Patrol report : 0600-1800 28/12/1943
Junior Lieutenant K. Okamoto 4th Platoon, 2nd Company
Patrol consisted of :
Rikugun-Shoi (2nd Lt.) K. Okamoto
Cpl. Shimada
Pte 1st/class Hayashida
Pte 1st/class Katayama
Pte 1st/class Kikichiyo
Pte 1st/class Kyuzo
Pte 2nd/class Manzo
Pte 2nd/class Rikichi
Pte 2nd/class Shichiroji
Pte 2nd/class Yohei
Patrol area - between the villages of Abeuk and Tanggye.
Our patrol began moving west from our company area at Abeuk and had nothing of note until we encountered some enemy tracks moving from west to south-east in Area 1 which ended up in the marshy ground behind the ruined hut there. Cpl. Shimada and Pte Hiyashida (our experienced and resourceful scout) were both of the opinion that it was a British Army patrol of about seven or eight soldiers and the tracks were about a day old.
We crossed the Saung river at the road bridge and continued west but nothing else was found and we passed into Area 2.
Junior Lieutenant K. Okamoto 4th Platoon, 2nd Company
Patrol consisted of :
Rikugun-Shoi (2nd Lt.) K. Okamoto
Cpl. Shimada
Pte 1st/class Hayashida
Pte 1st/class Katayama
Pte 1st/class Kikichiyo
Pte 1st/class Kyuzo
Pte 2nd/class Manzo
Pte 2nd/class Rikichi
Pte 2nd/class Shichiroji
Pte 2nd/class Yohei
Patrol area - between the villages of Abeuk and Tanggye.
Our patrol began moving west from our company area at Abeuk and had nothing of note until we encountered some enemy tracks moving from west to south-east in Area 1 which ended up in the marshy ground behind the ruined hut there. Cpl. Shimada and Pte Hiyashida (our experienced and resourceful scout) were both of the opinion that it was a British Army patrol of about seven or eight soldiers and the tracks were about a day old.
We crossed the Saung river at the road bridge and continued west but nothing else was found and we passed into Area 2.
Passing into Area 2 from the east we discovered the bodies of four soldiers from our neighbouring 14th Regiment. By the looks of the nearby ground and vegetation it appears that they were attacked from the air and had been dead for several days. While our initial idea was that they were the casualties of a larger patrol the fact that they had not been buried indicated that there was just the four of them and as Area 2 abuts the 17th's regimental area we assumed that they were a foraging party. We buried them and took their identity disks for the orderly room.
We continued moving west cautiously after this and Pte. Hayashida, scouting ahead, indicated that he could see movement on the road near the bend. We crept closer to the bend and saw two British sentries guarding a small supply dump. After a quick check around to ensure they were on their own we approached the other side of the road and, seeing there was no possibility of sneaking up on them, opened fire and killed them. Finding ourselves with this abundance of food and knowing the dire straits that we are in for rations we burdened ourselves with as much food as we could carry.
I am afraid at this point I completely forgot to cut off the regimental badges and buttons of the dead enemy for unit identification as Pte. Hayashida, scouting to the west of the road, shouted that he was in a minefield and was coming back. A few seconds later there was an explosion and our cheerful and reliable Hayashida was no more. I wished to retrieve Pte Hayashida's body or at least his identity disks but Cpl. Shimada pointed out that even the edge of the field near us was liberally scattered with anti-personnel mines.
Prevented from moving further west by a minefield of unknown size and with no engineers in the party we set a booby trap by the supplies, despoiled what we could and set off warily up the road to the north and Area 3.
Prevented from moving further west by a minefield of unknown size and with no engineers in the party we set a booby trap by the supplies, despoiled what we could and set off warily up the road to the north and Area 3.
As we moved along the road to the bridge, Pte. Kikuchiyo, leading in place of Hayashida discovered a rather obvious booby trap across the front door of the ruined hut beside the bridge. After a very careful examination around the hut and in the nearby field for further traps we split up into groups of three in order to search the surrounding area. I walked up the road to the north and discovered that the road had been blown up about 50 yards from the ruined hut but it was difficult to say what had caused it.
We were on our way back to the hut when we came under fire from the grove of trees to the east of the bridge. It quickly became apparent that there was only one rifleman and we began to sneak towards him while Cpl. Shimada kept his head down with bursts from his LMG. As we crept closer we could hear him moving off eastwards and after a couple more shots he moved off into Area 4. Whether he was a sniper or just a lone enemy heading towards the supply dump we were not sure but Cpl. Shimada hinted that just in case he was part of a larger unit could he possibly ask if we move away from the bridge as any large unit would probably have some sort of on call around the bridge. Following your advice about taking Cpl. Shimada's vast experience into account I called the patrol together and we headed back towards Area 2 - just as a series of explosions went off round the bridge and the hut. Cpl Shimada informs me that they were the result of the British 3" Mortar which apparently suggests that there is at least an enemy company somewhere in Area 4.
We were on our way back to the hut when we came under fire from the grove of trees to the east of the bridge. It quickly became apparent that there was only one rifleman and we began to sneak towards him while Cpl. Shimada kept his head down with bursts from his LMG. As we crept closer we could hear him moving off eastwards and after a couple more shots he moved off into Area 4. Whether he was a sniper or just a lone enemy heading towards the supply dump we were not sure but Cpl. Shimada hinted that just in case he was part of a larger unit could he possibly ask if we move away from the bridge as any large unit would probably have some sort of on call around the bridge. Following your advice about taking Cpl. Shimada's vast experience into account I called the patrol together and we headed back towards Area 2 - just as a series of explosions went off round the bridge and the hut. Cpl Shimada informs me that they were the result of the British 3" Mortar which apparently suggests that there is at least an enemy company somewhere in Area 4.
From left to right: Area 1, Area 2, Area 3.
