August 20th, 1942...Winston Churchill addresses representatives of 2 NZ Division at 13 Corps HQ in Egypt. He calls 2nd NZ "a ball of fire."
German 6th Army is on the move at Stalingrad, penetrating the Russian 64th Army at Abganervor and Sarpa Lakes. A Russian officer writes, "The German tanks did not go into action without infantry and air support. On the battlefield there was no evidence of the 'prowess' of German tank crews...they operated sluggishly, extremely cautiously and indecisively.
"The German infantry was strong in automatic fire, but ... there was no resolute attack on the battlefield.
"When advancing they did not spare their bullets but frequently fired into thin air. Their forward positions, particularly at night, were beautifully visible, being marked by machine gun fire, tracer bullets, often fired into empty space, and different-coloured rockets. It seemed as if they were either afraid of the dark, or were bored without the crackle of machine- guns and the light of tracer bullets."
On Guadalcanal, Sgt. Major Jacob Vouza leads his patrol south, then circles east and back north, a small American flag tucked into his pocket as a souvenir. While hiking through the jungle, Vouza realizes such a souvenir is dangerous to have on his person if he runs into the Japanese. He turns off to Volonavua, intending to hide the flag in a house there then rejoin his group.
Instead he runs into a Japanese patrol from the Ichiki Detachment. They haul Vouza off to Tanevatu for interrogation, by the sinister spy Ishimoto. The Japanese demands are about American troops and dispositions. Vouza refuses to talk. The Japanese beat Vouza with rifle butts. Vouza won't talk. They stab Vouza in the chest with bayonets. Vouza keeps mum. An officer slashes Vouza's throat with a sword. Vouza doesn't talk. The Japanese give up, and leave him for dead, in the gathering darkness.
While Vouza suffers, Ichiki advances. He radios Rabaul: "No enemy at all. Like marching through a no man's land."
At noon, Ichiki summons his staff officers for a quick O Group. He orders his men to march down the beach and assault the enemy by night, to seize the old camp of the 11th Construction Unit. Three rifle companies and the machine gun company will lead the assault. After that, his men will storm Henderson Field. Ichiki expects his men will cut through the Americans as they have carved through the Dutch in Borneo, with "one brush of an armored sleeve." Victory thus assured, Ichiki's men get moving.
The American defense is 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, dug in behind barbed wire and Alligator Creek.
Meanwhile, chaos continues to reign in the American supply chain to Guadalcanal. Prewar exercises have not stressed logistical problems. Much attention has been paid to amphibious assault, but not amphibious supply, even in constructing bases. Washington does not appreciate the time and distance involved in the South Pacific. Auckland is 5,680 miles from San Francisco, and 1,825 miles from Guadalcanal, which highlights the problems.
Only Auckland enjoys a deep water harbor with berthing, lighterage, warehouses, cranes, and stevedores (and the latter in Auckland have a propensity to strike at the drop of a hat). Espiritu Santo and Efate have none of the above, including stevedores (striking or working). Noumea has the three-berth Grand Quay and single-berth Nickel Dock, and little else.
When ships arrive at Noumea, some lack the rig to lift cargo like 20- ton radar sets, leaving contents below -- food and ammunition -- trapped. On other ships, cargoes for Brisbane lie atop cargoes for Noumea. Vital items cannot be readily located, as many ships' manifests merely say, "Crates of machinery" or "dry goods," which is not a good answer for a supply officer. Labor and transportation shortages leave supplies lying stacked around ports, open to weather and theft. Each service separately unloads ships.
The only bright spot in this muddle is Army Maj. Gen. Alexander Patch, who forms a provisional port company on his own in Noumea and hires laborers. He clothes Savo survivors in Army kit. When Vandegrift asks for machetes for jungle movement, Patch modifies 20,000 cavalry sabers that have been sent to Noumea and forwards them to Guadalcanal.
Much of that movement is done by VMJ-253, a Navy squadron of C-47 Dakotas.
But on this day, one thing is accomplished to Guadalcanal's benefit. Vandegrift's pleas for air support are finally answered when Marine Air Group 23 flies off the deck of the escort carrier USS Long Island. Nineteen F4F Wildcat fighters of VMF-223 and 12 SBD Dauntless dive bombers of VMSB-232 struggle off Long Island's deck in the afternoon, and approach the island later the day.
The Marines hear the sound and assume it is yet another air attack. But when the stubby American planes swoop in, Marines come charging out of their dugouts to greet the aviators. Vandegrift shakes the hand of the first dive bomber pilot to arrive. Some Marines, realizing that they have not been abandoned to destruction after all, shed tears. The "Cactus Air Force" -- Guadalcanal's codename is "Cactus" -- is now in business.
That day, the 11th Air Fleet hurls 26 Bettys and 13 Zeros to attack Long Island. The Japanese think Long Island, a rebuilt merchant ship, is actually the fleet carrier Wasp. The Japanese don't find any carrier, so the fighters head to Guadalcanal to cause trouble. They run into the newly-arrived F4F Wildcats, and a wild battle ensues. The Japanese claim four kills and two probables. Their marksmanship is better than their math, as they hole every F4F. Tech. Sgt. John Lindsey glides back to Henderson Field to make a dead-stick landing. His F4F becomes the charter member of the Henderson Field "bone heap."
