6633
December 30th, 1942
Guadalcanal, on the Seahorse, 02:48 - The day before, Onishi noted with frustration the change in American tactics: not only was their new method of assault more effective, since they managed to clear two thirds of the western slopes of the Seahorse, but it makes them much harder to kill! Admittedly, the bunkers were mostly occupied by the wounded or sick: the lifeblood of the Seahorse garrison is not too badly affected, but Onishi knew that as soon as the Americans reached the top of the hill, his fortress would soon cease to exist.
Dying in the service of the country and especially of the Emperor does not scare him. However - and this is probably due to his experience as a soldier of the rank, bound by honor and discipline to obey orders, no matter how stupid, Onishi is not like most of his fellow officers, who think only of leading a banzai charge to die gloriously under American bullets. A glorious death is not enough for him, he also wants to inflict as many losses to the enemy as possible. To simplify the task of the Yankees by rushing to the slaughterhouse may be honorable, but it is also stupid, as General Kawagushi himself reminded him. And Onishi, the best officer in his division (and, for sure, in the Seahorse), does not feel entitled to die foolishly.
So he has devised a two-stage plan, which should allow him to continue to strike hard blows at those Americans foolish enough to pretend to threaten the Mikado.
The first part of this plan, which he had Colonel Oka adopt without reluctance, commander-in-chief of the Seahorse as the highest-ranking officer still alive (although very weakened by the privations and illnesses he has been enduring for several months), consists to buy some time by counterattacking. Onishi needs to make only one argument: "We heard it last night, the Navy covered itself with glory by sinking many enemy ships and allowing General Kawagushi to go on the offensive on other grounds. Shall we let them take all the credit?" That is why, once again, he finds himself lying in the mud of Guadalcanal, in the middle of two hundred soldiers under his command, his trusty watch on his wrist, waiting for 03:00 to rush to the advanced positions of the Marines, some forty meters below (in reality, they are not Marines, but men of the 164th IR, but for Onishi, Americans, Yankees and Marines are synonymous).
.........
Guadalcanal, on the Seahorse, 03:00 - On the dot, the GIs clinging to the western slopes of the Seahorse are suddenly assaulted by a howling pack led by a familiar figure armed with a deadly sword. Caught off guard, the sentries are overwhelmed; machine guns open fire, grenades are thrown, but the fanatical imperial riflemen drown the American front line in a few minutes of savage hand-to-hand combat.
As if in a dream, Onishi has the sensation of moving through enemies who are advancing in slow motion. His sword regularly swings left and right, parrying bayonet strikes with a disconcerting ease, opening a bloody furrow for his compatriots, who are now throwing themselves on the second enemy line.
A dozen meters ahead, the section to which PFC Burt Krueger belongs witnesses the violence of the assault. Krueger hails from the hills of Montana, where his second favorite pastime is bear hunting - so he's a cold-blooded man. But his favorite pastime is fighting with the local Indians or, more rarely (because we see less of them), beating up a passing negro. But for him, kicking yellows is just as good and that's why he joined the army: to be able to kill monkeys without risking the penitentiary or even the electric chair (some judges lack a sense of humor). So when one of his comrades yells, "Look, it's the guy with the sword!", Krueger is delighted. In the dim and flickering light of a flare, he spots this lemon face waving his toothpick, points his gun, and fires, sure to hit the bull's eye.
At the same time, Onishi brandishes his sword to send his men on their way. The bullet ricochets off the guard, tearing the sword from the captain's hand! With a shrill scream, Private Watanabe, who was following closely behind his leader, throws himself on the impudent Long-Nose and nails him to the ground with a masterful bayonet blow in the abdomen. For a moment disconcerted, his right hand bloodied, Onishi picks up his sword and goes to congratulate his brave Watanabe, when he notices that half of Watanabe's head had been turned into bloody pulp by the rest of the American's magazine. The captain suddenly bursts into a rage: who will now be able to write his letter to the minister? Furious, he takes out his pistol and puts two bullets in the head of the infamous Yankee, involuntarily shortening his suffering: the wound in the stomach was fatal in the long run and, in the immediate future, excruciatingly painful.
Then, Onishi, noticing that he could not see any of his men (standing, at least), returns to his lines with dignity. Out of six hundred men, more than a hundred have lost their lives in this assault, in exchange for barely forty Americans. But the captain ignores this petty accounting - in fact, he doesn't care. For his nightly assault had achieved its goal:
Shaken by this unexpected blow, the Americans were content, all day long on the 30th, to ferociously shell the Seahorse and retake the positions lost during the night.
During this time, the invulnerability to bullets of the man with the sword quickly became known to the 164th IR. Unaware of this fame, Onishi spends the day fine-tuning the second part of his plan, knowing that his fate might be decided the next night.
.........
Guadalcanal, Poha River - To the surprise of the 28th Engineer Regiment, the entrenchments hastily dug in around Kokumbona and on the Poha River (the river that forms the new line of resistance - if that is what it is called) have still not been attacked!
No sign of the Americans or even of their air force, which is concentrating on the Seahorse and on hunting (not very successful today) Japanese ships.
Without complaining too much about their good fortune, the Japanese take advantage of this respite to continue their retreat towards Cape Esperance methodically and in good order. The bulk of the troops and the few remaining guns still available move from the west bank of the Poha to the west bank of the Bonegi, at Tassafaronga, less than ten kilometers to the west. The defenders of Kokumbona take over on the Poha.
.........
Guadalcanal, at Patch's HQ - The Americans are in the fog of war! They know that a major Japanese amphibious operation has just taken place, but while it had been thought that new reinforcements were coming, reports from the light ships plying the Bay and surveying the coast suggest that in reality, there has been an evacuation! Mistrust, advises the Americal's staff, scalded by the previous night's counter-attack on the Seahorse. But Patch is not convinced. He remembers the trenches of the Other War, where morale played such a great role... Nevertheless, he ends up rallying to DeCarre and the Marines, who have been reporting for several days obvious changes in the Japanese position south of Point Cruz.
At 1400 hours, the 7th Marines and 132nd IR are ordered to launch reinforced patrols, to make sure that the enemy is still on its positions. By 16:00, the reports from these patrols are formal: the enemy had disappeared! Patch immediately orders to prepare, for the next day, a double thrust of the two regiments towards the west, inland (132nd IR) and along the coast (7th Marines). At 19:30, he learns that the patrols of the 7th Marines, having taken the initiative to continue their advance, are in sight of Kokumbona. Patch then modifies his position. He orders the 182nd IR to move forward in the darkness to cover the advance of the 132nd Infantry Regiment on the left, in order to allow it to progress more rapidly as soon as the light allowed it. On the right, the 8th Marines is placed in immediate support of the 7th. A dozen Stuart tanks are also allocated to the latter, in order to take Kokumbona at dawn. Only one battalion of the 182nd and one of the 8th Marines, in addition to the coastal surveillance elements and the other tanks, stay in reserve.
Finally, Patch orders the troops that are attacking the Seahorse to finish it on the 31st, before the twelve strokes of midnight...
.........
Meanwhile, in Ironbottom Sound - The mini-submarines delivered earlier this month by the Nisshin have been in action for two days, but no one has noticed it so far on the American side. And for good reason!
The day before, Lt Yamaki's HA-30, delivered by I-16, had its rudder damaged at the time of its launch. Unable to steer normally, it was scuttled by its crew, who were able to save themselves.
The day before, the HA-12 of Lt Mukai, transported by I-24, could not be launched because of damage and had to return to Truk for repairs.
Finally, last night, the HA-11 of Lt Kunihiro, launched by I-20, succeeded in torpedoing the small auxiliary transport Majaba, which was unloading on Red Beach. This one ran aground. The mini-submarine was shot up by the escort, but it escaped! Alas for him, victim of a damage of his gyrocompass, he ends up pitifully grounded on a reef... The crew can evacuate it, but the small craft is recovered by the Allies a few months later.
