150 - What new tactics did Carlson's Raiders use to hunt Shoji's Regiment during the Long Patrol on Guadalcanal?

Colonel Shoji landed 1,500 Japanese troops east of Henderson Field — and the Americans needed three battalions and a week of manoeuvre to trap just 450 of them at Gavaga Creek. This episode unpacks the Koli Point "Rat Race," the pursuit by Carlson's Raiders, and the fire team tactics that would reshape Marine infantry doctrine for decades.

Dave Holland is an ex-Marine and was posted to Guadalcanal with the Australian Federal Police.  He regularly leads battlefield study tours through the area. He is a world-leading expert on the battles of Guadalcanal and author of Guadalcanal's Longest Fight - The Pivotal Battles of the Matanikau Front.

Key learnings:
• How Carlson's Raiders used Chinese Communist guerrilla techniques to harass Shoji's withdrawing column across 30 days
• Why the three-man fire team — each with a BAR, Thompson, and M1 Garand — gave squads independent manoeuvre elements
• What institutional opposition to "an elite within the elite" meant for the Raider battalions' disbandment in 1944

Full show notes and transcript: https://theprinciplesofwar.com/category/guadalcanal/ 

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