Guadalcanal - The Battle of Alligator Creek, 1942 - Animated
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 เม.ย. 2023
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When the Empire of Japan takes the Pacific island of Guadalcanal, they begin construction of an airfield. This airfield would be a danger to nearby Allied shipping if completed, and so in August 1942 the US 1st Marine Division, "The Old Breed", is rushed to Guadalcanal, beginning a long and grueling campaign for the island. The Japanese have no intention of allowing the Americans to keep the airfield without a fight, and a strong Japanese force is landed up the coast. The two sides clash in a bloody battle at Alligator Creek.
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Heh, weird seeing Iolo System Mechanic sponsoring this video, as I actually own and use that product! First time I've ever seen it do something like that.
It was originally used on my dad's computer, and when that got passed on to me, the software was too. Does a savvy computer user really need it? Probably not. But if you're more of a casual computer user, then it does a good job. At least in my experience. Although I am not that fond of the way the interface has been simplified in recent versions. I prefer the older interface in which it was easier to access certain advanced features and options were easier to view in detail.
Is it possible for you to dedicate a video to the Japanese evacuation of Guadalcanal. I ask this because that was so well coordinated between the Japanese Army and Navy that it could easily be called the Japanese Dunkirk. And anyone who has any knowledge of the Japanese military at this time knows how hard it was for the Army and Navy to get along. Research it yourself if you don't believe me.
@The Operations Room… error made at 19:42 since there weren’t “medics” present at this battle. Navy Corpsmen is what should have been stated.
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How Vouza was able to stumble around seeing after losing so much blood, being stabbed……, and dragging around his huge brass clackers is amazing….
bro almost made atlantis 2 by sinking the island with the shear weight of his balls
They weren't brass. Those damn things were made of titanium.
I'm sure this story is exaggerated. Typical propaganda
also note that the guy was 50 years old when he did this. A true chad
There is probably a bit of embellishment, but mostly accurate.
Man what happened to Vouza is nightmarish. His ultimate survival while warning the Marines of what was coming is amazing. The Japanese troops sure got theirs at Alligator creek and elsewhere.
I'm astonished that he somehow survived that...
He deserves his own movie.
He is a sure force of will!
The WW2 Coastwatcher's was an extremely dangerous job and a lot of them were killed during the war. What information they provided under risk of detection was critical to the war effort in this part of the world because fore warned was fore armed. Jacob lived into his 90's from memory, very highly decorated warrior from both the US and Commonwealth services.
Yeah and Sergeant Major Jacob Vouza recovered and was back on full duty in under two weeks, paying back every Japanese soldier he came across with interest. He used to just kill or deceive them, but after they way they did him dirty, he’d knock them out and deliver them to the Marines alive, trussed up like a pig for the pot, so they couldn’t run off, kill themselves, or in Vouza’s own words, “walk too slow”. He was easily one of WW2’s most bad ass dudes. The Marines didn’t just love him, the made him an honorary Marine.
Worth noting that Vouza received a Silver Star, the US' third highest decoration, and Legion of Merit for his service. He was made an honorary Sergeant Major of the USMC.
Thanks, I was wondering if the US decorated him. IMO he almost deserves to have a ship named for him.
That Silver Star which General Vandegrift personally pinned to the USMC tunic gifted to Jacob Vouza, which he wore whenever he was within the Marines’ lines, was his prized possession. Sergeant Major Vouza’s wish much later in life to be buried in his USMC uniform, and when he passed at the grand old age of 92 in 1984 he was. While he loved Americans and especially the Marines, he spent his entire life serving the people of the Solomon Islands, his people, first and foremost, be it as nominally part of the British Empire, or even later on, in his old, old age, as its own independent country. Vouza was just an extraordinary human being. More people, especially in the US/UK should learn about him.
He also received a Legion of Merit and made a Knight. He is now called Sir Jacob Vouza
Our friends and Allies provided tremendous help. It’s blasphemy for Trump and MAGA to denigrate them and for calling ourselves as suckers for fighting common adversaries.
@@tonymanero5544 You're referring to an article published in The Atlantic magazine that "quoted" a number of unnamed sources who claimed that they heard it from yet another set of unnamed sources. Not a single "source" was named. And not a single one of the unnamed sources, sources was named.
The Atlantic article also claimed that Trump didn't want to go to the memorial ceremony you're referring to because the weather was rainy and he didn't want to get his hair mussed up.
The facts are, as subsequently reported in the NYT, the Navy -- which flies the presidential helicopter -- decided that the weather that day was too risky to fly the American POTUS. The weather conditions were perfectly adequate for a combat operation, but not for transporting the President Of The United States. The other option would have been to drive via motorcade, but that would entail an hour and a half on marginal roads.
The NYT also reported that people who were with Trump that day -- and mentioned their names -- all vehemently denied that they heard him say any such thing.
But the story made its rounds, and The Atlantic did its job.