Guadalcanal, on the Seahorse, 02:48 - The day before, Onishi noted with frustration the change in American tactics: not only was their new method of assault more effective, since they managed to clear two thirds of the western slopes of the Seahorse, but it makes them much harder to kill! Admittedly, the bunkers were mostly occupied by the wounded or sick: the lifeblood of the Seahorse garrison is not too badly affected, but Onishi knew that as soon as the Americans reached the top of the hill, his fortress would soon cease to exist.
Dying in the service of the country and especially of the Emperor does not scare him. However - and this is probably due to his experience as a soldier of the rank, bound by honor and discipline to obey orders, no matter how stupid, Onishi is not like most of his fellow officers, who think only of leading a banzai charge to die gloriously under American bullets. A glorious death is not enough for him, he also wants to inflict as many losses to the enemy as possible. To simplify the task of the Yankees by rushing to the slaughterhouse may be honorable, but it is also stupid, as General Kawagushi himself reminded him. And Onishi, the best officer in his division (and, for sure, in the Seahorse), does not feel entitled to die foolishly.
So he has devised a two-stage plan, which should allow him to continue to strike hard blows at those Americans foolish enough to pretend to threaten the Mikado.
The first part of this plan, which he had Colonel Oka adopt without reluctance, commander-in-chief of the Seahorse as the highest-ranking officer still alive (although very weakened by the privations and illnesses he has been enduring for several months), consists to buy some time by counterattacking. Onishi needs to make only one argument: "We heard it last night, the Navy covered itself with glory by sinking many enemy ships and allowing General Kawagushi to go on the offensive on other grounds. Shall we let them take all the credit?" That is why, once again, he finds himself lying in the mud of Guadalcanal, in the middle of two hundred soldiers under his command, his trusty watch on his wrist, waiting for 03:00 to rush to the advanced positions of the Marines, some forty meters below (in reality, they are not Marines, but men of the 164th IR, but for Onishi, Americans, Yankees and Marines are synonymous).
.........
Guadalcanal, on the Seahorse, 03:00 - On the dot, the GIs clinging to the western slopes of the Seahorse are suddenly assaulted by a howling pack led by a familiar figure armed with a deadly sword. Caught off guard, the sentries are overwhelmed; machine guns open fire, grenades are thrown, but the fanatical imperial riflemen drown the American front line in a few minutes of savage hand-to-hand combat.
As if in a dream, Onishi has the sensation of moving through enemies who are advancing in slow motion. His sword regularly swings left and right, parrying bayonet strikes with a disconcerting ease, opening a bloody furrow for his compatriots, who are now throwing themselves on the second enemy line.
A dozen meters ahead, the section to which PFC Burt Krueger belongs witnesses the violence of the assault. Krueger hails from the hills of Montana, where his second favorite pastime is bear hunting - so he's a cold-blooded man. But his favorite pastime is fighting with the local Indians or, more rarely (because we see less of them), beating up a passing negro. But for him, kicking yellows is just as good and that's why he joined the army: to be able to kill monkeys without risking the penitentiary or even the electric chair (some judges lack a sense of humor). So when one of his comrades yells, "Look, it's the guy with the sword!", Krueger is delighted. In the dim and flickering light of a flare, he spots this lemon face waving his toothpick, points his gun, and fires, sure to hit the bull's eye.
At the same time, Onishi brandishes his sword to send his men on their way. The bullet ricochets off the guard, tearing the sword from the captain's hand! With a shrill scream, Private Watanabe, who was following closely behind his leader, throws himself on the impudent Long-Nose and nails him to the ground with a masterful bayonet blow in the abdomen. For a moment disconcerted, his right hand bloodied, Onishi picks up his sword and goes to congratulate his brave Watanabe, when he notices that half of Watanabe's head had been turned into bloody pulp by the rest of the American's magazine. The captain suddenly bursts into a rage: who will now be able to write his letter to the minister? Furious, he takes out his pistol and puts two bullets in the head of the infamous Yankee, involuntarily shortening his suffering: the wound in the stomach was fatal in the long run and, in the immediate future, excruciatingly painful.
