US Marine Corps - The Black Vault

HUDDLE Slowly Scuttled 445
United States troops to be stationed thereby the end of 1942, and had stated
that 225,000 were already so positioned. This figure of 225,000 troops possi-
bly plagued all the Washington planners’ memories, for it was a major
factor influencing when and where United States forces would move on from
Guadalcanal, and constantly was brought up at the COMINCH level as an
ingredient of the relief of the Marines on Guadalcanal by Army troops. For
the Navy planners believed that if the Army could relieve the Marines from
land warfare on Guadalcanal, the Marines could carry out an amphibious
operation directed by the Joint Chiefs against the Santa Cruz Islands.
When General MacArthur’s area boundary was shifted westward of Gua-
dalcanal on 1 August 1942, his pain was eased by telling him that the bound-
ary shift was made so that COMSOPAC would be required to furnish garrison
forces for the Solomons.30 This represented a change from the initial draft
directive which had provided:
permanent occupation of Islands seized on the Solomons—New Guinea
Area will be accomplished by the movement of garrisons from Australia under
the direction of COMSOWESPACAREA.
The 2 July PESTILENCE three-phase directive issued by Joint Chiefs of
Staff accordingly had provided that Army troops presently in the SOPAC
area
would be used to garrison Tulagi and adj scent island positions.’l
Actually, there were only 32,000 United States Army troops in the
SOPAC area at this time.” In Washington that number still seemed like a
great many troops. In SOPAC, that number seemed quite inadequate to
permit any enlargement of current responsibilities to garrison islands pro-
tecting the line of communications from Samoa to Australia.
Vice Admiral Ghormley raised the question of obtaining additional Army
troops from the United States or from New Zealand on 13 July.” He was
immediately informed:
It is not the intention of the Army to provide garrison troops from the
United States for Santa Cruz-Tulagi-Guadalcanal.94
mC/S USA to CINCSWPA, Msg. 334, 3 Jul. 1942, OPD 381, SWPA ??85. Modern Military
Records Division, National Archives.
n COMINCH to CINCPAC, COMSOPAC, 022100 Jul. 1942.
* Miller, Guadalcanal (Army), p. 24.
= COMSOPAC to CINCPAC, 190414 Jul. 1942.
w COMINCH to COMSOPAC, 142226 Jul. 1942.