US Army WWII - War Against Japan

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THE ALLIED DEFENSIVE
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Before 7 December 1941, while war was actively being waged
in Europe and the Far East, the United States, still a neutral, was
expanding its manufacturing facilities to meet the demands for
additional war materials, both for the growing U.S. forces and
those of the Allies. On 7 December the Japanese struck Pearl
Harbor in an attempt to so cripple U.S. naval power that future
Japanese conquest and occupation in the Pacific would meet with
little or no opposition. This attack dealt a serious blow to Navy and
Army Air Forces units stationed in the Hawaiian Islands. On the same
day two Japanese destroyers attacked the island of Midway, but were
beaten off by the defending troops. On 8 December Wake was
assaulted. The attacks on Wake were continued for two weeks and
the small U.S. garrison was forced to surrender on 23 December.
Another weak garrison on the island of Guam, unable to resist the
enemy attacks, fell on 10 December.
Early on the morning of 8 December the U.S. forces in the
Philippines were notified that a state of war existed and a full
war alert was ordered. On the same day the first Japanese aerial
attack on the Philippines took place. This was followed by others
and on 10 December enemy landings were made on Luzon. Expecting
an early victory, the Japanese sent a large force, but it was not
until 6 May 1942 that the Japanese were able to conquer the
American and Filipino defenders who fought a delaying action
down the Bataan Peninsula and made a final stand on the island
of Corregidor. All military resistance ended in the rest of the
Philippine Islands by 17 May except for small bands of guerrillas
who continued to fight the enemy until 1945 when the U.S. forces
landed in the Philippines. In March 1942 the commander of the
United States Army Forces in the Far East was ordered to move to
Australia by the President of the United States. Troops from the
1 See Louis Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, in preparation for the series U. S. ARMY
IN WORLD WAR II.
United States began arriving in Australia in December 1941 for
the build-up in preparation for the defense of Allied bases and
the recapture of enemy-held islands and bases in the Pacific.
While some Japanese forces were carrying out the attacks in the
Pacific, others were overrunning Malaya, North Borneo, and Thailand.
After eighteen days of fighting Hong Kong was captured on
25 December 1941. Thailand, unable to resist the Japanese, agreed
to co-operate with them. Early in 1942 the Japanese took Borneo
and by 15 February the British garrison in Malaya capitulated. In
the Netherlands East Indies the U.S. Navy inflicted damage on an
enemy convoy in the Battle of Makassar Strait, the first important
surface action of the war for the U.S. Navy. On 9 March 1942 formal
surrender by the Dutch ended all resistance in the Netherlands
East Indies. By these conquests in Asia and the Pacific, the Japanese
gained valuable territory rich in natural resources and were ready
to expand in other directions.
During the first six months of 1942 the U.S. Navy fought the
Japanese Navy in the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of
Midway, and raided the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. Army Air
Forces medium bombers took off from a carrier at sea and bombed
Tokyo in April 1942 in a surprise attack. As part of the Midway
operations in June, planes of the Japanese Navy bombed U.S. installations
in Alaska and enemy troops landed in the Aleutian Islands
on Attu and Kiska.
The Allied defensive phase of the war in the Pacific ended on
6 August 1942, with the Allies ready to strike the enemy-held
islands in the South Pacific.

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INFANTRYMEN DURING A FIELD INSPECTION in the Hawaiian Islands,
January 1941. From 1935 on the U.S. garrison in the Hawaiian Islands was larger
than any other American overseas outpost. However, by 1940 there was a
shortage of modern equipment and trained personnel, and not until February
1941 did troop reinforcements and up-to-date equipment begin to arrive in
Hawaii. The United States was not prepared for war and the men and equipment
did not meet the necessary requirements.

COAST ARTILLERY BATTERY training in Hawaii. Man at left is placing a round
in the manual fuze setter of a 3-inch antiaircraft gun M1917M2. A plan for the
defense of the Hawaiian Islands had been set up and joint maneuvers (land, air,
and naval forces) were held periodically to test the various security measures.

4.2-INCH CHEMICAL MORTAR CREW in action during maneuvers (top);
75-mm. gun M1917A1 in a camouflaged position (bottom). As in all U.S. military commands, the Hawaiian Department was faced with the problem of training the largely inexperienced forces available at the time.

