Logistics

The conquest of Leyte was taking longer than had been anticipated. The decision of the Japanese to make Leyte the decisive battleground of the Philippines had forced the Americans to commit not only the reserve 32d and 77th Infantry Divisions but also the 112th Cavalry Regimental Combat Team, the 11th Airborne Division, and elements of the 38th Infantry Division. The inability of the Americans to establish considerable land-based air forces on Leyte, as well as the unexpected Japanese reinforcement program, had retarded the campaign. Not only was the timetable of future operations in the Pacific upset, but a strong possibility existed that it would not be feasible to establish a major logistical and air base on the island—the primary purpose of the operation.

The construction program on Leyte was hampered by conflicting priorities and, as had been foreseen, very poor terrain, bad weather conditions, and a shortage of service personnel.

Construction

Retelling the disagreements and describing the conflicts that arose over the everchanging needs of the Army, Navy, and Air Forces would be involved, tedious, and unprofitable. But the progress of the construction program must be recounted, since it had direct bearing not only on the Leyte Campaign but also on the Mindoro and Luzon operations.

Airfields

The importance of the development of the airfields cannot be overemphasized. The inability of the Sixth Army to meet its construction dates on the airstrips, because of poor soil conditions and heavy rains, prevented the U. S. forces from stopping the flow of Japanese reinforcements and made it impossible for the Allied Air Forces to give sufficient land-based air support to the ground troops. It also forced a postponement of the Mindoro operation. It is well, therefore, to summarize just what had been accomplished in airfield construction.

Work on the Tacloban airstrip had been handicapped at first by the heavy concentration of troops, supplies, and equipment in the area during the early stages of the operation. Thereafter, work was further hampered by the insufficient supply of coral for surfacing the runway and by the very heavy traffic concentrated on the haul road because of the necessity for unloading cargo over White Beach. By 25 December, 1 runway, 50 dispersal areas, 536,000 square feet of alert apron, 1 diagonal taxiway, 1 parallel dispersal taxiway, and 8,943 feet of additional dispersal taxiways had been constructed.

OPERATIONAL LOSSES AT THE BURAUEN AIRFIELDS forced their abandonment and the construction of the field at Tanauan.

The Dulag airfield was located on the flat flood plain of the Marabang River. The difficulties encountered were numerous: time lost because of excessive rains that amounted to thirty-five inches in forty days; air alerts; very poor drainage, which required the construction of a system of drag-line trenches to the river; and very poor access roads. The access roads required an excessive expenditure of time, labor, and material in order to maintain traffic to the airfield. One runway, 2 alert areas with gravel surface and 2 with mat surface, 1 matted transport parking area, 133 dispersal areas, and 24,200 feet of dispersal taxiways were constructed by 25 December.

In the latter part of November all construction work was stopped on the three airfields in the Burauen area, but not before considerable time and effort had been expended in futile attempts to make the airfields usable.[1] Since these airfields could not be made serviceable, General Krueger received permission from General MacArthur to construct an airfield in the Tanauan area, and moved his headquarters from Tanauan to Tologosa on 28 November in order that construction might be started. The new site had a good sandy surface, its drainage was satisfactory, and it proved to be an excellent location for an airfield. By 16 December the field became operational, and by the 25th there had been completed 1 runway with mat surfacing, 1 overrun, 90,000 square feet of warm-up area, 120,000 square feet of alert apron, 1 parallel taxiway, and 26 large dispersal areas.[2]

Roads

The rehabilitation of roads presented problems as vexatious as those in airfield construction. In southern Leyte Valley, the road that ran from Dulag through Burauen to Dagami soon became impassable for about two miles on each side of Burauen. This section of the road was completely rebuilt by dumping approximately three feet of gravel over it. The remainder of the road was kept open most of the time by permitting only one-way traffic. The other roads were just as bad. After heavy rains the road in the Army Service Command area was frequently under at least two feet of water. The streets in Tacloban disintegrated so rapidly that much engineer effort was required to keep them open. Such maintenance was necessary to assure continued operation of the many supply and administrative facilities located in the city.[3] The roads on the west coast were, if possible, even worse. Upkeep of the roads in general required a “profligate expenditure of engineer troops.” It was found that a battalion could accomplish no more in a month than a platoon could have carried out in a week under good weather conditions. The roads required a rock or gravel foundation one to three feet thick, whereas a road-metal surface of three to four inches on an earth base was normally adequate. Since priority was given to work on the principal roads and airfields, the construction of access roads, as well as hardstands for hospitals, depots, and other needed installations was greatly delayed. In this connection General Krueger stated: “This, in turn, greatly affected the supply situation, including construction materials, by lack of access to the depots, lack of storage space into which to discharge ships, and lack of facilities and spare parts to permit repair and servicing of engineer heavy equipment as well as other critical transportation and combat vehicles.”[4]

On 21 December General Krueger estimated that after the elimination of certain projects on which informal agreements had been reached, the extent of completion by 5 January of the other projects would be as follows: main supply roads, 50 percent; access roads, 20 percent; Air Forces installations (exclusive of air depot and assembly plants), 44 percent; hospitals, 40 percent; base supply and services, 25 percent; oil and aviation gasoline storage (exclusive of naval oil storage which had not been started), 50 percent; Navy installations, 20 percent; and headquarters construction, 40 percent.[5] The gloomy prognostications of Sixth Army engineers had proven all too true.

Supplies

Inland Movement of Supplies

As the roads on Leyte became more and more unserviceable, greater reliance was placed on the use of naval vessels to transport supplies and personnel to various parts of the island. The Transportation Section, Sixth Army, maintained a small-boat pool that was used extensively to transport light cargo and personnel between Tacloban, San Ricardo, Palo, Tanauan, Tolosa, Dulag, and Catmon Hill.[6] LCM’s were widely employed on the northern and eastern coasts of the island and LSM’s operated on the west coast.[7] (Table 2)

APPROACH ROAD TO QUARTERMASTER SERVICE CENTER at Tacloban after a heavy rain (above). The 7th Cavalry motor pool on 17 December 1944 (below).

Table 2—Shipping Tonnage Discharged in Leyte-Samar Area, 28 October-25 December 1944

PeriodTonnageDischargeAverage Daily Rateof DischargeLighterage onHand
LCT’sLCM’sDUKW’sBarges
Total571,350
28 Oct–3 Nov33,9014,843115410718
4 Nov–10 Nov32,4214,632356331533
11 Nov–17 Nov141,23820,177266921933
18 Nov–24 Nov110,49415,785185925339
25 Nov–1 Dec47,7446,821287128938
2 Dec–8 Dec56,7868,112245329743
9 Dec–15 Dec53,3877,627215329442
16 Dec–22 Dec68,6779,811396830049
23 Dec–25 Dec26,7028,900396928749

Source: G-4 Report, Sixth Army Operations Report Leyte, p. 218.

The troops that were fighting in the mountains were frequently supplied by airdrops by the 11th Air Cargo Resupply Squadron from supplies that were available in the Leyte area. From about the middle of November until the latter part of December, 1,167,818 pounds of supplies were either dropped or delivered by air. (Table 3) Two hundred and eighty-two plane loads of supplies were dropped, a total of 2,776 parachutes being used. Because of the nature of the terrain and the proximity of the Japanese, the proportion of airdropped supplies that could be recovered varied from 65 to 90 percent. Approximately 60 percent of the parachutes were recovered and returned to the 11th Air Cargo Resupply Squadron.[8]

Supplying the West Coast

The landing of the 77th Division on the west coast of Leyte brought into sharper focus the difficult job of giving adequate logistical support to the tactical units. The Sixth Army supply lines were tenuous. There was a shortage of shipping, and furnishing supplies to the troops fighting in the mountains was especially difficult.

In planning for the amphibious movement of the 77th Division, the resupply shipping set up for the division was as follows: on 9 December, two days after the division’s landing at Deposito, 12 LSM’s and 4 LCI’s would bring in supplies; on 11 December, 12 LSM’s and 5 LCI’s would bring in additional supplies; and on 13 December 12 LSM’s and 4 LCI’s would carry further supplies to the division. Thereafter, 3 LSM’s would be assigned the task of supplying the 77th Division.[9]

Table 3—Airdrops by 11th Air Cargo Resupply Squadron, 11 November-25 December 1944

BranchSuppliesWeight in PoundsPercent ofTotal
Total1,167,818100.0
QuartermasterRations445,91638.3
Miscellaneous357,06130.4
OrdnanceAmmunition337,76128.9
MedicalSupply and Equipment21,3081.8
SignalSupply and Equipment4,5460.4
ChemicalChemical Warfare Supplies1,2260.2
Units SuppliedWeightPercentof Total
Total1,167,818100.0
11th Airborne Division388,57033.3
1st Cavalry Division301,05825.8
32d Infantry Division167,85914.3
24th Infantry Division126,00410.7
Guerrillas91,0548.7
96th Infantry Division52,9734.2
77th Infantry Division14,8001.1
112th Cavalry Regiment10,3000.8
7th Infantry Division4,2000.3
Others11,0000.8

Source: Report of Transportation Officer, Sixth Army Operations Report Leyte, p. 271.

