The Pacific War - week by week

- 58 - Pacific War - Fall of Buna, December 27, 1942- January 3, 1943

Last time we spoke about the First Arakan Campaign. General Slim and Lt General Irwin Noel were beginning to have a budding bromance, but Noel simply wanted to see other people and it led to disaster. All jokes aside, Noels attempts to keep Slim away from military campaign seems to have really hurt the war effort in the CBI theater. Slims men and the Chinese forces who came to India received terrible treatment from their comrades and on top of this a political crisis was brewing in India. Noel’s operation sent men to Foul Point where they got a taste of Japanese bunker defenses. Rather ironically Wavell compared the failure at Foul Point to the fierce battle fought by the Australians and Americans over in Buna-Gona stating“It seems quite clear that we are facing a form of ‘Buna’ and ‘Gona.’ And today we will be returning to Green Hell and Starvation island.

- 57 - Pacific War - First Arakan Campaign, December 20-27, 1942

Last time we spoke about the grueling battle for Buna-Gona. The villages of Buna and Gona had been captured, but the Americans and Australians had a lot more ground to take before their job was done. By Christmas day American companies were marching upon the Buna government station while the Australians were marching in the direction of Giruwa. Then over on starvation island the situation was so dire for the Japanese, they had to perform a feint to draw the American Army’s attention away from their coastal lines. They chose to mount a feint from Mount Austen to draw the Americans there and the feint worked. Now the Americans would be marching upon the Seahorse and Galloping horse to face the brutal defenses of the Gifu to claim Mount Austen's peak. But today we are going to venture back to the Burma front where a new offensive is commencing.

- 56 - Pacific War - Mount Austen Offensive, December 13-20, 1942

Last time we spoke about the grueling fall of the villages of Buna and Gona during the Buna-Gona offensive. The Americans, Australians and Japanese had been at it for weeks in a battle of attrition for the Buna-Gona area, a battle General Douglas MacArthur was impatient to draw out. Because of the drive to speed up the seizing of the territory, every day became a groundhog day of morning bombardments followed by failed ground offensives. While it was disheartening to fall upon the concealed Japanese bunkers each day, little by little the allies were whittling down the Japanese defenders, whose backs were to the sea without any hope of escape. With the villages of Buna and Gona captured, the end was drawing near for the Japanese, many of whom were trying desperately to escape via the ocean or by running into the jungles. Today we are going to continue this brutal story and a new offensive on the starvation island.

- 55 - Pacific War -Fall of Gona, December 6-13, 1942

Last time we spoke about the battle of Tassafaronga. It was a defeat, but also a major humiliation for the American navy. A American Cruiser-Destroyer group lost to an inferior destroyer-transport group that they had managed to surprise. The issue of the mark XV torpedoes were still plaguing the Americans and would continue to do so well into 1943. Admiral Tanaka managed to perform his new drum technique, but little by little the IJN was losing their valuable destroyers, submarines and transports. We also saw some more action along the Buna-Gona front which had become a horrible war of attrition, one that the Japanese knew they would ultimately lose. General Harding was continuously throwing men against the fortified and concealed Japanese positions causing a massive meatgrinder. But soon Harding would be replaced and some progress would be made.

- 54 - Pacific War - Battle of Tassafaronga, November 29 - December 6, 1942

Last time we spoke about the long and bloody patrol of Carlson’s raiders. Shoji and his men were in for a nasty surprise when they disappeared into the jungle for a long march back to the 17th Army, for they were not alone. Carlson’s raiders hunted them down for over a month killing 488 Japanese at the cost of 16 marine lives. Shoji’s main body had been reduced to just 800 men when he finally rejoined the 17th army HQ. Over in the Buna-Gona front, the Australian-American forces fell into a bitter stalemate despite 2 weeks of trying to find weaknesses at either area. The concealed Japanese bunkers were taking a heavy toll on the allies, but ultimately the Japanese were just prolonging the inevitable as they had nowhere to run. Then we finished off with the battle of Brisbane, where some yanks got a bit handsy with some gals, prompting brawls with the aussies. Today we are venturing back to starvation island and Green Hell.

- 53 - Pacific War - Carlson’s long and bloody patrol, November 22-29, 1942

Last time we spoke about the battle for Buna and Gona. The American and Australians forces pushed the Japanese towards the Buna-Gona area and with their backs against the wall and nowhere to retreat, the defenders began fighting to the bitter end. Wave after wave of american ground assaults were met by concealed bunkers holding machine guns and treetop snipers. The New Guinea offensive was going to be a few long weeks of carnage for both sides, in a brutal war of attrition. We also talked about the Americans on Guadalcanal making another push west of the Matanikau. Their objective was to secure territory up to the Poha river and to harass the already brutalized Japanese forces after their failure during the last attack on Henderson field. Today we will continue both stories, first with one long patrol thats purpose was to hunt down Japanese trying to escape being encircled at Koli Point and get safely back to the western part of Guadalcanal.

- 52 - Pacific War - Battle of Buna-Gona, November 15-22, 1942

Today, the sun begins to set on the Empire of the Rising Sun. The decisive battle to destroy the American Navy had failed; their overland offensive through the Kokoda Track had failed; their attempts to recapture Guadalcanal and its important airfield had failed. Meanwhile, the Americans had successfully launched their counteroffensive on the Southern Solomons and the Australians had managed to corner the invaders at the Buna-Gona area. Thus, the initiative has finally slipped off the hands of the Japanese; and now, it is their turn to go on the defensive. Yet it will be long until complete darkness falls over the Japanese Empire, as their stubborn and tenacious forces are prepared to give one hell of a fight. Join us as we delve into the start of the long and bloody Battle of Buna-Gona in this new episode of the Pacific War.

- 51 - Pacific War - Naval battle of Guadalcanal, November 8-15, 1942

After many weeks of seeing the brutal fighting that was unfolding in the Southwest Pacific, we are finally reaching the apex of the Guadalcanal Campaign. With three failed attempts to recapture the infamous Island of Death and with their latest victory on the Santa Cruz Islands giving them the illusion that they had achieved naval supremacy over their enemies, the Japanese again prepared for a planned last offensive to finally win what they believed to be the most decisive battle of the Pacific War. Today, however, those illusions are going to be shattered as we delve into the critical Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.

 

- 50 - Pacific War - Battle of the Oivi-Gorari, November 1 - 8, 1942

Fifty weeks have passed since that infamous day in which the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, setting in motion the Pacific War that we have been covering in this series. For many months, we’ve seen the relentless Japanese forces achieve tremendous feats of conquest but also commit horrendous war crimes against innocent people; we’ve seen the tenacious Allied defenders suffer defeat after defeat only to get up back again to fight the ruthless invaders; and we’ve seen the sacrifices of brave men and women on both sides of the war that gave up their lives for what they believed to be a good cause. Now, we’re in a stage in which the Japanese Empire has surrendered the initiative to the Allies in the Pacific. With the recent victories on the Guadalcanal and Kokoda Track Campaigns, today we’ll see the Australian and American soldiers continue to counterattack as the tide turns against the invaders.

- 49 - Pacific War - Battle of Santa Cruz Island ,October 25 - November 1, 1942

Last week, we covered the failed third Japanese attempt at retaking the important island of Guadalcanal. The unmitigated disaster that was the Battle for Henderson Field would prove to be the last attempt of the invaders to contest the Americans in what they believed to be the most decisive campaign of the war. Yet at the same time, two American carriers would take on four Japanese carriers in a battle that would decide the fate of the Japanese garrison on this Island of Death. In a theater decided by air power, join us as we delve into the fourth carrier battle of the Pacific War: the crucial Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.