Today — part 2 of CINCLAX’s articles on the Bougainville Campaign…
"The Little Beavers" - Destroyer Squadron 23 - November 1943
Battle of Empress Augusta Bay (the “short version”)
While the 3rd Marines were settling for their first night ashore, a critical sea battle was brewing offshore. As they had immediately responded in the air, the IJN was quick to counter attack by sea. In Rabaul, ADM Samejima (8th Fleet) ordered newly arrived ADM Omori (CO Crudiv 5, Nachi & Haguro) to sea with every other fighting ship he could conscript from Simpson Harbor with orders to attack the American transports
It was a bad decision. Omori had never exercised with any of the other ships in his scratch force (two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and six destroyers), while “Tip” Merrill’s force, TF 39 (4 light cruisers, eight destroyers), were by now old hands at night actions.
Sighting Omori on radar at 0229 on November 2nd, Merrill separated his ships into independent groups, while Omori began a series of S-turns designed to buy time until his floatplanes gave him more information, especially as it was a dark, moonless night. It was another bad decision, as multiple collisions ensued while light cruiser Sendai was smothered by American gunfire. Omori tried to bring his heavies into action, but only succeeded in getting a single hit on Denver. Destroyer Hatsukaze, her bow torn off in a collision with Myoko, was left adrift and finished off by American gunfire.
Incredibly, Omori believed he had inflicted serious damage on the Americans, so he retired to Rabaul without making an attempt to attack the beachhead—his original assignment. He had lost two ships and had three others damaged. For the Japanese, the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay had been a complete fiasco. For the Americans, the beachhead was saved and there would be no repeat of Savo Island.
The next four posts will cover the invasion of Bougainville and are provided via guest author CINCLAX.- SJS
The Last Spoke in the Cartwheel
Strategic Progress
Before the Guadalcanal operation (Watchtower) even began in August 1942, it had been decided to neutralize the Japanese bastion of Rabaul by moving up the Solomons one step at a time until Rabaul could be pounded from the air on a daily basis. Operation Cartwheel—as it was to be called—had begun inauspiciously with strong Japanese responses by sea and air, and by the early fall of the year some people were even calling for a strategic retreat and the evacuation of Gen. Vandegrift’s First Marines. The Navy was having great trouble stopping IJN surface attacks on Henderson Field, and the “Tokyo Express” reinforcement runs from Rabaul could not be effectively stopped. Japanese night surface tactics and superior torpedoes were not yet understood by American commanders, and the soon-to-be-famous “Cactus Air Force” was often reduced to a handful of operational aircraft left to handle the daily Japanese air raids.
Rabaul continually haunted Allied leaders. No operation in the Solomons or New Guinea could be considered complete as long as Rabaul remained strong and served as a hub for aggressive Japanese troops to attempt the re-conquest of Guadalcanal or even eastern New Guinea.
Then the always aggressive VADM Halsey took over SOWESPAC and things slowly began to change for the better. By the summer of 1943 the Allies had moved into the Central Solomons, eventually capturing the Russell Islands, New Georgia, Rendova and finally Vella Lavella. Along with each conquest had come new air bases ever closer to Rabaul, relentlessly hacked out of the jungle by the seemingly tireless Seabees. Henderson Field had been some 560 miles from Rabaul; Munda (New Georgia) was some 200 miles closer, while Barakoma on Vella Lavella was only 320 miles from Rabaul. The ring was closing.
Moreover, Halsey’s campaigns had also worn down Japanese air and naval forces to the extent that they no longer had the upper hand in the Slot. Their surface warships had been sorely depleted, and many of their veteran IJN pilots had been lost in combat and operational accidents. The Cactus Air Force on Henderson Field had now grown into AirSols, one of the best small air forces in the world and a true “joint” command of Navy, Marine, USAAF and New Zealand planes operating out of multiple strips all over the Central Solomons. Masters of improvisation and scrounging since the dark days of Operation Watchtower, AirSols would take the unsuccessful P-39 and P-40 fighters (rejected for European service) and make them effective low-level fighter bombers. When they needed floatplanes, they snatched them off of damaged cruisers heading home for repair. Similarly, the vulnerable Lockheed Ventura patrol bomber was turned into a night fighter. Meanwhile new arrivals like the P-38, the F4U Corsair and F6F Hellcat would rule the higher altitudes against the Zero. Now AirSols “Black Cat” PBYs patrolled the nights over water and their “Dumbos” rescued hundreds of downed flyers who lived to fly and fight again.