The Japanese had sunk two LSM’s near Baybay on 4 December and damaged several other vessels during the Deposito landing.[10] Because of the extreme shortage of shipping that resulted, General Hodge suggested to General Bruce on 8 December that thirty trucks, which had been scheduled for delivery on the first two convoys of resupply shipping, be sent overland along the Abuyog-Baybay mountain road and used to shuttle supplies of the division between the two towns. These supplies could be sent forward to the 77th Division when its beachhead merged with that of the 7th Division.[11] On the following day the first resupply for the 77th division left Abuyog in a convoy of trucks which went over the mountains to Baybay, where LCM’s took the cargo and moved it to the area of the 77th Division.[12]

At 2100 on 10 December, General Hodge notified General Bruce that the second echelon of resupply was to arrive at 2359 on the following day at any beach that General Bruce desired. The supplies consisted of 40,000 rations, 1,000 gallons of 80-octane gasoline, 500 gallons of diesel oil, 100 tons of ammunition, and 10 tons of medical supplies. Certain tactical and service units were also to be sent forward. The third echelon, which was scheduled to arrive on the west coast on the night of 14–15 December, was to consist of the remaining units of the 77th Division and “considerable resupply.”[13]

As the tide of battle swept the 77th Division farther northward, its line of supply and that of the 7th Division became very thin. About 15 December the supply officer of the XXIV Corps summarized the situation to the corps chief of staff. Between 19 and 25 December three resupply echelons, consisting of twenty-four LSM’s and five LCI’s carrying 3,250 tons of supplies, were to arrive on the west coast. He believed this amount was insufficient. According to his calculations, the daily requirements for two divisions in heavy fighting were 500 tons of supplies. He estimated that the supplies of the 77th Division could not last beyond 18 December. By 19 December the division would be in short supply unless 100 truck loads of supplies could be sent over the mountains before that time. The convoy that was to go forward on the 19th would carry only two days’ supplies and there would be a three-day interval before the arrival of the next convoy. The XXIV Corps, therefore, was faced with the problem of moving 200 truck loads of supplies during those three days merely to keep even. After 25 December, one and a half days’ supply would be sent overwater every three days. Since the supply officer of the XXIV Corps had strong doubts that the road would stand “a movement involving 300 trucks every three days” it was believed that the supply situation would steadily worsen.[14]

On 15 December General Krueger sent a radio message to Admiral Kinkaid reviewing the critical supply situation and requesting that sufficient amphibious shipping be made available immediately to carry supplies to the forces on the west coast. Admiral Kinkaid acquiesced, and on 22 December a resupply convoy arrived at Ormoc with “sufficient supplies and equipment to alleviate the critical situation.”[15]

By 26 December a general level of five to ten days’ supply of all classes had been built up, a level that was maintained throughout the rest of the operation. The XXIV Corps utilized to the maximum the available space on the LSM convoys, and units on the west coast employed all available motor transportation to supplement the tonnage on the convoys. Finally, the supplies were pooled in dumps at Ipil and Ormoc and then allotted to the units.

On 25 December General Hodge received a Christmas message from his supply officer: “Best wishes for Merry Xmas and a New Year filled with supplies, resupplies, more supplies and no supply worries.”[16]

The serious logistical situation was to affect definitely the progress of the Sixth Army as it fought its way into Ormoc Valley—the last important enemy stronghold on the island.

[1] Sixth Army Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 233. [↑]

[2] Ibid., pp. 69, 233. [↑]

[3] Ibid., p. 233 [↑]

[4] Ltr, CG Sixth Army to CINCSWPA, sub: Construction Program, 21 Dec 44, Sixth Army G-4 Jnl, 24 Dec 41. [↑]

[5] Ibid. [↑]

[6] Rpt of Transportation Off, Sixth Army Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 270. [↑]

[7] Ibid. [↑]

[8] G-4 Rpt, Sixth Army Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 218. [↑]

[9] Msg, G-3 XXIV Corps to G-4 XXIV Corps, n. d. (probably 4 Dec 44), XXIV Corps G-4 Jnl, Annex, Vol. III. [↑]

[10] Sixth Army Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 79. [↑]

[11] Msg, CG XXIV Corps to CG 77th Div, 8 Dec 44, XXIV Corps G-4 Jnl, Annex, Vol. III. [↑]

[12] Msg, CG XXIV Corps to Col Gillette, 9 Dec 44, XXIV Corps G-4 Jnl, Annex, Vol. III. [↑]

[13] Msg, CG XXIV Corps to CG 77th Div, 10 Dec 44, XXIV Corps G-4 Jnl, Annex, Vol. III. [↑]

[14] Memo, G-4 XXIV Corps to CofS XXIV Corps, n.d. (probably 15 Dec 44), XXIV Corps G-4 Jnl, Annex, Vol. IV. [↑]

[15] Sixth Army Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 80. [↑]

[16] XXIV Corps G-4 Jnl, 25 Dec 44. [↑]

CHAPTER XIX

The Entrances to Ormoc Valley

General Bruce’s quick exploitation of the surprise landing of the 77th Division just below Ormoc had resulted in the capture of Ormoc on 10 December. With each successive advance, he had displaced his entire division forward. General Bruce, as he phrased it, preferred to “drag his tail up the beach.”[1]

With the seizure of Ormoc, General Krueger’s Sixth Army had driven the main elements of the Japanese 35th Army into Ormoc Valley. The Japanese were caught in the jaws of a trap—the 1st Cavalry Division and the 32d Infantry Division were closing in from the north and the 77th Infantry Division from the south. General Krueger ordered the X and XXIV Corps to close this trap upon the Japanese.

Southern Entrance to Ormoc Valley

Japanese Plans

When General Suzuki, the commander of the Japanese 35th Army, ordered the action against the Burauen airfields, his anticipations had been high. Accompanied by his chief of staff and six other staff officers, he had gone to the headquarters of the 26th Division, in the mountains near Lubi, in order to supervise the operation personally. General Tomochika, the deputy chief of staff, remained at Ormoc because of the advance of the Americans up the west coast, and took command of operations in the area.

A mixed battalion, consisting of four companies, reinforced the 12th Independent Infantry Regiment. This regiment, under Colonel Imahori, was to be prepared at a moment’s notice for action in the Ormoc sector.[2] The 16th and 26th Divisions received orders to retreat westward and establish defensive positions in the Ormoc Valley. The 16th Division, which had less than 200 men, had ceased to exist as a fighting unit. The Japanese decided that henceforward their operations would be strictly defensive. The 26th Division started to withdraw through the mountains, but its orders to retreat were very hard to carry out. The Americans had blocked the road, and the 11th Airborne Division units, which had advanced west from Burauen, were attacking in the vicinity of Lubi. As a result, the staff officers of General Suzuki’s 35th Army “disbanded and scattered.” General Suzuki passed through the American lines and reached the command post at Huaton, four miles north of Ormoc, on 13 December; his chief of staff arrived there the following day. As for the 26th Division, “all contact with the Division was lost by Army Headquarters until the early part of March.”[3]

In the meantime General Tomochika had prepared new plans. On 6 December he was told by a staff officer of the 1st Division, which was fighting the 32d Division in the north, that the 1st Division had “reached the stage of collapse.”[4] The mission of the 1st Division was then changed to one of defense. Colonel Imahori by the night of 7 December had sent two companies south.[5] These companies, known as the Kamijo Battalion, were destroyed at Ipil by the 77th Division in its march to Ormoc. Colonel Imahori, fearful that the rest of his detachment would suffer the same fate, ordered his main force, the Tateishi and Maeda Battalions, to construct positions north of Ormoc. The remnants of the Kamijo Battalion established a position northeast of Ormoc. In his plan for the parachute attack on the Burauen airfields, General Suzuki had decided to use as a part of his attacking force the 4th Air Raiding Landing Unit. In view of the unfavorable situation that had developed, the 14th Area Army commander, General Yamashita, decided that after the 4th Air Raiding Landing Unit landed at the Valencia airfield it was to be kept in the Ormoc area. From 8 to 13 December approximately 500 men from the unit arrived in the Ormoc area, and were attached to the Imahori Detachment. They had traveled only at dawn or dusk to avoid detection.

At the same time, “in order to ease the difficult Leyte Island Operation,” General Yamashita dispatched from Luzon to assist the troops in the Ormoc sector the Takahashi Detachment, composed of the 5th Infantry Regiment of the 8th Division, an artillery battalion, a company of engineers, a transportation company, and a Special Naval Landing Force of 400 men with four light tanks and sixteen trench mortars. In order to suppress the guerrillas, who were active in the Camotes Islands off the west coast of Leyte and who were guarding the entrance to Ormoc Bay, the area army commander ordered a detachment, known as the Camotes Detachment, to those islands. This detachment was composed of one battalion (less two companies) of the 58th Independent Mixed Brigade, an artillery battery, and an engineering platoon.

The transports carrying the troops to the Ormoc area underwent a severe aerial bombardment from American aircraft. As a consequence, only the Special Naval Landing Force arrived at its target. On the same day the transports carrying the Takahashi and Camotes Detachments were forced to put in at Palompon on the west coast. The subsequent advance of these detachments toward Ormoc was greatly delayed.

On 9 December the 77th Infantry Regiment, the last of the Japanese reinforcements for Leyte, landed at Palompon and moved to Matagob. General Suzuki intended to assemble and integrate these units and to launch a counteroffensive against Ormoc starting on 17 December.[6]

HEAVY MACHINE GUNS COVER CROSSING of the Antilao River by men of the 77th Division at Ormoc.

Cogon Defenses

On 10 December General Bruce devised a new scheme of maneuver: the 77th Division was to break loose from its base and use Indian warfare or blockhouse tactics. At night each “fort” was to establish an all-round defense from any Japanese night attacks. In the daytime, an armed convoy was to go “from fort to fort.” The Filipino guerrillas were to guard the bridges and furnish intelligence.[7]

By nightfall of 10 December the 77th Division had cleared Ormoc. (See [Map 19].) The front lines of the 307th Infantry were on the western outskirts of the town along the bank of the Antilao River, a stream which flows past the entire western side of Ormoc. At the city’s northern edge the river is crossed by Highway 2, which then proceeds directly north about 300 yards west of the river and parallel to it for a distance of about 1,000 yards. The 306th Infantry on the right of the 307th Infantry had come abreast of that regiment at twilight.

General Bruce’s plan for 11 December provided for a limited attack north to enable the division to straighten out its lines. The 305th Infantry in the afternoon would come between the 306th Infantry on the right and the 307th Infantry on the left. The 305th Infantry was to be prepared to attack on the morning of 12 December with battalions abreast, one on each side of the highway.[8]

At 0930 on 11 December the 306th and 307th Infantry Regiments jumped off with the 307th Infantry on the left. The assault battalions of the 307th Infantry and the 1st Battalion, 306th Infantry, attempted to cross the Antilao River but came under heavy fire and were pinned down.

