Podcasts about Kumano

"The field recording I chose was rich with historical resonance, immediately reminding me of another sacred route in Japan—Kumano Kodo, an ancient pilgrimage trail deeply connected to spiritual tradition. This parallel between Camino de Santiago in Spain and Kumano Kodo in Japan felt natural, as both sites are UNESCO-designated partners in preserving cultural and historical heritage. "Fortunately, I had my own field recordings from Kumano and Koyasan temple, and as I listened, I was struck by how seamlessly the Buddhist chant and the Spanish gaida (bagpipe) intertwined. Their tonal qualities resonated in a way that evoked a shared sense of devotion, despite being from different corners of the world. "Rather than stopping at this musical dialogue, I wanted to create something immersive — an experience akin to walking along these sacred paths. To achieve this, I incorporated poetry from ancient Japan, reciting verses that reflect themes of journey, reflection, and spiritual connection. By layering these elements, I hoped to offer listeners — whether tourists, pilgrims, or those engaging from afar—a way to connect with the past and feel the enduring spirit of these landscapes. "The final composition unfolds as a call-and-response between the two pilgrimage routes, distant in geography but united in essence. It invites the listener to trace the footsteps of those who came before, to remember, to feel, and to sense the unchanged atmosphere of these sacred spaces—a rare and precious experience in our fast-moving world." Praza das Praterías, Santiago de Compostela reimagined by Yutaka Atonami. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world's most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage

In this episode, Stephen Scourfield chats with Penny Thomas about the Kumano Kodo trail in Japan, which is one of only two UNESCO-recognised pilgrimage routes in the world. Nestled in the heart of Japan's Kii Peninsula, the series of trails weave through lush forests, towering mountains and sacred shrines and temples that have lured emperors, monks and pilgrims to the region for over 1,000 years. Whether you're captivated by its spiritual significance, stunning natural landscapes, or the allure of Japan's countryside, Penny delves into what makes the Kumano Kodo so remarkable — and she reveals some exciting personal news too. During the show, Penny and Stephen highlight several companies offering guided tours along the Kumano Kodo, which we've listed below: Intrepid Travel World Expeditions Auswalk Raw Travel Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau Subscribe to The Pod Well Travelled where you get your podcasts — and share it to your family and friends. Sign up for eTravel via thewest.com.au/manage-email-preferences. It's our free digital edition of travel that gets delivered to your inbox once a week and is full of new stories, fresh podcast episodes, upcoming events and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last time we spoke about the advance to Ormoc Valley. As October 1944 unfolded in the Leyte campaign, American forces steadily pushed Japanese troops inland. Despite fierce resistance, they captured key positions, like Dagami, Catmon Hill, and multiple airstrips. While the Japanese reinforced areas like Ormoc, American regiments advanced through challenging conditions, relying on artillery amid minimal air support due to weather and resource constraints. By month's end, American forces had inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese, securing vital beachheads and pushing closer to full control of Leyte. After suffering losses at Leyte Gulf, the 7th Fleet withdrew, leaving Kenney's P-38s to defend Tacloban airfields amid Japanese air raids. As kamikaze attacks grew, USS Franklin sustained heavy casualties, while the Americans pressed forward, capturing Carigara on Leyte. Meanwhile, Australian forces began reclaiming New Britain, pushing Japanese forces back through guerilla warfare. Facing tough jungle conditions, Australian and native troops gradually secured strategic positions by December, reinforcing the Allied grip in the Pacific. This episode is the Battle of Ormoc Bay 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.  As we have seen over the past few weeks, the Battle of Leyte Gulf saw Generals MacArthur's forces land and successfully defeat the 16th Division of Leyte Island as well as seized Carigara and Pinamopoan over the northern coast. The 24th Division also engaged the enemy's reinforcements, centred around the elite 1st Division during the battle for the northern entrance into the Ormoc Valley. Meanwhile Admiral Okawachi and General Yamashita aimed to bring more reinforcements to Leyte which would lead to another air-naval battle. The previous week, Colonel Verbeck's 21st Regiment was engaged in a mission to capture Breakneck Ridge, fiercely defended by Colonel Miyauchi's 57th Regiment. Simultaneously, General Kataoka mobilized his remaining two regiments to initiate a broad, four-pronged assault on the Pinamopoan perimeter. However, the rugged terrain slowed their movement toward assembly areas. On the morning of November 8 a typhoon, moving in from the west, swept over the entire island of Leyte. Jan Valtin, a member of the 24th Division, graphically describes it: "From the angry immensity of the heavens floods raced in almost horizontal sheets. Palms bent low under the storm, their fronds flattened like streamers of wet silk. Trees crashed to earth. In the expanse of… [cogon] grass the howling of the wind was like a thousand-fold plaint of the unburied dead. The trickle of supplies was at a standstill. On Carigara Bay the obscured headlands moaned under the onslaught of the… seas. Planes were grounded and ships became haunted things looking for refuge. Massed artillery… barrages to the summit of Breakneck Ridge sounded dim and hollow in the tempest. Trails were obliterated by the rain. The sky was black." In the midst of the storm, the 21st's infantry attacked. As the typhoon swept across the island, Verbeck's forces launched a three-pronged assault on Breakneck Ridge and Hill 1525, facing staunch resistance from Miyauchi's defenders but making considerable progress toward Hill 1525. Notably, plans for General Suzuki's offensive were found on a deceased Japanese officer, enabling General Krueger to redeploy his forces effectively. On 10 November General Mudge sent elements of the 1st Cavalry Division to patrol the area of the mountains of central Leyte extensively. From 5 November through 2 December, elements of the 1st Cavalry Division extensively patrolled the central mountain area and had many encounters with small forces of the enemy. At all times the supply situation was precarious. The 12th Cavalry established high in the foothills, at the entrance to the passes through the mountains, a supply base that was also a native camp, a hospital, and a rest camp. About 300 Filipino carriers were kept here under the protection of the guerrillas. The carriers had been hired for six days at a time and were not allowed to leave without a pass from their Filipino leader. This precaution was necessary, since the ration-carrying assignment was extremely arduous. The cavalrymen would frequently skirmish with the 41st Regiment and the 169th and 171st Independent Battalions during this period. Brigadier-General Julian Cunningham's 112th Cavalry Regiment, expected by November 14, was tasked with relieving General Mudge's 1st Cavalry Division in the Carigara-Barugo area to enable a southwest advance from the central mountains and ease pressure on General Irving's 24th Division.  General Bradley's 96th Division was directed to capture the high ground between Jaro and Dagami, with the 382nd Regiment remaining at Dagami to inflict significant losses on the 16th Division while securing Bloody Ridge. By November 4, the 382nd Regiment had made some progress into Bloody Ridge. The night of 4-5 November was not quiet. The Japanese delivered harassing fire on the 1st Battalion, and at 2205 elements of the 16th Division launched a heavy assault against the perimeter of the 2d Battalion. An artillery concentration immediately stopped the attack, and the Japanese fled, leaving 254 dead and wounded behind them. The following morning, after the artillery had fired a preparation in front of the 1st and 2d Battalions, the two battalions renewed the attack at 0900 and two companies from the 3d Battalion protected the regimental left (south) flank. The battalions advanced about 1,000 yards before they encountered any strong resistance. The defenses of the 16th Division consisted of a great many concrete emplacements, concealed spider holes, and connecting trenches. By nightfall, at 1700, the two battalions, assisted by the tanks from Company A, 763d Tank Battalion, successfully reduced the enemy to their front and captured the ridge. Each battalion formed its own perimeter and made plans to renew the attack on 6 November. At 0830 the 1st Battalion, with light tanks in support, moved out in the attack westward against a strong enemy force that was well entrenched in foxholes and pillboxes. Each of these defensive positions had to be reduced before the advance could continue. At 1300 the 2d Battalion moved to the high ground on the right flank of the 1st. The 1st Battalion encountered a strong concrete enemy pillbox which was believed to be a command post, since there were no firing apertures. As grenades had no effect it became necessary finally to neutralize the pillbox by pouring gasoline down the ventilation pipes and setting it afire. Two officers and nineteen enlisted men of the enemy were killed in the pillbox. The Japanese continued to fight tenaciously. There was no withdrawal, but by the end of the day only isolated pockets of enemy resistance remained. The Japanese 16th Division was taking a bad beating. Its supply of provisions had run out. All the battalion commanders, most of the company commanders, and half the artillery battalion and battery commanders had been killed. On the night of 6 November the 16th Division contracted its battle lines and on the following day took up a new position in the Dagami area. The new position ranged from a hill about four and a half miles northwest of Dagami to a point about three and three-fourths miles northwest of Burauen. On 7 November all three battalions of the 382d Infantry engaged the enemy and maintained constant pressure against his positions. The 1st and 3d Battalions advanced west, while the 2d Battalion drove north and west. The 3d Battalion encountered -the more determined resistance. Advancing, preceded by tanks, it met heavy enemy machine gun and rifle fire. A large enemy force assaulted the troops at close quarters and tried to destroy the tanks, but when the 382d Infantry introduced flamethrowers and supporting machine guns, the attackers fell back in disorder. The regiment overran the Japanese defensive positions and killed an estimated 474 of the enemy. Company E of the 2d Battalion had remained in the Patok area, engaged in patrolling and wiping out isolated pockets of enemy resistance. On 8 November strong patrols from the 1st and 2d Battalions probed west into the hills. They encountered the left flank of the enemy supporting position at a point about 2,600 yards west of Patok. A very heavy rainfall on the night of 8-9 November made an assault against the position impossible on 9 November. After all-night artillery fire, the 1st and 3d Battalions moved out at 0900 on 10 November. They met no resistance, but progress was slow because of the swamps. By 1225 the two battalions, supported by a platoon of light tanks, occupied the ridge formerly held by elements of the 16th Division. The 1st Battalion had advanced 2,500 yards. The 382d Infantry had destroyed all organized enemy resistance in its sector and removed the threat to Dagami.  Meanwhile, General Arnold's 7th Division stationed at the Burauen-Abuyog area began sending patrols from Baybay toward Ormoc to prepare for a larger advance, while the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Regiment moved to Baybay, successfully ambushing the Japanese unit advancing to Abuyog. Concurrently, Okawachi sent his fourth convoy from Manila, consisting of three transports, four frigates, and six destroyers under Admiral Kimura. This convoy carried the bulk of General Yamagata's 26th Division and approximately 3,500 tons of supplies, followed by another echelon of three transports with the remainder of the 1st Division. The echelon reached Ormoc the next day, unloaded successfully, and departed without issue. However, the main convoy encountered air attacks as it approached Ormoc Bay, beginning its debarkation by nightfall. On 10 November the 38th Bomb Group, based on Morotai, sent 32 B-25 Mitchells escorted by 37 P-47 Thunderbolts to attack TA-4 near Ponson Island. Reaching the convoy just before noon, the B-25s attacked at minimum altitude in pairs, sinking the two largest transports, Takatsu Maru and Kashii Maru, disabling a third, and sinking two of the patrol craft escorts at a cost of seven bombers, for which the group was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation. Although Yamagata's troops were finally ashore by November 10, most of the supplies couldn't be unloaded due to ongoing enemy air attacks. Shortly after leaving Ormoc, American planes intercepted the convoy, destroying two transports and one frigate, while further damaging another frigate and a destroyer. Meanwhile, Okawachi dispatched a third convoy, consisting of five transports, a submarine chaser, and five destroyers under Rear Admiral Hayakawa Mikio, transporting special troops and heavy equipment of the 26th Division. When one transport ran aground on Luzon's Bondoc Peninsula, Kimura sent two frigates and three destroyers to transfer its cargo to Ormoc. As a result, Hayakawa's convoy arrived at Ormoc Bay on November 11 and began unloading. However, ULTRA intercepts had detected the enemy convoy departing Manila, prompting Admiral Halsey to redeploy Task Force 38 under Admiral McCain. While under repair at Manila on 29 October, Nachi and Kumano were attacked by aircraft from USN Task Force 38. Nachi was hit by a single bomb to her aircraft deck, and this, as well as strafing attacks, killed 53 crewmen and further delayed repairs. On 5 November, again in Manila Bay, Nachi was attacked by three waves of U.S. planes from the aircraft carriers USS Lexington and Ticonderoga. She escaped the first wave undamaged, but was hit by five bombs and two or three torpedoes in the second wave while attempting to get underway. During the third wave, Nachi was hit by five torpedoes in her port side, which severed her bow and stern, and by an additional 20 bombs and 16 rockets. Nachi's flag commander, Vice Admiral Kiyohide Shima, was ashore for a conference at the time of the attack, but arrived at dockside in time to see his flagship blown apart. The central portion of the vessel sank in 102 feet (31 m) of water about 12 nautical miles (22 km) northeast of Corregidor. McCain launched an attack on Kimura's convoy. Just as unloading began, 347 planes struck, sinking all four transports and four destroyers, including the flagship Shimakaze, on which Hayakawa lost his life. This costly reinforcement operation thus ended in partial failure, with most equipment lost and over 1,500 casualties. Nevertheless, elements of the 1st Division moved immediately toward the Limon area, while Yamagata's units, though short on weaponry, were ordered to assemble at Dolores to prepare for joining the Imahori Detachment at Daro. At the same time, noticing the rapid advance of the enemy into the Carigara area, Yamashita concluded that Suzuki's proposed offensive toward Tacloban was destined for failure. He ordered the main force of the 35th Army to join the 16th Division in the advantageous mountainous positions of the Burauen-Dagami area to regain control of the recently captured airstrips, thereby limiting operations in the Carigara area to a holding action. Concurrently, as this adjustment to the tactical plan was made, Yamashita communicated his growing belief that the overall situation offered little hope for victory on Leyte and unsuccessfully tried to persuade General Terauchi to shift the decisive battle to Luzon. As a result of Terauchi's decision, the 68th Brigade was still to be sent to Leyte; the 23rd Division was scheduled to go to Manila in mid-November before returning to Leyte; and the 10th and 19th Divisions were planned for movement to the island by the end of the year. With the plans finalized for continuing the decisive battle on Leyte, Terauchi's headquarters departed Manila for Saigon on November 17. Back on Leyte, on November 9, the weary, mud-stained troops of the 21st Regiment launched another attack, with the 3rd Battalion assaulting the center of Breakneck Ridge and the 2nd Battalion targeting OP Hill, though they made only minor gains. Additionally, Verbeck's 1st Battalion attacked Limon but was repelled by heavy enemy fire, and fresh Japanese troops subsequently counterattacked the Hill 1525 position, forcing the Americans to retreat. Finally, Colonel Chapman's 2nd Battalion reached the western slopes of Hill 1525 in the afternoon, but it was too late for them to take part in the battle. On November 10, Verbeck continued his assault, successfully capturing OP Hill and making significant headway in the area. At the same time, Chapman's 2nd Battalion began advancing westward to establish a roadblock on Highway 2, approximately 2000 yards south of Limon. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Clifford's 1st Battalion of the 34th Regiment landed on the western shore of Carigara Bay and initiated a wide envelopment around the western flank of the 57th Regiment to secure the high ground known as Kilay Ridge. Additionally, Mudge's cavalrymen pressed forward toward Mount Minoro. On this day, Yamashita's adjustments to the tactical plan finally reached Suzuki's headquarters. As a result, Suzuki abandoned his initial strategy and directed Yamagata to move his troops quickly to Albuera to prepare for an offensive eastward, dubbed Operation Wa. To replace the 26th Division in upcoming operations on the Jaro front, Suzuki decided to deploy the 30th Division, which had not yet departed Mindanao, instructing them to land at Ipil and prepare to support the Imahori Detachment, already skirmishing with Bradley's patrols. On November 11, following a heavy artillery barrage, Verbeck resumed his assault, although the 2nd Battalion quickly found itself pinned down, while the 1st Battalion successfully secured a ridge 300 yards southwest of OP Hill. The next morning, the 1st and 3rd Battalions advanced against the crest of Breakneck Ridge, successfully capturing the objective before being halted by Japanese artillery fire. At the same time, Chapman's 2nd Battalion reached Highway 2, and Clifford's 1st Battalion, supported by elements of the guerrilla 96th Regiment, arrived in the Cabiranan area. By November 13, Verbeck's 1st and 2nd Battalions advanced 600 and 400 yards, respectively, without encountering opposition. Breakneck Ridge was secured, although the Japanese maintained control over several nearby spurs, particularly Corkscrew Ridge. Nonetheless, the 21st Regiment reported approximately 1,779 Japanese soldiers killed, suffering 630 casualties in the process. Additionally, Clifford's 1st Battalion successfully reached Kilay Ridge undetected and quickly established defensive positions. At 0855 on 13 November a column of Filipino men, women, and children entered the perimeter and brought approximately thirty-five boxes of rations from Consuegra. The battalion left the area at 0930 and reached the ridge without opposition. Trenches and prepared gun positions without a man in them honeycombed the ridge from one end to the other. It was evident that elements of the 1st Division had intended to occupy the area in the latter stages of the battle for Limon. On 14 November Colonel Clifford ordered his battalion to entrench itself along the ridge in positions that would afford the best tactical advantage. The battalion established strong points and observation posts on the knolls, placed blocks on the trails leading through the area, and sent out reconnaissance patrols to locate enemy positions. Colonel Clifford made arrangements to utilize the Filipinos as carriers. These men were to use a trail on the north end of the ridge and bring supplies to the battalion from a supply dump at Consuegra. The first human pack train arrived in the area at 1010 with twenty-eight cases of rations and a supply of batteries for the radios. At 1125 enemy artillery shelled the southern end of the ridge and twenty minutes later shifted its fire to the Limon area. The battalion did not succeed in establishing physical contact with the 2d Battalion, 19th Infantry, which was operating east of the road, but it was able to make radio contact. Throughout the day, patrols of the battalion were active in searching out enemy positions. Meanwhile the 112th Cavalry was landed at Carigara and attached to the 1st Cavalry Division to strengthen the assault on the central Leyte mountains. Meanwhile, the reserve 32nd Division, led by Major-General William Gill, was also dispatched to the island to relieve the fatigued 24th Division. This newly arrived division was assigned the mission of capturing Limon and advancing down the Ormoc Valley toward Ormoc. On the Japanese side, after receiving the rest of his division, Kataoka chose to move the 1st Regiment to the left flank to assist the 57th, which had also been bolstered by two fresh battalions. This combined force aimed to launch an attack along the main road toward Pinamopoan while the 49th Regiment and the 171st Independent Battalion sought to envelop the enemy's left flank toward Colasian. By mid-November, the headquarters of the 102nd Division and most of the 364th Independent Battalion had also arrived in Ormoc, with Lieutenant-General Fukei Shinpei taking command of the 41st Regiment and his other battalions on the island as they advanced toward Mount Pina. Furthermore, despite significant losses to enemy aircraft, five air regiments had reinforced the 4th Air Army, enabling General Tominaga to make the 4th Air Division fully operational, a unit that had previously focused solely on base activities and anti-submarine patrols. The replenishment of naval air strength was progressing well, with replacement aircraft for the 1st Combined Base Air Force outnumbering losses by 26% in November. On November 15, the Combined Fleet opted to cease training carrier air groups and instead focus on expanding the base air forces. The 3rd Air Fleet, stationed in the homeland, was tasked with training replacement units for deployment to the Philippines. Due to the successful reinforcement of Japanese air forces in the Philippines and General Kenney's ongoing inability to provide close air support, Halsey once again directed Task Force 38 to attack enemy airbases on Luzon. On November 13 and 14, McCain's carriers conducted several strikes against Japanese airfields in Luzon, resulting in a significant decrease in enemy air operations over Leyte. On 13 November 1944, on the threat of American carrier strikes on Luzon, Kiso was ordered to return to Brunei that evening carrying Vice Admiral Kiyohide Shima. Before she could leave for Brunei, she was attacked on 13 November while underway in Manila Bay by more than 350 carrier planes of Task Force 38's carrier task groups 38.1's Hornet, Monterey and Cowpens, TG 38.3's Essex, Ticonderoga and Langley and TG 38.4's Enterprise and San Jacinto. Three bombs hit Kiso to starboard - one in the bow, one near her boiler rooms and one near her aft gun mounts. Kiso sank in shallow water 13 kilometres (7.0 nmi; 8.1 mi) west of Cavite. Captain Ryonosuke Imamura and 103 of her crew survived, but 175 crewmen went down with the ship. Akebono, while alongside destroyer Akishimo at Cavite pier near Manila, was attacked in a USAAF air raid. A direct bomb hit set both ships ablaze, and the following day a large explosion on Akishimo blew a hole in Akebono, which sank upright in shallow water, with 48 crewmen killed and 43 wounded. After returning to Manila, Hatsuharu was caught in an air raid in Manila Bay. A series of near misses buckled plates and set fires, causing the ship to sink in shallow water. The attack killed 12 crewmen and injured 60 more, but 218 survived. Several other vessels were also sunk. Meanwhile, on November 14, the Hi-81 convoy, comprising the escort carriers Shinyo and Akitsu Maru, destroyer Kashi, seaplane tender Kiyokawa Maru, submarine chaser No. 156, seven escort ships, five oilers, and three transports, left Imari Bay under Rear-Admiral Sato Tsutomu. The convoy carried most of Lieutenant-General Nishiyama Fukutaro's 23rd Division and headed into the Yellow Sea, wary of enemy submarines. After stopping for the night in Ukishima Channel near the Gotō Islands, Sato's convoy resumed its journey on November 15 but was soon ambushed by two submarine wolfpacks. Commander Charles Loughlin's submarines were the first to strike, successfully hitting the Akitsu Maru with two torpedoes, which later sank, resulting in the loss of 2,046 lives, including most of the 64th Regiment. After the attack, Sato withdrew to Strange Island, located off the coast of Korea, to take refuge for the day. On the morning of November 17, the convoy resumed its journey but was soon detected by a B-29 Superfortress as it made its way toward the Shushan Islands. By late afternoon, Commander Gordon Underwood's submarines launched an assault on the Japanese ships, successfully striking the transport vessel Mayasan Maru, which sank quickly, resulting in the loss of 3,437 men, including most of the 72nd Regiment. Almost twelve hours later 200 kilometers off Saishu Island, Spadefish surfaced and attacked the Shinyo with six torpedoes. Four struck the carrier on the starboard at 11:03 pm, and it caught fire. At least 1,130 Japanese sailors went down with their ship; only about seventy survived, including Ishii. Kashi immediately dropped several depth charges where the Spadefish was thought to be. An oil slick and other debris eventually made the Japanese believe they had sunk Spadefish so the Kashi broke off the engagement, but Spadefish had escaped apparently without serious damage. Only minor cracks were reported to have appeared on the submarine after the alleged "sinking" by Kashi. Underwood's final strike was against the submarine chaser No. 156, which sustained three torpedo hits and sank rapidly. Following some rescue efforts, Sato continued his advance on November 21, eventually arriving in Kaohsiung five days later. Half of the convoy then proceeded to San Fernando, where the remaining members of the 23rd Division disembarked on December 2.  Yet thats it for today for the Philippines as we now need to shift over to Morotai.With Japanese reinforcements pushed back into the interior of the secured island, General Persons directed the 31st Division to capture several islands off New Guinea that served as observation points for Japanese outposts monitoring Allied movements. On November 15, the 2nd Battalion of the 167th Regiment landed on Pegun Island, followed by a successful attack on Bras Island the next day. By November 18, with the Mapia Islands secured, Company F of the 124th Regiment was sent to occupy the unguarded Asia Islands on November 19. In the Aitape region, Major-General Jack Stevens' 6th Australian Division was assigned to relieve American forces, similar to the Australian efforts on New Britain and Bougainville, in order to free up troops for the Philippines Campaign. By late October, a base had been successfully set up, allowing the 19th Brigade to arrive by mid-November, with the 17th Brigade scheduled for early December, and the 16th by year-end. Under General Blamey's orders, the new Australian garrisons were to adopt a more active approach than the American units had, so Stevens planned not only to secure the airfield and radar installations in the Aitape-Tadji area, but also to carry out extensive patrols in support of intelligence and guerrilla operations aimed at weakening the enemy in Wewak.  One of General Stevens' tasks was to give maximum help to AIB. and Angau units in the area in their tasks of gaining Intelligence, establishing patrol bases and protecting the native population. These AIB. and Angau units had been active in the Sepik-Aitape triangle since the time of the landing of American forces at Aitape in April 1944, and the 6th Division came into an area where, from the outset, practically all the deep patrolling had been done by groups of Australians. In the Aitape area, prior to the arrival of the Division (said the report of the 6th Division), Angau long-range patrols operated without troop support and, for their own protection, inaugurated a type of guerilla warfare. Selected village natives called "sentries" were taught to use grenades and Japanese rifles. The sentries, besides furnishing Intelligence, accounted for large numbers of enemy. This system was continued. As each area was freed the sentries were rewarded and returned to their villages. By early November, the 2/10th Commando Squadron had established a patrol base at Babiang, conducting numerous patrols throughout the month. Intelligence gathered suggested the Japanese forces were weakened, poorly nourished, and mainly focused on sourcing food. In response, Stevens planned two significant December operations: to sever the enemy's communication line along the Malin-Walum-Womisis-Amam axis and to neutralize enemy positions east of the Danmap River. By November 25, the seasoned 2/7th Commando Squadron had arrived at Babiang, and by month-end, the 19th Brigade took over the area. The commandos then advanced southward, setting up a base at Tong on December 4 and establishing an outpost at Kumbum three days later. Now to finish this week's episode let's explore the B-29 Superfortress operations during this time. After the Formosa Air Battle and the Omura raid on October 25, General LeMay's 20th Bomber Command conducted four missions in November. Three of these supported Southeast Asia operations as part of “PAC-AID,” while the fourth targeted the Omura Aircraft Factory, a key focus for the command. On November 3, 44 B-29s from India effectively bombed the Malegon Railway Yards at Rangoon. Two days later, 53 bombers hit Singapore's King George VI Graving Dock, the largest of several dry docks at Singapore and one of the world's best. The first of 53 Superforts attacking was over target at 0644, and the bombardier, Lt. Frank McKinney, put a I,ooo-pound bomb into the target within 50 feet of the aiming point, the caisson gate; Lt. Bolish McIntyre, 2 planes back, laid another alongside. This was the sort of pickle-barrel bombing the Air Corps had talked about before the war. Strike photos showed a rush of water into the dock, presumptive evidence that the gate had been strained, and subsequent reconnaissance photos indicated that the dock was out of use (A-2's estimate of three months of unserviceability was to prove quite accurate). There were other hits on the dock, on a 465-foot freighter in it, and on adjacent shops. For “baksheesh,” as the boys had learned to say in India, seven B-29's bombed the secondary target, Pangkalanbrandan refinery in Sumatra, and reported direct hits on the cracking plant. The Japanese, evidently relying on the inaccessibility of Singapore, put up a feeble defense, but the long trip took a toll of two planes and twelve crewmen, including Col. Ted L. Faulkner, commander of the 468th Group. On November 11, 96 B-29s launched from China to strike Omura under difficult weather; only 29 reached the aircraft factory unsuccessfully, while 24 more bombed Nanking with limited results. The month's final mission on November 27 saw 55 B-29s severely damage the Bang Soe marshaling yards in Bangkok. Meanwhile, in the Marianas, General Hansell's 21st Bomber Command prepared for strikes on the Japanese Home Islands. In order to properly plan missions to Japan, up-to-date reconnaissance photos of the proposed targets were needed. Other than information which was used during the Doolittle Raid in 1942, there was scant information about the locations of Japanese industry, especially the aircraft industry. On November 1, two days after arriving on Saipan, a 3rd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron F-13A Superfortress (photo reconnaissance-configured B-29) took off bound for Tokyo. The aircraft flew over Tokyo at 32000 feet for 35 minutes taking picture after picture. A few fighters made it up to the camera plane's altitude but did not attack. These photos, along with other intelligence, gave the 21st Bomber Command the locations of the Japanese aircraft manufacturing plants and enabled mission planners to plan missions for the combat crews to attack. In honor of his mission, the aircraft was named "Tokyo Rose". In response, about ten G4Ms launched from Iwo Jima attacked Isley Field on Saipan the next day, scoring five bomb hits but losing three bombers. Hansell responded with a practice strike on Iwo Jima on November 5, though results were again limited. On November 7, the Japanese launched a follow-up attack, but it again resulted in minimal damage and cost them three bombers. A retaliatory strike by 17 B-29s the next day also fell short: one squadron had to jettison its bombs into the ocean, while another dropped its load through a gap in the undercast. Between Japanese attacks, American aircrew inexperience, delays in constructing airfields in the Marianas, and the slow movement of B-29s to Saipan, the 21st Bomber Command was behind schedule in its planned offensive against Japan. By November 15, only half of the 73rd Bombardment Wing's authorized 180 B-29s had arrived, but by November 22, around 118 bombers were finally in place. At this point, General Arnold ordered Hansell to begin Operation San Antonio I, marking the first strike against Tokyo. The chosen target was Nakajima's Musashi Aircraft Engine Plant, which supplied 27% of Japan's combat aircraft engines. On November 24, 111 B-29s took off for Japan, collectively carrying 277.5 tons of bombs. However, 17 bombers aborted mid-flight, and six others couldn't bomb due to mechanical issues. For the first time, the B-29s encountered the Jet stream, which was a high-speed wind coming out of the west at speeds as high as 200 mph at precisely the altitudes at which the bombers were operating. This caused the bomber formations to be disrupted and made accurate bombing impossible. As a result, only 24 B-29s bombed the Musashi plant, while 64 hit nearby dock and urban areas instead. The Japanese fighter response was less intense than expected, with the Americans claiming to have downed seven fighters, likely destroyed 18 more, and damaged nine, losing just one bomber in return. Another B-29 was lost on the return trip after running out of fuel and ditching. Despite disappointing bombing results in the mission—only 48 bombs struck the factory area, causing damage to just 1% of the building area and 2.4% of the machinery, with 57 killed and 75 injured—the raid exposed the weaknesses in Japan's air defense and showed the six million residents of Tokyo that they were vulnerable to attack. Given the limited impact of the November 24 mission, Hansell decided to launch a second major strike, dubbed San Antonio II, targeting Musashi once more. However, in the early hours of November 27, two G4M bombers from Iwo Jima carried out a low-altitude raid on Isley Field, escaping after destroying one B-29 and damaging eleven others.  Later that day, twelve bomb-equipped Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighters from the IJN's 252 Kōkūtai (252 Air Group) accompanied by two Nakajima C6N "Myrt" reconnaissance aircraft for navigation purposes departed Iwo Jima for Saipan. The attackers flew just above sea level to avoid US radar, and one of the A6Ms was forced to divert to Pagan after its propeller struck a wave; this aircraft was shot down by a USAAF Thunderbolt while attempting to land. The remaining eleven A6Ms arrived over Saipan at noon, shortly after XXI Bomber Command's second raid on Tokyo had departed. These aircraft strafed Isley Field destroying three or four B-29s and damaging up to two others. One of the Japanese pilots landed his fighter on Isley Field and fired on airfield personnel with his pistol until he was killed by rifle fire; this incident was witnessed by Brigadier General Haywood S. Hansell, the commander of XXI Bomber Command. None of the ten other A6Ms survived; four were shot down by USAAF fighters and six by anti-aircraft guns. The U.S. gunners also downed a USAAF Thunderbolt in circumstances which an official assessment later described as "inexcusable". Of the 81 bombers launched, 19 aborted, and those that reached Tokyo found the target covered by clouds, forcing them to drop bombs by radar over Tokyo's docks, urban areas, and the cities of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Numazu, and Osaka. Ultimately, for the loss of one Superfortress, the damage caused by this second strike was minimal. However, the strong Japanese response led Hansell to relocate some B-29s from Isley to safer Guam, strengthen Saipan's defenses and radar, and plan coordinated air-sea operations to neutralize Iwo Jima's staging fields. 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 Americans pressed through Leyte's treacherous terrain and fierce resistance, aiming to secure strategic positions. Typhoons, enemy reinforcements, and brutal battles tested them harshly, but they advanced steadily. Despite heavy losses and airstrikes from both sides, American forces captured Breakneck Ridge and pushed onward, inching closer to victory.

