Pacific, Heroes and Leaders mod Expansion

[asl3d]

US Dodge WC56 3/4 ton 4x4 Truck

Dodge 4x4 (3/4-ton) was manufactured in Detroit (Michigan) of 1942 to 1944. This vehicle multifunction was the third vehicle of this type developped at the point by Dodge. The first was a civil 1/2-ton style VC, and the second a 1/2-tone WC which was introduced in 1941.
Dodge WC51 is a pick-up with open cabin and without winch, which was manufactured to 98 296 specimens between 1942 and 1945. It is the principal version of Dodge 4x4. This vehicle was used as light transport of goods and personnel and like light artillery tractor.
Dodge WC52 is a pick-up with open cabin and with winch, which was manufactured to 42 782 specimens between 1942 and 1945. This vehicle was used as light transport of goods and personnel and like light artillery tractor.
Dodge WC53 Carryall is a command vehicle equipped with a cabin closed with back doors. Did not have a winch. This version was manufactured to 8 402 specimens in 1942-1943.
Dodge WC54 Ambulance is a medical vehicle equipped with a cabin closed with back doors. Did not have a winch. This version was manufactured to 29 932 specimens in 1942-1944.
Dodge WC55 Gun Motor Carriage is a light artillery tractor with open cabin and winch which was manufactured to 5 380 specimens since 1942. The WC55, also known as the M6 Fargo, was an antitank GMC (Gun Motor Carriage) version equipped with a 37 mm gun.
Dodge WC56 Staff Car, Command Reconnaissance vehicle with/without winch, with open cabin, producted to 28635 specimens in 1942-1944.
Dodge WC57 is a reconnaissance and command vehicle with open cabin and winch. A total of 6 010 specimens were produced in 1942-1944.
Dodge WC58 is a radio vehicle of reconnaissance with open cabin and winch. A total of 2 344 specimens were produced since 1942.
Dodge WC59(K50) is a phone cable layer vehicle without winch which was produced to 549 specimens only since 1942.

[asl3d]

US Dodge M6 37mm

Dodge WC58 is a radio vehicle of reconnaissance with open cabin and winch. A total of 2 344 specimens were produced since 1942.
Dodge WC59(K50) is a phone cable layer vehicle without winch which was produced to 549 specimens only since 1942.
Dodge WC60 is a vehicle of fast repair with open cabin and winch. Only 296 specimens were produced since 1942.
Dodge WC61(K50B) is like the WC59 is a phone cable layer vehicle.
Dodge WC64 Ambulance is a medical vehicle with winch, product to 3 500 specimens in 1944-1945.
Dodge 4x4 was also used as mobile mount for rocket launcher.

[asl3d]

US GMC DUKW 352 6x6 truck

During the Second World War, American industry produced an incalculable number of vehicles of any kind for the needs of the US Army but also for the allied forces, becoming thus the arsenal of the democracies. During this conflict logistics played a importantissime role. It was indeed very significant to have sure and fast lines of supply. The Americans and the Allies used all kinds of vehicles for this mission among which the truck of 2.5 tons GMC very known under the nicknames of "Jimmy" and "Deuce and a half". Indeed more than 600 000 of these untiring and reliable trucks were produced (in majority by GMC). Jimmy was propelled by a standard engine 270 of 4.416 Cm3 cubic capacity producing 104 hp. The power was transmitted to the wheels by the means of a transmission with 5 speeds. The box was assembled directly on the casing of clutch, just behind the engine. Two type of driving shafts were used: the "Banjo" of Chevrolet and "Split" of Timkin. For the remainder, many components varied according to the version like the cabin, the plate or the chassis. The majority of the models were with 6 driving wheels but some were produced with 4 driving wheels (the nose gear wheels being only used for the steering).
Among the various versions let us quote: carriers with case out of steel, water cisterns, fuel cisterns and the general-purpose version with dump truck or a mobile workshop. The most produced version was however standard CCKW-353 with normal cabin and long wheelbase, weighing 4.8 tons, being able to transport 2.42 tons into cross-country and 4 tons on made-up roads. Maximum speed on road was of 72 km/h. Let us not forget to also quote the version amphibian Dukw-353 very much used at the time of the many allied landings.