The fire came from a well-fortified position of the 12th Independent Infantry Regiment on the north bank of the river at Cogon, a small barrio on Highway 2 just north of Ormoc. The enemy position was on a small elevated plateau, adjacent to Highway 2, overlooking the river to the south and rice paddies to the east and west. Innumerable spider holes had been constructed throughout the area. The principal defensive position, slightly east of Cogon, was in the vicinity of a three-story reinforced concrete building that had been converted into a blockhouse. The well-camouflaged positions, with the exception of the fortress, were so situated in the underbrush and the waist-high cogon grass that it was impossible to detect them at a distance of more than ten feet. From these positions the Japanese could command the bridge over the Antilao River and deny the U. S. troops the use of Highway 2 to the north. An estimated reinforced battalion with machine guns, antitank guns, and field pieces, together with small arms, defended the area.

The artillery fired on the enemy front lines, which were only twenty-five yards in front of the American assault troops, but failed to dislodge the Japanese. The assault battalions of the 307th Infantry and the 1st Battalion, 306th Infantry, thereupon delivered point-blank fire from their tank destroyer guns, amphibian tank guns, light and medium machine guns, and infantry weapons on the Japanese position but still could not overcome it. The lack of shipping had prevented the division from taking its medium tanks with it. Unable to move forward, the battalions established their front lines and perimeters for the night along a line just north of Ormoc.

On the division’s right, the 3d Battalion, 306th Infantry, moved forward against increasingly strong resistance from the 12th Independent Infantry Regiment. After advancing about 1,000 yards the 3d Battalion encountered a well-entrenched position. Elements of the 12th Independent Infantry Regiment had dug in on a steep ridge in front of which was a deep ravine. Eight hundred yards of rice paddies lay between this position and the one opposing the other battalions, though both positions were part of the same defensive system. The artillery placed fire upon the ridge. Although able to utilize only a company and a half against the enemy position, the 3d Battalion, under cover of the artillery fire, attacked and succeeded in gaining a foothold on the ridge. The 12th Independent Infantry Regiment at the same time directed two unsuccessful counterattacks against the right flank and rear of the 3d Battalion. Since the forward elements on the ridge were vulnerable and any further advance would have exposed both flanks of the 3d Battalion, the commanding officer of the 306th Infantry at 1600 ordered the 3d Battalion to withdraw the forward units on the enemy-held ridge and consolidate its position.[9]

At 1600 the 2d and 3d Battalions, 305th Infantry, moved north of Ormoc and took up the position held by the 1st Battalion, 306th Infantry, between the 307th Infantry on the left and the 3d Battalion, 306th Infantry, on the right. The relieved battalion was ordered to take a position to reinforce the 2d and 3d Battalions, 306th Infantry. The 1st Battalion, 305th Infantry, remained just south of Camp Downes as the extreme right flank of the 77th Division.[10]

In his plan for the drive of the XXIV Corps up Ormoc Valley, General Hodge ordered the 7th Division to “continue the attack as directed and coordinated” by General Bruce.[11] To strengthen the Ormoc defenses, elements of the 7th Division were scheduled to be brought forward. General Bruce planned to attack daily towards Valencia, which was about six and a half miles north of Ormoc. The 77th Division would eventually cut loose from the Ormoc defenses and take up each night an all-round defense. The supply convoy, protected by strong guards, would move along Highway 2 and measure its advance by that of the assault units. The 305th Infantry was to proceed along Highway 2 and the 306th Infantry, while protecting the division right flank, was to be prepared to proceed 2,000 to 3,000 yards east of Highway 2, move north through the hills to a point due east of Valencia, and then turn west across Highway 2 and capture that town. The 307th Infantry, while protecting the division left flank, was to be prepared to relieve the 305th Infantry. The artillery of the division at the outset was to support the advance from Ormoc and eventually move with the forward element of the 77th Division when the latter cut loose from the Ormoc sector.[12]

Enemy Night Landings

At 2330 on 11 December the 77th Division beach defense units observed a Japanese convoy, which was transporting the Special Naval Landing Force, steaming into Ormoc Bay with the apparent intention of landing at Ormoc. The Japanese evidently thought that Ormoc was still in their hands. The first craft noticed by the U.S. forces was a landing barge with about fifty men, heading directly for the Ormoc pier. By the time the barge came within range of the shore weapons, all shore units were alert and waited with guns trained upon it. They withheld their fire until the barge was within fifty yards of the pier and then all weapons converged their fires upon the craft. The first rounds squarely hit the barge, which immediately burst into flames. The Japanese clambered atop the gunwales and are reported to have screamed, “Don’t shoot,” under the mistaken notion that their forces still occupied Ormoc.

The harbor was lit up by the burning barge and 60-mm. illuminating shells. During the night the Americans discovered that another enemy vessel, about the size of an LST, had pulled into shore northwest of the town under cover of darkness and was busily engaged in discharging troops and equipment. The tank destroyer guns of the 307th Infantry, emplaced along the beach within 1,000 yards of the vessel, opened fire on it while forward observers from the 902d Field Artillery Battalion directed artillery fire upon the landing area and inland. The enemy vessel attempted to pull out to sea, but after proceeding less than fifty yards it burst into flames and sank. About 150 men, two tanks, a number of rifles, mortars, and machine guns, and a quantity of ammunition had been unloaded before the vessel sank, but most of the supplies, including four ammunition trucks, had been destroyed by American fire while the vessel was unloading.

The early dawn of 12 December revealed another ship of the same type farther west near Linao. The artillery, mortars, and tank destroyer guns opened up against this vessel as it fled along the shores of Ormoc Bay, and their fire followed until it was out of range. Before the fire ceased, heavy clouds of smoke billowed from the vessel as it moved at a snail’s pace. During the night the American fire had to be closely co-ordinated, since American vessels, including a resupply convoy, were in the bay. Not a single U. S. craft was damaged.

Troops of the Special Naval Landing Force who had disembarked got in touch with Colonel Imahori, who immediately ordered them to go to Highway 2 as the reserve unit of the 12th Independent Infantry Regiment. It was impossible for them to carry out the order, since the 77th Division had advanced north from Ormoc. They thereupon decided to join a naval airfield construction unit at Valencia, but again they failed. In the latter part of December, the men of the Special Naval Landing Force were in the eastern part of the Palompon area without having taken part in the battle for the Ormoc corridor.[13]

Battle of the Blockhouse

Because the fighting on the previous day had been extremely intense, General Bruce on 12 December consolidated his positions and brought forward supplies and supporting artillery. The front-line units sent out strong combat and reconnaissance patrols to the front and flanks to secure information on the dispositions of the Japanese.[14] Throughout the day and night the artillery battalions of the division placed harassing and interdiction fires on the enemy positions across the Antilao River.[15]

The 902d and 305th Field Artillery Battalions, two batteries of the 304th Field Artillery Battalion, and one battery of 155-mm. howitzers from the 306th Field Artillery Battalion fired continuously for five minutes on the morning of 13 December at the enemy position in front of the 305th Infantry. So intense was the fire that the enemy soldiers were bewildered and streamed toward the front lines of the division where they were cut down in great numbers by machine gun and small arms fire. The Japanese in and around the concrete building, however, lay low and weathered the barrage.

General Bruce attached Col. Paul L. Freeman, an observer from the War Department General Staff, to the 305th Infantry. Colonel Freeman was made the commander of a special attack force, consisting of Companies E and L, which was to storm the blockhouse. The 305th Infantry, which was to make the main effort, had the 3d Battalion on the right of Highway 2 and the 2d and 1st Battalions on the left of the road. The 3d Battalion in a column of companies moved out at 0830. In support of the 305th Infantry, the 2d Platoon, Company A, 88th Chemical Battalion, fired on and silenced two enemy machine guns. The Japanese held their fire until the infantrymen were upon them, making it necessary for the artillery to fire at very close range. The fire from the 305th Field Artillery Battalion came to within fifty yards of the American front lines.

After Company I, the lead company, reached the ridge at 0925, K Company moved up and attempted to consolidate the 3d Battalion’s position by making an oblique turn to the right flank of Company I. It was hit at 1155 by the first of five counterattacks by the 12th Independent Infantry Regiment. The enemy preceded the infantry assault by artillery, mortar, and automatic weapons fire. The 3d Battalion estimated the enemy force to be a reinforced battalion. All of the counterattacks were driven off with heavy casualties on both sides.

The 2d Battalion, 305th Infantry, on the left of the highway, jumped off at 0830 in a column of companies, Company F leading. At 0845 the troops ran into concentrated automatic weapons fire, which pinned them down. Company G moved around the left flank of Company F and also came under heavy fire. A Japanese force estimated as two reinforced companies opposed Companies F and G. With the right flank of Company F on the blockhouse, the 2d Battalion pivoted on this point until the line ran in a generally northern direction from the blockhouse and faced toward the east. The 1st Battalion faced north and tied in with the 307th Infantry on its left. Colonel Freeman’s special attack force was unable to move forward. The 3d Battalion held the commanding ground east of Highway 2. The battalions of the 305th Infantry arranged co-ordinating fires that covered all open spaces.[16]

The 307th Infantry moved westward along the Ormoc-Linao road to forestall any enemy reinforcements and counterattacks from that direction. The troops encountered few Japanese. The 307th Infantry in its advance of 1,000 yards took the barrio of Linao and captured three artillery pieces and two antiaircraft guns, as well as ammunition for those weapons.[17]

The 306th Infantry, protecting the right flank of the 305th, received no opposition during the day but assisted the attack of the 305th Infantry by fire. Patrols of the 306th Infantry explored the area in the vicinity of Donghol, about two miles northeast of Ormoc, but made no contact with the enemy.[18]

Although the 77th Division had extended its western boundary during the day by about 1,000 yards, the front lines in the center remained generally where they had been in the morning. The 1st and 2d Platoons of Company A, 88th Chemical Battalion, laid a continuous smoke screen in front of the troops from 0930 to 1630, enabling the aid men to remove the wounded from the front lines and carry them to the rear.[19]

During the night of 13–14 December the artillery of the 77th Division delivered harassing and interdiction fires to the front, the principal target being the concrete house that had withstood the onslaught of the previous two days. The 1st Battalion, 305th Infantry, received enemy mortar fire during the night, and both it and the 2d Battalion received light machine gun fire in the early morning hours. The 2d Battalion destroyed one machine gun with mortar fire.

