The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Bougainville Campaign (11/1/1943 - 9/3/1945) - Oct 21st, 2003

http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/wwii/facts/bougbttl.txt ^ | JO1 Lorraine Ramsdell

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

...................................................................................... ...........................................

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Battle of Bougainville

The Solomon Islands campaign began with the taking of Guadalcanal in December 1942. In February 1943 the Russell Islands fell, and the New Georgia group followed in August 1943. At the end of 1943, the campaign reached its goal when American troops gained a solid foothold on the island of Bougainville. The Russells, New Georgia and Bougainville were objectives because of their value as air bases.

Objective: Isolate Rabaul

The objective of the Solomon Islands campaign was to cut off Japan's major forward air and naval base at Rabaul, on the island of New Britain. Rabaul was the hub of Japanese air power in the south Pacific--a stopping point for planes coming from New Guinea in the southwest and Truk, the home of the Japanese Combined Fleet, in the south central Pacific. Bougainville was key to neutralizing Rabaul.

Preliminary Attacks

The first attack on Bougainville occurred Aug. 15, 1943. Eight Corsairs from Marine Fighter Squadron 214 (later known as the Black Sheep) flew up from the Russell Islands to strafe the Kahili airfield during American amphibious landings on the island of Vella Lavella. The lightning strike--a surprise so complete the Japanese did not have time to shoot back--damaged aircraft and refueling equipment on the ground and forestalled a night attack on the American amphibious force.



The Solomon Islands air defenses (AirSols), including units from the Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Royal New Zealand Air Force, made many air strikes in October on Bougainville and nearby islands. Although some strikes were designed to keep the enemy guessing as to the Marines' intended landing point, most were planned to reduce air opposition to the Bougainville landings when they finally occurred.

Diversions

Two diversionary amphibious landings were made the night of Oct. 27-28: the 2nd Marine Parachute Battalion landed on Choiseul; and New Zealand's 8th Brigade, together with Navy Seabees (U.S. Naval Construction Battalions), made an unopposed landing on the Treasury Islands on Oct. 27. Both operations served their primary purpose of drawing Japanese troops away from Bougainville, but the positions gained in the Treasuries, including valuable Blanche Harbor, were held and strengthened to provide staging for the landings on Bougainville. The Marines left Choiseul by landing craft after a week of harassing Japanese troops and damaging barge and supply bases.

D-Day: Nov. 1, 1943

Admiral William F. Halsey, Commander South Pacific, ordered Task Force 39 (which included four cruisers and the eight destroyers of Captain Arleigh Burke's Destroyer Squadron 23), under Rear Admiral A.S. Merrill, to bombard airfields on Buka and Bonis northwest of Bougainville. He intended the bombardments to keep the enemy off-balance and prevent air harassment of the landing force. The task force then steamed more than 200 miles to strike at the Shortland Islands, while Rear Admiral F.C. Sherman's Task Force 38 took over the bombardment of Buka, eliminating the threat from those airfields.


U.S. troops go over the side of a Coast Guard manned combat transport to enter the landing barges at Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, as the invasion gets under way.

The actual landing by the 3rd Marine Division at Empress Augusta Bay took place at dawn Nov. 1. The bay, located at some distance from the heavily defended airfields at either end of the island, had what appeared to be the most suitable beaches for a landing. The plan was to establish a beachhead, then bring in supplies and equipment to build a landing strip for fighters.

Invasion forces consisted of 14,321 troops (including the 1st Marine Dog Platoon with their 24 Dobermans and German shepherds) in 12 transports, preceded by a minesweeper group. Destroyer Squadron 45, four minelayers and two salvage tugs provided further support.

The landing met with several obstacles. The Japanese defense of the beaches was stronger than anticipated. The 40,000 troops on the island had been reported stationed mainly around the airfields, and aerial reconnaissance photos did not reveal the extensive system of bunkers in the jungles above the beaches. The Marines who landed west of the mouth of the Koromokina River encountered steep slopes and shoals on which more than 80 of their amphibious craft foundered. Those landing east of the Koromokina were caught in crossfire from machine guns on the offshore islet of Puruata and on Cape Torokina east of the beach. A small contingent of Marines knocked out the gun emplacement on the cape after it had destroyed or damaged 14 landing craft; the 3d Marine Raiders captured Puruata.


