A Division At War — Part I
ican force , mostly the 32nd , lost 440 men KIA , 2,550 WIA , and ten MIA . 36 Japanese losses , mostly dead , were between twelve and fourteen thousand . 37 The 32nd soon left New Guinea for the Philippines , tired but ready for an entirely new set of challenges .
It was nearly two years earlier that the 32nd Infantry Division first entered combat at Buna . A vicious campaign made worse by their unpreparedness , inadequate weapons , and poor leadership at the highest level still resulted in a victory , although at high cost . The division trained and prepared for their next campaign that started in the spring of 1944 at Hollandia and ended in another bitter struggle along the Driniumor River , against superior numbers and once again with poor direction from top leadership . The 32nd seemed to always find itself in the worst possible situation . Buna , the Driniumor : there never seemed to be a positive scenario that the Division faced . Yet , they persevered . Throughout their two years on New Guinea , they operated under the massive shadow of MacArthur and his unrealistic expectations . At Buna , they were supposed to take airfields and defeat Japanese positions with one piece of artillery , a few tanks that came a month after the campaign started , and no support from higher headquarters . Buna cost the Division its commander . Along the Driniumor River , only part of the Division was expected to hold a line several full strength divisions would find challenging and again with little support , in this case from their Army commander , General Walter Krueger . They persevered once again . After the Driniumor , the 32nd was placed in reserve for the upcoming Leyte operation . MacArthur was returning to the Philippines .
Bibliography
Drea , Edward . Defending the Driniumor : Covering Force Operations in New Guinea , 1944 . Fort Leavenworth : Combat Studies Institute , 1984 .
Eichelberger , Robert . Our Jungle Road To Tokyo . New York : The Viking Press , 1950 . FM 100-5 . Field Service Regulations ( Operations ). June 1944 .
Kenney , George C . George Kenney Reports : A Personal History of the Pacific War . New York : Duell , Sloan , and Pearce , 1949 .
MacArthur , Douglas . Reminiscences . New York : McGraw-Hill Book Company , 1964 .
Milner , Samuel . Victory in Papua . Washington DC : Department of the Army , Office of the Chief of Military History , 1957 .
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