I never grasped just how big Guadalcanal was in comparison to the area the marines controlled at the beginning of the campaign before seeing this
Compared with the Island small size, the casualties taken were really huge
Vandegrift knew this, even with his initial troops/marines he had after 7th August landings, which is quite small to defend an airfield, he would never overstretch his defensive perimeter with few force he had on the island, that is why in the initial Japanese assault Vandegrift was reluctant in sending tanks and more forces to aid the defending Marines on the creek, since he was cautious of another Japanese attack in another position on the perimeter. That is why when he finally knew that it's the only Japanese attack on the line, he would then send the tanks, artillery and more Marines to annihilate the Japanese in the final phase of the battle. Vandegrift in my opinion is the best US Marine general in WWII.
When you see it laid out on the map, it seems quite frightening that so few had to defend such a large area. Being spread so thin required good tactics and seriously brave men. It helped that their enemy was stubborn and smashed into the most defend area. The scene and especially the smell, had to be horrific.
Facts same here thought guad was small like a city of Hawaii
The book, “Guadalcanal Diary” describes this action in detail
I am always amazed at the history that the Japanese had a huge ice machine on Guadalcanal and the Americans captured it intact.
That’s correct, and when Nimitz later learned of it, he sent General Vandegrift refreshments to enjoy with the ice, namely a case of Scotch, unaware that the Marine general, being a born and bred Virginian, would’ve strongly preferred bourbon, seeing as the only people in Virginia who drank Scotch whisky were usually just a tourist or a show-off.
@@jamesm3471 What little Scottish is in me (1/8) I'll take my Scotch with water, but my bourbon neat. 😯
I love discovering new details like that! 🥳
I never knew about that! 🧊 🥶😎
Marines probably tried to use it to make ice cream
Certified "cool" little detail 👍
Imma stop working, Operations Room just uploaded
Cringe
It's not like their work is THAT important!
🤣👍
- A surgeon in the middle of a life-saving operation
Way to call me or like that
I'll get the lube.
Jacob survived the worst case scenario, AND succeeded at delivering the message while living to tell the tale. I didn't think people could be that resilient in the face of such grim odds.
Apparently he also returned to service in twelve days. He lived until 1984.
As long as you're alive, you're never screwed.
an insane takeaway from this fight was we gave him a silver star, not a medal of honor. while this might be interpreted as the racism of the 40's it also represents how insane a MOH actually is.
That guy was an absolute legend, I know for a fact I would not have been able to manage such a thing if placed in such a situation. So insane.
@@TheBanjoShowOfficial I'd probably crack like Weasel in the second Deadpool movie.
Ichiki was so confident of victory that, before setting out, he wrote in his diary the evening before the attack: "23 August. Our troops are enjoying the fruits of victory"
Oh thats why he killed himself - he must've cringed so hard on thought of that
Such ignorance… yikes. Remember history won’t hurt you, generally. No reason to lash out
The IJA had gotten used to fighting the Chinese and thought the Marines would be a pushover.
@@SuperMauserManAlmost every Japanese man of thinking back in the time knew that the Americans were a fight imperial Japan couldn’t win. It was a desperate attempt from the start, it seems like throwing caution and rationality to the wind had an impact on its military officers.
It's probable only the higher ups of Japanese military were knowledgable enough to understand that the war against USA was a lost cause. The lower ranks (colonels and lower) probably didn't have the knowledge or wordly culture to understand that until it was too late. Japan was a very isolationist country at that time. Very few Japanese people went abroad to see what the rest of the world was like. These people weren't equipped to understand what the US industrial capabilties and population could muster. Reality hit em hard. @@salamantics
Jacob C Vouza is an absolute beast
Dude has irl plot armour
My man had protagonist privileges
Just your standard Solomon islander. Those dudes are built different.
@@magiicZed If someone made a fictional movie and had a character survive like Vouza did the audience would call BS. What a stud
This is literally the “no way is this possible” type of story. You’d think it was a anime where he was totured but the power of friendship kept him alive or something. But instead it was real life and he survived nonetheless
Vouza was one tough son of a gun. He was stabbed and slashed and lost a lot of blood, but STILL made it back to US Marine lines and even lived to tell about it.
Col. Ichiki is such a strategic genius. I wonder if he got to his position by sheer competent and merits.
Based on how they performed here, the Ichiki Detachment wouldn’t have made it out of the surf invading either Midway Island were that not scrubbed after carrier bonfires. Even as out of touch as they were, his superiors at Rabaul even told him to not rely on frontal assaults while attacking dug In positions around the airfield on Guadalcanal. I’ll take machine guns, barbed wire, dialed in artillery, and canister shot over spirit power any day of the week. Ichiki wasn’t necessarily stupid, just ungodly arrogant, and shortly after that, dead.
Maybe his annoyed superriors sent him there intentionally to get rid of him.