BROWNING ANTIAIRCRAFT MACHINE GUN on a runway at Wheeler Field,
Oahu, in the Hawaiian Islands. Early in December 1941 all the U.S. troops,
including antiaircraft batteries, were returned to their stations from field maneuvers
to await the signal for riot duty. Trouble was expected, and while Japanese
diplomats in Washington talked peace, their Pearl Harbor Striking Force was
moving eastward toward Hawaii. During this movement the fleet maintained
radio silence and was not detected as it approached the islands. (.50-caliber antiaircraft
machine gun, water-cooled, flexible.)

FLYING FORTRESSES, BOEING B–17C heavy bombers, burning at Hickam
Field, Oahu, on 7 December 1941 (top); wreckage at the Naval Air Station at
Pearl Harbor, after the enemy attack, 7 December

 

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At 0730 on 7
December the first waves of Japanese aircraft struck the U.S. defenses. Although
a few U.S. fighter planes managed to get into the air and destroyed some of the
Japanese planes, the attack wrought severe damage. After neutralizing the airf
ields the Japanese struck at the U.S. Navy warships in the harbor.

U.S. BATTLESHIPS HIT AT PEARL HARBOR. Left to right: West Virginia,
Tennessee, and Arizona

West Virginia aflame

DAMAGED WARSHIPS. The U.S. destroyers Dowries, left, and Cassin, right,
and the battleship Pennsylvania, in background, shortly after the attack on Pearl
Harbor. Of the eight battleships hit, the Arizona was a total loss; the Oklahoma
was never repaired; the California, Nevada, West Virginia, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, and Tennessee were repaired and returned to service. The slight depth
of Pearl Harbor made possible the raising and ref itting of these ships.

THE DESTROYER USS SHAW EXPLODING during the attack on Pearl Harbor,
7 December. The first attack on the U.S. warships anchored in the harbor was
delivered at 0758. By 0945 all the Japanese aircraft had left Oahu and returned
to their carriers. The U.S. Pacific Fleet suffered a major disaster during the
attack which lasted one hour and fifty minutes. Sunk or damaged during the
attack were the destroyers Shaw, Cassin, and Dowries; the mine layer Oglala;
the target ship Utah; and a large floating drydock. Also hit were the light cruisers
Helena, Honolulu, and Raleigh; the seaplane tender Curtis; and the repair
ship Vestal.

DESTROYED CURTIS P–40 FIGHTER PLANE at Bellows Field (top); wrecked
planes at Wheeler Field after the 7 December attack (bottom). Of the Army’s 123
f irst-line planes in Hawaii, 63 survived the attack; of the Navy’s 148 serviceable
combat aircraft, 36 remained. Only one small airfield on the north shore near
Haleiwa was overlooked during the raid.

JAPANESE MIDGET SUBMARINE which ran aground on the beach outside Pearl
Harbor, 7 December. Early on the morning of 7 December at least one Japanese
submarine was reconnoitering inside Pearl Harbor, having slipped past the antisubmarine
net. After making a complete circuit of Ford Island the submarine left the harbor and later ran aground on the beach where it was captured intact.

DESTROYED HANGAR AT HICKAM FIELD, 7 December. During the attack
the Army lost 226 killed and 396 wounded; the Navy, including the Marine
Corps, lost 3,077 killed and 876 wounded. The Japanese attack was entirely successful
in accomplishing its mission, and the U.S. forces were completely surprised
both strategically and tactically

 

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SOLDIERS LEAVING PIER to board trucks for Schofield Barracks, Honolulu. As
a result of the disaster at Pearl Harbor, the Hawaiian command was reorganized.
There was little enemy activity in the Central Pacific after the 7 December attack.
The Japanese had seized Wake and Guam and were concentrating on their southern
campaigns. As the build-up of men and equipment progressed, reinforcements
began to pour into Hawaii for training and shipment to Pacific stations.

ARMY TROOPS IN LCP(L)’S, during an amphibious training exercise, leave Oahu for a beach landing. After the entry of the United States into World War II training was intensified, and specialized training in amphibious landings was
given the troops arriving in the Hawaiian Islands since most of the islands to be taken later would have to be assaulted over open beaches. In February 1943 the Amphibious Training Area, Waianae, Oahu, was activated for training units in
amphibious landings. LCP(L)’s had no bow ramp for disembarking troops.

