Guadalcanal
With the 3rd Battalion, 182nd Infantry, the Americal Division Reconnaissance Squadron, and the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, attached, the 25th Division is to attack at 0635, January 10. They are to seize and hold an assigned line about 3,000 yards west of Mount Austen, a line running generally south from Hill 66 positions taken in November. The 25th Division Cavalry Reconnaissance troops and the 3rd Battalion, 182nd Infantry, are attached to the 35th Infantry, under Col Robert B. McClure. They are to relieve the 132nd Infantry at the Gifu, take the high ground west of the Gifu, and attack west to seize and hold the division objective in the 35th's zone, a line about 3,000 yards west of Mount Austen. The 27th infantry, commanded by Col Wm. A. McCulloch, is ordered to capture the high ground between the northwest and southwest Matanikau forks. The 161st Infantry, under Col Clarence A. Orndorff, less the 1st Battalion, is the division reserve.
The division's artillery is to fire a 30-minute preparation up to 15 minutes before H-Hour. The 8th Field Artillery Battalion, with 105-mm howitzers, is to give direct support to the 27th Infantry. The 105-mm howitzers of the 64th Field Artillery Battalion will be directly supporting the 35th Infantry. The 2nd Battalion, 10th Marines, is assigned general support. The 89th Field Artillery Battalion will support the 161st Infantry when it goes into action. Also supporting the division's artillery will be the 155-mm howitzers of the Americal's 221st Field Artillery Battalion.
For a successful offensive, the 25th has to accomplish 2 missions: reduce the Gifu strong point, thus eliminating the last organized bodies of enemy troops east of the Matanikau; and capture the high ground south of the Point Cruz-Hill 66 line, thus beginning the envelopment of the Point Cruz-Kokumbona area and extending the western American lines far enough inland to make the forthcoming western advance a clean sweep.
The 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry, under Lt-Col Ernest Peters, follows the 3rd Battalion up Mount Austen to advance toward the 132nd Infantry's lines. Battalion Headquarters, G and H Companies are to infiltrate directly into the 132nd's line while E and F Companies follow a back trail south of Hill 27 to get into line via the latter hill. The main body reaches the line without difficulty while E and F Companies labor through the thick jungle. They reach Hill 27 by nightfall and bivouac on its southeast slopes.
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