_Destruction along the eastern end of Red Beach Three leads toward
the long pier in the distant background. Japanese gunners maintained
a deadly antiboat fire in this direction, as witnessed by these two
wrecked LVTs and the various sunken craft._]
The Japanese struck Jones’ lines again at 2300. One force made a
noisy demonstration across from Company A’s lines--taunting, clinking
canteens against their helmets, yelling _Banzai!_--while a second
force attacked Company B with a silent rush. The Marines repulsed
this attack, too, but were forced to use their machine guns, thereby
revealing their positions. Jones asked McLeod for a full company from
3/6 to reinforce the 2d Marines to the rear of the fighting.
A third attack came at 0300 in the morning when the Japanese moved
several 7.7mm machine guns into nearby wrecked trucks and opened fire
on the Marine automatic weapons positions. Marine NCOs volunteered to
crawl forward against this oncoming fire and lob grenades into the
improvised machine gun nests. This did the job, and the battlefield
grew silent again. Jones called for star shell illumination from the
destroyers in the lagoon.
At 0400, a force of some 300 Japanese launched a frenzied attack
against the same two companies. The Marines met them with every
available weapon. Artillery fire from 10th Marines howitzers on
Red Beach Two and Bairiki Island rained a murderous crossfire. Two
destroyers in the lagoon, _Schroeder_ (DD 301) and _Sigsbee_ (DD 502),
opened up on the flanks. The wave of screaming attackers took hideous
casualties but kept coming. Pockets of men locked together in bloody
hand-to-hand fighting. Private Jack Stambaugh of B Company killed three
screaming Japanese with his bayonet; an officer impaled him with his
samurai sword; another Marine brained the officer with a rifle butt.
First Lieutenant Norman K. Thomas, acting commander of Company B,
reached Major Jones on the field phone, exclaiming “We’re killing them
as fast as they come at us, but we can’t hold out much longer; we need
reinforcements!” Jones’ reply was tough, “We haven’t got them; you’ve
_got_ to hold!”
[Illustration: _Marines use newly arrived jeeps to carry machine gun
ammunition, demolitions, and other ordnance forward from the beach to
troops fighting in the front lines._
LtGen Julian C. Smith Collection
]
Jones’ Marines lost 40 dead and 100 wounded in the wild fighting,
but hold they did. In an hour it was all over. The supporting arms
never stopped shooting down the Japanese, attacking or retreating.
Both destroyers emptied their magazines of 5-inch shells. The 1st
Battalion, 10th Marines fired 1,300 rounds that long night, many shells
being unloaded over the pier while the fire missions were underway. At
first light, the Marines counted 200 dead Japanese within 50 yards of
their lines, plus an additional 125 bodies beyond that range, badly
mangled by artillery or naval gunfire. Other bodies lay scattered
throughout the Marine lines. Major Jones had to blink back tears of
pride and grief as he walked his lines that dawn. Several of his
Marines grabbed his arm and muttered, “They told us we had to hold, and
by God, we held.”
[Illustration:
INTELLIGENCE MAP BITITU (BETIO) ISLAND
TARAWA ATOLL, GILBERT ISLANDS
SITUATION 1800 D+2
NOTE: LINES ARE GENERAL INDICATION ONLY. GAPS WERE COVERED BY SMALL
GROUPS AND BY FIRE. SECONDARY LINES WERE ESTABLISHED WHERE
POSSIBLE BEHIND FRONT LINES.
TAKEN FROM 2D MAR DIV
SPECIAL ACTION REPORT
]
_Completing the Task:_
_23-28 November 1943_
“This was not only worse than Guadalcanal,” admitted Lieutenant Colonel
Carlson, “It was the damnedest fight I’ve seen in 30 years of this
business.”
The costly counterattacks during the night of 22-23 November
effectively broke the back of the Japanese defense. Had they remained
in their bunkers until the bitter end, the defenders probably would
have exacted a higher toll in American lives. Facing inevitable defeat
in detail, however, nearly 600 Japanese chose to die by taking the
offensive during the night action.
The 2d Marine Division still had five more hours of hard fighting on
Betio the morning of D+3 before the island could be conquered. Late
in the morning, General Smith sent this report to Admiral Hill on
_Maryland_:
Decisive defeat of enemy counterattack last night destroyed bulk of
hostile resistance. Expect complete annihilation of enemy on Betio
this date. Strongly recommend that you and your chief of staff
come ashore this date to get information about the type of hostile
resistance which will be encountered in future operations.
Meanwhile, following a systematic preliminary bombardment, the fresh
troops of McLeod’s LT 3/6 passed through Jones’ lines and commenced
their attack to the east. By now, Marine assault tactics were well
refined. Led by tanks and combat engineers with flamethrowers and
high explosives, the troops of 3/6 made rapid progress. Only one
bunker, a well-armed complex along the north shore, provided effective
opposition. McLeod took advantage of the heavy brush along the south
shore to bypass the obstacle, leaving one rifle company to encircle
and eventually overrun it. Momentum was maintained; the remaining
Japanese seemed dispirited. By 1300, McLeod reached the eastern tip of
Betio, having inflicted more than 450 Japanese casualties at the loss
of 34 of his Marines. McLeod’s report summarized the general collapse
of the Japanese defensive system in the eastern zone following the
counterattacks: “At no time was there any determined defensive....
We used flamethrowers and could have used more. Medium tanks were
excellent. My light tanks didn’t fire a shot.”
[Illustration: