Battalion of the Damned

[imjin138]

I just started reading this it is about the 1st marine Paratroopers at Gavavutu and Blody Ridge in 1942. So far it is pretty good, I am at the part when they arrive in New Zealand and had to trade off some of the 1903s for the riesing subgun, they were not happy about it.

It is one of the only books i could find on the WWII Marine Paratroopers.

By James F. Christ.

[n4zov]

That decision goes into the same category with the Marines turning in their Lewis guns for the universally despised Chauchat LMG when they arrived in France in 1917. The official policy seems to have been to virtually disarm the Marines and hope they will fight harder!

[GatorFarmer]

As an article in the American Rifleman once observed, some people had good results with the Chauchats and they were actually still in service some 20 years later during the Spanish Civil War. But I digress...

The Marine Museum has an exhibit featuring weapons used by the Marine Paras and Raiders. While the USMC in general issued the Reising (with mixed and often bad results), the Para Marines had a special folding stock version that was different than the standard issue model. The Para Marines also had 1941 Johnson Automatic Rifles and 1941 Johnson Light Machine guns. The latter were still in use in 1943 on New Georgia and also saw use with the real life "Devil's Brigade" (see the William Holden film) in Italy.

Oddly, the only time that Para Marines actually parachuted into action was in Europe, where a handful (I think around 50?) jumped in occupied Europe on missions with/for the OSS. In the Pacific they served as a sort of super elite light infantry, similar to how the Airborne forces were often used in the ETO as well

[imjin138]

I used to shoot with a former Marine who loved the Johnson rifle, but hated the reising. He told me stories of the reising just coming apart in his hands.

From what it sounds like in the book they had 3 Johnson rifles and three of the Johnson light machine guns. But the landing on Gavavutu was very hairy a cross fire between the islands caused quite a few casualties among the landing force.

[cmort666]

Originally Posted by GatorFarmer

As an article in the American Rifleman once observed, some people had good results with the Chauchats and they were actually still in service some 20 years later during the Spanish Civil War. But I digress...

1. There was ONE factory which made semi-usable Chauchats. It was still a wretched design, but they managed to keep within the specs.

2. Chauchats were used in the Spanish Civil War, NOT because anyone liked them, but because the Spanish Republicans were desperate for ANY weapons and aircraft, no matter HOW bad. The Chauchats were dumped on them, along with some Soviet built analogs (Maxim-Kolesnikov) to the MG08/15 at quite a hefty profit for the sellers.

[Cyrano]

My father was in the Army, not the USMC, in WW I. He was a squad leader of a machine gun squad. They trained at Camp Wadsworth near Spartanburg, SC, with the Chauchat, and disliked it heartily. I think they had the 8mm version, not the 30-06 which was even worse. Fortunately his division, the 27th, was given to the British and rearmed with British equipment, so they had the Lewis, although they had to carry the SMLE Mk III* instead of the Springfield.

[imjin138]

I didn't know that about the Brit stuff. I knew some of the African American units had been supplied by the French, but I suppose it was easier to re-supply for everybody involved.

I just finished 2 books on John Basilone one by James brady and I'm Staying with my boys. both were good. I have to pick up The forgotten raiders and Raise hell the mission on Chouseil this week.


I am still debating wether or not to get HBO to watch the Pacific. One of the men I use to shoot with was a Gaudalcanal veteran as was my Grandfather. Niether much talked about the war, but I remember Dick telling us once that he thought the Japanese would be smaller sized men, but saw quite a few well over six feet. Both spoke of the fact that not many were taken prisoner.

[cmort666]

Originally Posted by imjin138

I didn't know that about the Brit stuff. I knew some of the African American units had been supplied by the French, but I suppose it was easier to re-supply for everybody involved.

U.S. Army units which served in Russia (like the 31st Infantry) were issued U.S. made (Remington and Westinghouse) Mosin-Nagants.

[Cyrano]

There was a French detachment at Camp Wadsworth. They instructed on the Chauchat and the 37mm infantry cannon. All the US units had Chauchats, except for the two division that were assigned to the British: the 27th and 30th.

After the war France and Britain supplied arms to the Baltic Republics (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia). France supplied Chauchats and Ruby pistols. The recipients weren't impressed.

[imjin138]

I had to find my book on the Siberian intervention, most of the Doughboys were upset at the rifle change. A lot were from Minnisota and other places in the mid west. According to the book we lost quite a few soldiers and had trouble after leaving retrieving their remains, some of the last ones came home in 34 and 35 thanks to the intervention of the VFW.

[jag312]

I have fired a Reising, taken it apart for cleaning, and gotten to know it pretty well. There were three problems with the gun; two design problems and one man-made problem. One design problem is that the gun has very tight tolerances. I stops working from the powder fouling from a couple hundred rounds. It has to be kept very clean. The second design problem is that the internal parts were hand fitted to each gun and were not completely interchangeable. The man-made problem was caused by Marine armorers. When the Marines took delivery of the Reisings, they stripped them down for cleaning and mixed the parts when they reassembled the guns.

The Reising has a very interesting mechanism. It is an interesting solution to a simple problem, but a Reising would not be in my top ten choices of a submachine gun that I would choose to take into battle.

[cmort666]

Originally Posted by imjin138

I had to find my book on the Siberian intervention, most of the Doughboys were upset at the rifle change. A lot were from Minnisota and other places in the mid west. According to the book we lost quite a few soldiers and had trouble after leaving retrieving their remains, some of the last ones came home in 34 and 35 thanks to the intervention of the VFW.

The troops which we sent to Siberia were sent there more to watch the Japanese than to protect war supplies from the Bolsheviks. The Japanese sent a LOT of troops and were contemplating detaching Siberia and the Maritime Republic from Russia, before they stole Manchuria from China. When the Whites collapsed, they gave up on the project.

[bobcat]

"I am still debating wether or not to get HBO to watch the Pacific."

I am to, but leaning towards no, after checking their price & their other programing. I'm still not over them cancelling "Deadwood" and will probably just wait until it's on DVD. I've read both of the books it's based on, "With the Old Breed" & "Helmet for My Pillow", and hope they do them justice.

If you want to read another good, rather inclusive story of the Pacific campaign, "Strong Men Armed" by Leckie. It's excellent, I'm about due to re-read that one, it's been awhile.

Take care...

[bummer]

Originally Posted by imjin138

I had to find my book on the Siberian intervention, most of the Doughboys were upset at the rifle change. A lot were from Minnisota and other places in the mid west. According to the book we lost quite a few soldiers and had trouble after leaving retrieving their remains, some of the last ones came home in 34 and 35 thanks to the intervention of the VFW.

Here is a good book about the allied intervention Amazon.com: Fighting the Bolsheviks: The Russian War Memoir of Private First Class Donald E. Carey, U.S. Army, 1918-1919 (9780891416319): Donald liE. Carey: Books I have a few books about this expedition