DEPLOYING FOR ADVANCE INLAND after landing on the beach. During the war more than 250,000 men were given instruction in amphibious assault operations.

U.S. LIGHT TANK M2A2 during maneuvers on Oahu, 1942. This light tank with
twin turrets, one containing a .50-caliber machine gun and the other a .30-
caliber machine gun, was first manufactured in 1935. In December 1942, when
it was declared obsolete, there were 234 left in the Army. The M2A2 light tank
is a good example of the type of equipment available shortly after the entry of
the United States into World War II.

A BATTERY OF 105-MM. HOWITZERS M2A1 firing during maneuvers (top);
ordnance men repairing small arms (bottom). Two men are holding .45-caliber
automatic pistols M1911; in the vice on the table is a .30-caliber Browning
automatic rifle M1918A2; on the table are two .30-caliber rifles M1

MEN CLEANING A 3-INCH ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN M3

members of a machine gun crew operating a Browning machine gun HB .50-caliber, flexible

 

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PHILIPPINES

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MORTAR SQUAD ASSEMBLING AN 81-MM. MORTAR M1 during training in the
Philippine Islands in 1941 (top). New recruits are given instruction in use of the
Browning .30-caliber machine gun M1917A1 (bottom). In 1936 a program for
national defense was initiated in the Philippine Islands. A military mission of U.S.
officers was charged with the organization and training of Filipino regular troops. In
July 1941 the Philippine Army was ordered into the service of the Army of the United
States and U.S. troops were sent to the islands from the United States.

FILIPINO TROOPS training with a 37-mm. antitank gun M3. As a result of the
war warning to all overseas garrisons on 27 November 1941, the U.S. forces in
the Philippines went on a full war alert. Over a period of years the Japanese had
collected a valuable store of information about the Philippines and planned to occupy the Philippine Islands, eliminating all U.S. troops there

LOADING A BAMBOO RAFT before crossing a river during maneuvers (top),
troops and mules preparing to swim a river (bottom). By December 1941 U.S.
ground forces in the Philippines numbered about 110,000, of which a little over
10,000 were U.S. personnel. The remainder were Philippine scouts, constabulary,
and Philippine Army troops. As in the Hawaiian garrison, the hastily mobilized
army lacked training and modern equipment.

 

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ENGINEER TROOPS stand ready to place sections of a ponton bridge in position during a river-crossing maneuver in the Philippines, 1941.

TROOPS CROSSING the newly constructed ponton bridge

CAVITE NAVY YARD, Luzon, during a Japanese aerial attack. Early on the
morning of 8 December 1941 the Japanese struck the Philippine Islands. By the
end of the f irst day the U.S. Army Air Forces had lost half of its bombers and a
third of its fighter planes based there. During the morning of 10 December practically
the entire Navy yard at Cavite was destroyed by enemy bombers. The first
Japanese landings on Luzon also took place on 10 December. On 14 December
the remaining fourteen U.S. Army bombers were flown to Port Darwin,
Australia, and the ships that were undamaged after the attack were moved south

RESIDENTS OF CAVITE evacuating the city after the Japanese bombing raid of
10 December. After the destruction of the Navy yards at Cavite, the remaining
11 naval patrol bombers were flown to the Netherlands East Indies. The ground
forces were left with little or no air support. The Japanese, having control of the
air over the Philippines, began to mass their troops for the capture of the islands.

 

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MEDIUM BOMBERS, B–18’S (top) and pursuit planes, P–36’s (bottom) of the
U.S. Far East Army Air Force attack infantry troops during 1941 maneuvers in
the Philippines. When the Japanese attacked the Philippine Islands the United
States had some 300 aircraft in the Far East Air Force, but of these only 125
were suitable for combat. The 300 planes represented over 10 percent of the total
U.S. air strength at this time. The pilots and crews were well trained and lacked
only combat experience.

JAPANESE ADVANCING during the drive on Manila. The medium tank is a
Type 94 (1934), with a 57-mm. gun with a free traverse of 20 degrees right and
left. It had a speed of 18 to 20 miles an hour, was manned by a crew of 4,
weighed 15 tons, and was powered by a diesel engine.