Last time we spoke about the Battle of Leyte Gulf. General MacArthur's forces landed on Leyte, prompting a response from Admiral Toyoda. Kurita's 1st Striking Force was sent to attack Leyte Gulf, while Shima's force faced confusion and delays. Japanese naval forces were hit hard by American submarines, with significant losses including the sinking of the Atago and Maya. Despite efforts, Japanese counterattacks faltered. On October 24, American forces secured key positions, and MacArthur announced the re-establishment of the Philippine government amidst ongoing naval battles and air attacks. During the fierce Battle of Leyte Gulf, Musashi endured multiple torpedo and bomb hits from American aircraft but continued to fight as it took on severe flooding. Despite efforts from Kurita's fleet, Musashi was eventually abandoned and sank, marking the largest ship ever sunk by air attack. Nishimura's force faced relentless torpedo strikes and a decisive night battle, with the battleship Fuso and cruiser Mogami being heavily damaged or sunk. Ultimately, Nishimura's forces retreated, and the Americans achieved a significant victory. This episode is the Last Carrier Battle  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.  Where we last left off during the Battle of Leyte Fulg, the 10th and 24th Corps had established successful beachheads at Palo-Tacloban and Dulag. In response, Admiral Toyoda launched Operation Sho-Go, mobilizing the full strength of the Imperial Japanese Navy to eliminate enemy warships and transports at sea. However, after losing three heavy cruisers to submarines, Admiral Kurita's 1st Striking Force faced severe damage from Admiral Mitscher's Task Force 38, culminating in the sinking of the battleship Musashi by the end of October 24. Shortly after the Sibuyan Sea engagement, Admiral Nishimura's Force C was annihilated by Admiral Kinkaid's 7th Fleet at the Surigao Strait. Despite these setbacks, Admiral Shima's 2nd Striking Force was approaching the area. Meanwhile, the Americans had identified Admiral Ozawa's decoy force by the end of the day. In response, the aggressive Admiral Halsey chose to leave San Bernardino Strait unguarded and pursue the depleted Japanese carrier force to the north, aiming to finish off the IJN. Unknown to him, Kurita, with four battleships, six heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and several destroyers, was advancing towards San Bernardino Strait to attack Kinkaid's transports and escort carriers from the rear. This set the stage for one of the final and largest naval battles of the Pacific War. To the north, as the Battle of Surigao Strait was in progress, radar-equipped aircraft from the Independence detected Admiral Matsuda's battleship carriers and later Ozawa's carriers in the early hours of October 25. However, due to a transmission error, the location of the Japanese forces was reported inaccurately. After the rendezvous of three of Halsey's four carrier task groups just before midnight on October 24, TF 38 headed north with every expectation of achieving a great victory. At 0100hrs on October 25, five radar-equipped aircraft flew off Independence to search out to a distance of 350NM. Contact was gained at 0205hrs on Force A and at 0235hrs on the Main Body. Because of a transmission error, the position of the Japanese forces was given incorrectly. The wrong position was plotted out some 120NM nearer to TF 38 than it actually was. In fact, TF 38 and Ozawa were actually about 210NM apart.  Despite this, Mitscher's carrier was readying for morning strikes while Admiral Lee's Task Force 34 was being reorganized. Meanwhile, Kurita's 1st Striking Force surprisingly navigated through San Bernardino Strait during the night without encountering resistance, proceeding towards Leyte Gulf and a confrontation with Rear-Admiral Thomas Sprague's escort carriers near Samar. However, the movement of Shima's force was not coordinated with Nishimura's. Shima designed his advance so he could attack separately from Nishimura's force. The gap between the forces was originally five hours, but Shima reduced this to two hours by the time his force began entering the strait. As he entered Surigao Strait on the night of October 24/25, Nishimura issued reports during the early part of his transit, which Shima received, but when he met serious resistance, the reports stopped. Shima was therefore unaware of the virtual annihilation of Nishimura's force. The only information available was gunfire flashes in the distance and snippets of radio traffic from Nishimura's ships under attack. Oldendorf was aware that a second force was moving to support Nishimura. The first firm indication of this was a contact report from the PT boats on Shima's force at 0038hrs. Oldendorf knew he was dealing with two widely spaced Japanese forces. Just as Nishimura was forced to deal with incessant PT boat attacks, now it was Shima's turn. These turned out to be more than a mere nuisance. Shima's introduction to combat came at about 0315hrs when PT-134 mounted an ineffective attack. One PT boat managed to hit the cruiser Abukuma with a torpedo at 03:25, causing a significant explosion and slowing her to 10 knots, forcing her to exit Shima's formation. As Shima advanced, he observed several ships ablaze and saw the destroyer Shigure retreat before detecting a radar contact 13,000 yards away. Without Shima's approval, his chief of staff ordered the two cruisers to maneuver for a torpedo strike against the distant and indistinct radar contacts. At 0422hrs Nachi and Ashigara each fired eight Type 93 torpedoes at the radar contacts. In fact, these were Oldendorf's flagship Louisville followed by Portland. Despite the element of surprise, the Japanese torpedo attack completely failed. Immediately after firing its torpedo broadside, Nachi faced disaster. The burning Mogami had loomed out of the darkness minutes before. Nachi's skipper failed to grasp that Mogami was underway, not stationary, and he failed to take proper measures to avoid the damaged cruiser. As Nachi was unable to pass forward of Mogami, the two ships side-swiped each other forward at 04:23. Frantic last-second maneuvers lessened the impact of the collision, but the result was still dramatic. Nachi took the worst of it, suffering a large gash in her bow at the waterline on her port side. Damage to the bow reduced her speed to 18 knots. Shima's four destroyers then continued north but failed to locate any targets. Fearing inevitable destruction, Shima decided to retreat south at 04:35. Although Oldendorf had dispatched his cruisers and destroyers to pursue the fleeing Japanese, his forces did not aggressively pursue, allowing Shima to escape. In the end, Oldendorf's pursuing cruisers only managed to catch the damaged Mogami and Asagumo, which they unsuccessfully attacked at 05:29. Despite sustaining additional hits, the Mogami continued to fight, escorted southwest by the destroyer Akebomo. The Asagumo, however, came under attack again at 07:02 and sank 19 minutes later. As Asagumo slipped under the waves, all that was left of Nishimura's force were hundreds of survivors in the water. Rescue efforts by at least four American destroyers resulted in only a handful being picked up. When one of Oldendorf's destroyer skippers asked at 07:35 what to do with the hundreds of men still in the water, Oldendorf simply replied, “Let them sink.” Japanese survivors who reached shore were, in many cases, killed by local inhabitants. While it seemed the Mogami might escape, Sprague's Taffy 1 group carriers launched their first strikes before 06:00. Four Avengers attacked the cruiser at 07:41 but failed to score any hits. Around 08:40, 21 aircraft also targeted Shima's force, but only inflicted minor strafing damage on the destroyer Shiranuhi. Before Sprague could continue his air attacks, new developments were occurring off Samar as Kurita's warships approached Rear-Admiral Clifton Sprague's Taffy 3 group. At 06:44, a lookout from the Yamato made visual contact, though he mistakenly identified the escorting destroyers as heavy cruisers and battleships.  Kurita's initial orders increased the confusion generated by the first contact at 06:44. He ordered “General Attack” at 07:03, meaning that each ship or division proceeded on its own against the Americans. This tactic abandoned any pretense of coordination between the various elements of the 1st Striking Force. Battleships Yamato and Nagato remained together, but Kongo and Haruna operated individually. For most of the engagement, the six heavy cruisers operated in three groups of two. The two destroyer flotillas, each led by a light cruiser, were kept to the rear by Kurita. He held his destroyers back to maintain their fuel reserves by not having them maneuver at high speeds, instead sending his heavy cruisers ahead to pursue at full speed. This precluded them from screening the heavy ships and kept them out of position to make a torpedo attack. The General Attack decision was a critical error. It resulted in a loss of control by Kurita and a melee for the next two hours. His rationale for ordering an immediate, but uncoordinated, attack was to close the range as quickly as possible and knock out the carriers' flight decks. Throughout the battle, Kurita maneuvered to keep the weather gauge; by so doing, he could prevent the carriers from turning into the wind to conduct flight operations. Meanwhile, an Avenger from Kadashan Bay sighted Kurita's force at 06:47 following radar contacts. Despite his surprise, Sprague immediately ordered Taffy 3 to head east, increased speed to 17.5 knots, directed every ship to lay smoke, and launched all available aircraft at 06:55. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Sprague began sending clear text messages at 07:01 to report his predicament and request assistance. Sprague's main objective was to delay the Japanese forces until reinforcements could arrive. To achieve this, he decided to use smoke screens and continuous air assaults, supported by Taffy 2's aircraft, to hinder Kurita's ships. As Kurita's cruisers advanced north, Sprague opted to maneuver southwest, moving closer to Leyte Gulf and the potential assistance from the 7th Fleet. Starting at 06:59, Kurita's battleships began firing from long range, with their salvos becoming more frequent and accurate. To mitigate this pressure, Sprague directed his forces into a rain squall from 07:06 to 07:15. Once clear of the squall, he changed course southward towards the approaching help from Leyte Gulf. Meanwhile, as Kurita's ships continued east before turning south, the range of Sprague's carriers was extended, and the rain and smoke impaired the accuracy of the Japanese gunners. Sprague also ordered his three destroyers to launch a torpedo counterattack to shield the escort carriers as they emerged from the squall. The Johnston, charging through enemy fire, engaged the cruiser Kumano with gunfire to close the distance for a torpedo attack. At 10,000 yards, the Johnston fired all ten of its torpedoes, scoring a critical hit that slowed the cruiser and forced it to retreat. It was inevitable that Evans would pay a price for approaching so close to a collection of enemy cruisers and battleships. This came at 0730hrs in the form of three large shells (possibly fired from Yamato) and a number of smaller shells that struck Johnston. The armor-piercing shells failed to explode, but damage was extensive. The aft machinery room was destroyed, which reduced speed to 17 knots. Most of the 5in./38 guns were knocked out, but after repairs were made during a providential 10-minute respite as a squall passed over, three were brought back online. The battleship evaded the torpedoes at 07:33 and retaliated with devastating gunfire against the Hoel. By 07:30, all operational aircraft were airborne, prompting Sprague to order the initial attacks on the heavy cruisers approaching his port quarter. Unrelenting American air attacks were the main reason for the Japanese defeat. Taffy aircrews were not highly trained for maritime attack, and torpedoes or armor-piercing bombs were in short supply. Most Avengers were launched with bombs instead of more effective torpedoes for two reasons. Torpedoes took more time and preparation to load, and the deck crews on Taffy 3 did not have the luxury of time. Also, once loaded with a heavy torpedo, the Avengers could only be launched if the escort carrier steamed into the wind. Moving downwind, like Taffy 3 was forced to do for most of the action, did not get enough wind across the flight deck. The first attacks by Taffy 3 aircraft were conducted in groups of two or three with aircraft not properly armed for attacking ships. Because Taffy 3 could not steam into the wind while being pursued by Kurita's force, recovering aircraft during the battle was impossible. When they ran out of ordnance or fuel, they had to land on Taffy 2 or fly 100NM to the newly opened airfield at Tacloban. Even when lightly armed or unevenly unarmed, the aircraft made unceasing strafing runs in the case of the Wildcats or dummy bombing runs in the case of the Avengers. These attacks were poorly coordinated, but the Japanese, on the receiving end of incessant attacks, saw it differently. After the battle, Kurita and others commented that the attacks were well coordinated, skillful, and aggressive. At 07:35, ten Avengers struck the cruiser Suzuya just as Vice-Admiral Shiraishi Kazutaka was boarding, scoring a near miss that reduced her speed to 20 knots and took her out of the battle. The damaged Hoel then attempted a second torpedo attack on the heavy cruiser Haguro at 07:50 but failed to hit the target. However, this attack forced the Superbattleship Yamato to open fire at 0659hrs. Her third salvo straddled White Plains, with one of the shells striking the carrier and causing some underwater damage. Around 0800hrs, to evade torpedoes fired from Hoel aimed at Haguro, Yamato turned due north. This evasive maneuver forced her to the north for almost ten minutes until the torpedo tracks disappeared, placing her at the rear of Kurita's formation and effectively removing her from the battle for a period. Nagato opened fire at 0701hrs at a carrier assessed to be 36,000 yards away. After the three salvos, the battleship stopped firing having hit nothing. At 07:54, the Heermann launched seven torpedoes at Haguro, but they missed. Destroyer escorts Samuel B. Roberts, Raymond, and Dennis also joined in the attack but also failed to score hits, though they managed to escape unharmed. The Heermann subsequently launched a second torpedo attack on the Haruna at 08:00, but once again, none of the torpedoes hit their mark. Despite using smoke and evading shell splashes, the Heermann avoided damage. The first ship to succumb to the barrage of Japanese shellfire was the crippled Hoel. After her run against Haguro, and only able to make 17 knots, she was trapped between Kongo on one side and four heavy cruisers on the other. Using every possible method to evade the storm of shells directed against his ship, Kintberger survived for well over an hour after the first hit was recorded. Hoel took as many as 23 hits, but the actual number will never be known since most passed through the ship without exploding. The final engine was knocked out at 0830hrs, bringing the ship to a halt. As the crew abandoned ship under continued fire, the Hoel finally rolled over at 08:55. Meanwhile, the Japanese cruisers continued to close in on the escort carriers. Under fire from the battleships, Sprague's initial course was to the eastsoutheast at full speed—17.5 knots. As the Japanese heavy cruisers began to pressure his formation's port quarter, Sprague was forced to alter course to the southwest. Kalinin Bay was at the rear of the formation. She took a battleship shell at 0750hrs (probably from Haruna) that went through the hangar deck and out of her unarmored hull. As many as 14 other hits followed, all probably from 8in. shells. Kalinin Bay retaliated against the cruisers at 18,000 yards with her aft 5in./38 gun. The smoke generated from all six carriers and from the destroyers and destroyer escorts on their starboard quarter succeeded in hiding the carriers from direct Japanese observation for much of the battle. The Japanese shot slowly and methodically with four-gun salvos, allowing the escort carriers to chase salvos. The smoke and evasive maneuvering kept damage to a minimum, but of the six escort carriers, four were eventually hit. Fanshaw Bay took six 8in. hits, all forward, that killed three and wounded 20. White Plains took a probable 6in. hit and suffered light damage. Kitkun Bay was not hit but suffered several personnel casualties from near misses. St. Lo suffered no damage during the battle. The Gambier Bay bore the brunt of enemy fire, with an initial shell igniting a fire at 08:10. Ten minutes later, a devastating hit reduced her speed to 11 knots and forced the carrier to lag behind the rest of the formation. At 08:22, Yamato reentered the fray, intensifying the assault on the carrier. Heermann closed on the carrier at 0841hrs to find her burning and listing 20°. Continued Japanese fire resulted in more hits, with most of the armor-piercing shells passing through the ship. Hit by as many as 26 shells from Yamato, Haruna, and several cruisers, Gambier Bay went dead in the water at 0845hrs; five minutes later, the captain gave the order to abandon ship. Gambier Bay capsized at 0907hrs, one of only two carriers sunk by gunfire during the entire war. Meanwhile, at 08:26, Sprague ordered the destroyer escorts on the starboard side of the formation to position themselves between the carriers and the Japanese heavy cruisers on their port side. As John C. Butler and Dennis engaged the enemy cruisers, the latter sustained minor damage from two hits. Samuel B. Roberts also was struck at 0850hrs. At 0900hrs, the destroyer escort was hit by two or three 14in. shells from Kongo. The large shells tore a huge hole in the side of the ship and knocked out all power. A total of six shells hit the ship. This prompted an order to abandon ship at 0910hrs for the crew of 178. Half (89 of them) did not survive. Samuel B. Roberts sank at 1005hrs. During this time, Rear-Admiral Kimura Masatomi instructed his destroyers to launch a torpedo attack at 08:45, targeting Kalinin Bay. Fortunately, Johnston detected the new threat and made a daring suicide charge through the smoke. Evans engaged Yahagi with gunfire at 7,000 yards, and several hits were gained. Then Evans engaged the next destroyer in column, again claiming several hits. Kimura ordered his torpedoes fired from about 10,500 yards—not an ideal range for even the formidable Type 93. Yahagi launched seven torpedoes at 0905hrs, followed by three destroyers beginning at 0915hrs, Urakaze fired four, Isokaze eight, and Yukikaze four. Evans may have been responsible for Kimura's premature torpedo attack, but now his ship was about to pay the ultimate price. The Japanese destroyers and Yahagi took Johnston under fire, joined by as many as three heavy cruisers. The hits began to pile up. By 0920hrs, Evans was reduced to conning the ship by yelling orders through an open hatch on the fantail to men below turning the rudder manually. At 0945hrs, Evans finally gave the order to abandon ship. The Japanese destroyers closed in and continued to pound the wreck. After an epic fight, Johnston rolled over and sank at 1010hrs. Most of the crew of 327 got into the water, but 186, including Evans, were lost. Meanwhile, Rear-Admiral Felix Stump's Taffy 2 group began their strikes against Kurita's fleet, with 15 Avengers and 20 Wildcats successfully hitting the Haguro with a bomb at 08:25. Five minutes later, six Avengers and 20 Wildcats from Taffy 3 joined forces with 16 Avengers and 8 Wildcats from Taffy 2 to launch a major assault on the enemy cruisers. At 08:50, the Chokai was attacked, and by 09:05, it had sustained severe damage from a bomb hit. The destroyer Fujinami arrived to assist at 10:18, but by then, the cruiser was immobilized. The destroyer evacuated the crew and sank the Chokai with torpedoes. At 08:54, four Avengers targeted the Chikuma, landing a critical torpedo hit that caused significant flooding. With American aircraft focusing on the Japanese warships, Kurita decided to withdraw at 09:11, planning to regroup and return to Leyte Gulf. Another attack against Suzuya was mounted at 1050hrs by as many as 30 aircraft. This time, a near miss amidships turned deadly. Shrapnel from the bomb ignited the torpedoes in the starboard forward mount, igniting a fire that caused other torpedoes to explode at 1100hrs. The explosion caused extensive damage to the secondary battery and the machinery, which left the ship unmaneuverable. For a second time in the morning, Vice Admiral Shiraishi had to transfer, this time to Tone. The fires reached the remaining torpedoes, with a large explosion resulting at 1200hrs. In turn, this caused the magazine of the secondary battery to explode, and soon the entire ship was an inferno. Surviving crewmen were taken off by destroyer Okinami after the order to abandon ship was given at 1300hrs, and at 1320hrs Suzuya sank. Twohundred forty-seven men were lost. The Tone suffered a bomb hit at 12:40, and three minutes later, Noshiro experienced minor damage from near misses. The destroyer Nowaki was tasked with rescuing Chikuma's crew and then scuttling the crippled cruiser, which was completed by 11:00. Due to these air attacks and fearing total destruction if the battle continued, Kurita signaled Toyoda at 12:36 to abandon the attack on Leyte Gulf and began his retreat north. During this withdrawal, Kurita's force faced attacks from 37 Avengers and 19 Wildcats at 12:45, resulting in only minor damage to Nagato and Tone. Subsequent strikes by Stump's carriers were also ineffective, but Sprague's carriers' total of 441 sorties that day was a notable accomplishment. At 13:15, 100 aircraft from Admiral McCain's carrier, which had been recalled on October 24 and were now arriving in the area, launched one of the longest carrier strikes of the war. Despite their efforts, they were unable to inflict additional damage. A follow-up strike at 15:00 with 52 planes also failed, allowing Kurita to escape. Tremendously outgunned, the commander of Taffy 3, Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague, began to plead for help minutes into the battle. As Kurita pressed his advantage, these pleas became more urgent. In response, Oldendorf recalled his advance guard at 0723hrs. Kinkaid ordered Oldendorf to bring his entire force north at 0847hrs to assist the escort carriers. He formed a task force of the battleships California, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania, because they had the most armor-piercing shells remaining. They were escorted by three heavy cruisers and 20 destroyers with 165 torpedoes. The next strike consisting of ten Avengers, each with two 500lb bombs instead of torpedoes, escorted by five Wildcats, all from Ommaney Bay, went after Mogami. The Avenger pilots claimed five hits on the cruiser; in fact, only two bombs struck the ship. By the time the attack concluded at 0910hrs, Mogami was dead in the water after the failure of her last turbine. New fires raged beyond control and the danger of the forward 8in. magazine exploding (the others had been flooded) put the entire crew in danger. After evacuating the remaining crew, the Akebono scuttled Mogami at 13:07, resulting in the loss of 191 men. Additionally, in the morning, Taffy 1 faced Admiral Onishi's first kamikaze attack. The first ship to be attacked was Santee. At 0740hrs, a kamikaze commenced its dive, gained complete surprise, and encountered no antiaircraft fire before hitting the ship forward on the flight deck. Fires from the resulting explosion were quickly put out, but not before 43 men had been killed or wounded. Within five minutes of the fires being extinguished, submarine I-56 slammed a torpedo into the ship. The converted tanker shook it off with no casualties and no loss of capability. The final aircraft also selected Petrof Bay but ended up going after Suwannee after it was damaged by antiaircraft fire. It struck the carrier on the flight deck forward of the aft aircraft elevator. The Zero's 551lb bomb exploded, creating a hole on the hangar deck. The fires were put out within minutes, and within two hours flight operations had resumed. The suicide pilots approached the remaining five escort carriers at low level before popping up to altitude a few miles from their target. At this point they were detected on radar, but no interception by defending Wildcats was possible. At 1049hrs, Kitkun Bay was attacked by a single Zero. The pilot failed to hit the carrier's bridge, but his aircraft hit the port-side catwalk before crashing into the sea. The ship incurred damage when the Zero's bomb exploded close alongside. Two more suicide aircraft were dispatched by antiaircraft fire. The last two Zeros selected White Plains for their attentions. One came in from astern but missed the ship after crashing into the water close aboard the port side. The other was deterred by antiaircraft fire and headed toward St. Lo. The last kamikaze was the most skillful. At 1053hrs, the Zero came in over the stern of St. Lo and dropped his bomb before performing a shallow dive into the flight deck amidships. The aircraft slid off the bow, leaving a trail of fire on the flight deck from its fuel. The fire was no problem to deal with, but the bomb penetrated the flight deck and exploded in the hangar deck, where six aircraft were being fueled and armed. The resulting explosion forced the ship to be abandoned, and 32 minutes after being struck, the ship sank with 114 crewmen after the fires reached its magazines. St. Lo was the first ship sunk by kamikaze attack. At 1110hrs, another four kamikazes appeared and selected Kalinin Bay for attack. Two were shot down by antiaircraft fire. The other pair both scored glancing hits. One Zero was hit by antiaircraft fire, remained in control, and then hit the flight deck at a shallow angle and slid overboard. The second hit the ship with a glancing blow aft. Looking north, despite losing contact with Ozawa's force overnight, Mitscher decided to launch an initial strike of 130 aircraft, led by Commander McCampbell, by 06:00. At the same time, he dispatched search aircraft, which reestablished contact with Ozawa's now reunited Main Body at 07:10. The American strike was then directed toward the enemy, and McCampbell's planes successfully located Ozawa's carriers at 08:10, beginning their assault. Despite encountering 13 Zeros on combat air patrol, the Helldivers struck first at 08:30, targeting the enemy carriers. They were followed by strafing Hellcats and torpedo-armed Avengers. The hour-long attack resulted in significant damage: Zuikaku was hit by three bombs and one torpedo, leading to fires, flooding, and a severe list; Zuiho sustained a single bomb hit causing fires on the hangar deck; Chitose was heavily damaged by three near misses that ruptured its unarmored hull, causing flooding and a severe list, and it sank at 09:37 with 904 casualties; the light cruiser Tama was torpedoed and had to make its way to Okinawa for repairs; the cruiser Oyodo suffered light damage from a bomb hit; and the destroyer Akizuki was hit amidships, caught fire, and broke apart before sinking following a major explosion. As this attack unfolded, Mitscher launched a second wave of 36 aircraft, which arrived at the target area around 09:45. Under McCampbell's coordination, these planes focused on the carrier Chiyoda, which was hit by one bomb and several damaging near misses that caused flooding and a list, ultimately bringing the carrier to a halt. Simultaneously, he deployed search aircraft, which reestablished contact with Ozawa's now reunited Main Body at 07:10. With the American strike directed towards this position, McCampbell's planes successfully located the enemy at 08:10 and began their assault on Ozawa's carriers. The Japanese were aware of the impending arrival of the initial strike, since radar aboard Zuikaku had detected the American aircraft at 08:04 about 110NM to the southwest. Four Zeros were already on CAP; these were joined by the last nine fighters on Zuikaku. Such a meager CAP meant that survival of Ozawa's ships depended on their ability to throw up accurate anti-aircraft fire and maneuver adeptly under dive-bombing and torpedo attack. According to American pilots, Japanese anti-aircraft fire was heavy and began with a display of multi-colored explosions at 15NM out as Ise and Hyuga fired sanshiki-dan incendiary shells from their 14in. main battery. The small Japanese CAP raced toward the approaching American formation, but the escorting Hellcats prevented them from reaching the Helldivers or Avengers. Essex Hellcats claimed nine Zeros, but one Hellcat was shot down and its pilot left in the water to witness the unfolding attack; he was rescued after the battle. The Helldivers launched the initial attack on the enemy carriers at 08:30, followed by strafing runs from Hellcats and then torpedo attacks from Avengers. Zuikaku came under attack from dive-bombers and torpedo bombers from Intrepid, and two light carriers. Five minutes into the attack, Zuikaku was hit by three bombs amidships, which created a fire on the lower and upper hangar decks. Just minutes later, a torpedo launched by an Avenger from either Intrepid or San Jacinto struck the ship on her port side. One of the engine rooms was flooded, and one of the shafts was damaged and had to be shut down. The ensuing flooding caused a severe list, but this was quickly corrected to a manageable 6°. The veteran carrier had an experienced and capable damage-control team. By 0850hrs, the fires were extinguished, and 23 knots were restored using the starboard shafts. However, steering was uneven, and the ship's transmitters were out of commission. Since she was no longer suitable as a flagship, plans were made to transfer Ozawa and his staff to cruiser Oyodo. Before this could happen, the second strike showed up.  Zuiho was caught out of formation launching aircraft when the first attack began. Enterprise's strike group targeted the veteran light carrier known to her crew as a lucky ship, since she had survived three earlier carrier battles. Reports from Enterprise air crew stated that the carrier was left dead in the water and on fire. In exchange, one Enterprise Avenger was seriously damaged by antiaircraft fire and was rolled over the side of the carrier when it landed back onboard. Another Enterprise Hellcat was lost to Zero attack. Intrepid Helldivers also selected Zuiho for attack and claimed hits. In fact, Zuiho suffered three near misses followed by a direct bomb hit at 0835hrs. The explosion caused fires on the hangar deck, but these were out by 0855hrs. After the dive-bombers did their work, torpedo bombers from Essex and Lexington attacked Zuiho, but no hits were gained. Light carrier Chitose was crippled early and was the first of Ozawa's carriers to sink. At 0835hrs, she was attacked by dive-bombers from Essex and Lexington. Helldivers from Essex reported dropping 12 bombs and claimed 8 hits, leaving the carrier burning and listing. In fact, Chitose suffered three near misses along her port side. This was enough to rupture the carrier's unarmored hull. The resulting flooding knocked out two boiler rooms and caused a severe 27° list. Damage-control efforts reduced the list and kept power, but steering was only accomplished by using the engines. At 0915hrs, progressive flooding knocked out the starboard engine room and speed fell below 14 knots. Ten minutes later, flooding caused all power to be lost and the list increased to a dangerous 30°. Hyuga was directed to tow the carrier, but her condition was beyond salvage. Chitose sank at 0937hrs with the loss of 904 officers and men; another 601 were saved. Light cruiser Tama was attacked by torpedo bombers from Belleau Wood and San Jacinto. One torpedo hit the ship in her boiler room. After emergency repairs, the cruiser was ordered to proceed independently to Okinawa at her best speed of 14 knots.  Oyodo was also subjected to attack and was slightly damaged. At 0848hrs, she was struck by a bomb and two rockets and recorded near misses from bombs. The cruiser's speed was unimpaired. Large destroyer Akizuki also came under attack from aircraft in the first strike. At 0842hrs the ship was struck amidships and set afire. The ship lost power and fell out of formation. Within minutes, a large explosion was noted amidships and at 0856hrs Akizuki broke in two and quickly sank. The cause was either a torpedo or a bomb hit that detonated torpedoes in the amidships torpedo mount. The commanding officer and 150 officers and men were pulled out of the water before more air attacks forced destroyer Maki to abandon rescue operations. Meanwhile, as this attack unfolded, Mitscher launched a second strike of 36 aircraft, which reached the target area around 09:45. Coordinated by McCampbell, these planes focused on the carrier Chiyoda, which was hit by one bomb and several near misses, resulting in flooding and a severe list, ultimately bringing the carrier to a halt. The climax of Halsey's battle of annihilation against the Main Body should have been an engagement by Task Force 34 with six of the world's most powerful battleships. But this was never to be. The plight of the escort carriers off Samar brought a flurry of urgent pleas to Halsey for assistance. These began at 07:07 with a plain text message from Kinkaid. In response, Halsey ordered Task Group 38.1 to steam west from Ulithi to support Kinkaid, but otherwise remained focused on crushing Ozawa with the rest of Task Force 38. This changed when Nimitz weighed in at 10:00 with an inquiry on the location of Admiral Lee's battleships, which finally prompted Halsey to order Task Force 34, supported by Task Group 38.2, south at 10:15. At this point, Task Force 34 was some 42NM away from Ozawa's remnants. This order was executed at 11:15 when the battleships turned south, yet the change of orders came too late. Even at their best speed, the battle line could not arrive off San Bernardino Strait until about 01:00 on October 26. At 13:45, Task Force 34 also slowed from 20 to 12 knots to fuel destroyers, something that took until 16:22.  By noon, as Ozawa transferred to the Oyodo, Mitscher launched his third strike. Launched between 1145hrs and1200hrs, the third strike was the largest and most effective of the day. It was active over the target area from about 1310hrs to 1400hrs with some 200 aircraft, 75 percent of which had taken part in the initial strike in the morning. The strike coordinator was Commander T. Hugh Winters from Lexington. By this point, the Main Body's formation was in a shambles. Two carriers were located to the north with a battleship and what was reported as two cruisers. Another carrier was located some 20NM to the south on fire and listing. A second battleship, a cruiser, and a destroyer were nearby the crippled carrier. Winters ordered TG 38.3's 98 aircraft from Essex, Lexington, and Langley, to go after the two operational carriers. Aircraft from Lexington focused on Zuikaku. By 1100hrs, Ozawa had departed his flagship and transferred to Oyodo. The nine surviving Zeros on CAP were forced to ditch around 1030hrs, so for the rest of the day the Americans faced no air opposition. Zuikaku worked up to 24 knots shortly after the third strike was spotted at 1308hrs. The attack by Helldivers and Avengers was well coordinated, with the Avengers coming in from both bows in an anvil attack. In less than ten minutes, Zuikaku was subjected to six torpedo hits—two on the starboard side and four on the port side. The first was a hit at 1315hrs that failed to detonate. The last of the six hit at 1323hrs. Within minutes of the last torpedo hit, the mighty carrier was listing to port by 14° and was dead in the water after all power was lost. In addition to the torpedoes, four bombs hit the ship, which resulted in renewed fires on the hangar decks. At 1327, with the list increasing to 21°, the crew was ordered up to the flight deck. The captain gave a final address and then the ensign was lowered. Finally, after this touch of the dramatic, the crew was ordered to abandon ship at 1358hrs. The ship rolled over at 1414hrs and took the captain, 48 other officers, and 794 enlisted men with her. Essex's strike focused on Zuiho. When aircraft from TG 38.4 arrived, including Enterprise's second strike of six Hellcats, ten Helldivers, and five Avengers, most were also directed at Zuiho at 1310hrs followed by more at 1330hrs. At 1317hrs, the carrier was hit by one torpedo on her starboard quarter. According to Japanese accounts, one small bomb hit the aft elevator, followed by seven very close near misses, and then 60 more near misses. Bomb fragments caused flooding in the starboard engine room and created a 13° list.  Mitscher's fourth strike, launched around 13:15 and reaching the target area by 14:45, involved 40 aircraft but only achieved ten near misses on the Zuiho and four near misses on the battleship Ise. Despite this, the Zuiho ultimately sank at 15:26, with 215 men lost. At 16:10, Mitscher launched his fifth strike, while a strong surface force under Rear-Admiral Laurance DuBose closed in on Chiyoda to finish her off. DuBose's force first encountered Chiyoda dead in the water with light cruiser Isuzu nearby preparing to rescue survivors. Isuzu quickly fled, leaving the heavy cruisers to open fire at Chiyoda at 1624hrs from some 20,000 yards. The carrier responded with her 5in. dual-purpose guns, but against a stationary target the American cruiser scored quickly and often and after 15 minutes the carrier was a mass of flames. A towering column of black smoke marked Chiyoda's final moments. At 1655hrs, the carrier rolled over—there were no survivors from her crew of 970 men.  Between 17:10 and 17:40, the fifth strike, consisting of 85 aircraft, targeted the Ise. However, due to pilot fatigue, only one bomb hit the battleship, with 34 near misses causing minor flooding. The sister ship, Hyuga, which was positioned south of the Main Body, experienced seven near misses but no direct hits. Mitscher then launched a final strike of 36 aircraft at 17:10, which reached the target area about an hour later but failed to cause further damage. Overall, Task Force 38 executed 527 sorties against Ozawa's force that day, marking the most intense effort by fast carriers against naval targets up to that point. Despite the lack of significant air opposition and heavy but largely ineffective anti-aircraft fire, the results were underwhelming. The limited damage can be attributed to heavy anti-aircraft fire, effective ship maneuvering, and pilot fatigue from previous attacks on the Sibuyan Sea. The Battle off Cape Engaño was not over yet. As DuBose's mop-up force continued north, they encountered three destroyers rescuing survivors from Zuikaku and Zuiho. At 18:52, DuBose's light cruisers engaged the Hatsuzuki, which tried to resist but was ultimately destroyed by the intense gunfire, sinking at 20:59. DuBose ceased his pursuit at 21:30. This decision was timely, as Hatsuzuki's distress calls led Ozawa to advance south with three battleships and one destroyer at 20:41. Finding no targets, Ozawa turned back at 23:30, bringing the battle to an end. On his retreat, two wolf packs were lying in wait. Although Ise avoided significant damage from a powerful torpedo attack at 18:44,  the Tama, already damaged, wasn't as fortunate. The cruiser was proceeding independently to Okinawa at 14 knots after taking a torpedo in the first air attack. Jallao's skipper fired three torpedoes from her bow tubes, but they all missed. He quickly lined up another shot with the four stern tubes. Three of the four hit, and two exploded. The damage was catastrophic, causing Tama to break in two and quickly sink. There were no survivors from the crew of some 450 men. Meanwhile, Halsey had dispatched the fastest ships from his battle line at 16:22 in a last-ditch effort to intercept Kurita's force before it could navigate the San Bernardino Strait. However, they arrived too late, as aircraft from Independence detected Kurita's force moving through the strait at 21:40. The only ship that did not make it was the destroyer Nowaki, which, overloaded with survivors from Chikuma, was attacked by the American forces at 00:54 on October 26 and was swiftly sunk by 01:32. During this time, General Krueger's offensive persisted with General Sibert's 10th Corps and General Hodge's 24th Corps making steady progress inland. To the north, cavalry units secured San Juanico Strait, while Colonel Newman's 3rd Battalion captured Hill C and Colonel Chapman's 2nd Battalion took Hill B despite heavy resistance. Additionally, Chapman's 1st Battalion secured Hill 85, and the majority of the 3rd Battalion advanced towards Castilla, 8000 yards southwest of Palo. Further south, a patrol from the 383rd Regiment reached the Binahaan River and linked up with Chapman's Company K; the 382nd Regiment pushed beyond Aslom and Kanmonhag; Colonel May's Company K attempted, but failed, to capture Tabontabon; the 17th and 184th Regiments consolidated their newly captured positions on Burauen while sending patrols towards Dagami; and the 32nd Regiment made some headway toward the Buri airstrip but was still unable to capture it. By October 26, Shima's two heavy cruisers and two destroyers had successfully evaded several PT boat attacks and made their escape. However, the damaged cruiser Abukuma, under the protection of destroyer Ushio, was struck by 43 B-24 heavy bombers in the Sulu Sea. Usually high-altitude attacks on ships were totally ineffective, so the bombers came in at an altitude of about 6,500ft. In the first attack, Abukuma took a direct hit in the area of her bridge at 1006hrs and another aft. The second group of bombers scored a damaging near miss forward, and then a direct hit aft that knocked out one of the shafts and the steering equipment. The resulting fires spread to the engine rooms and the torpedo mounts located aft. When the fires reached the torpedoes, four exploded at 1037hrs. A third attack at 1044hrs brought only near misses. Abukuma was mortally damaged but remained afloat long enough for 284 of the crew to leave the ship. The veteran cruiser, part of the force that attacked Pearl Harbor, sank at 1242hrs with the loss of 220 men (added to the loss of 37 from the torpedo hit from the PT boat). As they came in at a lower altitude, Abukuma and Ushio were able to account for three bombers in this action.  On the same day, kamikaze attacks resumed against Taffy 1. Three Zeros penetrated the CAP and attacked Suwannee, which had completed repairs from the prior day's suicide attack. One Zero hit the flight deck and smashed into a group of ten aircraft parked on the bow. The aircraft were quickly engulfed in flames that spread down into the hangar bay, where another ten fueled aircraft were preparing to be brought up to the flight deck. The resulting fires on the hangar deck were put out, followed two hours later by the fire on the flight deck. The crew paid a high price for saving their ship— 85 dead, 58 missing, and 102 wounded. Other kamikazes selected Sangamon and Petrof Bay for attack; both carriers reported being near-missed. The initial success of the kamikaze attacks, including one carrier sunk and five damaged, gave the Japanese hope that they had found a way to halt the American naval advance. This marked the beginning of the Kamikaze era in the Pacific War. As Kurita's force moved through the Sibuyan Sea, Admirals McCain and Bogan launched a strike at 06:00 with 257 aircraft. Despite this effort, the exhausted pilots managed only three bomb hits on Kumano, causing moderate damage. Aircraft from Wasp and Cowpens also found Kurita's main force. Noshiro was able to evade six torpedoes aimed at her, but at 0852hrs one struck with devastating effect. The ship lost all power and within minutes developed a 26° list to port. The next attack was conducted by aircraft from Hornet. A second torpedo hit the lightly protected cruiser at 1039hrs, and at 1113hrs she sank bow first. By this point, Kurita's destroyers were down to their last few tons of fuel, forcing them to reduce speed. Destroyers had to shift fuel among themselves to reach a tanker positioned at Coron Bay. Hayashimo was forced to temporarily anchor off Semirara Island south of Mindoro. She was attacked by Avengers from 1045hrs to 1050hrs, and had her bow blown off by a torpedo. As a result, she was grounded and sank in shallow water off Semirara Island. Kurita's remaining ships managed to reach Coron Bay or Brunei, except for the destroyers Fujinami and Shiranui, which were sunk by air attacks on October 27, resulting in the loss of their crews, including those from Chokai aboard Fujinami. By the end of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the IJN had been effectively decimated. Despite suffering a severe defeat, Admiral Mikawa assessed that he still had enough resources to carry out Operation TA, which involved transporting reinforcements to Ormoc. On October 24, the cruiser Kinu and the destroyer Uranami escorted five transports through intense strafing fire to Cagayan. After boarding the 41st Regiment, Admiral Sakonju's convoy set sail the next morning and successfully landed the reinforcements at Ormoc early on October 26. Although they faced occasional enemy air attacks, they did not incur significant troop losses. Sakonju then sent three transports to Manila, but these were targeted by aircraft from Sprague's carriers. The attacks resulted in two bomb hits on Uranami and three on Kinu, leading to the sinking of both ships in the Visayan Sea. Another transport proceeded to Bohol, embarked the 169th Independent Battalion, and landed them at Ormoc on October 27. Although the Leyte beachheads were secured against sea-based attacks, the Americans could not control all surrounding waters, allowing Generals Yamashita and Suzuki to continue reinforcing the island. This marks the conclusion of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In exchange for the loss of one light carrier, two escort carriers, two destroyers, one destroyer escort, one submarine, one PT boat, 255 aircraft, and about 2,000 men, the Americans had destroyed approximately 300 enemy planes and sunk 28 warships, including the carrier Zuikaku (the last survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack), three light carriers, three battleships, ten cruisers, and eleven destroyers, with a total of 12,000 Japanese casualties. Despite losing all his carriers, Ozawa fulfilled his expected role and managed to survive the battle with two battleships and two cruisers. After the war, he noted that the final three strikes were not damaging, and his chief of staff remarked that he was unimpressed with the American pilots' quality. In contrast, Halsey faced severe criticism for his controversial decision to leave San Bernardino Strait unguarded while moving his entire force north. If he had employed more strategic thinking and embraced decentralized decision-making, Mitscher's carriers could have engaged and defeated both Ozawa and Kurita. Nishimura also performed his duties effectively; despite losing his life and almost his entire force, he diverted the 7th Fleet's surface forces, leaving Kinkaid's transports and escort carriers vulnerable to Kurita's attack. The Shima force contributed nothing to the mission but survived largely intact. Kurita demonstrated bravery throughout the battle but was occasionally indecisive. Although he was not responsible for the losses at the Sibuyan Sea and was unlucky with his lookouts misidentifying cruisers and battleships among Sprague's escort carriers, he faced American tactics that he perceived as skillful. Sprague's desperate maneuvers to avoid annihilation were seen by the Japanese as tactical excellence. Kurita acknowledged the effective performance of American destroyers, which broke up his formation with torpedo attacks and utilized smoke screens effectively. Both Kurita and his chief of staff found the American air attacks to be relentless, aggressive, skillful, and well-coordinated, considering them the most proficient attacks encountered by the 1st Striking Force throughout the battle. In the end, Toyoda's Sho-Go plan was fundamentally flawed and destined for failure. Although it contained some clever elements that exploited weaknesses in the US Navy's command structure, it was ultimately incapable of success and served only as a means of the IJN's destruction. Even if Kurita had advanced into Leyte Gulf, it would have provided no significant military advantage for the Japanese and would likely have led to the complete destruction of Kurita's forces. The failure of Sho-Go left the Japanese without a fleet and with no realistic hope of defeating the Americans. However, the emergence of Kamikaze attacks allowed Japan to continue the war for a while longer. 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 Imperial Japanese Navy was virtually annihilated during the battle of Leyte Gulf. Few of her mighty warships remained and now she would cling to desperate measures to try and force the Americans to sue for an early peace to retain pieces of her empire. How long could Japan drag this war on?

