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Toehold on Shaggy Ridge

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Toehold on Shaggy Ridge CHAPTER 24 TOEHOLD ON SHAGGY RIDG E EHIND its screen of patrols, late in October and November, th e B 7th Division's task remained the same : to prevent enemy penetration into the Ramu and Markham Valleys and protect the Gusap airfield an d the various radar installations . The 25th Brigade was now forward . On the right was the 2/25th Battalion on Johns' Knoll, Trevor's Ridge an d Beveridge's Post, one company being forward at Mainstream on the eas t bank of the Faria River with the huge mass of Shaggy Ridge rising sheer on the west. On the left was the 2/33rd Battalion based on Guy 's Post, with one company forward on the southern slopes of Shaggy Ridge an d another on the saddle to the left at Don's Post . On clear days the men could sometimes see barges and ships off the coast . On the right the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion was based on the Moto's Post area with two companie s to the south-east at Levett's Post. The 2/31st was in reserve . After its relief the 21st Brigade moved to the Mene River area . The 2/14th Battalion occupied an area near the Yogia (Ioge) River with patrol s forward to the vicinity of the Evapia River, and the 2/16th and 2/27th Battalions occupied an area east of the Mene River and on the hig h ground north of the road. "B" Company of the Papuan Battalion wa s forward of the Evapia River with patrols on the 5800 Feature . Patrols from the 2/6th Commando Squadron, under divisional command, no w began to penetrate the Isariba-Orgoruna country to the north-west fro m the squadron base at Kesawai . Farther west the 2/2nd Squadron was operating with two troops from the new Faita airstrip while one troop rested and guarded Garoka. In these new positions the division settled down to a month of soli d and arduous patrolling. As usual in New Guinea fighting, the Japanese were content to sit in their defences while the Australians patrolled and dominated the rugged no-man's land . This policy would prove disastrous to the Japanese in the end although, at the time, it seemed to the sweating and swearing Australian patrols that the Japanese idea of sitting in thei r defences was a good one. The Japanese had established themselves strongl y in natural defensive positions on Shaggy Ridge and in flanking position s on both sides of it. From the Pimple—a rocky peak rising steeply abou t half way along the crest of Shaggy Ridge—the Japanese found it relatively easy to resist any advance. Patrols from the 2/27th Battalion had already found that the Pimple could be approached only along the top of th e spur, for the slopes were too steep to move along, and the top of the spur was wide enough for only one man at a time. Often the Pimple was a blurred shape capped by mist and hidden by rain clouds . First blood was shed by the 25th Brigade in its new positions on 11th November when a patrol from the 2/25th, moving in the Mainstream- kunda bridge area, clashed with a small Japanese patrol and inflicted a few Nov1943 ROADS AND AIRSTRIPS 681 casualties for the loss of two men wounded, including the patrol com- mander, Lieutenant Wells . l Patrols from the commando squadrons als o clashed with enemy patrols on the 11th—Corporal Busk's 2 patrol of the 2/6th while moving down the rugged slopes of the Haile River, and a 2/2nd patrol moving towards Bagasin met the enemy in the Aminik area . The 2/6th were worried about their new position for the Papuans were not in the old positions of the 2/6th but in a more concentrated area wit h only standing patrols out, thus allowing the Japanese greater freedom in the upper Solu River area . The native soldiers of the Papuan Battalio n at this stage were weary and footsore and there was a high rate of sickness among their Australian officers and N .C.O's. The Papuans, however, wer e still regularly called upon by the infantry to assist in scouting, and o n the 12th one of their standing patrols repulsed a Japanese patrol of 20 men. Throughout all areas supplies were built up and strenuous attempts mad e to improve the health of the division. Malaria in this valley of death (as the Ramu was known to the natives) was still the cause of the greates t number of casualties . Despite more rigorous precautions there were man y new cases and recurrences daily . 