The Makin Island Raid

[Worf]

I was tired of watching football so I hit up Netflix on Roku and decided to watch Randolph Scott (one of my FAVE actors) in "Gung Ho" about the 2nd Marine Raider Bn. and it's raid on the Japanese held Island of Makin. I'd seen the movie often as a kid but had never seen it as a an adult and a veteran. A decent pot-boiler that I'd have liked a lot better if they hadn't felt the need for a wartime romance but at the end I was confused about the efficacy of the entire endeavour.

1. Though touted as such, the raid was NOT the first offensive action against the Japanese, you could say Guadacanal was that, or even Coral Sea or Midway.

2. Although the objectives sought were destroyed what good did it do? They had to high-tail it outta there before the Japanese fleet arrived and even after midway I'm sure the Japanese had sufficient men and material to re-build what was destroyed.

3. Scott proclaimed that his Raider Bn had shown in the Makin' raid, "the way forward". But for the life of me I can't recall if they ever mounted a similar style raid ever again? If I'm wrong please correct me?

So... if all the above are true was the Raid merely a moral booster or some General's "pet project"?

Worf

 

[Stearmen]

It was the only U.S. Navy submarine launched raid. It did succede in an unintended way, the Japanese sent reinforcements to many of their small islands, with Tarawa being the most notable, America paid heavily for that mistake! On a side note, I have been fascinated with the raid because of the Nautilus and Argonaut submarines used on the raid. Two very interesting pre war boats. The Argonaut is on Eternal Patrol!

 

[Captain Nemo]

A neat bit of military history there. Inspired by this thread, I looked up the Makin Raid. Stearman is right in that there were a lot of bad consequences to this raid, including the Japanese realization that their string of bases in the Central Pacific were vulnerable to attack.

From the Marine Raider's website, the objectives were:

"The objectives of the operation were diverse: to destroy installations, take prisoners, gain intelligence on the area, and divert Japanese attention and reinforcements from Guadalcanal and Tulagi."

http://www.usmarineraiders.org/makin.html

A simple and worthy goal of applying the old military tactic of the raid, but as General von Clausewitz said,

"Everything in war is simple, but the simplest thing is difficult. The difficulties accumulate and end by producing a kind of friction that is inconceivable unless one has experienced war....Countless minor incidents—the kind you can never really foresee—combine to lower the general level of performance, so that one always falls short of the intended goal."

 

[Tomasso]

Worf, it's only a movie.

 

[Worf]

Worf, it's only a movie.

I know that... but I was interested in the historical background and the opinions of my friends here. Didn't know about the subs used... (see ah larnt sumthin' already!) and I guess like anything in war... it was a mixed bag results wise.

Worf

 

[Captain Nemo]

Same could be said for Doolittle
My grandfather was 4th bn raiders under James Roosevelt
One tough sob

Did your grandfather pass along any good military service tales?

 

[Harp]

I'd seen the movie often as a kid but had never seen it as a an adult and a veteran.
Worf

After discharge I saw another Marine Raider film, Ambush Bay or some such title, about a PBY insertion in the Philippines.
The knife death card carved in enemy corpses and the silent deaths of most of the American team struck a nerve.
Very few films capture the reality of combat, and this one most eloquently.

 

[Captain Nemo]

He never talked about it. No body ever messed with grandpa

It is too bad that his experiences and adventures were not recorded. One more small bit of history lost forever....