Podcasts about Finisterre

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Best podcasts about Finisterre

Latest podcast episodes about Finisterre

Pos. Report
Pos. Report #228 avec Alexis Loison, Charlotte Yven et Arno Biston

Pos. Report

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2025 61:53


Ce 228e épisode de Pos. Report refait le match de la 56e édition de la Solitaire du Figaro Paprec en compagnie des trois marins qui ont terminé sur les trois premières marches du podium, dans l'ordre Alexis Loison (Groupe Réel), Charlotte Yven (Skipper Macif 2023) et Arno Biston (Article.1).Tous les trois commencent d'ailleurs par commenter ce résultat, avec forcément beaucoup de satisfaction pour le vainqueur, qui disputait sa 19e Solitaire, sa dauphine, qui obtient le meilleur classement d'une navigatrice dans l'histoire de la course, et le troisième, pas forcément attendu sur le podium dans la foulée d'un début de saison difficile, même si, comme il le confie, il avait des arguments à faire valoir, lui qui avait terminé premier bizuth (et 11e au général) en 2024.Nous entrons ensuite dans le vif du sujet de cette 56e édition, chacun revenant dans le détail des trois étapes, avec d'entrée un bon résultat à Roscoff (victoire d'Alexis Loison, deuxième place pour Charlotte Yven, cinquième pour Arno Biston) qui les a mis dans une bonne dynamique. La deuxième s'est jouée en plusieurs temps, avec un passage de dorsale au milieu du golfe de Gascogne qui a vu Skipper Macif 2023 prendre les commandes, avant “un nouveau départ” au cap Finisterre, comme le raconte Arno Biston. Synonyme de regroupement général, il a notamment permis à Alexis Loison, qui a compté à un moment 11 milles de retard sur Charlotte Yven, de remonter pour finir deuxième à Vigo derrière le bizuth Hugo Cardon et devant cette dernière.Sur le podium au général à l'issue de cette deuxième étape, nos trois invités racontent dans quel état d'esprit ils étaient avant de quitter l'Espagne, entre volonté de ne pas se laisser perturber ces considérations de classement, mais forcément un oeil à garder sur leurs concurrents principaux.Au final, tous ont conservé leurs positions respectives pour décrocher un résultat marquant, Alexis Loison donnant au passage quelques clés de sa réussite sur cette édition. Et tous comptent bien revenir sur la Solitaire, dès l'an prochain pour Arno Biston, “dans deux ou trois ans” pour Alexis Loison qui vise une 20e participation, mais avant cela la Route du Rhum 2026 en Class40, tandis que Charlotte Yven veut prendre le temps de la réflexion, elle qui dispute sa dernière saison au sein du dispositif Skipper Macif.Diffusé le 30 Septembre 2025Générique : Fast and wild/EdRecordsPost-production : Grégoire LevillainHébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Hoy por Hoy
Cuenta con Bob | La pantufla: ¿el finisterre del fashionismo?

Hoy por Hoy

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2025 19:07


Bob le plantea a los oyentes su dilema actual: tiene los pies tan hinchados que no le cabe ningún zapato ni zapatilla. ¿Habrá llegado ya el momento de abrazar la pantufla? 

Solo Documental
La batalla de Trafalgar (1805)

Solo Documental

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2025 48:01


La batalla de Trafalgar, también conocida como el combate de Trafalgar, fue una batalla naval que tuvo lugar el 21 de octubre de 1805, en el marco de la tercera coalición iniciada por Reino Unido, Austria, Rusia, Nápoles y Suecia para intentar derrocar a Napoleón Bonaparte del trono imperial y disolver la influencia militar francesa existente en Europa. La batalla de Trafalgar se produce frente a las costas del cabo de Trafalgar, en Los Caños de Meca, localidad del municipio gaditano de Barbate. Dicha batalla naval está considerada como una de las más importantes del siglo XIX, donde se enfrentaron los aliados Francia y España (al mando del vicealmirante francés Pierre Villeneuve, bajo cuyo mando estaba por parte española el teniente general del mar Federico Gravina) contra la armada británica al mando del vicealmirante Horatio Nelson, quien obtuvo la victoria. En la actualidad, la céntrica plaza londinense de Trafalgar Square conmemora dicha victoria. Los acontecimientos históricos que precedieron a esta batalla se han de encontrar en el intento frustrado por parte de Napoleón de invadir las islas británicas, en el que la escuadra franco-española debía distraer a la flota británica y alejarla del canal de la Mancha para dirigirla hacia sus posesiones en las Indias Occidentales. Este plan de distracción fracasó, y se agravó con la consiguiente derrota de Finisterre (22 de julio de 1805). Tras esta derrota, la flota se dirigió al puerto de Cádiz, de donde zarparía el 19 de octubre hacia Trafalgar. La flota franco-española se vio bloqueada en Cádiz por Nelson, y en septiembre Napoleón ordenó a Villeneuve navegar a Nápoles para despejar el Mediterráneo del hostigamiento de los buques británicos, pero no obedeció esta orden, permaneciendo en puerto. A mediados de octubre, conociendo las intenciones de Napoleón de sustituirle por el almirante François Étienne de Rosily-Mesros y enviarle a París para pedirle cuentas por sus acciones, se adelantó a la llegada de su reemplazo y partió de Cádiz con la flota combinada el 18 de octubre. El total de 34 buques se encontró entonces con la flota de Nelson cerca del cabo de Trafalgar, y el 21 de octubre tuvo lugar un encuentro naval: la batalla de Trafalgar, donde la flota franco-española fue derrotada por la Armada Real británica. Nelson fue herido de muerte durante la batalla, convirtiéndose en uno de los más grandes héroes de guerra de Gran Bretaña. Villeneuve y su buque insignia, el Bucentaure, fueron capturados por los británicos junto con otros muchos buques españoles y franceses. Por su parte, el comandante Pierre-Étienne-René-Marie Dumanoir decidió huir con cuatro navíos en los primeros compases de la batalla. El almirante español Gravina logró alejarse del campo de batalla con parte de la flota, pero sucumbió meses más tarde por las heridas sufridas durante la batalla. Los barcos capturados por la flota inglesa fueron llevados hasta el puerto de Gibraltar. Sin embargo, la fuerte tormenta que se desencadenó en las aguas del estrecho pocas horas después de la batalla, hizo que algunos barcos, dado su malogrado estado, se fueran a pique en las costas gaditanas u onubenses ante la imposibilidad de resistir el remolque. Navíos como el Neptuno y el Santa Ana pudieron ser recuperados gracias a la acción de Julien Marie Cosmao-Kerjulien, quien regresó a aguas de Trafalgar con una flota de seis barcos dos días después. El viernes 21 de octubre de 2005, en el bicentenario de la batalla, se celebró en aguas de Trafalgar una ceremonia en el recuerdo de los caídos aquel día con representantes de España, Francia y Reino Unido. El entonces ministro de Defensa español José Bono arrojó al mar seis coronas de laurel desde el portaaviones Príncipe de Asturias, en un acto en el que fue escoltado por las fragatas francesas Montcalm y la británica HMS Chatham.

Active Travel Adventures
El Camino Portuguese Coastal Route Part II plus Finisterre (to the sea)

Active Travel Adventures

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2025 50:35


In Part II of our Camino adventure, we, as a group of Active Travel Adventures listeners, walk "solo together' to complete the Portuguese Way Camino Coastal Route with the beautiful Spiritual Way Variant.  We all had the same itinerary and lodging, but we could walk our own Camino, each day deciding whether to walk with others in the ATA group, solo or with new friends met along the way. You'll learn what to expect when doing an El Camino ("The Way") to Santiago in Spain, where the relics of St. James are said to be buried under the magnificent cathedral. You'll get plenty of tips and insights about planning and doing your own Camino or long distance walking holiday. After concluding my solo-together group experience, I headed solo to Finisterre, another five days walk to the ocean, to the 0.00 km marker at 'The End of the Earth", where many 'pilgrims' would toss their ratty shoes in the sea and collect a shell to prove they'd completed their Camino. Be sure to check out the webpage to get more details.  Click here for COMPLETE SHOW NOTES  See important links for planning your adventure, photos, videos and more cool info about today's show. Get FREE Travel Planners, Checklists and Packing Lists for ATA adventures (and each month you will get an email from Kit with links to all future Travel Planners (no spam promise!).  Get the monthly newsletter here. CONTACT KIT Resources  RECOMMENDED TOUR COMPANIES ******* EMAIL ME FOR PROMO DISCOUNT CODES***** Saily Affordable eSIM Overseas Mobile Phone Plans - No need to insert a physical SIM card when you travel.  Buy just the data you need to avoid expensive roaming charges.  Use Promo Code SPECIAL5 to save 5% Travel Insurance:  Quickly and easily compare rates and policies from different companies - no need to give any identifying information unless you decide to buy!  The best way to find the right policy for your adventures.  Train For Your Adventure  Ask Becki at Trailblazer Wellness to customize an at home, online personal training program for your upcoming adventure using whatever equipment you already have!  You'll get phone consultations, instruction videos and a plan to give you the best chance of success.  Becki offers a FREE initial phone consultation to see if you are a good fit.  AND she offers ATA listeners a 10% discount! Buy Me a Beer Want to support the program?  You can always buy me a coffee or beer - thanks! Amazon Kit's Picks   Please use my Amazon link to access your Amazon account.  Even if you don't purchase any of my recommendations, I get credit for anything you DO purchase - at no additional cost to you, you'll be helping to support the show and keeping it AD FREE:) SUBSCRIBE to Active Travel Adventures (fantastic adventure destinations) Join the Active Travel Adventures Facebook Group Follow ATA on Instagram Follow ATA on Pinterest (C) Active Travel Adventures, LLC - All Rights Reserved

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Hell Or High Water
EP 38: Amy Powney - All Rivers Lead To The Sea

Hell Or High Water

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2025 57:53


Finisterre's Amelia Hornblow and Rose Savidge join designer Amy Powney to explore their latest collaboration, touching on circularity, regenerative thinking, motherhood, and the creativity needed to reimagine fashion's future with responsibility and care.Send us a text

Pos. Report
Pos. Report #221 avec Fabien Delahaye et Pep Costa

Pos. Report

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2025 67:05


Ce 221e épisode de Pos. Report revient sur l'édition 2025 de la course de Class40, Les Sables-Horta - dont la première étape a été courue en double, la seconde en solitaire - en recevant, au lendemain de l'arrivée de la deuxième étape, son vainqueur au classement général, Fabien Delahaye (Legallais), et son dauphin, l'Espagnol Pep Costa (VSF Sports).Ce dernier commence par raconter comment il a été “casté” pour ce projet de Class40 lancé par un nouveau partenaire, VSF, le choix ayant été fait de racheter l'ancien Alla Grande Pirelli d'Ambrogio Beccaria plutôt que de construire un bateau neuf pour gagner du temps d'apprentissage.L'Espagnol revient sur ses débuts difficiles en course, une collision avec Wasabii lors de la phase de pré-départ de la CIC Normandy Channel Race (courue avec Pablo Santurde), d'où une grosse envie de se rattraper sur Les Sables-Horta. Fabien Delahaye avait de son côté terminé troisième de l'épreuve normande avec Pierre Leboucher, un podium confirmant sa régularité aux avant-postes sur le circuit Class40.Nous entrons ensuite dans le vif du sujet des Sables-Horta, avec une première étape sans enjeux stratégiques majeurs, mais la nécessité d'aller vite et de bien se positionner au cap Finisterre, puis, à l'issue d'un long bord tribord amure, pour négocier l'arrivée aux Açores. La victoire est finalement revenue aux Italiens Luca Rosetti et Matteo Sericano, devant Pep Costa et Pablo Santurde, parvenus sur le fil à dépasser Fabien Delahaye et Pierre Leboucher, les écarts en temps étant très faibles à l'arrivée (13 minutes entre le premier et le troisième).Après une escale aux Açores de six jours qu'ils auront particulièrement appréciée, les deux marins refont le match de la seconde étape, bien plus compliquée stratégiquement, avec notamment le choix fait par Fabien Delahaye d'opter, seul contre tous, pour une trajectoire sud, tandis que Pep Costa explique pourquoi il a opté pour une route “médiane”. Le skipper de Legallais raconte ensuite le regroupement général à l'entrée du golfe de Gascogne et comment, à l'approche de l'arrivée, il a commencé par calculer les écarts pour s'assurer la victoire au général, devant Pep Costa, plus que satisfait de ce résultat pour sa première course en solitaire en Class40, et Guillaume Pirouelle.Les deux skippers finissent par évoquer la prochaine échéance, qui arrive très vite, la Rolex Fastnet Race, qu'ils disputeront en équipage de quatre.En partenariat avec The Sea CleanersDiffusé le 15 Juillet 2025Générique : Fast and wild/EdRecordsPost-production : Grégoire LevillainHébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Camino NL - pelgrimsverhalen
De bijzondere Camino's van Janneke Schievink

Camino NL - pelgrimsverhalen

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2025 51:46


In deze aflevering, waar ik om onduidelijke reden het beginmelodietje niet kon inmonteren, vertelt Janneke Schievink over haar diverse pelgrimages. In 2006 liep ze van Vezelay naar Finisterre met haar wandelmaatje Gerlof Katuin, met wie je ook kennismaakt in deze aflevering.In 2019 liep ze een prachtige route die echter geen officiële Camino is, de Ruta del Padre Sarmiento. Deze route loopt langs de westkust van Galicia, van Pontevedra naar Padrón. En in 2025 liep ze door het voormalige Oost-Duitsland over de ökumenische Pilgerweg, van de stad Görlitz op de Duits-Poolse grens naar het stadje Vacha op de voormalige grens tussen Oost- en West-Duitsland.  Muziek:  Who would true valour see - Alister ThompsonLogo-ontwerp: Karin Kerremans, datbureau.nlContact over de podcast: post@johannakroon.nljohannakroon.nl/podcasten-voor-organisaties/ https://www.johannakroon.nl/podcasten-voor-organisaties/

Voces de Ferrol - RadioVoz
Arrancan en As Pontes las Festas do Carme e A Fraga 2025 con un programa cargado de cultura, tradición y música

Voces de Ferrol - RadioVoz

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2025 13:04


Del 11 al 25 de julio, As Pontes celebrará las Festas do Carme e A Fraga 2025 con un extenso programa de actividades culturales, musicales e infantiles, pensado para todos los públicos. Aunque el inicio oficial será el viernes 18 de julio con el pregón y el concierto tributo a Mecano Hijo de la Luna, las actividades comenzarán una semana antes. El 11 de julio, a las 21:00 h, se abrirá el programa con una exhibición de danza de la Escola Municipal. El 12 tendrá lugar el Certame de Bandas, precedido de pasacalles, con la participación de agrupaciones de Touro, Arca y As Pontes. Del 14 al 17 de julio, la Praza de América acogerá las Noites do Carme, con conciertos de acordeones, música tradicional y agrupaciones como Canavella, Os Trevillas o No Cómbaro. También se celebrarán exposiciones, como Unha foto, un poema y As Pontes Eléctrico. A partir del 14 de julio, el “Parque Activo” ofrecerá espectáculos y juegos para la infancia. Entre el 19 y el 25 de julio habrá pasacalles, verbenas con orquestas como Olympus, Finisterre o Los Españoles, el Festival Internacional de Folclore y la tradicional Romaría da Fraga, que cerrará las fiestas el 25 de julio

DIAS EXTRAÑOS con Santiago Camacho
SENEGAL: EL FINISTERRE AFRICANO DONDE NACEN LOS CAYUCOS

DIAS EXTRAÑOS con Santiago Camacho

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2025 58:13


Francisco Contreras nos transporta al corazón de África Occidental en un viaje que mezcla solidaridad, historia dolorosa y misterio animista. Desde la terrorífica Isla de Gorée -donde 20 millones de africanos fueron esclavizados- hasta los mercados de brujería de Mbour, pasando por el lago rosa más extraño del planeta. Pero hay algo más: una misión para rescatar a 200 niños talibés, esclavos modernos invisibles que mendigan en las calles mientras occidente mira hacia otro lado. Un testimonio brutal sobre hospitalarios sin fronteras y niños que sonríen sin tener nada, en el país donde los baobás guardan secretos milenarios y los marabús mezclan islam con animismo ancestral. Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

Humor en la Cadena SER
Especialistas Secundarios | Abriendo estratégicamente las ventanas de todas las casas un pueblo vasco ha generado una corriente de aire desde Irún a Finisterre

Humor en la Cadena SER

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 5:59


Txumari Elfari nos habla de su gran proyecto sostenible y barato para refrigerar todo el norte del país.

Humor en la Cadena SER
Especialistas Secundarios | Abriendo estratégicamente las ventanas de todas las casas un pueblo vasco ha generado una corriente de aire desde Irún a Finisterre

Humor en la Cadena SER

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 5:59


Txumari Elfari nos habla de su gran proyecto sostenible y barato para refrigerar todo el norte del país.

La Ventana
Especialistas Secundarios | Abriendo estratégicamente las ventanas de todas las casas un pueblo vasco ha generado una corriente de aire desde Irún a Finisterre

La Ventana

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 5:59


Txumari Elfari nos habla de su gran proyecto sostenible y barato para refrigerar todo el norte del país.

La Ventana
Especialistas Secundarios | Abriendo estratégicamente las ventanas de todas las casas un pueblo vasco ha generado una corriente de aire desde Irún a Finisterre

La Ventana

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 5:59


Txumari Elfari nos habla de su gran proyecto sostenible y barato para refrigerar todo el norte del país.

Especialistas Secundarios
Especialistas Secundarios | Abriendo estratégicamente las ventanas de todas las casas un pueblo vasco ha generado una corriente de aire desde Irún a Finisterre

Especialistas Secundarios

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 5:59


Txumari Elfari nos habla de su gran proyecto sostenible y barato para refrigerar todo el norte del país.

Especialistas Secundarios
Especialistas Secundarios | Abriendo estratégicamente las ventanas de todas las casas un pueblo vasco ha generado una corriente de aire desde Irún a Finisterre

Especialistas Secundarios

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 5:59


Txumari Elfari nos habla de su gran proyecto sostenible y barato para refrigerar todo el norte del país.

Todo por la radio
Especialistas Secundarios | Abriendo estratégicamente las ventanas de todas las casas un pueblo vasco ha generado una corriente de aire desde Irún a Finisterre

Todo por la radio

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 5:59


Txumari Elfari nos habla de su gran proyecto sostenible y barato para refrigerar todo el norte del país.

Todo por la radio
Especialistas Secundarios | Abriendo estratégicamente las ventanas de todas las casas un pueblo vasco ha generado una corriente de aire desde Irún a Finisterre

Todo por la radio

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 5:59


Txumari Elfari nos habla de su gran proyecto sostenible y barato para refrigerar todo el norte del país.

Kiroleros
Diario Caminus Finisterrae Día 8. De Muxia a Finisterre

Kiroleros

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2025 13:37


Última conexión con los emocionados chicos de Caminus, antes de su llegada a Finisterre.

Backcountry Marketing
How Finisterre Uses a Brand Muse to Guide Creative Strategy

Backcountry Marketing

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2025 57:23


In this episode, Bronwen Foster-Butler, CMO at Finisterre, breaks down how the brand is growing without compromising its identity. We talk about their North American expansion, the tension between polished production and platform-native content, and why user-generated stories often outperform high-budget ads. Bronwen also shares how Finisterre uses a fictional “brand muse” to guide creative decisions, what they've learned about emotional storytelling in a data-driven world, and where she thinks AI fits (and doesn't) in outdoor marketing. About: This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio. We help brands that move, create strategy-led, emotionally charged video campaigns Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below: Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show?  Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years. LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers. Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple. Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind?  Share them with us here. Patreon | Want to support us financially?   

Luisterrijk luisterboeken

Een ode aan de magie van het wandelen op de camino. Uitgegeven door Alfabet uitgevers Spreker: Mariska van der Klis

Nooit meer slapen
Mariska van der Klis (presentatrice en redacteur)

Nooit meer slapen

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2025 58:04


Mariska van der Klis is presentatrice, redacteur en relatie- en scheidingscoach. Ze werkte voor programma's als ‘Pauw' en ‘Jinek'. In 2009 verscheen haar eerste boek ‘Ja, ik wil!', waarin zij openhartig vertelt over keuzes maken, eerlijkheid, accepteren en andere lastige beslissingen in het leven. Nu komt zij met haar nieuwste boek ‘Finisterre'. Nadat haar jarenlange relatie abrupt ten einde kwam, besloot ze de duizend kilometer lange Via de la Plata te gaan lopen. De route staat bekend als de zwaarste en eenzaamste camino in Spanje. Het boek is een ode aan de magie van het wandelen. Femke van der Laan gaat met Mariska van der Klis in gesprek.

Camino NL - pelgrimsverhalen
Henny Veldman liep in 2024 van St Jean Pied de Port naar Finisterre

Camino NL - pelgrimsverhalen

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2025 51:31


.. en was ook van plan om vanuit Haarlem lopend naar de podcaststudio te komen maar uiteindelijk is ze met de trein gekomen en lopend teruggegaan. Ook Henny is, net als vele pelgrims, enorm opgeknapt van haar Camino, ondanks dat er zich onderweg best wat problemen voordeden... of was het misschien dankzij die problemen dat de Camino haar zo goed heeft gedaan?Muziek:  Who would true valour see - Alister ThompsonLogo-ontwerp: Karin Kerremans, datbureau.nlContact over de podcast: post@johannakroon.nljohannakroon.nl/podcasten-voor-organisaties/https://www.johannakroon.nl/podcasten-voor-organisaties/

Pillole di Storia
#567 - La battaglia di Capo Finisterre, cannoni nella nebbia

Pillole di Storia

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2025 32:25


Per approfondire gli argomenti della puntata: La serie su Napoleone : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unrf-HbQowQ&list=PLpMrMjMIcOklYaikauNQrTxpwpd8wLtE0&index=1&ab_channel=LaBibliotecadiAlessandria Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Camino NL - pelgrimsverhalen
Maak kennis met Piet van Adrichem, de nieuwe voorzitter van het Genootschap van Sint Jacob

Camino NL - pelgrimsverhalen

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2025 74:12


Piet van Adrichem liep in 2022 van zijn huis in Delft naar Finisterre. Hij komt uit het onderwijs en was docent maatschappij en levensbeschouwing. Tegenwoordig is hij voorzitter van het Jacobsgenootschap. Zijn motto: 'Een pelgrim moet nooit iets afwijzen en mag nooit nee zeggen.'Muziek:  Who would true valour see - Alister ThompsonLogo-ontwerp: Karin Kerremans, datbureau.nlContact over de podcast: post@johannakroon.nljohannakroon.nl/podcasten-voor-organisaties/https://www.johannakroon.nl/podcasten-voor-organisaties/

Hell Or High Water
EP 36: Lucy Small & Maddie Meddings - A Surf Film Called Ceibo

Hell Or High Water

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2025 62:51


Our latest episode falls on a special date in our calendar, International Women's Day. Understanding that Women have been under-represented within the male-dominated surf industry for too long, for the past three years we have sought to elevate female voices with our Women Of The Sea Film Fund, offering up £10,000 for budding women to tell stories of commandeering their space in the lineup. All of which leads us neatly to today's podcast guests – Lucy Small, a surfer, journalist and activist, and longtime friend of Finisterre, Filmmaker Maddie Meddings – discussing their latest surf film project, “Ceibo”.Send us a text

Solo Documental
Camino de Santiago. El templo de las estrellas

Solo Documental

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2025 49:03


El Camino de Santiago es una mezcla de aventura turístico-deportiva y sentimiento religioso que hacen de todo aquel que lo realiza, una experiencia inolvidable. Este documental muestra toda su historia desde sus orígenes hasta nuestros días. Todo empezó con el descubrimiento de sepulcro del Apóstol Santiago en el primer tercio del siglo IX. Esto impulsó a muchos cristianos a peregrinar hasta Compostela. Para ello era necesaria la construcción de una iglesia que permitiera, por un lado, guardar la sagrada tumba del santo, por otro custodiar y honrar sus reliquias y la de sus discípulos Teodoro y Atanasio, y por último acoger una gran cantidad de peregrinos llegados de los reinos peninsulares y del resto de Europa. Sus Artífices pretendían convertir Compostela en un lugar de referencia en lo religioso y en lo artístico, como Roma o Jerusalén. Fueron los comienzos de una historia fascinante, una fabulosa epopeya llevada a cabo durante siglos, por miles de personas unidas por la devoción a la figura del Apóstol Santiago, en un apartado rincón del Finisterre. Le llamaban Compostela: el campo de las estrellas. La Catedral de Santiago es el resultado de numerosos cambios, proyectos, obras, remodelaciones, en fin, una dilatada y apasionante creación arquitectónica y artística desarrollada a lo largo de los siglos y de la que hoy podemos disfrutar. Aunque desde la Edad Media, Jerusalén, Roma y Santiago, han sido los tres grandes centros de peregrinación, la ruta jacobea o Camino de Santiago, es la única que aún se realiza de la misma forma que entonces: a pie y con el zurrón al hombro. Hacía tiempo que la noticia del descubrimiento del sepulcro de Santiago había llegado a Francia. Eran tiempos oscuros y peligrosos. El terror se desató al conocerse que el ejército sarraceno había arrasado Compostela. Almanzor había destruido su Basílica y demás iglesias y monasterios. El obispo Diego Peláez decidió construir una nueva Iglesia que reemplazase a la basílica prerrománica. Sobrevolamos la ciudad de Santiago, desde el aire podemos contemplar la catedral y cerca de ella la iglesia de San Félix de Solovio. Y es en este lugar donde las crónicas cuentan que un ermitaño llamado Pelayo, observó unas luces que brillaban sobre la antigua ciudadela romana. Ante tales noticias, el obispo acude al lugar y entre la maleza, descubre la entrada de un pequeño sepulcro. Sobre el sepulcro se construyó una iglesia para venerar las reliquias del Apóstol. Las obras concluyen en el 830 y el Obispo Teodomiro consagra la primera Iglesia de Santiago. La nueva basílica se consagra en el año 899. En el año 1101, y ya en Santiago, tras ser nombrado obispo por el Papa Pascual II, Diego Gelmírez se aprestó a poner en marcha sus proyectos. El primero debía ser la conclusión de la catedral. Era evidente que si quería conseguir que la Iglesia de Santiago llegara a ser esa gran sede apostólica, debía de estar a la vanguardia del arte. Para ello patrocinó continuos intercambios entre los obradores compostelanos y los más avanzados de la época. El Camino de Santiago se había convertido, definitivamente, en un torrente de intercambio cultural y artístico, entre Galicia y el resto de Europa. Diego Gelmírez había cumplido todos sus objetivos: la construcción de la catedral iba por buen camino y era un referente del arte románico europeo. El 21 de abril de 1211, el arzobispo Pedro Muñiz, en presencia del rey Alfonso IX, consagró la catedral románica de Santiago. La visita de Juan Pablo II y después la de Benedicto XVI en el año santo compostelano de 2010, rodeados de una ferviente multitud de peregrinos venidos de todas partes del mundo, demuestran la magnífica vitalidad que hoy muestra el culto Jacobeo. Pero a pesar de todos los cambios, la obra de Peláez y Gelmírez, de los maestros Bernardo, Esteban, Mateo y tantos otros sigue inalterable y reconocible. En los espacios de sus naves, columnas, tribunas, capillas y pórticos se conserva el espíritu de todos aquellos que contribuyeron a edificarla.

Les actus du jour - Hugo Décrypte
Violette Dorange me raconte son tour du monde historique à la voile à 23 ans (Vendée Globe)

Les actus du jour - Hugo Décrypte

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2025 54:18


À 23 ans, elle vient de terminer le Vendée Globe. Entretien avec Violette Dorange pour revenir sur son parcours et ses 3 mois en mer. Pour retrouver cet échange, mes autres interviews et l'actualité en podcast :- Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/6y1PloEyNsCNJH9vHias4T- Apple Podcast : https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/hugod%C3%A9crypte-actus-et-interviews/id1552365367- Deezer : https://www.deezer.com/fr/show/2270682Et sur toutes les autres plateformes !

il posto delle parole
Adelio Fusè "Di chi sono queste insonnie"

il posto delle parole

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 29, 2025 28:13


Adelio Fusé"Di chi sono queste insonnie"Manni Editoriwww.mannieditori.comDopo anni passati a girovagare, Aldous Canti si ritira nel Finisterre galiziano. Autore involontario di un unico libro di successo, scrittore appartato e visionario, fosse per lui non darebbe più alle stampe un solo testo, incluso il romanzo di cui da tempo rimanda la chiusura. Le sue mosse imprevedibili e la tendenza alla sparizione costringono a un inseguimento continuo l'agente letterario Manlio Roveda. Pragmatico e tenace, Manlio quasi si trasforma in un investigatore che si trovi a indagare anche su di sé. Il perimetro mobile della ricerca è dato dal mondo di Aldous, dove luoghi, accadimenti e personaggi reali si combinano con la finzione letteraria, situazioni oniriche e ricordi ricorrenti. Con gli imprevisti Aldous è a proprio agio, ma deve affrontarne uno risolutivo che non sarà privo di conseguenze nemmeno per Manlio.Adelio FuséÈ nato nel 1958, vive a Milano dove lavora in ambito editoriale.Ha pubblicato saggi, il romanzo North Rocks (Campanotto 2001), cinque libri di poesia con Book Editore che hanno ottenuto vari riconoscimenti, testi e scritti critici su riviste.Collabora con artisti e musicisti. Tiene una rubrica di musica e poesia sul sito www.altremusiche.itIL POSTO DELLE PAROLEascoltare fa pensarewww.ilpostodelleparole.itDiventa un supporter di questo podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/il-posto-delle-parole--1487855/support.

l8nightwithchoccy's podcast
A couple of conversations at COAST FILM FESTIVAL_STEVER AND SUMMER RAPP OF ADD BLACK : CHRIS EVANS AND WILL SHEANE OF FINISTERRE

l8nightwithchoccy's podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2024 69:30


We were fortunate enough to be invited to Coast Film and Music Festival. This is a week long festival that showcases amazing movies from different cultures and industries. We got to sit down with Stever and Summer Rapp of Add Black / Summer of 78', as well as Chris Evans and Will Sheane of Finisterre. They shared some incredible stories, but we will need to have them all on again for more insights! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hoy por Hoy
El viaje de ida | Alejandro Finisterre, una vida de película entre la poesía y el futbolín

Hoy por Hoy

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2024 14:14


Alejandro Campos Ramírez, conocido como Alejandro Finisterre, fue algo así como el James Bond español. Con una vida que se diluye entre la ficción y la realidad, fue el inventor del futbolín y del pasa páginas, secuestró un avión con una pastilla de jabón envuelta en papel albal, creó la editorial Finisterre y su testamento fue secreto de estado. Pepe Rubio nos ha llevado a un 'Viaje De Ida' a la vida de Alejandro Finisterre.

Hoy por Hoy
Hoy por Hoy | Los kioscos, Alejandro Finisterre y Andoni Aduriz | Magazine

Hoy por Hoy

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2024 84:39


En 'El Rincón y La Esquina', con Marta Sanz y Manuel Delgado hemos hablado de los kioscos. Roberto Villar y su equipo secreto nos traen la 'Biografía No Autorizada' del encargado de encender las luces de navidad en pleno noviembre: Abel Caballero, el alcalde de Vigo. Pepe Rubio nos ha llevado a un 'Viaje De Ida' a la vida del creador del futbolín, Alejandro Finisterre, que tuvo una vida entre la ficción y la realidad. 'La Entrevista' de la semana nos la concede Andoni Aduriz, dueño de uno de los mayores templos gastronómicos del mundo, Mugaritz. 

InterNational
« En quête d'équilibre »

InterNational

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2024 4:20


durée : 00:04:20 - Chroniques littorales - par : Jose Manuel Lamarque - Il s'appelle Eric Bellion, il a pris le départ du Vendée Globe dimanche dernier puis ce fut une nuit compliquée au cap Finisterre, au nord-ouest de la péninsule ibérique. Il est aussi un auteur, son ouvrage a pour titre « En quête d'équilibre », qui résume le sens qu'il donne à sa vie…

Pos. Report
Pos. Report #188 avec Elodie Bonafous, Yoann Richomme,- Gaston Morvan et Loïs Berrehar

Pos. Report

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2024 56:30


Pour cette première édition de Pos. Report Live, enregistrée en public à la Cité de la Voile Eric Tabarly, nous recevons une brochette de figaristes : Elodie Bonafous, Gaston Morvan et Loïs Berrehar. Avec, en prime, une vacation avec un double vainqueur de la Solitaire, en la personne du skipper Paprec Arkéa, Yoann Richomme.Au programme un retour sur la séquence de départ des Sables d'Olonne et ses émotions, à terre comme en mer ; l'analyse des deux premières séquences stratégiques - traversée du golfe de Gascogne et passage du cap Finisterre -, et, bien sûr une projection vers les enjeux tactiques et stratégiques des prochains jours.Une heure passionnante en compagnie de la jeune garde de la course au large - qui se prépare pour le Vendée Globe 2028 - écoutant avec beaucoup d'attention le "taulier" Yoann Richomme, passé en tête de la course pendant la nuit !Enregistré en public le 12 novembre 2024 de 18h30 à 19h30Diffusé le 13 novembre 2024Générique : Fast and wild/EdRecordsPost-production : Grégoire Levillain Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Rosedale Bible Church
Why Should We Focus on Unreached Peoples: Matt 28:16 20 - Scott Maxwell - FinisTerre Mission

Rosedale Bible Church

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2024 39:40


Why Should We Focus on Unreached Peoples: Matt 28:16 20 - Scott Maxwell - FinisTerre Mission

Blamo! | Exploring Fashion with the People Who Shape It

My guest this week is Tom Kay, founder of the outdoor brand FinisterreA brand born in 2003 from the needs of hardy British surfers, Finisterre designs functional and sustainable products for those who share a love of the sea.In this week's pod, Tom and I discuss what drives design, wetsuits, surfing, and how to make an outdoor brand. We also chat about repairs, collabs, and how to unwind.https://finisterre.com*Sponsored by Bezel - the trusted marketplace for buying and selling your next luxury watch

Witchy Wit
90 Two Witches' Camino

Witchy Wit

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2024 70:10


Kimberlyn and Leilani check in with the joys and challenges of walking the Camino de Santiago to “The End of the World.”Get exclusive content and support us on Patreon:http://www.patreon.com/WitchyWit  Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/WitchyWitPodcast  Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/Witchy_Wit  Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/3azUkFVlECTlTZQVX5jl1X?si=8WufnXueQrugGDIYWbgc3A  Apple Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/witchy-wit/id1533482466  Pandora:https://pandora.app.link/nNsuNrSKneb  Google Podcast:Witchy Wit (google.com)

En Casa de Herrero
El escaparate: Camino de Finisterre

En Casa de Herrero

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2024 46:20


Luis Herrero y Kelu Robles viajan por el epílogo del Camino de Santiago.

Ageless Athlete - Fireside Chats with Adventure Sports Icons
#23 Katie McConnell - Big Waves, and Bold Choices, Crafting a Life of Passion and Advocacy for the Oceans

Ageless Athlete - Fireside Chats with Adventure Sports Icons

Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2024 98:16 Transcription Available


Love the show, hate the show? Send us a text message!"It's kind of like... when the oracle is talking to Neo, and she's like, 'Know thyself.' I think if you just really stay true to yourself, and go, and just follow your dreams, I don't think you can lose."

Spanish for the Camino
33. ¿Camino o Camiño?

Spanish for the Camino

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2024 7:56


¿Camino o Camiño? ¿Finisterre o Fisterra? ¿Cuál es la correcta? Te lo cuento en este episodio. Si buscas una versión en inglés de este episodio, la encuentras en el blog: https://www.spanishforcamino.com/2018/10/12/o-camino-de-santiago/ Las transcripciones y algún que otro extra: https://spanishforcamino.com/podcast/#transcript

Swell Season
Finisterre with Tom Kay

Swell Season

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2024 76:52


Finisterre which in latin: finis terrae; means 'end of the earth'. Is a brand that exists first and foremost to meet the needs of the cold water surfer both in and out of the water. People like to call them the UK version of  Patagonia but, I'd wager founder Tom Kay must have mixed feelings about those comparisons. To be compared to an industry leader can be flattering but, I imagine Tom believes that they have their own unique voice and story to tell that can differentiate the two.Tom Kay, the driving force behind Finisterre has been at the game for over 20 years, slowly building a great reputation for quality products that are sustainably minded. The brand has gained a cult following amongst surfers worldwide who I suspect feel underrepresented in the larger surf culture. Tom and his team are currently poised to make big moves in the coming years that will help to drive the surf world to think more sustainably.I was fortunate enough to have met Tom late last year at an event at their beautiful store in London through my mate Matt Bar of the Looking Sideways Podcast. Tom was extremely friendly and engaging. You could tell this was a very sharp but passionate person. Unfortunately, I had to leave shortly after meeting Tom but the few minutes I got to speak  with him, I felt like I could talk to him all night. I decided I needed to have him on the show. I'm excited  because we are fortunate enough to have Tom as our guest on this episode of the Swell Season Surf Podcast. For more information on Finisterre, you can go to www.finisterre.com or follow them on instagram @finisterreThe Swell Season Surf Podcast is recorded by The NewsStand Studio at Rockefeller Center in the heart of Manhattan and is distributed by The Swell Season Surf Radio Network. For more information, you can follow @swellseasonsurfradio on Instagram or go to our website: www.swellseasonsurf.com Music: Song: Cornwall My HomeArtist: One & AllAlbum: Fisherman's FriendBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/swell-season--3483504/support.

Grace Bible Church - Equipping Hour Podcast
Equipping Hour: FinisTerre: What God Is Doing and What's to Come

Grace Bible Church - Equipping Hour Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2024 53:25


The post Equipping Hour: FinisTerre: What God Is Doing and What's to Come appeared first on Grace Bible Church.

The Camino Cafe
115 - This week on the Camino....Camino News Update 4/3/24 Rain, Easter Week, Tips for booking ahead and getting a massage in Santiago, Camino Invierno, sneak peak at a route in Japan, plus more!

The Camino Cafe

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2024 14:49 Transcription Available


Theme Music:"Looking for you in Finisterre" by Luis Vallecillo, Original Song, available on Spotify soon! Quintana Massagehttps://www.quintanamassages.com/Camino Pilgrim International Discussion Grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/155693474900286Johnnie Walker Bookshttps://www.amazon.com/stores/Johnnie-Walker/author/B06XT5CRHV/allbooks?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1712123453&sr=8-1&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=trueJohnnie Walker Blog https://johnniewalker-santiago.blogspot.com/2018/12/living-in-santiago-was-not-my-plan.htmlGonze https://www.gronze.com/Wise Pilgrimhttps://wisepilgrim.com/Whats Apphttps://www.whatsapp.com/DeepLhttps://www.deepl.com/en/translatorConnect with Leigh:Camino News Update - Every Wednesday! https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9jRyUVnjI4WJMbM7rEbXW9ycGuQwm8Ae&si=vKPxgrYLQfyC_m4HSubscribe to our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6VN9ze3z61n6tRLtDXWuQwFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecaminocafepodcast/The Camino Cafe's intro and outro song with thanks to fellow Pilgrim, Jackson Maloney. Original Song - "Finnis Terre" - written and performed by Jackson Maloney - Singer, Musician, and Songwriter. Connect with Jackson: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3fdQsSqq9pDSwKcWlnBHKR

The Camino Cafe
113 - Camino News Update 3/20/24 - Botafumiero, Finisterre, Santiago, Norway's St. Olav, Levante and more!