A typical Japanese pillbox

The landing force drove away the rest of the Japanese defenders, while the dog platoon, moving ahead of the main body, sniffed out snipers along the trails of the bog-ridden jungle.

In spite of the resistance, and two Japanese air assaults launched from Rabaul bases during the day (which were driven off by AirSols fighters), the Marines succeeded. By nightfall, all 14,000 troops, together with 6,200 tons of fuel, rations, and ammunition, were landed along a 200-yard perimeter.

Battle of Empress Augusta Bay

The evening of the landing, Army reconnaissance aircraft reported that a large Japanese surface force was heading for Bougainville. Task Force 39 intercepted it about 2:30 the following morning 45 miles west of Empress Augusta Bay. The American ships, executing maneuvers at breakneck speeds in the darkness to avoid Japanese long-range torpedoes, sank two enemy ships after three hours of heavy fire. With two other ships damaged in collisions while trying to avoid American torpedoes, the scattered Japanese chose to retreat. The American force had only two ships hit, both of which sustained moderate damage.

The Japanese Response

The initial Japanese reaction to the Bougainville landing was to send a force of 19 ships to strengthen Rabaul. However, a Nov. 5 air attack from Task Force 38 heavily damaged seven cruisers and two destroyers, prompting the withdrawal of the cruisers and eliminating worries about surface attacks on the Bougainville amphibious forces.



Even so, the night of Nov. 6-7, four Japanese destroyers eluded the Americans and landed 475 troops west of the Marine beachhead. The Japanese hoped to catch the Marines between them and the other troops on the island, but the enemy forces never coordinated their actions. The Marines routed out the counter-landing detachment after two days of artillery barrages. Fewer than 100 Japanese escaped into the jungle; the rest were killed. The Marines sustained under 50 casualties.

Another punishing attack from Task Force 38 on Rabaul Nov. 11 cost the Japanese 68 fighters and three ships. Nevertheless, Japanese carrier air groups from Rabaul made repeated attacks on the American landing force and the U.S. Navy ships, which continued to ferry in reinforcements, supplies and munitions. The strikes did little damage to the American forces, but the Japanese lost so many planes--121 out of 173--that the remaining carrier-based squadrons were withdrawn Nov. 13.

By that time, the Americans had landed nearly 34,000 troops and over 23,000 tons of cargo on Bougainville, widened the beachhead 7,000 yards, and moved 5,000 yards inland through dense, difficult mangrove swamps.


Blood plasma literally puts new life into the veins of a wounded Marine at Bougainville. Donated in the United States, and often flown to the front, plasma saves countless lives that would be lost without it.

Even though two airfields were under construction and the Marines were expanding their perimeter in search of a site to build a bomber strip, the Japanese army commander on Bougainville still believed that the landing was a feint. He continued to think that the primary targets were Buka to the north and the Buin section of the island to the southeast. Thus, no Japanese forces were withdrawn from either end of the island to root out the American invasion, and the Americans had the opportunity to solidify their positions.

Holidays in the Solomons

On Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25, Burke's DesRon 23 fought the Battle of Cape St. George, sinking three Japanese vessels out of five sent with troops to reinforce Buka. The American ships suffered no hits at all. The same day, the Marines pushing inland along the Piva River virtually destroyed the 23rd Imperial Infantry in the Battle of Piva Forks. This was the last major Japanese ground resistance on Bougainville.

On Christmas Day, the Army's Americal Division arrived on Bougainville to relieve the 3rd Marine Division. Marine Major General R.J. Mitchell, ComAirSols, moved his headquarters to Bougainville to direct the final air campaign against Rabaul, only 220 miles away. Within a month, the base at Rabaul was of no further use to the Japanese.


Negro troops of the 24th Infantry, attached to the Americal Division, wait to advance behind a tank assault on the Japanese, along Empress Augusta Bay on Bougainville.

