Battle of Apemama Atoll
edit| Battle of Apemama Atoll | |||||||||
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| Part of Pacific Theater | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| United States of America | Japanese Empire | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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United States Marine Corps Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion U.S Navy | Imperial Japanese Navy | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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68 Marines 10 U.S Army Engineers | 25 Japanese Marines | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 2 killed, 1 wounded | 22 killed and wounded, 3 captured | ||||||||
Prior to the main landing, Captain Jones, Lt. Hand and Lt. Crosby (the Navy CEC Engineers), and Major Hunt, along with rest of the company of sixty-eight Marines, ten Army bomb disposal combat engineers, minus Lt. Weeks's 4th Platoon (which was on a mission in the Makin Islands), inflated six ten-man sized rubber boats, or LCRLs, and loaded their equipment and wet-docked off the submarine. Each man was handed three K-rations, one D-ration, and two fragmentation grenades. There were 45 rounds for each M1 carbine, 48 rounds for each M1 Garand rifle, 260 rounds for the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (or BAR), and 2000 rounds for each M1919 Browning machine gun as well as eight 511 SCR radio sets, two TBX-8 radio sets (that were similarly used by the Navajo Code Talkers), two blinder guns, six sets of semaphore flags and four 14" x 26" panels.
Only able to start four outboard motors out of the six, they cruised towards JOHN. About halfway, two more outboard motors had quit and the Marines ended up towing and paddling the others to shore. Running into squalls and fierce currents, two boats of Marines disappeared into the darkness while Marines on the others frantically paddled to avoid the razor sharp coral reef. The wind subsided about an hour later and the two missing boats joined the column as they rendezvoused 400 yards off the reef. At 0330 they landed; by then the men were already exhausted and torn up by the coral.
With no enemy in sight, at 0440, the remainder of the advance party was called in by runners and signals. 1st Lieutenant Merwyn H. Silverthorn, the Company's Executive Officer, along with ten army engineers and a light machine gun section, established the beachhead and command post (CP). Machine guns were emplaced with interlocking fire, the squad of engineers established a semi-circular defense, fields of fire were cut, and hasty field fortifications were built. Boats and equipment were brought off the beach and reef and camouflaged.
While the beachhead was being secured and coded panels emplaced to communicate to the submarine, Captain Jones immediately sent three platoons out at 0530 as a reconnaissance-in-force around the west end of JOE Island. Lieutenant Corey went north to the lagoon shore with his 4th Platoon. Lt. Minnear took his 2nd Platoon west towards the western end of the small island.
Shinn's platoon went north and east towards reaching the northeast corner of the island at 0700. A camouflaged seagoing Japanese landing barge, diesel-powered and fully fueled was discovered moored in the channel between JOE and JOHN. Immediately after, Shinn's Marines spotted two Gilbertese natives crossing the channel from JOHN. Concealed and observing, they noticed two natives coming down a trail. Not knowing whether they were friendly, the recon Marines crouched and waited until they were practically on top of them.
Lt Hand (who was in Shinn's patrol) sprang up and greeted the natives in their own language. Using their best Oxford "missionary" English, the grinning natives replied,
- "Why Mr. Hand. My word! I am glad to see you, but were you wise to visit us just now, Mr. Hand? The Sapanese are here!" [Gilbertese pronounced js like ss in English].[1]
The two natives informed Hand that the Japanese were entrenched in force around a radio station on OTTO, one islet away. They described the Japanese defenses as being reinforced positions using coconut logs and reported that their weapons included two light machine guns, one heavy machine gun, rifles, bayonets, pistols and hand grenades. Also, there were twenty-five Japanese Marines, fewer than the number of the United States Marines, but were well dug in and "had plenty of ammunition".[1] Three Japanese had been at the boat at 0600 that morning. They had radio equipment and were headquartered on OTTO Island. The Japanese were a coast-watching detachment left behind when the original Japanese occupying force of about 300 which had landed in September 1942, departed about a month later. The natives weren't reluctant in giving information as the Japanese had made extensive use of native labor with little or no compassion and had been generally oppressive toward them.[30] Also, they also informed Lt. Hand that the Japanese knew they [Americans] were on the island and were in preparation.