Had a great time playing a 2-hour set in Kumano a year later

En l'antiguitat, els emperadors del Jap

Today's episode is a bit different and a bit longer than our typical episodes. I am taking you on a journey with me. Like, a literal journey. A couple of weeks ago, I ventured, by myself, to the south of Japan for a 6-day walk on the Kumano Kodo- I recorded myself through this adventure, and so this episode today is a peek into my inner thoughts, my experiences along the trail, and interactions with people who I met along the way. This is me, sharing me. When I am mostly all alone.   For photos from Kate's walk, click here: https://www.katekripke.com/blog/is-it-ok-to-want-alone-time-in-motherhood The Kumano Kodō is a series of ancient pilgrimage routes that crisscross the Kii Peninsula, the largest peninsula of Japan. These mountainous trails are used by pilgrims to the "Kumano Sanzan" - the Three Grand Shinto Shrines of Kumano. Shinto (which is translated as “the way of the gods”) is Japan's native belief system and predates historical records. It overlaps in part with Buddhism, but is, in itself, its own religious faith.   The focus of Shinto is Nature, and the way that it supports us, which for me is an easy place to put my spiritual self. The walk that I did took me over mountain passes, through dense forests and in and out of small Japanese villages along the way.   I am hopeful that you get, if even just a little bit, an experience of this place, it's beauty and magic, and the way in which nature reminds us all to simply be exactly who we are.   This walk got me out of my comfort zone and required me to, quite literally, walk my talk. I did, indeed, pull up my brave pants. So now, pull up a chair, and join me.   Thank you to our sponsor, the One Clock. Designed by artists, researched by wake scientists, and filled with unique music created by Grammy award winning musician Jon Natchez (The War on Drugs), this clock will change the way your nervous system starts each day. One Clock, wake up better. https://www.oneclock.co/   To learn more about Kate Kripke, visit https://www.katekripke.com/ On Instagram @katekripke   If you are interested in talking with Kate about receiving personalized support in motherhood, book a free clarity call at: https://www.calmconnectionsystem.com/call-ig   And, if you are ready to feel better but aren't yet ready to join a more formal coaching program, sign up for Kate's Aligned Mama Reset and 21-Day Wellness Challenge: https://itlist.com/i/2316/aligned-mama-reset-21-day-interactive-wellness-challenge   And.. big favor- If you found this episode useful to you, please consider sharing it with a friend. Let's make sure that nobody ever needs to mother alone.   For questions, comments, and topic suggestions, email kate@katekripke.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/motherhood-uncut/message

Welcome to PokéBoys, a Pokémon podcast brought to you by Show Boys. In this week's episode, the boys take a minute to give their final thought and review Pokémon Infinity. Kumano's Twitch → https://www.twitch.tv/kumanodadon Kumano's Twitter → https://twitter.com/DonKumano Show Boys → https://showboysmedia.com/ Show Boys Discord → https://discord.gg/gPqSu7QmnQ Show Boys Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/showboyspodcastShow Boys Merch → https://my-store-be6562.creator-spring.com/

Welcome to PokéBoys, a Pokémon podcast brought to you by Show Boys. In this week's episode, retrieve the final shard, manage to win the first ever Trident Tournament, and learn where exactly they came from. Will the boys find their way back home? Kumano's Twitch → https://www.twitch.tv/kumanodadon Kumano's Twitter → https://twitter.com/DonKumano Show Boys → https://showboysmedia.com/ Show Boys Discord → https://discord.gg/gPqSu7QmnQ Show Boys Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/showboyspodcast Show Boys Merch → https://my-store-be6562.creator-spring.com/

GWで交通事情がてんやわんやなAppleるんるん GWるんるん 交通事情が天気がでわちゃわちゃなツール・ド・熊野の直前るんるん フェリーに車が乗せてもらえない Appleるんるん 次期iPad Pro、「M4」を”飛び級”搭載する可能性が高まる（GetNavi web） - Yahoo!ニュース 次期「Mac mini」はM3をスキップ!? M4チップに一足飛びする理由とは？ | GetNavi web ゲットナビ New iPad Air & iPad Pro models are coming soon - what to expect https://t.co/3iQncCCqk0 #Apple— AppleInsider (@appleinsider) May 4, 2024 新型iPad Pro/Airが5月7日予約、10日発売か〜HomePodも販売国追加 - iPhone Mania 「let loose」とは「解き放つ」「野放しにする」「自由にさせる」などの意味がある cf: get looseとは何？ わかりやすく解説 Weblio辞書 ASCII.jp：アップル、AI特化のM4チップで全Mac刷新か Apple業績、売上高減も市場予想上回る。日本は1割強減、iPhone売上も減少 - iPhone Mania 1ドル150円台　アップル製品の値上げはあるか（山口健太） - エキスパート - Yahoo!ニュース iPadでmacOS動かして アップル、約17兆円の自社株買い計画を発表－米史上最大規模 - Bloomberg cf: 「自社株買い」で株価が上がるホントの理由をやさしく解説（窪田真之）  | トウシル 楽天証券の投資情報メディア Apple、今月中にFIFAと約10億ドルで放映権契約を結ぶ可能性 - iPhone Mania cf: インターコンチネンタルカップ （トヨタカップ） - Wikipedia Meta｢Horizon OS公開したけど、自社ヘッドセット開発は続けます｣ | ギズモード・ジャパン Meta Quest 3、パノラマ写真に対応　空間ビデオも強化 - Impress Watch cf: Meta Questでパススルーを使用する | Meta Store バットマン アーカムの新作ゲーム「シャドウ」は「Quest 3」独占に - ITmedia NEWS cf: バットマン：アーカムシリーズ 公式サイト 来週はツール・ド・熊野るんるんなんでお休みでするんるん TOUR de KUMANO #TOURdeKUMANO 🚵‍♀️🌊🏞️🇯🇵ツール・ド・熊野2024開幕まで、あと6日…。6 days to TOUR de KUMANO...https://t.co/i40Eh7GJtS pic.twitter.com/hECstCSSKR— TOUR de KUMANO (@TourdeKumano) May 4, 2024 【告知】 rock on 中継【インターン】スタッフ募集! お金では得られない貴重な体験ができます!(=ノーギャラ。交通費・宿泊費は rock on 負担) 働きが認められると正規スタッフ(ギャラ支給)に昇格のチャンス! 正規スタッフになると11月の「ツール・ド・おきなわ」スタッフに選ばれるかも? 短期間で幹部候補になれます! アットホームな現場です! 未経験者も応募可(有経験者大歓迎!) 応募はこちらのフォームか、こちらのメールアドレスまで タロケンのMacの購入、延命、その他の無料相談 (β版) 先着５名まで Zoomで基本40分（超えたら再接続） しずMacHPから、またはメール、fb、Twitter等で しずMacHP: しずMac mail: support@shizumac.net twitter: タロケン（@tarokentalk） facebook: 前田 まさる YouTubeチャンネル登録お願いします BJ: くりらじチャンネル BJ: サイクリングch タロケン: タロケン鉄道 タロケン: タロケンIT タロケン: タロケン裏 タロケン: 鉄道ライブカメラ静岡 Shinkansen Live Camera 鐵尾: 鐵尾の動画 - YouTube 有料番組登録をお願いします BJ: ヴォイニッチの科学書 | audiobook.jp BJ: 新型コロナウィルス感染症(COVID-19)最新情報 | audiobook.jp タロケン: タロケン気ままトーク | Apple Podcast [NEW]

Aujourd'hui je t'embarque au Japon découvrir le pèlerinage du Kumano Kodo par la route Nakaechi

rWotD Episode 2522: Kumano River Welcome to random Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of a random Wikipedia page every day.The random article for Saturday, 30 March 2024 is Kumano River.The Kumano River (熊野川, Kumanogawa) is a river in the Kii Peninsula of central Japan, located in Nara, Wakayama and Mie Prefectures. It is 183 kilometres (114 mi) long and has a watershed of 2,630 square kilometres (1,020 sq mi). The river rises from Mount Ōmine in the Yoshino-Kumano National Park in Tenkawa, Nara and follows a generally southward course to drain into the Pacific Ocean on the border between Shingū, Wakayama and Kihō, Mie. The river is part of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which incorporates nature scenery of the Kii peninsula with numerous Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines forming a pilgrimage route.Municipalities through which the river passes are:Nara PrefectureTenkawa, NaraGojō, NaraTotsukawa, NaraWakayama PrefectureTanabe, WakayamaShingū, WakayamaMie PrefectureKumano, MieKihō, MieThis recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:26 UTC on Saturday, 30 March 2024.For the full current version of the article, see Kumano River on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm Joey Standard.

Welcome to PokéBoys, a Pokémon podcast brought to you by Show Boys. In this week's episode, the boys make their way to Amberfield Town to deliver Thorn's letter to the Safari Zone Warden. Will they make it before the Grand Opening? What new pokémon will they encounter along the way? Can Thorn give them any insight as to who they are and how they arrived in Egho? Kumano's Twitch → https://www.twitch.tv/kumanodadon Kumano's Twitter → https://twitter.com/DonKumano Show Boys → https://showboysmedia.com/ Show Boys Discord → https://discord.gg/gPqSu7QmnQ Show Boys Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/showboyspodcast Show Boys Merch → https://my-store-be6562.creator-spring.com/

Welcome to PokéBoys, a Pokémon podcast brought to you by Show Boys. In this week's episode, the boys kick off Season 4 with Pokémon Infinity as they embark on their journey through the Egho Region! Kumano's Twitch → https://www.twitch.tv/kumanodadon Kumano's Twitter → https://twitter.com/DonKumano Show Boys → https://showboysmedia.com/ Show Boys Discord → https://discord.gg/gPqSu7QmnQ Show Boys Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/showboyspodcast Show Boys Merch → https://my-store-be6562.creator-spring.com/

Welcome to PokéBoys, a Pokémon podcast brought to you by Show Boys. Hosts Mike, Kumano and Dad join forces for an epic Pokémon podcast where they can fully indulge themselves in wild Pokémon challenges, fan game and rom hack playthroughs and all sorts of other Pokémon related content. In this week's episode, get to know the creator of Pokémon Infinity, Atomic Reactor, as Mike and Dad sit down and chat about his inspirations for the game, the fan game creation process and much more as they prepare for Season 4! Check to Season 1 of PokéBoys (Pokémon Black Nuzlocke) here or over on YouTube (Ep.1 link) → https://youtu.be/kB97DztnRjE Check out Season 2 of PokéBoys (Pokémon R.O.W.E. Draftlocke) here or over on YouTube (Ep.1 link) → https://youtu.be/yq2sQsb3ZKE Check out Season 3 of PokéBoys (Pokémon Bushido) here or over on YouTube (Ep.1 link) → https://youtu.be/XivA-XXP1LI Kumano's Twitch → https://www.twitch.tv/kumanodadon Kumano's Twitter → https://twitter.com/DonKumano Show Boys → https://showboysmedia.com/ Show Boys Discord → https://discord.gg/gPqSu7QmnQ Show Boys Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/showboyspodcast Show Boys Merch → https://my-store-be6562.creator-spring.com/

Welcome to PokéBoys, a Pokémon podcast brought to you by Show Boys and Play Along Podcast. Hosts Mike and Jared join forces for an epic Pokémon podcast where they can fully indulge themselves in wild Pokémon challenges, fan game and rom hack playthroughs and all sorts of other Pokémon related content. In this week's episode, the boys discuss their time in Bushido and give their final thoughts on the game. Does Pokémon Bushido live up to the hype? Kumano's Twitch → https://www.twitch.tv/kumanodadon Kumano's Twitter → https://twitter.com/DonKumano Play Along Podcast → https://www.playalongpod.com/ Play Along Podcast on Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/4lKcXYHNUaKVk8PQ6r3wsO?si=1d2874697f1345cb Play Along Podcast Discord → https://discord.gg/cXTnmYEXCE Show Boys → https://showboysmedia.com/ Show Boys Discord → https://discord.gg/gPqSu7QmnQ Show Boys Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/showboyspodcastShow Boys Merch → https://my-store-be6562.creator-spring.com/

Welcome to PokéBoys, a Pokémon podcast brought to you by Show Boys and Play Along Podcast. Hosts Mike and Jared join forces for an epic Pokémon podcast where they can fully indulge themselves in wild Pokémon challenges, fan game and rom hack playthroughs and all sorts of other Pokémon related content. In this week's episode, the boys visit Yami Island and uncover the truth of Hattori's plans for the Akui Clan. Will they be able to put an end to the reign of terror the shadow Pokémon are causing and restore the peace in Aisho? Kumano's Twitch → https://www.twitch.tv/kumanodadon Kumano's Twitter → https://twitter.com/DonKumano Play Along Podcast → https://www.playalongpod.com/ Play Along Podcast on Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/4lKcXYHNUaKVk8PQ6r3wsO?si=1d2874697f1345cb Play Along Podcast Discord → https://discord.gg/cXTnmYEXCE Show Boys → https://showboysmedia.com/ Show Boys Discord → https://discord.gg/gPqSu7QmnQ Show Boys Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/showboyspodcastShow Boys Merch → https://my-store-be6562.creator-spring.com/

Welcome to PokéBoys, a Pokémon podcast brought to you by Show Boys and Play Along Podcast. Hosts Mike and Jared join forces for an epic Pokémon podcast where they can fully indulge themselves in wild Pokémon challenges, fan game and rom hack playthroughs and all sorts of other Pokémon related content. In this week's episode, the boys make their way to Izumi Village and uncover the truth behind the Akui Clan's nefarious plot. Will Cobalion get in their way and aid the Hound of Cruelty's devious plans? Kumano's Twitch → https://www.twitch.tv/kumanodadon Kumano's Twitter → https://twitter.com/DonKumano Play Along Podcast → https://www.playalongpod.com/ Play Along Podcast on Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/4lKcXYHNUaKVk8PQ6r3wsO?si=1d2874697f1345cb Play Along Podcast Discord → https://discord.gg/cXTnmYEXCE Show Boys → https://showboysmedia.com/ Show Boys Discord → https://discord.gg/gPqSu7QmnQ Show Boys Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/showboyspodcast Show Boys Merch → https://my-store-be6562.creator-spring.com/

Welcome to PokéBoys, a Pokémon podcast brought to you by Show Boys and Play Along Podcast. Hosts Mike and Jared join forces for an epic Pokémon podcast where they can fully indulge themselves in wild Pokémon challenges, fan game and rom hack playthroughs and all sorts of other Pokémon related content. In this week's episode, the boys head to Hanatsu Village and attempt to stave off a terror in the village. What is this village hiding that the Akui Clan wants so badly? Kumano's Twitch → https://www.twitch.tv/kumanodadon Kumano's Twitter → https://twitter.com/DonKumano Play Along Podcast → https://www.playalongpod.com/ Play Along Podcast on Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/4lKcXYHNUaKVk8PQ6r3wsO?si=1d2874697f1345cb Play Along Podcast Discord → https://discord.gg/cXTnmYEXCE Show Boys → https://showboysmedia.com/ Show Boys Discord → https://discord.gg/gPqSu7QmnQ Show Boys Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/showboyspodcast Show Boys Merch → https://my-store-be6562.creator-spring.com/

Welcome to PokéBoys, a Pokémon podcast brought to you by Show Boys and Play Along Podcast. Hosts Mike and Jared join forces for an epic Pokémon podcast where they can fully indulge themselves in wild Pokémon challenges, fan game and rom hack playthroughs and all sorts of other Pokémon related content. In this week's episode, will the boys make it to Tsuchi Village to gain the blessing of the Komorei Clan Leader, Harumi? What peril awaits them in the Tuschi Shrine? Kumano's Twitch → https://www.twitch.tv/kumanodadon Kumano's Twitter → https://twitter.com/DonKumano Play Along Podcast → https://www.playalongpod.com/ Play Along Podcast on Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/4lKcXYHNUaKVk8PQ6r3wsO?si=1d2874697f1345cb Play Along Podcast Discord → https://discord.gg/cXTnmYEXCE Show Boys → https://showboysmedia.com/ Show Boys Discord → https://discord.gg/gPqSu7QmnQ Show Boys Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/showboyspodcastShow Boys Merch → https://my-store-be6562.creator-spring.com/

Japan's Kumano Kodo is a 1300-year-old network of sacred pilgrimage routes through remote mountains and along a beautiful coastline. The Kumano Kodo's sacred sites and pilgrimage routes in the Kii Mountain Range are registered with UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The Kohechi is the second most remote and most difficult of the Kumano Kodo's routes. Although it passes through remote, sacred mountains, the Kohechi is still accessible by public transportation and one can stay in pleasant lodges every night. The Kohechi takes 4 days or less to complete. All of the Kumano Kodo's routes are extraordinary ways to travel deep into Japan's traditions and history while experiencing it's mysterious mountains and exotic geography. Sky King is joined by Matt Malcomson, with whom he hiked the route. Check it out on the latest podcast episode of Trails Around the World, available on most podcast platforms or at www.trailsaroundtheworld.com. #kumanokodo #kohechi #trailsaroundtheworld #skyking #thruhike #hiking #hikingjapan #thruhiking #hikejapan #japan #pilgrimage

