What Japanese Commanders Really Thought About US Marines

In August 1942, Japanese commanders believed American Marines were soft, undisciplined, and incapable of real combat. They were convinced that the spiritual superiority of Japanese soldiers would crush any Western force. Then came Guadalcanal. This is the incredible true story of how United States Marines shattered one of the most dangerous assumptions in military history. From Colonel Ichiki's doomed assault at the Tenaru River to the desperate defense of Bloody Ridge under Lieutenant Colonel Merritt Edson, from Sergeant John Basilone's heroic stand against thousands of Japanese soldiers to the starvation and despair that turned Guadalcanal into what Japanese troops called Starvation Island, this documentary reveals how a generation of young Americans proved that everything Japan believed about them was wrong. Featuring the stories of Medal of Honor recipients Alexander Vandegrift, Merritt Edson, and John Basilone, along with the remarkable tale of coastwatcher Jacob Vouza who survived being bayoneted seven times to warn the Marines of the coming attack. Discover how six months of brutal jungle warfare destroyed the myth of Japanese invincibility and changed the course of the Pacific War forever. Subscribe for more untold stories from World War Two history.