30 pages • 1 hour read
Eugene SledgeWith the Old Breed
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1981A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 10-13Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary: “Into the Abyss”
K Company establishes their line among constant shelling. The scene is deafening with machine and gun rattle. Casualties mount immediately and Sledge learns that a large portion of his company has already been killed. After digging in for the night, he witnesses Mac still frantically digging, devoid of his former swagger. The men have the urge to laugh at him but resist.
The next morning, the Marines open mortar fire. The Japanese return fire and Sledge and company wait in their foxholes in the rain and mud to avoid further casualties. The work of getting wounded Marines on stretchers is dangerous, as it requires the Marines to step out into the field of battle. Sledge witnesses men nearly shot by the Japanese while carrying a wounded Marine to safety.
Company K continues to push forward, joined by new officers and extra ammo. Sledge is buoyed when he encounters the face of an old friend, who is wounded but has also lived through all the fighting thus far. Kamikaze planes pass overheard and the Marines live in constant fear of death.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Of Shock and Shells”
Sledge and company learn of Germany’s surrender but the news feels insignificant to them in light of what they are currently facing. As Sledge notes, “Nazi Germany might as well have been on the moon” (223). Travelling from village to village requires the painstaking lugging of heavy packs in increasingly-muddy terrain. As they are on the move, they are also under fire. One gunner tracks them and is shot by another Marine, Redifer, who disobeys orders and kills a hidden attacker. Redifer is loudly reprimanded by an unpopular first lieutenant nicknamed Shadow, reviled by the troops for his personal sloppiness and constant bad temper.
Heavy casualties are endured when the Company attacks at Awacha. Even mail from home cannot offer Sledge a reprieve, as his parents inform him via letter that his beloved pet dog, Deacon, was hit by a car and killed. Sledge sheds tears for his lost pet as thousands of men die on the battlefield beside him.
Company K is ordered to move out again. Near-constant rain makes their travel more difficult. The mortar section scores some important victories and the troops are given a short period of rest, during which they shave and enjoy better rations. Awacha, and later the village of Dakeshi, both fall to their division. The company then begins to move out again, past the ruins of quaint homes that Sledge imagines must have been picturesque before war reduced them to rubble.
Chapter 12 Summary: “Of Mud and Maggots”
Before the company moves back out, some men visit the makeshift chapel established by the Protestant Chaplain. Sledge is devastated when he witnesses Doc Caswell wounded. Thunderous chaos goes on for days. The troops are told they have to pass through what has been deemed “death valley,” in front of enemy fire, to set up their foxholes. Sledge has a close call but survives, with a bullet narrowly missing him. Everywhere is mud and soon there are too many dead Marines to possibly undertake the work of recovering their bodies. Sledge is horrified when he has to walk by the corpses, which have been left to rot where they lay.
K Company moves on Half Moon Hill and attempts to dig in as best as possible, given the mud, which is often knee deep. The Japanese move beyond the slope and continuously try and infiltrate Marine culverts. When the troops are on the move, they frequently get stuck in the ridge’s mud, which is full of corpses and maggots.
Chapter 13 Summary: “Breakthrough”
Heavy rain limits visibility. The men attempt to add “floors” to their foxholes with boards, in order to adequately support their weapons, but to little avail. Japanese infantry continues to attack the Marines. During the nightly attempts to infiltrate Marines lines, Snafu shoots and kills two Japanese soldiers and is incensed when he is ordered to bury them.
Sledge’s trench foot becomes hobbling and he witnesses concussion cases in which men are temporarily or permanently rendered deaf. New replacements begin to arrive. Mail is one of the only bright spots. Night becomes a time of intense fear, causing Sledge to go without sleep for more hours than he can count. The company moves on Shuri Castle, which is in ruins when they arrive. They attempt to dig foxholes nearby and dig into Japanese corpses into the process. During continued rain, the men grapple with nighttime Japanese infiltrators.
Chapters 10-13 Analysis
The scene at central Okinawa is a nightmare, a chaos of noise and violence. However, as Sledge notes, “it was different. I was a combat veteran of Peleliu. With terror’s first constriction over, I knew what to expect” (206). This does not make loss easier, though, nor does it make it easier for him to endure the elements. The mud and rain take a considerable toll on the troops. Short, restive breaks give them the ability to go on.
However, as they move further afield the psychological horrors multiply, as they are no longer even able to dig foxholes into the ground without hitting rotting corpses. Bodies and maggots are ubiquitous. Night is the worst time by far and Sledge routinely promises himself that he will not let himself slip mentally, as he sees other men around him begin to do. Despite constant shelling, abysmal field sanitation, and the threat of infiltration, the author and K Company endure until the Japanese at last withdraw from Shuri.
