Fire and smoke on the water was all that was left for the Japanese in our last episode,
as their hopes for regaining the initiative in New Guinea sank into the depths of the Bismarck
Sea. On the other side, the Allies rejoiced over their great victory, the enemy convoy to reinforce
Lae and launch a renewed offensive against Wau destroyed in an expertly-coordinated air strike.
Yet that would not be the only naval victory that the Allies enjoyed during this week. Today,
we turn back to the Solomon Islands to cover some new developments as the Americans prepare to
embark on a naval bombardment of the key Japanese bases at Munda and Vila-Stanmore; and we’ll also
return to China to see the start of yet another Japanese offensive north of the Yangtze River.
Hey History fans! As you know, the youtube algorithm precludes us from releasing more
than three or four videos per week, as the more we release the lower the average view is,
which hurts the overall standing of the channel in the search rankings and such. Still, we produce
more videos than that and want to give our viewers a chance to watch them. Videos are now published
as youtube member and patreon exclusive. For just 5$ dollar per month, yes, one cup of coffee, you
will get access to 25 new videos. Currently, we are ruinning two battle series - the Peloponnesian
Wars and the Italian Unification Wars. Click the link in the description or pinned comment,
and you will get exclusive videos, early access to all videos, learn our schedule,
get access to our private discord, watch our behind the scene videos and much more. Thank
you for watching and for your kind support, we wouldn’t be able to do what we love without you!
This week first takes us to China, one of the bloodiest and most forgotten theaters
of the Pacific War. As we’ll recall, the Japanese had formed the 11th Army,
now under the command of Lieutenant-General Yokoyama Isamu, to occupy all the important
regions in the Wuchang-Hankou sector, yet the Chinese still occupied the triangle
zone on the northern side of the Yangtze River with Mienyang as its central point.
Taking advantage of this vital strategic position, the defenders had been conducting
guerrilla warfare and sabotage operations against Yokoyama’s main base. Therefore, the Japanese
planned to extend their occupational zone to strengthen their position and finally destroy
the enemy in the area. But it wasn’t any ordinary Chinese force that they were about to face: this
brigade unit was from the communist New Fourth Army , a reorganized irregular army that fought
independently all across Central China , isolated from and unfriendly to the Nationalist Army.
In fact, these two forces often clashed with each other as often as they clashed with their Japanese
enemies. Yet despite this, the 5th Division of Commander Li Xiannian had successfully beaten
the puppet forces of Wang Jingwei’s regime during the 1942 Battle of the Dwarf Mountain,
completely destroying one enemy division and capturing Mienyang in the process.
The 11th Army then subsequently carried out attacks directed from the north to drive away
the Communist forces, but to no avail, as the entrenched Chinese soldiers had established solid
fortifications amongst the very difficult terrain. Thus, Yokoyama planned to launch a surprise attack
on the enemy’s rear from Yueyang and Jingzhou with the objective of luring away the enemy’s
attention while the 58th Division launched the main attack against Mienyang. In early February,
as the 40th and 13th Divisions began to concentrate at Yueyang and Jingzhou respectively,
the Japanese also attempted to deceive the enemy into believing that a possible offensive operation
against Changsha was on the horizon. On February 15, the Operation North of the Yangtze finally
started as the 40th surreptitiously crossed the river and moved towards the enemy bases in the
Chuhoshih area, with some minor elements also moving to secure the Chienli area,
while the bulk of the 13th Division likewise advanced east to crush the Communist bases in
the Yengchiachang area. The Chinese were taken completely by surprise by this sudden attack,
suffering many losses before they could withdraw towards Mienyang, where Brigadier Wang Haishan
immediately started to prepare for an attack from the south. Yet no attack came for a week,
as Yokoyama was preparing the 58th Division for its impending advance. Then, on February 21, the
final phase of the operation was at last set in motion as the 58th Division began to march south
on Mienyang while the 40th and 13th Divisions closed in on Fengkow and Fuchang respectively.
The Communist forces offered strong resistance during the coming days, inflicting almost
1000 casualties on the Japanese forces, but they would be no match against the full might
of three Japanese divisions that also enjoyed effective air support by the 44th Air Regiment.
With their bases destroyed, the Chinese would disperse and attempt to escape. Many of them would
successfully avoid capture by passing through the enemy lines disguised as native civilians,
yet Yokoyama would launch an intensive search and pursuit action that lasted
until late March and that saw many of the Communist soldiers getting captured,
including their leader, Wang Haishan. As a result of this operation, the triangle region
was successfully occupied and the main Chinese line was repelled all the way to the Yangtze,
thus leaving the Japanese in a more favorable position in regards to future operations.
