Battle of Luzon

The Philippines was considered to be of great strategic importance because their capture by Japan would pose a significant threat to the U.S. As a result, 135,000 troops and 227 aircraft were stationed in the Philippines by October 1941. However, Luzon—the largest island in the Philippines—was captured by Imperial Japanese forces in 1942. General Douglas MacArthur—who was in charge of the defense of the Philippines at the time—was ordered to Australia, and the remaining U.S. forces retreated to the Bataan Peninsula.

A few months after this, MacArthur expressed his belief that an attempt to recapture the Philippines was necessary. The U.S. Pacific Commander Admiral Chester Nimitz and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest King both opposed this idea, arguing that it must wait until victory was certain. MacArthur had to wait two years for his wish; it was 1944 before a campaign to recapture the Philippines was launched. The island of Leyte was the first objective of the campaign, which was captured by the end of December 1944. This was followed by the attack on Mindoro, and later, Luzon.

Before U.S. forces could launch the attack on Luzon, a base of operation needed to be established close to the island. Airbases in particular had to be established in order to provide the advancing troops with air support. Troops under Brigadier General William C. Dunckel captured the island of Mindoro, with the assistance of the 7th Fleet. By 28 December, two airbases were controlled by the U.S. and were ready to assist in the attack on Luzon, which was scheduled to be launched on 9 January 1945. With the capture of Mindoro, U.S. forces were positioned south of Luzon. However, MacArthur intended to land his forces at Lingayen, further north. This would place his troops close to several roads and railways on Luzon, which led to Manila—the main objective—through the plains in the center of the island.

Deception operations

U.S. aircraft constantly made reconnaissance and bombing flights over southern Luzon, intending to deceive the Japanese forces into believing that the attack on Luzon would come from the south. In addition, transport aircraft were used to make parachute drops with dummies. Minesweepers were used to clear the bays of Balayan, Batangas, and Tayabas, located to the south of Luzon, and Filipino resistance fighters conducted sabotage operations in southern Luzon. These deception operations failed to convince General Yamashita, the leader of the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines, and he built significant defensive positions in the hills and mountains surrounding Lingayen Gulf in Northern Luzon.

Allied

Allied Forces, Southwest Pacific Area
General Douglas MacArthur

  US Sixth Army (193,901 officers and enlisted)
Lieutenant General Walter Krueger

Western Landing Area (Lingayen)

  XIV Army Corps

Major General Oscar W. Griswold

Embarked in Task Force 79 (Vice Adm. Theodore S. Wilkinson)

Left (Crimson and Yellow) beaches

  37th Infantry ("Buckeye") Division

Major General Robert S. Beightler

129th Infantry Regiment

145th Infantry Regiment

148th Infantry Regiment

6th, 135th, 140th Field Artillery Bttns. (105mm)

136th Field Artillery Bttn. (155mm)

Right (Orange and Green) beaches

  40th Infantry ("Sunshine") Division

Major General I. Rapp Brush

108th Infantry Regiment

160th Infantry Regiment

185th Infantry Regiment

143rd, 164th, 213th Field Artillery Bttns. (105mm)

222nd Field Artillery Bttn. (155mm)

Eastern Landing Area (San Fabian)

  I Army Corps

Major General Innis P. Swift

Embarked in Task Force 78 (Vice Adm. Daniel E. Barbey)

Left (White) beaches

  43rd Infantry ("Winged Victory") Division

Major General Leonard F. Wing

103rd Infantry Regiment

169th Infantry Regiment

172nd Infantry Regiment

103rd, 152nd, 169th Field Artillery Bttns. (105mm)

192nd Field Artillery Bttn. (155mm)

Right (Blue) beaches

  6th Infantry ("Red Star") Division

Major General Edwin D. Patrick †

1st Infantry Regiment

20th Infantry Regiment

63rd Infantry Regiment

1st, 51st, 53rd Field Artillery Bttns. (105mm)

80th Field Artillery Bttn. (155mm)

