One thing that sped the process along was the fact that all regiments arrived ‘tactically loaded,’ with the proper heavy equipment packed on the transport with the correct combat troops. That said, 1st Marine Div was heavy, with four regiments and a fifth still en route. It took Vandegrift several days get to get his regiments grouped properly and ready to move.
“Where have you been?” said an Army Corporal. “We’ve been out here facing down Tojo for over a month!”
“Yeah?” said a sour faced Marine. “We’ve been puking our guts out on those goddamned transports, all the way from Pearl. But that’s no matter. Move aside, greenback, the USMC is here.”
Vandegrift was watching from a high perch on the weather deck of President Jackson, where he had been looking over the operation. Yes, the Marines were here, and he was leading them in. Now it was time to meet with General Patch of the Pacifica Division. Later that day, the two men met ashore.
“My division is now strung out all along the southern coast of the island,” said Patch. “Except for the regiment I sent you to help unload those ships. The Kiwis put up a tough fight, and they’re presently screening the main road out west at Nayawa.” He pressed a weathered brown finger on the map to indicate the position. “That’s the mouth of the Singatana River. The only road inland into the high country follows that river north from Nayawa. Now I’m backstopping that position with the 132nd Regiment. The other two are positioned all along Queens Road on the southern coast. There are only a few decent landing points there, but they have to be held. We’ve already invested time to get some additional airfields located there, one at Korolevu about 20 klicks east of Nawaya, and a second at Deuba, about 35 klicks further east. They’ve been hitting the main field north of Suva, so we think this will help.”
“Unless the Japs shell the hell out of those fields from the sea. They’re right on the coast.”
“Couldn’t be helped,” said Patch. “The jungle comes right down to the water’s edge in places, and terrain can rise steeply from the coast. That area is the only place with clearings suitable for an airfield. Besides, the Navy is here, aren’t they? They gave you folks a ride in.”
“Let’s just hope they stick around,” said Vandegrift. “Alright, where do you want my men?”
“North of Suva,” Patch pointed again. “See these two roads? One swings out near the airfield at Nasouri, and then follows the Rewa River up through Kasavo. The one on the left here moves through the lowland and then hits some fairly thick jungle. It becomes little more than a trail at that point, but you can still move vehicles on it. It’ll run along a tributary of the Rewa River until it reaches the village of Vunindawa here, then it bends east and joins the other road. So you can move two regiments up that way, one on each road. Then establish your CP right there where they meet.”
“Any idea what the Japs have up there?”
“Sakaguchi Detachment—about one regiment in strength. There’s a battalion of Fiji Commandos watching that road as it continues along the river north from the junction. Your first order of business will be to get up there and make contact with that unit.”
“Fiji Commandos?”
“Yup, recruited by the Kiwis from the locals here on the island. From what I hear they’re one tough outfit. They know the jungle, and the island itself, like the back of their hand. They can be your eyes and ears up there. I’ve also put together a wild bunch of my own, and I had them training with this Fiji group. We call them the Alamo Raiders. They can help you out on point as pathfinders. What I want you to do—what Big Mac wants us to do, is to take your division up north and recapture Tavua. That’ll put you in a position to push for Nandi from the northeast. When you’re ready, I’ll bunch up my division here on the southern coast and we’ll push from this end.”
“What about the high country in the center of the island?”
“It’s tough going up there, but that doesn’t mean the Japs won’t use it. The thing is this—if we make a big push for Nandi like this, they’ll simply have to fall back to defend it. If they lose that, it’s over for them here, and they damn well know it.”
It seemed as good a plan as any that could be devised, so Vandegrift got started that day, ordering his 1st and 5th Marine Regiments to move out on those roads. The heavy equipment was still being unloaded, but he could at least get his rifle companies moving, and they had mortars and M1 machineguns. A few 75mm guns had come on the transports, but the bigger 155mm guns and the sound and flash ranging equipment used in counterbattery fire had been in another convoy, and would not arrive for several days.
Yet the fact that a functioning port had been ready to receive them saw the division land with a good deal more supply than it ever had in Fedorov’s history on Guadalcanal. It was an easy landing, and the division found itself fairly well equipped. Soon they were on those roads, with the 7th Regiment on the left, and the 5th on the right.
While this was going on, two battalions of the Sakaguchi Detachment were already moving south. They had swept through the northeast segment of the island, finding it unoccupied, and now thought to swoop down on Suva from the north. The first battalion found the road, and ran right into 1/5 Marines just as it was about to emerge from the heavier jungle into a highland meadow. There followed a very sharp engagement, with the Japanese thinking they would simply storm the enemy unit as they had all others.
The Marines deployed from march, rushing in platoon sized groups to fan out on either side of the road at the edge of the jungle. The BAR teams were already putting out suppressive fire, and they kept the Japanese heads down until the M1 teams could get their machineguns set up. Following their usual tactics, the 2nd Battalion of Sakaguchi’s troops immediately moved to their left, intending to flank the Marine position astride the road. Unfortunately, they were going to run directly into the jungle savvy commandos of the Fiji Battalion, which had been placed there to protect and screen that flank and road.
The commandos were very wood crafty, and knew how to lay low in unseen positions in the thickets of the jungle. They waited for the Japanese patrols to begin slipping through their lines, then, animated by a strange bird call made by their CO, they leapt up like ghouls and began taking the three and five man groups of Japanese infantry by surprise. It was knife work for a while, before the first shots of alarm rang out, then the chatter of a machine gun.
The Japanese finally realized what was happening, and organized for a strong infantry attack at near battalion strength. This was able to drive the commandos back, but they simply melted into the jungle, evaporating like mist in the heavy treeland. When the Japanese began to organize an advance the action started again, with small groups of commandos striking an unwary platoon, then melting away.
Off to the west, Sakaguchi’s 1st battalion finally pushed back the Marines, the veteran infantry advancing fearlessly, until one Marine corporal, stopped, picked up a machinegun and just refused to give any more ground. That bought just enough time for the battalion to pull itself together, and soon the position was further bolstered by yet another full battalion of leathernecks deploying from road column.. The enemy attack was stopped like a tide breaking on the shore. This time the defenders held the line, and soon it was Colonel Leroy Hunt who was prepping his men for a counterattack. Hunt put in his whole regiment, and on his left, the 7th Marine Regiment was coming up the interior road and meeting a stubborn defense from the 4th Yokosuka SNLF battalion.