[asl3d]

US GMC DUKW 353 6x6 truck

After the landing of June 6, 1944 and the battle of Normandy, the Allies advanced quickly towards the German territory. This fast projection, put a long distance enters the units of the front and the deposits remained in Normandy. This established fact made more difficult day in day the supply in ammunition and various supplies of the fighting units. Thus, vast operations of logistics were setting-up from the summer 1944. Most known and most significant was "Red Ball Express" which of August 25 at November 16 1944, conveyed 420 000 tons of material enters Normandy and the front. This enormous operation was not possible that thanks to the enormous logistic vehicle fleet of the Americans and the thousands of trucks GMC. n addition to the western front, Jimmy was of course used on all the other fronts and provided to the allied armies of the USA.
The CCKW 353 is resulting from the CCKWX, itself modification of the ACKWX 353. This vehicle had been ordered from 2000 specimens per French Army. The defeat flash of 1940 did not allow the delivery of the vehicles and those were transferred in Great Britain and then for some in Russia. It was propelled by an engine GMC 256 6 cylinders of 77 hp. Its dimensions are of 6.71 m X 2.40 m X 3 m for a weight of 4470 kg.
The GMC Model AFWX-354 Truck, 3-Ton, 6x4 was a specialized vehicle built to carry a searchlight unit and its crew. It was powered by the GMC 256 cu. in. 6 cyl. 77 bhp engine. The full nomenclature was Truck, GMC, 2 1/2 Ton, 6x4, Searchlight Body, COE (AFWX-354-10A). Its dimensions are of 7.29 m X 2.41 m X 3.43 m for a weight of 4991 kg.

[asl3d]

US GMC DUKW 353 6x6 amphibian truck

At the time of a landing, one of the big problems met, concerned the heavy re-provisioning. In fact it was necessary to have access to amphibious vehicles able to carry out the unloading between the freighters to the the disembarkation beaches. The American created previously the family of the LVT (Landing Vehicle Tracked) grouping a series of amphibious full tracked vehicles able to cross the reefs and to move on hard grounds. Nevertheless these vehicles were especially useful in the Pacific where this kind of obstacles were frequent. For europe it some was otherwise, in fact the reefs were very rare, the road network was consequent (nonexistent on most of the islands of the Pacific) and the distances to traverse after landing without commune measures (the whole difference enters medium indeed tiny islands and a continent). It was necessary therefore an amphibious vehicle able to move on ground as any cargo truck.
The realization of prototypes was confided to the factory GMC. After the essays, its manufacture was decided in 1942. Officially named DUKW, this amphibious vehicle was quickly baptized DUCK by the troop, a name that goes for it well. Between 1942 and the end of the war, 21000 DUCKs were made. This vehicle was easy to produce and to maintain because it used a maximum of elements of the truck CCKW-353. This vehicle that didn't be a cross-country vehicle, behaved nevertheless enough well on the beaches but met big difficulties on soft mud. The Ducks were used on all operation theaters by the Allies. To move in water, the Duck was equipped of a propellor induced by the main engine and it was directed thanks to a rudder. The pilot and his assistant was sat in front of the cargo area able to transport as much boxes that light artillary weapons. It arrived sometimes that guns fired on board of the Duck and this one was used as mobile mounting.
he Duck was used for the first time in New-Caledonia in 1943, then very widely was used in the various landing in Europe that this be in Sicily, in Italy, in Provence and especially in Normandy. Eisenhower declared that the landing of June 6 1944 would have been impossible without the Duck. The General de Gaulle landed in France from a Duck. After a storm has damaged seriously artificial harbors realized by the Allies, the Ducks became again more essential. The Ducks proved again their value after July 16, the taken of the harbor of Cherbourg while realizing 6000 shuttles to empty the cargos and transport the merchandises towards the damaged quays. After the Normandy, the Ducks followed the progression of the Allies in the Europe heart and often were used in tandem with the bridges Bailley to cross the various rivers met.

[asl3d]

US Harley Davidson WLA

Harley-Davidson 45 WLA is the military version of Harley-Davidson WLC whose production was stopped at the entry in war of USA to the profit of the military version. Approximately 90 000 specimens of the WLA were produced of 1942, until the beginning of the Fifties.
The WLA was propelled by an engine two cylinders (V) of 739 cc, developing 23 hp to 4600 rpm. The WLA was largely used by the allied forces (in particular Soviet Union) for roles of reconnaissance or police.
Harley-Davidson also produced the XA 750 with opposite cylinders and horizontal driveshaft for the tropical climates (North Africa). However the production of this version was cancelled when the front of North Africa was enclosed in 1943 and only 1011 XA were produced.

[asl3d]

US Infantry extension Marines

[asl3d]