@@jamesm3471 bro literally thinks like a officer from Warhammer 40k and people say that game is unrealistic
Ichiki was either underestimated the American forces strength or competence that he had to resort to head on attack, thinking that they could overwhelm the American defenses with numbers and human waves.
Remember at this point the Japanese (including Ichiki) had run wild in China, and had kicked MacArthur's butt out of the Philippines, crushed Percival in Malaysia, and run the Brits out of Burma. They seemed unstoppable.
Only the Aussies in New Guinea were giving them any trouble, and the Aussies were slowly losing.
The result was severe over confidence.
Thank you for singling out Pte John Rivers. His story was tragically left out of HBO's the Pacific. A brave man that was held in very high esteem by his comrades. Bob Leckie spoke highly of him.
the pacific had the problem of having to cover the whole war, so some people who deserved recognition got left out. /:
The companion book to the miniseries does mention Pvt Rivers.
Wasn't it basically Leckie that took his place on screen? I don't really know why they would have decided to do that, but it was similar to what they did in BoB where they sometimes compress three or four people into one for the sake of being able to keep track of everybody. Leckie is shown cutting down guys crossing that sand bar after shifting position from further down the stream and seeing the flank. Just watched it yesterday. MAybe Leckie just had a happier ending and a little more higher profile? IDK. But the Deeds are shown, even if the man isn't.
Now I might be thinking of another battle that ended with blinded machine gunner but history channel shootout might have talk about him been forever since I saw that episode so I might be wrong
@@paulgroeger33 Johnny or John Rivers was killed in this battle, if I recall correctly. My source would be "The Pacific", the companion book to the miniseries. Written by the son of Stephen Ambrose, who's first name escapes me at the moment.
I went to Kiska island in 1983 to place a 40 year invasion anniversary plaque with the Veterans. Three days on an abandoned island since 1943 tunnels, subpens barracks beached merchant ship. Best three days of my life so far.
@notfiveo yeah, the Kiska invasion although being the biggest up to 1943 by the Army. The Japanese left and reinforced Attu. Had a good scrap there crazy banzai charge at the end. Guadalcanal was the cherry popper for our Marines.
@@SeanRCope, I would love to see OR do one on Attu.
Vouza is a certified badass. I can’t even begin to imagine the horror of what he went through. I hope he had long and prosperous life after this battle.
I had to look him up out of curiosity. Good news is, he did. He was highly honored and recognized by the governments of the US, Great Britain, and the Solomon Islands, and continued to be looked up to as a hero long afterwards. He was evidently elected to public office in the Solomons and served with distinction.
@@imapseudonym6198 What's more on the day of landing, he rescued US aviator and brought him to the Marines
He did! He was 91 or 92 when he died (it wasn't ever established what day he was born).
th-cam.com/video/aA9dv0A1u4M/w-d-xo.htmlfeature=shared here’s a video of him showing his wounds
The fact the US marine corps made him Jacob vouza an honorary sgt major (it’s 2nd highest enlisted rank behind sgt major of the marine corps) tells you how much they respect this hero
My uncle was a Marine veteran of of WWII and was a Pearl Harbor survivor and a Guadacanal survivor. When I was a kid, he never spoke much about his time in the Marines during the war. Later, when I came home as a Marine combat veteran of Vietnam, he opened up a little about his experiences. He was wounded on "bloody ridge" and was just down the line from John Basilone. As Vietnam Marines, it was unspoken, but we were NOT going to let down those WWII Marines that went before us. Semper Fi.
Welcome home.
Bloody Ridge…1st Raiders?
Jacob Vouza was a remarkable man. By the time this event happened he had already rescued a downed American pilot and returned him to American lines. For the events depicted in this video he was awarded the Silver Star by the commanding General of 1st Marine Division. But that's just this event. The man went on to have an astounding life and holds numerous awards from multiple countries. He died aged 91-92 in 1984 and was buried in his Marine Corps tunic. That's how you do a life.
No other TH-camr portrays military history better than this man. Keep up the good work. Your videos always help me with my personal studies of military history.
Montemayor is pretty good for me too he goes more Into tactical stuff from both sides uses real life images and stuff like that his uploads are rare though
House of History is really good. He just finished a series on the Seven Years War...its fantastic.
drachinifel is unrivaled
@@skeeterboombatyand yarnhub his videos are shorter and easier to remeber
@@Johno1992 Mont’s technique of including the fog of war and them posing the questions of “what would _you_ do” is unparalleled. It makes learning about the history engaging, and gave me a lot of respect for Fletcher in particular.
I love how Vandegrift turned a defensive action into an offense by aggressively moving on the enemy force and wiping them out. Ichiki picked a fight and got one, good and hard.
Reading your brief comment, realized that this battle is sort of the cliffnotes version of the whole Pacific Theater. Japan picked a fight, and got one.
As terrifying as it was, US forces (and I suspect Australians as well) came to preferring Japanese banzai charges because it often meant a swift end to any given battle with enormous Japanese losses, while sustaining relatively few losses of their own.
Yup, we certainly did. It's great when the enemy charges right into cleared and prepared kill zones while your pre-sighted machine guns and mortars take their toll. Aussie troops also liked it when the enemy were using their bugles before charging, just to let everyone know they are coming.
@@VainerCactus0 Soldiers charging are already the ones who are incapable of going through guerilla warfare so instead of becoming pows they charge because unlike the allied soldiers, they are brave and have sheer will
@@Sectarian.he allies were just as brave as the Japs and were even smarter with far better tactics and such
The japanese were brave also brainwashed into sacrificing themselves in babazai charges and crashing their planes into ships the japenese were brave and also stupid
@@Sectarian. Nobody can deny the bravery of the Japanese soldiers. But the results speak for themselves. There are so many accounts of Japanese soldiers charging into machine gun fire over the bodies of previous charges only to be cut down like their friends. A wasteful tactic, a doctrine created by men who would never have to leave military HQ in Japan. Those allies you said lacked bravery learnt that bayonet charging into machine guns was pointless in WW1 when all their armies did this. Were they brave for dying like that in WW1? Did learning how to defeat those machine guns without hundreds dying make them cowards? Either way, Japan wasted tens of thousands of perfectly good soldiers on charges like that.
@@VainerCactus0 You're right, the results speak for themselves and right up until America's late, forced involvement with WW2, they proved incredibly effective as methods to quickly overrun/make breaks in a relatively poorly trained & disciplined force 's defensive line. It worked amazingly in China and at acquiring them one of the world's largest empire's to ever exist. The claim that only career officers could think of this is ignorant. Look into Bushido, and it should be immediately apparent that the idea of dying to protect one's honor-- especially by one's own hand, is not only highly revered, it was expected if you were part of the warrior caste. Culturally, this has been a deeply held belief for hundreds of years in Japanese society. The Imperial Army used this on top of the already present, deeply believed propaganda of the God-Emperor's true domain being the entire world to have their young soldiers believe their was no greater honor than to fight this way. In World War I it took literal MILLIONS of deaths for Europe's truly 100% career armchair officers and royalty to shift their mindset from Napoleonic Era marching formations to trenches and smoke barrages. On top of that, the Japanese had no reason to think their charges wouldn't work against Marines, given that their officers believed the common American soldier was craven, lazy, and unmotivated(true). We were sailing halfway across the world to fight in miserable hellholes we didn't care about, after all. They didn't account for how hard the propaganda dept and racism were hitting at home, though...
I remember reading one of Robert Leckie’s books about Guadalcanal, and some of the lines would make me laugh until I had tears in my eyes, like:
As they attacked, the Japanese howled threats they had been assured in their training would turn Americans’ hearts cold with fear!
“Japanese boy drink US Marine’s blood tonight!”
“Japanese boy’ll eat US Marine’s shit first, ya bastard!” A Marine firing a BAR yelled back!
I remember a vet mentioning that they'd try to provoke marines at night by shouting things like "fuck the yankees" or "fuck babe ruth" as though they'd care that much about Babe Ruth or the Yankees while they're holding the line in a war in a jungle to reveal their position.
@@barrag3463 The irony is that many in the marines probably agreed with that "fuck the Yankees" line.
I read the book Guadalcanal Diary as a kid. It was my first serious introduction to WW2. I've been a military history buff ever since.
@@barrag3463
Reminds me of an anecdote from Guadalcanal Diary where a Marine died with a smile on his face because he heard the Dodgers won.
@@barrag3463 Yeah, yeah. This is what I remember reading about what you’re saying:
Japan was fighting for their divine sovereign, a living god. For what the Americans were fighting, the Japanese did not know. In battle, every charge at a Marine position came with cries of “Banzai!” and during lulls in the battle they would yell out “Blood for the Emperor!”
That is, until the time a Marine in a nearby foxhole replied with “f•ck your four-eyed, bucktoothed emperor!”
For a moment the Japanese soldiers were silent, they’d never heard such vulgar language, such insolence. For quite some time there was no reply, until a lone Japanese, in a clearly shaken voice shouted back, “f•ck Babe Ruth!”
7:25 I'm glad nobody warned Ichiki that the USMC would not crack under night bayonet charges in the way that the Chinese often did.
Jeez Vouza is an absolute gigachad. Now there's an example of the will to live; people that don't give up can achieve some amazing things, even if they've been gravely injured.
Compare that to the Japanese commander taking his own life before the enemy could "dishonor" him. Leaving all his men to die without the commander who got them into this situation. Pathetic.
@SuperCatacata You're looking at it through a logical lens, instead of a cultural one. In his mind, he was doing what he was supposed to do after an embarrassing defeat.