At 0930 on 14 December Colonel Freeman prepared his special assault force to renew the attack. Before the jump-off, artillery and mortars laid their fire on the blockhouse and beyond. Under cover of artillery fire the troops cautiously moved out at 1030 with Company L on the right and by 1105 they had advanced 100 yards. Company L knocked out two pillboxes with flame throwers and a tank destroyer gun. Company E found every step of the way contested. The troops used hand grenades and bayonets and literally forced the enemy out of the foxholes in tough hand-to-hand fighting.[20] Capt. Robert B. Nett, the commanding officer of Company E, although seriously wounded, refused to relinquish his command. He led his company forward and killed seven Japanese with his rifle and bayonet. Captain Nett was awarded the Medal of Honor.

While Company E was so engaged, Company L on its right advanced through dense foliage and burnt the Japanese out of their foxholes and the bamboo thicket with flame throwers. The company was assisted by armored bulldozers from the 302d Engineers. For a hundred yards on all sides of the blockhouse, the enemy had dug many deep foxholes only a few yards apart. All the foxholes were covered, some with coconut logs and earth, and others with improvised lids of metal and earth. One was protected by an upturned bathtub. The armored bulldozer drove over the positions, its blades cutting off the tops of the foxholes, after which small arms fire into the holes killed the occupants. The crews of the tank destroyers not only fired point-blank at targets but opened the escape hatches and dropped grenades into the foxholes.[21] At 1240 the blockhouse, or what remained of it, was secured.

In the meantime the 1st Battalion, 305th Infantry, flanked the blockhouse at 1225 and wheeled 1,000 yards to the east, cutting off the enemy line of communications on Highway 2. The 3d Battalion, 305th Infantry, remained on the high ground. By 1510 the crossroad north of Ormoc was taken. At the end of the day, the front lines of the 305th Infantry ran south to north along Highway 2 with Company L in the blockhouse sector. A large pocket of the enemy, which had been bypassed by the 1st Battalion, was centered generally in front of the 2d Battalion. The 307th Infantry was on the left flank of the 305th, while the 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry, which had relieved the 306th Infantry, was on the right flank in Ormoc.[22]

During the day the 307th Infantry continued its mission of protecting the left flank of the 77th Division in its northward advance and sent patrols and a strong reconnaissance force, consisting of two reinforced rifle companies, one dismounted cannon platoon, and four tanks, west to the banks of an unnamed river near Jalubon. The reconnaissance force killed twenty-one of the enemy, also capturing and destroying great quantities of Japanese matériel and supplies. By the time the perimeter of the 307th Infantry was established in the late afternoon of 14 December, as reported by General Bruce, “the coast line from Ormoc to Jalubon was dotted with fires and the explosions of burning Japanese ammunition dumps.”[23]

Two other patrols, composed of volunteers from the 306th and 307th Infantry Regiments, reconnoitered approximately 3,000 yards to the west of the 307th Infantry for possible trails for a wide envelopment.[24] These patrols met only scattered groups of the enemy and advanced within 2,000 yards of Valencia, returning with the information that an envelopment was feasible.[25] During the day the 184th Infantry relieved the 306th Infantry of its mission of holding the coastal defenses, freeing the latter unit for an enveloping movement to the north.

On 15 December the 77th Division consolidated its lines and sent out small patrols. The enemy continued to be very active in the sector of the 305th Infantry. During the night the artillery operating in the 1st Battalion sector knocked out four 2½-ton trucks and killed seventeen of the enemy, while the 2d Battalion beat off two Japanese counterattacks. In the 3d Battalion sector all was quiet.

By 15 December the port of Ormoc had been sealed off. It was through this port that the Japanese had sent in a profusion of men, supplies, and equipment, thus prolonging the battle for the island beyond the time anticipated in the original American plans for the operation. The 77th Division estimated that for the period from 11 through 15 December it had taken 9 prisoners and killed 3,046 of the enemy.[26] Its own casualties were 2 officers and 101 enlisted men killed, 22 officers and 296 enlisted men wounded, and 26 enlisted men missing in action.[27]

The Mountain Passage

As a result of General Suzuki’s abortive attempt to seize the Burauen airfields, a number of Japanese soldiers remained in the mountains west of Burauen. Most of these were from the 26th Division and they were trying to rejoin the main part of the 35th Army in Ormoc Valley. Earlier, the 11th Airborne Division had started out over the mountains from Burauen in order to relieve enemy pressure on the eastern flank of the XXIV Corps in its drive toward Ormoc. ([Map 21])

Mahonag

Just west of Burauen the central mountain range rises abruptly from Leyte Valley to peaks that are 4,000 feet or more in height. Many of the deep, precipitous gorges were impassable even for foot soldiers. No roads went through the mountains but there were short footpaths from one locality to another. Some of these trails led over boulder-strewn, swiftly running streams and frequently bridged deep gorges with a single log where a slip meant a drop of thirty to forty feet. The paths were often so steep that footholds had to be cut into the hillsides, and soldiers were forced to use their hands to avoid falling as much as forty to a hundred feet.[28]

MAP 21 C. A. Frost

MOUNTAIN PASSAGE

25 November–22 December 1944

On 25 November the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment moved west from Burauen for Mahonag, ten miles away. The almost impassable terrain, heavy rainfall, and pockets of lurking Japanese made passage very difficult. It was impossible for the regiment to move as a unit. In small parties, sometimes even less than a squad, the 511th moved forward. “The journey to Mahonag defies description. Sucking mud, jungle vines, and vertical inclines exhausted men before they had marched an hour. Though it rained often during any one trip, still there was no drinking water available throughout the journey.”[29] The 3d Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, after considerable hardship entered Mahonag on 6 December.[30]

On 9 December the 2d Battalion, though encountering heavy fire from enemy machine guns, mortars, and rifles, pushed steadily forward and established contact with the other units of the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Mahonag. For several days thereafter, this regiment was busily engaged in sending out patrols. Company G, patrolling in force for two miles to the front, was cut off from the rest of the regiment, which was held down because of strong enemy action. On 13 December the 32d Infantry pushed northeast from Ormoc Bay in an effort to make juncture with the 11th Airborne Division and assist it in moving out of the mountains.

Drive of 32d Infantry

The 32d Infantry also encountered very precipitous hills and its advance was bitterly contested by the Japanese. By the evening of 14 December the regiment had considerably reduced the distance between itself and the 511th Parachute Infantry.

At 0700 on 15 December, as the 3d Battalion was moving out, a patrol of six men from Company G, 511th Parachute Infantry, entered the battalion’s lines. The rest of Company G was only 700 yards east of the ridge. The patrol reported that Company G had been cut off from the rest of the regiment for four days and was without food.

The 3d Battalion encountered only slight resistance and at 0950 was on top of the ridge. A platoon moved out to make contact with Company G of the 511th Parachute Infantry. The platoon reached the company, and at 1855 Company G entered the lines of the 3d Battalion, which fed and sheltered its men for the night.

In the meantime the 1st Battalion had moved out at 0800 and encountered scattered resistance. To the east and south of the 32d Infantry was an impassable canyon, several hundred feet deep. In order to reach the 511th Parachute Infantry, it would be necessary for the regiment to go either north for an undetermined distance or down the ridge toward the coast and then up again. A third possibility involved crossing the Talisayan River in the foothills several miles to the west. With these facts in mind Colonel Finn asked his executive officer, “Are we to actually contact the 511th personally[?] What is the purpose of the contact and are we to lead them out by hand[?]”[31]

At the same time, General Arnold advised the 511th Parachute Infantry of the situation and that “present orders” from General Hodge required the displacement of the 32d Infantry from its positions in order to wipe out pockets of resistance that remained near Ormoc. The 511th Parachute Infantry was to make every effort to drive toward the position of the 32d Infantry, since the latter would soon be withdrawn. The 511th would then have to fight it out alone. General Arnold finally decided that the 1st and 3d Battalions, 32d Infantry, would be withdrawn and that the 2d Battalion, which was fresher, would move up and attempt to establish contact with the 511th Parachute Infantry.[32]

At 0700 on 16 December the 2d Battalion started eastward along the south bank of the Talisayan River. For the next few days the battalion made slow progress, meeting and destroying small groups of the enemy pushing west. As the troops advanced they were confronted with steep and heavily wooded ridges which were separated by gorges several hundred feet deep. The Japanese, well concealed by the heavy foliage and entrenched in caves, were most difficult to dislodge, but the distance between the 2d Battalion and the 511th Parachute Infantry daily diminished. On 20 December the 2d Battalion was held up by the terrain and strong enemy opposition on two ridges to its front. For the next two days the battalion pounded at the Japanese force in attempts to dislodge it. At this time the distance between the 2d Battalion and the 511th Parachute Infantry had narrowed down. Enemy resistance was overcome on the morning of 22 December. In the meantime the 187th Glider Infantry Regiment passed through the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment and continued the attack. At 1330 on 22 December the 2d Battalion of the 187th Glider Infantry Regiment passed through the 2d Battalion, 32d Infantry, and pushed on to the coast. The difficult mountain passes had been overcome.[33]

The Drive South

Regrouping of Japanese Forces

When the Americans took Limon, the key point of entrance on Highway 2 into Ormoc Valley from the north, the Japanese forces were thrown into confusion. The Americans, unknown to themselves, had successfully divided the Japanese 1st and 102d Divisions that had been charged with the defense of northern Leyte. The Japanese were forced to regroup their various units in an attempt to correct the rapidly deteriorating situation along their front lines. The strong American infantry assaults, which had been co-ordinated with heavy mortar and artillery fire, induced General Kataoka, the commanding general of the 1st Division, to redistribute his forces along Highway 2.[34]

The onslaught of the X Corps had forced General Suzuki to abandon the earlier plan of advancing the 35th Army north along three widely separated routes. Instead he had to concentrate the main strength of the 1st Division along the highway to check the American advance. The plan to use the 1st Division as a strong offensive force had to be discarded in favor of using it in a strictly defensive role.