Moving on to the South Pacific, the effects of the disastrous Battle of the Bismarck Sea
and the defeats suffered at Buna-Gona and Guadalcanal still reverberated in
the Japanese Imperial Headquarters. As they entered into a new and unsatisfactory phase,
the Japanese were determined to reinforce and strengthen the Munda-Rabaul-Lae line, to step
up air bombing of recently won Allied positions, to dig up a road from Madang to Finnschafen in
order to be partially independent of the sea, and to wait for the enemy to take the initiative.
During this period, it would be their submarines and coast-hugging barges that would see the most
action, as they braved the Allied air and sea blockade in the South Pacific almost nightly. In
General MacArthur’s command, the Allies celebrated the destruction of the enemy convoy on March
3 , yet they could not capitalize on this success to launch an all-out offensive against Lae.
One of the reasons for this was MacArthur’s lack of an Amphibious Force to support the Army in
New Guinea. Although Rear-Admiral Daniel Barbey began the buildup of such a force in January 1943,
it would take considerable time until this force could be ready. On March 15,
by a stroke of Admiral King’s pen, the Southwest Pacific Force also became the 7th Fleet,
under the command of Admiral Arthur Carpender, though this fleet would remain very small,
to the disgust of MacArthur . Meanwhile, PT boats would maintain their unique position as sole
surface representatives of the US in the Solomon Sea for another six months, constantly looking for
action but seldom finding it. Carpender similarly encouraged their use in his command, as can be
shown through their effective use in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Back in Rabaul, Admiral Kusaka
had also been named Commander of the Southeast Area Fleet by the end of 1942, which made him
responsible for the 8th Fleet and for all naval forces in the Bismarcks, Solomons and New Guinea.
Knowing that he could expect little or no help from the Combined Fleet or the Army, Kusaka set
about strengthening the air defenses of Rabaul, speeded up the airfield development at Munda and
Vila-Stanmore and started to survey Santa Isabel Island for an additional strip. With the 200
fighters and bombers under his command, he hoped to hold the Central Solomons with air power alone.
Against him, Admiral Fitch now counted with some 316 planes of all types on Guadalcanal, and the
Cactus Air Force could be easily reinforced from a pool of over 200 more at Espiritu Santo and New
Caledonia. The Americans were also bringing new types of aircraft , better and more efficient,
while their older models were updated to have higher power, higher arms and armor,
and a longer range. In contrast, the Japanese continued to employ the same types of aircraft;
their weaknesses were well-known by this point in the war and the Americans had
developed their new models to counter them. The only advantage still enjoyed by the Japanese at
this point was that they owned a nicely spaced series of airstrips in the South Pacific,
with the Munda base being particularly important as bombers from Rabaul or Bougainville could stop
there only long enough to refuel on their striking missions. Against this tactic,
the Americans launched a number of air and naval bombardments which pitted Munda Field with holes;
but to no avail, as the Japanese filled in the craters with crushed coral, and in a matter of
minutes or hours the strip was again operational . Nonetheless, Admiral Halsey had decided to carry
out a new naval bombardment of the enemy air bases at Munda and Vila-Stanmore for the start of March,
as the Japanese had become even more confident of the invulnerability of these two outposts,
with cargo and troop ships from Rabaul making the run to Munda and Vila-Stanmore more openly
than ever. To achieve a simultaneous bombardment and to combat any enemy supply convoy and escorts,
Halsey knew that he would need to send a larger force with considerable firepower.
Thus, on February 27, he decided to appoint Rear-Admiral Aaron Merrill’s Task Force 68
for the operation, which counted with a total of three light cruisers and seven destroyers divided
into two groups, one for Munda and the other for Vila-Stanmore . Departing Espiritu Santo in the
afternoon of March 4, Merrill first headed to the new base at the Russell Islands, arriving there
that night after passing east and north of San Cristobal. Although he intended to employ the same
tactics that had been used successfully during the last two bombardments carried back in January,
he also decided to illuminate Blackett Strait with starshells before reaching the firing line
and to employ only destroyers for the bombardment of Munda because of the reported presence of enemy
shipping in the target areas. In the afternoon of March 5, Merrill’s forces finally left the
Russells en route to their departure point seven miles north of Daisen Island. After arriving there
at night, the four destroyers of the Munda detachment would leave the formation without
signal and head to their objective. Meanwhile, Merrill’s forces would continue on course towards
the Kula Gulf, with the Americans believing that they had not been detected up to this point.
That same night, however, the Japanese destroyers Murasame and Minegumo had taken supplies to
Vila-Stanmore, with Captain Tachibana Masao deciding to safely travel on a route through
the Vella Gulf and Blackett Strait. Unbeknownst to them, their departure had been discovered
by American reconnaissance, which rapidly relayed this information to Admiral Merrill.
