Chapter Nine
treasury action—scene 1

Faint light came from the east, and through the haze of rain squalls, the other ships of the invasion fleet could be detected, now moving only slowly. Ahead, slightly to starboard, a flat dark outline was visible. That would be Stirling Island. All around on the decks and below, men were quietly buckling on their web, putting clips into the magazines, finishing a rather sketchy breakfast. Word came through that zero hour was postponed for 20 minutes—until 6.26 am. The destroyers crept forward, waiting for the time. Behind us were the heavier, slower ships, the LSTs and LCIs, that had been overtaken in the early hours of the morning.

It grew lighter. Over beyond Stirling the dense, wooded ridges of Mono came into view. Somewhere on those ridges was a Jap observation post, its men peering south to warn of the invasion that was now hard upon them. Somewhere in those hills, too, this morning, were a few New Zealanders of a secret patrol whose job was to cut Japanese communications just before the dawn. High overhead two planes wheeled and banked. They might be ours, they might be enemy. Men of the first wave were now on deck, standing by their boat stations. The destroyers hove to. It was drizzling slightly. 'Lower all boats' and the swift landing craft slipped down their davits into the sea. In piled the troops. 'Shove off!' With a roar the craft sped away. It was getting lighter every minute. From all the destroyers the assault boats could be seen pulling away, headed for the entrance to Blanche Harbour.

Then the naval bombardment started. Tons of high explosive shells careered through the sky towards the enemy positions on Mono, the tracers weaving a wierd pattern in the half-light of early morning. Opinions can still be heard from those who claim to know page 66just how effective the naval gunfire turned out to be. Whatever is the truth, however, we have the learned judgment of the mortars that Watson Island, where later that day they esconced themselves, received a very fair plastering. It is a standing shame that there were no Japs there to take their share of the punishment. It is not our duty to chronicle the activities of the other battalions taking part in the assault. But, to complete the picture, it will be remembered how the 29th and 36th Battalions landed in the vicinity of Falamai under fire, cleared the beaches and established perimeters sufficient to permit the unloading of stores.

Our first wave landed on Stirling at Purple 2 and 3 at 6.25 am. There was no opposition. The first duty was to inform brigade headquarters that the landing was successful. For this purpose, the assaulting troops had been issued with a special rocket device which was to throw a white flare indicating success. Independent observers tell of the curious spectacle on Purple 2 when the men were peering into the jungle alert for sniper or ambushes while on the beach,

The arrows indicate the Battalion's part in the Treasuries' action. Loganforce had an unenviable time at Soanotalii.

page 67bending low over the rocket contraption, was a fair assortment of officers and technicians endeavouring vainly to make the thing work. Seen engaged in this occupation were the colonel, the intelligence officer, Lieutenant Speight, Captain Steele, two signallers, and a variety of soldiers of various ranks, all ready with helpful suggestions. At Purple 3, where B company came charging in, the story goes that one of the officers, pistol raised high, and with an encouraging shout to the men in his barge, leapt from the boat into the water, which turned out to be shoulder-deep. This made a spirited charge up the beach not half so impressive as it might have been. Anyway, B company rapidly reported the beach clear and soon had a perimeter established. Probably the only Ymca secretary ever to have landed with the assaulting wave of an invasion force was Mr. Pat Parker, who came ashore with B company, and was 'boiling up' soon afterwards.

Half an hour later, the first LCIs came into shore. By this time the minesweepers had swept a channel from the western entrance, and the heavier landing ships were ploughing their way in towards the beaches. Still further out, waiting till the beaches were definitely clear, were the LSTs, with the destroyers and other escorting war-ships standing by. Gunboats were cruising up and down Blanche Harbour with the task of engaging shore targets. C company landed on Purple 2 from an LCI, immediately went through A company, and pushed down to the south coast. During the remainder of the day patrols scoured the area eastwards of Purple 2, and as far as Soala Lake and Wilson Point. Shortly after 10 am instructions were received to send one platoon to investigate a suspected enemy mortar on Watson Island. This fell to Lieutenant Black's men from A company, and by 1 pm the island had been searched and reported clear. The result of this was that two sections of our mortar platoon were to instal themselves on Watson Island, with the role of assisting the 29th and 36th Battalions over on Mono. They moved on to the island the same afternoon, unaware that Lieutenant Block's platoon was still in occupation. Guided by sounds of creaking branches and broken twigs, the worthy mortarmen stalked this platoon for nigh on three hours around the tiny circumference of Watson Island, before realising their mistake.

Meantime extensive patrolling had been done on Stirling by the carriers, who moved down the island from Purple 2, contacted B company, and returned via the south coast. B company had also page 68done much good work in the western end, where an enemy machine-gun had been suspected near Cummings Point. However, no Japs were encountered and it appears that, while a machine-gun post had apparently been in operation there, the crew had somehow transferred themselves to safer climes. During the afternoon, one platoon from C company (Lieutenant W. D. Sutherland's) was detached, moved over to Mono, and came under command of the 36th Battalion, which was having difficulty in fully manning its long perimeter line. From the battalion point of view we saw little of this platoon for many days, but the work it did on the Saveke perimeter was highly commended. Alone of all the platoons holding that sector, it suffered no casualties, despite being in the stickiest part of the line for several nights.

Some of the finest personal performances put up by the men of the battalion were seen on the beaches on Mono, where we had a number of officers and men unloading the ships and working in the dumps nearby. There were several noteworthy examples of commendable coolness under fire, particularly during the morning when Jap mortars were dropping bombs on the beach without warning. Many officers and men showed an inspiring indifference to personal danger. It was here that we suffered our first casualties. There was equally gruelling work done on Purple beaches, on Stirling, where the battalion second-in-command, Major J. M. Reidy, was in charge of beach operations. But there, fortunately, no enemy fire was directed at the ships or working parties, and the only danger lay in the threat of snipers. The story of Soanotalu is such a striking one and so distinct from the other operations on Treasury, that it must be told separately, a little later.

So the first day came to an end. The sound of firing from Mono had died down, to be renewed only at intervals throughout the night. Antiaircraft gunners had had a quiet day, with only one enemy plane running the gauntlet of the air cover and breaking through. The artillery had ferried their guns across from Mono to Stirling, and were digging them in. Night drew on, with men listening to the curious noises of the jungle and to the sound of Japanese bombers cruising in low overhead. There was tenseness. A bomb might fall near; a Jap might lurk behind a tree, within reach of the foxhole; at dawn we might be fighting hard to repel the expected enemy counter-attack from the Shortlands. Pup-tents kept out some of the rain.