The 1st Division had suffered much: as of 2 December, 3,000 of its men had been killed or wounded. Furthermore, one third of the infantry weapons of the 1st Infantry Regiment and two thirds of those belonging to the 57th Infantry Regiment had been rendered inoperable. The infantry was short of grenades and ammunition for the 50-mm. grenade dischargers. “The men were suffering from the effect of continuous fighting, from lack of provisions, overwork, and especially from the lack of vitamins.”[35]

By this time communications between the 1st Division and other units had broken down. Telephonic and telegraphic communications between the division and 35th Army headquarters were out for long periods of time, and liaison between the division headquarters and front-line units was carried out by messengers moving on foot. The supply lines had also broken down. The 1st Division Transport Regiment found it virtually impossible to supply food and ammunition to the 1st and 57th Infantry Regiments and the 1st Artillery Regiment.

General Kataoka grouped his forces along Highway 2 in the Limon-Pinamopoan area in order to concentrate the maximum strength along Highway 2. The 1st Reconnaissance Regiment was to attack the left flank of the 32d Division,[36] which was already opposed by the 57th Infantry in the Limon sector; the 1st Battalion, less Company 3 and the 2d Battalion, plus Company 11, of the 49th Infantry were to occupy the 1,900-yard sector two miles southeast of Limon in order to hold back American forces in that area; and the 1st Artillery Regiment was to defend its prepared positions south of Limon. The troops of the 1st Engineer Regiment and other noncombat units were issued small arms and ordered to take part in the defense of Highway 2.[37]

Drive of the 32d Division

In order to support the amphibious landing of the 77th Division at Deposito and its subsequent movement northward, General Krueger had ordered the X Corps to make its main effort, beginning on 5 December, by advancing vigorously south astride Highway 2 from the vicinity of Limon.[38] Acting on Corps orders, General Gill prepared to move out with two regiments abreast. The 32d Division consolidated its positions on 5 December, and readied itself for a strong assault south down Highway 2.[39] (See Map 14.)

The 127th Infantry had pushed past the 3d Battalion, 128th Infantry, which was south of the Leyte River and west of Limon. The 127th encountered very determined resistance from the Japanese entrenched on the high ground 1,000 yards south of the Leyte River bridge. The well-camouflaged enemy defenses consisted of numerous foxholes and ten-foot-deep spider holes, many of which were connected by interlacing communication trenches.

The terrain that the troops traversed was adapted to defensive fighting, and the 1st Division took full advantage of this fact. There were deep ravines and steep hills where the enemy had dug in on both the forward and reverse slopes. The entire area was covered by heavy rain forest with dense underbrush. The nearly constant rainfall made observation difficult and the maps for the area were very inaccurate.

By 12 December the 32d Division had “detoured” around the 1st and 57th Infantry Regiments of the 1st Division and was assaulting the Japanese artillery positions south of Limon. On this date the division straightened out its lines, established physical contact between the assault battalions, resupplied the assault units, and sent out patrols. The sector in which the greatest Japanese resistance was encountered continued to be that of the 2d Battalion, 126th Infantry. Employing mortars and four tanks, this battalion was able to make only limited gains.[40]

During the night of 12–13 December the artillery battalions of the 32d Division fired harassing missions near the perimeters of the 126th and 127th Infantry Regiments and southward on Highway 2 as far as the vicinity of Lonoy.

The 14th Area Army had planned to land the 39th Infantry Regiment and an artillery company from the 10th Division near Carigara on 16 December, but in view of the American 77th Division’s advance to Ormoc the plan was canceled on 11 December. On 13 December General Suzuki attached an infantry company of about 100 men from the 102d Division to the 1st Division in order to strengthen the latter’s lines.

On the morning of 13 December the 2d Battalion, 126th Infantry, with the assistance of its tanks and heavy mortars, pushed past the Japanese who had held up its advance. In the face of most determined opposition the battalion moved south, destroying the pockets of resistance which had been bypassed. At the end of the day the 2d Battalion had advanced 400 yards to a position 200 yards north of a roadblock set up by the 3d Battalion, 126th Infantry. The 3d Battalion, less Company L, which was to remain on the high ground overlooking the road, was to attack south on the east side of Highway 2 and come abreast of the 1st Battalion, 126th Infantry.

At 1521 the 3d Battalion reported that six enemy tanks were coming up the highway. After heavy fighting, the Japanese tanks withdrew at nightfall and returned to the south. The 1st Battalion, 126th Infantry, the southernmost unit of the division, made plans to dislodge the enemy force between it and the 3d Battalion. The contested ground consisted of an open space 600 to 700 yards long and 200 to 300 yards wide, at the southern end of which were two knolls. The 1st Battalion had men on both knolls but did not control the northern end of the sector where the Japanese had dug in and were using machine guns, mortars, and rifles. The 1st Battalion charged against the Japanese and rooted them out with grenades and mortar fire. Except for this action, only slight gains were registered during the day. The men of the battalion were hungry, having been without food since the previous afternoon. The commanding officer of the battalion renewed a request for additional rations and ammunition, since the one-third ration that had been received the day before was insufficient.

The 1st and 2d Battalions of the 127th Infantry received orders from the regimental commander to advance south with the 1st Battalion on the left, pinch out the 3d Battalion, 126th Infantry, and link up with the 1st Battalion, 126th Infantry. The 1st Battalion, 127th Infantry, moved out in a column of companies and had advanced 400 yards when it encountered forty to fifty Japanese on a ridge to its front, about 150 yards west of the road. The enemy threw blocks of TNT and grenades against the battalion, effectively pinning down the troops. A night perimeter was established.

The 2d Battalion, 126th Infantry, moved abreast of the regiment’s 1st Battalion throughout the day. Its advance was bitterly contested by the Japanese, who employed machine guns, mortars, and rifles against the battalion, which dug in for the night under fire.[41] At 1630 the 11th Field Artillery Battalion fired upon fifteen Japanese who were walking along the road south of Lonoy and killed twelve of them.[42]

The night of 13–14 December was not quiet. At 2300 an enemy force from the 1st Infantry Regiment broke into the command post of the 126th Infantry. The Japanese set up a machine gun in the area and attacked with grenades and rifles. Bitter hand-to-hand fighting ensued but by 0325 the enemy force was evicted and the area had quieted down. At 0630, with the coming of dawn, the Headquarters Company got things in order and everyone was “happy to hear sound of comrade’s voices.” Six Japanese were killed and two Americans and two Filipinos wounded.[43]

U.S. AND JAPANESE TANKS. Camouflaged U.S. tanks are shown (above) on Highway 2, between Limon and Lonoy. Burning Japanese tanks (below) are checked by 127th Infantry troops north of Lonoy.

On 14 December nearly all battalions of the 127th and 126th Infantry Regiments were engaged in moving slowly forward and maintaining physical contact with each other. At 1045 the air observer of the 11th Field Artillery Battalion located what appeared to be a camouflaged four-gun position at a point 300 yards northeast of Lonoy. The battalion fired upon the site and the Japanese fled from the position. The 11th Field Artillery Battalion again fired into the same general area at 1315 and set a supply and ammunition dump and three buildings on fire. At 1530 the battalion and the corps artillery massed their fires in order to cover all of Lonoy.[44] At 1730, the 127th Infantry destroyed two enemy tanks going north.

The 126th Infantry, on the same day, moved forward in a column of battalions. The 1st Battalion made a limited advance, since it was very short of ammunition and completely out of food. It did establish a roadblock, however, and made contact with the 2d Battalion, 127th Infantry. The 2d Battalion, the northernmost unit of the 126th Infantry, moved slowly behind the 3d Battalion of the regiment. An interval of about 250 yards existed between the two battalions. The Japanese in front of the 32d Division, especially in the sector of the 3d Battalion, had strongly entrenched themselves and resisted the 3d Battalion from both sides of the highway.

Every bend of the road was lined with ... foxholes dug into the banks of the road and spider holes dug underneath the roots of trees and under logs on the hillsides. It was bitter, close hand to hand fighting and because of the steepness of the terrain, the denseness of the tree growth, the inaccuracy of maps and nearness of adjoining units, artillery and mortar fire could not be used to its full advantage in reducing these positions.[45]

The main Japanese defensive line had been reached. By 14 December the 32d Division had advanced more than two miles south of Limon. The 77th Division had crushed the Cogon defenses and was in a position to drive north and make juncture with elements of the X Corps. The northern and southern entrances to Ormoc Valley were denied to the Japanese. The jaws of the Sixth Army trap were starting to close.