The Camino Cafe

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2024 13:55 Transcription Available


Youtube link for this episode:https://youtu.be/LzK9nCuICbQ?si=n9RQ0XxsJgXUYitVNorway Links:https://www.visitnorway.com/listings/pilegrimssenter-granavollen/7316/https://pilegrimsleden.no/https://visittrondheim.no/en/activities-attractions/sightseeing/nidaros-cathedral/Music Credit - Thanks to a fellow pilgrim, Sarah Justine Packwood, for the generous offering of the usage of her original song:Connect with Leigh:Camino News Update - Every Wednesday! https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9jRyUVnjI4WJMbM7rEbXW9ycGuQwm8Ae&si=vKPxgrYLQfyC_m4HSubscribe to our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6VN9ze3z61n6tRLtDXWuQwFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecaminocafepodcast/The Camino Cafe's intro and outro song with thanks to fellow Pilgrim, Jackson Maloney. Original Song - "Finnis Terre" - written and performed by Jackson Maloney - Singer, Musician, and Songwriter. Connect with Jackson: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3fdQsSqq9pDSwKcWlnBHKR

The Camino Cafe
112 - Camino News Update 3/13/24 with Leigh Brennan, Johnnie Walker, Lindsay Teychenne, Rosco Tolman, Sven Kaven, and Russ Eanes

The Camino Cafe

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2024 12:09 Transcription Available


This week's Camino News Update - 3/13/24! It's a great one! Pilgrims, this is a really can't-miss episode! Loads of news, tips, and updates from Johnniewalker Santiago Rosco Tolman  Sven Kaven Lindsay Teychenne  Russ Eanes - From Santiago, San Antonio, Mozárabe, Route to Finisterre, Camino Portuguese, and more.  Thanks to the amazing team pulling this show together each week. Don't worry, Rocco Rossi will be back with us soon during his next walk from a surprise route! More, too, next week from the American Pilgrims on the Camino Gathering! Buen Camino! Check out the episode on YouTube to see the video footage for this showhttps://youtu.be/YN0lKxSd7Ck?si=jgMD7f2hTeNXEk-dLink to News Article about Rosco:https://www.dailyrecordnews.com/news/the-ellensburg-pilgrim-rosco-tolman-hikes-the-french-camino/article_2817af3f-a108-5b17-afaa-e102f132499f.htmlConnect with Leigh:Camino News Update - Every Wednesday! https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9jRyUVnjI4WJMbM7rEbXW9ycGuQwm8Ae&si=vKPxgrYLQfyC_m4HSubscribe to our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6VN9ze3z61n6tRLtDXWuQwFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecaminocafepodcast/The Camino Cafe's intro and outro song with thanks to fellow Pilgrim, Jackson Maloney. Original Song - "Finnis Terre" - written and performed by Jackson Maloney - Singer, Musician, and Songwriter. Connect with Jackson: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3fdQsSqq9pDSwKcWlnBHKR

Deviate with Rolf Potts
Essential tips and strategies for telling travel stories, with Andrew McCarthy

Deviate with Rolf Potts

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2024 58:23


“We ‘massage’ the truth to make it fit the narrative we need it to fit in our lives.”  –Andrew McCarthy In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Andrew talk about how Andrew got started in travel writing, and how writing himself on the page helped him see himself in the world (2:30); when he does and doesn’t conflate certain details in the interest of a good story, and how he balances the “micro” and the “macro” elements of a travel story (12:30); how he decides who to write about, among the many people he meets on the road, which details do and don’t drive the narrative forward, and what it’s like to meet travelers who recognize him from his acting days (23:30); how Andrew structures his travel stories, and what travel storytelling in common with his work as a TV director (31:00); how he balances his writing and non-writing work in life, and how he mixes personal details with place details in his travel writing (38:00); and how memory can be fallible, and how to best write about family members (47:00). Andrew McCarthy (@AndrewTMcCarthy) is an actor, television director and writer of such books as The Longest Way Home and Brat. His newest book is Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and Five Hundred Miles Across Spain. Notable Links: Paris Writing Workshops (Rolf’s travel memoir classes) Andrew McCarthy on travel (Deviate episode) Andrew McCarthy Proust questionnaire (Deviate episode) Paul Theroux (travel writer and novelist) “Chasing the Black Pearl,” by Andrew McCarthy (Tahiti article) Gustav Mahler (classical composer) Don George (travel writer and editor) The Snow Leopard, by Peter Matthiessen (book) “A Slice of Paradise,” by Andrew McCarthy (Hawaii article) “A Slice of Ireland,” by Andrew McCarthy (Ireland article) “Steeped in Darjeeling,” by Andrew McCarthy (India article) Osprey (species of bird) Finisterre (peninsula in Spain) Communitas (unstructured community of equals) A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson (book) Less than Zero (1987 film starring Andrew McCarthy) Nut graph (journalism term) Joan Didion (American writer) Marco Polo Didn’t Go There, by Rolf Potts (book) Claude Chabrol (French film director) Henry Miller (American novelist) Alison Steele (New York DJ known as “The Nightbird”) Vin Scelsa (broadcaster) Oliver Sacks (British neurologist and writer) Rob Lowe (American “Brat Pack” actor) “Courting Vienna,” by Andrew McCarthy (Austria article) The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

Witchy Wit
82 Camino Primitivo: Finisterre

Witchy Wit

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2024 54:54


When Kimberlyn and Leilani walk the Camino in June, they will not stop in Santiago de Compostela, but will continue on for several more days to Finisterre, “the End of the World.”  Listen as they explore the spirituality, traditions, and prehistoric history of this magical place. Their check-ins:  Kimberlyn's profound experience at the finals of an international piano competition; Leilani's inspirational experience with TikTok cooking videosMentioned in the episode: Sylvia Plath's poem, “Finisterre.” Get exclusive content and support us on Patreon:http://www.patreon.com/WitchyWit  Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/WitchyWitPodcast  Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/Witchy_Wit  Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/3azUkFVlECTlTZQVX5jl1X?si=8WufnXueQrugGDIYWbgc3A  Apple Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/witchy-wit/id1533482466  Pandora:https://pandora.app.link/nNsuNrSKneb  Google Podcast:Witchy Wit (google.com)

The Pacific War - week by week
- 114 - Pacific War - Fall of Shaggy Ridge , January 23-30, 1944

