From Makin to Bougainville : Marine raiders in the Pacific War

44 Pages·7.382 MB·English

by  Jon T Hoffman

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From Makin to Bougainville:
Marine Raiders in the Pacific War
by Major Jon I Hoffman, USMCR
n February 1942, Lieu- ducted numerous forays against the
tenant General Thomas Two completely independent European coastline, and Prime
Holcomb, the Com- Minister Winston S. Churchill en-
forces were responsible for the ap-
mandant of the Marine thusiastically endorsed the concept to
pearance of the raiders in early 1942.
Corps, ordered the cre- President Roosevelt. The Marine
Several historians have fully traced
ation of a new unit designated the 1st Commandant, Major General Tho-
one of these sets of circumstances,
Marine Raider Battalion. This elite which began with the friendship mas Holcomb, allegedly succumbed
force, and its three sister battalions, to this high-level pressure and or-
developed between Franklin D.
went on to gain considerable fame for ganized the raider battalions, though
Roosevelt and Evans F. Carlson. As
fighting prowess in World War II. he himself thought that any proper-
a result of his experiences in China,
There is more to the story of these ly trained Marine unit could perform
Carlson was convinced that guerrilla
units, however, than a simple tale of amphibious raids.
warfare was the wave of the future.
combat heroics. The inception,
One of his adherents in 1941 was That scenario is mostly accurate,
growth, and sudden end of the raid-
Captain James Roosevelt, the presi- but it tells only half of the story.
ers reveals a great deal about the de-
dent's son. At the same time, another Two other men also were responsi-
veloprnent and conduct of amphib-
presidential confidant, William J. ble for the genesis of the raiders. One
ious operations during the war, and
Donovan, was pushing a similar was General Holland M. Smith.
about the challenges the Corps faced
theme. Donovan had been an Army Although the Marine Corps Schools
in expanding from 19,000 men to
hero in World War I and was now had created the first manual on am-
nearly a half million. The raiders also
a senior advisor on intelligence mat- phibious operations in 1935, during
attracted more than their share of
ters. He wanted to create a guerrilla the early days of World War II Smith
strong leaders. The resulting combi-
force that would infiltrate occupied faced the unenviable task of trying
nation of courage, doctrine, organi-
territory and assist resistance groups. to convert that paper doctrine into
zation, and personalities makes this
He made a formal proposal along reality. As a brigadier general he
one of the most interesting chapters
these lines to President Roosevelt in commanded the 1st Marine Brigade
in Marine Corps history.
December 1941. In January, the in Fleet Landing Exercise 6, which
younger Roosevelt wrote to the took place in the Caribbean in early
Major General Commandant of the 1940. There he discovered that sever-
On the Cover: The Browning air-cooled Marine Corps and recommended cre- al factors, to include the lack of
.30-caliber machine gun was the weapon ation of ifa unit for purposes similar adequate landing craft, made it im-
of choice for raider battalions because of
to the British Commandos and the possible to rapidly build up combat
it5 low weight in comparison to other
Chinese Guerrillas:' power on a hostile shore. The initial
available machine guns. The raider bat-
assault elements would thus be vul-
talions were not armed with heavy These ideas were appealing at the
nerable to counterattack and defeat
weapons. Department of Defense Pho- time because the war was going bad-
while most of the amphibious force
to (USMC) 56108 ly for the Allies. The Germans had
remained on board its transports.
At left: Marine riflemen take on Japanese
forced the British off the continent of
snipers while others put a captured
Europe, and the Japanese were As a partial response to this
37mm field gun into operation during
sweeping the United States and Bri- problem, Smith seized upon the new-
the raid on Koiari. Parachutists and raid-
tain from much of the Pacific The ly developed destroyer transport.
ers expected to surprise the enemy, but
military forces of the Allies were too During FLEX 6, his plan called for the
were themselves surprised instead when
they landed in the midst of a well- weak to slug it out in conventional Manley (APD 1) to land a company
defended supply dump. The enemy battles with the Axis powers, so guer- of the 5th Marines via rubber boats
pinned the Marines to the beach with rilla warfare and quick raids ap- at H-minus three hours (prior to
heavy fire, until evening. Department of peared to be viable alternatives. The dawn) at a point away from the
Defense Photo (USMC) 69783 British commandos had already con- primary assault beach. This force
:1
Major General Merritt A. Edson, USMC
erritt A. Edson's military name "Red Mike" (in honor of the color-
career began in the fall of ful beard he sported in the field).
