surrounds us. Have given strict orders no one is to move forward until they scour the undergrowth for snipers. Have heard the japs love to use them alot shooting from out of the tree tops. We are to begin our move forward at 0300 hours well before daylight which will make it even harder to see. Have also given orders to make sure and fill up all there canteens before we move as it will be hot as hades today in the jungle.

Well the Japs I think made a big mistake when they bombed Pearl harbor on Dec the 7th and got us into the war. We are goin to kick some ass today and kick it bad. The boys are very Gung Ho and want to avenge some of there friends who where lost at Pearl.

HQ: IIII Marine Expeditionary Forces
Col: Ray Roberts Commanding

[robot]

Salamaua New Gueina
12/22/1941
0325 Hours

C company in the south have almost reached there objectives already. It has been tough going thru the jungle undergrowth. Takes some time just to make 100 feet. Hope this tough going doesnt take too much out of our men. Im sure they will have a tough fight in front of them yet. The only action so far was a sniper firing at one of our fo jeeps and we lost a scout jeep to a road ambush by a squad of the enemy. Have pulled all scouts back behind the infantry squads for now.

A and B CO in the north have taken some small arm fire a few minutes ago. Called in some 81 mortar fire on the suspected emplacement seems to have scared them away for now. The photo shows how A and B are moving along an abandond rail road track to try and get north of there objectives then will move south. They are able to move somewhat faster then C in the south but they have further to go as well.

Just found out 10 minutes ago my off board artty support isnt worth a dam. They dont have the range to reach the suspected Jap emplacements. So i will only have my own 81 and 75 guns too support us in this endevor. I know the Japs are hiding out there in the jungle just wish I knew exactly where they were set up. This suspense as you move thru the wall of undergrowth waiting for there guns to open up is beyond comprehension. You can almost feel the pain before your even hit.

HQ: IIII Marine Expeditionary Force
Col: Ray Roberts Commanding

[KG Erwin]

Oh, robot, I feel your pain. One of the first things I learned about offboard 75s is that they are worthless. If you wanna buy them, put them ONboard. The USMC's best friends are their onboard mortars and offboard medium & heavy arty -- the 105s & 155s.

Good core force, man. Don't underestimate the value of those 75mm-armed halftracks. I always include a couple of those in my core force. Don't think they are available till 1942, though.

As for advancing in the jungle -- be patient. You must be cautious, and keep support close by. Audacity only gets you killed.

[KG Erwin]

One more note: having these three forces operating separately doesn't allow for any mutual support. Be careful. I tend to play pretty conservatively, with a broad front advance. Good luck and Semper Fi.

[robot]

Thanx Gunny for the advice. And fro m now on all my support points will be for onboard and ammo dumps so they can pound the hell out of the sneaky enemy. First time I have used any 75 off board stuff did not know about there range limataions till now. Sure has taught me a lessson thought i had way too much artty now find i have way too less. reason for the split is I am on a big map and thought the southern objectives were way to far to make from having all three companys attack in the north. Due to travel restrictions of maybe only 100 feet per turn. I already dont think I can make the distsance to the rear flags in time due to mobility issues thru the jungle. Even if they dont run into no enemy with those delays there travel speed is going to make getting to the rear tough if you understand what im trying to say. Sometime the jungle is so heavy they only make 50 feeet per every five minutes.

[Riun T]

OH BOY, robot ,not wanting to sound like a knowitall,but if u do that kind of snakeline stabbing only with the single squad at the point type of advancing attack, I think your crazy,,, you've just set up the perfect "convoy delay ambush" for an enemy that loves to HOOK or cresent deploy,,,, at least try to "cloverleaf" platoons together before or along where the enemies deploy flag line is,,or they will hold the points of your formations, and take bites out of your chain of units from the immediate flanks in that kind of dense covered jungle,,the marines in 1942 had bolt action rifles to start,and the old 1903 enfield hits hard but its slow,and the hits that units like "tank hunter squads" can dish out in suppression,and sheer casualties means that even a small attack flank of your advance line will grant WAY more confusion and loss of unit cohesion. they'll chomp your line too bits and scatter the small fragments...your troops haven't experienced a "banzai charge yet,and this battle will have lots of them, but play it throu anyways I love watching even crushing defeats[X(][:(]

[robot]

Riun once they get to point of contact they will spread out into a 3 squad front and a 3 platon line to advance against the enemy. They are really in a fast advance line because they had such along way to move to get to where the enemy is waiting. It was faster along the old railroad line then advancing in a company front thru the jungle.

[robot]

Salamaua New Guenia
12/22/1941
0415 Hours

My how the time flys here in the jungle where you cant see the sun for the dense overhead foilage. Just starting to be able to see your hand in front of your face. This type of fighting has been hard on our boys. The Japs are masters of concealment. We dont see them till were right on top of them and by then they have opened up and taken out 2 to 4 men with each volley. I believe from the reports im gettiing that we have suffered more losses then we have inflicted on them. Our boys are not giving up but they are getting very frustrated that the enemy wont come out and fight us face to face.

C CO in the south has taken there objectives and have moved maybe 150 feet past that point. Even tho some of there squads are down below half they are still moving forward and pushing the enemy towards the rear. You can see 3rd platoon on the deep south flank has lost at least half of there platoon. I dont have a body count of the enemy as yet but I dont think they have lost what we have. There snipers have been very effective against our boys as well. They are almost impossible to pick out of the tree tops. All our men are almost completely green troops and they dont shoot extremely good so far. There reaction time to being fired on is somewhat slow as well.

We will continue to try and push forward as long as we have men to push with. I will say one thing all these young men have true grit. They are not backing down from this fight at all and continue to do as well as they can. This is true bravery in its best example. True American spirit and grit. Marines everyone.

HQ: IIII marine Expeditionary Force
Col: Ray Roberts Commanding

[KG Erwin]

Robot, not trying to get ahead of the battle here, but in these types of situations I sometimes resort to this: I mount my reduced squads on the tanks, form a couple of "flying wedges", and race hell for leather towards the rear VHs.

Just watch out for hidden gun emplacements on the way.

[robot]

Thanx Gunny never thought about loading anything on my tanks. Will give it a go I dam sure have a lot of reduced squads already.

[robot]

Salamaua New Guinea
12/22/1941
0440 Hours

Things have really began to heat up. In the north have run into a lot of those 20 man squads with knee mortars. Glad our men started today with a lot of ammo. Takes a lot of shootin to knock off one of those 20 man squads. I really dont know if we were able to carry enough to knock off all the squads tho. Lost one of my stuarts to a knee mortar a few minutes ago on the North flank of A CO. The Japs have also taken out 2 of my 75 GMC in the north as well. A Co. is still at least 300 feet from there objectives and still trying to bust thru there main line to get to it.

B Co Engineers have begun to move towards the objective as well. They are also meeting heavy resistence from Jap troops as well as heavy MG placed in there way. Stuarts have taken out at least 5 HMG within the last ten minutes or so. When we meet and are able to make the little suckers retreat the jungle just closes in behind them and they melt away into the undergrowth. I have let my tanks advance out some what in front of my main body of troops as we lose too many men every time we happen on to the enemy concealed so well. The stuarts have been our main attack force most of the day. I know this cant keep up and soon we will start losing more tanks then we have already. I must put some of the short squads on the tanks so they can be there eyes as we move forward. Maybe even save some of the tanks in case of an ambush of which the Japs are very good at performing.

The men are still in great spirits even tho I know we have lost well over 100 men and maybe even more. Ive saw some very brave young men die today and have seen some young boys with up to 2 wounds go right back into the fray, they always say I cant let my buddys fight this battle by there selves I must return and help them. If thats not true grit then I dont know brave men when I see them. These are true Marines in every sense of the word. Semper FI Marines!!!!

HQ: IIII Marine Expeditionary Force
Col: Ray Roberts Commadning

[KG Erwin]

ORIGINAL: robot

Thanx Gunny never thought about loading anything on my tanks. Will give it a go I dam sure have a lot of reduced squads already.

Robot, it's actually a desperate tactic, and given my impatience, it is VERY un-Marinelike.
I basically punched a couple of holes in the Japanese line, and poured these guys into the gaps, Rommel-style.

The consequences can be a quick end to the battle, BUT much of the enemy's force is left intact. THAT was my mistake.

Think carefully about your intentions. In real life, the accent was to destroy the enemy's ability to attack, and allow for a deliberate elimination of isolated elements. There is a certain irony here. In jungle battles, time often runs short. You don't have the time to accomplish all your objectives.

One thing that the "jungle blitz" CAN accomplish -- you can hunt down the enemy's HQ and eliminate it.

Again, robot, I apologize for interjecting my personal preferences, but I gotta say that in this kind of battle, eliminating the enemy HQ becomes not just a matter of personal pride. Once you cut off the enemy's head, the body is easier to dismember. Sorry to come off as gruesome, but in the Pacific, and against the Japanese, you must be ruthless. This is war at its most basic and brutal.

[robot]

SalaMaua New Guinea
12/22/1941
0455 Hours

Not quite two hours and the battle is over. The Japs just melted back into the jungle and they were gone. High Command calls it a draw I guess there right. We lost alot of men here today 299 also 12 soft vehicles and 3APC along with 3 Stuarts. Never saw an enemy tank today thank heaven.

They lost 810 men along with 20 Artty which we rooted out of some very dense jungle. Ill tell you they put up one heck of a fight here today. Its not going to be as easy as we were told to defeat this enemy. They show no fear and will charge you at any time in a hand to hand fight. And this Banzie thing they scream scares the hell out of you. They dont run from you and will fight to the last man before giving up.

I must say our Marines did ther self proud in there first battle against a very determined enemy trying to take there lives. it had to be one of the scariest times in there young lives and they never gave an inch or quit at any time during todays battle. Im proud to command and lead these young men. Rumor has it we are to board ships for Luzon next month. We will get replacements to fill our ranks before we sail Ive heard. We are to slow the enemy in there attempt to take the Philippines.

We managed to make it to the rear objectives and they are all in our hands. Found there command post and took out all the officers we could find. Should have heard how the commander squealed when he took a burst in his belly as we approached there camp. Its the little things that make your day isnt it.

HQ: IIII Marine Expeditionary Force
Col: Ray Roberts Commanding

[Riun T]

Darn good fight robot,, you too managed more with a draw than MY big mouth thought, with that much hard ground to cover and an aweful lot of hexes to cross I personally think you did great with only 299 casualties and would call it more of a "INFANTRY" victory because I think the vehicles and tanks u lost where the points burden to make it called as a draw. too bad we can't do on-field repairs or get some recovery tractors EH!

[robot]

Thanx to gunny for the suggestion to load half squads onto my tanks and move faster with some kind of protection from them riding. it helped me get to the rear objectives in time with out too much losses. And I was able to find there HQ and demolish them as well. All in all I felt lucky to even get a draw as there gunners were cutting my boys to pieces.