The Saber and Scroll
coarse grass grows to a height of more than 6 feet , but its height varies greatly , depending on how recently it has been , burned over or cut . Its leaves are broad and sharp-edged : its stems are about the thickness of a pencil . The coconut palms are usually planted about 18 feet apart and the growth under them is relatively clear of cover . 2
General MacArthur was aware of Buna ’ s difficulties , noting :
In addition to all our other difficulties there was New Guinea itself , as tough and tenacious an enemy as the Japanese . Few areas in the world present so formidable an obstacle to military operations . The jagged mountains rear their tall peaks amid sudden plunging gorges , towering above the trackless jungle that covers nearly the entire surface of the sprawling island .... In the jungle itself , trails were a sea of mud , with little relief from the swollen rivers and the razor-edged kunai grass that grows in treacherous bunches higher than a man ’ s head .... Nature did not stop with adverse terrain however .... Health conditions matched the world ’ s worse . 3
The Japanese enhanced the natural potential available in defending the airstrips . They constructed a series of bunkers impervious to all but heavy weapons . The 32nd Infantry Division had few such weapons . The bunkers were constructed in shallow trenches and reinforced with coconut logs ; earth and sand protected the top of them from mortar and artillery fire . The walls were reinforced with logs , rocks , sand-filled ammunition boxes , and oil drums . Fast-growing vegetation camouflaged everything . 4
The Japanese force defending Buna , even with all their defensive advantages , lacked the physical stamina to fight alone . Unbeknownst to US intelligence , the weakened enemy force of 1,250 received approximately fifteen hundred reinforcements only days before the attack . 5 These reinforcements were veterans , unlike their opponent , the 32nd Infantry Division .
The 32nd Infantry Division was an upper Midwest ( Michigan and Wisconsin ) National Guard unit activated after the US originally entered World War II . They received their orders for Australia in March , yet did not arrive until the middle of May . From there it was move after move , one area to another . They never had their feet grounded ; they were unable to set up a cohesive training program in an environment none had ever experienced . The division commander , General Edwin Harding , was clearly frustrated :
Unfortunately we had no opportunity to work through a systematic program for correcting deficiencies . From February , when I took over until November when we went into battle we were always getting ready to move . No sooner would we get a systematic training program started then orders for a move came along to interrupt it . 6 7
176