AERIAL VIEW OF CORREGIDOR ISLAND off the tip of Bataan. On 25
December, Headquarters, United States Army Forces in the Far East, was established
on Corregidor. Manila was declared an open city on the following day and
the remains of the naval base at Cavite were blown up to prevent its supplies
from falling into enemy hands.

TANK OBSTACLES AND BARBED WIRE strung to delay the enemy advance
on Bataan (top); members of an antitank company in position on Bataan (bottom).
As the Japanese advanced, the defending forces withdrew toward the
Bataan Peninsula. The rugged terrain, protected flanks, and restricted maneuvering
room on Bataan limited the enemy’s ability to employ large numbers of
troops. Preparations for the defense of the peninsula were intensified and the
stocks of supplies were increased.

 

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JAPANESE PRISONERS, captured on Bataan, being led blindfolded to headquarters
for questioning. On 1 January 1942 the Japanese entered Manila and
the U.S. troops withdrew toward Bataan. Army supplies were either moved to
Bataan and Corregidor or destroyed. The remaining forces on Bataan, including
some 15,000 U.S. troops, totaled about 80,000 men. The food, housing, and sanitation
problems were greatly increased by the presence of over 20,000 civilian
refugees. All troops were placed on half-rations.

WOTJE ATOLL IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS during the attack by a naval
task force, February 1942 (top); Wake during an attack by a Douglas torpedo
bomber (TBD) from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (bottom). On 1 February
the Pacific Fleet of the U.S. Navy began a series of offensive raids against the
most prominent Japanese bases in the Central Pacific area. The first of the
attacks was carried out against Kwajalein, Taroa, Wotje, and other atolls in the
Marshall Islands, as well as Makin in the Gilbert Islands. On 24 February a task
force made a successful air and naval bombardment against Wake.

PT (MOTOR TORPEDO) BOAT NEAR MARCUS ISLAND, which was attacked
4 March 1942 (top); U.S. cruiser f iring at Wake, 24 February 1942 (bottom). The
aircraft carrier Enterprise, two cruisers, and seven destroyers comprised the task
force attacking the island of Wake. The Enterprise and two cruisers were the
main ships used during the Marcus Island attack, 1,200 miles from Japan.
Losses to the U.S. forces during these attacks were light and the effectiveness of
the use of fast, powerful, carrier task forces was demonstrated.

JAPANESE SOLDIERS FIRING A MACHINE GUN TYPE 92 (1932) 7.7-mm.
heavy machine gun, gas-operated and air-cooled. This was the standard Japanese
heavy machine gun (top). Japanese firing a 75-mm. gun Type 41 (1908), normally
found in an infantry regimental cannon company (bottom). Called a
mountain (infantry) gun, it was replaced by a later model. Light and easily handled,
it was very steady in action. When used as a regimental cannon company
weapon it was issued on the basis of four per regiment.

GUN CREW WITH A 3-INCH ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN M2. The U.S. troops moving southward down Bataan in front of the enemy forces continued their delaying action as long as possible. The Bataan Peninsula, 32 miles long and 20 miles across
at the widest portion, is covered with dense woods and thick jungle growth. Through the center runs a range of mountains. The limited area and difficult terrain made the fighting more severe and added to the problems of the advancing
Japanese. However, the situation became steadily worse for the defending troops
and on 9 April 1942 the forces were surrendered to the Japanese.

 

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TOYKYO RAID​

B–25’S ON THE FLIGHT DECK of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet before taking
off to bomb Tokyo on 18 April 1942 (top); B–25 taking off from the flight
deck of the Hornet (bottom). In a small combined operation in the western
Pacif ic by the U.S. Navy and the Army Air Forces, sixteen planes took off from
the carrier Hornet, 668 nautical miles from Tokyo, to bomb the city for the f irst
time during the war. The Japanese were completely surprised because, even
though they had received a radio warning, they were expecting Navy planes
which would have to be launched from a carrier closer to Tokyo, and therefore
would not reach the city on 18 April.

 

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@KAL-EL @USCENTCOM Public Affairs

PHILIPPINES​

JAPANESE TROOPS ON BATAAN during the spring of 1942. The Japanese
commander insisted upon unconditional surrender of all the troops in the
Philippines and was furious when he learned that only the U.S. forces on Bataan
Peninsula had surrendered. The forces on Corregidor held their fire until the
captured Bataan troops were removed from the area. (This picture was reproduced
from an illustration which appeared in a captured Japanese publication.)

