page_title: Battle of Enogai
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Enogai / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the landings, march, and attack on Enogai on New Georgia, Solomon Islands July, 1943.
context_page_description: The Battle of Enogai was a battle between United States and Imperial Japanese Army and Navy forces on 10–11 July 1943. It took place in the early phase of the New Georgia Campaign in the Solomon Islands during the Pacific War. Prior to the battle, US troops had landed at Rice Anchorage, in the Kula Gulf, on the northern coast of New Georgia, tasked with supporting efforts further south to advance on the airfield at Munda.
  After the landing, three battalions of United States Marines and United States Army soldiers had begun advancing inland to secure Bairoko Harbor. The approach march saw them advance through dense jungle towards an inlet around the small port of Enogai. A series of minor engagements took place before the main assault. The fighting around Enogai saw a battalion of Marines attack a force of around 400 Japanese, forcing the defending troops to withdraw after a firefight that lasted into the early afternoon. Mopping up operations continued into the following day, after which Enogai was used as a base prior to the attack on Bairoko later in the month.
context_section_description: Liversedge's force landed at the Rice Anchorage, about 600 yards (550 m) past the mouth of the Wharton River, in the Kula Gulf area early on 5 July, having sailed from aboard several high speed transports and minesweepers at Guadalcanal the previous day. The landing force was escorted by a naval group including nine destroyers and three cruisers that were assigned to a covering force and a bombardment force. This force carried out a pre-assault bombardment of Kolombangara and Bairoko around midnight on 4/5 July. Prior to the landing, an Australian coastwatcher, Flight Officer John Corrigan, and US Marine Captain Clay Boyd had organized a local labor force to begin clearing the landing beach, as well as a bivouac site and trails from Kula Gulf towards Enogai; they later marked the landing site with canoes and beacons to aid the landing craft and rubber boats that brought the troops ashore. During preliminary operations, one of the covering destroyers, USS Strong, was fatally torpedoed by a Japanese destroyer group operating in the Kula Gulf.
  Two shallow sandbars at the mouth of the river briefly held up the landing, but these were overcome by lightening the loads each vessel carried. The landing took place before dawn, and in the darkness about 200 troops from the 148th Infantry Regiment accidentally landed at Kobukobu Inlet instead. It would take several days for these troops to eventually rejoin Liversedge's force; meanwhile, the main landing proceeded largely unopposed, except for artillery fire from Japanese coastal batteries at Enogai. The threat of air attack meant that the unloading process was cut short as dawn approached, and the escort convoy withdrew with a small number of troops and some cargo—including an important high-powered radio—while Liversedge's troops quickly moved inland. After landing, the US troops established a beachhead and supply dump, and set out towards Enogai and Bairoko Harbor. Their objective lay about 8 miles (13 km) on a direct route overland; instead, the US troops opted for a more circuitous route, traversing three parallel trails south towards the Giza Giza River.
  While two companies from the 145th Infantry Regiment held Rice Anchorage, the two other companies of the 145th were assigned as a force reserve as the three US battalions set out. Amidst a heavy downpour, they found the going difficult and were only able to advance 5 miles (8.0 km) through the dense jungle the first day. The trail cleared by Corrigan and Boyd's laborers only extended to the Giza Giza River, from where the advancing troops would have to clear their own path. While US aircraft attacked Japanese guns around Enogai, the advancing troops established a bridgehead on the opposite side of the river, where a defensive harbor was set up overnight. No engagements occurred during the advance on the first day. The advance continued the following day, but the crossing of the rain-swollen Tamakau River was slowed due to flooding and the lack of bridging equipment. The operation was completed by nightfall on 6 July, after which the Marines and soldiers established a bivouac for the night. 
  The advance towards Enogai and the Munda–Bairoko trail began on 7 July, watched by a platoon of Japanese troops who maintained their distance. While the 148th was ordered to proceed south towards the Munda–Bairoko trail, the Marines and the two companies from 145th, turned northwest to advance on Enogai Inlet via a swamp. The rate of advance remained slow, held up by the terrain, but by the end of the day, the Marines had reached the Enogai Inlet.  Over the course three days, the advancing US troops had covered only 7 miles (11 km). The same day, a Marine platoon occupied Maranusa unopposed before advancing towards Triri. Short of the village, they clashed with the Japanese for the first time, killing two and forcing three others to withdraw. As the Marines brought up reinforcements to occupy the village and prepare for a Japanese counterattack, another skirmish took place when the Marine demolition platoon was attacked by a small Japanese
caption: Map depicting the US force's advance on Enogai
exif: {}