1915 when he enlisted in the Edson spent the first half of the 1930s
1st Vermont Infantry (a National Guard as a tactics instructor at the Basic School
outfit). In the summer of 1916 he served for new lieutenants, and then as ord-
in the Mexican border campaign. When nance officer at the Philadelphia Depot
the United States entered World War I of Supplies. During the summers he con-
in April 1917, he earned a commission tinued to shoot; ultimately he captained
as a Marine officer, but he did not ar- the rifle team to consecutive national
rive in France until just before the Ar- championships in 1935 and 1936. In the
mistice. summer of 1937 he transferred to Shan-
He ultimately more than made up for ghai to become the operations officer for
missing out on "the war to end all wars." the 4th Marines. He arrived just in time
In 1921 he began his long career in com- for a ringside seat when the Sino-
petitive shooting as part of the 10-man Japanese War engulfed that city. That
team that won the National Rifle Team gave him ample opportunity to observe Force Pacific and closed out the war in
Trophy for the Marine Corps. He earned Japanese combat techniques at close charge of the Service Command.
his pilot's wings in 1922 and flew for five range. In June 1941, Red Mike assumed Following the war Edson headed the
years before poor depth perception command of the 1st Battalion, 5th Ma- effort to preserve the Marine Corps in
forced him back into the infantry. In rines at Quantico. the face of President Truman's drive to
1927, he received command of the Ma- After his stint with the 1st Raiders and "unify" the services. lie waged a fierce
rine detachment on board the Denver the 5th Marines on Guadalcanal, Edson campaign in the halls of Congress, in the
(CL 16). He and his men soon became remained in the Pacific. He served as media, and in public appearances across
involved in the effort to rid Nicaragua chief of staff of the 2d Marine Division the nation. Finally, he resigned his com-
of Augusto Sandino. Edson spent 14 at Tarawa, and as assistant division com- mission in order to testify publicly be-
months ashore, most of it deep in the in- mander on Saipan and Tinian. During fore committees of both houses of
terior of the country. In the process, he each of these campaigns he again distin- Congress. His efforts played a key role
won a reputation as an aggressive, sav- guished himself under fire. Ultimately, in preserving the Marine Corps. After
vy small-unit leader. He bested Sandi- the Marine Corps discovered that Ed- stints as the Commissioner of Public
no's forces in more than a dozen son's courage was matched by his skill Safety in Vermont, and as Executive
skirmishes, earned his first Navy Cross as a staff officer. He spent nine months Director of the National Rifle Associa-
for valor, and came away with the nick- as chief of staff for the Fleet Marine tion, Edson died in August 1955.
would advance inland, seize key ter- regiment (gliderborne troops), a light directly to his headquarters. The
rain dominating the proposed beach- tank battalion, and "at least one APD operations plan further attached the
head, and thus protect the main
[highspeed destroyer transport] bat- Marine division's sole company of
landing from counterattack. A year talion:' With a relatively secure tanks and its single company of
later, during FLEX 7, Smith had three beachhead, the more ponderous parachutists to the APD battalion.
