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World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Luzon Campaign (1944-45)
From Month/Year
December / 1944
To Month/Year
April / 1945
Description On December 15, 1944, landings against minimal resistance were made on the southern beaches of the island of Mindoro, a key location in the planned Lingayen Gulf operations, in support of major landings scheduled on Luzon. On January 9, 1945, on the south shore of Lingayen Gulf on the western coast of Luzon, General Krueger's Sixth Army landed his first units. Almost 175,000 men followed across the twenty-mile (32 km) beachhead within a few days. With heavy air support, Army units pushed inland, taking Clark Field, 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Manila, in the last week of January.
Two more major landings followed, one to cut off the Bataan Peninsula, and another, that included a parachute drop, south of Manila. Pincers closed on the city and, on February 3, 1945, elements of the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division pushed into the northern outskirts of Manila and the 8th Cavalry Regiment (organized as infantry) passed through the northern suburbs and into the city itself.
As the advance on Manila continued from the north and the south, the Bataan Peninsula was rapidly secured. On February 16, paratroopers and amphibious units simultaneously assaulted the islet of Corregidor. It was necessary to take this stronghold because troops there can block the entrance of Manila Bay. The Americans needed to establish a major harbor base at Manila Bay to support the expected invasion of Japan, planned to begin on November 1, 1945. Resistance on Corregidor ended on February 27, and then all resistance by the Japanese Empire ceased on August 15, 1945, obviating the need for an invasion of the Japanese Home Islands.
Despite initial optimism, fighting in Manila was harsh. It took until March 3 to clear the city of all Japanese troops, and the Japanese Marines, who fought on stubbornly and refused to either surrender or to evacuate as the Japanese Army had done. Fort Drum, a fortified island in Manila Bay near Corregidor, held out until 13 April, when a team of Army troops went ashore and pumped 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel into the fort, then set off incendiary charges. No Japanese soldiers in Fort Drum survived the blast and fire.
In all, ten U.S. divisions and five independent regiments battled on Luzon, making it the largest American campaign of the Pacific war, involving more troops than the United States had used in North Africa, Italy, or southern France.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
January / 1945
To Month/Year
April / 1945
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
People You Remember Oct 20, 1944 to Dec 11, 1944: 11th Gun Battlion (The 5th Marine Amphibious Force, Marine 5th and 11th 155mm Artillery Battalions as part of XXIV Corps Artillery in general support of U.S. Army 7th Infantry Division on Leyte) was diverted from the Yap Operation to the Philippine Island for the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Marine Batteries save the US Army 7th Division (Genearl Arnold's) on 20 - 24 Nov 44, at the Battle of Shoestring Ridge (Damulaan Area). The 7th Division was being pushed back when the Marine Artillery Units swung into action with a 155 MM Battery, and Four 105 MM Guns Batteries, killing 400 IJA Soldiers in front of the 7th Division's lines, on the 24th of Nov, 1944, the Jaopanese located the Marine Guns and tried to put them out of action with a heavy attack putting four 105 MM guns out, but by morning the Marines had cannibalized other guns and continued to fire support of the Army units until help arrived, and the Army won the day.
Marine Artillery also supported the 17th and 184th Infantry Regiments in their attack on Ormac City.
6th Dec, US Marine Guns attacked Japanese Paratroops that took the Air Base at San Pablo Air Field, and drove them off the base.
Memories The Americans returned to the Philippines in full strength in October 1944, beginning with the recapture of Leyte, the Philippines' central island. It took 67 days to subdue, with the loss of more than 55,000 Japanese soldiers during the two months of battle, and approximately another 25,000 mopping up pockets of resistance in early 1945. The U.S. forces lost about 3,500.