Japanese

Fourteenth Area Army
General Tomoyuki Yamashita

Northern Luzon

Shobu Group (Gen. Yamashita)

approx. 152,000 officers and enlisted

Central Luzon

Kembu Group (Lieut. Gen. Rikichi Tsukada)

approx. 30,000 officers and enlisted

Southern Luzon

Shimbu Group (Lieut. Gen. Shizuo Yokoyama)

approx. 80,000 officers and enlisted

The assault on Luzon was launched, as planned, on 9 January 1945, codenamed S-day. The Japanese forces reported more than 70 Allied warships entering Lingayen Gulf, though the total Allied invasion force involved that month would equal close to 800 ships. Pre-assault bombardment of Japanese shore positions from roughly 70 battleships and cruisers began at 7:00. The landings were commenced an hour later. The landing forces faced strong opposition from Japanese kamikaze aircraft. The escort carrier Ommaney Bay was destroyed by a kamikaze attack, with a total of around 47 ships damaged, and four sunk, on January 3–13, primarily by kamikazes. Aircraft from the 3rd Fleet assisted the landings with close air support, strafing and bombing Japanese gun positions.

The landings at Lingayen Gulf on 9 January were carried out by the 6th Army under the command of General Walter Krueger. Approximately 175,000 troops from the 6th Army landed along the 20-mile (32 km) beachhead within a few days, while the I Corps protected their flanks. XIV Corps under General Oscar Griswold then advanced south toward Manila, despite Krueger's concerns that his eastern flank was unprotected and vulnerable if the Japanese forces attacked. However, no such attack occurred, and the U.S. forces did not meet much resistance until they reached the Clark Air Base on 23 January. The battle there lasted until the end of January, and after capturing the base, XIV Corps advanced toward Manila.

A second amphibious landing took place on 15 January, 45 mi (72 km) southwest of Manila. On 31 January, two regiments of the 11th Airborne Division made an airborne assault, capturing a bridge, and later advanced toward Manila. On 3 February, the 1st Cavalry Division captured the bridge across Tullahan River leading to the city. They advanced into the city that evening, beginning the battle for the capture of Manila. On 4 February, the paratroopers of the 11th Airborne—approaching the city from the south—came to the main Japanese defences south of the city of Manila where their advance was halted by heavy resistance. General Yamashita had ordered his troops to destroy all bridges and other vital installations as soon as the U.S. forces entered the city, and Japanese forces entrenched throughout the city continued to resist U.S. forces. General MacArthur announced the imminent recapture of Manila on the same day. On 11 February, the 11th Airborne Division captured the last Japanese outer defences, thus encircling the whole city. U.S. and Filipino forces carried out clearing operations in the city in the following weeks. Military casualties totalled 1,010 Americans, 3,079 Filipinos and 12,000 Japanese.^{[citation needed]}

In the campaign to recapture the island of Luzon in the Philippines, American planes dropped more than one million gallons of napalm in support of ground forces. The weapon attracted little attention during World War II in part because the name “napalm” was classified.

Battles continued throughout the island of Luzon in the following weeks, with more U.S. troops having landed on the island. Filipino and American resistance fighters also attacked Japanese positions and secured several locations. The Allies had taken control of all strategically and economically important locations of Luzon by early March. Small groups of the remaining Japanese forces retreated to the mountainous areas in the north and southeast of the island, where they were besieged for months. Pockets of Japanese soldiers held out in the mountains—most ceasing resistance with the unconditional surrender of Japan, but a scattered few holding out for many years afterwards. Total Japanese losses were 217,000 dead and 9,050 taken prisoner. U.S. losses were 8,310 killed and 29,560 wounded. Civilian casualties are estimated at 120,000 to 140,000 dead.

Weapons on hand and ammunition expended by Sixth Army units, 9 January 1945 to 30 June 1945, exclusive of Eighth Army phase (173 days):

• Invasion of Lingayen Gulf
• Battle of Bessang Pass
• Battle of Balete Pass
• Battle of Manila (1945)
• Battle of Villa Verde Trail
• Battle of Wawa Dam
• List of American guerrillas in the Philippines
• Escuadrón 201
• Japanese holdout
• Manila massacre
• William R. Shockley

• Andrade, Dale. Luzon. World War II Campaign Brochures. Washington D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 72-28. Archived from the original on 15 December 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
• Smith, Robert Ross (2000) [1960]. "Luzon Versus Formosa". In Kent Roberts Greenfield (ed.). Command Decisions. United States Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 70-7. Archived from the original on 30 December 2007. Retrieved 18 June 2010.

Smith, Robert Ross (2005). Triumph in the Philippines: The War in the Pacific. University Press of the Pacific. ISBN 1-4102-2495-3.

• A film clip AIR ASSAULT TACTICS [ETC. (1945)] is available for viewing at the Internet Archive