destroyer transports. He designated combat units of the assault force The general did not use this task
the three companies of the 7th Ma- would come ashore. The third eche- force to lead the assault, but instead
rines embarked on these ships as the lon would consist of the reserve force landed it on D plus 2 of the exercise,
Mobile Landing Group. During the and service units. on a beach well in the rear of the ene-
exercise these units again made night In the summer of 1941 Smith was my's lines. With all aviation assets
landings to protect the main assault, nearly in a position to put these ideas working in direct support, the mo-
or conducted diversionary attacks. into effect. He now commanded the bile force quickly moved inland, sur-
Smith eventually crystallized his Amphibious Force Atlantic Fleet prised and destroyed the enemy
new ideas about amphibious opera- (AFAF), which consisted of the 1st reserves, and took control of key
tions. He envisioned making future Marine Division and the Army's 1st lines of communication. Smith called
assaults with three distinct echelons. Infantry Division. During maneuvers it a "spearhead thrust around the
The first wave would be composed at the recently acquired Marine base hostile flank:'
of fast-moving forces that could seize at New River, North Carolina, Smith The AFAF commander had not
key terrain prior to the main assault. embarked the 1st Battalion, 5th Ma- randomly selected the 1st Battalion,
This first element would consist of a rines, in six APDs and made it an in- 5th Marines, for this role. In June
parachute regiment, an air infantry dependent command reporting 1941 he personally had picked Lieu-
2
tenant Colonel Merritt A. "Red Mike" thing of headquarters:' recommended a new table of organi-
Edson to command that battalion Edson's unit was unique in other zation that made his force much
and had designated it to serve per- ways. In a lengthy August 1941 lighter than other infantry battalions.
manently with the Navy's APD squa- report, the lieutenant colonel evalu- He wanted to trade in his 81mm mor-
dron. Smith began to refer to Edson's ated the organization and missions tars and heavy machine guns for
outfit as the "light battalion" or the of his unit. He believed that the APD lighter models. There also would be
"APD battalion:' When the 5th Ma- battalion would focus primarily fewer of these weapons, but they
rines and the other elements of the on reconnaissance, raids, and other would have larger crews to carry the
1st Marine Division moved down to special operations—in his mind it ammunition. Given the limitations of
New River that fall, the 1st Battal- was a waterborne version of the the APDs, each company would be
ion remained behind in Quantico parachutists. In a similar fashion, the smaller than its standard counter-
with Force headquarters. Reports go- battalion would rely on speed and part. There would be four rifle com-
ing to and from AFAF placed the bat- mobility, not firepower, as its tacti- panies, a weapons company, and a
talion in a category separate from the cal mainstay. Since the APDs could headquarters company with a large
rest of the division of which it was neither embark nor offload vehicles, demolitions platoon. The main as:
still technically a part. Lieutenant that meant the battalion had to be sault craft would be 10-man rubber
Colonel Gerald C. Thomas, the di- entirely foot mobile once ashore, boats.
vision operations officer, ruefully again like the parachutists. To The only thing that kept Smith
referred to the battalion as "the play- achieve rapid movement, Edson from formally removing the 1st Bat-
Brigadier General Evans E Carlson, USMC
vans K Carlson got an early orgia. In the latter job Carlson came to
start in his career as a maverick. know Franklin D. Roosevelt.
He ran away from his home in Captain Carlson arrived in Shanghai
Vermont at the age of 14 and two years for his third China tour in July 1937.
later bluffed his way past the recruiters Again like Edson, he watched the
to enlist in the Army. When war broke Japanese seize control of the city.
out in 1917, he already had five years Detailed to duty as an observer, Carlson
of service under his belt. Like Merritt A. sought and received permission to ac-
Edson, he soon won a commission, but company the Chinese Communist
arrived at the front too late to see com- Party's 8th Route Army, which was fight-
bat. After the war he tried to make it as ing against the Japanese. For the next
a salesman, but gave that up in 1922 and year he divided his time between the
enlisted in the Marine Corps. In a few front lines and the temporary Chinese
months he earned a commission again. capital of Hangkow. During that time he
Other than a failed attempt at flight developed his ideas on guerrilla warfare
school, his first several years as a Ma- and ethical indoctrination. When a ly brought him onto active duty. Ten
rine lieutenant were unremarkable. senior naval officer censured him for months later he created the 2d Raider
In 1927 Carlson deployed to Shanghai granting newspaper interviews, Carlson Battalion.
