Into the Fire, Part 3
After the marines secured Mount Lam Lam from the Japanese defenders, they were more easily able to advance south across the rest of Guam. On March 6th, with the rear of the Yona line on the verge of falling, General Kuribayashi prepared his counterattack. While the battle up north had played out, around 6,000 fresh troops had been hidden in reserve to the south. The assorted soldiers, sailors and other units had been waiting for a key moment to strike back. Under the command of Colonal Nishi, the reseve force also included 32 Chi-ha Shinhoto medium tanks, the only tanks on Guam that had been kept mobile. The tanks had been hidden in various locations on southern Guam, some were even parked next to shell craters where they were disguised to look knocked out.
That morning, Nishi was given the order to move out and to prepare for a general advance. This was not a banzai charge, but a coordinated attack, designed to compromise the enemy line to the greatest degree possible. As the tanks rumbled accross Talofofo, the hilly terrain kept them out of the marines sight until they were in range. The Marines had anti-tank weapons, but most of them were not on hand due to there being little perceived need. What's worse many of the shermans had been armed with flamethrowers, which increased the risk of the tanks exploding.
The attack caught the marines off guard. As the tanks advanced, the found their 47mm guns insufficient to penetrate the shermans frontal armor, instead opting to aim for the turret or tracks. The advancing infantry overwhelmed the American frontal positions, driving them back nearly three miles before nightfall. It was only then that a combination of close naval gunfire support and an army counterattack forced the Japanese to return to their positions.
By late March, Kuribayashi and his 25,000 remaining defenders were corralled into a portion of southern Guam with an area of just 15 square miles. Kuribayashi had managed to keep more of his men alive than anticipated, which made finding ammunition for them difficult. With his men being subjected to constant bombardment from all sides, the general prepared his final attack. In the days leading up to it, Kuribayashi had his men withdraw from several key positions, giving the impression that he was almost spent. In fact, the American estimate on April 1st was merely 12,000 remaining defenders.
There were no screams of "Banzai!!" to warn the Americans, the Japanese silently advanced to their objectives in the dark. As they closed the men fired and advanced, covering one another. The marines had only seconds of warning before bayonets emerged from the darkness to strike at them. Kuribayashi personally led the attack, his body never being recovered. The fighting lasted nearly a full day before the Americans were able to finish off the Japanese, suffering nearly 2,000 dead on this day alone.
After three days of mopping up, Guam was declared secure on April 15th. Despite this, thousands of stragglers and holdouts would remain. Many were equipped with explosives and thermite grenades, their mission being to sabotage efforts to contruct airfields for the B-29's. In light of the severe losses suffered on Guam, President Roosevelt agreed to consider the use of chemical weapons on Japanese territory.
That morning, Nishi was given the order to move out and to prepare for a general advance. This was not a banzai charge, but a coordinated attack, designed to compromise the enemy line to the greatest degree possible. As the tanks rumbled accross Talofofo, the hilly terrain kept them out of the marines sight until they were in range. The Marines had anti-tank weapons, but most of them were not on hand due to there being little perceived need. What's worse many of the shermans had been armed with flamethrowers, which increased the risk of the tanks exploding.
The attack caught the marines off guard. As the tanks advanced, the found their 47mm guns insufficient to penetrate the shermans frontal armor, instead opting to aim for the turret or tracks. The advancing infantry overwhelmed the American frontal positions, driving them back nearly three miles before nightfall. It was only then that a combination of close naval gunfire support and an army counterattack forced the Japanese to return to their positions.
By late March, Kuribayashi and his 25,000 remaining defenders were corralled into a portion of southern Guam with an area of just 15 square miles. Kuribayashi had managed to keep more of his men alive than anticipated, which made finding ammunition for them difficult. With his men being subjected to constant bombardment from all sides, the general prepared his final attack. In the days leading up to it, Kuribayashi had his men withdraw from several key positions, giving the impression that he was almost spent. In fact, the American estimate on April 1st was merely 12,000 remaining defenders.
There were no screams of "Banzai!!" to warn the Americans, the Japanese silently advanced to their objectives in the dark. As they closed the men fired and advanced, covering one another. The marines had only seconds of warning before bayonets emerged from the darkness to strike at them. Kuribayashi personally led the attack, his body never being recovered. The fighting lasted nearly a full day before the Americans were able to finish off the Japanese, suffering nearly 2,000 dead on this day alone.
After three days of mopping up, Guam was declared secure on April 15th. Despite this, thousands of stragglers and holdouts would remain. Many were equipped with explosives and thermite grenades, their mission being to sabotage efforts to contruct airfields for the B-29's. In light of the severe losses suffered on Guam, President Roosevelt agreed to consider the use of chemical weapons on Japanese territory.