- Gets captured
- Gets stabbed
- Refuses to elaborate further
- Leaves
A true Melanesian gigachad
@@Dee-nonamnamrson8718 No, even among other Japanese commanders, he was viewed as an idiot and incompetent.
Which is why the people under him were begging for him to make the right choice and pull back.
It's also why many speculate Japanese higherups sent him there to die on purpose.
@@SuperCatacata "...many speculate..." And WHO might those "many" be? I've never heard anything like that before. Sounds like something you got via rectal self-retrieval.
This episode of The Pacific was insane, I need to rewatch the show. I can’t even imagine how horrific it would’ve been to be there in the dark trying to run away.
@SuperBrahimos yeah, but they did as good a job as they could i think. Hard to get everything exact when you're already like 50-100 million over budget and stretched across 10 episodes. I'm not entirely sure how necessary Bob Leckies fictitious Stella romance episode was though tbh..
Can’t wait to see the depiction of the battle after having seen Pacific
Im glad people are talking about the pacific battles more now. History books never talk about how brutal japan was and how bloody the asian theatre was. Here hoping we get somethings about burma
IMO this is the single most important small unit ground action of the Pacific War. This was the first time any American force saw and could report on how the Japanese Army fought. When they witnessed wounded Japanese troops blowing up American Corpsman trying to treat them with grenades, they make a very quick mental transition. The attitude became "No quarter asked; none given." And that more or less sets the tone for how ground combat will play out for the rest of the war, because it demonstrated to American planners that to take an island from the Japanese, they were going to have to kill, not wound or capture, 95% of the defending garrisons. The result was there was no love lost between these two adversaries.
Respect to Vouza, damn, he is one hell of a tough nail.
The Pacific does, in fact, make mention of Rivers buying the farm, and two others, including one being blinded, and the other wounded.
Legitimately just got done watching that series for the umpteenth time and came back to this and could see just how accurate The Pacific really was with its immediate vicinity of operations.
Just watched this on The Pacific last night. Amazing job capturing the angst.
"A real turkey shoot..."
Jacob Vouza would have earned the Medal of Honor if he had been a Marine. He visited the US in the 1960s. I just wish more Americans would love America half as much as Jacob Vouza loved it.
He got a Knighthood and the George Medal, the highest British honour awarded to civilians for gallantry 👍
The production quality of this channel is phenomenal. Every video is better than the last. Thank you so much for the immense effort!
Lol of course every video gets better. That's how companies and channels grow and develop.
@@jayo3074 There are plenty of companies that don't change shit and still make money lol. Either way I think they're just complimenting the creators.
@@carlosboozer6017 that's very unlikely lol if companies don't change they will not survive as the market is always changing. Blockbuster is a prime example. And I agree this channel and creator is topnotch but I expect them to get better
@@jayo3074 Well yeah companies that don’t adapt are gonna fail but some don’t need to. Video game companies be pumping out the same shit every year and make billions
Been loving these Pacific War vids we've been getting recently. The sheer brutality and bloodiness of the battles fought on these far flung islands never ceases to astound me, even after reading books like Ian Toll's Pacific War Trilogy and With The Old Breed by EB Sledge, along with Dan Carlin's Blueprint for Armageddon. I hope we get videos about the fiercest and most brutal battles of the war, like Kohima, Imphal, Kokoda Track, Tarawa, Peleliu, and Okinawa at some point
I agree, the sheer scale and difference of the Pacific and Asian theater are to me more fascinating than the European theater.
If you think you'd enjoy a different slant on WW2 history as seen from the German perspective on their Eastern Front, pick up a copy of "Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer.
Don't forget the heroic murder of POWs in Hiroshima. At least one was chained to the bridge in the center of town and stoned after the A-bomb dropped. To cap it all off they put a girder from the bridge in the "Peace Memorial".
Kokoda fully deserves a 10 hour miniseries focused on the 39th Battalion like Band of Brothers. Those poor men.
Great video as always. Love hearing about the war in the Pacific
Vouza is an absolute beast and a goddamn war hero.
Jacob Vouza was an absolute animal. Miraculous man and hero.
If you haven’t yet, a great video for The Intel Report would be a deep dive into the story of Guadalcanal in WWII. Why did the US heavily focus their efforts on Guadalcanal and the nearby islands? How many battles took place on the island?
For how many times it has been covered/mentioned on this channel, and documented/used as a setting in media (such as The Pacific), it would be cool to learn more about this.
As mentioned at the start, the airfield threatened supply routes to Australia. After that the goal was to keep the airfield so battles for the sea lanes had to be fought.
There would be 3 major battles. This was the first, and the second is the battle that is the most well known (even though the third was the largest and is officially called the Battle of Guadalcanal/Henderson Field), but there were numerous skirmishes and countless air and sea fighting by both sides going all the way up until the Japanese abandoned and successfully evacuated the island 6 months later. Beyond protecting the supply lines to Australia (who were fighting the Japanese in New Guinea and at this point still being pushed back to the allied base at Port Moresby), the airfield in Japanese hands would also threaten Allied bases in New Caledonia and in the Vanuatu and Fiji islands.
