A Division At War — Part I
4 . They needed change of tactics : no more frontal attacks unless absolutely unavoidable . 17
Eichelberger also wanted tanks , the same tanks Harding wanted , and the right ammunition for his one US gun before launching another attack . MacArthur would not wait , and Eichelberger ordered an attack on 5 December .
The Buna battlefield had essentially become two separate fights : the first at the airstrips and the other at Buna Village . Each had a force dedicated to it named after the senior commander at each location . The airstrips were the responsibility of the Warren Force , Buna itself the Urbana Force . Tanks had yet to arrive , so Eichelberger received five Bren Gun Carriers , lightly armored , open at the top vehicles , with little armament and very unreliable in jungle terrain . Attached to the Warren Force , they moved with the infantry after another ineffective preliminary air and artillery attack . All five Bren Gun Carriers were quickly knocked out . Unlike previous battles the infantry did not wait to attack .
The first so-called armored vehicles to arrive at Buna , Bren Gun Carriers . They were useless since they could not engage bunkers , did not offer much protection , and were prone to mechanical failure in the jungle . 18
They followed right behind the exploding shells and managed to advance within 150 yards of the Simemi Creek Bridge , destroying several bunkers in the process . The attack against Buna
Village was more successful . The village was now isolated and its bunkers could be systematically destroyed . By 15 December Buna Village was totally secure , but the airstrips remained under Japa-
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