1st Battalion/5th Marines 1942-45

[KG Erwin]

(This one uses a new utility that addresses long-standing issues with upgrades and experience increases. It is available here: http://enhanced.freeforums.org One of the biggest issues was the replacement of infantry losses at no point cost. This will no longer occur, which means that protecting your troops becomes essential. However, it also makes the long campaign much more challenging.)

August 1942. As part of the understrength 1st Marine Division, the 1st Battalion/5th Marines landed on Guadalcanal on August 7th, facing no resistance. The Japanese had disappeared into the jungle, and we occupied the uncompleted airstrip.

The enemy responded quickly, sending a task force down from Rabaul, which had a dual purpose: to land a ground force to dislodge us, and to attack our fleet. Our carriers ran off, and so did our transports, which left us without much of our supplies. We were forced into setting up a thinly-held defensive perimeter around the captured airfield. To make matters worse, the stay-behind screen of US and Australian cruisers was soundly defeated, and we were stranded.

The 1/5, supported by a company of light M2A4 tanks and a couple of 75mm GMCs, holds a 3000-yard front. We have no idea of the enemy's strength, but we realize that we are expected to hold our positions "to the last". The last what...? The last round? The last man?

The battalion has a mix of old "Banana War" veterans and young recruits. The old 1/5 was removed from the regiment and became the 1st Separate Battalion, later to be renamed the 1st Raider Battalion. So, this is essentially a brand-new unit, and I, as a brand-new Lt. Col, was chosen to command it.

How it happened: As for me, I'm a relative "new guy", having enlisted in 1940 and sent through a series of accelerated officer courses. I'm a baseball manager, heading up one of the Dodgers' minor league affiliates. I wrote Dodger GM Larry McPhail, and asked if he could pull some strings to get me in. Larry was a veteran of the World War, and assented to my request.

I showed some aptitude, and before I knew it, I became a newly-minted Lt. Col just a week before we shipped out.

[KG Erwin]

Our positions:

[KG Erwin]

August 21, 2000 hrs. It is raining. Visibility 500 yards. Here and there a few units are redeploying to take advantage of the broken high ground. We have no prepared defensive positions, but some troops are attempting to dig hasty trenches. Very little barbed wire is available, as most of it is still aboard our transports. Our ammo supply is limited, so strict fire control procedures have been issued. Given that few of the men have ever been exposed to enemy fire, these orders will be difficult to enforce.

We have a battery of 75mm pack howitzers as additional direct support, with two 105mm battalions of the 11th Marines on call. However, I've already been warned to not request distant fire support unless our line is "in imminent danger of being breached".

[KG Erwin]

Enemy sighted. A couple of their tank-hunter teams, apparently serving as scouts, advance into the open. It's a suicide mission.

Here comes the Japanese infantry, swarming in masses out of the jungle. They have bayonets fixed, and officers are seen with swords raised. They are screaming at the top of their lungs. "Banzai! Banzai!"

Captain Kaempfer calmly speaks into the radio: "commence fire", and his company responds with all of the weapons at its disposal. This includes Springfield single-shot rifles, Browning automatic rifles, air-cooled and water-cooled 30 cal MGs and 60mm mortars. 1st Platoon/Tank Company A's M2A4s also open up with their 37mm guns and MGs. A section of the battalion's 81mm mortars and attached 75mm howitzers select targets and add to the wall of shot and high explosive shells.

A heavy mortar/field gun barrage hits Able Company. Tank A3 takes a direct hit and is destroyed. None of the crew survives.

On the left, a mixed group of recon troops and a few engineers, supported by a section of MGs and a 75mm GMC, are holding their own. They defend along the edge of a cemetery, and are adding to its population. It is a macabre sight, with Japanese soldiers falling amongst the crude crosses and markers. One wag said, "Do ya think the new tenants will disturb the neighbors?" That evoked a grim chuckle.

I went up to a mortar position. The barrel was getting hot, and water was in short supply. The lieutenant simply said, "Piss on it." He literally meant it, so the squad emptied their bladders on the red-hot barrel. Steam rose from it. I stepped up and offered my assistance. The men just grinned as I relieved myself on the now-cooled weapon. "Wipe it down and continue firing". "Aye-aye, sir." I buttoned my trousers and went on my way.

[KG Erwin]

I am receiving disturbing reports from the line. A couple of MG positions have been overrun, and survivors state that the Japanese are killing men attempting to surrender. Damn -- we need to grab a few prisoners for intelligence purposes, so I give a direct order to company commanders: quarter WILL be given to enemy prisoners.

After a tough fight, the enemy broke off the attack. A few of our squads were effectively destroyed, and several others suffered a loss rate of more than 50%. Our victory was judged as marginal.

USMC losses: 271 men, 4 arty pieces, 2 AFV, 1 soft vehicle
Japanese losses: 978 men

We were pulled out of the line and assigned to division reserve for a month. During this time our supply route was re-established, so we were able to make repairs and absorb/acclimate replacements.

[KG Erwin]

September 1942. We are tasked with conducting an advance to expand the perimeter and put more distance between the Japanese and the airfield, which is now called Henderson Field.

1/5 is deployed on a 2000-yard front, with Hawkins' Company B on the left, Shelburne's Company C in the center, and Kaempfer's Company A on the right. We are promised to have plenty of arty support from the 11th Marines.

I felt good about getting a chance to move forward, and then was briefed on the plan. We will go at earliest dawn, which in jungle terms means in the pitch dark. A thunderstorm opens up, but no recall order is given.

So, here we go, plunging into the mixed foliage, in the dark, into the unknown. I'm thinking, "We're walking blindly into an ambush, and the officers back at HQ are sheltered, drinking coffee...OK, enough of that. I'm here, leading 900 men, and into the valley of the shadow of death..."

A voice pipes up. A Marine says, "Hey, Colonel, sir, I hear that the Dodgers might win the pennant."

"Well, son, I heard that, too, but the Cardinals are tough this year. You from Brooklyn?"

"No sir. From New Jersey. I like that Reiser kid, though."

"Yeah, he's a good ballplayer. Good luck to you, son."

"Thank you, sir. You too."

[KG Erwin]

Our furthest objectives are 2000 yards away, but given the terrain, the weather and our time constraints, not to mention the enemy's potential resistance, we may as well have been tasked to walk to the moon. The tanks are restricted to the walking speed of the men, and they do well to make 50 yards in the jungle within the space of a few minutes.

[KG Erwin]

Message from Able Company: "We are taking fire. Enemy remains unsighted." And so it begins. The mortars and pack howitzers dismount and set up firing positions. The enemy's artillery can be expected to open up on us at any moment.

Charlie Co has encountered MG nests, with two-three MG teams stacked up together. Our tanks and mortars are focusing on destroying these identified strongpoints. Tactical note: under NO circumstances will our tanks advance without direct infantry support.

The Japanese artillery is accurate and unbelievably strong. My vehicle is hit. I manage to get out, but I'm hurt. Sh*t! I think a leg is broken, and I've suffered some burns. Major Maxwell didn't make it. The medics reached me after a few minutes, and I turned over command to Captain Shelburne. Then I passed out.

For all intents and purposes, my war just ended. When I woke up I was in a hospital in Hawaii. The docs told me I was lucky to be alive, as I'd suffered internal injuries and required surgery. My pancreas was damaged, which instantly turned me into a diabetic. I will be medically discharged and sent back to the states. To fully recover will take two or three years, and I will be required to take daily injections of insulin for the rest of my life.

We won at Gaudalcanal, and we will win the war. Of that I have no doubt. My thoughts are now turning closer to home. I will resume my job in the Brooklyn Dodger organization, and there is talk of perhaps taking over in the big leagues, if I'm to believe what MacPhail told me in his recent hospital visit. We shall see.