Welcome to PokéBoys, a Pokémon podcast brought to you by Show Boys and Play Along Podcast. Hosts Mike and Jared join forces for an epic Pokémon podcast where they can fully indulge themselves in wild Pokémon challenges, fan game and rom hack playthroughs and all sorts of other Pokémon related content. In this week's episode, Mike is joined by a few special guests as they enter into the wonderful world of Pokémon fan games for a nice, relaxing narrative focused play through of Pokémon Bushido. Will the boy's training pay off and become an official Kenshi as they dive into the stunning region of Aisho? Kumano's Twitch → https://www.twitch.tv/kumanodadon Kumano's Twitter → https://twitter.com/DonKumano Play Along Podcast → https://www.playalongpod.com/ Play Along Podcast on Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/4lKcXYHNUaKVk8PQ6r3wsO?si=1d2874697f1345cb Play Along Podcast Discord → https://discord.gg/cXTnmYEXCE Show Boys → https://showboysmedia.com/ Show Boys Discord → https://discord.gg/gPqSu7QmnQ Show Boys Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/showboyspodcast Show Boys Merch → https://my-store-be6562.creator-spring.com/

Last time we spoke about the drive to Lae and Salamaua on New Guinea and the mysterious battle of the Pips. The boys on Green Hell were having a hell of a time trying to capture Mount Tambu. The Japanese had made a pillbox nightmare around Mount Tambu and reclaimed Ambush Knoll. Ambush Knoll was once again taken by the allies, by Warfe's commandos to be exact, but Mount Tambu was proving to be a much tougher nut to crack. Then in the frigid northern waters of the Aluetians, the allies had just successfully retaken Attu, but at a horrifying cost. The heavy cost convinced the allies, Kiska would be a similar bloody affair so they sought some Canadian help for its invasion. Yet before the invasion would occur one of the strangest battle of WW2 happened, the mysterious battle of the pips. The Americans found themselves firing at ghosts. But today we are venturing over to New Georgia. This episode is the Fall of Munda 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 New Georgia campaign in many ways was akin to Guadalcanal. The Americans had suddenly invaded the island, landing numerous troops before the Japanese could coordinate a way to thwart them. Once the troops were landed, then the Japanese decided to react, and by react I mean tossing troops of their own on the island to dislodge the Americans. But just like with the Guadalcanal campaign, the war of transportation was not one the IJN could seemingly win against the Americans. By 2nd of July US forces led by the US 43rd Division, held an overwhelming advantage of 15,000 troops compared to 9,000 Japanese, who had landed at Zannana with a view to attacking westwards towards Munda Point. It was a battle that took far longer than the Allies had envisaged. Stubborn Japanese resistance and their ability to infiltrate US lines and cut supplies meant an advance at a snail's pace, despite their control of the air and sea. Yet while the Americans were chipping away, bit by bit at the outskirts of New Georgia, the real defensive position was of course, Munda. Up until this point Major General Minoru Sasaki had done a great job of delaying the Americans while pulling his forces back to make a stand at Munda. Indeed the Americans had a terrible time fighting the Japanese and mother nature, as Sergeant Antony Coulis described one advance thus “We alternatively crawled up and down greasy ridges. We forded numerous jungle streams and swam three of them. The repeated torture of plunging into icy streams; the chopping away of endless underbrush and foliage; the continuous drizzle of rain; the days without hot food or drink; the mosquitoes tormenting us at night. It was sheer physical torture …” Sasaki had constructed a barrage of defensive entrenchments around the airport around Munda to halt the US advance. As Admiral Halsey recalled “Rugged as jungle fighting is by now we should have been within reach of our objective, the airfield. Something was wrong.” The now deceased Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's plan to turn the Solomons into a killing machine in order to force the United States to parley for a negotiated peace, seemed to be working. With the battle turning into a stalemate, on 15 July Halsey sent the famously tough Major-General Oscar Griswold, of the 14th Army Corps to New Georgia. Major-General John Hester, who had turned down help from the Marines, was relieved from command of the 43rd Division and replaced by Guadalcanal veteran Major-General John Hodge. A Landing Craft Tank Captain named Jack Johnson  described the operation as a “screw-up. General Hester was army. I had him aboard one time. He was a little fart. He wore these high lace-up boots and carried a riding crop.” However, a lot of the blame would be placed on Rear-Admiral Turner, the commander of the amphibious forces who had insisted that Hester should retain divisional command as well as overall command of the landing operations.It also did not help that the 43rd “National Guard Division” were untested in battle. Griswold would find them in a state of near psychological collapse, prompting him to request reinforcements from the 37th division. The 37th division was led by General Beightler who was manning Reincke Ridge while to the south near the beach were the 43rd division under General Hester's command until the 29th and the 25th division of General Lawton Collins. Additionally Marine tanks of the 10th defense battalion from Rendova were arriving to replace recent losses and they would be critically needed to face the nightmarish Japanese pillboxes the Americans would be facing. In front of the Americans was a complex of camouflaged and mutually supporting pillboxes and fortifications amidst thick jungle. These defenses dominated several high features including Shimizu Hill, Horseshoe Hill, Kelley Hill and Reincke Ridge. They were made out of crushed coral and coconut logs dug several feet into the ground, with just a small portion poking out for their machine gunners and riflemen. It was these types of defenses that had plagued Hesters assaults. Across a frontage of around 3200 yards, Sasaki had established a series of these defenses along a northwestern axis going from the beach to Ilangana. Before the offensive could be kicked off, 161st regiment led by Colonel James Dalton discovered the Japanese held the Bartley ridge due east of Horseshoe hill. Their reconnaissance indicated double-logged pillboxes. Bartley ridge would be the most forward of the defensive positions and thus needed to be seized first.  To meet the enemy Sasaki ordered Colonel Tomonari's forces to launch a second counterattack against whatever allied forces showed up on the northern flank and he also requested the recently landed Yano battalion to reinforce the northern flank. However Tomonari's men had suffered tremendous casualties and he was still trying to rally the scattered men along the rugged highlands. Meanwhile Colonel Yano was only able to send his 7th company to take up a position northwest of the 3rd battalion holding Sankaku hill, because his other men were needed to defend Vila. Because of this Sasaki ordered the depleted 1st battalion, 229th regiment to reinforce the Ilangana line. Colonel Hirata placed the 1st battalion along the line between Sato's 2nd battalion and Kojima's 3rd, which would turn out to be a key position. The offensive kicked off at first light on July 25th. Commander Arleigh Burke took 7 destroyers through the Blanche Channel and bombarded the Lambete plantation for 43 minutes firing more than 4000 5 inch shells. Nearly at the same time, the new commander of AriSols, Brigadier General Than Twining sent 171 bombers and 100 fighters to hit Munda, the largest air strike thus far in the area. As Burke's destroyers were firing 5 inch shells, B-24's and B-17's led the air attack, followed by B-25's, Dauntless and Avengers. It was described by many eyewitnesses as “the greatest show on earth”. The Japanese were only able to toss back 57 Zeros at 9:40am who were intercepted quickly by a Rendova patrol of 29 fighters who shot down 6 zeros and lost 4 of their own. But from 6:30-7am, the 254 aircraft managed to drop 500,800 lbs of fragmentation and high explosive bombs over the target area, a roughly 1500 by 250 yard strip. The result was enormous clouds of smoke hanging all over Munda, but Japanese casualties were considerably light. As the bombardment was quieting down, Griswold unleashed the ground forces supported by the 43rd divisions artillery who were firing more than 2150 105mm howitzer shells and 1182 155mm howitzer shells. Colonel Brown's 103rd regiment advanced upon Ilangana point while the 172nd tried to envelop Shimizu Hill, supported by 5 tanks. The 172nd tossed their 2nd and 3rd battalions around the left and right of Shimizu hill, but by 10am, even with the 5 tanks the Japanese pillboxes had halted them in their tracks. 3 of the tanks were disabled because of vapor lock and a ton of time was wasted by infantry trying to extricate them. THe 3rd battalion on the lefthand side, tried to fight through machine gun and mortar fire, but found it impossible. The men tried to move around the pillboxes but found themselves fired upon by other machine gun positions. The 2nd battalion, 103rd regiment attacked in the center of the 43rd divisions zone and managed to progress 300 yards against lighter opposition. bY 10:40am Company E managed to advance 500 yards and by noon reached a beach near Terere. As Company E tried hastily to create a defendable position, the Japanese moved behind them cutting their telephone lines back to the battalion HQ. Seeing the opening, General Hester tossed in some of his reserves in the form of Ramsey's 3rd battalion, 169th regiment. They were ordered to charge through the same gap made by 3 Company. But as they marched towards the gap they were met with enfilade fire from the southern part of Shimizu hill and from some pillboxes to the south. The 169th were unable to exploit the gap and now E company was forced to pull back lest they be encircled and annihilated. To the north, Beightler kept his 145th and 148th regiments in reserve until Bartley ridge was neutralized. Dalton sent I Company to contain the Japanese pocket by attacking it frontally while the 1st battalion and rest of the 3rd battalion performed a double envelopment. The 1st battalion went around the left while the 3rd took the right, seeing both driving southward and northward for 200 yards. The 1st battalion led by Lt Colonel Slaftcho Katsarky advanced 700 yards with only light opposition, but over on the other side the 3rd battalion of Lt Colonel David Buchanan were halted at the offset by heavy machine gun fire. By the 2nd of the day the 3rd battalion would establish itself in a containing position north,south and east of Bartley ridge. E Company had to be taken out of reserve and sent into the line on some high ground due north of Bartley ridge to secure the right flank of the 161st zone. The 1st battalion advanced a further 400 yards west of Bartley and took up a position on a small rise northeast of Horseshoe hill. With the southern advance stalling somewhat, Colonel Stuart Baxter of the 148th was ordered to help the 161st's efforts at reducing the pocket on Bartley ridge. He performed a limited advance and his 2nd battalion led by Lt Colonel Herbert Radcliffe gained 600 yards without meeting Japanese resistance. Meeting no resistance, the 1st battalion led by Lt Colonel Vernor Hydaker took up the 2nd battalions position as they advanced further, allowing engineers of the 117th engineer battalion to construct a supply trail behind them.  Despite all of this Griswold was frustrated by the failure of his 43rd division performance. Ultimately Griswold blamed General Hester who he wrote about in his diary that night  “I am afraid Hester is too nice for a battle soldier. He is sick and all done in. Tonight I am requesting his relief from the division.” The next day he ordered the exhausted 172nd to hold their position while the 10rd would advance 800 yards from Ilangana for Terere. To support them the artillery bombarded for over an hour, allowed the 103rd to advance with some tanks in the vanguard. A crucial component of their advance would be the 118th engineer battalion led by 2nd Lt James Olds an acting corps chemical officer, whose men were equipped with flamethrowers who went to work spilling fire over enemy pillboxes. This led to the vegetation over and around them being incarcerated in a matter of seconds and many pillboxes were simply wiped out.  As I had said a few times in this series, the flamethrower would be one of the most devastating weapons in island hopping warfare. The flamethrower was gradually employed by both assault and mop up operations. However useful as it was, it did hold some disadvantages. The equipment as you can imagine was quite large and heavy, required the operator to get very close to the enemy positions and thus extremely vulnerable. For flamethrower personnel to be able to close the distance required rifle team protection. But what if you could alleviate these vulnerabilities by slapping a big flamethrower to a tank? Generals like Griswold and Harmon at this point began mounting flamethrowers to tanks and although it would not see the limelight at Munda, the Firetank as they would become known would become the most devastating weapon against Japanese defenses. By the midafternoon, Browns 10rd regiment managed to reduce around 74 pillboxes along a 600 yard front, successfully occupying Ilangana and continuing the coastal advance until Kia. While it was a great victory for Hester, it failed to change Griswolds mind about relieving him. Back over in the north, Beightler ordered another assault of Bartley's ridge. 6 light marine tanks of the 10th defense battalion led the charge at 9am. Companies L and K advanced in columns behind the tanks, tossing heavy fire from .30 caliber Browning automatic rifles (known as BAR's for my Call of Duty world at war veterans) and 2 flamethrowers. Unfortunately for the two guys carrying the flamethrowers, they were not properly protected by their rifle teams and were killed quickly. Very much like the learning of how to perform amphibious landings, it would take time to learn how to effectively use flamethrower units. The man managed to overrun a dozen or so pillboxes, but the terrain soon forced Dalton to frantically order men to extricate stuck tanks. During the morning hours a Japanese soldier burst out of the brush and planted a magnetic mine to one of the stuck tanks disabling it. A second tank was hit in its fuel line by gunfire while the remaining tanks managed to pull back and reorganize by 11am. After 5 hours of combat, Buchanan's 3rd battalion had lost 29 men and only progressed 200 yards and thus was forced to pull back again.  On the 27th, Beightler committed his 2nd battalion, 145th regiment to reduce the defenders on Horseshoe hill. They managed to occupy a knoll connecting Horseshoe hill called Wing Hill, but heavy fire from Horseshoe hill eventually dislodges them. Meanwhile Colonel Tomonari finally managed to rally his men together for an attack against the 148th northern flank, while Sasaki sent a machine gun detachment, which was actually some anti-aircraft gunners to ambush the 148th engineers causing Colonel Baxter to order Companies A and D to rush over to protect them. Further south, General Hester began tossing some more aggressive actions in combination with artillery and mortar bombardments, gradually pushing the Japanese off high grounds. The 43rd division was slowly advancing yard by yard on the right flank, now reaching within 500 yards of the coast, but the 8 tanks of the 9th defense battalion were demolished in the attacks. On the 29th, the 1st battalion, 169th regiment had to be brought over from Rendova to take up a position between the 103rd and 172nd regiments. Alongside 4 tanks from the 10th defense battalion and some engineers wielding flamethrowers, Hester now had enough hardened forces to push the Japanese. Because of the continuous fighting, all the American regiments were becoming veterans. Pockets of Japanese that would have once held back an entire american battalion, possibly even a regiment were not being reducing quickly and efficiently. The technique for reducing pillboxes, whether it be from isolating them or overwhelming them was becoming mastered. Broken down this process began with a complete non-combative reconnaissance of the Japanese defenses. This was followed up by a reconnaissance in force, usually by a platoon with extra units who would uncover a portion of the Japanese positions. The assault consisted of  parts: preparing an artillery bombardment usually consisting of mortars, firing off the bombardment, then storming in. The bombardments usually got rid of the brush and foliage improving visibility so the enemy could be targeted and damaged. If done efficiently, the Japanese would flee their pillboxes to take refuge. Flamethrowers and tanks made the process a lot easier for the finishing touch part. Soon the Japanese were being pushed to the crest of Shimizu hill. However while Hester was definitely picking things up better with the 43rd division, Griswold was determined to relieve him of command, feeling the man had exhausted himself. Now Major General John Hodge would take over the 43rd. Meanwhile to the north, the Beightlers 161st regiment infiltrated abandoned pillboxes on Bartley ridge near its crest. Over on Horseshoe Hill the Japanese were being hit with heavy bombardments while the 2nd battalion reoccupied Wing Hill and Companies G and F crept their way up the crest of the hill. However once near the crest they began to be pinned down by machine gun fire. The 1st battalion was hitting the hill from the southeast meeting heavy fire as well and they managed to reach 15 yards on top of the crest before being halted. By 5:30pm, the 2nd battalion was forced to withdraw to the foot of the hill, but two companies from the 1st battalion dug in on the crest. The americans lost 24 men died with 40 wounded. On the other side, during the night, Tomonari's main forces of 400 men arrived ready to attack at dawn. They attempted to move behind the rear of the 148th as Baxter's troops were advancing to Bibilo Hill. Baxter's force was spread out quite thinly across 1500 or so yards and they happened to be around 800 yards west of their main regimental ration and ammunition dump. The Japanese from a high ground position began firing down upon them with machine guns, rifles and grenades as forward units stormed the rations and ammunition dump. A ragtag group of service company soldiers rush over to defend the dumb returning fire upon the Japanese. Major Frank Hipp of the 148th took command of the force managing to hold back the Japanese. However as a result of this near catastrophe, Beightler ordered Baxter to withdraw on the 29th. Beightler believed the enemy was coming through a gap between the 148th and 161st greatly worrying him.  Back over at Horseshoe hill, Companies G and F reached the crest while E company was hitting its northern side, supported by machine gun crews from H company. The fighting for the north side resulted in hand to hand combat seeing E company make some progress. But by nightfall the 2nd battalion again was again withdrawing down the hill. The actions ended disastrously, as the men were hit hard as they withdrew down the hill taking enormous casualties and gaining nothing in the process. On the 30th, Bartley Ridge and Shimizu Hill remained in Japanese hands as Beightler and Hodge were reorganizing their exhausted forces. That morning, Baxter finally began his withdrawal, miserably under heavy rain, with Tomonari's troops harassing them with ambushes. The ambushes caused Baxter to order the men to dig in around the supply dump and that night saw numerous soldiers dying for water begin to use their helmets as rain catchers. The next day the 148th attempted another break through, but Tomonari's machine gun crews hammered them back towards the supply dump for another night. At this point Sasaki received new orders instructing him to keep the supply lines to Kolombanagara secure. He elected to prepare his men to withdraw to a new defensive line that would be anchored at Kokenggolo Hill to the right, running east of Bibilo hill towards the Munda-Bairoko trail, then it would pass north to Hachiman Hill. Yano and his battalion were ordered to come over from Kolombangara to take up a position at Sankaku hill; Hirata's 229th regiment would hold Kokenggolo Hill and Tomonari would take up a position at Hachiman Hill. These orders came after the Japanese defenders had suffered tremendous losses over days of fighting. In truth the Japanese defensive line was formidable facing the American 14th corps, and indeed the Americans had been held back for a long time. But the Americans brought terrible power, their naval, artillery and aerial bombing was constant and hammered the Japanese. By late July most of the Japanese emplacements near Munda were in shambles. Rifle companies that were typically 170 men strong had shrunken significantly, some down as low as 20 men. The 229th regiment numbered only 1245 effective men. The hospitals could not hope to care for all the sick and wounded as constant shelling rained hell from above. Aside from the sick and wounded, as a major result of the shelling, many men were suffering nervous disorders, to use the old term shell shock, but today we'd call it  Combat Stress Reaction “CSR”. To compensate for the losses, Colonel Hirata simply ordered his men of the 229th to kill 10 americans for every Japanese and to do so to the death. That's the kind of, I guess what the Japanese at the time would call fighting spirit, something that made the Japanese armed forces during WW2 unique, perhaps rather tragically.  General Imamura decided to reinforce Vila with the 3rd battalion, 23rd regiment and six companies to buff up the 1th and 229th regiments. This freed up the Yano battalion to take up their new position on the new defensive line. Yet still in the meantime, Japanese were still defending Shimizu and Horseshoe Hill to give the rest of the forces time to withdraw. On the 31st Major Francis Carberry's 2nd Battalion, 161st charged up Bartley ridge finding no resistance. Then at 4:45pm the 15th field artillery began firing on Horseshoe Hill while the American forces near its crest tried to dislodge the Japanese. Again they were unsuccessful. By the afternoon Japanese were withdrawing from the Ilagana line, covered by fire from Horseshoe hill. During the night Tomonari led his men to withdraw, but a Avenger spotted his force fleeing through a valley overheard and called in an artillery strike. One of the shells hit Tomonari's HQ killing a lot of his staff and nearly him. Tomonari's force had to abandon a lot of equipment, but by dawn of August 1st they had managed to assemble at Kokenggolo and Bibilo Hills. His 2nd battalion alongside Hara's quick fire battalion went into the tunnels of Kokenggolo Hill while the rest of the 1st and 3rd battalions dug in on Bibilo Hill.  Baxter received a message over radio on the 1st of August from General Beightler “time is precious, you must move, get going haste is essential”. The order was to get every man Baxter had and take Shimizu hill. Baxter rallied Companies A, E, B and G into a skirmish line with bayonets fixed and charged at 850am. By 9:30am the exhausted Americans reached Katsarsky's position where they handed the weary men fresh water and some hot food. Shimizu hill was theres. Meanwhile the 103rd regiment began their own attack. Hodge sent Companies E, F and G to march upon Lambeti which they did, finding no opposition. The rest of the 43rd found no opposition as they marched across Shimizu Hill, by 3pm they advanced 700 yards. Beightlers men captured Horseshoe Hill without firing a shot and as darkness fell on the 1st of august, Griswold ordered a general advance for the next day. Admiral Wilkinson brought a convoy bearing fresh troops of the 27th regiment to aid Beightlers right flank, but it took them until August the 3rd to get into combat assembly. In the meantime August the 1st would bring with it a significant increase in artillery bombardment. The 43rd divisions artillery commander, Brigadier General Harold Barker fired 2000 rounds on the 1st, followed by 2000 more on the 2nd, an incredible 7300 rounds on the 3rd and 3600 on the 4th. The Munda area was turned into an inferno. Yano lost the commander and all platoon leaders of the 8th company; 5 officers died atop Bibilo hill; Hara Masao was killed leaving his 1st battalion to be commanded by Sato on August 2nd; the tunnels of Kokenggolo Hill were one of the few safe planes, but a direct hit collapses an entrance to Sato's tunnel, burying him along with 60 men, requiring an entire day to dig them out. The Japanese were forced to take refuge wherever they could, preventing Sasaki from stabilizing his new defensive line. Captain Sugiura Kaju brought reinforcements from the 7th and 8th combined SNLF to Erventa where he loaded up the 3rd battalion, 23rd regiment to head for the Vella Gulf under the escort of Admiral Nishimuras cruisers Susuya, Chokai, Kumano, Sendai and destroyer Amagiri. However the naval force was intercepted by PT boats near the Blackett strait. The PT boats fired torpedoes at the Japanese destroyers, but none hit a target. Sugiura was able to land the reinforcements around Webster Cove, but the Amagiri rammed PT 109 just forward of her starboard torpedo tube ripping away the starboard aft side of the boat. Two men were killed, and one John F Kennedy, yes the future president was tossed around the cockpit of PT 109. Kennedy got the rest of the men to abandon ship around 11 in all. A few of them had serious burns and they were forced to swim for an islet 3.5 miles away known as Plum Pudding Island. Kennedy was the first to reach the island and he proceeded to help tow others to the island. The island was unoccupied, but a company of Sasebo 6th SNLF were nearby on another islet called Gizo. Seeing Japanese barges moving around, the Americans would make their way east to an island near Ferguson passage called Leorava island. It would not be until the night of August 7th when the coastwatch Lt Reginald Evans found them and helped them reach PT 157. For his courage and leadership Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal alongside a purple heart for injuries he suffered. However the medals would pale in comparisons to the story written about the event by John Hersey for the New Yorker and Reader's digest which would give Kennedy a strong foundation politically.  Back to the battle, on August 2nd, Griswold's forces advanced across the entire front and by the late afternoon the 103rd regiment had already reached the outer taxiways of Munda airfield; the 169th were approaching Bibilo Hill; and the 37th division were 700 yards ahead of Horseshoe hill. By the end of the day, the Japanese defensive line was basically Kokenggolo to Bibilo Hill and the Americans were closing in on both. The 103rd and 169th had units around the eastern end of the airfield, many men using wrecked Japanese aircraft as defendable positions. The 145th and 161st were on the eastern ridges of Bibilo hill and the 148th were about to cut the Munda-Bairoko trail. The Yano battalion's position was taken so quickly, the Americans had failed to notice they had overrun it. Thus Yano withdrew northwards. On August 3rd, the general advance continued and with more open terrain present, mortars became a lot more effective speeding it up. The 169th were advancing up the eastern end of Kokenggolo Hill; to the north, the 145th were advancing up the eastern ridges of Bibilo Hill the 161st were breaking through on the right and the 148th were now along the Munda-Bairoko trail. The situation was desperate that night so Sasaki was forced to order the men to withdraw yet again, now towards Zieta. Hirata's 229th regiment was to hold their position until sundown to give everyone time, then act as a rearguard until they could withdraw to Kongo Hill. Sasaki likewise moved his HQ to the Kure 6th Farm at Zieta. The next morning brought further misery upon the Japanese in the form of an airstrike. At 7:20am 25 Dauntless, 24 Avengers and 24 B-25's bombed Gurasai-Kindu Point, which is just due west of Munda airfield were the Japanese had constructed fortifications and emplaced many anti aircraft guns. Griswold did not let up seeing perhaps the final push against Munda before him. Hodge's 43rd division with marine tanks leading the way attacked Kokenggolo Hill. Beightler's 25th division were striking against the Japanese northern flank, freeing up the 148th and 161st to advance west towards the beach. The defenders at Kokenggolo Hill offered strong resistance as they withdrew towards Kong Hill before the 161st managed to break through to the sea. The fiercest fighting would be found on Bibilo hill, where the 145th were fighting against the dug in 229th regiment. By the end of the day, both the 148th and 161st broke through to the sea north of Kokenggolo hill and the 145th nearly cleared Bibilo hill as the Japanese fled along a trail going to the Kure 6th farm. With Bibilo Hill reduced, the Japanese began abandoning Kong Hill to continue retreating northwards.  Griswold's 43rd division tossed mortars, infantry and tanks across Kokenggolo Hill driving away the last of the Japanese from tunnels, bunkers and pillboxes. Their forces soon crossed the western part of the Munda airfield. General Wing grabbed a military telephone and called General Hodge from Bibilo Hill stating “Munda is yours at 2:10 today”. Inturn Griswold radioed the good news over to Admiral Halsey "...Our ground forces today wrested Munda from the Japs and present it to you… as the sole owner…" Halsey then replied with "a custody receipt for Munda… Keep 'em dying." Munda had fallen at long last. The Americans had suffered  4994 casualties since July 2nd, the Japanese had 4683 death with a untold amount of wounded. With Munda captured, Tomonari was ordered to withdraw to Kolombangara to take command of the Vila defenses while Sasaki would move his HQ to Bairoko then move by barge to Vila as well. The 3rd battalion, 23rd regiment was deployed at Baanga island to cover the Japanese withdrawal using mountain guns. Admiral Ota's SNLF marines were to defend Arundel island. While these forces made their retreat, Admiral Samejima elected to carry out another reinforcement run. He would transport the Mikami battalion and on August the 6th with Admiral Ijuin carrying two other companies of replacements to Buin, Sugiura was once again sailing for Kolombangara. Sugiura had the destroyers Hagikaze, Kawakaze and Arashi while Ijuin had the destroyer Shigure. Meanwhile Admiral Wilkinson received reports from a PBY that sighted Sugiura's ships passing by the Buka Passage, so he ordered Commander Frederick Moosbrugger to depart Tulagi and sweep the Vella Gulf. Moosbrugger had the destroyers Stack, Sterret, Lang, Dunlap, Craven and Maury. He sailed south of Rendova to enter the Vella Gulf. He took his time going 15 knots to create as little wake as possible so Japanese floatplanes would not spot him and he was northwest of the coast of Kolombanaga by 11:25pm. Moosbrugger's plan  was to divide his force into two formations; a torpedo division consisting of Dunlap, Craven and Maury, and a Gun division consisting of Lang Sterett and Stack. The torpedo group would attack first once rader contact was made while the Gun group would cut across the bows of the enemy and open fire as the torpedo's were expected to hit. This was to be the first time in the Solomons campaign that the US navy planned to use torpedo's as its primary weapon. All 6 of Moosbruggers destroyers held SG radar, but much more importantly at this time an advancement had been made to fix the idiotic mark 14 torpedoes. The defective magnetic exploder was fixed and the settings that made them run too deep was fixed. Admiral King was responsible for the first fix while Moosebrugger on his own accord ordered the torpedoes to be set at a minimum running depth of 5 feet. Sugiura knew fell well he most likely did not hold the element of surprise, but he was prepared to fight as he entered the Vella Gulf with his destroyer Hagikaze in the lead. Moosebruggers force was passing through the Gizo strait before turning southeast towards Blackett strait. Then the Americans turned north up the gulf with the torpedo group leading the way during the dark hours when at 11:33 Dunlaps radar made a contact, bearing 19700 yards away. Moosbrugger immediately changed course to close in and began to line-up his torpedo attacks. For once the Japanese lookouts failed to spot the Americans, most likely due to a lack of moonlight. At 11:41 at a range of around 4500 yards Moosebrugger fired 22 torpedoes and at 11:46 turned his ships 90 degrees as the Gun group made a course to cross Sugiuras T. aT At 11:42 Sugiura's lookouts spotted the American ships silhouettes and torpedo wakes, but it was too late. At 11:45 7 out of the 22 torpedoes found targets. Two torpedoes hit Hagikaze, 3 hit Arashia and 2 hit Kawakaze. Hagikaze was hit aft her engine room bringing her to a stop; Arashia's machinery spaces were destroyed and Kawakaze was hit under her bridge detonating her forward magazine sending her ablaze. Shigure would be found later to have been hit by a torpedo which failed to explode. The 3 destroyers were disabled and burning wrecks. The Japanese fired 8 torpedoes in return, none finding a target as they frantically tried to turn northwards to escape. The Gun group opened fire sinking the 3 crippling destroyers in the course of an hour killing 820 of the 940 troops on board. The Japanese would later send 4 large barges to try and rescue survivors with around 310 out of 1520 Japanese sailors and soldiers being rescued including Sugiura. The IJN received a night action defeat which also killed and prevented reinforcements for New Georgia. The American torpedoes would soon strike fear into the IJN. 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. Munda has fallen at last, though it came at a terrible price. Now with the airfield in American hands, the battle for New Georgia would come to a swifter end. The US Navy finally got the chance to deliver a torpedo blow to the IJN and a devastating one it was.

