Guadalcanal Marine

18. Cape Gloucester, the Green Inferno

[18] Cape Gloucester, the Green Inferno It was Christmas Day in the States, but out on the damp waters of Dampier Straights it was the morning of December 26,and once again the men of the ist Marine Division were preparing to storm the beaches of a Japanese-held island. This time it was on the sunless shores of Cape Gloucester, New Britain, where thick swamp forests ran down to the sea. At 0600 hours, the thundering of naval gunfire began. Cruisers and destroyers sailed back and forth blazing at the shoreline with orangeyellow bursts of naval gunfire. Rocket-firing LCIdaintily picked their way through the opening in the barrier reef. They took up positions on either end of the landing beaches. Soon the, swoosh-swoosh sounds of missiles were audible beneath the booming sound of the naval gunfire. At 0745 the 7th Marine Regiment, led by Col. Julian N. Frisbie, poured onto Cape Gloucester's battered beaches against token resistance . Maj. Gen. Iwao Matsuda, commander of the Japanese forces ashore, had not expected the landing to occur where it did because of vast swamps and heavy foliage in the area,sohe had placed his men on either side of the morass. The Cape Gloucester campaign wasthe only one of the four major landings made by the ist Marine Division during which things happened when they are suppose to happen, as nearly as can be expected in war. The landing went according to plan. When the 7th Marines [293; 294 ] Cape Gloucester In December 1943, the ist Marine Division was back in action. Here riflemen wade ashore at Cape Gloucesteron New Britain. Courtesy of the Marine Corps Historical Center. rushed ashore, they barged straight through a huge gap separating the Japanese contingents and drove awedgebetweenthem. However,they advanced directly into the first of two natural obstacles to harass them in inhospitable NewBritain—jungle. After advancinga short distance, Marine units became mired in swamps and mud so thick that they sank to their armpits. Members of the column fell into waist-high sink holes and had to be pulled out. Aslip meant abroken or wrenched leg. Cape Gloucester, the Green Inferno [295 ] This was a form of opposition that had not been expected, one for which the men had made no preparation. The area waslabeled on the maps as "Damp Flat," and some Marines said laughingly, "It's damp, alright. It's damp clear up to your ass!" Fighting in the "green inferno" would cover a great deal ofthat kind of terrain. An hour after the /th was ashore, the ist Marines arrived, turned toward the airfield, and walked into a well-laid Japanese ambush. Tanks were called forward to clear the enemy from their hidden bunkers, and by nightfallthe ist Marines werewaswell on their wayto the airfield, but not before they had encountered atrocious conditions along the way.Tanksbecame mired in swampy terrain. Bazookarockets failed to detonate in the mud. Howitzers disappeared. Teeming rains forced troops to remove waterlogged canvas leggings and constantly check weapons and equipment for rust. The ground became a sea of mud. Amphibious tractors were the only vehicles able to transport ammunition and food to troops in the forward areas. By the end of the first day,however, a beachhead had been secured. The reinforced /th Marines landed near Silimatic Point and wheeled southward toward Borgen Bay.The ist Marines, also reinforced but without its 2ndbattalion, passed through the jth to head west toward the airfield. Marines did not halt until they reached the Japanese outposts , some 1500yards inland. A second landing was made by the 2nd Battalion, ist Marines, reinforced and designated Landing Team 21.That battalion landed at Tauali, seven miles southwest of Cape Gloucester. They were to block any Japaneseattempt to retire or reinforcethe airfield. The 5thMarines served as division reserve, ready for employment as needed. The sound of naval gunfire and diving airplanes had already been stilled when a command post wasestablished about fifty yards in front of the beach by Col. Robert G.Ballance, our newlypromoted battalion commander, 2nd Battalion, i/th Marines, the division pioneers. Only one thing was needed for the security of the beachhead—a perimeter, [ 296 ] Cape Gloucester a line of positions to oppose counterattacks. Myunit, ECompany,2nd Battalion, would hold one of these positions to provide defense in depth in rear of the 2nd Battalion, /th Marines' lines as its forces moved inland. Each...