Meanwhile Gen. Mac Arthur’s forces in New Guinea had slogged their way from Port Moresby to Buna and beyond, establishing a large air base at Dobodura (near Buna). There, Gen. George Kenny’s Fifth Air Force had established itself as the terror of the Bismarck Sea. On the last day of February 1943, Gen. Imamura (8th Area Army CO in Rabaul), sent out some 6900 troops to reinforce his garrison at Lae; eight destroyers and eight transports carried the load. Kenny attacked the convoy with 335 aircraft, and in two days the Japanese lost all eight transports, four destroyers and about 3500 soldiers. With the disaster of the Bismarck Sea battle, Imamura and his Rabaul Navy cohort Adm. Kusaka (11th Air Fleet) would dare no further reinforcement attempts in New Guinea.
So Bougainville would be the next—and virtually last—target of the Allied Solomons campaign. In the summer of 1943, Halsey’s staff in Noumea joined with VADM Aubrey Fitch from the New Hebrides, LTG Alexander Vandegrift, and RADM Theodore “Ping” Wilkinson at Camp Crocodile on Guadalcanal to complete their planning. If Bougainville was to be the logical target, the question remained as to where? It was estimated there were about 40,000 Japanese Army troops, plus 20,000 Navy personnel on Bougainville and its adjacent islands. Most of these were in the south: Kahili, Buin, and the Shortlands; there were also 6000 in the north on or around the Buka Passage. All these locations featured airfields which the Japanese could be expected to defend tooth and nail—as they had at Munda.
What the Allies needed was a relatively lightly defended location where they could build their own airstrips, and one far enough away from existing Japanese strongholds so that speedy overland reinforcement would be difficult if not impossible. After deliberating, they decided on Empress Augusta Bay, in the middle of Bougainville’s west coast and equidistant (about 50 miles) from Japanese strongholds. About 16 miles wide from Cape Torokina to Mutupina Point in the south, the Bay was not a well-protected anchorage from westerly storms, but it would have to do.
In many respects, Bougainville would be a repeat of Guadalcanal: establish a perimeter against initially weak resistance, construct several airstrips and defend them against counter-attacks, then go about the business of continuing to reduce the stronghold of Rabaul—only 220 miles distant. Unlike New Georgia or Vella Lavella, there would be no need to occupy the entire island.
So the MV-22 has run through some rough patches in its long development and fielding and now that it is on its first operational deployment, a little good news has come across the (email) wires and is worth sharing:
On NOV 6, BATAAN made history on their deployment. In addition to the maiden deployment of MV-22s, BATAAN successfully launched all ten Ospreys for combat operations into Afghanistan. This accomplishment is the culmination of teamwork forged over a year of deployment and work-ups as well as required daily, dedicated effort to keep these aircraft ready for tasking. N41’s LtCol Tim Abe and team collaborated and coordinated with CNAL and BATAAN’s Supply Dept. to synchronize Marine Logistics ashore, allowing the extension of Marine land based capabilities. (h/t: maiznblue_swo)
On Oct. 19, 1962, the Pentagon’s Bureau of Aeronautics contacted Koch while he and Ecker were fishing in Orange Park, Fla. The bureau had a top-security mission in mind. “They called up and said, ‘Can you really take pictures this good?’ ” Ecker recalled. “We said not only ‘yes’ but ‘hell yes.’ ” A few days later, Ecker got his assignment to fly over Cuba. Ecker and the pilot of a plane that flew just off his starboard wing were assigned to photograph a suspected missile site at San Cristobal. After the Havana skyline appeared, Ecker banked to the west, flying right over a fleet of Cuban trawlers.