The Pacific War - week by week

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2024 40:17


Last time we spoke about the operations HA-GO, U-GO and the continued drive against Shaggy ridge. Lt General Mutaguchi Renya sought to invade India and was continuously scheming to drag the rest of the IJA on this rather insane endeavor. Yet the allies also tossed their own operations in the Burma theater greatly disrupting the Japanese planners and achieving numerous objectives. Over in New Guinea, Vasey launched an offensive against the Kankeiri saddle, designated operation cutthroat. Meanwhile General Nakano 's men were in a dire situation with the allied seizure of Sio and Saidor. Multiple Japanese units found themselves all doing the same thing, retreating further north. It seemed no matter what defensive lines they established, the allies kept their advance over land and periodically amphibious assaults their flanks and rear. The formidable defenses region of Shaggy ridge was not going to hold up against the allied advance much longer.  This episode is The Fall of Shaggy Ridge Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  The Australian advance overland and Saidor operation had paid great dividends over and above the establishment of forward military base construction. The allies had formed a giant wedge between a significant residue of the Japanese fleeing the Finschhafen area. General Adachi commanding the 18th area army was facing a nightmare. Prior to the American landing, he had visited the 51st division HQ at Kiari and then traveled overland to the 20th Division over at Sio. He was fully aware of the hardships facing both forces. Meanwhile news of the Saidor landings hit Rabaul creating a massive debate. Senior officers sought to bring over all available troops to try and retake the town. Others sought to save as many troops as possible for a defense of Wewak, considering it the next main allies target. General Imamura favored bypassing Saidor altogether and withdrawing over inland trails. Thus Adachi appointed General Nakano to take charge of the withdrawal to Madang, and ordered 8 other companies to cross the Ramu valley to Bogadjim to harass the Americans at Saidor. These were purely defensive maneuvers. The Japanese also faced the daunting task of how to evacuate large numbers of troops from the 20th and 51st divisions from the impending allied trap. Nakano took the lead getting the 20th to retreat up the coast while the 51st worked their war over the inland trails. Nakano would soon be forced to abandon the plans and ordered both to pull into the interior to retreat towards Madang, nearly 200 miles away. This would mean the exhausted, starving and sick Japanese had to battle through the jungles, ridges, rivers and other horrors of the Finisterre range.  Meanwhile Saidor was easily secured by the 32nd division, the Australian 7th division advanced through the Ramu Valley and came face to face with Shaggy Ridge. Shaggy ridge had been transformed into a heavy fortified position with numerous nasty features such as the Kankeiri saddle, Pimple, Intermediate snipers pimple, Green snipers pimple, Prothero 1 and 2 and so forth. During the first weeks of January the Australians made very little headway against the honeycombed Japanese defenses. Their air forces were called in numerous times to plaster the ridgelines in a 3 day assault designated Operation Cutthroat. On the 18th of January, B-25s from Nadzab and Port Moresby would drop 500 lb bombs all over the defenses. On the 21st P-40s strafed and bombed the area and this was met with some reorganizing of the ground forces. The 15th and 18th brigades relieved the exhausted 21st and 25th. Brigadier F. O Chilton began the new job by opening heavy artillery up on Prothero I. Captain T. L James with the 2/2 pioneer battalion described the attack on January 20th “At 1000 hours we met 2/12 Infantry Battalion at the appointed rendezvous, where I met their CO., Lt.-CoI. C. F. Bourne. We did not stay long at the rendezvous but formed up and commenced the long approach march. It was a gruelling day. The long single file moved silently up the deep ravines, scaling cliff-faces with the aid of ropes and lawyer vines. It took us the entire day to cover the four mile approach. In one spot that was almost impossible to traverse—a steep-sided cliff—they rigged lawyer vines between trees to act as a handrail and allow us to pull ourselves up." Despite the harsh conditions and fierce resistance, the Australians got atop Canning saddle and then forded the Mene river and drew near the village. Colonel Matsumoto's men were now trapped between the 2/9th battalion advancing from the Pimple and the 2/12th battalion from Prothero 1. To the east there was the 2/10th battalion about a mile away from the main Japanese defensive position along the Kankeiri saddle. On the 22nd, the 2/12th dispatched D company who advanced between Prothero1 and Prothero 2. At 10:40am they began to fire their artillery upon Prothero 2 and at 11:15am a platoon tried to progress but was held down by Japanese snipers and machine gun fire. A company came through D company to advance along Shaggy ridge until 3:30 pm once they took were held down by Japanese fire. Then a single australian section rushed forward led by Bren gunner Private Bugg. His team hit a Japanese machine gun crew from just 30 yards away. He seized a toehold quickly upon Prothero 2. After some bitter fighting Prothero 2 had fallen into allied hands. Meanwhile to the south the 2/9th sent a patrol out on the 22nd who found pill-boxes at McCaughey's knoll occupied with Japanese gunners. At 10:45am as allied artillery hit Prothero 2, Captain Taylor led a company of the 2/9th and assaulted McCaughers knoll. They were quickly pinned down, but by 1:15pm word reached them that Prothero 2 was captured and that the entire battalion was to push along Shaggy ridge. During that afternoon Taylor took his company to the western side of Shaggy ridge, getting ready for a new flanking maneuver against McCaughey's knoll. The men fought their way up the knoll cleaning up pillbox one after another, capturing McCaugheys knoll by nightfall. It would cost them 8 men wounded. More than 100 dead Japanese were found over the Prothero-Shaggry ridge area when mop up crews did their work. Meanwhile 2/10th kept up the pressure in the east. On the 22nd A Company led by Lt Gunn seized a foothold on Faria Ridge and, prompting the enemy by late in the afternoon, to abandon Cam's Hill, which was occupied by the 2/10th by 5.20 p.m. During the night and early morning of january 23rd, two counter attacks were launched by the Japanese.  At 2.40 the forward troops of A Company on the ridge were attacked from the south but the attack was repulsed with no casualties. After this the Australians moved down the track towards Kankeiri. Captain Haupt's B Company of the 2/12th advanced down the track from Prothero 2. By 6pm they were atop the saddle around Crater Hill when they came across a Japanese gun position containing 150 rounds of 75mm ammunition. Half an hour later they ran into some resistance from slopes atop Crater Hill. They would pull back to the Kankeiri saddle to dig in for the night.  The 2/10th then dispatch D company led by Captain Kumnick to advance along the Faria Ridge. They made it 1500 yards before running into a well entrenched position that held them down with machine gun fire. During the night however the Japanese abandoned their entrenchments for Cam Hill allowing the 2/10th to establish itself in a position roughy 1200 yards southeast of Crater Hill the next day. On the 24th, the 2/9th took over the responsibility for Shaggy Ridge up to Prothero 2 allowing the 2/12 to advance up Kankeiri.  Small patrols from company B of the 2/12th reached the top of Crater Hill that day finding an enemy position on the southern slopes. On the 25th, the 2/12th and 2/10th probed enemy defenses on all sides of Crater Hill looking for decent approaches to attack. This led to several skirmishes, seeing both sides suffer casualties. One patrol led by Lt Coles of the 2/2nd pioneers, surveyed the Paipa mule track along the valley of the Mindjim, firing upon small bands of retreating Japanese. The Australians gradually converged to attack Crater Hill, but Matsumoto's defenders put up a valiant effort to repel the assaults. On the 26, Brigadier Chilton ordered Companies C and D of the 2/9th and Companies C and B of the 2/12th to assault Crater Hill. This saw companies C and D of the 2/9th perform a outflanking maneuver to the north tip of the Mindjim valley to hit the enemy's right flank, while Companies C and B of the 2/12th held the enemy down. Captain A. Marshall's C company led off at 10.35 a.m, passing from Shaggy Ridge through Kankirei Saddle and then to the north, with Captain Taylor's D company following to provide flank protection. By midday Marshall reported that he had advanced some 600 yards and passed through several old and abandoned positions finding no enemy. Cautiously he pushed on, at 5 p.m. he reached the summit of 4100. The main enemy position was to the south between Marshall and the 2/10th and 2/12th Battalions. Leaving Taylor to occupy the summit of 4100 Marshall advanced south towards Crater Hill in an attempt to surprise the enemy from the rear . He met them about 300 yards south-east from the summit just at dusk. The leading platoon attacked along the usual razor-back but withdrew because of heavy machine-gun fire. At 7 p.m. Marshall sent Lieutenant White's platoon round the right flank but approach from this flank was also very difficult and White was killed. By the nighttime, they had successfully surrounded Matsumoto's weakened defenders. Matsumoto's defenders had established extremely formidable positions and had a large number of automatic weapons at their disposal. Matsumoto was ready alongside his men to make a final stand. Basically a siege of Crater Hill began and would only end after 5 brutal days. The first two days saw Chilton order the 2/9th take responsibility for the southern slopes of 4100 and Kankeiri saddle, while the 2/12th held Protheros and Shaggy ridge, and the 2/10th maintained pressure on the south-eastern slopes of Crater Hill. Skirmishes borke out everywhere, as the artillery smashed Crater Hill. Captain Whyte of the 2/4th field regiment fired 2000 shells, shattering trees, which unfortunately created more timber obstacles for the advancing Australians. At 9.30 a.m. on the 29th, 19 Kittyhawks dive-bombed Crater Hill, followed by ten minutes of artillery fire. At 1.30 p.m. the artillery laid down a barrage and machine-gun fire covered an assault on Crater Hill from the west by Captain Daunt's company of the 2/9th . The leading platoon attempted to rush the enemy position up a very steep and open slope but the Japanese, entrenched on a razor-back, were too strong and drove them back. The Australians also had the bad luck to be shelled by their own artillery. Each time they performed an assault, the stubborn Japanese held firm. Finally on the 30th with the help of some heavy rain Matsumoto decided to evacuate during the night. Matsumoto and the remnants of his force withdrew towards Yokopi and Kubenau valley. After dawn on the 31st, Australian patrols found Crater Hill abandoned and it was a horror show. They found a ghastly mess. At least 14 dead were found and evidence of burials alongside them. The 2/9th and 2/10th advanced occupying the hill on February 1st. With that, Shaggy Ridge and the Kankeiri saddle had finally fallen. Chilton sent out patrols to pursue the retreating Japanese and perform mop up operations. By February 6th his forces managed to seize Paipa and Amuson. The Australians had suffered 46 deaths, 147 wounded while the Japanese figures were estimated at around 500 casualties. Meanwhile, Brigadier Hammer had also carried out two operations during this time period. The first was a diversionary attack against the Spendlove Spur held by elements of the 5th company, 80th regiment. This was carried out by Captain Kennedy company of the 24th battalion, whom managed to surprise the Japanese and quickly seized Cameron's Knoll. On January 30th, the 57/60th battalion led by Lt Colonel Robert Marston departed Ketoba and along another company led by Captain McIntosh assaulted Orgoruna, Kesa and Koba. The Australians would find Orgoruna and Kesa undefended.. Lt Marston ordered Major Barker 's 8 company to patrol Koba, and they would enter Koba on  February 1st finding nothing, so they  pushed on towards Mataloi 2 . There were signs of very recent occupation and, 200 yards along the track , they were ambushed. Barker brought heavy fire down upon the Japanese ambush position and managed to capture Koba that night. On the morning of the 3rd, about 400 yards east of Koba, Barker again struck a Japanese ambush position. They quickly outflanked the enemy who withdrew through Mataloi 2 towards Mataloi 1 . By the time Mataloi 2 was occupied at 6.30 p.m., there was not enough time to hit Mataloi 1 nor to allow adequate consolidation of Mataloi 2 before dark. At 9.30 p.m. the Japanese counter-attacked from the direction of Matalo 1, commencing the assault with a heavy mortar bombardment. As Mataloi 2 could be defended from three sides, Barker decided that he could hold the area best from high ground to the south which would also be out of range of the enemy mortars. Accordingly he ordered a withdrawal and departed with his headquarters and one platoon. Apparently the orders did not reach the other platoons who were encircled while the remainder of the company was withdrawing to Koba. Long-range enemy machine-gun fire was directed at Kesa at the same time as the counterattack developed at Mataloi 2. The 57th/60th pulled out concluding their little raid. Now Brigadier Hammer's 15th were getting ready to pursue Matsumoto's detachment who were fleeing to Kwato. But that is all we have for New Guinea, as were are moving back over to New Britain. Last time we were over in New Britain, the Americans had captured Hill 660, and were unleashing patrols to try and figure out where the Japanese were concentrating. Now they sought to secure the Borgan Bay-Itni river line. Meanwhile on the other side, General Matsuda's battered men had begun a retreat heading east via the Aisalmipua-Kakumo trail towards Kopopo. They also received reinforcements in the form of the fresh 51st reconnaissance regiment who took up the job of rearguard. The Japanese knew the terrain better than their American counterparts, thus held distinct advantages. They knew good grounds to put up defenses and how long they could hold out in such places until they should retreat. The Americans did not enjoy good maps, they had to painstakingly explore where they went. They relied on native reports on where to go, but in the end they were like explorers jumping into jungles, atop mountains and a hell of a lot of swampy terrain. The rainforests could be so dense, patrols could be moving yards from another and not know it, imagine trying to find hypothetical objectives in such places?   Thus an enormous amount of vital patrolling was performed, beginning on January 19th with Captain Ronald Slay's men of L Company 1st marines. They advanced past Mt. Gulu, Langla volcano and Munlulu before heading down the saddle of Mt. Tangi. They managed to ambush a group of 20 Japanese being led by 8 armed natives, who fled east after 6 Japanese were killed. Slay took his men across the east-west government trail, only finding some Japanese telephone wire, which was severed. On the 22nd two patrols each consisting of a reinforced company departed the airdrome perimeter to converge from two directions along the trail junction Captain Slay's men discovered. The first was elements of the 1st battalion, 1st marines led by Captain Nikolai Stevenson, the other was led by Captain Preston Parish with elements of the 7th marines who took landing crafts to Sag Sag, the terminus of the east-west Government trail. Parishes men would bivouac around 1.5 miles inland near Aipati on the 24th while Stevensons men headed south of Mt Gulu. Both patrols found no Japanese, but Parish gained some valuable intelligence from a native village, who indicated there had been several Japanese parties around. On the 23rd, Stevenson and his men ran into a concealed machine gun crew 30 yards near Mt Langla. The Americans scrambled to fight back at an enemy they could not see. They did not lose any men, but had no idea if they hit any Japanese either. They continued their advance afterwards and would be ambushed again, this time 1500 yards south of Mt Munlulu. This time they seemed to be facing a force of platoon strength. By the 25th Stevenson and his men were pulling back to Mt Gulu and were relieved by another incoming patrol led by Captain George Hunts K Company, 1st marines. Meanwhile Parish's patrol continued east as the natives had indicated to them where the Japanese might be retreating through. On January 27th Hunts company ran into Parish's and both shared information and went in opposite directions hoping to hunt down nearby Japanese units. Hunt set off to the location where Parish's men had run into a Japanese ambush previously, expecting to find at least 50 Japanese. At 7am on the 28th, Hunt's men came across an outpost line and engaged it for hours, seeing 15 casualties. Hunt pulled his men back out of mortar range and the Japanese swarmed upon them forcing the Americans to perform some heated rearguard actions. Overall these patrols amongst others allowed the Americans to get a better picture of the terrain and concentration of the enemy. For two weeks the American patrols searched for the enemy headquarters running into countless skirmishes, mostly against the forces of Colonel Sato Jiro. By the 27th, Matsuda had reached Kokopo and received new orders from General Sakai that he was to take the men further on towards Iboki. Colonel Sato was to again provide the rearguard. This allowed the Americans to seize Nakarop, a placed their translators had mistranslated from Japanese documents as “Egaroppu”. It had been the nerve center of General Matsuda's operations. They found countless abandoned tents in bivouac areas, the village contained native and Japanese built structures. There was a huge sign saying "Matsuda Butai Army Command Principal Place." There were traces of elaborate radio installations recently removed containing an American-made telephone switchboard labeled "Glory Division." It would turn out Matsuda's personal quarters, however, were actually located off the main trail roughly midway between Magairapua and Nakarop, its approaches so skillfully concealed that patrols did not find it until several days later. Well camouflaged bivouac areas also infested this entire region. With the capture of Matsuda's former headquarters, all patrols were combined into the Gilnit Group led by the legendary Colonel Chesty Puller. Puller pointed his force in the direction of the Borgen Bay-Itni River to clear it out. They departed Agulupulla on January the 30th as the 5th Marines relieved the 2nd battalion, 1st marines to attack the Iboki area. Attempts were made at leapfrogging, using landing craft to hit places hoping to trap Japanese during the advance. The landing craft were operated by the Boat Battalion, 533d Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment, of the Army's 2d Engineer Special Brigade. They were made available to carry out the amphibious phase, and the division's little Cub artillery spotter planes for observation and liaison. Rough seas frustrated the first landing attempt at Namuramunga on February 4th, forcing two patrols from the 2nd battalion to proceed overland from Old Natamo via a coastal track. They got as far as Mambak killing a few stragglers and taking 3 prisoners. The next day another patrol landed at Aliado and advanced down the coastal track to the mouth of the Gurissa river through Kokopo and Gorissi. By the 10th of february they managed to kill 16 stragglers and grabbed 6 prisoners who they brought back to the Borgen Bay perimeter. Meanwhile the 3rd battalion advanced into Gorissi by boat on the 12th and setup a radar station. They then dispatched a patrol to the EI river on the 16, finding it impassable. Another patrol was sent to leapfrog around the Arimega Plantation on the 19th. It was seized quickly and now the Americans were very close to Iboki.   