My own war game

Chapter 244: Food shortage and response

In his memoirs, four-star general Alexander Vandegrift wrote:

"He is a person who can habitually create miracles. When you feel that you have reached the end of your rope, he can always bring you new hope."

"I never thought that the tin barrels could be used in this way. If there hadn't been that fake bombardment, it's hard to say what the Japanese would have chosen in the end. If they had attacked the transport ship, my soldiers and I might even have starved to death on Guadalcanal."

"For a long time afterwards, I couldn't believe that I had managed to scare off the Japanese with such a crude thing. Of course, Doug's experience on the Korean battlefield later gave me a new perspective on this weapon, and I even doubted He's true identity."

"But this was just the smallest of a series of tricks that Ho had in his bag of tricks. Compared with his grand stunt in Paris in 1944, these were just small tricks."

"Of course, that doesn't stop him from saving our lives."

On August 1942, 8, the landing site on Guadalcanal was in ruins and the transport ships on the sea had disappeared.

Food and ammunition were piled together, barrels of fuel and cooking oil were tilted in different directions, and the M101 howitzers were stuck in the shallows before they were completely pulled ashore. Several mud-covered M3 Stuart light tanks temporarily acted as tractors and were trying to pull them out.

"Damn it, that guy Fletcher actually took the lead and ran away, and it's been less than 48 hours!" Major General Vandergrift cursed.

Just now, influenced by the result of the Battle of Savo Island, Vice Admiral Fletcher believed that his escort fleet had been severely damaged, and the Japanese would then focus on attacking the aircraft carrier formation led by him. So he ordered the Third Fleet composed of aircraft carriers to stay away from Guadalcanal. The landing transport ships, which had completely lost their cover, had to leave Guadalcanal quickly after a panicked afternoon of 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 food was the least amount transported.

"The transport ship won't be here for the time being. We have to rely on ourselves for the rest of the time." In the open-air tent that served as a temporary meeting room, Major General Vandergrift did not choose to hide the truth from his subordinates, but put the problem 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 commands the assault battalion with the largest number of veterans, and he knows the current situation best.

"How about cutting the rations of those laborers..." a major nearby suggested, but as soon as he said this, he was glared at by others.

"Wood, I have to remind you that without those laborers, 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 raid." Major General Vandergrift stood up and reminded his men. Everyone could hear that his tone was very dissatisfied.

"That's right, and we'll have to rely on them later." He Chi walked in from outside and threw a few rod-like objects into the officers' hands. "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 actually very juicy and had a certain sweetness.

"What is this?" asked Colonel Edson.

"Wild sugarcane contains a lot of sugar. My guide found it south of the airport. I didn't have enough manpower, so I only brought this much." He Chi picked up a flat stone and sat down casually.

"I'll have my battalion help you later." Colonel Edson nodded and took another bite of what he was holding.

"What did you mean when you said we still have to rely on them?" The major general brought the subject back.

"We are now trapped here with 10,000 people. I believe the Japanese will soon send troops to seize the island. If we want to get reinforcements, there are probably two ways." He Chi took out two small stones. "The first is to wait for Fletcher and his men to completely wipe out the Japanese navy, or at least seize control of the sea, and wait for the subsequent supply lines to be restored." He Chi put down a small stone.

"Fuck you Fletcher, you could have just said the second one." Colonel Edson threw the stone directly out of the tent.

Strictly speaking, Edson's behavior constituted insulting a senior officer, but no one in the tent, including Major General Vandergrift, reacted, because everyone had their own opinions about Fletcher's behavior of almost abandoning friendly forces.

"Okay, then the second one." He Chi put down another stone in his hand. "The airport here is already 80% built. If we can finish it before the supplies run out, we can get airlift supplies from Australia."

“How long will the construction take?”

"If our people and laborers work at full capacity, it will take about two weeks," replied Lieutenant Colonel Robert Leahy of the Engineering Battalion.

“Supplies only last for two weeks.”

"Then we should reduce the daily rations of other soldiers and focus on ensuring the food supply for the construction workers. Whether we can survive in the future depends on when the airport is built!" Major General Vandergrift finally made the decision.

In the following days, a magical scene appeared on Guadalcanal. The American soldiers who had just landed on the island found that their food standards had been greatly reduced and they had to eat two meals a day, while the Korean laborers ate the bread, bacon and military canned food that originally belonged to them.

These recruits who always complained about the bad taste of canned food suddenly felt that their rights were violated, and they actually organized a protest to the logistics officers, but were retorted with just one sentence.

"If you are willing to take a shovel and build the airport, I will ask the general to give you the same treatment."

At this time, Iikuni Kojiro and his men actually opened up some small black markets on the island. They used the baskets of salted fish they brought with them to exchange for chewing gum, canned food, dried ham and other scarce foods from the laborers, and then resold them at high prices to the American soldiers who were desperate to improve their food.

These things soon turned into green dollars and flew into the pockets of Kojiro and his group. In the last few days at the airport, a military can of beef had been sold for 20 dollars, which was almost one-third of the salary of an ordinary soldier.

Of course, in the end all this money became the military expenditure of the "New Japan National Construction Army".

Major General Vandergrift believed that the small outflow of items would help alleviate the soldiers' dissatisfaction, so he acquiesced in such behavior.

Over the following week, the airport on Guadalcanal was built at an unexpected speed, and 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 next to him.

"Of course it's what the Japanese fear the most!"

Finally, a giant red dragon with its wings spread appeared on the flag on the east side of the airport, its gaze directed towards the Pacific Ocean in the distance.

500 nautical miles away, six Japanese fast destroyers carrying more than Japanese soldiers were speeding towards Guadalcanal.

(End of this chapter)