US Philippine Scouts

These troops were generally Filipinos and Filipino-Americans assigned to the United States Army Philippine Department, under the command of American commissioned officers.
The first Scout companies were organized by the US in 1901 to combat the Philippine Revolutionary Army led at that time by General Emilio Aguinaldo. Service and support formations were also organized as engineer, medical, quartermaster and military police units. The Scouts became the U.S. Army's front line troops in the Pacific.
Philippine Scout regiments became the first United States Army units to be in combat during World War II, until the surrender of USAFFE in May 1942. On July 26, 1941, General Douglas MacArthur back to active duty and put in charge of The United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). The unit consisted of 22,532 troops, of which 10,473 were members of the Philippine Division, itself containing 2,552 Americans and 7,921 Filipinos. All of the division's enlisted men, with the exception of the 31st Infantry Regiment and some of the military police and headquarters troops, were Philippine Scouts.
On the Bataan Peninsula of Luzon Island, the Philippine Scouts, a few U.S. Army National Guard units, and ten divisions of poorly equipped, almost untrained Philippine Army soldiers held out against the Japanese. The Scouts and the other soldiers held out for more than four months without adequate food or medicine, while malaria, dysentery and malnutrition ravaged their ranks, and Japanese attacks drove them further down the Bataan Peninsula. Survivors of the Battle of Bataan, to a man, describe the Philippine Scouts as the backbone of the American defense there.
The 26th Cavalry Regiment, was formed mostly of Philippine Scouts and was the last U.S. cavalry regiment to engage in horse-mounted warfare. When Troop G encountered Japanese forces at the village of Morong on 16 January 1942, Lieutenant Edwin P. Ramsey ordered the last cavalry charge in American history.
Following the 1941 Japanese invasion, the 26th Cavalry Regiment participated in the Allied withdrawal to the Bataan Peninsula. In doing so, the unit conducted a classic delaying action that allowed other, less mobile, units to safely withdraw to the peninsula. By the end of 24 December the regiment had been reduced to 450 men. Following these events, the regiment was pulled off the line and brought back up to a strength of 657 men, who in January 1942 held open the roadways to the Bataan Peninsula allowing other units to prepare for their stand there. During the retreat to Bataan, the 26th was heavily outnumbered by an infantry force supported by tanks. Due to a shortage of food, they found it necessary to butcher their mounts and the regiment was converted to two squadrons, one a motorized rifle squadron, the other a mechanized squadron utilizing the remaining scout cars and Bren carriers.

[asl3d]

US Naval Landing Marines Squad

In World War II, the Marines performed a central role in the Pacific War, along with the U.S. Army. The battles of Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Tarawa, Guam, Tinian, Cape Gloucester, Saipan, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa saw fierce fighting between Marines and the Imperial Japanese Army. Some 600,000 Americans served in the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II.
During the first eight months of the Pacific fighting, the shocked public of the United States witnessed the Imperial Japanese Navy and Army overrun all of southeast Asia and most of the Pacific Islands. From Pearl Harbor to the Philippines, Wake and Guam, the American military had taken a beating. The Japanese Navy instituted a sweeping plan that would extend their zone of control outward beyond the conventional air range to the capital. One portion of this plan was a push far to the east, with the occupation of Midway Island and the hoped-for destruction of the remaining American carrier fleet. A second part was a move directly south to capture Port Moresby on the southern shore of New Guinea. Yet another phase of this grandiose plan was to move down the Solomons Islands chain, with the eventual goal of occupying the New Hebrides and Fiji Islands; victory would cut the line of communications and supply between the United States and Australia/New Zealand. This last move would bring about the campaign known as Guadalcanal. With an intelligence estimate of about 3000 Japanese facing him, General Vandegrift (USMC) expected only some moderate resistance from the dispersed Guadalcanal garrison and around the Japanese HQ and seaplane base on Tulagi Island and light resistance on the twin islands of Gavutu/Tanambogo protecting the bay. As it turned out, this first amphibious assault developed in almost the reverse reality. The 1st (accompanied by the 3rd Marine Defense Battalion) and 5th Marine divisions landed near Lunga Point on Guadalcanal and spent the first day in peace. Upon landing on Florida Island across the "Slot", the men of the 2nd Marines found that there were no Japanese bases or defenses there at all.
The Battle of Iwo Jima, which began on 19 February 1945, was arguably the most famous Marine engagement of the war. The Japanese had learned from their defeats in the Marianas Campaign and prepared many fortified positions on the island including pillboxes and network of tunnels. The Japanese put up fierce resistance, but American forces reached the summit of Mount Suribachi on 23 February. The mission was accomplished with high losses of 26,000 American casualties and 22,000 Japanese.
By the end of the war, the Corps expanded from two brigades to six divisions, five air wings, and supporting troops, totaling about 485,000 Marines. In addition, 20 defense battalions and a parachute battalion were raised. Nearly 87,000 Marines were casualties during World War II (including nearly 20,000 killed), and 82 were awarded the Medal of Honor

[asl3d]

