_The Munda drive moved into a final phase with attacks on 4 and 5
August 1943, again using Marine tanks in the lead. Tank commander Capt
Robert W. Blake examines some of the improvised antitank weapons faced
by his unit--a Molotov cocktail and a magnetic mine._]
The landing and occupation of Arundel Island, on 27 August, further
tightened the noose around Kolombangara. Army troops were supported
by Captain Blake and tanks from the 9th, 10th, and 11th Defense
Battalions. Major General Collins, commanding the 25th Infantry
Division carrying out this assignment, commended the Marines “for the
whole-hearted cooperation and assistance rendered this division” during
the operations against the Japanese in the Arundel Island campaign.
They performed all assigned tasks “in a splendid manner in support of
the 27th Infantry, in its action....”
[Illustration: THE CLEAN-UP