Last time we spoke about the allied offensive against Mubo and the naval battle of Kolombangara. The Australians and Americans were continuing the drive towards Salamaua and Lae, but in their way was the once heavily fortified area of Mubo. Because of intricate diversionary attacks in multiple places, the Japanese gradually lifting their defensive positions in Mubo, until the time was ripe for the allies to seize it. The Pimple, Green Hill and Observation hill, places that caused suffering and hardship were finally seized, Mubo was secured. Over in the Solomons, the New Georgia campaign was continuing, forcing the Japanese to make another daring Tokyo Express run like they did at the battle of Kula Gulf. Yet again Admiral Ainsworth went out to face the enemy, completely ignorant of their torpedo capabilities and he paid for it dearly. Today we are going to continue these stories. This episode is the Drive on Munda Point 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.  Today we are starting with the main drive towards Munda. We are picking up from last time where General Wing had finally begun his main advance on Munda on July 9th. Now the landings had occurred on July 2nd, from then on the Americans were busy making another landings such as at Rice Anchorage, getting forces to assembly points and trying to hinder any efforts by the Japanese to reinforce Munda. If you were looking down upon a map it would basically look like multiple forces taking up positions that cut off trails and ports that extend towards Munda. Everyone had a unique task and a time table, but as we all know not everything goes according to plan. When General Wing ordered the main advance, two infantry regiments were greatly delayed, those being the 172nd who moved a grand total of 1100 yards and the 169th who made zero ground at all. The war planners had not considered how difficult it would be for ground forces to travel the single narrow tracks, dense jungles, mangroves, creeks, ridges and ravines. The men found navigation difficult and whenever the terrain seemed to narrow they found Japanese defenses. The 172nd were ordered by Major Genera Hester to carry out flanking maneuvers against a roadblock set up by the 9th company, 3rd battalion, 229th regiment while the 169th attacked them frontally. They were supported by heavy artillery, naval bombardment and aerial bombing. But General Sasaki correctly predicted the American commanders intentions and responded to them rather quickly with his own counter flanking maneuvers. His forward area was held by Japanese snipers, well concealed in baskets in trees whom employed rifles that gave little to no muzzle flashes, something that was turning into a real trait of the Japanese.  The 172nd progressed a few hundreds yards with its 1st battalion leading the way, the 2nd behind them and the 3rd following from a distance. They were assaulting a point where the Munda trail intersected another trail running southwest to a beach and southwest of this were the native villages of Ilangana and Laiana. The Japanese managed to keep them 1500 yards away with this defenses. The Artillery was not working to dislodge the Japanese from their roadblock and during the night the Japanese were reinforced with some units of the 11th company who took up some high ground later called Reincke Ridge. This made things ever worse for the inexperienced and pretty brutally shaken 169th who had the unfortunate job of meeting them in a front assault. Things were becoming even worse for General Wing. Despite the slow progress, the American forces had actually overstretched their logistics by July 10th. The 118th engineer battalion had been making some good progress building a jeep trail going from Zanana to the Barike River. They relied on information provided by native scouts, and the engineers built the trail over high dry ground, averaging around half a mile or so per day. But the 5 foot deep fast running stream east of the Barike caused a ton of soft mud, not  very engineer friendly. To get the ground firm enough for footbridges and such they were forces to swing the road northward parallel to the river for over 2 miles. This gap between the end and front of the road meant near half of the combat troops were forced to carry forward ammunition, food, water and other supplies and let us not forget everyone who gets sick or wounded needed to be carried back on the same roadways. Again, logistics are not as sexy as the combat and don't usually get much time of day, but its important for any war effort, hell look at Russia today. To solve his logistical headache, General Hester decided to divert the 172nd infantry regiment south towards Laiana, while the 169th would continue their miserable advance up the Munda trail. Now Laiana was just 500 yards east of the main Japanese defensive line at Ilangana, currently held by the 2nd and 3rd battalion of the 229th regiment and 2nd independent Quick-fire battalion all under the command of Colonel Hirata Genjiro. The 172nd would have the support of the 3rd battalion, 103rd regiment and 8 M3 Stuart tanks of the 9th defense battalion who were expected to land at Laiana by July 13th. On the morning of the 11th, the 172nd began turning south wading through knee deep mud and having the Japanese fire mortars upon them. By midway they had advanced 450 yards when they came across some Japanese bill boxes. While this was going on the 169th were pushing against the Japanese upon the high ground leading to a stalemate. Because of this Colonel Temple Holland replaced Colonel Eason as commander of the 169th and Colonel Frederick Reincke took command of its 3rd battalion which was being led by Major William Stebbins. On July 12th the Colonel Holland began a plan calling for the 1st battalion to attack frontally while the 2nd battalion enveloped the Japanese left flank. The 3rd battalion who were in reserve were released to engage the enemy, but the entire thing bogged down immediately as units became intermingled with the 172nd who were on their way to Laiana. Meanwhile Rear Admiral Aaron Merrill with task force 36 was ordered to depart Ironbottom Sounds and provide naval bombardment from the Blanche Channel in coordination with heavy artillery in Rendova and aerial bombing from AirSols. Merrill took 4 light cruisers Columbia, Cleveland, Denver and Montpelier into the narrow channel while his two destroyers Farenholt and Buchanen took up a position near the Munda Bar to shell the Kokenggolo Hill Area. Merrills force fired 8600 shells for 40 minutes, which did clear the jungle in front of the advancing troops, but ultimately did little else as they were forced to fire a mile in front of the American positions, but within that mile were the said Japanese defenses. As you can imagine, the boys on the ground were all too excited to now advance, only to find the same unhampered enemy facing them. The 1st battalion, 169th regiment managed to gain about 300 yards; the 2nd battalion received enfilading fire from a ridge to the north, unable to progress and the 3rd battalion assaulted the southern ridge for several hours enjoying some artillery and aerial support. To the south the 172nd were stuck in front of the pill boxes. These pill boxes were not made out of concrete, but instead coconut logs and coral, pretty ingenious stuff. They ranged from 10-12 feet square, with 3-4 layers of logs banked with 6-8 feet of weathered coral. Their ceilings were usually around 10 feet from the floor, dug into the earth so that 2-4 feet of the pill box projected above the ground. Each had several firing slits for riflemen or machine guns. Outside the pill boxes were foxholes, and trenches connected all positions. All of this was well camouflage using earth, grass, vines, palm fronds and such, leading Americans to stumble onto a pill box without even noticing it. One remark made by the 43rd division after coming across them was that they had an easier time smelling them than seeing them. So if you ever watched classic Pacific War films or the Pacific Series and wondered how some of these pill boxes were made, there you go.  On the morning of the 13th Colonel Holland requested some aerial support and he got some at 10am. 12 Dauntless dropped 1000 pound daisy cutters upon some smoke markers laid out by the 169th. The dive bombers manage to hit the target perfectly before Holland ordered the men to charge. The 2nd battalion went through the center, while the 1st battalion took the right and the 3rd battalion took the left. They hit the north and south ridges trying to envelop the Japanese. E and F companies of the 2nd battalion ran into heavy machine gun fire, causing a halt. The 1st battalion tried to climb the north ridge but were obstructed by a ton of felled trees and craters due to the bombing. The Japanese who survived the bombardments opened fire from their pillboxes keeping the Americans in check. The charging Americans now without artillery or mortar support tried to push forward with rifle and bayonet, seeing many killed upon the crest or wounded. Company B would lose 3 of its 4 officers alone. The 3rd battalion now led by Colonel Reincke fought for some hours managing to progress 500 yards into the Japanese lines securing the south ridge. They fought pillbox through pillbox, it was a terribly bloody affair, resulting in 100 casualties. When they took the ridge they held the position, beating back several counterattacks during the night, to which the men named the ridge Reincke. Soon the 1st and 2nd battalions took up positions on the 3rds flanks securing Reincke ridge, while the Japanese concentrated on the northern ridge and to the west they held a higher ground called Horseshoe hill. Meanwhile the 172nd had their lines of communication cut off in their rear by the Japanese forcing them to quicken up the pace as they were running low on food. They made it to Laiana beach in the late afternoon successfully securing the beach and organizing defensive positions. The following morning General Hester landed the 3rd battalion, 103rd regiment and the tanks to back them up at Laiana. This came also with some much needed supplies for the worn out men. Having supplied the men to the southern beach, now the men in the northern front required resupply. Reinckes men were tossing back more counterattacks. One morning Japanese artillery fired upon the ridge bursting a tree that killed 4 men and wounded 23. Alongside this 5 men were reported to have a case of shell shock, 7 others war neurosis. Machine gun fire claimed 2 men, wounded another 5. At 8pm artillery began again killing another 8 men and wounding 26. There were no medical officers with the battalion, leaving medics to do what they could. Despite the hardship the 3rd battalion held their ground, and gradually the Japanese evacuated the northern ridge which the 2nd battalion quickly seized. By July 15th, the 4rd divisions engineers had managed to complete the jeep trail from Laiana to the 169th area. Telephone lines crews began to lay underwater cables between Zanana, Laiana and General Barkers artillery teams. Engineers also finished a bridge over the Barike on the 12th and on the 14th had extended the trail within 500 yards of the 169th front lines. Supply lines were finally being secured, and more importantly the wounded would be able to be safely transported. By July 17th, the 43rd division had 90 deaths, 636 wounded in actions and over 1000 cases of sickness ranging from the ever present friend malaria, but also diarrhea, dysentery and such. As mentioned, cases of psychological problems were also very apparent. Half of the 43rd division were suffering war neurosis, which we call today Combat Stress Reaction “CSR”. This is an acute reaction from the stress of war that causes the combatant to feel fatigued, have slower reactions, be indecisive, and can become disconnected from one's surroundings. It's classic psychological trauma, kind of similar to what I assume many of you listeners would think of as PTSD, but it is not the same thing, PTSD can see durations lasting months if not even years, while CSR has a short duration. Small tidbit of info since my first degree is in neuroscience, a fairly recent study in the later 2000's was done to look at the issue of CSR, shellshock and such from a neurological point of view. The idea was to figure out if specific physical damage was being done to parts of the brain during blast trauma that caused combat stress reactions. The reason the study was done was because the symptoms from such maladies often overlap with things you see in traumatic brain injuries, anyways was interesting reading back in my uni days. As pointed out by historian Samuel Eliot Morison, it seemed General Hester's choice of sending the 172nd infantry regiment south, had greatly exposed the inexperienced 169th. In his words “This was perhaps the worst blunder in the most unintelligently waged land campaign of the Pacific war (with the possible exception of Okinawa). Laiana should have been chosen as the initial beachhead; if it was now required, the 172nd should have been withdrawn from Zanana and landed at Laiana under naval gunfire and air support. Or Hester might have made the landing with his reserves then waiting at Rendova. As it was, General Sasaki interpreted the move correctly and by nightfall had brought both advances to a standstill.” In order to break the deadlock that was occurring, some of the command structure would be reorganized. This coincided with half of the 4rd division being knocked out of commission, prompting General Hester to request reinforcements for the drive against Munda. General Harmon performed a inspection of the situation and reported back to Admiral Halsey on Guadalcanal. He advised sending forward General Oscar Griswold of the 14th corps with a forward echelon of staff so he could begin building up the administrative, supply and planning for the future New Georgia occupation force. Once Munda had fallen, this would allow General Hester to carry on against Vila. Harmon justified this by stating Hesters force was too small to do it, but there was another rationale. By doing this it would relegate Admiral Turner to a supporting role, whom the army and marines were resenting because of what they deemed to be his meddling of ground operations. Admiral Turner opposed the idea, and Halsey replied to Harmon he could simply increase Hester's staff. This prompted Harmon to fly back to COMSOPAC HQ on Noumea to personally talk to Halsey and force the issue. Griswold showed up at midnight on the 15th assuming command of the occupational force, leaving Hester to focus on the actions of his 43rd divisions offensive. Griswold began his new task by directing Major General Robert Beightler to the rest of the 37th division to New Georgia alongsideColonel Collins 161st regiment of his 25th division. Over at Zanana, the 1st battalion of the 145th regiment arrived at 5pm, which Colonel Holland tossed up to help reinforce the 169th.Now that Admiral Turner was relieved as commander of the South Pacific Amphibious force, his new orders were to take command of the central pacific offensives, replacing Admiral Wilkinson. Now General Hester was preparing for a corps level offensive, but it would take over 10 days to build up and in the meantime the Japanese began to prepare a major counter offensive. On July 16 and 17 some small attacks were performed against the Ilangana line, supported now by the newly arrived tanks, but a lack of coordination between the 172nd regiments infantry and tanks led to only a bit of gain. Nonetheless the tanks did help against the pillboxes. The tanks took up a wedge formation and used their 37mm guns with high explosive shells to dislodge the panicking Japanese trying to fight back with their machine guns from many of the forward pillboxes. However the Japanese were only phased by the arrival of the tanks for about a day as on July 18th they started to employ anti tank strategies to great effect. The Japanese defenders began tossing a mixture of mines, molotov cocktails and flame-throwers, forcing Griswold to withdraw the remaining tanks and ordered the transportation of the 10th defense battalions tanks to reinforce them.  Meanwhile the 169th regiment were advancing southwest towards Kelley Hill located 400 yards southwest of Reincke Ridge. They faced little opposition, but would soon see wave after wave of Japanese counterattacks to dislodge them. On the other side, the 1st and 3rd battalions of Colonel Tomonari's 13th regiment had arrived at the scene and managed to bypass Colonel Liversedge's roadblock. General Sasaki planned to toss Tomonari around the American's right flank near the east bridge over the Barike river. From there they could advance upon Zanana Beach. By July 14th, the 1th regiment were marching to the upper Barike, but the men lacked maps and were hacking their own trail. Tomonari said of this  “If we had to go round and round in circles in the jungle, not having been able to find the enemy, nor having been able to help the 229th Regiment and let them die, it would really hurt the reputation the 13th Infantry Regiment had had for a long time, since the Sino- and Russo-Japan War. That was why most soldiers were feeling the pressure. Finally meeting the enemy at that point was like meeting Buddha in hell.” It would take them  days to march through the thick jungle. On the night of July 17th, Tomonari and the men found a jeep trail heading towards General Hesters HQ on Zanana Beach. He ordered his men to attack the area which at this time was being guarded by a platoon of the 4rd reconnaissance troops and 70 Fijian commandos led by Captain David Williams. General Hester was not at the HQ at this time he was at Laiana, but Generals Wing and Barker were. The Japanese launched simultaneous raids against the engineer and medical bivouacs and 43rd divisional command post. At the same time Captain Kojima of the 229th regiment launched an attack against Kelley Hill on the 18th. At 10am Japanese machine guns north of Kelley opened fire as riflement charged the its western slope. The 1st battalion fired upon the charging Japanese as the 3rd battalion fired upon the machine gunners to the north. The Japanese assault was threatening to break the line. Many of the Japanese managed to crawl within grenade tossing distance of the northern line of the 1st battalion, but mortar fire forced them back. It was an extremely bloody attack and the 1st battalion reported finding 102 dead Japanse upon the slopes at daybreak. Another predawn attack was launched by the 2nd battalion 229th infantry against the 3rd battalion, 103rd infantry but they repulsed it. The attacks were done to prevent the American troops there from helping the Zanana defenders. If all went well, Sasaki could destroy the 43rd divisions rear installations cutting off major lines of communications to the surrounding front line forces. Tomonari's raids however were chaotic and disorderly. Rather than a organized assault, it fell into a series of separate smaller raids allowing the few reconnaissance and Fijian commandos to fend off the invaders. The reconnaissance forces repelled the attacks upon the engineer and medical bivouacs while the Fijian commandos manned a perimeter alongside Headquarters personnel such as drivers, medical orderlies, clerks, everyone grabbed a rifle despite many not even using one since basic training. The Fijians had better eyesight at night than anyone else and showcased their abilities to the Japanese who were certainly not used to being contested in this field of expertise. Tafa a Tongan, was firing from his foxhole when a Japanese officer wielding a katana and a grenade in the other hand charged at him. Tafa used his Owen gun to mow the man down killing him. The Japanese officer was found later to be carrying documents showcasing the full strength of the Japanese force and details of their mission. The Japanese were screaming as they charged from all directions as the close quarters melee raged on. The Japanese managed to infiltrate the perimeter multiple times, destroying communications equipment, but they could not reach the most important part of the area, General Barkers artillery. Barker unleashed a tight box barrage from extremely close range to devastating effect. The Japanese had no other option than to flee up the jeep trail they came from. Tomonari had his surviving forces erect some road blocks for the next 3 days, but Sasaki's hopes of knocking out the 43rd divisions HQ were thwarted. Having survived the major counter offensive, the 148th regiment was quickly landed at Zanana on the 18th and were soon sent over to Reincke Ridge to relieve the poor 169th regiment. Colonel Stuart Baxter of the 148th regiment was surprised by the roadblocks as Griswold never warned him about them. His advance parties were ambushed leading to 2 deaths and some wounded. During the night the Japanese were found drunk off looted whiskey they had taken from a rations dump near the bridge on the Barike. There was a clash where a platoon from the 169th were bringing wounded men down. The drunken Japanese managed to kill many of the wounded men being carried on litters alongside 2 medics. The bridge henceforth was called “Butchers bridge”. The next morning at 8am, Baxter sent his 1st battalion and his HQ up the jeep road to fight the Japanese, but as they went up it seemed the Japanese had withdrawn. Baxters men crossed the east bridge without incident, but as they went further up the road suddenly Japanese machine guns opened up on them. A company lost over a dozen men to this ambush and soon the Japanese were attacking his flanks forcing Baxter to dig in. By July 21st the Japanese would finally depart the area allowing the 148th regiment to relieve the 169th. As for the 169th, they were sent over to Rendova and General Beightler took command of the 37th division whom he reshuffled for an offensive. A 1300 yard line was formed north of Ilangana with Hester's 43rd division to the south and Beightler's 37th division to the north. By this point Hester moved his 43rd divisional command post from Zanana to Laiana where many trails were created to help with the supply lines. Griswold now planned to start an offensive on July 25th, opening up with a naval, artillery and aerial bombardment, before the infantry and tanks performed a frontal assault upon the Japanese line. The 43rd division would hit from the left to take Lambete plantation and its airfield while the 37th division would hit from the right against Bibilo Hill, thus enveloping the Japanese north of the airfield. Meanwhile, Colonel Currin's 4th Raiders had secured the Enogai inlet, allowing Liversedge to launch his attack against Bairoko. For the attack on Bairoko, Liversedge planned to use the 1st and 4th Raiders along the ENogai-Bairoko trail to hit the Japanese frontally, while the 3rd battalion, 148th regiment would take the Triri-Bairoko trail to hit their southern flank. Liversedge appeared to have expected aerial bombing support, but did not request or failed to request the air support in time. On the morning of the 20th, the forces began their advance. At 10:00am, Colonel Griffiths 1st Raiders ran into some Japanese outposts manned by just a handful of Japanese. They fired upon them sending them fleeing, as they continued their advance they soon came across a larger force. Eventually they were forced to a halt as they came upon the Japanese main defensive line at around Noon. Commander Okumura Saburo had created 4 successive lines of mutually supporting pillboxes on low parallel ridges running north to south. Meanwhile the 4th raiders advanced within 300 yards short of the shore of Bairoko harbor meeting the Japanese lines of defense. At 2:30pm, Griffiths D company managed to break into the first line of defense, but an hour later, Okumura ordered heavy mortar fire from the ridges pushing the Americans back and turning the area into a killing field. The 1st raiders were unable to move forward, now resting their hopes on the 4th raiders making a breakthrough in the south. The 4th raiders ran into the Japanese main line during the midday and were not making any progress. Liversedge called the forces at the front and consequently ordered the two raider battalions to take up defensive positions further east on some high ground. The raiders had suffered 200 casualties before they retired to the south shores of Leland Lagoon. The next day, reinforcements came over from Enogai along with air support. At 9:50am 24 Dauntless, 25 Avengers and 8 B-25's swooped in to bomb Bairoko. This was followed up at noon by 37 Avengers, 6 B-25s, then at 4pm 48 Dauntless and 25 Avengers. 130 tons of bombs his Bairoko alongside an estimated 24,000 rounds of machine gun bullets. Liversedge ordered the men to sit tight and hold their positions for now along a line stretching from Enogai, Triri and Rice Anchorage.  Meanwhile, after the victory during the battle of Kolombangara, Admiral Samejima formed a new Night battle unit, consisting of  Heavy cruisers Kumano, Suzuya and Chokai; light cruiser Sendai; and destroyers Yugure, Kiyonami, Yukikaze and Hamakaze, led by Admiral Nishimura. Their unit was given the task of harassing American transportation efforts. Rear Admiral Ijuin Matsuji was now commanding the reinforcement unit who were going to make a run on the 17th, but this was greatly hampered by an American air strike against Buin. On the 17th, 7 B-24s, 32 P-38's and P-40's, 37 Dauntless, 36 Avengers and 64 Wildcats and Corsairs hit Buin. 48 Zeros began to take off from Kahili, but they could not scramble fast enough as the Americans bombed the shipping, setting a cargo ship on fire, before the Hatsuyuki took a direct hit to her forward magazine sinking her and 3 other destroyers were damaged. 13 Zeros were shot down while the Americans lost 6 aircraft. Many of Ijuins transports received some minor damage delaying his departure. On July 19th, Nishimura attempted a reinforcement run to New Georgia, but his force was intercepted northwest of Kolombangara by a pack of Avengers. Nishimura's ships scattered at high speed upon seeing the enemy aircraft, but Yugure was successfully torpedoed and sank as a result. The Kiyonami stuck behind to grab survivors. Meanwhile cruisers Chokai and Kumano were also heavily damaged. The Kiyonami was later attacked by 8 B-25's who bombed her at masthead level, leaving her dead in the water. The B-25's also attacked the transports doing some minor damage to the Matsuzuki and Minazuki. 582 men, 102 tons of supplies and 60 drums of fuel were successfully delivered, but the terrible losses led to the newly formed Night Battle unit to be canned. On the 22nd another reinforcement convoy consisting of Seaplane tender Nishin and destroyers Arashi, Isokaze and Hagikaze made a run to Bougainville led by Rear Admiral Osugi Morkazu. They were carrying 630 men of the South Seas 4th guard unit, 22 tanks and 8 artillery pieces. They were intercepted by a huge force consisting of 12 B-24's, 16 Dauntless, 18 Avengers, escorted by 134 fighters flown by US army, Marine and New Zealanders. The Nisshin was devastated by bombs, torpedoes and strafing attacks leading her to sink within 14 minutes from the start of the interception. Of her 633 crewmen and 630 troops onboard, only 178 would be rescued later on by destroyers who faced considerable attacks from aircraft doing so. Despite the rather insane levels of allied aircraft attacks, General Imamura continued to commit more forces to the defense of the Central Solomons now assigning the elite 2nd battalion, 230th regiment “Yano Battalion” led by Lt COlonel Yano Keiji to reinforce Vila. They were sent aboard the destroyers Yukikaze, Mikazuki and Hamakaze on the night of the 23rd. Instead of sailing through the slot, they used the Wilson straight which was very fortunate as Admiral Merrill was coming up the slot with a large task force to supply Liversedge at Enogai. At Least the poor Japanese transports dodge one bullet. 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 American drive upon Munda was seeing significant delays as the Japanese proved themselves very capable at defense, especially in pillboxes. However the battles to reinforce New Georgia were costing the Japanese defeats or pyrrhic victories. 