US Naval Harbor Defense

Two related aspects of seacoast defense in the early part of the war were coastal beach patrols in the continental United States and the maintenance of mobile forces there to respond to potential enemy raids. The Coast Guard began these patrols after Pearl Harbor, and in early 1942 the Eastern and Western Defense Commands were assigned the equivalent of up to eight infantry regimental combat teams each for both beach patrols and mobile response.
Besides the Coast Artillery, key islands in the Pacific theater were defended by U.S. Marine defense battalions throughout the war. Their most famous engagement was the Battle of Wake Island in December 1941, in which heavy casualties were inflicted on a Japanese invasion force that eventually took the island. In December 1941, the only immediate protection for Wake Island, a distant United States possession most home folk had never heard of, was a detachment (about 350 men) of the 6th Naval Harbor Defense. On 8 December 1941, the first Japanese raid struck the isolated island; following it, the Marines began the practice of changing their positions between every air attack. In this way they were able to keep most of the guns safe from the Japanese until the day when the enemy actually attempted to land on the island. On December 11th, the Japanese tried their first landing on Wake. Detected in time, this first Japanese landing ended in a disaster and marked the first actual defeat of the vaunted Japanese Navy. Wake's freedom was to be short-lived, however, as the Japanese were determined to take the base from the Marines. It was a wet and dark at 0115 hours on 23 December 1941, when what appeared to be two large landing barges were sighted closing in on the shoreline. Only minutes before, Major Devereux, the commanding officer had called an alert that sent all the Marines into their defensive positions. Now, peering through the dark mist, it could be seen that the two barges were in reality two troop-carrying destroyers heading straight in to the beach. Just as the Japanese destroyers beached themselves on the main island, the rapid chatter of a heavy-caliber MG could be heard from over on Wilkes Island ... the invasion of Wake had commenced. As the fight progressed into the day, bringing the Marines along the shoreline under Japanese Navy gunfire, the situation became desperate. Special Marine teams were ordered to detonate explosives under the runway and in some supply bunkers to prevent the Japanese from capturing them.
The U.S. Navy participated in harbor defense with anti-submarine nets and magnetic indicator loops for detecting submarines; joint harbor defense command posts and harbor entrance control posts were established at harbor defense commands to coordinate army and navy operations. With a rapidly diminishing threat after 1942, by mid-1943 these forces were cut back significantly, and were mostly demobilized in early 1944.

[asl3d]

US Naval Fusilier Marines

Throughout the period of American involvement in WWII, Marine recruits were trained in three locations: Parris Island, SC (24,000 recruits), San Diego, CA (223,000 recruits), and Montford Point, NC (19,000 recruits). Montford Point, at Camp Lejune, NC, was a segregated training facility from 1942-45 for African-Americans as the Marine Corps was not integrated at this time. In total, over 670,000 served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II.
Upon arrival at receiving barracks, recruits were given their first Marine Corp meal and given medical check-ups and innoculations. Recruits were then issued dog-tags, identification cards, service record books, and issued a service number. They were then given a hair cut, and issued clothing, gear and rifles.
Recruit’s preparation for his future Marine combat in the South Pacific began as an enlistee leading a group of fellow enlistees on the long train ride from Boston to the eventual destination of Parris Island, South Carolina for boot camp training. Upon arrival at Parris Island it became apparent to Recruits that they must make the transition from citizen-scholar to Marine Corps “boot” and finally to combat-ready Marine.
After being introduced to his Drill Instructor, a Recruit and his fellow boots endured countless hours of hiking and physical training at all times of the day and night under a variety of environmental conditions. The boots received what seemed to be endless instruction on the rifle range, bayonet instruction, swimming, and hand-to-hand combat. These instructions were necessary rites of passage in preparation for the inevitability of actual combat with the enemy.
From Parris Island, Recruits were transported to Fleet Marine Headquarters at New River, North Carolina for training that included obstacle courses, additional rifle training, improvising rope bridges and endless practice sessions for debarking from ship’s cargo nets onto Higgins Boats and then hitting the beach.
As a welcome respite from the rigorous training Recruits enjoyed liberty in nearby Jacksonville, NC. Upon completion of his training at New River recruits were allowed furlough for a home visit to see family and loved ones for the last time until the war ended.
After enjoying furlough Recruits took the long train ride to his final preparation training at Camp Elliott, not far from San Diego. This train ride included stops along the journey in Montgomery, AL, New Orleans, Alexandria, Los Angeles, Dallas, Tucson, and Phoenix before finally joining a Marine Division, which had been activated at Camp Elliott in San Diego.
While at Camp Elliot and finally camp Pendleton in addition to instruction as a linesman Recruits received desert training and more intense instruction on ship disembarkment via cargo nets onto Higgins Boats and then beach landings.
After enjoying leave in Los Angeles, Recruits, already turned into Marines fusiliers, traveled to San Francisco to make final preparations for the next leg on their journey to combat: the long boat ride to New Zealand.

[asl3d]