For the Americans, a battle was on the horizon. Nonetheless, estimations about their speed and
course made it impossible for them to intercept the enemy destroyers, so Merrill would decide to
carry out his original plan with two slight alterations: to increase speed so that they
could start the bombardment before the Munda detachment, which would alert the Japanese vessels
should they be in the strait, and to fire at any hostile units revealed during the illumination of
Blackett Strait. Yet upon delivering the supplies, Captain Tachibana unfortunately decided to return
to the Shortlands via the shorter route through the Kula Gulf, a decision that would ultimately
seal his fate. Shortly after midnight, in accordance with Merrill's operational plan,
the three light cruisers were directed to swing into Kula Gulf while the destroyer Waller was
detached from the formation for an advance sweep of the Gulf over the intended track.
Meanwhile, the Japanese destroyers were sailing in the opposite direction along the east coast
of Kolombangara, when at 00:53, the radar of the cruiser Montpelier detected the two enemy vessels
to the northeast of Sasamboki Island. Soon, all the other ships had made contact, so they began
tracking the enemy and training their guns . Then, at 01:01, the Montpelier broke the silence as it
opened with her main battery, followed almost immediately by the Cleveland and the Denver.
Concentrating their fire on the Murasame, the Americans made effective use of the
radar-controlled gunnery and successfully straddled the destroyer. At about 01:06, one
of the salvos that hit her caused a big explosion and subsequently started large fires on her deck.
Meanwhile, the Waller had fired a spread of five torpedoes just as the cruisers had opened fire,
scoring one critical hit on the Murasame, which suffered a tremendous explosion, immediately
broke in two and sank. Merrill then directed to open fire on the Minegumo as the destroyer
continued on a northerly course while attempting to return fire; yet the efforts of the Japanese
would be fruitless, and the Minegumo would finally come to a stop after about four miles because of
the damage inflicted by the concentrated fire of the American cruisers. At about 01:30, the
Waller was ordered to close and finish her off, but the Minegumo finally sank before the American
destroyer could get in position. In the meantime, Merrill’s cruisers had gotten to the firing line
by 01:23, so the Montpelier was ordered to fire more than 30 starshells over Blackett Strait.
The very effective illumination proved that the Strait was now empty, so the bombardment
of Vila-Stanmore immediately began at 01:25. Targeting supply dumps, runways, bivouacs and
dispersed aircraft, and launching continuous fire under the direction of reconnaissance
aircraft flying overhead, the Americans managed to score many hits on emplacements thought to
be shelter tents, on barracks, ammunition dumps, grounded planes and other objectives, successfully
causing highly devastating damage, starting large fires and knocking out shore batteries
that attempted to respond. After completing their task at 01:40, Merrill’s forces then started to
withdraw through the New Georgia Sound . At the same time, the Munda detachment,
commanded by Captain Robert Briscoe, proceeded unmolested to their landfall off Banyetta Point,
where they were to turn to the firing line at 01:04. As the turn was executed, the destroyers
heard and saw the firing marking the surface Battle of Blackett Strait; and the appearance
of an unidentified aircraft coming from Rendova Island further disrupted their orderly approach
to the firing line. By 01:39, however, Briscoe had finally assembled at the firing line, and
two minutes later, the destroyer Fletcher opened fire, with the other destroyers quickly following.
The Fletcher’s first ranging salvos managed to strike the center of the landing strip and then
the destroyer moved her fire down to Munda Point, blasting the installations beyond the point along
the shore. At 01:50, the bombardment ceased and Briscoe’s detachment began their withdrawal.
Finally, around 07:15, the two detachments rejoined north of Savo Island and,
under the protection of fighter coverage from Guadalcanal, proceeded back to Purvis Bay.
The two bombardments had been well-executed and were considered a success, but once again they
had no long-lasting effect, as the Japanese bases would be rapidly repaired and made operational
again during the coming weeks. The most important and encouraging result of the operation was the
efficient and speedy destruction of the two enemy destroyers, which would serve as a bad
omen for the Japanese in the future. In the following weeks, Allied air
forces would continue to strike at Japanese concentrations throughout the South Pacific,
but particularly against ground installations in the northern Solomons, with more than ninety
attacks carried out against Munda by mid March while Vila-Stanmore was being raided almost daily.
Nonetheless, the Japanese would continue to pour reinforcements into these bases at night,
further adding motor torpedo boats to the defenses of Kula Gulf. The Americans, meanwhile,
would carry out another naval bombardment of Vila-Stanmore on March 16, although the results
of this operation would be far less spectacular. Yet these operations were only the beginning,
as Admirals Halsey and Nimitz would continue to plan on how to break the Bismarcks barrier.
Next week, however, we’ll return to Burma to continue with our coverage of the Arakan Campaign
and the Chindits Expedition, so make sure you are subscribed and have pressed the bell button to see
them. Please, consider liking, commenting, and sharing - it helps immensely. Our videos would
be impossible without our kind patrons and youtube channel members, whose ranks you can join via the
links in the description to know our schedule, get early access to our videos, access our discord,
and much more. This is the Kings and Generals channel, and we will catch you on the next one.