[1] Maj Charles V. McLaughlin, Operations of the XXIV Corps in the Invasion of Leyte Island, pp. 29–30. Advanced Infantry Officers’ Course, 1947–48, Infantry School, Ft. Benning, Ga. [↑]

[2] 35th Army Opns, p. 86. [↑]

[3] Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn, p. 25; 14th Area Army Opns Leyte, p. 13. [↑]

[4] Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn, p. 25. [↑]

[5] General Tomochika was unqualified in his praise of the commander of the Imahori Detachment. He said, “Colonel Imahori had good personality and was a good leader. His subordinates were willing to join the suicide squads when the American forces increased in number. We did not have any worries about the attacking Americans on this detachment’s front because the suicide squads brought good results ...” Ibid., pp. 19–20. [↑]

[6] 35th Army Opns, pp. 87–89. [↑]

[7] Ltr, Gen Bruce to Gen Ward, 16 Aug 51, OCMH. [↑]

[8] 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 11 Dec 44. [↑]

[9] 77th Div G-2 Periodic Rpt 15, 11 Dec 44; Company A, 88th Chemical Bn, Jnl, 10 Dec 44; 306th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 8; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 18; 307th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 5; 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 11 Dec 44; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 17, 12 Dec 44. [↑]

[10] 305th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 2; 306th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 8; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 18; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 17, 12 Dec 44. [↑]

[11] XXIV Corps FO 33, 4 Dec 44. [↑]

[12] Ltr, CG 77th Div to CG XXIV Corps, sub: Future Plans, 11 Dec 44, 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 12 Dec 44. [↑]

[13] 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 18–19; 305th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 5; 35th Army Opns, p. 8. [↑]

[14] 77th Div G-2 Jnl, 13 Dec 44. [↑]

[15] 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 20. [↑]

[16] 307th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 3–4; Company A, 88th Chem Bn, Jnl, 0900, 13 Dec 44; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 20–21; 77th Div Arty Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 5; 77th Div G-2 Jnl, 13 Dec 44. [↑]

[17] 307th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 5; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 21; 77th Div G-2 Jnl, 0850, 13 Dec 44. [↑]

[18] 306th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 8; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 21. [↑]

[19] Company A, 88th Chem Bn, Jnl, 0930, 1000, 13 Dec 44; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 21. [↑]

[20] 305th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 5. [↑]

[21] Ltr, Gen Bruce to Gen Ward, 16 Aug 51, OCMH. [↑]

[22] 305th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 5; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 20, 15 Dec 44; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 22; 77th Div G-2 Summary Leyte Opn, p. 2; 77th Div Arty Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 5. [↑]

[23] “This force succeeded in destroying 6 amphibious tanks, 7 landing barges, 1 eighty-foot two-masted schooner, 50 tons of ammunition, approximately twenty-five tons of miscellaneous supplies, 4 40-mm. AA guns, 4 20-mm. AA guns, 1 77-mm. dual purpose gun [probably a 75-mm. gun], several machine guns, a radio transmitter and generator, 1 seacoast range finder and had burnt about half the town of Linao in order to destroy Japanese positions dug in that vicinity....

“Although the force was unable to carry back much of the equipment it captured owing to its small size and the necessity of mobility, it managed to return 1 seacoast range finder, 1 large radio transmitter and 2 20-mm. AA guns.” 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 23. [↑]

[24] 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 22. [↑]

[25] Ibid., pp. 22–23; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 20, 15 Dec 44; 306th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 9; 307th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 9. [↑]

[26] 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpts Nos. 17–21, 13–16 Dec 44. [↑]

[27] 77th Div G-1 Daily Strength Rpts, 11–15 Dec 44. [↑]

[28] 188th Prcht Regt Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 1. [↑]

[29] 511th Prcht Inf Regt Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 6; 11th Airborne Div Special Study Leyte, p. 5. [↑]

[30] During the movement Pvt. Elmer E. Fryar of Company E was killed on 7 December when he voluntarily got in the way of enemy fire in order to shield his platoon leader. Private Fryar posthumously received the Medal of Honor. [↑]

[31] 32d Inf Unit Jnl, 15 Dec 44. [↑]

[32] 32d Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 29–30; 32d Inf S-3 Periodic Rpt, no number, 15 Dec 44; 32d Inf S-2 Periodic Rpt, no number, 15 Dec 44; 32d Inf Unit Jnl, 15 Dec 44. [↑]

[33] 32d Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 30–31; 32d Inf Unit Jnl, 16 to 22 Dec 44; 11th Airborne Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 10. [↑]

[34] The part of this section dealing with Japanese plans and maneuvers is based upon the following documents: Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn; 35th Army Opns; 10th I&HS, Eighth Army Stf Study, Opns of Japanese 35th Army on Leyte. [↑]

[35] 35th Army Opns, p. 91. [↑]

[36] The 1st Reconnaissance Regiment could not carry out this assignment, since it had been attacked by a larger American force. [↑]

[37] General Tomochika made the following comments on the 1st Division:

The personnel were brave but the officers lacked sufficient training in modern warfare and it finally did not live up to the expectations of its leaders. The division commander, Lt. Gen. Kataoka worried about the loss of his troops, lacked brave command ability and did not establish any set battle policy. [He refused to commit one of his important units to the defense of Highway 2.] ... therefore the Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff and senior staff officers were dispatched from Army to Division on three different occasions to urge General Kataoka to submit to these orders.... Regardless of how much we urged General Kataoka to change his views he would not budge. Colonel Ikeda, the Chief of Staff of the 1st Division [until 13 December] was partially deaf and further because of a former lung ailment, he was unsuited to hold his important position. (Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn, p. 18.)

General Tomochika was less than fair to the 1st Division. From its positions in the mountains of northern Leyte, the division contested every foot of advance of the X Corps. General Krueger said of the 1st Division: “This unit more than any other hostile unit on Leyte was responsible for the extension of the Leyte Operation.” (Sixth Army Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 41.) [↑]

[38] Sixth Army FO 36, 4 Dec 44. [↑]

[39] During the action of 5 December, Pfc. William A. McWhorter sacrificed his life that a companion might live. He deliberately held next to his body and away from his comrade a Japanese grenade which had been thrown into his position. The charge exploded and killed him instantly but did not harm his companion. He was awarded posthumously the Medal of Honor. [↑]

[40] “However for a patrol from Company I [127th Infantry] it was a red letter day in that the patrol found a bottle of U.S. Golden Wedding Wiskey [sic] at an evacuated Jap hospital. It was consumed.” 127th Inf Unit Jnl, 12 Dec 44. See also 127th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 9; 126th Inf Unit Jnl, 12 Dec 44; 32d Div G-3 Jnl, 12 Dec 44; 32d Div Leyte Opn Diary, pp. 21–22. [↑]

[41] 32d Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 27, 13 Dec 44; 32d Div Opns Diary Leyte, pp. 23–24; 126th Inf Unit Jnl, 13 Dec 44. [↑]

[42] 32d Div Arty Daily Rpt, 14 Dec 44. [↑]

[43] 126th Inf Unit Jnl, 14 Dec 44. [↑]

[44] 32d Div Arty Daily Rpt, 14 Dec 44. [↑]

[45] 32d Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 12; X Corps G-3 Jnl, 14 Dec 44; X Corps G-3 Periodic Rpt, X Corps G-3 Jnl, 14 Dec 44; 32d Div G-2 Jnl, 14 Dec 44; 126th Inf Unit Jnl, 14 Dec 44; 127th Inf Unit Jnl, 14 Dec 44; 32d Div Opns Diary Leyte, p. 24; 127th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 9. [↑]

CHAPTER XX

Seizure of Ormoc Valley

General Krueger wished the two corps to attack aggressively through Ormoc Valley toward Valencia, about six and a half miles north of Ormoc. The X Corps, pushing south along Highway 2, was to seize the high ground north of Valencia and the XXIV Corps was to continue its drive north, capture Valencia, and establish contact with the X Corps. ([Map 22]) Driving north along Highway 2, the 77th Division was to seize Valencia and its airfield and effect a juncture with the X Corps to separate the enemy forces in the mountains east of its zone of action from those on the west coast in the Palompon area. General Bruce was to co-ordinate all artillery fires and air support missions in the Ormoc-Valencia area.[1]

After the seizure of Ormoc, although the 35th Army still controlled Ormoc Valley, the Sixth Army had closed the northern and southern entrances. There remained available to the Japanese as a principal port only Palompon. A road from this town through the mountains joined Highway 2 in the vicinity of Libongao and constituted the only main route from the west coast of Leyte to Ormoc Valley. The Americans noticed that the Japanese were moving supplies, men, ammunition, and artillery to the Valencia area and concluded that the Japanese would make a defensive stand in Valencia.[2]

By the end of 15 December the forces of General Bruce had cleared the Japanese defenders from the Ormoc area and were ready for the next phase of the drive north up the Ormoc corridor. Reports made the previous day by the reconnaissance patrols from the 306th and 307th Infantry Regiments indicated that there was little enemy resistance to the west of Highway 2. These led General Bruce to decide in favor of a plan for enveloping the enemy from the west. The 306th and 307th Infantry were to strike the flanks and rear of the Japanese defending the highway and thus permit a more rapid advance along this road by the 305th Infantry.[3]

MAP 23 R. Johnstone

SEIZURE OF ORMOC VALLEY

15–21 December 1944

General Hodge had informed General Bruce that the commanding general of the Sixth Army desired to have the attack pushed “with all possible vigor.” The operations of the 77th Division were to depend upon the situation and conditions then existing.[4] On 14 December General Hodge visited General Bruce, who explained his plans. General Hodge thought they were “sound”[5] and later told General Bruce to keep his plans flexible in order to take advantage of every break to speed the advance north. It was imperative that the XXIV Corps secure control of the roads north before the Japanese could establish positions.

Drive From the South to the Libongao Area

Seizure of the Road Junction

According to its plan of attack for 16 December the 305th Infantry, from the vicinity of Cogon, was to continue its assault north on Highway 2, liquidate the remaining enemy forces in Cogon, and finally secure a large defensive position centered around the road junction north of Cogon. All three battalions of the regiment were to consolidate around the point while the 306th and 307th Infantry Regiments were to drive toward Valencia.

The Cannon and Antitank Companies and the heavy weapons units of the other two regiments were attached to the 305th Infantry for movement only and were to be used solely in case of emergency. These units were to be sent to the 306th and 307th Infantry Regiments upon call by those regiments.