多数決はないだろう ツール・ド・熊野るんるん TOUR de KUMANO そもそも開催できるの? cf: 台風2号　沖縄は荒天が長引く恐れ　前線活発化　来週は九州～関東も大雨に警戒(気象予報士 吉田　友海 2023年05月27日) - 日本気象協会 tenki.jp これで間に合う? cf: NR001 INAREM(イナレム)ストレッチレインスーツ | ワークマン公式オンラインストア お世話になるかもしれません cf:WORKMAN Plus 新宮店 - ワークマン公式サイト Appleるんるん WWDC 2023でAppleが発表しそうなモノまとめ 【5月23日更新】 | ギズモード・ジャパン iPadにヒビ? cf: iPad の修理サービス - Apple サポート (日本) ChatGPTアプリ、日本でもiOS版がダウンロード可能に - ITmedia NEWS ChatGPTのiOSアプリ、日本でも公開　日本語音声も通じる - ITmedia Mobile 「ルビコン川を渡ってしまった」東京大学が生成系AIに対する声明を発表 鼻毛鯖よ、永遠に……「NTTｰX Store」が「OCNオンラインショップ」に統合 - ITmedia NEWS cf: NTTグループの安心オンラインストア - NTT-X Store NTT-X Store に関わるお知らせ（2023年5月23日） - NTT-X Store やっと見つけた cf: OCN モバイル ONE オンラインショップ | OCN 【破格】「月間1000円で10GB」povo 2.0が神トッピング発売、格安と大容量まさかの両立 | Buzzap！ 嘆くBJ吼えるんるん 第2回「鳩時計ハト入れ」 - 魔改造の夜 - NHK なつかしのG3 Mac cf: Apple Mac Power Macintosh G3 Computer 7200/75 Model M3979 のeBay公認海外通販｜セカイモン PLCとは何かをわかりやすく解説、シーケンサとは？ 種類やメーカーは？ ｜ビジネス+IT 【告知】 rock on 中継【インターン】スタッフ募集! お金では得られない貴重な体験ができます!(=ノーギャラ。交通費・宿泊費は rock on 負担) 働きが認められると正規スタッフ(ギャラ支給)に昇格のチャンス! 正規スタッフになると11月の「ツール・ド・おきなわ」スタッフに選ばれるかも? 短期間で幹部候補になれます! アットホームな現場です! 未経験者も応募可(有経験者大歓迎!) 応募はこちらのフォームか、こちらのメールアドレスまで タロケンのMacの購入、延命、その他の無料相談 (β版) 先着５名まで Zoomで基本40分（超えたら再接続） しずMacHPから、またはメール、fb、Twitter等で しずMacHP: しずMac mail: support@shizumac.net twitter: タロケン（@tarokentalk） facebook: 前田 まさる YouTubeチャンネル登録お願いします BJ: くりらじチャンネル BJ: サイクリングch タロケン: タロケン鉄道 タロケン: タロケンIT タロケン: タロケン裏 タロケン: 鉄道ライブカメラ静岡 Shinkansen Live Camera 鐵尾: 鐵尾の動画 - YouTube 有料番組登録をお願いします BJ: ヴォイニッチの科学書 | audiobook.jp BJ: 新型コロナウィルス感染症(COVID-19)最新情報 | audiobook.jp タロケン: タロケン気ままトーク | Apple Podcast [NEW]

In 2021 John Rucynski--who has been living in Japan on and off since 1994--self-published A Passion for Japan through Blue Sky Publishing. In this anthology, which includes 31 writers, he asks not why the writers came to Japan but why they stayed. Here is a list of the essays and writers included, from the Table of ContentsShodō: Finding My Way in The Way of WritingKaren Hill AntonOne Year with the Guardians of the PhoenixCarmen Săpunaru TămașMatsuri MadnessDavid M. WeberWadaiko: Drumming to Our Own BeatDaniel LilleyFollow the Sound of the Drums: My Passion for EisaJudy KambaraA Love of Indie Music and a Seat behind the GoalAdrianne Verla UchidaSumo and MeTim CraigA Pushover for SumoKatrina WattsBaseball, Blogging, and BelongingTrevor RaichuraComing Home: The Search for Belonging in Rural JapanVictoria YoshimuraLooking for the Good Life: Living as a Local In a Zero Waste VillageLinda Mengxi DingGaijin in the Garden: Where Ganbaru is GoldenRobert McLaughlinFrom Bruce Lee to The Way of TeaRandy Channell SoeiFrom the Land of the Indomitable Lions to the Land of the Blue Samurai: A Personal StorySamuel NforThe Long Road from Clay to Pot, and What I Learned along the WayIrina HolcaThe Man Who Stepped into YesterdayEdward J. TaylorKumano Leap – Local Heritage Adopts a Wandering Soul: Q & A with Mike RhodesMike RhodesLife Lessons Learned in Japan's MountainsWes Lang“Banzai!” on a Spanish Island: Playing Chess in Japan's ColorsSimon BibbyWho, Me?! Volleyball Refereeing in JapanGreg RouaultPassion in a Community: Finding My Japan through JALTWayne MalcolmCome Sail Away: Finding My Passion on the Ship for World YouthJohn RucynskiThe Inner Game of the Japanese: Going Back Home with TennisHaru YamadaWho Am I? In Search of My IdentityMargaret C. KimMy Love for Traditional Rituals and Customs of JapanHiya MukherjeeDiscovering Japanese Fusion of Religions on the Pilgrimage Island of ShikokuSteve McCartyFeeling at Home with the Great Literary MastersVicky Ann RichingsToo Many Novels I Want to Translate: Q & A With Emily BalistrieriEmily BalistrieriLiterature and Legacy: Stories of Hansen's Disease in JapanKathryn M. TanakaRoof Spotting in JapanWendy BiglerA Passion for the Place: Swept Off My Feet by a Japanese FarmhouseRebecca OtowaThe book is available exclusively onAmazon USA / Amazon JapanFollow the book on Instagram, Facebook, and Goodreads.At the end of the podcast, Amy asks John what his top 3 books on Japan are and why. He gives 4:You Gotta Have Wa, by Robert WhitingThe Roads to Sata, by Alan BoothCool Japan, by Tim CraigPure Invention, by Matt AltJohn Rucynski, editor of A Passion for Japan: A Collection of Personal Narratives, is originally from upstate New York and has been living in Japan on and off since 1994. He is currently associate professor in the Center for Language Education at Okayama University. His main research interest is the role of humor in language acquisition and intercultural communicative competence, and he has edited two volumes on this topic.The Books on Asia Podcast is sponsored by Stone Bridge Press, publisher of quality books on Japan and Asia for over 30 years. Go to their website at https://www.stonebridge.com/

S3 Episode 27 – Le sanctuaire de Nachi Pour ce vingt-septième épisode, nous partons explorer les confins de la préfecture de Wakayama pour partir à la découverte du sanctuaire de Nachi en plein milieu des montagnes.  Ce nom ne vous dit peut-être rien, mais vous avez déjà sûrement déjà vu cette photo célèbre d'une pagode perdue dans la forêt, avec une cascade majestueuse en fond : eh bien c'est ici que nous allons ! Plus facile d'accès qu'il en a l'air, ce site mythique fait partie des 3 grands sanctuaires des chemins de pèlerinage de Kumano kodo. C'est d'ailleurs par une portion de ce sentier historique que la visite commence. Au milieu de ces cèdres centenaires qui dessinent une allée magistrale, c'est un véritable retour dans le temps. Arrivés sur le plateau, on accède tout d'abord à la zone bouddhiste avant de descendre vers la cascade pour accéder au sanctuaire shintoïste à proprement parler. La séparation des rites a bien survécu ici à l'ère Meiji qui avait voulu instaurer une stricte distinction entre les deux religions. Et c'est finalement ce mélange et ce dialogue entre les rites qui est particulièrement parlante. La Nature dégage une véritable force, nul doute que les kamis nous entourent ! Et pour terminer cette belle journée, on vous propose de se poser en front de mer près de la gare de Shingu, face à la baie, à contempler des ilots perdus au loin peuplés de torii. Ici encore, les kamis veuillent sur nous ;-). Spéciale dédicace au chanteur Calogero dans cet épisode, (si tu nous écoutes LOL) ! Bonne écoute et bon voyage ! ************************************ Chapitrage : 00:45 : intro 01:10 : remerciements  02:31 : le sanctuaire de Nachi, vous connaissez ! 03:30 : accéder au sanctuaire 06:50 : conseil pour voyager malin avec le JR pass régional 08:39 : marcher sur les anciens sentiers de pèlerinage de Kumano 11:21 : petite déconvenue avant le panorama grandiose ! 12:35 : le site bouddhiste de Nachi 14:26 : la vue sur la cascade et la pagode 17:15 : la visite de la pagode 18:30 : au pied de la cascade 21:40 : la pause goûter au Kumano café 24:58 : le coup de coeur de Laureline 27:21 : le coup de coeur d'Olivier 30:01 : le mot de la fin ************************************ Quelques ressources complémentaires à cet épisode :  Notre carte pour retrouver toutes les adresses de cet épisode L'article d'Olivier sur sa visite du sanctuaire de Nachi  *************************************    - Le coup de coeur de Laureline : guide de voyage 111 places in Tokyo that you shouldn't miss    - Le coup de coeur d'Olivier : série Aggretsuko sur Netflix *************************************  Nous remercions Yannick de La Feuille - production sonore & sound design qui a créé notre générique et nos jingles, et pour son aide précieuse au cours des premiers enregistrements. Suivez-nous en images sur le compte Instagram du podcast : @podcast.tabibito  

Anne Linn og Andreas Kumano Ensby er begge prominante figurer innen spareNorge og sitter på mye kunnskap og gode refleksjoner.Fra mindre intressert i økonomi har begge disse sammen tatt skikkelig tak og fått snudd skuta helt om!Vær en flue på veggen under denne innholdsrike og spennende samtalen! Bøker: Slik blir du rik Postapokalypse Klar deg selv i naturen! Anne Linn:Instagram; @slikblirdurikTwitter: slikblirdurik Andreas:Instagram; @postapokalypsenTwitter: XqDividend Felles nettside:Slikblirdurik.com Videosamtalen på YouTube! Min instagram; @fredriik.stole Ord og begreper brukt i episoden: Brukte jeg noen vanskelige ord? Send meg en melding og jeg legger til forklaringer her:) Song: Pulsar Sound - Digital Corporate Technology Music provided by Tunetank. Free Download: https://tunetank.com/track/4208-digital-corporate-technology/

Episode 138 This week we're proud to introduce you to our friends at Umami Mart: Kayoko Akabori and Yoko Kumano. These sake pioneers took Umami Mart from a food-focused blog back in the aughts to the outstanding  sake retailer, cocktail bar, online shop and Oakland CA community hub we know today.  At Umami Mart, you can buy all kinds of Japanese goods, dish ware, bar ware, tabletop items, but above all else, Umami Mart is a great place to buy sake.  This of course includes their eponymous Umami Mart Junmai, a delicious brew from Kita Shuzo, which we taste together in this episode. Be sure to check out their website and social media to stay on top of the many events and goings-on at Umami Mart! #sakerevolutionSupport the show

Kumano Kodo es una de las pegrinaciones más populares entre los turistas, y además Patrimonio de la Humanidad. Pero en realidad no es un único camino, sino una red de ellos, para visitar los tres grandes santuarios de Kumano, en Nachi, Hongu y Shingu. En este episodio de Japón a Fondo te hablamos de esos tres grandes santuarios, para luego hablar de cómo hacer el camino, usando una base de operaciones (nosotros por ejemplo recomendamos Kii-Katsuura) o haciendo alguna de las rutas. Por eso, te hablamos de las 5 rutas existentes, por si te gusta el senderismo y prefieres caminar en lugar de hacer la visita de forma más relajada. Tenemos post de cada una de ellas, además. Además, como este Camino de Kumano está hermanado con el Camino de Santiago en España, te contamos un poco sobre la historia de este hermanamiento y cómo puedes conseguir la credencial de peregrino dual. Luego, en Japonismo mini te contamos sobre "Japón en 1 minuto", que son los vídeos cortitos que estamos empezando a hacer en Reels, Youtube Shorts o Tik Tok, hablamos de comentarios y quedadas de gente de nuestra comunidad en Discord y, como palabra japonesa, hablamos de los "baños de bosque", algo muy popular actualmente. Mata ne! ¿Quieres colaborar con el programa? - Colabora en Patreon - Únete a la Comunidad Japonismo - Reserva hoteles en Japón (y en todo el mundo) - Consigue seguro de viajes (¡no sólo para Japón!) - Busca los mejores vuelos - Lleva Internet (pocket wifi o SIM) - JR Pass para viajes ilimitados en tren ---- Continúa la conversación en: - Web: https://japonismo.com - Discord: https://discord.gg/hZrSa57 - Facebook: https://facebook.com/japonismo - Twitter: https://twitter.com/japonismo - Instagram: https://instagram.com/japonismo - Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/japonismo - Newsletter semanal: http://eepurl.com/di60Xn

In this discussion, Michelle and Christian share their experiences with pilgrimages, and how they came to write their book about the Japanese pilgrimage route known as the Kumano Kodo. As many may not have had their own experiences with pilgrimages, they talk about the reasons that people might choose to go on a pilgrimage, what the purpose is, and how it's not always a 'religious' thing. We also discuss the liminal aspect of the pilgrimage road, the different types of spirits that one can encounter as the pilgrim enters the 'other' space on the road, and how these encounters change the perspective of the pilgrim during the pilgrimage, but also afterwards. This conversation also includes some information about the mythology of the Kumano region of Japan, plus an interesting finding by Christian about the political side of the Kumano Kodo as a UNESCO heritage site, plus much, much more that can't be included in a short summary! PROGRAM NOTESKumano Kodo: Pilgrimage to Powerspots - Amazon.com: Kumano Kodo: Pilgrimage to Powerspots: J. Christian Greer, Michelle K. Oing, J. Christian Greer: 9798985917307: Amazon.com: BooksEbay: Kumano Kodo: Pilgrimage to Powerspots | eBay Dr. Michelle K. Oing -Academia.edu: (99+) Michelle Oing | Stanford University - Academia.eduInstagram: ~*unofficial histories*~ (@speculativearchaeology) • Instagram-foto's en -video'sDr. J. Christian Greer -Academia.edu: (99+) J. Christian Greer | Stanford University - Academia.eduInstagram: Dr. JCG (@angelheadedhipstersarchive) • Instagram-foto's en -video'sWebsite: dr. J. Christian Greer (jchristiangreer.com)Artwork: J. Christian GreerTheme music: Daniel P. SheaOther music: Stephanie Shea 

Aal Der Aal wandert! Genauer gesagt pilgert. Auf dem Kumano kodô. Sehr berühmt, sehr schön und sehr abenteuerlich. War ja länger nicht mehr draußen, da ist der erste große Urlaub doch ein Erlebnis. Dazu gibt es Filme. Einige sogar. Genauer gesagt: Hand, The Fish Tale, Mixed Doubles, Offbeat Cops, Hell Dogs, Rageaholic und Love Life. Und zum Abschluss hat Rolf wieder viele Fragen zu Sport, Zensur, Kino und Leid. Spaß! Podcast herunterladen 00:00:00 Urlaubsaaaaaallll 00:29:35 Filmeeeee!!! 01:20:02 Rolfs Fragerunde Und für Rolf noch einmal das Bild mit Riki Takeuchi:

Part of the gig that i played at Kumano Bar - first hour it was strictly tracks that i haven't played before, afterwards there were some classics which i didn't want to record. DNB scene is quite small here in Almaty though people were really enjoying the sound. Should play more of this.