Meanwhile Sato reached Kokopo, but did not linger long and continued on to Karai-ai by February 12th. That day the 3rd battalion, 5th marines, aware of the Japanese course, set up an advance base at Gorissi. Now 20 miles separated the Japanese rearguards from their pursuers. Sato and his men would reach Iboki by February 16th, while the Marines were fording the El river, 30 miles behind. It would take them 5 additional days to reach Karai-ai. To the south Puller's group had reached Gilnit and Nigol on the 10th, finding no enemy. These actions saw the Americans secure the western half of New Britain. 2 days later, Company B of the 1st Marines landed on Rooke Island where they set up a radar installation. They also had to patrol the islands to see if any Japanese remained upon it. They fanned out, running into native villages who offered them fresh fruit. They would come across machine gun emplacements, abandoned bivouac areas and some medical stations, but no Japanese. The enemy had clearly evacuated the island   All the way back over at the Arawe area, Major Komori had received new radios on February 5th enabling him to resume communications with the 17th divisional HQ. He received a gloomy report  “At present, the airfield is covered with grass 4 to 5 [feet] high. The airfield, 200 m [sic] in width 800 m in length, will be serviceable only for small airplanes. However, it will take quite some time to develop it. Consequently, I believe that it will not be of great value.” Knowing about Matsuda's withdrawal, he began casting envious eyes in the same direction. On February 8, he hinted more broadly to that effect: “As has been reported, the value of Merkus airfield is so insignificant that it seems the enemy has no intention of using it… Due to damage sustained by enemy bombardments and to the increased number of patients, it becomes more and more difficult to carry out the present mission… It is my opinion that as the days pass, replenishment of supplies will become more and more difficult and fighting strength will be further diminished; our new line will be cut off and consequently leave us with no alternative but self-destruction.” Divisional HQhowever was not pleased with this and sent a telegraphic response the following day ordering him curtly to continue his mission. Komori would write in his diary that day "Wondered what to do about the order all night long. Could not sleep last night… I felt dizzy all day today." Fortunately for Komori, on February 17th Sato was ordered to occupy key positions at the Aria river's mouth to help supply him by land. This allowed Komori to begin his retreat north on the 24th while Sato evacuated the Iboki stores to Upmadung. Komori's departure would be just in the nick of time as the Americans dispatched two tank platoons to clear out the airfield area on the 27th. They would find zero enemy resistance and this would put an end to the Arawe operation. And that will be all for today for New Britain as we are going to be covering some big allied planning.    Over in the southwest and south Pacific Areas, General Douglas MacArthur continued his plan to drive back towards the Philippines. This would be done via amphibious operations along the north coast of New Guinea. His next main target was the Vogelkop Peninsula, then the Palau Islands, then the invasion of Mindanao. This would also see the Japanese lines of communications to the Dutch East Indies cut off. Yet before all of this he needed to capture the Hansa Bay area of northeastern New Guinea and then Hollandia in the Dutch part of New Guinea. This action would allow his forces to bypass the Japanese stronghold at Wewak. Meanwhile there were the ongoing efforts to reduce Rabaul, and to continue that he still had to capture the Admiralty Island and Kavieng, which would completely cut off Rabaul. The planners for the south, southwest and central Pacific Areas met at Pearl Harbor on January 28th. However the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to delay MacArthur's invasion of the Admiralties and Kavieng pushed it to April 1st. They had determined it was better to prioritize the invasion of the Marshall islands in the central pacific. This delay would further delay most of the southwest pacific operations along the New Guinea coast. Meanwhile Admiral Kusaka and General Imamura had sent the bulk of the 230th regiment and the recently arrived 1st independent mixed regiment to New Ireland. The 2nd battalion, 1st independent mixed regiment was sent to the Admiralties on January 25th, joining up with Colonel Ezaki Yoshio's 51st transport regiment. Then the 1st battalion, 229th regiment was sent to the Admiralties on february 2nd. These were last ditch efforts by the Japanese to secure a very desperate lifeline for Rabaul. No offensive could be mounted for at least 3 months, thus the Japanese were given ample time to reinforce and strengthen their defenses. Admiral Halsey also had plans to invade the St Matthias Islands as a preliminary for the attack upon Kavieng, and this like MacArthur's plans were thrown into disarray. In view of all of this MacArthur suggested to Halsey a new plan, codenamed Operation Squarepeg, to seize the Green Islands and establish a new PT boat and or air base there. With that in hand they could project air and naval power further against Rabaul and perhaps even as far as Truk. However many of the officers did not believe any of this would significantly isolate Kavieng and Rabaul. Furthermore, they believed it doubtful that fighters stationed at a base in the Green Islands would even be able to cover Kavieng. Admiral Wilkinson, with the backing of Admiral Fitch and General Geiger, suggested that the proposal be abandoned, and that plans be laid for a landing either at Borpop or Boang Island. On 28 December, however, after analyzing the situation, Colonel William E. Riley, Admiral Halsey's War Plans officer, made the following observation: “There is no doubt but that the occupation of this area [Borpop] and the utilization of air facilities thereat would assist materially in the neutralization of both Rabaul and Kavieng. However, the grave possibility that such an operation would result in the employment of approximately two divisions and additional naval support, not now available and will--in all probability--not be made available in time for this type intermediate operation, makes it necessary to eliminate Borpop as a possible intermediate operation… Though Green Island is not as far advanced as Boang Island, yet it is quite possible to provide fighter cover for strikes on Kavieng. In addition, dive bombers, based on Green Island, can operate most effectively against shipping at Kavieng.”Thus Halsey elected to go ahead with Operation Squarepeg anyway because a fighter umbrella could be tossed over the Green Islands during an amphibious invasion, something that would not be possible for Boang or Borbop. Halsey's staff went to work planning the amphibious landing. It would be carried out by elements of General Barrowclough's 3rd New Zealand Division. PT 176 and PT 178 of Lieutenant-Commander LeRoy Taylor's Torokina Squadron conducted hydrographic reconnaissance of the islands on January 10th and discovered the southern channels near Barahun island were the most suitable. 300 men of the 30th New Zealand battalion led by Lt Colonel Frederick Cornwall got aboard the APDs Talbot, Waters and Dickerson, covered by the destroyers Fullam, Bennet, Guest and Hudson led by Captain Ralph Earle. They landed on Nissan Island and performed a survey finding a promising airfield site. They also discovered there were no more than 100 Japanese at a relay station alongside 1200 native Melanesians. Pretty sure I said this before in the series, but I will repeat it. Melanesians are one of the predominant indigenous inhabitants of the Melanesian islands that are found in the area spanning New Guinea to the Fiji Islands. Something pretty neat about them, along with some indigenous Australians, they are the few groups of non-Europeans to have blond hair. The Melanesians were so friendly to the New Zealanders and so hostile to the Japanese that it was decided to omit the usual preliminary naval and aerial bombardment for the landings.  Now over in the Central Pacific plans to invade the Marshall were underway, even before the successful liberation of the Gilberts. The operation was codenamed Operation Flintlock, and Admiral Nimitz assigned the 4th Marine division, reinforced with the 22nd marine regiment and Army's 7th division to train intensively for amphibious warfare. They were deemed Tactical Group 1, led by Brigadier General Thomas Watson. They would be backed up by a whopping 23 aircraft carriers, 15 battleships, 18 cruisers and 109 destroyers. Yet things had certainly changed since 1942, the American Navy was packing overwhelming heat. Admiral Spruance, now commander of the 5th fleet, would hold the highest operational command for Operation Flintlock. Admiral Turner would be commanding task force 51 and the Joint Expeditionary Fleet and General Holland Smith would be commanding all the expeditionary troops. General Smith's position in the chain of command in relation to Admiral Turner was made much clearer than it had been during the Gilberts operation. Simply put he was put in direct command of all landing forces and garrison forces once they were ashore. The troop commanders of each of the landing forces, the 7th and 4th Marine Divisions, were expressly placed under Smith until such time as Admiral Spruance should determine that the capture and occupation phase of the operation had been completed. However, Smith's authority as commander of expeditionary troops had one limitation. It was recognized that "the employment of troops, including the reserve troops engaged in the seizure of objectives, is subject to the capabilities of the surface units to land and support them," thus any directives issued by Smith as to major landings or as to major changes in tactical plans had to have the approval of Turner before they could be issued. To this extent, the expeditionary troops commander was still subordinate to Turner. They would also be supported by Rear Admiral Marc Mitscher's fast carrier force, task force 58 and Admiral Hoovers land based air forces, including the 7th air force and other Navy air forces. So yeah, America was coming in overkill. Nimitz's original plan was to advance into the Marshalls by simultaneously hitting Kwajalein, Maloelap and Wotje. Together these contained 65% of the aircraft facilities in the island group, leaving the 35% remainder on Jaluit and Mille. Jaluit and Mille could be neutralized and bypassed. Yet after facing the difficulties during the Gilberts operation, Nimitz decided to also bypass Maloelap and Wotje as well, so he could concentrate all his forces against Kwajalein. General Smith and Admirals Spruance and Turner opposed this, arguing that sailing into Kwajalein would be too exposed if Maloelap and Wotje were left unoccupied.  Nimitz 'new plan would see General Corlett's 7th division hit the southern group of islands in the atoll, including Kwajalein island, while Major General Harry Schmidt's 4th marines would hit Roi-Namur and the other northern islands of the atoll. Task Force 52, would transport the 7th Division while Rear Admiral Richard Conollys task force 53 transported the 4th marines. After some meetings, Spruance managed to secure the invasion of Majuro, which would be carried out by Lt Colonel Frederick Sheldon's “Sundance” Landing Force. They consisted of the 5th amphibious corps reconnaissance company, the 2nd battalion, 106th regiment and the 1st defense battalion. Spruance wanted to make the atoll a fleet base, so airfields could be constructed to help cover the line of communications to Kwajalein. To support the main landings, Mitschers fast carrier force was going to smash the enemy aircraft and air facilities at Wotje, Maloelap, Roi-Namur and Kwajalein while his vessels simultaneously coordinated with Turners cruisers and Rear Admiral Ernest Small's Neutralization group task force 50.15 to naval bombard them as well. The main threat that needed to be neutralized quickly was Eniwetoks airfield. Meanwhile Hoover's land based aircraft would help neutralize Mille and Jaluit and help smash the other islands and shipping. Throughout November and December, two atolls would receive more attacks than the others. Mille closest to the Gilberts, thus much more accessible, earned the lionshare of attention. Maloelap with its large air facilities had to be kept under constant surveillance and attack, thus she came second. Beginning on December 23rd, aircraft based out of the Gilberts began increasing air strikes against the Marshalls.  On Mille between November 24th to December 18th, 106 heavy bombers dropped 122 tons of bombs over the runways and facilities. The next week bombers and fighters began attacking Mille's fuel dumps, leveled all buildings, destroyed 11 grounded aircraft and another 13 in the air. Mille was neutralized and the Japanese would abandon its airfield by January. The damage dished out to Maloelap was extensive, but not as crippling. Her runways were not entirely put out of operation. From January 11th to the 25th, B-25's destroyed her ground installations, but still her airfield remained operational. On January 26, 9 B-25s, followed by 12 P-40s, flew into Taroa for a low-level attack. The B-25s destroyed 9 interceptors on the ground and 5 more after they were airborne. The control tower and two other buildings on the airfield were set afire and four tons of bombs were dropped in fuel dump and dispersal areas, starting large fires. As the B-25s left the target to return to Makin they were chased by about 15 Japanese fighters. 30 miles south of Maloelap the 12 P-40s met the bomber formation and immediately engaged the enemy fighters, destroying11 of them and severely damaging 2 more. The strike of January 26 was decisive. Practically all of the remaining enemy air strength at Maloelap had been destroyed, and the once formidable base was rendered almost powerless to defend itself against air strikes,  thus neutralized. Jaluit was subjected to 15 attacks reduced to rubble and Wotje was hit 14 times suffering extensive damage. Meanwhile Admiral Pownalls task force 58.1 and 58.3 consisting of 6 fast carriers, 5 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 3 of the new class of anti aircraft cruisers, and 12 destroyers hit Kwajalein on December 5th. That day saw her attacked by over 246 aircraft. As a result 19 Japanese interceptors and 4 bombers were destroyed at Roi-Namur, 7 cargo ships were destroyed at Kwajalein and extensive damage was inflicted upon both bases. Simultaneously, 29 aircraft hit Wotje where they destroyed 5 grounded aircraft, set fire to hangers, machine ships and barracks. Japanese interceptors attacked Pownall's carriers, though they were unable to inflict serious damage. Following these attacks, Hoover's aircraft continued to smash Kwajalein, tossing 10 attacks, dropping nearly 210 tons of bombs on the atoll. Roi-Namurs airfield still remained operation by January 29th however, though she only had 35 aircraft on Roi-Namur; 10 reconnaissance planes on Kwajalein; 13 aircraft on Maloelap; 12 on Wotje and 15 on Eniwetok. The Japanese did not have any effective air force to defend the Marshalls any more. The feeling of the men on the islands, was doom.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Finally the Australians had taken the formidable position known as Shaggy Ridge. The Japanese continued the harrowing marches going north as their enemy would not let up. In the Marshalls the IJA and IJN personnel were inflicted the full might of American's wartime productivity, and they all knew Uncle Sam was coming to pay them a visit soon. 