The island would take on a huge symbolic meaning to both sides as it halted Japanese aggression that had dominated the Pacific since Japan entered the war, and kept Japan from being able to concentrate its forces to capture New Guinea and potentially be able to invade Australia (or at least force it to sign a peace treaty). Essentially whatever side controlled Guadalcanal would have the momentum and throw the other side onto the defensive.
@@ChaplainDMK Exactly. The Japanese were attempting to cut off Australia from the US, strangling supplies to the Australians and denying the Americans the use of Australia as a base of operations. Guadalcanal is nearly at the tip of the Solomons. Zero's had a range of about 1600 miles, so from what would later become Henderson Field, Japanese fighters and bombers could reach New Zealand and halfway across Australia. Next step probably would have been Vanuatu then Samoa. It was critical to take Guadalcanal before the airfield was completed because once they had air cover an attack would have become far more difficult.
@@jcohasset23 My grandfathers battalion was in that New Guinea fight, known as the Kokoda campaign. Kokoda started a little earlier than Guadalcanal, in July 42, and extended to the Beachheads at Buna, Gona and Sanananda to the end of January 1943. Named by one historian as the absolute worst fighting under the absolute worst conditions of the entire 2nd World War.
How bad was it? The men of B company of the 39th had to hike in to the battlefield through the 14,000 foot Owen Stanley range just to get to the battlefield. They were to take and hold the airfield at Kokoda, and the the rest of the Battalion would be flown in. The Japanese force arrived 4 to 6 hours after the 77 Australians had taken it from the token Japanese advance force and the battalion commander arrived by plane. Keep in mind, white man climbs a mountain by crisscrossing upward with repeated switchbacks. The New Guinea natives? Straight up and straight down the mountain. Imagine that for 6 days.
Your battlefield is 3 feet wide at it's widest point. If you get off the track by so much as 3 meters (9 feet) the jungle is so dense you might not find your way back.
The 39th Battalion commander was killed the first day of fighting, and B Company commander was captured and used for live bayonet practice as his men listened helplessly. The war was intensely personal after that. No quarter given, none asked. Dysentery, typhus, malaria and cholera decimated the men to the point that most men lost 20 or more pounds from their already fighting fit trim and you could only come off the firing line if your fever was above 103. 750 green troops from the 39th marched to war against 5500 veterans of the South Seas Force with years of experience fighting in China. Six months later, 32 marched out. When asked by a passing soldier, 'What mob's this?' Lt. Col. Ralph Honner barked, 'This is not a mob! This is the 39th!'
Vouza try not to be the most badass human being in history challenge: IMPOSSIBLE
That beach fight over the barbed wire line was ... insane...
The success of the banzai charge in China was largely due to the lack of automatic or even semi-automatic weapons in the Chinese army. Most were equipped with bolt action rifles.
Defenders with prepared defenses and automatic weapons in spades cut it apart.
The Chinese army also consisted primarily of untrained, undisciplined conscripts who were thrown at the enemy in human wave tactics. Those Banzai charges were incredibly effective at shattering their morale before the shooting really started.
Package full of chocolate chip cookies, glass of milk, laying in bed and watching Operations Room. Not a bad way to spend Saturday night.
I just started watching "The Pacific" this week, what timing.
Oh this was in The Pacific tv series, that's why it's so familiar. Vouza is a true Hero!
Those 37mm canister shots probably did as much work at stopping the charge as the machine guns did.
Let them have a whiff of grape.
US ARMY was originally intended for the initial landing, but couldn't get organized fast enough. The Victory At Sea even mistakenly said the U S ARMY invaded first.
Contrary to USMC Lore, the ARMY didn't just come in and "mop up", they saw some of the hardest fighting of "The Canal", no longer was it a Defense by Marines, it was an Offense with the Japanese now laying in wait.
Damn, Jacob Vouza is a true soldier ❤️
The Marine Corps made him a Sergeant Major and awarded him the Silver Star
Bro the freaking tracer rounds in the mg fire. The level of quality this channel has reached in a relatively small amount of time is just ridiculous.
Vouza is the kind of man you want by your side, didn’t give up his countrymen! Even made his way back to tell the boys
Don't feel sorry for the Japanese, almost all of the Japanese regiments participated in the battle for Guadalcanal committed horrendous war crimes in China. Ichiki himself, for example, was an instigator of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, which Japan used as an excuse to enlarge the war in China. The reason Ichiki was so confident that his banzai charge could work was because all he fought were badly fed, trained, and armed Chinese. Americans had more heavy artillery than the Chinese had machine guns. Ichiki was applying their experience in massacring onto the well armed Americans.