Andreas og Anne Linn hadde aldri investert en krone i aksjemarkedet. 3år senere har de millioner investert og har funnet mange gode måter åspare penger på. De deler sine beste tips, tanker om rikdom, FIRE og detå ha nok.http://slikblirdurik.comhttps://www.instagram.com/slikblirdurik/https://twitter.com/XqDividend

みんなのダイエット vol.240 この番組は、溜まったアブラを雨に流して、ポヨったカラダを縦に伸ばして、万事解決を図りたいアナタを現実に引き戻す、ダイエットバラエティです ◯ [ハ][テ] ツール・ド・熊野行ってきました ・cf: TOUR de KUMANO ・cf: サイクリングch | ツール・ド・熊野2022 ・[ハ] 『今年の俺は晴れ男』 ・現場の[ハ]は別人 ・餌付けられた[ハ] ・cf: Somnus/ソムナス | 睡眠の質を計測、改善できる目覚ましアプリ ( https://somnus.jp/ ) ・Twitter #今日の睡眠スコア ・cf: Yakult1000 ・cf: 一人暮らしカマタミワの半径3メートルのカオス | ヤクルト1000を飲んだりやめたりしたらこうなった4 ( https://kamatamiwa.blog.jp/archives/14691027.html ) ◯ 成果発表 ・Twitter #ロックオン中継班 ・【重要】[ハ] は要ストレッチ ・cf: Twitter | カップヌードルの「味噌」がチリトマトに代わり、年間売上第4位になりました。 #チリトマト民よ立ち上がれ ・[途中報告] ORBITTO CHAIR はやっぱデカい ・[途中報告] インソールはよく分からん? ・結局、WORKMAN製1,900円の靴が良いんじゃね? cf: WORKMAN | 高撥水シューズ アーバンハイク 1,900円 ・[ナ] インソールの価格差は耐久性の差 ・NewBalanceの新製品 cf: New Balance | SHAPED BY SUPERfeet ・[テ] 水泳復活 ・[テ] フライヤーで揚げ物生活 → いつでもカツ丼が作れる生活は心が落ち着く cf: 天ぷら鍋 (オイルポット) ミニ (14㎝) ・【重要】プールで25mを20秒以内で移動すれば効果的 ・cf: 水泳用防水イヤホンのおすすめイヤホン9選 ( ) ・cf: 革命的！ARディスプレイ搭載の「水泳用ゴーグル」がスゴすぎる…… 【ハンスケ】[22.06.10 計測] 体重: 87.8kg (-2.3kg) 体脂肪率: 25.3% (-0.8%) ウエスト: 104.5cm (+0.5cm) 【鐵尾】[22.06.10 計測] 体重: 86.6kg (-1.1kg) 体脂肪率: 30.9% (-0.1%) ウエスト: 95.2cm (-0.9cm) 【エンディング楽曲】 ・曲名: 約束 / 津久場郷史 ・作・編曲、演奏: 津久場郷史 ・著作権: Copyright (C) 2019 Satoshi Tsukuba ミニ・アルバム『空木 -utsugi-』 販売中 1,000円(税込)+振込手数料+送料 番組メールフォーム or 鐵尾のtwitter(@ichirotetsuo)にご連絡ください #37diet p-scramble.jp

Entrepreneur Lee Xian Jie is a Singaporean who studied in Tokyo, worked in tourism as a guide in Kyoto, and is now a community builder and entrepreneur in Ryujinmura village, Wakayama - deep in the Kumano mountains, where is he preparing to open his own cafe and guest house. In this talk, Lee tells us about the old houses he has been renovating for himself and his friends, cutting grass, harvesting Japanese tea on ancient trees around the area, composting, creating bee hives, and creating a cafe which will feature local foods as well as his own signature tea blends. All of Lee's projects provide a service to the local community as it is bringing life back to a dying rural village. I met Lee at the 2022 Minka Summit where he shared insights about his life and efforts to revive the dwindling community in Ryujinmura where he founded the RYUNOHARA project - 'a traditional Japanese farmhouse restoration and future farm & farm-to-table cafe.' Ryunohara Website: https://www.ryunohara.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryunoharafarm/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Ryunohara #Ryunohara #Wakayama #LeeXianJie #RuralJapan #CommunityBuilding #entrepreneur #ryujinmura #kumano ** About JJWalsh - InboundAmbassador ** JJWalsh is a sustainability-focused advisor, trainer and consultant based in Hiroshima, Japan. Long-time educator and founder of InboundAmbassador consultancy in 2019 with aims to show sustainability in action & support Japan entrepreneurs, guides and businesses looking to create more sustainable appeal to international consumers. The Seek Sustainable Japan talkshow-podcast launched in 2020 and is LIVE for 60 minutes at least once a week: Interviews with "Good People Doing Great Things" from across Japan. Ideas and insights from these changemakers to inspire ideas for your work, life and travel in Japan and beyond. JOIN on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbjRdeieOLGes008y_I9y5Q/join (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbjRdeieOLGes008y_I9y5Q/join) Please Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/c/JJWalshInboundAmbassador?sub_confirmation=1 (https://www.youtube.com/c/JJWalshInboundAmbassador?sub_confirmation=1) Listen to the SeekingSustainability LIVE Talkshow on Podcast [AUDIO] http://www.inboundambassador.com/ssl-podcasts/ (http://www.inboundambassador.com/ssl-podcasts/) ALL Talks in Seek Sustainable Japan (April 2020~) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcyYXjRuE20GsvS0rEOgSiQVAyKbEFSRP (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcyYXjRuE20GsvS0rEOgSiQVAyKbEFSRP) JJWalsh Official InboundAmbassador Websites: https://www.inboundambassador.com/ (https://www.inboundambassador.com/) https://www.seeksustainablejapan.com/ (https://www.seeksustainablejapan.com) Please join, become a monthly sponsor or a 1-time donation supporter on YouTube / Patreon / BuyMeACoffee / or KoFi - every little bit helps keep Seek Sustainable Japan going, thank you! Joy is also doing regular walking tours around Hiroshima and other parts of Japan on HeyGo - free to join and tip if you like it! All Links: https://linktr.ee/jjwalsh (https://linktr.ee/jjwalsh) ** Get in Touch!! ** Doing something great in Japan or beyond with a connection to Japan? Or know someone who would be great to interview? Please get in touch! I'd love to hear from you! inboundambassador [[atmark]] gmail [[dot]] com ~~~ Music by Hana Victoria Music rights to "Won't you See" purchased for Seek Sustainable Japan 2022 Hana Victoria Short Bio My name is Hana Victoria, and I am a Japanese-American singer songwriter who dreams of inspiring, encouraging and empowering others through my music. Every word, melody, and visual comes straight from my heart, and I hope they influence you in some positive way :) YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/HanaVictoria (https://www.youtube.com/c/HanaVictoria) INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/hanavictoria_cozycorner/ (https://www.instagram.com/hanavictoria_cozycorner/)...

5/19から始まる2022 Tour of Japan / Tour de Kumanoに向けて、4月に行われたJBCF群馬の分析をしながら、2016年全日本選手権優勝+ジロ完走の初山翔(@the_shostopeer)、サイクルスポーツの滝沢さん(@daimanmosuten, @kanako_takizawa_)、チャンピオンシステムサイクリングチームの高田くん(@offcourseyass)とお話しました お便りはTwitterのハッシュタグ #sxsradio か、番組のTwitterダイレクトメールまで。番組をサポートする投げ銭はPatreonページ まで サポートグッズも販売しています！Tシャツやパーカー、トートバッグはUT Me!から。マグカップ・iPhoneケース・クージーなどはsuzuriより購買できます。 Show Notes （訂正）アジア選手権はウズベキスタンではなく、タジキスタン 岡本隼 金子宗平 小林海 小出くんのPodcast Special Thanks to 小泉享亮 様 Atsushi Yamamoto 様 Common Sense様

Listener Sam Peck joins Jeremy to talk about his hike with his wife of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail on the Kii Peninsula of Japan.  Sam tells us about the trail, shrines, and beauty on this multi-day trek through temperate rain forest on a trail that was hiked by multiple emperors.  Did I mention that you should bring bug spray?  And listen to the end to hear Sam give detailed instructions on how not to use bear spray.Questions, comments, or suggestions:  trailsworthhiking@gmail.com

Japan's Kumano Kodo is a 1300-year-old network of sacred pilgrimage routes through remote mountains and along a beautiful coastline. The Kumano Kodo's sacred sites and pilgrimage routes in the Kii Mountain Range are registered with UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The Omine Okugake is the most remote and most difficult of the Kumano Kodo's routes. Traversing the region's highest peaks, the Omine Okugake's difficulty is such that it takes 6-10 days to walk it's 100 km (60 miles). There are no resupply-points-- one must carry enough food to last the entire route. All of the Kumano Kodo's routes are extraordinary ways to travel deep into Japan's traditions and history while experiencing it's mysterious mountains and exotic geography. Our guest, David Gilbert, has written a guide to hiking the Omine Okugake and posted it at Randomwire.com, along with a GPX track for the route. #kumanokodo #randomwire #trailsaroundtheworld #skyking #thruhike #hikingjapan #thruhiking #pilgrimage #hikejapan #japan #hiking

Lisa Mimura is an inspiring Hiroshima-based social entrepreneur who creates innovative events, tours, and projects through her business MYJapan. This is part 1 of a 2 part discussion with Lisa Mimura and another member of the MyJapan team Kana who helps with translation, and a guide from her AsaGeshiki tour- Kota Kawaguchi. In this talk, we learn a little of Lisa's Background growing up in the cultural and japanese heritage rich town of Kumano in Hiroshima, famous for its handmade artisan calligraphy and makeup brush trade. Then we talk about the AsaGeshiki hiking tour she has created and the REGENERATIVE aspects of the tour for the local community and environment. In part 2- Lisa talks about other projects she is working on for MyJapan including an Edo-Matsuri. LINKS for Lisa Mimura: Hiroshima GOOD AWARD winner: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHZJb0xCM1JBR2RBUk5kc2pBTUNYMF8zbkdZZ3xBQ3Jtc0tud3FYRktnS1dLVXBkODdUSWlZYVFaVTVQQUJHS1E0VGJBRmZjZk5sejBBREh4LVBLN09kTE1jMWRDbzhZcVdPM1ZSMDlzdV9Ic21yRWZmRTBCVElYaFBVWFZWQ1hkUktfeFBDLUc3bHBGb0hoaU03TQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fgood-award.jp%2Factivity%2Fmy-japan%2F&v=7mZ7yEXxfPY (https://good-award.jp/activity/my-japan/) My Japan: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbEg1elpZQzA3V2RIS2JndE5JSmpCWnBmMEI5Z3xBQ3Jtc0treDlxT25ady1IT05WS2Q4XzZvM1lFLVNpdGlISjIzdUtLanR2UWFYZ2RldmtSY003S1RPbmg4Wk9xOE5Fdy1JeXV4ZG5zS3NENlFYay1zZTdQMmdkRDlkYWRKbWxrNTBNbDRjWDRubWlQQTVKdUhtdw&q=http%3A%2F%2Fmyjapan.or.jp%2F&v=7mZ7yEXxfPY (http://myjapan.or.jp/) AsaGeshiki (Morning Views) Hiroshima city hikes & Vegan Meals: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa2pqaXh3YTRoR1ROQmFDMFJZU3JyckFONDE3d3xBQ3Jtc0ttLXhsZGFZNWpjcGlRX3RKQ05pX0ZsS2lFMEkyWS0tbVVxY1NlekhiVDU0YUpVZC1icnpadlRwbFh6M2s3UDFVS1g4ZXNsYW5tRktrSWdpUHF1OW50c1BYdjFmeldFa21lczR6cVlTcVdqSXNYOEEtaw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.asageshiki.com%2F&v=7mZ7yEXxfPY (https://www.asageshiki.com/) Instagram for AsaGeshiki: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbklaSDB2MWZxakdYUndMWnh1dzBkUlZLakRSZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttYjBmSFROdUVIVzZsZG85dS0xOUtraW9nWGZRZFFRYjJTYUpuUzQzWjREekdzXzYwLWU2d25rM2xjVjlkc1VkQzFveHVzSE5PdTJBZ2MwNE5aU3RsV2s2UVYzMmZSY0FIV0trUHFuLW9uWnlDbUVwaw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fasageshiki%2F&v=7mZ7yEXxfPY (https://www.instagram.com/asageshiki/) Bunkodo Kumano Handmade Brushes (Family Business): https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa293X3ZvalZ6bnh3T1JjMFdqX3UybVgwRG5Qd3xBQ3Jtc0tuM0lHYlo2NTJ3NmRyY3RGTmlSbFM2aHhicmZpbFk4QnA1d0JwNkxDNzdMVFdhZ2dpVThPeHJhWWxMTjMzbUdWLXBqZUVteGFheEtiTk1YMmg3enQzMDJEZFRGQl9XVVEzUE4yT2lhZzYwUERwbm9ESQ&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bunkoudou.net%2F&v=7mZ7yEXxfPY (http://www.bunkoudou.net/) About Joy Jarman-Walsh (JJWalsh): Joy Jarman-Walsh is a Hiroshima-based entrepreneur who hosts the twice-weekly "Seeking Sustainability Live" talkshow which promotes the good work of "good people in Japan doing great things". Tune in weekdays at 9am or 5pm. Guests are announced the day before on Instagram-Twitter-Facebook-YouTube All links for JJWalsh: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa1ZXMkswc1V3OW1DMXRTMFdmR2NJbnF0cndSZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsVlgydjE0V0VDWEhRWXdnN0tRWjNRdFh3U1JZNmtDRHRFeHN5Q1d0ZEhxTjd1Mkp4cG03emtWLU5mY2M5OVBMeDRTUHJkdjVqV1hBbjY2N3FpWWlISXhZNFZsa3FxTkxWWmtMc2hGSmhUOVA2S0V1VQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Flinktr.ee%2Fjjwalsh&v=7mZ7yEXxfPY (https://linktr.ee/jjwalsh) SSL Talk live is always available LIVE & Replays on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JJWalshInboundAmbassador (https://www.youtube.com/c/JJWalshInbo...)

ツールド熊野が吹っ飛んだBJ先生は怒ってます Appleるんるん 楽天5Gの現状 みなさん、使えてますか? HDDマイニングブーム再燃？――大容量HDDとSSDの在庫不安：古田雄介の週末アキバ速報 - ITmedia PC USER Seagate 8TB HDDが高コスパ Appleストアでスペースグレイの周辺機器が「在庫がなくなり次第終了します。」に - ITmedia NEWS 新型MacBook Air、ポートは左右に1つずつ？ウェッジデザイン廃止か | ゴリミー M1 iMacとIntel iMacのベンチマーク比較が公開 - ITmedia NEWS GPU方面はまだまだかも M1チップ搭載iPad Proは前世代よりも50％以上高速～Geekbenchの結果 - iPhone Mania M1チップ搭載iPad Proは前世代よりも50％以上高速～Geekbenchの結果 - iPhone Mania 価格.com - 2021年5月 タブレットPC 人気売れ筋ランキング GIGAスクール構想とは（3）　ICTを活用した「学びの中身」はどうするのか | ICT教育ニュース GIGAスクール構想の実現について：文部科学省 GIGAスクール構想の実現標準仕様書 本日の保護者会まとめ小学生のタブレットは、国からの貸与品ですあまりにも悪質な破損は、実費で修理費を請求することがあります6年間つかったものは、回収して次の一年生が使いますわたし（もう買わせてくれ…！！！！！）— 野生のパフェ研究家 (@parfaitthestudy) April 9, 2021 アップル、血糖値測定に言及したユーザー調査。Apple Watch実装の前ぶれか - Engadget 日本版 Apple Watch外来: 【取材】Apple Watchの心電図による無料診察を開始した病院に色々聞いてみた - iPhone Mania iOS／iPadOS のプライバシーと位置情報サービスについて - Apple サポート アマゾンの低帯域通信「Sidewalk」、6月8日に提供開始へ--Tileトラッカーにも対応 - CNET Japan アマゾンの掛け時計「Echo Wall Clock」、米で発売--「Alexa」のタイマーをLED表示 - CNET Japan Echo Wall Clockの販売が接続性の問題で一時中止に | TechCrunch Japan アイテムの重さを計測。消耗品が減ったら自動でアマゾンに注文するIoT重量計｢スマートマットライト｣ | ギズモード・ジャパン COVIDぷんぷん ワクチン接種で自治体の明暗が 2021年 第22回 TOUR de 熊野 「※新型コロナウイルス感染拡大に伴い延期となりました」 | TOUR de KUMANO 新型コロナウイルス感染者管理システム、HER-SYS (ハーシス)とは？医師が解説します。 | CLINIC FOR 【告知】 YouTubeチャンネル登録お願いします BJ: くりらじチャンネル - YouTube BJ: サイクリングch - YouTube タロケン: taroken railway - YouTube 鐵尾: 鐵尾の動画 - YouTube[NEW] audiobook有料番組登録をお願いします ヴォイニッチの科学書 | audiobook.jp 新型コロナウィルス感染症(COVID-19)最新情報 | audiobook.jp

Vi är tillbaka och återigen dricker vi te från tyska Paper & tea. Denna gång är det Kumano, ett grönt stjälkte(kukicha) från Japan. Efter det inleder vi den tredje delen om GTD och pratar om olika sätt att organisera sina uppgifter.  Veckans tehttps://www.paperandtea.com/products/kumano-n-313 (KUMANO N°313 from P & T – P & T - Paper & Tea EN) Länkarhttps://www.produktiviteet.se/116-2/ (116: Nästan osynligt | Produktivitéet) https://www.bokus.com/bok/9789137154121/fa-det-gjort-svart-balte-i-vardagseffektivitet/ (Få det gjort! : svart bälte i vardagseffektivitet - David Allen - Storpocket | Bokus) https://www.produktivitetsbloggen.se/tag/gtd/ (GTD Arkiv - Produktivitetsbloggen) https://www.omnigroup.com/omnifocus/ (Task Management Software Built For Pros - OmniFocus - The Omni Group) https://store.gettingthingsdone.com/ (GTD educational tools) https://www.stiernholm.com/ (Föreläsare om struktur & personlig effektivitet | David Stiernholm) Kontakt och credhttp://jtunesproductions.se/ (Jingle skapad av Jim Jonsson på JTunes Productions) http://hogvik-hansson.se/kjell/ (Logo av Kjell Högvik Hansson) http://comart.se/ (Hemsida utvecklad i samarbete med Cay Lundén på ComArt) Johan Gustaphzonhttp://www.appleyra.wordpress.com/ (Appleyra) https://www.twitter.com/gustaphzon (Twitter @gustaphzon) https://www.instagram.com/jgustaphzon/ (Johan Gustaphzon på Instagram) Martin Lindeskoghttp://teabooksketches.com/ (TeaBookSketches | The process of cultivating a tea book) https://www.twitter.com/LyceumPeripatos (Martin Lindeskog på Twitter) https://instagram.com/lyceum.peripatos (Martin Lindeskog på Instagram) Produktiviteethttps://www.patreon.com/produktiviteet?fan_landing=true (Stöd oss på Patreon) Maila oss https://www.twitter.com/produktiviteet (Produktiviteet på Twitter) https://www.facebook.com/produktiviteet (Produktivitéet på Facebook) https://www.instagram.com/produktiviteet/ (Produktivitéet på Instagram) https://m.youtube.com/channel/UClKG8Zg2z-tjez-jEtdeX3w (Produktiviteet Podcast - YouTube) https://produktiviteet.se/ (Produktivitéet.se – Produktiva tedrickare) https://produktiviteet.captivate.fm/ (Produktivitéet - Captivate) https://itun.es/se/J2srcb.c (Lämna gärna ett omdöme på iTunes) Produktivitéet är inspelat med http://ringr.com/ego (Ringr) och redigerat i https://itunes.apple.com/se/app/ferrite-recording-studio/id1018780185?mt=8&uo=4&at=10lKZy&ct=produktiviteet (Ferrite Recording Studio) Support this podcast

今回は、ひさしぶりの旅先紹介です。 熊野古道（くまのこどう）について紹介します。 僕も大好きなおすすめスポットです。 早く旅ができる世の中になるといいですね。 In this episode, we introduce one of the great tourist destinations in Japan which is called "Kumano Kodo". We hope we can travel freely again soon. Enjoy! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hiro-japanese/message

Join me for the Winter Solstice as we explore how to have an intentional and transformative relationship with pain and suffering. "On the Road to Kumano" from A Warrior of the Light by Paulo Coelho. Anatsuri by Osoku. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lori-green2/support

Agustín Chaler nos relata un periplo complicado por lugares prohibidos y de difícil acceso del Tíbet. Permanecio durante tres meses. Nos ofrece el primer capitulo de sus aventuras tibetanas. Araceli Tamayo es una montañera y andarina jubilada que ha realizado varias sendas de peregrinaje como el Camino de Kumano en Japón. José Antonio Larraza ha estado 5 meses confinado en las islas Maldivas en océano Índico. Con tristeza abandono el trópico para volar a la fría Islandia. José Antonio Beneyto ha dado la vuelta al mundo en 500 días.Este es el segundo capitulo: Nueva Zelanda-Nicaragua....

Agustín Chaler nos relata un periplo complicado por lugares prohibidos y de difícil acceso del Tíbet. Permanecio durante tres meses. Nos ofrece el primer capitulo de sus aventuras tibetanas. Araceli Tamayo es una montañera y andarina jubilada que ha realizado varias sendas de peregrinaje como el Camino de Kumano en Japón. José Antonio Larraza ha estado 5 meses confinado en las islas Maldivas en océano Índico. Con tristeza abandono el trópico para volar a la fría Islandia. José Antonio Beneyto ha dado la vuelta al mundo en 500 días.Este es el segundo capitulo: Nueva Zelanda-Nicaragua....

Agustín Chaler nos relata un periplo complicado por lugares prohibidos y de difícil acceso del Tíbet. Permanecio durante tres meses. Nos ofrece el primer capitulo de sus aventuras tibetanas. Araceli Tamayo es una montañera y andarina jubilada que ha realizado varias sendas de peregrinaje como el Camino de Kumano en Japón. José Antonio Larraza ha estado 5 meses confinado en las islas Maldivas en océano Índico. Con tristeza abandono el trópico para volar a la fría Islandia. José Antonio Beneyto ha dado la vuelta al mundo en 500 días.Este es el segundo capitulo: Nueva Zelanda-Nicaragua....

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Alena Eckelmann is a multilingual trail guide based in Wakayama. She is a well-published, talented travel writer as well as licensed guide. Here we talk about her village life, sustainable travel and tourism ideas for rural Japan, Aikido, Forest (Shinrin) therapy, and proprioceptive writing. Alena is about to launch a new online resource called Kii Monogatari which she will also introduce. https://youtu.be/QcwueklLF2c (Watch the Talk here) Alena Eckelmann Travel Writing: https://www.kansaiscene.com/author/alena-eckelmann/ (https://www.kansaiscene.com/author/alena-eckelmann/) https://en.japantravel.com/profile/alena-eckelmann/ (https://en.japantravel.com/profile/alena-eckelmann/) #kumanokodotrails #walkinginjapan #wakayama #kumano #guide https://soundcloud.com/hikosaemon (Music thanks to Hikosaemon on SoundCloud) Support this podcast

There are two UNESCO World Heritage pilgrimage routes--Spain's Camino de Santiago, of course, and Japan's Kumano Kodo. The latter's long and storied history rival's the former's, but it has only really appeared on the radars of Western pilgrims over the last decade or so. Like the Camino, the Kumano Kodo is really a series of connected routes, oriented in this case towards several prominent shrines, most notably Kumano Hongu Taisha. This episode offers an introduction to the Kumano Kodo, thanks to the insights of Mike Rhodes, the Destination Manager & Guide for the Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau, and Greg Ng, a recent pilgrim.