The Pacific War - week by week
- 113 - Pacific War - The Battle for Shaggy Ridge , January 16-23, 1944

The Pacific War - week by week

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 16, 2024 40:17


Last time we spoke about the landing at Saidor and continuation of advances upon New Guinea and New Britain. Operation Michaelmas was a huge success, isolating countless Japanese and threatening those trying to retreat further north. Taking advantage of the new front on New Guinea, the Australians began pushing more so upon the features across Shaggy Ridge and towards Sio. General Adachi frantically shifted units around in an effort to plug up the multiple advancing allied units, but in the end there was little to be done as the Japanese were pushed further and further north. Features were taken upon Shaggy Ridge and Sio fell nearly uncontested. Over in New Britain, General Rupertus triumphed over the Airdrome and his Marines were expanding their perimeters. Katayama made a bold attack against an enemy he overestimated at it certainly did not pan out for his men at suicide creek. This episode is The battle for Shaggy Ridge Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.    A while back I covered the start of the Chinese-Indian offensive into the Hukawng Valley and Arakan regions. When I did so it was almost entirely from the allied viewpoint, but what of the IJA war planners? The Burma campaign has been arguably a complete disaster for the allies, the Japanese steamrolled all the way through, claiming vast amounts of territory and key cities and ports, so what really did they need to do but garrison it all? After Wingate unleashed operation Longcloth, the relatively idle Japanese raised the idea of potentially attacking India. Lt General Mutaguchi Renya, the victor of the Singapore campaign in 1942 was made a commander in Burma and wargamed the possibility of attacking India to try and earn support from his superiors at Tokyo General HQ. It was his belief, they could brush past the British in Assam and reach the gateway into India, and he expected the Indians to rise up and greet them with open arms. A lot of money and effort had been spent on Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army. The fall of India would be an absolutely devastating blow to the British Empire in Asia and in 1942 there was even the belief the Japanese could link up with their German allies in the middle east. But that was 1942, before Stalingrad and Kursk, 1944 was a very very different geopolitical situation. This however did not stop Mutaguchi from continuing his plans to invade India. Lt General Hanaya Tadashi, commanding the Arakan front was given the task of convincing the British that the counterattack in Arakan was the appearance of the main army earmarked to conquer India, thus leading General Slim to send up reserves from Imphal. The operation was codenamed HA-GO and it was intended to be a fent to mask the real attack upon Imphal designated Operation U-GO. Now let me dig a bit deeper into how this all came about. Until now, General Stilwell had been able to build much of the Ledo Road practically unmolested. Yet by early August, General Kawabe Mazakazu's Burma Area Army was preparing for a counter offensive. Kawabe actually did not trust Mutaguchi and suspected the man was harboring megalomaniac designs to invade India, which he was 100% right about. The “counter offensive” was really just the beginnings of Operation U-GO and it had been sold to Tokyo HQ as a pre-emptive strike to disable the 14th Army and make it unable to invade Burma. Thus General Mutaguchi's 15th Army was given the task of destroying any hostile elements in the Imphal region and to establish a strong defensive line. From December 22nd to the 26th, Mutaguchi held a conference pushing for the possibility of launching Operation U-GO and developed detailed missions for each division which would participate by means of a war game. At the same time Kawabe sold the operation HA-GO the diversionary attack in Arakan, with Lt General Hanaya Tadashi's 55th Division earmarked to pin down as many of the enemy's units as possible and to draw the British reserves away from the main offensive.  When General Christisons offensive kicked off, this forced Kawabe to reinforce Hanaya with the 54th division, and this in turn established the 29th Army under the command of General Sakurai on January 6th. The 29th Army was under the overall command of the Burma Area Army, and its HQ was initially situated in Moulmein. It was assigned to defend the coastal region of Arakan and the lower Irrawaddy valley and consisted at first of the 55th Division in Arakan, the 54th Division in reserve in Prome, and various garrison units including the 24th Independent Mixed Brigade in Moulmein. It also controlled the 11th Shipping Detachment of Major-General Suzuki Gisaburo, consisting of the 11th Shipping Engineer Regiment and the 3rd Sea Transport Battalion. It had roughly 1,105 men, 85 large landing barges, 54 small landing barges, 47 motored sampans, two armored boats, 10 fishing boats, one messenger boat and one speed boat. The 11th Shipping Detachment was stationed at Taungup and its main supply depot was at Prome. Meanwhile after the capture of Maungdaw, the 5th Indian division of Major General Harold Briggs was ordered to attack the main Japanese defenses at Razabil. Razabil's defenses were quite formidable, it dominating the crossroads and road linking Maungdaw with the Tunnels and Buthidaung located 3 miles eastwards, forming the 15th Indian Corps immediate objective following Maungdaw's capture. It was dubbed by its Japanese commander “The Golden Fortress of the Mayu Range”. It was centered on the railway tunnels running through the Mayu Range and at Point 551 to the east with a further forward position at Point 1301. These powerful defenses, built carefully exploiting the rugged mountainous terrain, were tunneled deep into the hills and consisted of bunkers, trenches and other fire positions located amidst dense jungle and camouflaged with customary Japanese skill. The main outworks at Letwedet to the east and at Razabil to the west of the Mayu Range were major fortresses in their own right, requiring careful reduction before the main position could be tackled. With both bastions in direct line of sight from the Tunnels, accurate supporting artillery could be called down with ease, moreover, adding to the problems already facing troops assaulting trenches and bunkers dug into the hillsides invulnerable to all but direct hits by medium artillery. The offensive against Razabil was codenamed Operation Jonathan, but it would be delayed until the corps artillery became available. At the same time the 7th Indian division seized the initiative on January 18th and launched an attack against the 55th division's position between Letwedet and Htindaw. The 9th company, 143rd infantry regiment was defending a hill east of Htindaw and stood their ground against repeated attacks until January 24th. The Japanese strongpoints were well dug in on the tops of narrow ridges. On January 26th, Major General Briggs ordered the 161st brigade, with support in the form of Lee-Grant tanks, artillery and aerial bombardment to attack the Tortoise defended by 1st battalion, 143rd regiment in the Razabil area. The Tortoise was a horseshoe defensive position that dominated the highway. It was an elaborate system of bunkers, trenches and all the typical Japanese goodies. For the boys in Burma it would be the first time for most to face such a thing, as Slim wrote in his memories “This was the first time we had assaulted an elaborate, carefully prepared position that the Japanese meant to hold to the last."   The attack opened up with 12 Vultee Vengeance dive bombers of the 3rd Tactical air force, 12 Mitchell medium bombers and 16 Liberator heavy bombers of the Strategic air force followed up by even more dive bombers. It was a visually spectacular event and to those observing from the ground looked devastating. However little to no damage was inflicted on the strongly constructed Japanese defenses burrowed so deeply into the hillsides. Similarly the mountain artillery regiment and batter from a field regiment did little damage with their bombardment as well. The Japanese had simply pulled back 1000 yards during the bombardments and by the time the allies surged forward came back to man their positions. When the Indians began their assault, the fire coming down the steep and jungle clad hillsides was absolutely devastating. The Lee-Grant tanks fired from the valley floor and managed to destroy all the identified bunkers, but the exposed Indian troops suffered massive casualties. It was virtually impossible to keep the defenders heads down long enough to advance even 50 yards towards the summit. Things got even worse when the men reached the defensive lines for the Lee-Grant tanks had to lift their fire lest they hit their own men. By the end of the day, only a toehold had been secured over the lower slopes of Razabil ridge.  The assault carried on for 3 more days, with intense tank and artillery fire from different directions supporting the infantry as closely as possible. The only immediate effect of the bombardment and indirect fire by 25 pounders and 3.7 howitzers was to destroy the vegetation over the hillsides, thus exposing more and more of the Japanese defensive works. During the intense battle, the Lee-Grant medium tank proved itself a real solution in providing effective covering fire for infantry and soon new techniques were evolving. The Japanese defenses were mainly built over the summit of steep, thick, jungle covered hills and the Lee-Grants provided fire support from positions in the paddy fields below them. Their 75mm guns effectively destroyed or at the least neutralized bunker positions. A procedure was quickly developed for providing cover during the last stages of infantry assaults. Tanks would use high explosive shells to clear the vegetation, than delayed action high explosive shells to break up the front of visible bunkers, then armor piercing shells to enable the infantry to advance close behind the creeping barrage as shrapnel was not flying everywhere. All combined this showed the potential of armor vehicles in jungle warfare, when most claimed they had little practical use in such climats. Despite such developments, the casualties were mounting, little progress was being made. On January 28th, the 123rd brigade attacked Japanese positions on the secondary hill of Wrencat and its smaller neighbor hill Wrenkitten, probably the best hill names I have read on this podcast as of yet haha. These were located on the lower western foothills of the Mayu range. They were extremely steep, cone shaped features with fortified circular trenches around their heads, bunkers, and bamboo jungle. Firing from positions on the valley floor the Lee-Grants and 5.5 inch artillery were able to destroy the bunkers and switch to armor piercing rounds to perform creeping barrages for the infantry. Despite the tank and artillery support, the Japanese were throwing a ton of mortar, grenade and machine gun fire. An officer of the 123rd brigade involved in the fight had this to say 'It appears from our experience that consolidation on the objective which normally consists of a series of deeply constructed bunkers connected one with the other is extremely difficult in the very limited time that the enemy allow.' The failures against the Tortoise and Wrencat, prompted General Christison to call off the attack against Razabil by January30th. Christison regrouped his corps artillery and tanks to instead support the 7th divisions assault against Buthidaung and Letwedet.   Meanwhile further to the north, General Tanaka had brought 6300 men of the 55th and 56th regiments to the Hukawng valley by early January. He wanted to counterattack in strength, but General Mutaguchi believed he could not spare additional motor transport units to give the necessary logistical support to the 18th division since preparations were already going on for operation U-GO. Thus, Tanaka ordered his men to perform a delaying action down the Hukawng valley with the primary objective of holding Kamaing, the ridge line separating Hukawng valley from Mogaung valley. Tanaka weighed his orders and the looming monsoon season that hit the area in May or June. Against Tanaka, Stilwell sought to continue his offensive after successfully taking Yupbang Ga. Stilwell now looked towards Taihpa Ga and convinced both General Wingate and Admiral Mountbatten to unleash the Galahad long penetration unit into the Hukawng valley.   On January 4, 1944, Frank Merrill abruptly relieved a disappointed Brink. Despite having a background with cavalry, like Brink, Merrill understood the Japanese strength, but unlike Brink he respected the chain of command. General Sun met with Stilwell and and it was agreed the bulk of the 114th regiment should swing widely around Tanaka's left flank while the 113th regiment wheeled to the south to hit Tanaka's front along the Tanai Hka. Further north the 2nd battalion ,112th regiment would also advance east across the Tarung Hka to secure Warang Ga; the 65th regiment would continue their advance towards Taro, fording the Tanai river by January 9th; south of Kantau, the 3rd battalion, 114th regiment ran into two Japanese companies. The jungle made it difficult for the Chinese forces to organize themselves. The battalion split into 4 fragments and no two of them were in contact. The supporting 6th battery could not fire until fields of fire were cut and while that was being carried out, the Japanese companies performed infiltration maneuvers and quickly surrounded the battery. Fighting for their guns and lives between the 9th and 11th of January the Chinese cannoneers managed to save both. The battalion was nearly wiped out from these Japanese tactics, but thankfully on January 12th, the regimental HQ arrived and reformed the battalion to launch a concerted attack that managed to gradually push back the Japanese. 3 days later the 2nd battalion arrived allowing the 114th regiment to force a crossing of the Sanip Hka by January 16th.   Meanwhile the 1st battalion, 113th regiment forded the Tarung river near Yupbang Ga and sent patrols north to occupy Tabawng GA on January 13th. From there they advanced southeast to Kaduja Ga then to Brangbram Hka where they formed a line extending to the junction with the Tanai bank by mid january. On January 21st, the Chinese broke through the Japanese lines north of Brangbram Hka and made it to Ningru Ha less than one mile downstream from Taihpa Ga. Simultaneously, the battered 112th regiment swung wide going north east to Warang Ga. By the end of January the 113th continued their advance upon Taihpa Ga where they would meet stronger Japanese resistance. They began fighting within 1,500 yards of Taihpa Ga. Artillery support, the 4th and 5th Batteries, was then brought up. The next 1,000 yards between the 113th regiment and Taihpa Ga took two days to cross; then they spent a week in what was called "preparations for attack." General Sun's men were now approaching the Japanese strongpoint in the area, and Japanese resistance was more freely offered, with heavy shelling by 75- and 150-mm. pieces. At Taihpa Ga, the Kamaing Road crossed the Tanai on a long gravel bar which bullock carts could use quite well. At this point was the village itself, a humble collection of bashas, long since burnt out. About 800 yards upstream was a ferry across a stretch of fairly deep water. The Japanese used this ferry to bring supplies across the Tanai, rather than the vulnerable and easily spotted gravel bar. Here they had their strongpoint, well prepared and stubbornly defended.   Further to the west, the 65th regiment advance was much slower than expected for Stilwell.  Upon reaching the Hukawng Valley, the 65th's commander, despite means more than ample for his mission, contracted the same lethargy that had hastened the demise of the 112th Regiment. Stilwell was greatly frustrated by the delay a few more weeks with Colonel Fu, so he ordered Colonel Liao to relieve him. Stilwell wrote in his diary "Told Liao this included division commanders unless they watched their step. Also that Fu really should be shot. Liao took it OK though it shook him up." On January 22, General Sun was told about this affair, but the news softened somewhat by the presentation of a silk banner for the victory at Yupbang Ga, a dramatic contrast of the respective awards for lethargy and vigor. Having made his point, and hoping that he had given the Chinese a healthy shock, Stilwell restored Fu to his command by January 26. Fu's later performance in combat was rated as excellent.   The Chinese managed to encircle the passive 3rd battalion, 55th regiment on January 23rd, and by the 25th the last Japanese pockets were wiped out. On the 26th the Chinese reached Ahawk Hka and on the 28th crossed the Taro river and occupied Taro on the 30th. This effectively cut behind Tanaka's flank. The bulk of the 112th now was close enough to the 113th to aid them so Sun began an attack against Taihpa Ga on the 30th. The Japanese held on stubbornly for days and would quietly withdrew on the night of February 4th. Tanaka concluded the loss of the Taro plain meant "the failure of the whole division in its operations along the Tanai". Thus Tanaka decided there was no point in continuing the fighting there. Over at Sanip, Sun ordered the 3rd battalion, 114th regiment to rest. However Stilwell thought this was close to disobedience of his orders,  because he wanted Sun to move quickly and cut behind the 18th Division. On January 13, he had spoken very bluntly to Sun, asking him what orders he gave the 114th Regiment and if there had been any word from Chongqing to slow the operation. Stilwell told Sun that if he could not exercise the commands that Peanut had given him, he would resign and report the whole affair to the US Government. "Regardless of what anyone else may say, I assure you that my report will be fully believed in Washington." General Sun was confronted with the prospect that Chinese lethargy in north Burma might mean withdrawal of all US help from China. Stilwell, Sun was told, had been alone in his fight to convince the United States that the Chinese Army was worth helping. "If I am double-crossed by the people I am trying to help I am through for good and I will recommend very radical measures." Stilwell closed by saying that he had done his part; would Sun reciprocate? But despite Stilwell's arguments and threats, General Sun did not meet Stilwell's ideas of how a dynamic field commander should conduct himself. Thus the 114th gradually began to dislodge the Japanese from their positions along the river bank, taking care to annihilate all pockets behind. Stilwell was satisfied with the progress of his offensive and established the northern combat area command on February 1st. This organization would be led by Brigadier General Haydon Boatner and would include American, British and Indian units entering North Burma. But that is all for the wild Burma front as we now need to travel over to New Guinea.   Last time we were in New Guinea, Brigadier Chilton's 18th brigade had just completed their advance upon Shaggy Ridge and Brigadier Hammer's 15th brigade had just relieved the 25th brigade on January 7th. Thus two brigades were flown in and two were flown out, showcasing how far the allied New Guinea air forces had increased their efficiency during the war. The New Guinea force was now under the command of General Milford, though Vasey still retained his task of  "contain hostile forces in the Bogadjim-Ramu area by vigorous action of fighting patrols against enemy posts”. The division's role was still to prevent enemy penetration into the Ramu-Markham valley from Madang and protect the Gusap airfield and the various radar installations the instruction added that the division would "create the impression of offensive operations against Bogadjim Road by vigorous local minor offensive action". This was to be done by holding in strength with two brigades a "line of localities" from Toms' Post on the right to the Mene River on the left, the boundary between the 18th on the right and the 15th on the left being a line from Bebei through Herald Hill to Kankirei Saddle. In addition the 18th Brigade would "by raids and harassing tactics ensure that no major Jap withdrawal takes place undetected and occupy the Mindjim-Faria divide and the high ground to the north and south of it as the administrative position permits". The 15th Brigade would hold the Yogia-Mene River area, delay any enemy advance up the Ramu from the Evapia River, patrol to the Solu River, and deny the 5800 and 5500 Features to the enemy.    Despite this, Vasey was preparing to assault the Kankirei saddle with the fresh 18th brigade. Designated Operation Cutthroat, the seizure of the Kankieri saddle and ultimately that of Shaggy Ridge, Vasey planned to launch an attack against Mount Prothero which was being defended by the 6th company, 78th regiment. He would attack it from the south, preceded by a diversionary attack against Cam's saddle. Brigadier Chilton realized however, that frontal attacks along Shaggy Ridge would not be able to achieve surprise, so he instead wanted to attempt a wide encircling maneuver on the left flank via Canning's saddle to attack Prothero directly. The 18th brigade spent the early part of January patrolling to see if it was possible to advance through Canning's saddle to Prothero 1 while simultaneously and stealthily building a road to Canning's in preparation for the coming offensive.   The possibility of occupying Prothero from Canning's Saddle had been suggested to Chilton by Lt-Colonel Lang of the 2/2nd Pioneers, after a patrol performed by Captain McInnes. Captain McInnes had found an approach along a steep, razor backed spur within a short distance of Prothero's summit where they could hear Japanese. Meanwhile the 2/9th battalion had sent a patrol that found a possible track from McGullough's ridge vie Geyton's Hill to the Mene River. Going up the river bed led one to Canning's saddle. Two companies of the 2/12th spent a few days constructing a track going to the Mene River and they took special precautions to prevent the enemy from finding out. Reconnaissance patrols in general were careful to avoid contact with the enemy and so was the case around Prothero. The jeep track was hurriedly pushed to Guy's Post, existing tracks were improved and shorter and better tracks constructed to improve the supply routes to Shaggy Ridge and Mainstream; reserves of supplies in forward areas were built up, thus enabling a concentration of as many natives as possible to carry for the attacking battalion on the left, and arrangements were made for a limited air dropping at Canning's Saddle at an appropriate time.   To support the upcoming attack, 9 long and two short 25 pounders of the 2/4th field regiment were brought up along with 7000 shells. The guns had to be dragged forward to the Lakes-Guy's Post area. Lt Colonel Charles Bourne's 2/12th battalion was to head the attack. Chilton also planned to have Lt Colonel Charles Geard's 2/10th battalion perform a diversionary attack through Cam's saddle. After Protharo 1 was captured, the 2/10th were to exploit north to Kankieri and south to the Mainstream area; while Lt Colonel Clement Cummins 2/9th battalion attacked northwest along Shaggy Ridge to join up with the 2/12th. By January 18th, the 4000 yard track to Geyton's Hill was complete, allowing the 18th brigade to advance. On that same day, B-25 Mitchell bombers unleashed their cannons and bombed the enemy positions at the junction of Mainstream, the Faria and Shaggy ridge. They dropped 60 delayed action bombs over the Faria river valley and some modified Mitchells sporting 75mm cannons mounted on their chins fired upon the crest of ridges. This cannon, the same used by Sherman tanks, was quite a formidable weapon in the air. To enable its fire, the nose of the B-25G model had to be shortened and the cannon breech positioned behind the pilot from where it could be loaded by the navigator for firing. To fire it the pilot would press a button on his control wheel. The weapon would prove inefficient against shipping, but it would be a lot more successful at hitting ground targets. Over three successive days from 18 to 20 January the Mitchells flew 180 sorties against Shaggy Ridge, firing 135 rounds of 75 mm at the ridge as well as dropping around 200 tons of bombs. The aircraft also fired about 90,000 rounds of .50 caliber. The machine-gun salvos were particularly devastating. From his accompanying Boomerang, Alex Miller-Randle recalled ‘Mitchells strip the trees of Shaggy Ridge clean and shatter the limbs and trunks to matchsticks'.   D-day was the 20th, seeing the 2/10th on the right and 2/12th on the left. Captain Kumnicks company of the 2/10th advanced to Grassy Patch and over on the left a party of the 2/12th led by Major Fraser took vanguard. All of the preliminary actions were completed back on the 19th when Captain Gunn's A company of the 2/10th advanced from Tom's Post for Sprogg's ridge via a Japanese mule track. Later Captain Humnicks D company would use the same track. On the left the 2/12th battalion and B and D company of the 2/2nd Pioneers advanced along the new line of communication to Geyton's. At 8:45am Captain Gunn's company advanced from Sprogg's ridge to attack Cam's Saddle, followed 30 minutes later by Captain Kumnick's company. Operation Cutthroat opened up with artillery and B-25 mitchell bombardments against the Protheros and Kankirei Saddle. By 11 a .m. Captain Gunn was 300 yards from an enemy position on Cam's Saddle while artillery shelled the position until 12.30 pm when the Australians found that the enemy had withdrawn.   Farther on, Captain Gunn's men would be pinned down by Japanese defending the western end of the saddle as Japanese patrols ambushed a signal line party 500 yards behind. Gunn initially tried to outflank the enemy, but then withdrew 200 yards and dug in for the night astride the mule track. At the same time, the 2/12th battalion reached Canning's Saddle by 3:30pm. The next morning, the 2/12th began to silently creep along the razor back ridge towards Prothero 1 with Cameron's C Company taking the lead. At this point Fraser had Captain Cameron's C Company, Captain Geason's A Company  and Captain Thomas's D company enveloping the ridge. They nearly achieved surprise, but the Japanese discovered their advance and rapidly turned their mountain gun upon them causing many casualties. Despite the mountain guns fire, Lt Braithwaites 8th Platoon charged the Japanese and captured the mountain gun upon Prothero 1. The action cost 11 Australian lives with another 44 wounded. The 2/12th had thus captured the key point in the Japanese defenses upon Shaggy Ridge. After the loss of the mountain gun position, Colonel Matsumoto ordered his men to pull back closer to Kankirei. In the process the 2/10th were able to capture Cam's Saddle. On that same day the 2/9th began their attack, sending A Company to envelope the Green Sniper's Pimple defended by a platoon of the 78th regiment. A Company managed to seize the position using stealth and would be met by failed counterattacks. By the end of the day the Japanese defenders were now sandwiched between the 2/9th to the south and the 2/12th to the north, while the 2/10th were advancing from the east.   Way further to the east, General Nakano's men were in an even more dire situation. After the evacuation of Sio, the Japanese were forced to retreat day and night under heavy rainfall, hindered by rough terrain and allied aerial attacks. Lieutenant General Yoshihara Kane, Chief of Staff of the 18th Army, recalled this of the march: “The most wearing part was that with these ranges, when they climbed to the craggy summit they had to descend and then climb again, and the mountains seemed to continue indefinitely, until they were at the extreme of exhaustion. Especially when they trod the frost of Nokobo Peak they were overwhelmed by cold and hunger. At times they had to make ropes out of vines and rattan and adopt "rock-climbing" methods; or they crawled and slipped on the steep slopes; or on the waterless mountain roads they cut moss in their potatoes and steamed them. In this manner, for three months, looking down at the enemy beneath their feet, they continued their move. Another thing which made the journey difficult was the valley streams, which were not usually very dangerous. At times, however, there was a violent squall, for which the Finisterres are famous during the rainy season; then these valley streams for the time being flowed swiftly and became cataracts. Then there were many people drowned... General Shoge was swept away by one of these streams on one occasion but fortunately managed to grasp the branch of a tree which was near the bank and was able to save one of his nine lives.”   The men were malnourished, fatigued, but kept going day by day anticipating an abundant food supply at Gali. When they reached Gali in late January they would find nothing there. This anguish was just the beginning. The base had been shelled by allied warships and bombed by allied aircraft. General Muroya was injured on January 17th during the bombardment. Luckily for the Japanese there was no offensive towards Gali. Since the Saidor landing, General Martin's men were busy expanding the perimeter with outposts extending towards Sel and Bilau. Martin was reinforced with the 1st and 3rd battalions of the 128th regiment on January 16th. Although Martin believed launching an eastern attack upon the withdrawing enemy would provide an excellent opportunity to destroy some of their divisions, General Kreuger refused to permit such a thing. This was because the 32nd division was required for an upcoming offensive in the Hansa Bay area.   Meanwhile General Nakai had brought the bulk of his detachment over to the Mot River area and established a strong outpost on Gabumi. Nakai also sent the 3rd battalion 239th regiment to Bilau to try and contest the control of its outpost. On January 12, the Japanese attacked Biliau, forcing the Americans to retreat behind the river. 30 Americans then tried to retake the outpost the following day but were repelled by the Japanese. On January 15th, the Japanese withdrew, allowing the 1st Battalion, 128th Regiment to occupy it on January 20. Another Japanese attack on January 26 would force them to retreat; and two days later, the Americans were successfully ambushed when they tried to reoccupy the outpost. Nakano's men had thus successfully carried out a fighting withdrawal from Lae. They had suffered horribly for it, crossing unbelievable difficult terrain, with basically no supplies, apart from what meager amounts could be airdropped or brought over via submarine. Yet now they needed to break through towards Madang, and there were 3 possible options of doing so. Number 1, they could advance along the coast, but this one was disregarded immediately because they would have to break directly through the new American defenses. Number 2, codenamed A would be an advance inland through Cabutamon, Monara, Sibog and Bilau towards Mindiri. Option 3 codenamed B was an advance even further inland crossing over the foothills of the Finisterre, through Nokopo, Kwembum, Yugayuga, Gabumi and Singor towards Mindiri. Nakano elected to send the 20th division over plan A while his division would advance in 3 echelons over plan B.   On January 23rd, the 51st division departed Gali along the B route while the 1st battalion, 115th regiment and General Katagiri's 20th division would advance along the A route. Katagiri's 80th regiment and 20th engineer regiment tried the best they could, but the march was only advancing a single kilometer per day. Katagiri's troops had to cut through dense jungle and were facing strong enemy patrols along their route. Facing greater difficulties than expected, Katagiri decided to follow Nakano's 51st division along the A route in the end. Yet unbeknownst to him, the 3rd battalion, 126th regiment had just established new outposts at Sibog and Paramusi on January 22nd. From there they were sending out patrols to Langani and Sindaman. The Americans still could not break through Nakai's defenses at Gabumi giving the Japanese some relief. The bulk of Nakano's forces were withdrawing smoothly, seeing just sporadic harassment from American patrols. On the 1st of February, the 1st battalion, 115th regiment finally made contact with Nakai's forces at Gabumi while the bulk of the 51st division advanced through Yugayuga. A week later, Nakano himself reached Gabumi and began advancing towards Madang. By the 16th of February, the 1st battalion, 115th regiment reached Madang and the 20th division had successfully pulled out of Gabumi.   Late February would see 1667 men in total arrive at Madang, 5469 would reach Singor and 1235 would reach Gabumi. Thus 80% of Nakano's strength had effectively withdrawn. Nakai also managed to collect 500 patients that had been abandoned at Yugayuga and brought them over to Madang by March 1st. It seemed once again, Nakano's men had escaped doom. On the other side, Brigadier Cameron had begun his advance towards Saidor on January 25th. His 4th battalion led by Lt Colonel Percy Crosky, with a Papuan company reached Kiari on January 28th. Without taking a break they continued towards Singor the next day, then Malasanga and Crossingtown by the 31st.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The Japanese were slowly but surely losing their hold over Shaggy Ridge. With the loss of the vital artillery position it was just a matter of time before the Australians took over the area, meanwhile Nakano's great retreat was a success, but one does not win a war moving backwards. 