The Japanese used the same tactics as the German's did with their disinformation to make it appear it was the other guy was the one responsible for starting the conflicts and that kept the young soldiers willing to die for that cause. The lies they came up with to justify their invasions and genocides in countries like China were total B.S. They were also indoctrinated as children that they were a master race and countries like China and the US were filled with low IQ subhumans that could no way match them in battle. Japan was also used to having their way so far in the conflicts since WW1 so they came into this stage of the war like they were invincible. By the end of 1942, they were getting strong doses of reality (the military leadership and the economists back home at least were), but considering how many were not getting the truth from their leaders, they simply believed they would ultimately win, even up to 1945.
It remains unclear how the Marco Polo Bridge incident came to be.
This series inspired me to watch The Pacific for the tenth time.
Vouza lived until he was an old man and died in 1984. He was knighted by the British and made an honorary sergeant major by the USMC. His full title at the time of his death was Honorable Sergeant Major Sir Jacob Vouza. He continued to serve his people and had a long successful career as a constable.
What a man
Col Ichiki was out of his damn mind attempting that ridiculous flanking maneuver out into the surf zone. What an absolute waste of men and resources.
Nice summation of this battle. My great uncle was one of the 44 Marines killed in this battle. He was with HQ Company 1st Bn 1st Marines. RIP Uncle Perry.
I literally just started re-watching Pacific and only just finished the episode with this battle in it, really makes you appreciate the details they put in
There is an excellent movie about Pvt Albert Schmid called Pride of the Marines, starring John Garfield, circa 1945.
My first introduction to WW2 was reading the book Guadalcanal Diary as a kid. More than 50 years later, I still have that book.
There is also a very good work by Richard Frank simply called Guadalcanal. It really puts the military, political and social outlooks/events leading up to Operation Watch Tower into perspective. Well worth a read.
First time hearing about Jacob Vouza. What an absolute hero! A real soldier.
I remember when I was a young arm chair history of 16 or so. Watching documentaries in black and white on Guadalcanal and I thought man it only I had more in depth information on this stuff. Well now I do. So thank you and guys like you for shedding light on these smaller engagements.
The videos really do put everything together, sometimes better than books. I never realized what a time crunch Ozawa was in at Midway until I saw Montemajor's video.
I was there working in 2003 and found a lot of personal artifacts from American and Japanese warriors battles still remaining in the Jungle, God bless them all.
The fact Vouza managed to reach friendly lines and survive his ordeal in just amazing!! The man had balls👌👌
My great grandfather was an army major in the engineering corps, leading an all-black unit (he was the only officer of that unit who never requested a transfer, staying with his men the entirety of the war. Every other officer demanded a transfer to an all white unit except for him) and if I recall, he built that airfield after this battle.
Interesting. Name?
Jacob Vouza was awarded the the George Medal in January 1943. The citation states:
“Vouza was caught by the Japanese and closely questioned as to the whereabouts of American troops. Although such troops were hidden near, he refused to divulge information. He was then tied to a tree, bayoneted in the arm, shoulder, face and stomach, and left for dead. He crawled into the United States Marines lines and, although on the verge of collapse, reported all information to his senior officer before seeking medical treatment. Vouza showed great courage and devotion to duty."
I feel like with every single video you release, the quality jumps up a notch. You can track it backwards in time watching the old videos. The animations get prettier and prettier. It's really incredible. Great job and thank you!
Fun fact: Henderson Airfield was renamed in 2003 and is now called Honiara International Airport, still in use to this day.
A few years back, someone posted a video of exploring the area around Alligator creek. It's still pretty much the same as when the battle was fought. There are still artifacts everywhere. Used ration cans all over. What really struck me as significant and I was like, "oh, damn.....this is FOR REAL was left over Concertina wire still there in places. Crazy a battlefield is still that intact. But not much going on on Guadalcanal. Peaceful place that was once a pocket of hell.
I have a video I made a 3 years back on it.
I love the Operations Room channel. I`ve watched every program a number of times over and this episode will be no different. Far and away my favorite channel on You Tube. I`m already looking forward to the next episode.
Great job on illustrating this battle. I never quite had an understanding of how the attack went. Thank you.
I am really impressed with the amount of information contained in your videos, they are so educational! Thank you so much for the time and effort you put into each one of these episodes!!
I learned so much more about the Battle of The Bulge and Iwo Jima from these animated series. Great job!
What a truly fascinating channel.
Than you for taking the time to present your content in the way that you do, it’s clear, concise, non hyperbolic and the animations perfectly illustrate the smooth narration.
Reading about this small battle so many times from a first hand account in Helmet For My Pillow and watching it in The Pacific then seeing it played out here is amazing. Your channel is incredible.
Great video man! love the animated battle sequences showing offensive and defensive positions!! please make more
12:30 this man deserves the medal of honour.
He got a George Medal
The best illustrated and presented battle videos on TH-cam so far, keep them coming!