At 0930 on 16 December the assault units of the 305th Infantry moved out. The 1st Battalion, on the left of Highway 2, was to attack north, and the 3d Battalion, on the right of Highway 2, was to attack north and then northeast to effect a juncture with the 1st and 2d Battalions at the road junction north of Cogon. The 2d Battalion was to attack east to flank the enemy positions along the highway. The operation was to be assisted by artillery.

During the morning the artillery in support of the 1st Battalion knocked out two antitank guns, a heavy machine gun, and an enemy dugout position. At 1035 the 1st Battalion had advanced several hundred yards. As the 3d Battalion came forward, Company L moved in on the right flank of the 1st Battalion. At 1100 the 2d Battalion had reached the enemy positions along the highway and by 1215 had cleared out the enemy pocket and the road in its sector. A light tank platoon from the 706th Tank Battalion was attached to the 1st Battalion at 1255 in order to assist the battalion in clearing the Japanese from their foxholes. Although progress was slow, it was thorough. The localized envelopments of the enemy’s right (west) flank resulted in the capture of Cogon at the end of the day. The 305th Infantry advanced 400 yards north of the road junction and established night positions around it.[6]

Envelopment of Valencia

In the meantime, the 306th and 307th Infantry Regiments had been ordered to make a series of sweeping envelopments on the Japanese right (west) flank toward Valencia. The 307th Infantry was to move northwest about six and a quarter miles through the barrios of Jalubon, Liloan, and Bao to Catayom on the Bao River, then swing northeast to the barrio of San Jose and continue northeast to the Valencia airstrip. The 306th Infantry was to follow the 307th Infantry northwest and then drive east and cut Highway 2.[7]

The 306th Field Artillery Battalion, though in general support, was to give priority to the 307th Infantry. The 902d and 305th Field Artillery Battalions were to support elements of the reconnaissance troops operating on each flank of the division. The artillery battalions would fire in the regimental zones of action only on call from or with the approval of the regiments.[8]

On 16 December the 307th Infantry crossed the line of departure on time. Since there were no roads and the route was across rice paddies, through waist-deep rivers, and over terrain impassable for vehicles, the troops hand-carried their supplies. Arrangements were also made for Filipinos to carry supplies, and, as the advance progressed, more and more Filipinos joined the column of the 307th Infantry for this purpose.[9] The regiment met only scattered resistance. Some Japanese troops encountered in the vicinity of Liloan were dispersed. At 1525 leading elements of the 307th Infantry passed through Bao and moved on toward San Jose. On the outskirts of that barrio, the troops met and destroyed two platoons of the enemy. At 1645 the 307th Infantry dug in for the night in San Jose. The regiment had covered eight miles, a rapid rate of advance considering the nature of the terrain and the load carried. At 2340 General Bruce told the 307th Infantry that an incendiary air strike would be made on Valencia before 0900 the following day and that the regiment was to hold its present position until further orders.[10]

At 0900 on 16 December the 306th Infantry moved past the initial point of departure on the northwestern edge of Ormoc. At 1035 the regiment was 1,000 yards west of the starting point and close “on the tail” of the 307th Infantry. The 306th waited until the 307th cleared and then moved north. Although it did not encounter any Japanese its progress was very slow because the route of advance ran through deep rice paddies. At 1730 the regiment established its night perimeter about 700 yards south-southwest of Tipic.[11] During the day the 305th Infantry had cleared Cogon and occupied defensive positions around the road junction north of the town.

The Japanese had constructed defensive positions along Highway 2 in the southern part of Ormoc Valley. At the road junction of Highway 2 with the road to Liloan were many trenches three to four feet deep and parallel to the highway. Trenches had also been dug along the sides of a machine gun emplacement that occupied a slight elevation commanding Highway 2 both to the north and to the south. On both sides of the road from Cogon to Catayom foxholes lined Highway 2, in the ditches and under the shacks. Some of these positions were dug on a slant and were six to seven feet deep. At Tambuco the foxholes extended along the highway for 400 yards, with machine gun emplacements on the sides of the foxholes. Other positions along Highway 2 consisted of poorly integrated foxholes and machine guns that covered the road. The field artillery pieces between Tambuco and Catayom were placed along the highway, with the exception of a 75-mm. gun that guarded a bridge and was well concealed inside a roadside shack.[12]

The 14th Area Army had planned to reinforce the 35th Army by dispatching the Takahashi Detachment, which consisted of the 5th Infantry Regiment, one artillery battalion, and one engineer company and one transport company each from the 8th Division, together with the Ito Naval Landing Force of 400 troops from Luzon.

JAPANESE DUG-IN POSITIONS ALONG HIGHWAY BANKS delayed the advance of the 77th Division north of Ormoc.

The 77th Infantry Regiment had landed at Palompon on or about 9 December from Cebu and moved to Matagob where, after assembling its troops, it began to move southeast toward Huaton, the new headquarters of the 35th Army. Huaton was a small barrio on Highway 2 about three and a half miles north of Cogon. On 13 December General Suzuki, the commander of the 35th Army, arrived at Huaton from the Burauen area. After the 12th Independent Infantry Regiment, the 4th Airborne Raiding Regiment, the Mitsui Shipping Unit, the Ito Naval Landing Force, and the 77th Infantry Regiment were assembled, General Suzuki on 15 December ordered an attack, which was to start 17 December, against the American forces in the Ormoc area.[13]

The fall of Cogon and the envelopment to the west forced General Suzuki to change his plans again. The 305th Infantry had captured the positions of the Tateishi Battalion of the 12th Independent Infantry Regiment, and the position of the 77th Infantry Regiment was greatly weakened. As the attack against Ormoc could not be successfully completed, the 12th and 77th Infantry Regiments were to carry out a delaying action.[14]

Since the fall of Valencia might break the organized resistance of the Japanese in Ormoc Valley, General Bruce decided to push forward rapidly and take the barrio before the enemy could regroup.[15] General Krueger asked General Whitehead for air strikes against Valencia. If the weather permitted, a strike would be made at 0900 and another would be delivered on call. In addition, nearly all available artillery of the division that could arrive within firing distance, as well as the 226th Field Artillery Battalion from positions east of the mountains near Daro, would shell the town until ordered to lift the fire.

The 305th Infantry was to drive rapidly north on Highway 2 and clear out the Japanese for a distance of 200 to 300 yards on each side of the road, even though it might mean bypassing groups of the enemy on the flanks. A patrol from the regiment was to operate east of its sector to locate enemy forces. The 306th Infantry was to drive rapidly east toward Highway 2 and then advance north up the highway, clearing a lane 200 to 300 yards wide. At a point 500 to 600 yards north of Cabulihan, it was to await further orders. The regiment was to be prepared to send a battalion south to assist the 305th Infantry in its advance.

General Bruce organized an armored column to carry rations and ammunition to the 306th and 307th Infantry Regiments. This column, which was to move north on Highway 2, consisted of five light tanks from the 7th Division, the Cannon and Tank Destroyer Companies of the 306th and 307th Infantry Regiments, part of Company C, 302d Engineer Battalion, a platoon from the 305th Infantry, and sufficient LVT’s to carry men and supplies. An artillery observer accompanied the column.

Elements of the 302d Engineer Battalion were to repair immediately the highway between Ormoc and Valencia and at night retire within the nearest infantry defensive perimeter. The order was summed up as follows: “The action will be pressed with the utmost vigor by careful planning but every effort will be made to save casualties.”[16]

At 0830 on 17 December the 305th Infantry moved out along Highway 2. At 1000 the 1st Battalion reported that it was advancing at the rate of 100 yards every ten minutes against light opposition. By 1145 the 305th Infantry was fighting through Tambuco. At a road junction just north of Tambuco, it eliminated some enemy resistance and the advance slowed down. The regiment moved forward to a point about 300 yards north of the road junction and established its night perimeter, which extended 300 yards to the northeast along the Tambuco-Dolores road in order to forestall any Japanese counterattacks from that direction.[17]

On the same day the 306th Infantry pushed its attack northeast at 0800. The advancing troops almost immediately encountered Japanese who, apparently taken by surprise, were unable to offer organized resistance. At 1040, when the forward elements were 1,000 yards southwest of Cabulihan, the opposition stiffened and the regimental commander therefore committed the 3d Battalion on the left of the 2d Battalion. The advance continued. As the regiment neared Highway 2, resistance became more intense. The 306th Infantry encountered the Japanese who were fleeing northwest from the assault of the 305th Infantry and the heavy artillery that accompanied it. (Unknown to the Americans, General Suzuki and his staff were among the retreating Japanese. Suzuki succeeded in escaping to Libongao, where he established a new headquarters for the 35th Army.) At 1440 the 306th Infantry reached Highway 2 between Catayom and Cabulihan and proceeded north toward Cabulihan, its objective. Advance elements of the 3d Battalion reached the outskirts of the town but withdrew three or four hundred yards to take advantage of more commanding terrain. After combat patrols had cleared the area, the 306th Infantry established its night perimeter five hundred yards south of Cabulihan at 1600.[18]

General Bruce had ordered the 307th Infantry to remain in San Jose until further notice. Since the guerrilla forces had reported a large number of Japanese in the area, General Bruce had made arrangements to soften the sector with an aerial bombardment and artillery fire before the infantry attack. In response to Bruce’s request, fifteen P-40’s from the V Fighter Command had been made available by General Whitehead for an air strike against the Valencia area.

