With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa

Sledge, E. B. With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. Presidio Press, 1981.

The war in the Pacific was unlike the European and Mediterranean campaigns. Throughout the European campaign the allied forces focused on strategic bombing and ground forces. Tank usage was more evident during the African and European theatres also. There were many changes in warfare that occurred during World War II. Warfare in the African and European theatre was fought mainly in the air and on ground. Due, in part, to the landscape of the Pacific warfare advanced: sophistication in technology and weaponry increased, heated struggles with a fanatical enemy, and increased coordination between air and naval support. Island hopping became the paradigm in the Pacific, naval and air support would lead the way.

The U.S. Navy moved into the Pacific in 1942. Americans combined air, land, and sea forces for tremendous strides across the ocean. The navy fighter planes and bombers would inflict serious damage upon the Japanese navy. In one day aircraft sank all the transports and four destroyers; the Japanese lost 3,000 soldiers and most of the 51st Division’s staff. Naval craft moved troops and planes into the Pacific. Fighter planes and bombers cleared the way for the oncoming fleets. This led to the ability of the American forces to begin taking strategic islands. Sledge described naval support, “H-hour, 0800. Long jets of red flame mixed with thick black smoke rushed out of the muzzles of the huge battleships’ 16-inch guns…The giant shells tore through the air toward the island, roaring like locomotives.” The bombardment of the beaches was necessary due to the resistance of Japanese forces that protected them. On the reef and beach amtracs and DUKW’s (a six-wheel-drive amphibious truck) burned while Japanese machine-gun fire went splashing through the water. American forces would secure islands while sea and air forces worked hand in hand supplying the troops. Supplies were received from sea through amphibious landings and air drops. The air and naval forces proved effective due to the sophistication of technology and weaponry they carried.

New technology allowed the allied forces to land on the beaches from carriers out at sea. Problems arose when low tides stranded Higgins boats on reefs far from the beaches. The navy supported landings with more powerful artillery then in previous wars. Bombardment would last for days at a time in order to handicap the Japanese resistance. The Japanese were dug in and protected by caves, which increased the difficulty in crippling their defenses. The Japanese favored a complex defense based on supporting positions in caves and pillboxes extending deeply into the interior of the island. They had constructed an in-depth defense and fought until the last position was knocked out. The increased power and range of artillery fire would provide only some support for the landing infantry. Sledge commented, “More of out 155’s swished over, erupting above the Japanese. We stood in silence and watched as the artillery fire took its toll on them.”

Infantry was trained to use multiple weapons prior to participating in combat situations. Sledge wrote, “We received an introduction to the 37mm antitank gun, 81mm mortar, 60mm mortar, .50 caliber machine gun, .30 caliber heavy and light machine guns, and the Browning Automatic Rifle.” The instruction of multiple weapons proved valuable to the infantry troops in the Pacific campaign. The terrain and defensive positions of the Japanese would make them hard targets. Multiple weapons became necessary in order attack them with any success. The Japanese were protected in the front and rear from the exploding artillery shells. Because of the steeper trajectory of our 60mm mortar, the shells fell right into the ravine. The infantry dealt with oncoming Japanese soldiers in close quarter fire fights. They defeated a series of well hidden and entrenched Japanese with weapons like artillery and mortars. Attacking