Bloody Ridge The Battle That Saved Guadalcanal

Chapter One: Marooned on Cactus "We Are All Well and Happy"A warm rain fell intermittently on Guadalcanal Island throughout the night of 8 August 1942. Restful sleep came to few Americans of the newly landed 1st Marine Division amidst the naval gunfire, mosquitoes, and moisture of the night. Soon after daybreak on the 9th, key officers of the division began to assemble at the division command post nestled along the shore near Block Four River. They were a "sorry-looking lot," with bloodshot eyes, unshaven faces, and dirty fatigues. They huddled under coconut trees and around a small fire and sipped hot coffee from hash tins to keep warm. A heavy mist obscured their seaward view, where sporadic firing from a large-caliber naval gun could be heard (this was an American warship finishing off the Australian heavy cruiser Canberra, one of four cruisers that fell victim to the Japanese navy the night before). The concussion of each blast shook the leaves in the trees overhead, showering the marines below with dislodged water droplets.The division commander, Maj. Gen. Alexander A. Vandegrift, had summoned these officers to his command post for an important meeting. To the casual observer, Vandegrift's looks were deceiving. The balding, fifty-five-year-old Virginian resembled a schoolteacher more than a Marine Corps general. His personality did not fit the stereotypical mold of a marine general, but Vandegrift was a tough and gifted leader who knew how to get the most out of his men. The soft-spoken commander possessed a quiet, gentlemanly demeanor that radiated both optimism and determination. On Guadalcanal, he would need both. But Vandegrift's previous assignments had prepared him for the trials that lay ahead. He already had a taste of jungle warfare, having fought in the tropics of Central America and the Caribbean during the so-called "banana wars." In the 1930s Vandegrift helped develop the Marine Corps's amphibious warfare doctrine. Now, he was leading ground forces in this, the nation's first offensive and first amphibious operation of the war.In the moist and misty setting at his command post, Vandegrift described the general situation to his officers. He candidly told them what little he knew about the naval battle, but the scores of wounded sailors on the beach and the faint outline of the heavy cruiser Chicago with its bow blown off provided unsettling evidence of a defeat. He also explained that the carriers providing air cover for the landing had withdrawn, and that the transports with most of the division's supplies and equipment would follow by day's end. In a reassuring yet firm tone, Vandegrift told his deputies that as long as he could help it, Guadalcanal would not be remembered as another Wake Island or Bataan. He also explained that the task of holding the beachhead depended on three urgent tasks: fortification of the beaches to repel enemy attacks, dispersal of the division's cargo piled up on the beach, and completion and repair of the newly captured airstrip. Although the airstrip was nearly completed by the Japanese, a 200-foot gap and depression in the center needed filling and leveling.The operations officer (D-3) and "spark plug" of the division, Lt. Col. Gerald C. Thomas, then stood up to issue the basic defense order. He announced that, according to naval intelligence, the Japanese were massing ships and assault troops at Rabaul and that an enemy counterattack was possible within ninety-six hours. With this threat from the sea in mind, Thomas explained that the division would defend their toehold at the Lunga beaches. The frontage would consist of two regimental sectors with the Lunga River forming a natural boundary: Col. Leroy Hunt's 5th Marine Regiment (less one battalion, which was on Tulagi) would defend the left or western sector, while Col. Clifton Cates's 1st Marine Regiment (less one battalion, which was held in division reserve) would defenSmith, Michael T. is the author of 'Bloody Ridge The Battle That Saved Guadalcanal' with ISBN 9780743463218 and ISBN 0743463218.