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Posted on 06/21/2004 12:00:25 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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In April, 1931, the general began another tour of sea duty, this time aboard the USS California as Aide to the Commander and Force Marine Officer of the Battle Force, U.S. Fleet. He served in those capacities until June 1933, commanded the Marine Barracks at the Washington Navy Yard from then until January 1935, and served the following two years at San Francisco, California, as Chief of Staff, Department of the Pacific. From there he was ordered to Marine Corps Headquarters in March, 1937, to serve two years as Director of the Division of Operations and Training, after which he was Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps under Major General Thomas Holcomb from April to September, 1939.
Moving to San Diego in August 1942, the general took command of the Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet, under which he completed the amphibious indoctrination of the 2d and 3d Marine Divisions before they went overseas and the 7th Army Division and other units involved in the Aleutians operation.
In 1943 Admiral Chester Nimitz began to plan the removal of the Japanese from the Gilbert Islands. The attack force was headed by Vice Admiral Raymond Spruance and his fleet included six aircraft carriers, five light carriers, six new battleships and several smaller warships.
Tarawa was much more heavily fortified and the 5,000 US Marines that were landed on the first day had to wade ashore under considerable Japanese artillery fire. Further landings took place on the 21st and the island was not made secure until the 23rd November. The capture of these two islands cost nearly 1,000 dead and 2,000 wounded.
The experience convinced the Joint Chief of Staffs that Admiral Chester Nimitz was right to be selective about the islands that should be invaded that were under that control of the Japanese Army.
He continued to head the V Amphibious Corps until he was named Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific , at Pearl Harbor. In addition to that post, he commanded Task Force 56 at Iwo Jima before returning to the United States in July, 1945, to head the Marine Training and Replacement Command at Camp Pendleton, California. A lieutenant general when he was retired 15 May 1946, at the age of 64, he was promoted to general on the retired list for having been especially commended in combat.
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| 'Hit quickly, hit hard and keep right on hitting. Give the enemy no rest, no opportunity to consolidate his forces and hit back at you.' -- Holland M. Smith 'The development of the amphibian tractor, or LVT, which began in the mid-1930s, provided the solution and was one of the most important modern technical contributions to ship-to-shore operations. Without these landing vehicles, our amphibious offensive in the Pacific would have been impossible.' -- Holland M. Smith 'Saipan was the decisive battle of the Pacific offensive… The capture of the island, breached Japan's inner dense line, destroyed the main bastions, and opened the way to the home islands.' -- Holland M. Smith |
Who They Are: Operation: Stitches Of Love was started by the Mothers of two United States Marines stationed in Iraq.
What They Are Doing: We are gathering 12.5"x12.5" quilt squares from across the country and assembling the largest quilt ever produced. When completed we will take the quilt from state to state and gather even more squares.
Why They Are Doing This: We are building this quilt to rally support for the Coalition Forces in Iraq and to show the service members that they are not forgotten. We want the world to know Nothing will ever break the stitches that bind us together as a country.
Ideas to start a local project:
Obtain enough Red, White and Blue material (cloth) for a 12.5 x 12.5 quilt square.
If you have someone in your family that sews, make it a weekend project and invite neighbors to join you.
Consider this tribute as a project for your civic group, scouts, church or townhall group.
Locate an elementary school with an after school program in your neighborhood or locate an after school program in your neighborhood not attached to a school and ask if you could volunteer one or two afternoons and create some squares with the kids.
Invite some VFW posts to share your project in honor of their post.
Send us webmaster@patriotwatch.com for digital photos of in progress and finished project for various websites, OIFII.com and the media.
PDN is making this appeal in support of Operation: Stitches Of Love
Media Contact: Deborah Johns (916) 716-2749
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Your friends at PDN
Semper Fi bump for the Foxhole today.
Will be back later, I hope.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Interesting life General Holland Smith had. This short history fails to mention his abysmal relations with the Army during WWII, in particular his extremely controversial (to this day) relief of Army general Ralph Smith during the battle of Saipan.
Good morning, everyone! I've always admired General Smith; I did several papers on the Pacific War in high school and college.
He seems to have had a more interesting career between the wars than a number of Army officers, such as Patton and Eisenhower. While he was developing amphibious tactics around the globe, they were out in the Southwest, drinking and shooting at lizards. I expect this made him better prepared when we got into WW2.
On This Day In history
Birthdates which occurred on June 21:
1002 Leo IX, [Bruno count of Egesheim and Dagsburg], Pope (1049-54)
1596 Michael Fjodorovitsj, tsar of Russia (1613-45)/1st Romanov
1732 Martha Washington 1st, 1st lady
1774 Daniel D Tompkins (D-R), 6th US vice-president (1817-25)
1817 James Brewerton Ricketts, Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1887
1818 Joseph Abel Haskin, Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1874
1823 Edward Elmer Potter, Bvt Mjr General (Union volunteers), died in 1889
1839 John Decatur Barry, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1867
1851 Daniel Carter Beard US, organized 1st boy scout troop
1882 Rockwell Kent artist/painter/illustrator (Canterbury Tales)
1892 Reinhold Niebuhr US, theologian (Nature & Destiny of Man)
1903 Al Hirschfeld cartoonist (1975 Tony Award)
1905 Jean-Paul Sartre France, philosopher/writer (Nobel 1964; declined)
1912 Mary McCarthy US, novelist (Group)
1921 Jane Russell Bemidji, MN, actress full-figured gal (The Outlaw)
1922 Judy Holliday NYC, comedienne/actress (Born Yesterday, Adam's Rib)
1925 Maureen Stapleton Troy NY, actress (All in the Family, Coccoon)
1927 Carl Stokes (Cleve-Mayor)
1928 V G Yershov, cosmonaut
1931 Lawrence K Grossman News president (NBC-TV)
1932 Lalo (Boris) Schifrin Buenos Aires Argentina, composer
1932 Ocie Lee "OC" Smith, US jazz singer (Little Green Apples)
1933 Bernie Kopell NYC, actor (Love Boat, Get Smart, That Girl)
1938 Ron Ely Hereford Tx, actor (Tarzan, Doc Savage)
1938 Dan Burton, (Rep-R-IN, 1983- )
1940 Joe Flaherty Pitts Pa, comedian (SCTV, Blue Monday)
1940 Mariette Hartley NYC, actress (Poloroid spokesperson, Marooned)
1944 Ray Davies singer/guitarist (The Kinks-Come Dancing)
1947 Meredith Baxter-Birney Ca, actr (Family Ties, Bridget loves Bernie)
1947 Michael Gross Chicago Ill, actor (Family Ties)
1953 Benazir Bhutto 1st female leader of a Moslem nation (Pakistan)
1964 Kari Kennell Colorado Springs Co, playmate (Feb, 1988)
1967 Nicole Kidman, Honolulu Hawaii, actress (Dead Calm, Far and Away)
1982 Prince William of Wales Prince Chuck & Lady Di's baby
Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.
Known to us as Auburn University.
Learning about America
MISAWA CITY, Japan -- A Japanese girl picks up an American flag during the 16th annual American Day celebration June 13 outside nearby Misawa Air Base. The event brings visitors who are interested in learning about American culture from all over northern Japan. More than 70,000 people attended this year's event. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Rodier)
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You have FR Mail
Morning alfa6.
I'll make sure Snippy keeps the soup/soap boilng, that way yo ucan eat and clean up when you get back.
27th Division on Saipan
From: LTC James M. Ryan NYARNG (Ret)
Date: 30 Sep 2002
First, I am a retired Medical Officer. I got my commission through Army ROTC, served 10 years on active duty, half of them overseas and have had a chance to study military history. My first contact with the story of the 27th Infantry Division on Saipan was in reading Robert D. Heinl's "Soldiers of the Sea". Calling Heinl a military historian is like calling Saddam Hussein a master of the military art. Based largely in what I have read in Harry Gailey's books, "Howlin' Mad versus the Army" and "War in the Pacific", I say that the 27th Infantry Division was one of the most unfairly maligned units in WWII, that the Division and its commander, MG Ralph Smith were targeted by the Marine Corps and by Holland Smith as the scapegoats for Holland Smith's shortcomings as a field commander on Saipan.
Holland Smith was proud of his Marines. Holland Smith also did not like the Army. I believe it is understandable.
According to Professor Gailey, Army Generals did not feel that Marine Corps Generals were fit for higher command. Since Holland Smith was the author of the amphibious doctrine which allowed the Army to execute operations such as North Africa, Sicily, the landings in Italy, and Normandy, I can see why he would be rankled. Still, as a commander of a joint Marine/Army force tasked with taking Saipan, he should have left that piece of baggage behind. He did not.
Holland Smith grossly underestimated the Japanese garrison on Saipan. He believed the Japanese had between 10,000 and 15,000 effectivie troops. The Japanese had approximately 31,000 effective troops. Holland Smith expected his two Marine Divisions, 2nd Marine Division and 4th Marine Division, to secure the island in ten days. The Marines landed. They secured their beachhead. However, the Japanese stopped them. By D+2 neither Marine division had secured its D+2 objectives. V Amphibious Corps did not get moving until additional troops were committed to the action. That those troops were Army troops from the 27th Division, in my opinion, must have rankled the eminent "Howlin' Mad".
After V Amphibious Corps secured the southern part of Saipan, Holland Smith put his three divisions in line for a general push up the island. This is about 7 to 8 days into the campaign, and the island is no where near secured. I speculate that Holland Smith still did not realize that the Japanese had more troops on the Island than he had estimated, that after the fighting in the south, the Japanese had only a few thousand troops left to oppose him. He expected V Amphibious Corps to push north and comlete the conquest of the island according to his ten day timetable.
However, the Japanese defenses were much stronger than Holland Smith had anticipated, the attack bogged down, and not only in the Army Sector. Second Marine Division was supposed to secure Mt. Topatchu by D+2, but did not secure it until more than 2 weeks post D day. Holland Smith, refusing to take responsibility for the situation and refusing to believe anything bad about his marines, blames the 27th Division and Ralph Smith for his failure to take Saipan in 10 days.
In his controversies with the Army, Holland Smith consistently underestimated enemy strength. He estimated the Japanese to have approximately 300 troops in the Nafutan Point area. According to Professor Gailey, more than 1200 bodies were found there after the fighting was secured. His memoir, I believe, described the final Japanese attack as an attack of a few hundred Japanese led by a few tanks. Other sources describe it as the largest banzai attack of the war, between 3000 and 5000 troops. The citations for the men who won the Medal of Honor in stopping the attack give Japanese strength as 3000 to 5000 men.
I do not attempt to malign any Marine Corps outfit. I believe that the 27th Infantry Division fought hard, fought well on Saipan and played an important role in taking that island from the Japanese. It should not be maligned to protect Holland Smith's reputation as a "great captain", a reputation Holland Smith did nothing to deserve.
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