They remained in the vicinity of the boat to keep it under surveillance; the patrol divided, the second and third platoons moving south along the reef passage to the southeast tip of JOE Island. Shinn returned to the CP and reported his findings. Jones dispatched 1st Lt. Russell Corey's 3rd Platoon at noon to put the Japanese barge out of commission without permanently disabling it by removing the spark plugs from the engine and made accelerator adjustments.[31] The barge was the only means for the Japanese to escape to the north. The Marines moved out along the road to the boat in a staggered squad column with point and flankers. About two hundred yards away, a Japanese patrol of three men were encountered who were already at the barge. Under fire, Corey's BAR man, Pvt Homer J. Powers, killed one with an offhand shot while the other two escaped into a nearby grove.
Back at the command post (CP), a new word came in from the natives that the Japanese had gathered all their weapons and were moving rapidly to the barge site. At 1300, Captain Jones with all available Marines, First and Second Platoons, moved out to join Lt. Corey and the light machine gun section (who had just put the boat out of commission) at the road junction just west of Kabangak Village, to interdict the Japanese at the barge. Corey's 3rd Platoon joined Jones with the 1st and 2nd Platoons at 1400.
The Japanese obviously passed through Kabangak village on JOHN, learned of Jones's presence, turned around and returned to OTTO to reoccupy their prepared defensive positions. Captain Jones began a reconnaissance-in-force, moving across ORSON, the island just south of OTTO, occupied by the Japanese. While en route contact was made with large numbers of natives leaving their villages for the groves. A Catholic Mission was reached by 1550 and the five white missionaries, three French Roman Catholic priests and two Australian nuns, verified the natives' information concerning the Japanese positions and strength.
The Apamama natives informed Jones of a sandspit at the tip of OTTO opposite the mission, running northwest from ORSON, from which the Marines would be able to observe the lagoon (western) flank of the Japanese defenders, and to avoid crossing the bridge that connected the two islands, OTTO and ORSON.
As Jones moved his entire company of Marines across the reef to the tip of the sandspit on ORSON, Japanese rose from higher terrain to the north of the advancing Marines and opened fire with light machine guns. One Marine killed one of the defenders at one hundred yards. When the lead elements of the company had advanced 250 yards up the sandspit, the company came under a barrage of fire from a nest of light machine guns emplaced from their eastern (right) flank, the coconut log positions on the south end of OTTO. The Marines found themselves in an unfavorable position for an attack and could not locate the position of the machine gun, while under fire with only one hour of daylight left and facing a rising tide, which was due to come in another hour. It would force the Marines to remain on the sand spit all night from where it would have been impossible to contact the submarine. Jones broke off contact and withdrew his company to the northern beach of ORSON.[5]
While en route back to their beachhead, Jones paused in Kabangak village and questioned the Catholic Mission. By midnight, his Marines were exhausted; they had not slept for 48 hours and were in a state of extreme fatigue, especially having endured the events aboard the Nautilus prior to the landing, the heavy surf, and the reconnaissance through very heavy brush. Furthermore, they made several attempts to communicate with the Nautilus but to no avail since it had submerged earlier after making a radar contact with a Japanese submarine 3500 yards away; the Marines were unable to communicate results of the first day of their reconnaissance. They decided to rest and set up defensive positions and bought additional supplies from the natives. Also, they had learned that one of the Gilbertese natives was a pilot and obliged to guide arriving troops on JOHN or through the lagoon, but only once they were able to contact Nautilus, until then, they waited while under vigilance for any unsuspecting Japanese forces. At 0300, the Marines spotted lights out at sea and disappeared, believing it to be a Japanese submarine trying to contact the Japanese defenders, but with no attempt to evacuate them from the atoll.[31]
By the next morning on November 22, 1943, the Marines had control of JOE and JOHN and were able to prevent the Japanese from escaping from the atoll. Lieutenants Hand and Crosby and Major Hunt made their own recon to the south end of ORSON and located an abandoned Japanese truck. This permitted them to rapidly reinforce anywhere along OTTO's beaches. Their rubber boats were heavily damaged in crossing the coral reef from their initial landing a few days back; they were in no shape to be used to envelop their movement by sea to out-flank the Japanese machine gun defense.