Despite that warning, the jets proved too fast for Cuban air-defense gunners. The flight time over Cuba totaled only 4 minutes. “You could see the popcorn in your mirrors,” Ecker said, referring to the white puffs of smoke left by anti-aircraft fire. “But we never got hit.” One of the jet’s photos even captured a soldier scrambling from an outhouse. More importantly, the photos also showed soldiers conducting activities around missile bases.
“Then it got kind of hectic,” Ecker recalled. “We were flying right into the granddaddy of all thunderstorms. We’re talking a wall of clouds rising to 50,000, 60,000 feet. “Here I’ve got the pictures, and if the airplane gets busted all to pieces, it wouldn’t do anybody any good,” Ecker said. At the last second, Ecker saw a jet-sized hole open up in the clouds. “It was just a sunspot,” he said. “I said, ‘Burners, now!’ We popped out the top.”
On November 5th, 2009 CAPT William Ecker, USN-Ret passed away at the age of 85 near his home in Punta Gorda, Florida. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he joined the Navy in October 1942 and completed fight training in April 1944. From there he was assigned to VF-10, embarked in USS Intrepid (CV-11) and flew combat operations in the Pacific Theater until he left the squadron in November 1945. A series of assignments at sea and ashore stretched through the following decade until he reported for duty in Research & Development at the Bureau of Aeronautics and Bureau of Naval Weapons from 1958 to 1961. After that he reported to VFP-62 as the Commanding Officer where he played a critical role in leading the first and subsequent low-level reconnaissance missions over Cuba to confirm the presence of medium-range ballistic missiles emplaced by the Soviet Union. He was awarded the DFC and VFP-62, the first peacetime Presidential Unit Citation in a ceremony attended by President Kennedy.
Following VFP-62, Captain Ecker became the Head of Naval Photography and Reconnaissance in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations until he was ordered to the Naval War College in 1966. While at the Naval War College, he received his Master of Science degree and after language training, he reported to the Military Assistance Advisory Group, Denmark, as Chief, Navy Section.
He commanded the Naval Air Technical Training Unit, which included the Naval Schools of Photography, for one year before being ordered to report to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in September 1971. From there, he retired in 1974.
Just a quick note about a new feature – Table of Contents. On more than one occasion I know I have used a category search to find a particular post, only to have to wade through pages of hits. Well, this nifty new plugin1 for WP blogs generates a table of contents by Category type on a single, scrollable page:
Now you can just hit the “Table of Contents” tab at the top of the page, and scroll down to say, Flightdeck Friday to find that post you’ve been looking for on remembering the S-3 Viking:
A few of us (here and over at Galrahn’s site) have been banging the drum for the last few years re. the potential threat posed by China’s ASBM (Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile) which appears to be a variant of the DF-21 (itself, an apparent derivative of the Pershing II MRBM). There has been limited releasable (e.g., unclassified) information from DoD agencies, most of it in the annual DoD report on China’s capabilities. What little else can be gleaned from the open press is primarily Chinese in origin and oft times, in Chinese. Most of the extensive writings have tended to be more generalistic as a result, focusing at the strategic-political level on the implications and challenges such a weapon would pose in a future Taiwan Straits scenario (or some other that takes place at or inside the first island chain). Chief focus has been on the aspect of sea denial to US carriers and the attendant impact that would have on providing tactical airpower in the face of land-based PLAAF forces conducting bluewater ASUW and land attack strikes. The most recent open press article was that found in the May 2009 issue of the Naval Institute’s Proceedings
With the autumn 2009 issue of the Naval War College Review, that body of knowledge has been significantly expanded via two articles. The first, “Using the Land to Control the Sea?” (link directly downloads a PDF of the article) addresses the larger technical and political challenges, opening with an argument is a familiar to readers of this and the aforementioned blogs:
For China, the ability to prevent a U.S. carrier strike group from intervening in the event of a Taiwan Strait crisis is critical. Beijing’s immediate strategic concerns have been defined with a high level of clarity. The Chinese are interested in achieving an antiship ballistic missile (ASBM) capability because it offers them the prospect of limiting the ability of other nations, particularly the United States, to exert military influence on China’s maritime periphery, which contains several disputed zones of core strategic importance to Beijing. ASBMs are regarded as a means by which technologically limited developing countries can overcome by asymmetric means their qualitative inferiority in conventional combat platforms, because the gap between offense and defense is the greatest here.