U. S. PRISONERS ON BATAAN sorting equipment while Japanese guards look
on. Following this, the Americans and Filipinos started on the Death March to
Camp O’Donnell in central Luzon. Over 50,000 prisoners were held at this
camp. A few U.S. troops escaped capture and carried on as guerrillas.

SOLDIERS IN MALINTA TUNNEL on Corregidor, April 1942. With food,
water, and supplies practically exhausted and no adequate facilities for caring
for the wounded, and with Japanese forces landing on Corregidor, the situation
for the U.S. troops was all but hopeless. The commander offered to surrender the
island forts on Corregidor to the Japanese. When this was refused and with the
remaining troops in danger of being wiped out, all the U.S. forces in the
Philippines were surrendered to the enemy on 6 May 1942. Couriers were sent
to the various island commanders and by 17 May all organized resistance in the
Philippines had ceased.

COASTAL DEFENSE GUN on Corregidor (top);

12-inch mortars on Corregidor
Corregidor’s armament comprised eight 12-inch guns, twelve 12-inch
mortars, two 10-inch guns, five 6-inch guns, twenty 155-mm. guns, and assorted
guns of lesser caliber, including antiaircraft guns. The fixed gun emplacements
were in open concrete pits and exposed to aerial attack and artillery
shelling. The Japanese kept up strong concentrations of fire against the defenses
on Corregidor until most of the defending guns were knocked out

JAPANESE TROOPS posed in the streets of Shanghai. The Japanese had been
fighting in China since the early 1930’s. During late 1941 and early 1942 Hong
Kong and Singapore fell to the enemy along with Malaya, North Borneo, and
Thailand. Control over the latter gave Japan rich supplies of rubber, oil, and
minerals—resources badly needed by the Japanese to carry on the offensive
against the Allies.

 

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U.S. TROOPS ARRIVING IN AUSTRALIA. In March the headquarters of the
Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific was established at Melbourne. The
Netherlands East Indies had fallen to the enemy and it was necessary to build up
a force in the Southwest Pacif ic area to combat the Japanese threat to Australia.
With the Japanese blocking the sea lanes of the Central Pacif ic, a new line of
supply to the Far East was established by way of the Fiji Islands, New
Caledonia, and Australia.

AUSTRALIA

COAST ARTILLERY TROOPS entraining at Melbourne, March 1942. The
Japanese air attack on Darwin in February proved that the north coast of
Australia was too open to attack by enemy planes and thereafter the Allies concentrated
their forces along the eastern coast from Melbourne to Townsville

Coral sea​

AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LEXINGTON burning after the Battle of the Coral
Sea. The Japanese planned to strengthen their bases in the Southwest Pacific and
to sever the line of communications between the United States and Australia.
One enemy task force, sent to take Tulagi in the southern Solomons, was
attacked at sea and lost a number of ships, but nevertheless landed troops and
captured Tulagi. Another task force intended for Port Moresby did not reach its
objective because of an attack by U.S. naval forces. This battle, called the Battle
of the Coral Sea, was fought on 7–8 May 1942 and was the f irst carrier against
carrier battle in history.

SURVIVORS OF THE USS LEXINGTON after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The
Lexington was so badly damaged that she had to be sunk by torpedoes from U.S.
destroyers. Both the U.S. and Japanese Navies inflicted damage on surface ships
and both lost aircraft in the battle. The opposing forces withdrew at about the
same time and the action can be considered a draw. Following this battle the
enemy no longer tried to send troops to Port Moresby by sea, an advantage to the
Allies who began to develop the area of northeastern Australia and New Guinea.
Instead, the Japanese sent troops overland to drive on Port Moresby and by 28
July 1942 had captured Kokoda, key to the mountain pass through the Owen
Stanley Range.

 

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@CENTCOM

3-INCH ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN M3 being decontaminated by members of a
coast artillery battery after the gun had been subjected to mustard gas during
training in chemical warfare (top). After f iring, artillerymen open the breech of
their 155-mm. howitzer M1918 mounted on an M1918A3 carriage (bottom).

