This is coolbert: During the invasion of Saipan by U.S. forces in WW2, the Marine General H.M. Smith [Howlin' Mad] made some intemperate remarks about the Army division under his command. Said they were yellow cowards that froze in their foxholes. Had this Army division [a National Guard division from NY state] pulled from the line and removed to a "quiet sector" [more on this quiet sector later]. The actions of H.M. Smith stirred some controversy at the time but deference was given to H.M. Smith as the commander on the spot. How does this appreciation of the General hold up under scrutiny?

The army division was brought into the fray on Saipan much earlier than anticipated by the Marine commander. This was due to the heavy and determined resistance of the Japanese, fighting to the death in their normal fashion. Reinforcement was a must. The army division was put into the line where needed and ordered to move forward. The area allocated to the army division was in the flat, open center of Saipan, an area that was to become known as "Death Valley". Immediately upon moving forward, the army division came under fire from Jap strong points of such an intense nature that they found movement forward to be almost impossible. No room for maneuver against these strong points and very heavy casualties inflicted upon the lead elements of the divisions. An exasperated H.M. Smith first relieved the commanding General of the army division and continued to find fault with the army's progress vis-a-vis his own Marine divisions also ashore on Saipan. Only by the most intense effort was the army division finally able to make progress and that at great loss to themselves. H.M. Smith, still exasperated, finally had enough of the army and pulled the division from the line, sending them to, as I have said before, a quiet sector.

Is the criticism that to this day exists of the army during the Saipan campaign warranted? Did they freeze in their foxholes? Well, yes and no. These strong points of the Japs were formidable. And something else about them. Although being physically located in the AO [area of operations] of the Marines, the fields of fire for these strong points was into the Army's AO. These strong points had been bypassed by marine units moving forward quickly, in Marine fashion. When the army division moved forward into "Death Valley", they immediately came under fire from strong points that they were not able to reduce by fire or movement. Any basic course in tactics will tell you to this day that a unit's boundaries are not to be crossed by fire or movement unless in the most extreme of circumstances. [the author of the book that this information was contained in did not seem to realize the importance of this fact]. Did the army division lag behind the Marines? Yes, they did. Was this due to cowardice or lack of initiative. NO!

Now, I have mentioned that the army division, after being pulled from the line, was sent to a "quiet sector". It just so happens that this sector became the place for what became known as "The Great Banzai Charge of Saipan". Seems to be something of a legend, what occurred at the end of the Battle of Saipan. The Jap troops, when seeing their position hopeless, decided to go out in glory and launched a 5000 man banzai charge against the U.S. Army division, which had just been deployed to "the quiet sector". Now, in the book by Samuel Eliot Morrison, "The U.S. Navy - The Two Ocean War", Morrison writes about this banzai charge, saying that the Japs broke through the army lines and were finally stopped by the Marines. Is this true? Well, again, yes and no. The Jap forces, what was left of them, did break through the army lines and were finally stopped by Marine forces. This did happen! However, consider this. In front of the army positions, after the charge, were found the bodies of 4000 Japs [by actual body count ordered by the army commander after the battle]!! In front of the Marine positions were found about 300 Japs. This certainly suggests no lack of fighting ability on the part of the army.

After the Battle of Saipan was over, the U.S. Army division fighting at Saipan was found to have suffered casualties only slightly second to the Marine unit that suffered the worst on Saipan, further strengthening the belief that the remarks of H.M. Smith were most intemperate.

Postscript to Saipan. The 77th U.S. Army division fought in the campaign on Guam with the Marines and got along just famously. This unit was nicknamed the 77th MarDiv by the Marines. Marine units and the army can and do get along.

coolbert.