with the 4th Marines. There he became returned to the States and resigned so After his departure from the raiders in
regimental intelligence officer and deve- that he could speak out about the situa- 1943, Carlson served as operations
loped a deep interest in China that tion in China. He believed passionately officer of the 4th Marine Division. He
would shape the remainder of his days. that the United States should do more made the Tarawa landing as an observ-
Three years later, commanding an out- to help the Chinese in their war with er and participated with his division in
post of the Guardia Nacional in Japan. the assaults on Kwajalein and Saipan. In
Nicaragua, he had his first brush with During the next two years Carlson the latter battle he received severe
guerrilla warfare. That became the se- spoke and wrote on the subject, to in- wounds in the arm and leg while trying
cond guiding star of his career. In his clude two books (The Chinese Army to pull his wounded radio operator out
only battle, he successfully engaged and and Twin Stars of China), and made of the line of fire of an enemy machine
dispersed an enemy unit in a daring another trip to China. With war loom- gun. After the war Carlson retired from
night attack. There followed a tour with ing for the United States, he sought to the Marine Corps and made a brief run
the Legation Guard in Peking, and a stint rejoin the Corps in April 1941. The in the 1946 California Senate race before
as executive officer of the presidential Commandant granted his request, made a heart attack forced him out of the cam-
guard detachment at Warm Springs, Ge- him a major in the reserves, and prompt- paign. He died in May 1947.
3
Destroyer Transports
T
he origins of the destroyer transports are relatively
obscure. The first mention of them came in the 1st
ii
Marine Brigades after action report on Fleet Land-
ing Exercise 3 (FLEX 3). Brigadier General James J. Meade
suggested in that February 1937 document that destroyers
might solve the dual problem of a shortage of amphibious
transports and fire support. With such ships "troops could
move quickly close into shore and disembark under pro-
tection of the ships' guns" The Navy apparently agreed and
decided to experiment with one of its flush-deck, four-stack
destroyers. It had built a large number of these during
World War I and most were now in mothballs.
In November 1938 the Navy reclassified Manley (DD 74)
as a miscellaneous auxiliary (AG 28). After a few weeks
of hasty work in the New York Navy Yard, the ship served
as a transport for Marine units in the Caribbean. In the space —noventilation, no bunks, and just four washbasins
fall of 1939 Manley went back into the yards for a more for 130 men. It took a high-level investigation, launched
extensive conversion. Workers removed all torpedo tubes, by one Marine's letter to his congressman, to get the billet-
one gun, two boilers, and their stacks. That created a hold ing spaces upgraded.
amidships for cargo and troops. The Chief of Naval Oper- These original six APDs would be the only ones availa-
ations made it a rush job so the ship would be available ble until the Navy rushed to complete more in the after-
for FLEX 6 in early 1940. Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th math of Pearl Harbor. As the two raider battalions moved
Marines, was the first unit to use the revamped Manley. out into the Pacific so did the APDs. All six ships saw serv-
It used rubber boats to execute its 23 February 1940 assault ice in the Solomons campaign, but only Manley and String-
landing against Culebra in the Caribbean. ham (APD 6) survived. Japanese bombers sank Coihoun
Satisfied by the utility of the destroyer transport, the (APD 2) on 30 August 1942, just after it had transferred
Navy redesignated Manley yet again, this time as the lead a company of the 1st Raiders from Tulagi to Guadalcanal.
ship of a new class, APD-1. The APD designation denot- Enemy destroyers sank Gregory (APD 3) and Little (APD
ed a highspeed transport. By the end of 1940 the Navy 4) in the early morning hours of 5 September 1942 after
yards had reactivated five of Manley's sister ships and con- the two transports had participated with the 1st Raiders
verted them in the same fashion. In its haste, the Navy had in a reconnaissance of Savo Island. A torpedo bomber end-
left out any semblance of amenities for embarked Marines. ed the existence of McKean (APD 5) on 17 November 1943
When Lieutenant Colonel Edson took his battalion on as she ferried troops to Bougainville. Before the war was
board the APD squadron in the summer of 1941, each over, the Navy would convert another 133 destroyers and
troop compartment was nothing more than an empty destroyer escorts to the transport role.
talion, 5th Marines, from the 1st Ma- General Holcomb sought the reaction Smith's new force as a convenient
rine Division was the lack of troops of his senior generals to the Presi- means to channel outside interference
to make the regiment whole again. dent's plan to place Donovan in toward a useful end. His plan did not
As it was, many units of the division charge of a Marine Corps version of entirely work.
still existed only on paper in the fall the commandos. In his 20 January re- On 23 January the Navy leader-
of 1941. At the very beginning of ply to the younger Roosevelt, the ship, undoubtedly in response to
1942, with the United States iow at Major General Commandant point- political pressure, directed the Pacific
war and recruits pouring into the ed out that "the APD Battalion Fleet to put together a commando-
Corps, Smith wrote the Major is organized, equipped, and trained type unit. The 2d Separate Battalion
General Commandant and asked him for this duty, including in particular officially came to life on 4 February.
to redesignate the battalion. On 7 the use of rubber boats in night land- To ensure that this new organization
January Edson received word that he ings." He expressed the hope that the developed along proper lines,
now headed the 1st Separate. Bat- Navy would make destroyer trans- the Commandant ordered Edson to
talion. ports available on the West Coast in transfer a one-third slice of his unit
A week later James Roosevelt the near future to support organiza- to California as a cadre for the 2d
wrote his letter to the Commandant tioñ of a second APD battalion there. Separate Battalion, which initially
about raid forces. On 14 January Holcomb obviously intended to use existed only on paper. Headquarters
4
also adopted Red Mike's recommend- ture of Chinese culture, Communist dox and unexpected methods:' He
ed tables of organization and pro- egalitarianism, and New England and Roosevelt were developing the
mulgated them to both battalions. town hall democracy. Every man guerrilla unit they had envisioned.
The only change was the addition of would have the right to say what he Edson's battalion retained the ta-
an 81mm mortar platoon (though thought, and their battle cry would ble of organization he had designed.
there was no room on the ships of be "Gung Ho!"— Chinese for "work It was based on an eight-man squad,
the APD squadron to accommodate together:' Officers would have no with a leader, two BAR men, four
the increase). Holcomb even offered greater privileges than the men, and riflemen armed with the M-1903
to transfer Edson to the 2d Separate, would lead by consensus rather than Springfield bolt-operated rifle, and a
butin the end the Commandant al- rank. There also would be "ethical in- sniper carrying a Springfield mount-
lowed the commanding general of the doctrination," which Carlson ing a telescopic sight. (Later in the
2d Marine Division, Major General described as "giv[ing] conviction war he would champion the four-
Charles R B. Price, to place Major through persuasion:' That process man fire team that became the stan-
Carlson in charge. James Roosevelt supposedly ensured that each man dard for all Marine infantry.) With
became the executive officer of the knew what he was fighting for and smaller squads, his companies con-
unit. In mid-February at Price's sug- why. tained three rifle platoons and a
gestion, the Major General Comman- weapons platoon. His weapons com-
The 2d Raiders set up their pup
dant redesignated his new organ- pany provided additional light
tents at Jacques Farm in the hills of
izations as Marine Raider Battalions. machine guns and 60mm mortars.
Camp Elliot, where they remained
Edson's group became the 1st Raid- (The 81mm mortar platoon, added
largely segregated from civilization.
ers on 16 February; Carlson's outfit to the headquarters company by the
Carlson rarely granted liberty, and
was redesignated to the 2d Raiders Commandant, would not deploy
sometimes held musters in the mid-
three days later. overseas with the battalion.)
dle of the night to catch anyone who
slipped away for an evening on the Training was similar to that in the
The raider battalions soon received town. He even tried to convince men 2d Raiders, except for more rubber
first priority in the Marine Corps on to forego leave for family emergen- boat work due to the convenient lo-
men and equipment. Edson and Carl- cies, though he did not altogether cation of Quantico on the Potomac
son combed the ranks of their respec- prohibit it. River. The 1st Raiders also strove to
tive divisions and also siphoned off Training focused heavily on reach a pace of seven miles per hour
on hikes, more than twice the nor-
many of the best men pouring forth
weapons practice, hand-to-hand
mal speed of infantry. They did so
from the recruit depots. They had no
fighting, demolitions, and physical
by alternating periods of double-
difficulty attracting volunteers with
conditioning, to include an empha-
timing with fast walking. Although
the promise that they would be the
sis on long hikes. As the men grew
Red Mike emphasized light infantry
first to fight the Japanese. Carlson's
tougher and acquired field skills, the
exactions were much greater than tactics, his men were not guerrillas.