3 Topographical information improved and ahead of the forward post s the Allied airmen made a thorough study of the Bogadjim Road and di d their best to destroy its bridges. The engineers of the 2/5th and 2/6t h Field Companies kept the airstrips inland in perfect condition and pushed their roads forward into the hills to the Lakes and as far west as Kesawai . The diarist of the 2/5th Field Company described activities during Novem- ber thus : Work generally was road construction and maintenance . This work was divide d into sections and each section was a platoon task . The work included crossings of Faria River, Mosia, Mene and Ioge [Yogia] Rivers, which entailed in most parts timber beam bridge constructions . .; gaps were generally between 70 feet and 8 0 feet and entailed two trestles, each usually 10-14 feet high . In the early part of the month no precast type culvert sections were available . To overcome this difficulty pipe culverts were constructed from 25-pdr shell and cartridge cases , apple drums, 44-gallon drums. These culverts proved quite satisfactory if 1 foo t 6 inches-2 feet of cover was provided . By the end of the month the engineers had finished building two land- ing strips at Dumpu, which were now taking traffic in all weather.4 I Lt G . R . Wells, QX14417; 2/25 Bn. Chemist; of Tweed Heads, NSW ; b . Childers, Q1d, 20 Feb 1912 . P Cpl P . N. Busk, VX75791 . 2/6 Indep Coy, 2/6 Cdo Sqn, 2/6 Fd Coy . Fisherman ; of Sa n Remo, Vic; b. Welshpool, Vic, 19 Apr 1920. 8 In the first ten weeks of fighting in the Markham and Ramu Valleys 90 per cent of the total sickness casualties in the 7th Division were caused by malaria . In the 9th Division the casualties caused by malaria were 60 per cent . For further details see A. S . Walker, Clinical Problem s of War (1952), a volume in the Medical series of this history. 4 1t was during this static, period that a new method of expressing time was devised . New Guinea Force headquarters instructed that from the 15th November a new method for th e designation of time in orders, instructions, reports and messages, would commence . "Time of origin, " said the instruction, " will be expressed in six figures followed by a zone letter . Th e first two digits of the figure group will denote the date, the second pair the hour and the thir d pair the minutes . The first nine days of the month are expressed as 01, 02, etc . For example , the time of origin of a message originated in the Eastern States at midday on the 16th day of the month will be shown as "161200K" (when daylight saving is operating " 161200L" ) instea d of "1200K/16" (or "1200L/16") as previously." 682 TOEHOLD ON SHAGGY RIDGE Nov 1943 For the first time the troops were permitted to mention in letters hom e that they were in the Ramu Valley, although no place names or references to operations could be made . One unit diarist, commenting on this order , wrote, "Radio and newspapers have made it clear for some weeks just where we are ."5 During November the artillery pounded the Japanese positions . Obser- vers from the 2/4th Field Regiment were forward with most units in th e main area and directed the fire of the 10 guns, including the two light 25 - pounders . Even the most daring of forward observation officers, however, could not direct the fire with much accuracy on certain targets becaus e of the rugged nature of the country . If the Pimple could be captured it would make an excellent artillery observation post, when not hidden b y cloud, and would enable artillery fire to be guided more accurately . A system of cooperation with the Wirraway and Boomerang aircraft of No. 4 Squadron became highly developed during the month . This army cooperation squadron, which had trained with the army on the Atherto n Tableland, was highly regarded by all troops who had anything to d o with it, particularly those in isolated areas . The November war diarie s of several units mention that the squadron dropped packets of cigarettes, tobacco, newspapers, and copies of Guinea Gold, the army newspaper. The Australian gunners could not entirely silence the Japanese 75-m m guns, although they did manage to dissuade them from firing for long periods. On 15th November the 54th Battery set a trap for a Japanes e gun which was apparently defending a headquarters—a tender spot whic h invariably brought retaliation when shelled by the Australian guns . While one troop fired on the suspected Japanese headquarters, another laid o n the Japanese gun when it began to fire . A Tac R aircraft which suddenly appeared over the Japanese position reported that they thought that th e Japanese gun was run back into a cave after firing and so needed to b e lured out.
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