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The Rebel FM 2023 Game Music Spectacular

Rebel FM

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 1, 2024 319:05


It's that time again (actually a little past, but hush): we're here to chat about our favorite video game music of 2023, so grab a decent pair of headphones and get comfy as we dive into over five hours and almost 90 tracks featuring some of the best scores and soundtracks from a banner year for video games. If you feel so inclined, you can tip for the episode at ko-fi.com/aegies.  Happy new year!  Pizza Tower (Ronan "Mr. Sauceman" de Castel, pseudonymous ClascyJitto)   It's Pizza Time! Oregano UFO Calzonification  Dead Space (Jason Graves with additional contributions from Trevor Gureckis) - Zero Gravity  Tram Station Wild Hearts ( Junya Ishiguro, Masashi Hamauzu, Daisuke Shinoda. Ippo Igarashi, Modanqing Zhu) Entering Minato  Kingtusk/Icetusk  Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty (Kenichiro Suehiro) Wo Long  Unreal  Might and Valor  Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (Aoba Nakanishi, Hitomi Kurokawa,  Masahiro Miyauchi, Rina Yugi) Title  Friend   Together in the Moonlit Forest  Have a Nice Death (Caisheng Bo, Yann Cleophas, and Alexis Laugier)  Main Menu  Addictions Department  Arena (Addictions Department)  Resident Evil 4 (Kota Suzuki)  Baile de la Muerte  Shooting Range  Save Theme  Dredge (David Mason) Main Theme  The Twinned Town  The Collapsed Town  Dead Island 2 (Ryan Leo Williams) Looks Like You're the Star of the Show Now  The Bachelorette Party from Hell  Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Stephen Barton, Gordy Haab) The Forest Secret  Beneath the Cantina  The Campfire   System Shock (Jonathan Peros) Containment Failure Warning  X22 Interlocks Engaged  Demodulation  Diablo IV (Ted Reedy, Leo Kaliski) Main Menu  Nevesk  Jirandai  Aliens: Dark Descent (Doyle Donehoo) Desperate Escape  Mars First Logistics (Dan Golding) On the Job  Anti Gravity Device  Dense Matter  Final Fantasy XVI (principally composed by Masayoshi Soken, with additional tracks by Takafumi Imamura, Daiki Ishikawa, Saya Yasaki, and Justin Frieden) Land of Eikons  No Risk, No Reward  Winter's Bound - Shiva Theme  Dave the Diver (D'Anthoni Wooten, Jukio Kallio) The Blue Hole   Darker Trenches  Timeworn Tunnel  Oxenfree II: Lost Signals (Andrew Rohrmann/scntfc) Epsilon  To the Island  Lift  Pikmin 4 (Kenta Nagata, Asuka Hayazaki, Soshi Abe) Title Theme   Giant's Hearth  Remnant 2 (Rob Westwood) - On Our Way to Ward 13 Eastport - Conversation  You've Been a Good Friend Disney Illusion Island (David Housden) -  Illusion Island Mazzy's Theme  Downtown Gizmopolis  Venba (Alpha Something) -  Nee Dhaane  Baldur's Gate 3 (Borislav Slavov) -  Main Theme Part 1  Mind Flayer Theme  Nightsong Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (Kota Hoshino, Shoi Miyazawa) - Giant Killing  Destroy the Ice Worm  Starfield (Inon Zur) -  Into the Starfield  First Flight  Death and Crimson  Lies of P (Yeakun Yoo)  Main Menu  Feel  Hotel Krat  Mortal Kombat 1 (Wilbert Roget, II)  A New Era  Wu Shu Academy  The Flesh Pits  Assassin's Creed Mirage (Brendan Angelides) -  Ezio's Family - Mirage Version  A New World Awaits  Body and Soul  Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (John Paesano)   Greater Together  A Second Chance Trouble at Home  Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Koji Kondo, Shiho Fujii, Sayako Doi, Chisaki Shimazu) -  Welcome to the Flower Kingdom  Overworld (Elephant Mix)  Piranha Plants on Parade  Alan Wake II (Teemu Javanainen, Jussi Tiainen, Sindri Már Sigfússon, Sam Lake) -  Follow You into the Dark featuring RAKEL  Wide Awake featuring Jaimes   Jusant (Guillaume Ferran)  Jusant  Finisterre  9C+  Thirsty Suitors (Marksye) -  What's Your Thirstsona  Nylon Empire   No Goodbye  Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (Pinar Toprak) -  The Wildwoods  To Be Chosen