focus shifted to more night work.
those required to fill out Edson's bat- Instead, they formed a highly trained
Carlson also implemented an impor-
battalion prepared for special oper-
talion, but both generated resentment
tant change to the raider organization
from fellow officers struggling to ations as well as more conventional
promulgated from Washington. In-
employment.
flesh out the rapidly expanding di-
stead of a unitary eight-man squad,
visions on a meager skeleton of ex- Edson's style of leadership con-
he created a 10-man unit composed
perienced men. The raiders also had trasted starkly with that of his coun-
of a squad leader and three fire teams
carte blanche to obtain any equip- terpart. He encouraged initiative in
of three men each. Each fire team
ment they deemed necessary, his subordinates, but rank carried
boasted a Thompson submachine
whether or not it was standard issue gun, a Browning automatic rifle both responsibility and authority for
anywhere else in the Corps. decision-making. He was a quiet
(BAR), and one of the new Garand
man who impressed his troops with
Carlson and Roosevelt soon broke M-1 semiautomatic rifles. To keep
his ability on the march and on the
the shackles that Holcomb had at: manpower within the constraints of
tempted to impose on them. They re- the carrying capacity of an APD, firing ranges, not with speeches. His
raiders received regular liberty, and
jected most of the men whom Edson each rifle company had just two ri-
he even organized battalion dances
sent them, and they adjusted the or- fle platoons and a weapons platoon.
attended by busloads of secretaries
ganization of their battalion to suit Carlson's system of organization and
from nearby Washington.
their purposes. They also inculcated training was designed to create a
the unit with an unconventional mili- force suited "for infiltration and the The two raider battalions bore the
tary philosophy that was an admix- attainment of objectives by unortho- same name, but they could hardly
5

'' Palm Tree, cod Scrub Brush —._) Ceder- of Japanese Resistonce
1Q00 0 000 2000 3000 4000 5000
SCALE IN FEET
Sgt Clyde Thomason was posthumous- against Japanese machine guns and land for an hour, again with most of
ly decorated with the Medal of Honor snipers. Then the enemy launched the ordnance hitting enemy-occupied
for his leadership in turning back a two banzai attacks, each announced territory. Another air attack came
Japanese counterattack during the with a bugle call. Marine fire easily late in the afternoon.
Makin raid. He was the first enlisted Ma- dispatched both groups of charging The natives on the island willing-
rine so decorated in World War II.
enemy soldiers. Unbeknownst to the ly assisted the Americans throughout
Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 310616
Americans, they had nearly wiped the day. They carried ammunition
out the Japanese garrison at that and provided intelligence. The latter
point in the battle. reports suggested that enemy rein-
At 1130 two enemy aircraft ap- forcements had come ashore from the
peared over the island and scouted seaplanes and from two small ships
the scene of action. Carlson had in the lagoon. (The submarines later
trained his men to remain motionless took the boats under indirect fire
and not fire at planes. WiIh no with their deck guns and miraculous-
troops in sight and no contact from ly sunk both.) Based on this infor-
their own ground force, the planes mation, Carlson was certain there
finally dropped their bombs, though was still a sizable Japanese force on
none landed within Marine lines. the island. At 1700 he called several
Two hours later 12 planes arrived on individuals together and contemplat-
the scene, several of them seaplanes. ed his options. Roosevelt and the bat-
Two of the larger flying boats land- talion operations officer argued for
ed in the lagoon. Raider machine a withdrawal as planned in prepara-
guns and Boys antitank rifles fired at tion for the next day's landing on Lit-
them. One burst into flame and the tle Makin. Concerned that he might
other crashed on takeoff after receiv- become too heavily engaged if he
ing numerous hits. The remaining tried to advance, Carlson decided to
aircraft bombed and strafed the is- follow their recommendation.
7