I've been long awaiting a video on Guadalcanal ever since your video on the battle of savo island so when I saw this I was very excited. You never fail to impress with your content.
Im loving the back to back episodes from Intel Report right to the Operations Room.
Great job! The main thing I got from this is that Vouza is an absolute warrior and a great man. He was a man of service and was knighted for dedicating his life to the people of the Solomon Islands.
Always find your views of these battles fascinating, no matter the size. Thanks!
16:40 Col. Ichiki went to the Zapp Brannigan School of Military Tactics I see. Unfortunately, he forgot that US Marines don't come with a pre-set Kill limit.
Every single one of these men had a mother who carried them for 9 months. Many had families who loved them and who they loved. And they all were killed on some godforsaken island in the middle of the ocean thousand of miles away from home.
May they all rest in peace, they were braver men than I.
Excellent coverage of this part of the Guadalcanal fight. Best detail and chronological explanation. Congrats and thanks.
I deployed in 09 to the Solomon’s. It’s amazing how much stuff is still laying around from ww2. We used to drive a loop and the hills SW of Henderson field. Now a golf coarse and there is still the old stakes in the ground from the marines barb wire perimeter and ditches.
For anyone who might not have seen The Pacific yet it's a must see series
I love your stuff! I just had one pointer for the narration! In the end when you said "only 44 marines", I would advise against using the world "only" when talking about casualties. I learned this from my LtCmdr, but when you say "only xxx amount of people", it carries the connotation that those that were wounded/killed weren't as valuable as the others that weren't casualties, or that you expect there should be more. Even when talking about the enemy it's preferrable not to use the word "only" in sentence like that!
Maybe that's correct with respect to a modern enemy. But at the time the enemy placed an unbelievably low value on human life and intentionally inflicted miseries gratuitously. Those enemy combatants were still human, sure, but that alone doesn't afford them any consideration in particular. They "only" killed people trying to treat their injuries. Only savaged the native population and cut their throats.
I think the Dambusters video is the first one I saw from you guys. Love to see how you've improved, very beautiful and informative.
This video was brilliant. Thank you so much. I enjoyed this one the most of your last few. I love learning about the pacific war.
I first discovered your channel around 3 years ago with your excellent video on the Channel Dash (which i hadn't hear of before that)
i quickly subscribed to i think what was at the time between 100k and 200K subs. Now i see tons of people saying on other analytical combat youtube video's it reminds them of the 'Operations Room". So i jumped back over to notice you have already amassed 873K subs! Well done to you my man, well deserved and i'm glad people finally know this great channel. Onwards to 1 million!
Splendid breakdown as always of an iconic engagement!
Firstly, I am glad that I have discovered your channel and hopefully will watch more. This particular battle has always intrigued me, but trying to visualise the battle while reading the accounts of the many battles has always been difficult. But with you adding the animation of troop movements it gives me great visual acuity as to how things happened. I have a late uncle that fought in the PTO during WWII. He fought in the New Guinea campaign and was wounded in the Philippines, and fought on Okinawa. But as I stated, the visual effects really help me to see how the battle went. Keep up the great work!
I absolutely LOVE these stories of American victories. They are my favorite WWII videos, and this one is superbly done! Keep it up!
This video gives a really helpful overview of what happened, and why. Thanks - great work!
I love your channel. It is simply the best. Your attention to detail is unmatched, and you always get down to the nitty-gritty. Simply five stars!
What a legend Vouza is.
Error made at 19:42. Navy Corpsmen were present at this battle not “medics”.
True, but if you get hit, you've got a 50/50 chance of someone yelling, "Medic!".
It’s not like they perform the exact same role or anything. I get it, the military is proud, but civvies have 0 resin to respect the distinctions without a difference
@@NorthForkFishermanyour chances will be 0% if you were assigned to any of these US Marine units.
@@HollywoodMarine0351 My father was 1st Mar Dev back in the '60s. He used the term interchangeably. Six of one. Half dozen of the other.
@@HollywoodMarine0351 I also heard that mistake. Civilians don’t know the difference and need to know that from reading these comments.
I was very excited to watch something focused on my beloved Corps, but that Youza dude may have totally upstaged them lol. Talk about a tough bastard.
I always appreciate these video breakdowns of famous battles. Pure gold!
Great vid.
Filling in the details of the Canal campaign is a wonderful thing.
Thanks for your efforts.
😎👍
Vouza had a guardian angel watching him that day... I'm so glad he actually survived after that.
Another great novel, with a major portion featuring the Battle of Guadalcanal, is "Battle Cry" by Leon Uris.
Tied to a tree, beaten, stabbed, his throat cut, passes out while bleeding the whole time. STILL DRAGS HIMSELF BACK TO HIS BUDDIES to give intel, and survives.
Some people are just built different. RiP Vouza, you absolute unit of a man.
AMAXING job! This mapping shows a battle in the most accurate possible way!