BURNING JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER during a bombing attack at the
Battle of Midway, 3–6 June 1942. The Japanese Grand Fleet, comprised of 4
aircraft carriers, 11 battleships, 14 cruisers, 58 destroyers, and all the requisite
auxiliaries, left Japan to engage the U.S. Fleet in a major battle, if possible, and
at the same time to occupy Midway Island. The U.S. Fleet, warned of the
impending attack, divided its ships into two carrier task forces consisting in all
of 3 aircraft carriers, 8 cruisers, and 14 destroyers. Twenty-five submarines
covered all the approaches and heavy and medium bombers were flown to
Midway to supplement the air power on the island.

MIDWAY​

THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS YORKTOWN during the attack (top) and burning
(bottom). At the Battle of Midway the Yorktown was badly damaged and
while being towed was torpedoed and sunk by an enemy submarine. After losing
all four of its aircraft carriers and 250 planes, the Japanese fleet abandoned the
assault and retired from the scene. During the battle the main body of the fleet
had come no closer than 500 miles to Midway. As in the Battle of the Coral Sea,
surface vessels made no contact during the engagement. The Battle of Midway,
one of the decisive battles in the Pacific, stopped Japanese expansion to the east,
and Midway remained in U.S. hands. The U.S. losses were one aircraft carrier,
one destroyer, and 150 planes. From this time on the balance of power in the
Pacific shifted steadily in favor of the Allies.

done till p: 62

 

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NEW CALEDONIA​

TROOPS EN ROUTE TO NEW CALEDONIA; in foreground is a 37-mm antitank
gun M3 (top). Men cleaning their weapons aboard a transport (bottom).
Some troops arrived in New Caledonia directly from the United States while
others went by way of Australia.

ARMY TROOPS ARRIVING AT NOUMÉA, New Caledonia, in March 1942 aboard
a transport (top); troops arriving at the dock after leaving the transport (bottom).

TROOPS WEARING GAS MASKS cross a stream under a protective cover of
smoke during maneuvers (top); infantrymen and jeeps (1/4-ton 4x4 truck) crossing
a stream during training on New Caledonia, summer 1942.

 

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NEW CALEDONIA​

PACK MULE TRAIN of a cavalry unit during training.

ADVANCE COMMAND POST of an infantry division stationed on New
Caledonia, 1942.

NEW CALEDONIA

TYPICAL TERRAIN OF NEW CALEDONIA; the rugged terrain and dense
woods and growth made maneuvering in the Pacif ic islands extremely diff icult
(top). Small infantry bivouac area, showing the native-type huts occupied by
some of the U.S. troops stationed on the island (bottom).

INTERIOR OF A NATIVE-TYPE HUT occupied by U.S. troops stationed on
New Caledonia (top); headquarters building of an infantry division, New
Caledonia (bottom). Huts of this type were used as troop quarters and as off ice
buildings since the material for construction was easily accessible and the huts
were also an effective camouflage measure against enemy aerial observation

AMPHIBIAN TRUCK, 21/2-ton 6x6, nicknamed “the Duck,” standardized in
October 1942, proved to be an extremely valuable piece of equipment. It could
operate on land or water and was often used to bring supplies ashore where there
were no ports or harbors available for larger craft. Supplies loaded from ships
onto the Ducks could unload at the supply dumps, saving the extra handling
involved when lighters or similar craft were used. This vehicle could carry
approximately 25 men and their equipment or a 5,000-pound payload.

 

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NATIVE NEW CALEDONIANS unloading mail for troops stationed on the
island. Throughout the Pacif ic natives were used whenever possible for construction
work on airf ields, to transport supplies and equipment, and in all other
types of work calling for unskilled labor.

U.S. AND NEW ZEALAND SOLDIERS comparing weapons. The Australians
and New Zealanders took part in a number of the operations in the Southwest
Pacific Area.

SOLDIER STANDING IN A CAMOUFLAGED FOXHOLE during an infantry
training problem in jungle warfare (top). An Australian sniper in a camouflaged
position during training (bottom). Every effort was made to teach all troops all
methods of jungle warfare so that they could better combat the enemy who was
well trained in jungle f ighting and living.

MEN OF AN ORDNANCE UNIT ASSEMBLING VEHICLES which had arrived
crated in sections. By October 1942 twenty-five men were completing six vehicles
a day on this assembly line.