American troops continued to occupy Bougainville, and contain dwindling Japanese troops, until relieved by Australian II Corps troops in late 1944. The Australians attempted to clear the entire island of Japanese, incurring heavy casualties. The end of the Pacific war brought and end to action on Bougainville.

Campaign Results

The Bougainville campaign remains one of the most resounding successes of the war in the Pacific in terms of the smooth coordination between the Navy and Marine Corps.

The capture of Bougainville successfully isolated Rabaul. In the fight for Bougainville, the Japanese expended more of their air units than they could afford to lose. The Bougainville airstrips constructed at Torokina and Piva by Seabees and engineers made possible fighter-escorted bomber attacks against Rabaul, and other Japanese bases on New Ireland and New Britain.


Navajo Codetalkers on Bougainville

In December 1943, AirSols began a massive attack on Rabaul. The ensuing two months of constant air strikes, made possible by the possession of Bougainville, caused the Japanese to withdraw.

The capture of Bougainville caused Marine casualties of 423 dead and 1,418 wounded.

[The Mayor]

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Mayor.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on October 21:
1772 Samuel Taylor Coleridge England, poet (Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
1790 Alphonse-Marie Louis de Lamartine Macon France, writer (Ren‚)
1833 Alfred Bernhard Nobel Stockholm, created dynamite & Peace Prizes
1908 Alexander Schneider Vilna (Lithuania) Russia, violinist (Budapest String Quartet)
1912 Sir Georg Solti Budapest Hungary, conductor (Fidelio)
1914 Martin Gardner Scientific American math & puzzles columnist
1917 Dizzy Gillespie trumpeter, a creator of modern jazz
1921 Malcolm Arnold Northampton Engld, composer (Bridge over River Kwai)
1925 Joyce Randolph Detroit Mich, actress (Trixie-Honeymooners)
1926 Leonard Rossiter Liverpool England, actor (Britannia Hospital)
1928 Edward "Whitey" Ford hall of fame pitcher (NY Yankees)
1929 Ursula LeGuin American writer (Lathe of Heaven)
1933 Georgia Brown actress (Study in Terror, The Fixer)
1940 Frances FitzGerald NYC, journalist/author (Fire in the Lake)
1940 Manfred Mann rocker (The Mighty Quinn)
1940 Osamu Watanabe Japan, featherweight (Olympic-gold-1964)
1942 Elvin Bishop Okla, rocker (Fooled Around & Fell in Love)
1943 Paula Kelly Jacksonville Fla, dancer/actress (Liz-Night Court)
1945 Kathy Young rocker (Thousand Stars in the Sky)
1950 Ronald E McNair Lake City SC, astr (STS 41B, 51L-Challenger disaster)
1953 Charlotte Caffey singer (GoGos-Our Lips are Sealed)
1956 Carrie Fisher Beverly Hills, actress (Star Wars-Princess Lelia)
1959 George Bell Dom Rep, outfielder (Blue Jays, 1987 AL MVP)
1971 Jade Jagger daughter of Mick Jagger
1976 Jeremy Miller West Covina Calif, actor (Ben-Growing Pains)

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Deaths which occurred on October 21:
1422 Charles VI, King of France (1380-1422), dies at 54
1805 Adm Horatio Nelson dies in the Battle of Trafalgar
1831 Nat Turner 19 associates, hung
1966 Gertrude Hoffman actress (Mrs Odetts-My Little Margie), dies at 95
1967 Ejnar Hertzsprung Danish astrophysicist, dies at 94
1984 Francois Truffaut director, dies at 52 of brain cancer
1987 Ying-Chin Ho Taiwan govt official, dies at 88
1992 Jackson Weaver, voice of Smokey the Bear, dies of diabetes
1992 Jim Garrison, Louisiana DA (investigate JFK assassination), dies at 70
1992 Shirley Booth, actress (Hazel), dies at 94
1995 Maxene Andrews, vocalist (Andrews Sister), dies of heart attack at 79

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 EARLL DAVID J.---DALLAS TX.
[NO PARA OBS NO BEEP]
1967 HEMMEL CLARENCE J.---JEFFERSON CITY MO.
1968 FINLEY DICKIE W.---SWEET SPRINGS MO.
1968 KNABB KENNETH K.---WHEATON IL.
1969 COOK GLENN R.---CHARLOTTE NC.
1969 ESPENSHIELD JOHN L.---DELAWARE OH.
[REMAINS RETURNED 05/89]


POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
2137 -BC- 1st recorded total eclipse of the sun China
0310 St Eusebius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0335 Constantinople emperor Constantine the Great Rules --laws against Jews
686 Conon begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1096 Sultan Kilidj Arslan of Nicea defeats 1st Crusaders
1520 Magellan entered the strait which bears his name
1529 The Pope names Henry VIII of England Defender of the Faith after defending the seven sacraments against Luther
1600 Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats his enemies in battle and affirms his position as Japan's most powerful warlord.
1797 US Navy frigate Constitution, Old Ironsides, launched in Boston
1805 Battle of Trafalgar, Adm Nelson defeats French & Spanish fleet & dies
1861 Battle of Balls Bluff, Va
1867 Many leaders of the Kiowa, Comanche and Kiowa-Apache sign a peace treaty at Medicine Lodge, Kan. Comanche Chief Quanah Parker refused to accept the treaty terms.
1868 Severe earthquake at 7:53 AM, centered in Hayward, Calif
1869 1st shipment of fresh oysters comes overland from Baltimore
1871 1st US amateur outdoor athletic games (NY)
1879 Thomas Edison perfects the carbonized cotton filament light bulb
1897 Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago is dedicated
1905 England Pilgrim Assn beats All NY 11, 7-1 in soccer at Polo Grounds
1915 1st transatlantic radiotelephone message, Arlington, Va to Paris
1917 1st Americans to see action on the front lines of WW I
1918 Margaret Owen sets world typing speed record of 170 wpm for 1 min
1923 Deutsches Museum, Mnchen, 1st Walther Bauersfeld Zeiss Planetarium
1935 Hank Greenberg selected AL MVP unanimously
1944 During WWII, US troops capture Aachen, 1st large German city to fall
1945 Women in France allowed to vote for 1st time
1948 Facsimile high-speed radio transmission demonstrated (Washington DC)
1950 Chinese forces occupy Tibet
1950 Tom Powers of Duke scores 6 touchdowns
1959 Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens (NYC)
1960 JFK & Nixon clashed in 4th & final presidential debate (NYC)
1966 144 die as a coal waste landslide engulfs a school in S Wales
1967 Thousands opposing Vietnam War try to storm the Pentagon
1969 Bloodless coup in Somalia (National Day)
1970 777 Unification church couples wed in Korea
1970 Caledonian Airways takes over British United Airways
1971 Nixon nominates Lewis F Powell & William H Rehnquist to US Supreme Court, following resignations of Justices Hugo Black & John Harlan
1973 A's manager Dick Williams quits after A's beat Mets in 70th World Series
1974 1st Islander shut-out opponent-Billy Smith 5-0 vs Caps
1975 Mexico City's 1st major subway accident takes 26 lives
1975 Red Sox Carlton Fisk's 12th inning HR beats Reds 7-6 in game 6 of WS
1975 Venera 9, first craft to orbit the planet Venus launched
1976 American Saul Bellow wins Nobel Prize for Literature
1976 Cin Reds sweep NY Yankees, in 73rd World Series
1976 NY Knicks retire 1st number, # 19, Willis Reed
1977 US recalls William Bowdler, ambassador to South Africa
1979 Greta Waitz wins woman participation in NYC marathon (02:27:33)
1980 1st (& only) time Phillies win the World Series (in 98 years) (World Series #77)
1984 Steve Jones runs Chicago Marathon in world record 2:08:05
1987 Senate debate begins rejecting Robert Bork's Supreme Ct nomination
1988 Boston Celtics beat Yugoslavia 113-85 in Madrid
1988 Ferdinand & Imelda Marcos indicted on racketeering charges
1989 Buck Helm found alive after being buried 4 days, in SF earthquake
1989 Houston becomes 1st major college team to gain 1000 yards in a game
1989 1st black owners (Betram Lee & Peter Bynoe) to own a major sports team, purchasing Denver Nuggets for $65m
1991 24 die in a fire in Oakland Calif
1991 US hostage Jesse Turner released from 5 years in captivity in Beirut
1993 Military coup by Burundi Pres Ndadaye/525,000 Hutu's flee
1997 Elton John's tribute to Diana breaks world record, 318 million dist(Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.)

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

England : Trafalgar Day (1805)
Hondurous : Army Day (1956)
Hong Kong : Kite Flying Festival
Laos : Full Moon Holiday
Somali/Sudan : Revolution Day (1964)
Alaska : Alaska Day (1867) (Monday)
US : National Day of Prayer (Wednesday)
National Business Women's Week (Day 2)
National Shampoo Week (Day 3)
Gourmet Coffee Week Ends :-(
National Clock Month
Spinal Health Month
National Sarcastics' Awareness Month

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Religious Observances
RC : Commemoration of St Hilarion, abbot, ascetic, lover of solitude
RC : Commemoration of St Ursula, virgin, patron of brides

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Religious History
1532 German reformer Martin Luther declared: 'For some years now I have read through the Bible twice every year. If you picture the Bible to be a mighty tree and every word a little branch, I have shaken every one of these branches because I wanted to know what it was and what it meant.'
1692 William Penn was deposed as Governor of Pennsylvania. His overtures of gratefulness to James II for permitting religious freedom for dissenters of the Church of England led William and Mary to charge Penn with being a papist.
1751 The first Baptist association in the American South was organized at Charleston, SC. It was formed under the initiative of Oliver Hart, who had left the Philadelphia area to become pastor of the Charleston Baptist Church in 1749.
1808 Birth of American Baptist clergyman Samuel Francis Smith. Credited with writing over 100 hymns, Smith is best remembered as the author of "America" ("My Country, 'Tis of Thee"), written at age 23, while a student at Andover Seminary.
1892 Birth of James L Kelso, American Presbyterian archaeologist. He participated in digs at the biblical sites of Debir, Bethel and Jericho, and authored the text "Ceramic Vocabulary of the O.T."

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."

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You might be out of touch with reality if...
you talk for ten minutes to the answering machine and wonder why no one is talking back.

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Murphys Law of the day...
If anything simply cannot go wrong...It will anyway!

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Amazing fact #s 78,025/78,026...
Sylvia Plath was a famous poet who killed herself at age 31 by sticking her head in an oven.
Sylvia Plath's husband, Ted Hughes, was married three times, and two of the women he married committed suicide.

[Valin]

Hey cowboy..Hows your dad doing?

[Valin]

Hey cowboy..Hows your dad doing?

[snippy_about_it]

Thought for the day:

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."


Thank you Valin. Worth repeating. :)

[manna]

Present!

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning manna.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Neil.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Radu. I take my kittens with cream LOL!

[SAMWolf]

Hi Feather.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Snippy.

Good Morning Snippy



Mash the pic

[SAMWolf]

Morning E.G.C. Supposed to ber dry and hit 75 today.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the details on Private Frank John Partridge. I have a lot of respect for the Aussies.

[SAMWolf]

The thing in the Pacific was that some islands could be bypassed and the garrison left to starve. Many felt Bougainville was one of those islands.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Mayor.

[snippy_about_it]

Hi SAM, I'm home for an early lunch. Yeah.

[SAMWolf]

1529 The Pope names Henry VIII of England Defender of the Faith

Yeah, Yeah, that and a buck will get you a cup of coffee.

[snippy_about_it]

some islands could be bypassed and the garrison left to starve

I hadn't thought of it that way, thanks.

[SAMWolf]

He's doing ok. Still sore from the operation and my mom is complaining because he's running around too much instead of resting and taking it easy.