Gunnery Sergeant Charles Patrick took a small patrol up the seaward side of ORSON to see if they could flank the Japanese from the other side, but in the process, one of his Marines came under fire and was wounded. The Japanese had powerful 31" glasses and could observe all movement and also had accessible motor transport, enabling them to move along to any point on ORSON or STEVE, making a landing behind their position by rubber boats not advisable. This determined that crossing the channel between ORSON and OTTO, they would suffer a great number of casualties. They decided that additional firepower would suffice as it would be required to move troops across the open reef.[23]
By 0700, the 1st and 3rd Platoons furnished camp security and cleaned weapons. Jones then gave the 1st and 3rd Platoon a mission to investigate the Japanese barge to determine whether it had been tampered by the enemy since they last were there; and also to reconnoiter-in-force along the road to the vicinity of the mission and the area across the reef passage from the main Japanese defenses. Meantime, the 2nd Platoon transported all the Company's equipment and supplies from their old to their new beachhead, completing their movement at 1245.
The 3rd Platoon led off at 1330 to complete Jones's objectives but was terminated to join the 1st Platoon as they moved in to establish a defense. A squad was dispatched to investigate the Japanese boat and returned at 1430 to report that all was secure.[30] The Marines believed they had been spotting a ship off from NICK, presuming it to be Japanese. The 2nd Platoon and the Machine Gun section were prepared for a bombardment and to repel any enemy landing. It was later identified as a United States salvage tug.[32]
Also in the excitement, Lieutenants Corey and Shinn marched to the lagoon and surveyed the horizon with binoculars and spotted several objects which appeared and resembled ships. Due to the changing conditions of the visibility of atmospheric changes, they seemed to disappear and reappear. Corey and Shinn radioed the information to Captain Jones. Jones and his Marines standing by were convinced; after careful and lengthy observance, a native was called over and interrogated and it was learned that the objects were a beacon and several lone palm trees on the islets on the opposite side of the lagoon.[30]
At 2030, Captain Jones finally made radio contact with Nautilus and conferred with Commander William D. Irwin, the ship's captain, providing him with the results of the day's reconnaissance; requesting him to relay the situation with the arrangement of new supplies so the reconnaissance force could remain ashore 15 more days. Together they devised a plan of shell bombardment with the submarine's six-inch guns on the enemy position the next day.
They were able to ferry fifteen days' worth of provisions and ammunition to the beach, brought in by using the ship's motor whale boat and four LCR-l0s. The landing of supplies was completed by midnight. Between 0100 and 0900, on several occasions, blinker lights were observed at sea, assumed to be from the Japanese submarine endeavoring to contact their garrison force ashore.[5]
On November 23, the third day since the initial reconnaissance landing, the 1st and 3rd Platoons reconnoitered JOHN and STEVE from 0700 to 1615. The Marines enjoyed their first hot meal at noon as stew made from dehydrated carrots, potatoes, onions, and roast beef. Once the two platoons returned from recon patrol, Jones and his entire company marched forward to the channel between the islands 150 yards from the Japanese fortifications. 1st Lieutenant Silverthorn and four Marine from 2nd Platoon took Major Hunt and Lieutenant Crosby with ten Army engineers and made a hasty beach reconnaissance, to reestablish a beachhead on the south side of the channel. Crosby made a soil test and examined the coral mud on the lagoon-side of the island, checking soil permeability for a feasible airstrip. The recon Marines emplaced machine guns in the center of their line and at 0800, they laid a base of fire onto the Japanese positions. They radioed Nautilus and request naval gunfire support from their six-inch deck gun. Jones returned to his Marines and issued the orders for the attack.
Prior to their disembarkation, Nautilus and the recon Marines developed a coded display system in the event of radio communication problems by using four twelve-by-sixteen-foot navy mattress covers to double as signal panels. One configuration would indicate "situation in hand," while others would advise specific needs, i.e., "ammo", "water", and other necessities. Usually front lines were marked by colored air panels or painted oars. But on Apamama, the four mattress covers were significantly used as banners and later provided the Marines' current line positions to the submarine.[1]
Relying on the navy mattress covers that the Marines had hung in the palm trees to use for signaling, Nautilus fired a barrage of seventy-five rounds with super-quick fuses from four thousand yards at sea.[33] These rounds would burst from the air as they would hit the palm fronds at the top of the coconut palms. This proved effective for the Japanese that were in the open but not for any Japanese seeking shelter in their coconut log bunkers.[1]
The crew on Nautilus discovered that one of their six-inch guns was malfunctioning in the elevating mechanism and would slip, causing the shell to over-shoot great distances from their intended target. On their own initiative, they commenced a check-fire on that gun.[15] However, Corey radioed to the submarine requesting a full check-fire as the rounds were falling very close to his lines. Since the naval gunfire had not appeared to have an effect on the heavy Japanese fire, Captain Jones ordered a cease-fire. Jones requested by radio to Nautilus, that it was decided that a supply of mortars would be the obvious solution to tamper the effects of the Japanese machine gun emplacements.
Nonetheless, heavy machine gun fire prolonged mostly throughout their third day. As long as the men would lay prone, most of the rounds would go over their heads. Heavy enemy machine gun fire pinned down the crew of Lt Corey's Machine Gun section and it was impossible to move gun or crew. Pvt Carroll E. Berry and Pvt James E. Hensley of the crew had their canteens and hip pockets torn by the enemy fire. One of the recon BAR Marines, PFC William D. Miller, was hit by two machine gun bullets while in an exposed position.[1] In an audacious effort under intense fire, Private Bert B. Zumberge attempted to rescue him. While attempting to render first aid and tried to shield PFC Miller with his own body from the enemy machine gun fire, Zumberge was also hit. Twice in the upper left arm, between shoulder and elbow, one bullet fracturing his arm. He continued to render first aid as Sgt Samuel F. Lanford helped Zumberge to cover after much protesting from Zumberge that Miller first be moved. But Miller was badly hit and could not easily be moved. Sgt Lanford returned to remove PFC Miller; enemy fire became increasingly heavy. PFC Miller was hit twice more and it became impossible to get to him, and two of the company's Corpsmen James E. Fields and Morris C. Fell exposed themselves several times trying to retrieve Miller.[5]
PFC Harry J. Marek was wounded by an accidental discharge of a BAR in their established beachhead area, taking a round in the chest. Corporal John F. King had developed a severe hernia while unloading supplies the previous night. Jones made contact with the Nautilus at 2000 and evacuated PFC Marek and Cpl John F. King through the surf by rubber boat. Marek later died and was buried at sea.
By noon, while Jones was awaiting the arrival of his requested mortars, Nautilus radioed to him that the American transports were at the WEST PASSAGE and suggested that Jones meet them in the whaleboat. Jones broke off the firefight and consolidated his positions. He decided to coordinate with the approaching naval Task Force that arrived as the island occupation force. He sent Lt. Shinn with the 2nd Platoon back to the 3rd Platoon with orders to assist their withdrawal.
Captain Jones had taken a small group with him, Major Hunt, Lt. Crosby, Lt. Hand, George, the native pilot, and Sgt Daniel J. Bento and started across the lagoon in the whaleboat for the Task Force at the WEST PASSAGE, a three-hour boat trip. They saw a number of transports, two hospital ships and numerous escorting men-of-war ships. As they were about one-half hour, all the ships of the task force left the area. About 1 nautical mile (2 km) from the Task Force, Hunt spotted the 'feather' of a submerged periscope 700 yards (600 m) from their position. The submarine made no moves toward the small party, so they returned to the atoll. No physical contact was made with the approaching task force.[23]
Meanwhile, Shinn arrived at 1245 and informed Lt. Corey that the 1st and 2nd Platoons were pulling back, returning to the beachhead. Corey's machine-gunners were receiving heavy fire, however, making it impossible to extricate them, and the Lieutenant decided to pull them out. Shinn departed, leaving one squad with Corey and taking Pvt Zumberge along.
