A Division At War — Part I
At Buna , the 32nd was sent to attack without experience or proper weapons . At the Driniumor , the elements of the division employed had an impossible task . They were given far too much front to cover with too few troops . Only three of the division ’ s nine infantry battalions participated and only two of them were actually defending the river . Each battalion at full strength only had 871 men and none of the battalions were at full strength . 30 Further , not all of that 871 were infantry . The one cavalry squadron deployed forward had but five hundred men : roughly two thousand men for five miles of front . 31 It broke down as follows :
1 . 1st Squadron , 112th Cavalry Regiment – Afua to the right flank of the 3rd Battalion , 127th Infantry Regiment ( 1 mile )
2 . 3rd Battalion , 127th Infantry Regiment – 1.5 miles to the 2nd Battalion , 128th Infantry Regiment
3 . 2nd Battalion , 128th Infantry Regiment – 2.5 miles to the end of the line
They would have plenty of fire support : forty-eight 105-mm howitzers ( the entire 32nd Infantry Division artillery regiment ) and sixteen 155-mm guns . Thanks to ULTRA , the US units knew where the Japanese attack would take place , so the artillery could register and deliver accurate fire almost immediately . Given that the Japanese were expected to attack at night , this became even more vital . There was plentiful air support , but darkness and the jungle made it of little use . There were two other units available , the 32nd ’ s 1st Battalion , 128th Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Squadron of the 112th Cavalry . They were held back , not as a reserve for a counterattack but to conduct a longrange reconnaissance . As July came and the Japanese had yet to attack , Krueger became frustrated . Despite the line desperately needing these men and above the vocal protests of the commanders , on 8 July the two battalions moved out along the flanks of the line , approximately five miles apart . 32 It accomplished nothing .
The jungle was as thick and unbearable along this route as it was everywhere else in New Guinea . The heat was debilitating . There was an enormous gap between the two units and it should have surprised nobody they did not find the Japanese . During the night of 10-11 July , they heard the Japanese several miles in their rear as the enemy stormed across the Driniumor River .
Several thousand Japanese soldiers initially attacked the weakest part of the 32nd front , 1.5 miles held by a mere two rifle companies ( E and G ) of the 2nd Battalion , 128th Infantry Regiment . The enemy announced their attack , screaming as they emerged from the jungle . Artillery wreaked havoc , in one case killing 370 of a four-hundredman Japanese battalion . As the Japanese hit the barbed wire , the infantry fired . Bodies of enemy soldiers began piling up , but dwindling ammunition and overheated machine gun barrels allowed the enemy through sheer numbers to achieve a breakthrough . River
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