US Marine Scout-Sniper

The Marine Scout-Sniper units came into being in August 1941 after the 1st Marine Division occupied Guadalcanal. These were an unofficial conversion of an existing unit into a specialized formation with only two missions: scouting and outmaneuvering the enemy in jungle terrain. Their creation is, in itself, a story of how the Marines used available resources to the fullest in the face of a fanatic and experienced enemy to satisfy the needs of the moment.
The primary mission of these companies was reconnaissance and locating terrain suitable for armored operations. The Marine scouts would have to do all of their work on foot. Arriving at Guadalcanal, and learning first-hand what a true jungle was, Colonel William J. Whaling (USMC) took it upon himself to retrain the Marines of his grounded 1st Scout Company in order to improve their patrolling capability. This training was the most realistic that could be imagined since it took place in the jungles of Guadalcanal and while active operations were still being conducted by the 1st Marine Division against the Japanese. The reformed company was known as the 1st Scout-Sniper Detachment, or more commonly called the "Whaling Group" (after its commanding officer).
By October 1942, these Marine scouts were fully retrained in jungle operations and were attached to the 7th Marines during the Matanikau offensive. The aggressive jungle patrol tactics of the Scout-Snipers paid off when they discovered one of the Japanese units that was assigned to attack the Marines from the south along the now famous "Bloody Ridge" moving to its start-line. The relief of the Whaling Group by the U.S. Army's 164th Infantry on 4 November allowed the Scout-Snipers, the 3/7th Marines and 5th Marines to withdraw into the Henderson Field perimeter for some much-needed rest. The arrival of the 2nd Marine Division on Guadalcanal finally eased the pressure. On 9 December, Vandegrift ordered that the 1st Marine Division, along with Whaling's Scout-Snipers, be withdrawn; they departed for Australia, almost four months to the day of their arrival.
The success of the Scout-Sniper concept of Colonel Whaling was proven in the heat of battle to be well worth the effort. Even before the 2nd Marine Division arrived at Guadalcanal, its own Scout company had undergone the training devised and championed by Whaling. In 1942, the manpower of a Scout Company was 175 officers and men, but was reduced to 13 officers and men under the E.-Series T/O&E established in 1943. With the reorganization of the Marine Divisions in 1944, the Scout Company was disbanded entirely, but was re-created as a divisional-level Recon Company in both the F (127 men) and G (113 men) SerieS T/O&Es of 1944 and 1945. The M3A1 Scout Car; which saw combat only with the 2nd Marine Division, were phased out in 1943 and replaced with radio-carrying jeeps and one-ton trucks.
Scout-Sniper detachments went to Tarawara with the 2nd Marine Division and to Bougainville with the 3rd Marine Division. The recon companies of all the divisions proved their worth during every campaign of the Central Pacific drive, and provided reconnaissance as well as fighting power as called for by divisional headquarters.

[asl3d]

US Marine Raiders Squad

One of the American observers assigned to study British methods was Marine Lt. Colonel Merritt A. Edson. Much impressed by commando training and operations, Edson brought back with him the seed of the Raider program. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world in China, Major Evans F. Carlson had spent months traveling with the Chinese Route armies and was very impressed by their stamina, endurance and ability to travel quickly across the rugged land. Drawing upon their combined knowledge and observations, these two officers were given the task of creating commando-type units for the Marine Corps. On the 4 February 1942, the first two Marine Raider Battalions were ordered to form. Their training was to be a unique combination of methods found in England and China. From the English came the techniques of silent movement, night combat and hand-to-hand combat. Fire discipline was stressed and practiced, as well as how to live off of the land. The Raiders became experts in the art of camouflage.
From the Chinese experiences of Major Carlson came the toughest, most brutal kind of strength and endurance training. Marching long distances under a full pack-load, both officers and men came to know and trust each other while building their stamina and endurance to the highest levels.
Two very special items became part of the Marine Corps history during this training. The first was the Raider stiletto knife, similar to the famous British commando knife. (With only a limited number made, these are prized collectors' items today.) Like their British counterparts, the Raiders were trained in all types of weaponry, including enough cross-training so that any weapon, American or enemy, could be operated by any Raider.
The second to enter Corps tradition was an idea. Carlson brought back with him from China the phrase "Gung Ho". This phrase, which roughly translates from Chinese as "Working Together", became the motto of the Raiders. But more importantly, it became a synthesis of the emphasis of the Marines. The concept of Gung Ho is still a part of Marine training from boot camp through retirement.
The first Raider battalion was formed under the command of Colonel Edson and was designated the 1st "Separate" Battalion. The 1st Separate Battalion began its training at Quantico, Virginia, for assignment to the Atlantic Fleet. The 2nd Separate Battalion was formed under the command of newly promoted Colonel Carlson at Camp Elliott, California. They began training on the West Coast for eventual posting to the Pacific theater.
The 1st Separate Battalion was renamed the 1st Raider Battalion and reassigned to the 1st Marine Division on February 16th. The 1942 T/O&E for the battalion showed assigned manpower of 901 men. The battalion had a H&S company, which included the battalion HQ staff, a communications platoon, and quartermaster and motor transport platoons. The Weapons Company was composed of a company HQ and four platoons: one demolitions, one mortar, and two MG (machine-gun). Under D-175, each Raider battalion was to have four rifle companies, each outfitted with a HQ section, a Weapons platoon, and three rifle platoons. Each weapons platoon had a security squad, a MG squad (two MG), and a mortar squad equipped with two 60mm mortars. The rifle platoons of each company was made up of three squads.

[asl3d]

US Marine Parachute

In May 1940, the Marines, being a rather small force, were authorized the creation of a paratroop battalion (commonly called the "ParaMarines"). A ParaMarine battalion had a manpower complement of 583 men. The battalion included a Headquarters company of 106 men organized in a Battalion HQ section, a Company HQ section, and a Demolitions platoon. There were three Parachute Rifle companies assigned to each Parachute battalion. Each company had its own Company HQ section and three Parachute Rifle platoons. Each platoon included a platoon HQ, a 60mm mortar squad, and three rifle squads.
During February 1941, Company A of what would become the 2nd Parachute Battalion was formed at San Diego (California) and was finally recognized officially on 1 October 1941. Meanwhile, Company A, ist Parachute Battalion, had been unofficially formed at Quantico, Virginia, on 28 May 1941 and received its official recognition in August 1941. During June 1942, the under-strength 1st ParaMarine Battalion was shipped to New Zealand, where it was joined to the 1st Marine Division for the invasion of Guadalcanal.
The 3rd Parachute Battalion was formed in September 1942 at San Diego, California. A 4th ParaMarine Battalion was activated on 2 April 1943 but was disbanded before finishing its jump training. After its effort at Guadalcanal, the 1st ParaMarines was shipped to New Caledonia where it was joined by the 2nd and 3rd ParaMarines battalions. In late April. 1943, the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment was officially formed at Tontouta Island. The 1st ParaMarine Regiment included a H&S company, a Weapons company, and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Parachute battalions.
On 1 October 1943, the 2nd ParaMarine Battalion landed on Vella Lavella in the central Solomons. Here they were to prepare for their next combat mission as part of General MacArthur's South West Pacific Forces. On 23 November 1943, the 1st Parachute Battalion (along with the 2nd Raiders) was assigned to Corps Reserve for the 1st Marine Amphibious Corps during the invasion of Bougainville in the Northern Solomons. The 1st ParaMarine Regiment remained on Vella Lavella in reserve until 3 December 1943, when it was ordered to Bougainville to assist in the continuing drive from the beachhead established by the 3rd Marine Division.
The 1st Parachute Battalion remained on Bougainville until 11 January 1944, when it was embarked for San Diego for reassignment. Prior to this, in December 1943, the Commandant of the Marines had ordered the disbandment of the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment. The men of the regiment went on to become the core of the new 5th Marine Division. While there were several reasons for this decision, two were very influential. First, the Marines never had the air transport capacity available for major independent parachute operations. Secondly, small island warfare is simply not suitable for airborne assaults. It is regrettable that the Marines paratroopers, after all their training, never had the chance to make a combat drop during World War II and prove themselves. A large proportion of the Medals of Honor and Navy Crosses given to the 5th Marine Division at Iwo Jima in 1945 were earned by former ParaMarines.

[asl3d]

US Marine Defense

Defense battalions deployed early and often throughout the Pacific campaigns, serving in a succession of distant places, some dangerous, others boring. They did not benefit from post-battle rest— though few rest areas lived up to their name —nor were their accommodations comparable to those of an aircraft wing sharing the same location. The Marines of the defense battalions endured isolation, sickness, monotonous food, and primitive living conditions for long periods, as they engaged in the onerous task of protecting advance bases in areas that by no stretch of the imagination resembled tropical paradises. After putting up with these conditions for months or years, many of these same Marines went on to serve as replacements in the six Marine divisions in action when the war ended.
The 3rd Marine Defense Battalion landed alongside the 1st Marine Division at Guadalcanal in August 1942. While providing counter-tire against Japanese ships that would come down the Slot at night, they also stiffened the ground defense during the hard-fought Japanese October offensive.
During the New Georgia campaign in the central Solomons by the Army, the 1st Marine Division was in rest camps recovering from its losses at Guadalcanal and being equipped with the new M1 semi-automatic rifle. The 2nd Marine Division was being prepared for action in the Gilberts; and the 3rd Marine Division was still forming back in the States. But as the SW Pacific Commander was in no position to wait, the campaign was started with only limited Marine assistance. This took the form of several Marine Defense Battalions which had been upgraded with the addition of a light tank platoon (consisting of eight tanks), the exchange of the 5" coastal artillery for 155mm guns, and 20mm and 40mm AA weapons replacing the older guns for the AA group.
Often Marine Defense Battalions supply and HQ personnel would be called upon to fight as infantry, usually being formed into companies of 100 men each. And the gun crews, when not being called on to supply fire missions, would eagerly join any local action as riflemen. From August through October of 1943, the 4th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Defense Battalions fought shoulder-to-shoulder with U.S. Army units in places such as Vangunu, Rendova (9th Marine Defense Battalion), Kiriwina (9th Marine Defense Battalion), Vella Lavella (4th Marine Defense Battalion) and Arundel (9th, 10th and 11th Marine Defense Battalion)—all within the New Georgia island chain. Since the Army did not have many armored units of its own at this time in the Pacific, much of the armor support for the Central Solomons campaign would be provided by the Marine tankers attached to these Marine Defense Battalions.