Today, China may be closer than ever to attaining this capability. In addition to numerous outside reports suggesting Chinese efforts in this area, technical and operationally focused discussions on the topic are appearing in increasing numbers and in a widening array of Chinese sources, some clearly authoritative. This suggests that China may be close to testing and fielding an ASBM system—a weapon that no other country currently possesses, since the United States relinquished a distantly related capability in 1988. In the view of Chinese and Western analysts, even the mere perception that China might have realized an ASBM capability could represent a paradigm shift, with profound consequences for deterrence, military operations, arms control, and the balance of power in the western Pacific.
Discussion that follows is worth the read, but of particular interest is the end analysis where the authors contemplate the impact a range of US responses would have, spanning from indifference to measured and then major response,and what the implications would be if the Chinese were to go ahead and conduct an operational tes:
Responding to the unprecedented strategic challenge presented by an ASBM capability would require the American military and civilian leadership to face hard truths, and continue to develop innovative new capabilities. The United States has many options here, and it must be prepared to exercise them. The most perilous approach would be to neglect such military innovation while continuing to insist that the United States maintained its ability to keep the peace, when in fact the military capabilities that underpin that ability were diminishing, at least in a relative sense. Such a discrepancy between rhetoric and reality would erode America’s regional credibility and fuel Chinese overconfidence. The prospect of documenting that discrepancy publicly might motivate China to conduct a demonstration of an ASBM; a successful test could create the impression that American power projection capabilities—and the regional credibility that depends on them—had been dramatically diminished. Managing the proper response to this potential “game changer” will demand close scrutiny from scholars, analysts, and policy makers alike, as it will critically influence America’s place in the Pacific for decades to come.
Two events point to the efficacy of such a scenario: one, the operational ASAT test conducted in 2007 and the other (and used by the authors) – the bombing tests off the VACAPES prompted by General Billy Mitchell and carried out by Army and Navy aircraft against stationary capital ship targets. In the case of the former, it clearly illuminated not only China’s tchnological capabilities, but some have said that it also demonstrated a certain ascendancy of the military and its ability to veto civilian policy makers who were not favoring an operational test. In the case of the latter – there were major budgetary, policy and even changes in tactics as the nascent Army Air Corps received substantive funding boosts, the Navy began to seriously investigate the use of dive bombers as a means to attack ships and other nations, notably Japan, began to redraw their force structures.
But what of the system itself? How much of it is real and how much is just vaporware? Maskirovka designed to confuse and direct US allocation of forces and funding down blind alleys? The second article, “China’s Antiship Ballistic Missile: Developments and Missing Links” (same warning as above re. the hyperlink) takes a systemic approach to assessing this ’system of systems’ by an extensive analysis of available open-press Chinese literature. It is worth noting that when conducting a content analysis, one not only focuses on what is found in the body proper of individual texts, but as that body grows, there are larger trends and directions that can be ascertained and from which, judgments as to the status and progress of a program may be made – even absent declaratory supporting statements. As the authors point out, for example, early literature tends to view the problems presented in the complex kill chain of an ASBM with a wider aperture, with wide-ranging, generalist discussions that identify problem areas. As sub-groups of supporting literature grow in number while parsing ever-finer details, say in developing algorithms used to detect, identify and track large surface vessels using space-based assets, or there is wider discussion of the problems associated with exo-atmospheric maneuvering while maintaining targeting (as is the case in the civilian space program and the problems associated with unmanned docking), the fact that such bodies of literature exist lends credence to assessments of the state of development and deployment of a weapons system.