Then, Onishi, noticing that he could not see any of his men (standing, at least), returns to his lines with dignity. Out of six hundred men, more than a hundred have lost their lives in this assault, in exchange for barely forty Americans. But the captain ignores this petty accounting - in fact, he doesn't care. For his nightly assault had achieved its goal:
Shaken by this unexpected blow, the Americans were content, all day long on the 30th, to ferociously shell the Seahorse and retake the positions lost during the night.
During this time, the invulnerability to bullets of the man with the sword quickly became known to the 164th IR. Unaware of this fame, Onishi spends the day fine-tuning the second part of his plan, knowing that his fate might be decided the next night.
.........
Guadalcanal, Poha River - To the surprise of the 28th Engineer Regiment, the entrenchments hastily dug in around Kokumbona and on the Poha River (the river that forms the new line of resistance - if that is what it is called) have still not been attacked!
No sign of the Americans or even of their air force, which is concentrating on the Seahorse and on hunting (not very successful today) Japanese ships.
Without complaining too much about their good fortune, the Japanese take advantage of this respite to continue their retreat towards Cape Esperance methodically and in good order. The bulk of the troops and the few remaining guns still available move from the west bank of the Poha to the west bank of the Bonegi, at Tassafaronga, less than ten kilometers to the west. The defenders of Kokumbona take over on the Poha.
.........
Guadalcanal, at Patch's HQ - The Americans are in the fog of war! They know that a major Japanese amphibious operation has just taken place, but while it had been thought that new reinforcements were coming, reports from the light ships plying the Bay and surveying the coast suggest that in reality, there has been an evacuation! Mistrust, advises the Americal's staff, scalded by the previous night's counter-attack on the Seahorse. But Patch is not convinced. He remembers the trenches of the Other War, where morale played such a great role... Nevertheless, he ends up rallying to DeCarre and the Marines, who have been reporting for several days obvious changes in the Japanese position south of Point Cruz.
At 1400 hours, the 7th Marines and 132nd IR are ordered to launch reinforced patrols, to make sure that the enemy is still on its positions. By 16:00, the reports from these patrols are formal: the enemy had disappeared! Patch immediately orders to prepare, for the next day, a double thrust of the two regiments towards the west, inland (132nd IR) and along the coast (7th Marines). At 19:30, he learns that the patrols of the 7th Marines, having taken the initiative to continue their advance, are in sight of Kokumbona. Patch then modifies his position. He orders the 182nd IR to move forward in the darkness to cover the advance of the 132nd Infantry Regiment on the left, in order to allow it to progress more rapidly as soon as the light allowed it. On the right, the 8th Marines is placed in immediate support of the 7th. A dozen Stuart tanks are also allocated to the latter, in order to take Kokumbona at dawn. Only one battalion of the 182nd and one of the 8th Marines, in addition to the coastal surveillance elements and the other tanks, stay in reserve.
Finally, Patch orders the troops that are attacking the Seahorse to finish it on the 31st, before the twelve strokes of midnight...
.........
Meanwhile, in Ironbottom Sound - The mini-submarines delivered earlier this month by the Nisshin have been in action for two days, but no one has noticed it so far on the American side. And for good reason!
The day before, Lt Yamaki's HA-30, delivered by I-16, had its rudder damaged at the time of its launch. Unable to steer normally, it was scuttled by its crew, who were able to save themselves.
The day before, the HA-12 of Lt Mukai, transported by I-24, could not be launched because of damage and had to return to Truk for repairs.
Finally, last night, the HA-11 of Lt Kunihiro, launched by I-20, succeeded in torpedoing the small auxiliary transport Majaba, which was unloading on Red Beach. This one ran aground. The mini-submarine was shot up by the escort, but it escaped! Alas for him, victim of a damage of his gyrocompass, he ends up pitifully grounded on a reef... The crew can evacuate it, but the small craft is recovered by the Allies a few months later.