[asl3d]

Leaders Marine Corps 1

Evans F. Carlson (1896–1947) US Marine Corps general. Was the leader of "Carlson's Raiders". Carlson developing the tactics and attitude that would later come to define America's special operations forces. He is renowned for the "Makin Island raid" in 1942, and his raiders' "Long Patrol" (aka Carlson's patrol) behind Japanese lines on Guadalcanal. Carlson popularised the phrase "gung-ho".

William Jennings Bordelon (1920–1943) US Marine Corps Staff Sergeant. He was killed while serving as a member of an assault engineer platoon of the First Battalion, Eighteenth Marines, tactically attached to the 2nd Marine Division against the Japanese in the Battle of Tarawa, in the Gilbert Islands on November 20, 1943. He single-handedly destroyed four enemy pillboxes before he was fatally wounded. He was the first U.S. Marine from Texas to be awarded the Medal of Honor for action in World War II.

Grant Frederick Timmerman (1919–1944) US Marine Corps Sergeant 2nd Marine Division. He landed on Saipan on June 6, 1944, and on June 28. On July 8, Timmerman's tank was advancing a few yards ahead of the infantry when the attack was held up by a series of Japanese pillboxes and trenches. The sergeant had been firing the tank's antiaircraft gun. He stood up in the open turret of his tank to warn the infantry to hit the deck because of the muzzle blast of the 75 mm. A Japanese grenade came hurtling through the air aimed in the direction of the open turret. Timmerman covered the opening with his own body to prevent the grenade from killing his crew and the grenade exploded on his chest. For that his country bestowed its highest honor upon him - the Medal of Honor.

Elbert Luther Kinser (1922–1945) US Marine Corps Sergeant, Company I, 1st Marine Division. On April 1, 1945, Sgt Kinser landed with his unit on the Japanese island Okinawa. There Sergeant Kinser acting as a leader of a rifle platoon. On May 4, 1945, during a hand grenade battle, a Japanese grenade landed in the immediate vicinity, Kinser unhesitatingly threw himself on the deadly missile, absorbing the full charge of the shattering explosion in his own body and thereby protecting his men from serious injury and possible death. This won him the nation's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor.

[asl3d]

Leaders Marine Corps 2

Tony Stein (1921–1945) US Marine Corps Corporal 3rd Parachute Battalion. On February 19, 1945, he took part in the amphibious landings which began the Battle of Iwo Jima with 28th Marines. He stormed a series of hostile pillboxes and made eight trips back to the beach to retrieve ammunition, each time taking a wounded Marine with him. The 28th Marines helped capture Mount Suribachi, culminating in the raising of the U.S. flag on the mountain's peak. Stein was wounded during the fight for Suribachi. On March 1, he was killed by a sniper while leading a 19-man patrol to reconnoiter a machine gun emplacement. It was for his actions on this day that he was later awarded the Medal of Honor.
Louis James Hauge (1924–1945) US Marine Corps Corporal. Hauge was killed in action on May 14, 1945, while serving on Okinawa as a member of the 1st Marine Division. He was awarded the Medal of Honor. Hauge was squad leader of a machine gun squad in Southern Okinawa engaged in an assault against a heavily fortified Japanese hill. Hauge boldly rushed across an open area, heaving hand grenades as he ran. Wounded before he reached the first gun, he nevertheless continued his one-man assault and completely destroyed the position. Without stopping, he pushed forward and attacked the second gun with grenades and demolished it before falling from the deadly fire of the Japanese snipers.
Frank Peter Witek (1921–1944) US Marine Corps Private First Class. On July 21, 1944, the 3rd Marine Division invaded Guam. Witek was a Browning automatic rifleman and scout behind the Japanese lines. On August 3, he was slain at the battle of the Mount Santa Rosa roadblock, in the Battle of Finegayan, Guam. He had only eight cartridges left out of an original 240 rounds when he was found. For his heroism and sacrifice of life, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Witek had earned the highest military award his country could give him. He was the 28th Marine to receive the Medal of Honor during World War II.
Jose Cabalfin Calugas (1907–1998) was a member of the Philippine Scouts. He received the Medal of Honor for actions during the Battle of Bataan. Served with different artillery batteries of the Philippine Scouts until his unit was mobilized to fight in World War II. After noticing one of his unit's gun batteries had been destroyed and its crew killed, he gathered several members of his unit together, dug in and attempted to defend the line. He was captured along with other members of his unit and forced to march to a distant enemy prison camp, where he was held as a prisoner of war. When he was released in 1943, he was secretly assigned to a guerrilla unit in the Philippines where he fought for the liberation of the Philippines from the Japanese.

[asl3d]

HaL American Availability Infantry Catalog

[asl3d]

M2 4.2 in 107mm Mortar

This weapon was designed by the Chemical Warfare Service, and some 8,500 were built. The 4.2-in. (or "Goon Gun", as it was sometimes called) had been intended to fire only gas and SMOKE rounds; however, an HE round was also designed in time for the mortar's combat debut in Sicily. In action it was found that the higher ROF used when firing HE increased the incidence of malfunctions. The normal Smoke rounds appear to have been used rarely, if at all, in combat. Unlike the vast majority of mortars whose barrels are smooth-bore, the 4.2-in. was unusual in having a rifled barrel. This feature increased its accuracy, but at the cost of making it (and its projectiles) more expensive and time-consuming to manufacture. The 4.2-in. was used only in chemical mortar battalions, which were attached at army/corps level. A platoon comprised four weapons. The M2 4.2-inch mortar entered service in 1943.
The M2 could be disassembled into three parts to allow it to be carried by its crew. The mortar tube weighed 48 kg, including a screw-in cap at the bottom. The cap contained a built-in fixed firing pin. The standard, a recoiling hydraulic monopod that could be adjusted for elevation, weighed 24 kg. The baseplate had long handles on either side to make it easier to carry; it weighed 79 kg. In order to extend the range to 2,900 m, more propellant charge was used and parts of the mortar were strengthened. Eventually, the range of the mortar was extended to 4,000 m. The modified mortar was redesignated the M2. The M2 was first used in the Sicilian Campaign, where some 35,000 rounds of ammunition were fired from the new weapon. Subsequently, the mortar proved to be an especially useful weapon in areas of rough terrain such as mountains and jungle, into which artillery pieces could not be moved.
4.2-inch mortars were employed by chemical mortar battalions. Each battalion was authorized forty-eight M2 4.2-inch mortars organized into four companies with three four-tube platoons. Between December 1944 and February 1945, the battalions’ Companies D were inactivated to organize additional battalions. In World War II, an infantry division was often supported by one or two chemical mortar companies with twelve mortars each. In some instances an entire battalion was attached to a division. In the Korean War, an organic heavy mortar company of eight 4.2-inch mortars was assigned each infantry regiment while Marine regiments had a mortar company with twelve mortars. The mortar's M3 high explosive (HE) shell packed 3.64 kilograms of explosive charge, placing it between the M1 105-mm HE shell (2.18 kilograms of charge) and M102 155-mm HE shell (6.88 kilograms of charge) in terms of blast effect. The mortar could also fire white phosphorus-based smoke shells and mustard gas shells. The official designation of the latter was Cartridge, Mortar, 4.2-inch.

[asl3d]

US M3 105mm Howitzer

In 1941 a requirement was issued for an air-transportable 105mm howitzer. The weapon designed to meet this requirement used the M2A1 howitzer's barrel (shortened by 27 inches), the carriage from the cavalry version of the 75mm pack howitzer, and a modified version of the pack howitzer's recoil mechanism. The result worked suprisingly well (although its maximum range was much less than M2A1's). The howitzer was designed to fire the same ammunition as the M2 howitzer, however, it was found that shorter barrel resulted in incomplete burning of the propelling charge. The problem could be solved by use of faster-burning powder, and otherwise, the design was considered acceptable and was standardized as 105 mm Howitzer M3 on Carriage M3. The carriage was soon succeeded by the M3A1, which had trails made from thicker steel plate. Even stronger tubular trails were designed, but never reached production. Production started in February 1943 and continued until May 1944; an additional batch was produced from April to June 1945. While the M3 could be classified as an infantry gun, it was used in the indirect fire role more than its German 75 and 150mm counterparts, and had no gunshield, so here has been classed as an artillery type.
Its primary employment was with the infantry regiment, which as of July 1943 was authorized a cannon company of six M3 howitzers (each towed by a 3/-ton truck). Several glider field artillery battalions (e.g., the 319th, 320th, and 907th) also used the M3 in 1944-45; one glider would bring in the howitzer and its ammo, while another would land its crew with the Jeep used to tow it. (A few sources state that all glider field artillery battalions used the M3, but others say that some retained the pack 75.)
The initial production of the M3 was adequate to equip the cannon companies of the three hundred infantry regiments that had been forecast in the initial war plans. The M3 was the primary weapon of these companies, and appeared in the table of organization and equipment (T/O&E) from early 1944. Even though the M3 was not mentioned in the February 1944 T/O&E, shortly before the Normandy airdrops some airborne divisions received a 105 mm glider field artillery battalion equipped with them as a supplement to their existing three 75 mm howitzer battalions. 1/4 ton jeeps were used as prime movers. Later increased to four battalions, one, between 1943 and 1945, was converted to 105mm M3. The weapon was finally authorized as an option by the December 1944 TO&E. and by 1945 was employed by all airborne divisions in the European Theater. The M3 was also issued to the cannon companies of infantry regiments (six, in three platoons of two). Often the cannon companies were integrated into the division artillery. The infantry used 1½ ton cargo trucks as the prime mover.