Chapter 244 Food shortage and response
In the memoirs of later four-star general Alexander Vandegrift, he once wrote:
“He is a person who can habitually create miracles. , when you feel that you are at the end of your rope, he can always bring you new hope."
"I never thought that the iron bucket could be used in this way. Without that disguised bombardment, it would be difficult to say. What will the Japanese choose in the end? If they attack the transport ship, the soldiers and I may even starve to death on Guadalcanal."
"I couldn't believe that I could rely on this for a long time. The crude gadgets scared away the Japanese. Of course, Doug’s encounter on the Korean battlefield gave me a new perspective on this weapon. For this reason, I also doubted He’s true identity.”
"But this was just the most inconspicuous of a series of tricks at the time. Compared with his big deal in Paris in 1944, these were just small tricks."
"Of course, this does not prevent him from saving Our lives.”
On August 10, 1942, the landing site on Guadalcanal was in a mess, and the transport ships on the sea had disappeared.
Food and ammunition were stacked together, barrels of fuel and cooking oil were tilted aside in different directions, the M101 howitzer was randomly poked in the shoal before it was completely pulled ashore, and several M3s covered in mud were The Tuat light tank temporarily acted as a tractor and was working hard to pull them out.
“Damn it, that guy Fletcher actually took the lead and ran away, and it’s not even 48 hours!” Major General Vandergrift scolded.
Just affected by the outcome of the Battle of Savo Island, Lieutenant General Fletcher believed that his escort fleet had been severely damaged, so the Japanese army would next focus on attacking the aircraft carrier formation led by him, so he ordered the entire aircraft carrier to form the first The third fleet stayed away from Guadalcanal, and the landing transport ship, which had completely lost its cover, had to leave Guadalcanal quickly after another afternoon of panic unloading.
At this time, only two-fifths of the supplies needed by the 1st Marine Division had been unloaded, and the major general was depressed to find that the least amount of food had been transported.
"The transport ship will not come for the time being, and we have to rely on ourselves for the rest of the day." In the open-air tent that was temporarily used as a conference room, Major General Vandergrift did not choose to hide it from his subordinates. It puts the issue directly on the table.
"Our most important problem is food. The current food and water are only enough for the people on the island for two weeks." Colonel Merritt Edson controls the assault battalion with the largest number of veterans, and he knows best current situation.
"How about cutting the rations of those workers..." a major next to him suggested, but as soon as his words came out, he was glared at by others.
"Wood, I have to remind you, if it weren't for those workers, your dinner today would probably be just hard biscuits. At least one-third of the supplies were transported by these people, and more than a dozen people died in the Japanese air raids. "Major General Vandergrift stood up and reminded his men. Everyone could hear that his tone was dissatisfied.
"Yes, and we will have to rely on them in the future." He Chi walked in from outside and threw several rod-shaped objects into the hands of the officers. "Try it and see how it tastes?"
The major general lowered his head and took a bite, and found that the thing in his hand was very juicy and had a certain degree of sweetness.
"What is this?" Colonel Edson asked.
"Wild sugar cane contains a lot of sugar. My guide found it south of the airport. I didn't have enough manpower and only brought so much." He Chi picked a flat stone and sat down casually.
"I'll have my battalion help you later." Colonel Edson nodded and took another bite of the thing in his hand.
"What did you mean when you said we still have to rely on them?" The major general brought the topic back.
"We are now 10,000 people trapped here. I believe the Japanese will send troops to seize the island soon. If we want to get reinforcements, there are probably two ways." He Chi took out two pebbles. "The first one is to wait for Fletcher and the others to completely kill the Japanese navy, or at least seize control of the sea, and wait for the follow-up supply line to be restored." He Chi put down a small stone.
"Fuck FXXX Fletcher, you can just say the second one." Colonel Edson threw the stone directly out of the tent.
Strictly speaking, Edson's behavior was an insult to a senior officer, but no one in the tent, including Major General Vandergrift, reacted because everyone had opinions on Fletcher's behavior of almost abandoning friendly forces.
"Okay, second one." He Chi put down another stone in his hand, "The airport here has been built 80%. If we can repair it before the supplies run out, we can Receive air cargo from Australia."
"How long will the construction last?"
"If our people and laborers work hard, it will take about two weeks." Lieutenant Colonel Robert Leahy of the Engineering Battalion. answer.
“The supplies are only available for two weeks.”
"Then reduce the daily rations for other soldiers and make every effort to ensure the food supply for the construction workers. Whether we can stand still depends on when the airport is repaired!" Major General Vandergrift finally made his decision.
In the following days, a magical scene occurred on Guadalcanal. The American soldiers who had just landed on the island found that their food standards had dropped greatly, and they were now eating two meals a day, while those Korean workers Then they ate the bread, bacon and military cans that originally belonged to them.
These recruits who always complained about the bad taste of canned food suddenly felt that their rights had been violated, and they even organized an organized protest to the logistics officer, only to be retorted by the other party.
"If you are willing to build the airport with a shovel, I will fight for the same treatment as the general for you."
At this time, Kojiro Iiguni and the others actually opened up an island on the island. In some small black markets, they used the huge baskets of salted fish they brought to buy chewing gum, canned food, dried ham and other in-demand foods from workers, and then sold them at high prices to Americans who were crazy about improving their food. Soldier.
And these things soon turned into green dollars and flew into the pockets of Kojiro and his team. In the last few days at the airport, a beef military can had been sold for 20 dollars each, which was almost three dollars for an ordinary soldier. One-third of military pay.
Of course, in the end, all this money became the military expenditure of the "New Japan Founding Army".
Major General Vandergrift believed that a small amount of leaking items would help alleviate the dissatisfaction of the soldiers, so he acquiesced in such behavior.
In the next week, the airport on Guadalcanal was built at an unexpected speed. On the eve of completion, the American soldiers suddenly decided to design a logo for the airport.
“What are you painting?” the painter asked the person on the side.
"Of course it is what the Japanese are most afraid of!"
Finally, a giant red dragon with fluttering wings appeared on the flag east of the airport, its eyes facing the Pacific Ocean in the distance. .
500 nautical miles away, six Japanese fast destroyers carrying more than 900 Japanese army troops were rapidly heading towards Guadalcanal.
(End of this chapter)