“Then they will have the airfield.”
“That means nothing. We will have it under our guns as well, and not a single enemy plane will ever land there.”
Kawaguchi would do as Sano requested, though he was very disgruntled about it. His men had fought hard, made a brave charge and prevailed. Now, to simply hand the enemy back the airfield they had overrun, seemed a terrible waste of both blood and honor.
For his part, Sano would now order his 129th, and anything left of the 128th, over the main road bridge at M’ba. If anyone questioned him about the loss of the airfield, he would blame it on Kawaguchi, and deny he ever gave him orders to withdraw. Honor and face had many guardians, and deception and duplicity would serve as well as bravery and resolution.
Chapter 12
When Collins and his 25th Tropic Lightning finally did advance, they would find the plantations and fields east of M’ba undefended, the ground eerily quiet and still as the men cautiously probed forward, their eyes on every tree to look out for enemy snipers. He would take the town without a fight, and the airfield with no further casualties. Then he sat in his CP looking at the map and noting the twisting course of that river. He had hoped that the Marines might have compelled the Japanese to give up that river line and withdraw towards Latouka, but it hadn’t happened that way.
These bastards are going to hold on that river, he thought. And it’s going to be hell getting them to move. This is exactly what I was afraid of. Now I’ll have to swing the entire 35th Regiment down to link up with the Marines. There’s just no way in hell we’ll get over that river if the Japs fight like they did at Hill 1000…. No way in hell.
To prosecute this attack further, he knew he was going to have to enfilade the enemy positions. The river ran north all the way to the coast, wider and more swollen with rain as it went. The water was muddy brown now with all the runoff from yesterday’s storm, and a muggy heat settled over the whole scene. Collins looked over the daily report from Patch and his Pacifica Division, seeing that he had pushed all the way to Nandi, but that the enemy had dug in his heels there too.
“Now how do we get around this enemy defense,” he said to the Regimental COs. “We can’t flank ‘em on our right. There’s nothing but miles of mangrove swamp up there and the river is at its widest. The Marines are on the left, and they damn near got overrun last night. They need ammo, and both the Raider Battalions got roughed up pretty bad. Since they still hold that ground, that’s the only thing to do. This high ground here, Mount Koronvira, was where Carlson and Edson were last night. The Japs pushed them all the way back to these streams feeding into the river bend.”
The 35th Regiment under Col. Robert McClure was closest to the Marines that day. “What about here,” he pointed to the map. “That looks like a saddle of passable terrain between Koronvira and this other high ground,” he said.
That other high ground was the rugged range leading up to Mount Evans, over 3800 feet high. It shielded Vitongo Bay and the port of Latouka from any advance from the east, but that saddle of lower ground between the two mountainous areas looked like it could be used.
“Carlson says their SNLF troops are posted there. Those are some of the best men they have.”
“Which is why they’re holding that ground,” said McClure. “Why don’t I take the 35th down there and relieve those Marines?”
“That’s just what I was about to order,” said Collins. “Look, the recon elements and engineers can screen off M’ba. I don’t think the Japs will be crossing that river again. So I want to move everything we have along the line of the Nasiva Creek and get into a position to push through that saddle.”
“What about the Marines?”
“They had a long hike over the interior high country to get where they are now. I’ll rest them behind the river for a few days.”
At that moment, Lieutenant Colonel Dixon Goen of the 2nd Marine Regiment tramped in, a scowl on his face. He was the Regimental XO, as Shoup was down with a shrapnel wound. “You army boys have enough to eat this morning?” he said gruffly. “Cause my men haven’t eaten for two days.”
“Easy does it,” said Collins. “We were just looking over our options on your flank.”
“Options? There’s only one play you can run, and that’s right through the ground we’re holding now. But we won’t have it long if we don’t get some goddamned food and ammo.”
“Look Dix, it’s coming,” said Collins. “McClure is moving your way right now. His 35th Regiment will relieve you. When he does, I want you to look over the map for any possible landing site we could hit from the sea. There’s a boat launch on Tavua Bay, and a small pier up here on this peninsula. We could use those to get some good men seaward and hit ‘em where they ain’t.”
“You want my men to mount up for an amphibious operation now?”
“Isn’t that what you Sea Dogs do for a living?”
“Sure, when we’re not busy humping the high country and taking on the whole goddamn Japanese Army.”
“Colonel, you have a wonderful gift for exaggeration. I burned out the 27th Regiment trying to take one stinking hill at Tavua. Now, we’ve pushed the Japs your way, and yes, they bunched up and double teamed you, but your mission paid good dividends. They gave up M’ba last night.”
“We saw them pullout,” said Goen. “Alright, I’m tired, and blowing off some steam. I know you had it as tough as we did, but there was no arty behind us, and no supply trucks. We were supposed to make a diversionary attack, and had three days’ ammo with us. It’s been five days of hard fighting now, and we’re damn near empty. General, if you want my men for an end around, we’ll be happy to oblige. But we’ll need some chow and sleep before we hit the boats.”
“You’ll get it. You’ve done all we asked of you down there, and a damn good job.”
“What about Carlson and Edson? They’re still hanging on the flank.”
“I’ve got the Kiwis to send down and replace them, so pull them back as well. We’ll find APDs somewhere to move them. Hell, Carlson used a submarine at Makin.”
“Seems to me you think you’re going to be looking at a logjam if you try to turn the flank of that river defense.”
“Dix, you could be right on that again, and that’s where you and your boys get to shine. Terror from the sea.” Collins stuck a big fat cigar in his mouth and smiled.
General Harukichi Hyakutake seated himself at 17th Army Headquarters, Rabaul, his eyes lost in troubled thought behind the round wire framed eyeglasses he wore. An older man of 55 years, Hyakutake was from a distinguished military family. Both of his older brothers were wizened Admirals in the Imperial Japanese Navy, but his path had taken him to the Army, where he graduated from the Army Academy in 1909. Strangely, one of his classmates was the now famous Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek, a man he would one day oppose in combat while serving in the Kwantung Army in Manchuko.
An expert in Cryptanalysis, he was prominently involved in the Army Signals School, and now he stared at the coded message he had received, summoning him to this secret meeting with his commanding officer, General Hitoshi Imamura. The words inscribed on the message were plain enough in meaning: Shattered Gem, yet the final character indicated the phrase was a question, and not a definitive statement. Now Hyakutake sat before Imamura, the two men meeting to discuss the course of the ill-fated Operation FS.