“I find it hard to accept they could be so inept,” Vandegrift said.
“Yes, Sir, so did we. But that, beyond question, seems to be the case. In any event, at that point, General Hyakutaka was given responsibility for the recapture of Guadalcanal. He decided that six thousand troops would be necessary to do so, and that he could assemble such a force from his assets without hurting Japanese operations on New Guinea and elsewhere.
“He then dispatched an advance force, approximately a thousand men under Colonel Ichiki Kiyono, which landed here on 18 August at Taivu. Again, presumably because of the intelligence which reported your forces as two thousand men, with low morale, and attempting to escape to Tulagi, Kiyono launched his attack along the Ilu River….”
“And Kiyono’s force was annihilated,” Vandegrift said.
“Yes, Sir. Which caused the Japanese to do some second thinking. The Army and the Navy, at that point, Sir, were not admitting to one another the extent of their own losses. Nor-presuming either had learned them-the strength of the First Marine Division or the capabilities of Henderson Field.
“Their next step was greater reinforcement of their troops here. By the end of August, they had landed approximately six thousand men under Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi. At the same time, finally, they realized that they could not logistically support both their operations here and in New Guinea. IJGS radioed General Horii, who had almost reached Port Moresby, and ordered him to halt his advance and dig in. Troops and materiel intended for Papua were ordered redirected here. It was at about this point, Sir, that they gave evidence of a much changed attitude toward Guadalcanal. It was phrased in several ways, but in essence, they concluded that ‘Guadalcanal has now become the pivotal point of operational guidance.’ ”
Vandegrift grunted.
“General Kawaguchi’s orders were to reconnoiter your positions, to determine whether with his existing forces he could break through them, capture Henderson Field, and ultimately push you into the sea. Or whether the attack should be delayed until he had additional troops and materiel. He elected to attack, possibly still relying on erroneous data about your strength, or possibly because he had come to believe what General Hyakutaka had been saying for some time, and thus the risk was justified.”
“Excuse me?” Vandegrift asked.
“In September, Sir, we broke an intercept from General Hyakutaka to the 17th Army, in which he said, ‘The operation to surround and recapture Guadalcanal will truly decide the fate of the control of the entire Pacific.’ At that time, Sir, that line of thinking was almost heretical.”
“Well, he’s right,” Vandegrift said. “And now he’s here, and in command.”
“Yes, Sir. In any event, Kawaguchi attacked what we now call ‘Bloody Ridge.’ ”
“And, by the skin of our teeth, of Merritt Edson’s teeth, of the Raider and Parachutists’ teeth, we held,” Vandegrift said. “Your Lieutenant McCoy’s brother stood up with an air-cooled.30 caliber Browning in his hands and killed thirty-odd Japanese. And he was by no means the only Marine who did more than anyone could reasonably, or unreasonably, expect of them.”
“Yes, Sir. We’ve heard. They may have to rewrite the hymn.”
“What?”
“From the Halls of Montezuma to the hills of Bloody Ridge.”
“Now that’s heresy, Major,” Vandegrift said. “But maybe we’ll need another verse.” He smiled at Banning, then went on: “I’m glad we’ve talked, you and I. It’s cleared my mind about several things.” He paused. “You people have really been doing your homework, haven’t you?”
Banning didn’t reply.
“I don’t suppose you know-or if you know, that you can tell me-what Hyakutaka’s plans are now?”
“I believe that is why I was sent here, Sir, to tell you what we think, and to get your evaluation of that for General Pickering.”
Vandegrift looked at him, waiting.
“It is our belief, Sir, that as soon as General Hyakutaka has ashore what he considers to be an adequate force, he intends to launch an attack on your lines with the objective of taking Henderson Field. We believe that the attack will be three-pronged, from the west and south. The 2nd Division, under Major General Maruyama, will attack from the south, in concert with troops under Major General Sumiyoshi Tadashi attacking from the west. The combined fleet will stand offshore in support, and to turn away any of our reinforcements.”