Beyond the ASBM, the authors see far-reaching impacts on the larger military capabilities and force structure. Developing, building and deploying an operational ASBM with all of the technical, operational and even political challenges posed along the way would have reverberating effects throughout – from Command and Control, to multi-spectral imaging, rapid re-targeting, battle assessment and more – every bit a modern revolution in military affairs and industry as the US experienced in the late 80’s and 90’s with technology crossovers from the space and micro-computer industries.
For the past few weeks this site’s attention has been focused on the Project VALOUR-IT 2009 fundraiser, and forgoing other topics in the interest of keeping it upfront. Now that the campaign is over, we’ll use this post to catch up on a couple of items put on ice during that time.
I. Thanks and Appreciation.
I hold to the idea of this country’s exceptionalism – and one of the strengths of this country are the people with the heart of a volunteer. The recently completed Valour-IT campign was possible only because of the volunteers who put in untold hours (days/weeks/… you get the picture) worth of effort. I want to take a moment to highlight and pass my thanks and appreciation to the following whose efforts were mostly behind the public veil and in no way sought the public light for themselves:
Mary R. at USNI’s blog: Mary stepped to the plate early on and accepted the mantle as Team Navy’s lead. No mean feat as this entailed coordinating, cajoling and motivating a diverse group of Navy-centric milbloggers. She was instrumental in acquiring items for the auction and serving as the interface with the larger organization and outsiders. For someone relatively new to the game (USNI blog has been online for less than a year) she deserves strong applause for her efforts.
Xformed @ chaoticsynapticactivity: The old hand at the Valour-IT campaign, xformed was the business developer behind the scenes, bursting with ideas for pushing the campaign into new and unfamiliar territory. One of the ideas, decidedly low tech, may have turned out to be our biggest advertising point with 2nd and 3rd order effects well past the formal end of the fundraiser. “Bravo Zulu” (and I’ve got some ideas for next year BTW)
Jeff Bacon of Broadsides: Jeff came aboard at first call and has been a strong supporter. I think his contribution had substantially more impact than other cartoonists with a national exposure supporting the other teams. Jeff — hope t see you back next year!
Phil Ewing @ ScoopDeck: Phil was another from the traditional media side who pitched in and highlighted Team Navy’s efforts, again giving us a larger platform and audience tha we’ve had in year’s past. Like Jeff, we hope to see you back next year!
Maggie @ Boston Maggie: At once both team cheerleader and enforcer, the drumbeat of support and advocacy to outside organizations and entities combined with the emails to team members (ever seen a virtual whip cracked? Yeah – I hadn’t either ) kept the effort going. And her efforts haven’t ended with the end of the campaign either – we’ll leave that to her to discuss further. Just remember what I said about the strength of this country being in the hearts of its volunteers…
Team Navy: With the odds stacked against us before even the green flag was waved, you all still persevered and in an economic climate that is still less than shining, enabled us to cross the finish line with more than half of our goal met. Congrats to Team Marines and Army for their finishes as well. Ditto Team Air Force. Oh, and I would definitely be lax if I didn’t mention Coast Guard too who joined Team Navy this year. Thanks to all who worked, cajoled, bargained and bartered to provide the needed funds for our wounded heros. Those folks are the real winners and you all kept that forefront throughout the competition.
Finally, you the readers and contributors, without whom the effort would have completely foundered. Thank you from the bottom of our collective hearts for your generosity – all total, over $103,000 was raised in a few short weeks.
II. Thanks and Appreciation (II)
Shortly before the Valour-IT campaign began, we attended the commissioning of the USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) in Philadelphia, by way of invitation of the PAO and XO. I say “we” because the Steeljaw tribe turned out in force for the (very wet) drive up to Philly to witness the ceremony, held at Penns Landing. What a great forum for a commissioning as it lent itself to being near the ship and what a crowd of attendees, ranging from CJCS, ADM Mullen to vets from WWII several of whom showed up in their uniforms. Great looking ship and crew – more than enough to make even this ol’ brown shoe wish he was headed back to sea. Thanks for making this a memorable day for all concerned…
Here’s wishing the Wayne E. Meyer and all who sail in her safety in peace and victory in battle.
