On Red Beach Two, Major Hays launched his attack promptly at 0700,
attacking westward on a three-company front. Engineers with satchel
charges and Bangalore torpedoes helped neutralize several inland
Japanese positions, but the strongpoints along the re-entrant were
still as dangerous as hornets’ nests. Marine light tanks made brave
frontal attacks against the fortifications, even firing their 37mm
guns point-blank into the embrasures, but they were inadequate for the
task. One was lost to enemy fire, and the other two were withdrawn.
Hays called for a section of 75mm halftracks. One was lost almost
immediately, but the other used its heavier gun to considerable
advantage. The center and left flank companies managed to curve around
behind the main complexes, effectively cutting the Japanese off from
the rest of the island. Along the beach, however, progress was measured
in yards. The bright spot of the day for 1/8 came late in the afternoon
when a small party of Japanese tried a sortie from the strongpoints
against the Marine lines. Hays’ men, finally given real targets in the
open, cut down the attackers in short order.
On Green Beach, Major Jones made final preparations for the assault of
1/6 to the east. Although there were several light tanks available from
the platoon which came ashore the previous evening, Jones preferred the
insurance of medium tanks. Majors “Willie K.” Jones and “Mike” Ryan
were good friends; Jones prevailed on their friendship to “borrow”
Ryan’s two battle-scarred Shermans for the assault. Jones ordered the
tanks to range no further than 50 yards ahead of his lead company, and
he personally maintained radio contact with the tank commander. Jones
also assigned a platoon of water-cooled .30-caliber machine guns to
each rifle company and attached his combat engineers with their flame
throwers and demolition squads to the lead company. The nature of the
terrain and the necessity for giving Hays’ battalion wide berth made
Jones constrain his attack to a platoon front in a zone of action only
100 yards wide. “It was the most unusual tactics that I ever heard of,”
recalled Jones. “As I moved to the east on one side of the airfield,
Larry Hays moved to the west, exactly opposite.... I was attacking
towards Wood Kyle who had 1st Battalion, 2d Marines.”
[Illustration: