Raid on Choiseul

Raid on Choiseul
Raid on Choiseul
Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II
ChoiseulMap.jpg
Map of the raid on Choeiseul
Date October 28 - November 3, 1943
Location 6°53′S 156°37′E / 6.883°S 156.617°E / -6.883; 156.617Coordinates: 6°53′S 156°37′E / 6.883°S 156.617°E / -6.883; 156.617Choiseul in the Solomon Islands
Result Allied moderate tactical success; strategic impact unclear
Belligerents
 United States
 Australia
 Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
Victor H. Krulak Minoru Sasaki[1]
Strength
750[2] 3,000-7,000[3]
Casualties and losses
13 killed[4] 143 killed,
two barges sunk[4]

The Raid on Choiseul was a small unit engagement that occurred from October 28 to November 3, 1943, during the Solomon Islands campaign. United States Marines from the 2nd Parachute Battalion, led by Lt Col. Victor "Brute" Krulak, landed on Japanese occupied Choiseul in the northern Solomon Islands and carried out raids on Japanese army and navy forces over a 40 kilometer (25 mi) area over the course of seven days. The raid was meant to divert Japanese attention from the planned Allied landings on the west coast of Bougainville at Empress Augusta Bay. Instead, the Allies hoped that the raid would cause the Japanese to believe the landings would be on the east side of Bougainville.

During the course of the operation, Krulak's 650 men battalion, assisted by an Australian coastwatcher and native Choiseul islanders, killed 143 Japanese troops, losing 14 Marines (12 killed in action, two missing), in actions later described by Major General Roy Geiger as, "a series of short right jabs designed to throw the enemy off balance and conceal the real power of the left hook to his midriff at Empress Augusta Bay."[5] On November 2, the raid was momentarily stalled when a Japanese ambush trapped between 40 and 50 marines. Three marines were severely wounded, one of them fatally so. The marines were rescued by PT-59, under the command of Lieutenant John F. Kennedy.[6] The ultimate impact of the raid on the Japanese response to the Allied Bougainville landings is unclear. Some historians[who?] assert that the raid was successful at diverting Japanese attention while other historians[who?] take a contrary position.

Notes

  1. ^ Fuller, Shokan, p. 190. Sasaki was present and in command of the Japanese Army forces on Choiseul from October 6, 1943 until sometime in November, 1943 when he moved to Rabaul.
  2. ^ Gailey, Bougainville, p. 59
  3. ^ Gailey, Bougainville, p. 47 and Fuller, Shokan, p. 190. Most of the Japanese Army troops on Choiseul were evacuating from New Georgia, Arundel, and Kolombangara islands and using Choiseul as a transit point to go to Bougainville and New Britain. The exact number of Japanese troops on Choiseul at the time of the raid is unknown.
  4. ^ a b Gailey, Bougainville, p. 58.
  5. ^ Sherrod, Robert (1952). ‘’”History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II.’’ p. 181. Combat Forces Press.
  6. ^ Donovan, Robert J. PT-109: John F. Kennedy in WW II, pp 176-184.

References

  • Christ, James F. (2006). Mission Raise Hell: The U.S. Marines on Choiseul, October-November 1943. Annapolis, MD, USA: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-113-3. 
  • Donovan, Robert J. (2001). PT 109: John F. Kennedy in WWII, 40th Anniversary Edition, McGraw Hill (reprint), ISBN 0-07-137643-7.
  • Feldt, Eric Augustus (1946 (original text), 1991 (this edition)). The Coastwatchers. Victoria, Australia: Penguin Books. ISBN 0140149260. 
  • Fuller, Richard (1992). Shokan: Hirohito's Samurai. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 1854091514. 
  • Gailey, Harry A. (1991). "The Treasuries and Choiseul". Bougainville, 1943-1945: The Forgotten Campaign. Lexington, Kentucky, USA: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-9047-9. - neutral review of this book here:[1]
  • Lord, Walter (1977 (Reissue 2006)). Lonely Vigil; Coastwatchers of the Solomons. New York: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-466-3. 
  • McGee, William L. (2002). "Bougainville Campaign". The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville--Pacific War Turning Point, Volume 2 (Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in WWII). BMC Publications. ISBN 0-9701678-7-3. 
  • Morison, Samuel Eliot (1958). Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, vol. 6 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Castle Books. ISBN 0785813071. 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Choiseul Island — Choiseul Topographic map of Choiseul …   Wikipedia

  • Choiseul Bay — Not to be confused with Choiseul Sound. Choiseul Bay is a bay in the northwestern part of Choiseul Island, Solomon Islands, at 6°42′00″S 156°26′00″E / 6.7°S 156.4333333°E / …   Wikipedia

  • Victor H. Krulak — Infobox Military Person name= Victor H. Krulak born= Birth date and age|1913|1|7 died= placeofbirth= Denver, Colorado placeofdeath= placeofburial= caption= nickname= Brute allegiance= United States of America branch=United States Marine Corps… …   Wikipedia

  • List of raids — This page contains a list of military raids, not including air raids, sorted by the date at which they started:* 1259 Mongol raid into Lithuania * 1265 Mongol raid into Thrace * 1259 Mongol raid into Poland * 1275 Second mongol raid into… …   Wikipedia

  • List of World War II topics (R) — # R planes # R Adams Cowley # R boat # R. Burnett Miller # R. D. Oliver # R. F. Patrick Cronin # R. G. Waldeck # R. Harmon Drew, Sr. # R. Horne # R. Norris Williams # R4M rocket # Raab Katzenstein RK 26 # RAAF Station Bairnsdale # Rab battalion # …   Wikipedia

  • Military history of the United States during World War II — American B 17 Flying Fortresses in flight over Europe …   Wikipedia

  • Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 — This article is about the boat. For the song, see PT 109 (song). For the film, see PT 109 (film). LTJG Kennedy (standing at right) on the PT 109 in 1943. For other Ids see[1] Career (United States) …   Wikipedia

  • Paramarines — The Paramarines (also known as Marine paratroopers) was a short lived specialized unit of the United States Marine Corps, trained to be dropped by parachute. The first Paramarines were trained in October 1940, but the unit was disbanded in 1944… …   Wikipedia

  • Motor Torpedo Boat PT-59 — was a 77 foot Elco PT boat that served with the US Navy in World War II. She is noted for being the second command of then Lieutenant, junior grade (LTJG) John F. Kennedy (who later became President of the United States) in the Pacific Theater… …   Wikipedia

  • Histoire de la marine française — L histoire de la Marine française couvre la période du XIIIe siècle au XXIe siècle. Elle est marquée par une alternance de hauts et de bas, la Marine française rencontrant au cours de son histoire trois difficultés majeures qui… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”