P.S. If you look close (and of course, know what to look for) you will see the assembled SJS clan
At the 11th hour, on the 11th day of the 11th month…the guns fell silent along what was known then as the Western Front as the Allies and Germany observed the agreement to end this “War to End All Wars.” While fighting continued sporadically elsewhere, in what were fast becoming the former empires of Russia and the Ottoman-Turks, the rest of the world surveyed the cost of four years of war.
- 60 million Europeans put under arms
- 8 million dead, over 20 million wounded; a generation forever thinned and crippled across three continents;
- the world map forever altered
The industrial might and genius of a world gone mad and revealed in the mechanized mayhem of hitherto unknown locales – Marne (500,000 dead), Somme (where Britain lost over 57,000 killed in one day alone) and Ypres site of the appearance of the cruelest form of warfare – poisonous gas; the cauldron at Verdun which claimed a quarter of a million French and German dead alone; Gallipoli (almost 43,000 Allied dead) and Chateau-Thierry/Belleau Wood which saw the single bloodiest day in Marine Corps history — until Tarawa in 1943.
Machine guns, heavy artillery, submarine warfare, aerial attack and poisonous gas against flesh and blood — 19th Century tactics couched in medieval concepts of battlefield glory against the grim reality of war in the Industrial Age.
It was a slaughterhouse whose effluent would poison the world for ages afterwards. My grandfather (that’s his picture at the top), a first generation American of German extraction was sent “Over There” to fight cousins and kinsmen. I have a cherished set of sketches from his time in France – they are a study of French soldiers over time from 1914 through 1917, from exuberant youth to prematurely aged and bitterly tired maturity. He purchased them on his way back to his Illinois home from the war after November 11th. My wife’s maternal grandfather was not so lucky. He fell victim to a phosgene attack, leaving him permanently crippled and requiring daily assistance for the rest of his life. He lived to be 90 and was haunted every day by the horror of that attack.
These are those whom I remember every November 11th. The first wave in what became a series of world wars – the second wave one generation removed from the first, enfolding in its embrace my maternal grandfather who led Rangers in the assault on the cliffs at Normandy and my future father in the Pacific theater. And my wife’s father who answered the call in a frozen peninsula in northeast Asia. And don’t forget my godfather – who flew Skyhawks from Oriskany and Hancock during the toughest of times off another Asian country barely a decade later and who would serve as an inspiration for a young Midwestern lad. Yes, these and so many more who have and continue to serve – these I remember,
We remember…
On November 12, 1919, President Wilson signed a declaration proclaiming that day as Armistice Day to recognize the veterans of this war – Congress amended it seven years later to change the day to the 11th of November and after WW II, and following advocacy that began with a shoe store owner in Emporia, Kansas, President Eisenhower signed the bill proclaiming hence forth that Veteran’s Day would honor veterans of all our nation’s conflicts on the 11th day of the 11th month henceforth.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. – Lt.-Col. John McCrae
So at 1100 today – and subsequent November 11ths, let us pause to remember that all gave some and some gave all – and others are still giving, and let us give thanks, in solemn prayer for those and in gratitude to those still with us…
Astronaut Mike Foreman performed tasks on the exterior of the International Space Station during the second spacewalk of the STS-129 mission to the orbital outpost. Astronauts Foreman and Randy Bresnik were in the midst of the second of three scheduled spacewalks for this shuttle crew, working in cooperation with the five current crewmembers for the orbital outpost and with their five Atlantis crewmates. Image Credit: NASA Read More
) kept the effort going. And her efforts haven’t ended with the end of the campaign either – we’ll leave that to her to discuss further. Just remember what I said about the strength of this country being in the hearts of its volunteers…
Stumble It!
Stumble it!
Vox Populi