While Jones and his small group had moved to the WEST PASSAGE to contact the task force, a US Navy destroyer USS Gansevoort (DD-608) appeared on the other side of the atoll. Lt Silverthorn went out to DD-608 and gave her captain a description of the situation which in return sent a small landing party to offer them naval gunfire support agreeing to shell the enemy Japanese positions. By this time, Jones and his small group returned. Corey radioed Captain Jones at 1315 that he was not pulling out until he could move his machine-gunners and wounded, and would remain until dark if necessary. At 1330 he dispatched a patrol under Sgt Lanford went to see if it were possible to pull out the machine gun and PFC Miller. The enemy fire had slackened considerably. Sgt Lanford returned with the Machine Gun crew and PFC Miller, who unfortunately had died as a result of his wounds.[5]
Pvt Zumberge was evacuated to USS Gansevoort by Lt. Silverthorn's rear CP along with Pvt Dannie O. Messenger who had been shot while returning to the CP from an outpost at 0500. Lt. Corey's group reached camp by 1700. The destroyer moved out to fire on the enemy positions between 1800 and 1900 and fired many rounds of five-inch shells into the enemy position. Jones had the destroyer fire some fifty rounds. The fire hit the coconut palms causing air burst (exactly Nautilus's firing routine earlier) except that this time it proved quite effective and agreed to continue its use the following morning on the Japanese positions.[28]
PFC Miller was buried early in the morning of November 25, 1943, at the site of the second beachhead CP. Most of the day was spent clearing fields of fire and building field fortifications since at 0730, natives had arrived informing Jones that some of the Japanese were dead and they had left their positions, leaving behind two wounded. Captain Jones dispatched Lt Shinn's First Platoon to guard the Japanese boat and whaleboat, and anticipating that the enemy would make an attempt to attack the beachhead or break through to their boats, strengthened the beachhead defenses. Lt Shinn's men altered the whaleboat to render it temporarily useless.
At 1400, an English-speaking Apamamese boy puffing a cigarette that Lt. Hand had given him appeared, shouting "The Saps are all dead." He had secluded himself near the Japanese radio station and observed the remaining Japanese that survived the Navy/Marine gunfire. The garrison commander, a Japanese Captain, assembled his troops in two ranks and was giving them an oration to motivate his troops. The Japanese captain brandished a samurai sword in one hand and waved a pistol in the other, urging them to "Kill all Americans!"[1] During his violent gesturing the pistol accidentally discharged, shooting himself in the stomach, killing him. Completely demoralized, the Japanese troops began digging their own graves; when they were done, they lay down in them and shot themselves in their jaws, committing mass suicide.[29]
Captain Jones dispatched his executive officer, Lt. Silverthorn and Lt. Corey with two platoons to investigate. When they arrived at the Japanese CP at 1700, they confirmed the death of the twenty-three dead Japanese defenders in all. It was difficult for them to understand why they committed suicide; near each individual firing position were several hundred rounds of ammunition, and from ten to forty hand grenades. Also lying about were approximately a dozen rifles, ten pistols, two light machine guns, and one heavy machine gun. An examination of the position revealed that the Japanese had fire superiority despite their inferior numbers.[30] The area included the radio station, officers' quarters, QM shed, boat shed, numerous huts, and live chickens. No articles were touched and all men were cautioned about touching any of the many wires.[28] The Marines began to bury the dead with help from the Apamamans.
At 0700 on November 26, 1943, the Marines sighted the USS Maryland (BB-46), USS Harris (APA-2), and escorting ships closing in on the beachhead. While Jones was launching a boat, a plane dropped a message inquiring whether it were safe to land troops. Jones replied affirmative and continued out to USS Harris to contact Lieutenant Colonel McLeod, Commanding Officer of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines. India Company was dispatched and landed without incident. An officer from USS Maryland arrived with an order from division ordering Jones' Marines to embark USS Harris at once. Camp broke at 1030 and all expendable gear turned over to Captain North, Commanding Officer of India Company as the Recon Marines departed Apamama and the natives that had helped them so well.[5]
The Marine recon losses on the Apamama operation were two killed, two wounded, and one injured. Brigadier General Leo D. Hermle, Assistant Division Commander of the 2nd Marine Division landed with the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines and assumed occupation duties.[15] An eight-thousand-foot airstrip was carved out of Apamama's coral by the Task Force's Naval Construction Battalion. By January 15, 1944, this airstrip was being used by heavy bombers to the Marshall Islands for a Battle of ApamamaCite error: There are <ref> tags on this page without content in them (see the help page).continuation of the attack.[1] Captain Jones was later awarded the Legion of Merit by Lieutenant General Holland M. Smith for this impeccable amphibious reconnaissance operation.[34]