The 155-mm. guns of the 226th Field Artillery Battalion at Daro began firing on Valencia and the airstrip on the morning of 17 December and hit a Japanese ammunition dump. At 1245 the artillery fire was halted for the air strike, and for fifty minutes the area was bombed and strafed. With the conclusion of the air attack, at 1335, the artillery began anew to pound the area. “The medium artillery ... reached out from Ormoc and the ‘Long Toms’ ... from Daro joined in the fighting.”[19] In the meantime the 902d Field Artillery Battalion moved forward to a point from which it could support the advance of the 307th Infantry. At 1415 the artillery fire stopped and the 307th Infantry moved out astride the San Jose-Valencia road toward Valencia. Though the artillery fire and aerial bombardment had driven some of the Japanese from the area, a strong well-equipped force, including a number of paratroopers, remained to oppose the 307th Infantry. The regiment pushed forward, however, and at 1640 its leading elements were on the southwestern edge of the airstrip and within 1,000 yards of Valencia. The 307th Infantry formed its night perimeter on the edge of the airfield and made preparations to continue the attack on 18 December.[20]

During 17 December, despite the disorganization of the Japanese forces, Colonel Imahori of the 12th Independent Infantry Regiment tried to reach Ormoc, but he was unsuccessful.[21] A few enemy artillery shells landed in the Ormoc area but that was all. General Bruce wrote later: “The men got a laugh because the General’s latrine, unoccupied, was struck. He wished about that time that he had remained up front which he had reached by landing in a cub plane on an unimproved jungle road.”[22]

On the morning of 18 December, since supplies and ammunition for the 306th and 307th Infantry Regiments were becoming dangerously low, General Bruce pushed the armored column vigorously forward through the 305th Infantry. The column swept past enemy strong points and succeeded in bringing supplies to both regiments.

JAPANESE LIGHT TANK destroyed during the fighting along Highway 2. Note dugouts in the sides of banks behind the tank.

The attack of the 305th Infantry was consequently delayed. The 3d Battalion of the regiment, however, jumped off in a northeast direction on the Dolores road in order to cut off any Japanese reinforcements from that area. At 0945 the rest of the 305th Infantry started out along Highway 2 and encountered little resistance. By 1400 the battalions had passed through the barrios of Dayhagan and Huaton (the former and short-lived headquarters of General Suzuki), and knocked out fifteen enemy trucks and three tanks. The 3d Battalion proceeded northeast from the road junction along the road to Dolores, and crushed all resistance. The battalion then moved west toward Highway 2, leaving a platoon behind to seal off the Dolores road from Highway 2.[23]

At 0830 on 18 December the 306th Infantry renewed its attack. At first the 2d Battalion moved south astride Highway 2 in order to make contact with the 305th Infantry, which was pushing north along the highway, but since there was little resistance the battalion withdrew and rejoined the regiment. As the rest of the regiment continued north it met moderate opposition but pushed ahead steadily. The troops encountered many strong points along the road but no organized main line of resistance.

The 306th Infantry proceeded astride the highway against moderate to strong opposition. An enemy force estimated as two battalions had dug in under the houses and in foxholes along the sides of the road. The Japanese tried to halt the advance with heavy machine guns and a few mortars, but without avail. Patrols from the 306th Infantry made contact with the 305th Infantry at 1500. The 306th Infantry reached the southern edge of Valencia at 1630 and tied in with the 307th Infantry. Night perimeters were established.[24]

At 0830 on 18 December the 307th Infantry from the southwestern edge of the Valencia airstrip renewed the attack. There was no opposition and at 0905 the airfield and the town of Valencia were in the hands of the regiment. General Bruce considered the heavy artillery and aerial assaults of the previous day “most effective.” The airfield was in “fair” condition; it was safe for light aircraft and with minor repairs could be made suitable for other aircraft. The 307th Infantry spent the rest of 18 December consolidating its positions and conducting extensive patrols to the north and east. At 1630 it established physical contact with the 306th Infantry.[25]

In three days of relatively fast fighting and maneuvering the 77th Division had shaken the Japanese forces badly and disrupted the plans of General Suzuki. The 307th Infantry, by making a wide envelopment of the west flank, had captured Valencia and its airfield, and the 306th Infantry, making a smaller envelopment, had bisected Highway 2 at Cabulihan while the 305th Infantry moved up the highway from Cogon. All of southern Ormoc Valley from Ormoc to Valencia, a distance of about six and a half miles as the crow flies, was securely in American hands. All units were in contact and ready for the next phase of their mission.

Drive to Palompon Road Junction

Since elements of the XXIV Corps had been able to make more rapid progress through Ormoc Valley than the X Corps units, General Krueger on 19 December enlarged the zone of action of the XXIV Corps to include Libongao, the barrio just below the juncture of Highway 2 with the Palompon road.[26] General Hodge thereupon ordered the 77th Division to continue north and seize Libongao and then to secure the Palompon road and establish contact with the X Corps.[27]

General Bruce ordered the 305th Infantry to assume responsibility for the defense of Valencia and its airfield, and thus free the 306th and 307th Infantry Regiments for new assignments. The 307th was to move north astride Highway 2 to Libongao and then continue to the junction with the Palompon road. The 306th was to move across country and strike northwest toward the Palompon road. Although its advance would parallel that of the 307th, the 306th was to be about 2,300 yards west of the other regiment. After reaching the Palompon road in the vicinity of the Togbong River the 306th Infantry would strike west for the crossing and then move east to the road junction. The 304th, 305th, and 902d Field Artillery Battalions were to remain in the Valencia area while the 306th Field Artillery Battalion was to be prepared to move forward on call.[28]

At Libongao, General Suzuki prepared his defense. In the area he had his headquarters guard and a part of the 4th Airborne Raiding Regiment, in addition to a field artillery battalion, an engineering company, and a transportation company. An advance battalion of the Takahashi Detachment arrived in the sector from Palompon on the night of 17 December. General Suzuki ordered it to proceed south from Libongao and destroy the American forces in the Valencia area.[29]

As the 307th Infantry advanced north at 0900 on 19 December, it became apparent that General Suzuki had organized a defense of the highway. Many machine gun and light artillery emplacements were dug in along the road, and the enemy resistance became more determined as the troops moved north. A force estimated to be of battalion strength was dug in in depth along streams and ridges. With the use of grenades the 307th routed the defenders, the battalion from the Takahashi Detachment. The 307th Infantry pushed steadily north and at 1800 established a night perimeter; it had advanced nearly three miles and captured much enemy equipment during the day.[30]

The 306th Infantry moved out at 1100 and proceeded rapidly, without meeting resistance, to a point about 500 yards south of the Palompon road where it encountered elements of the 5th Infantry Regiment. At 1530 a battery of artillery and infantry mortars and machine guns fired upon the Japanese. In co-ordination with fire from these weapons, the 306th Infantry was then able to push forward. At 1800, though patrols from the regiment had reached the Palompon road, the regiment itself dug in for the night at a point 300 yards south of the Palompon road.[31]

On 20 December, after a five-minute artillery preparation to its front, the 307th Infantry moved out at 0830 and encountered the “strongest fortified positions” since it had left Camp Downes. The Japanese 5th Infantry Regiment and other elements of the 1st Division resisted any forward advance. By 1000 the 307th Infantry had “mowed down” and annihilated two suicide counterattacks of fifty men each on its right flank. An additional force, estimated at 2,000 men, well equipped with machine guns, mortars, and a limited amount of artillery, opposed the 307th Infantry from hastily constructed defensive positions. The attack of the enemy forces was not well co-ordinated; consequently the regiment, though slowed down, was able to continue forward. At 1549 the leading elements of the 307th Infantry were at Libongao. The enemy defensive fire increased in intensity on the northern outskirts of the village. At 1710, about 200 yards north of Libongao, the regiment repulsed a force estimated to consist of 200 Japanese armed with machine guns and mortars. The 307th Infantry established its night perimeter about 1,000 yards south of the road junction. During the day the regiment had captured many tons of ammunition and matériel in supply dumps, together with more than thirty enemy trucks. The 307th Infantry put many of the latter into serviceable condition and made immediate use of them.[32]

For the same day, 20 December, the 306th Infantry, on the left of the 307th, was assigned the mission of advancing to the Palompon road. Upon reaching the road, the 1st Battalion on the left would turn west along it to seize a bridge crossing the Togbong River and the 3d Battalion would turn east to seize the junction of the road and Highway 2.[33] During the night the enemy artillery heavily shelled the sector of the regiment. After a ten-minute artillery preparation the assault battalions moved out at 0830, and by 0925 they had reached the Palompon road. Each of the battalions thereupon started to execute its part of the mission.

The 1st Battalion pushed steadily forward and reached the eastern banks of the Togbong River at the bridge crossing, the bridge itself having been destroyed by the enemy. From a commanding ridge upon the western banks of the river, just north of the bridge site, a Japanese force estimated to be a battalion in strength opposed any further advance. The company on the left forced a passage across the river south of the bridge site, but the company on the right, despite repeated attempts, was unable to cross the river. At 1630 the 1st Battalion received orders to take up a night defensive position on the eastern banks of the river. During the night the enemy unsuccessfully launched three counterattacks against the 1st Battalion. In the morning the battalion counted more than 400 Japanese dead around its position.

The 3d Battalion, 306th Infantry, upon reaching the Palompon road turned east and encountered steadily increasing enemy opposition. By 1500, however, Company K reached the road junction. At the same time the 3d Battalion received orders to withdraw west 300 yards so that the 307th Infantry could register unrestricted fire to its front. This withdrawal was carried out and the 3d and 2d Battalions of the 306th Infantry established night positions 300 yards west of the road junction.

At 1900 General Bruce ordered the 306th Infantry to deliver harassing fire on the enemy forces to the west during the night of 20–21 December and the 307th Infantry to fire 500 yards to its front up Highway 2 and east of the highway.[34]

The Japanese 5th Infantry Regiment had assembled in the Libongao sector with orders to proceed to the Valencia sector, but the 77th Division had advanced so rapidly that it was attacking the 35th Army Headquarters. The Takahashi Detachment suffered heavy casualties and withdrew to Matagob, on the Palompon road between Palompon and Libongao. The field artillery battalion and the engineering and transportation companies that had been left at Matagob were absorbed by the Takahashi Detachment. On 21 December General Suzuki ordered the regiment to make a defensive stand, so that the main force of the 35th Army could withdraw to the Palompon sector on the shore of the Camotes Sea.[35]

During the night of 20–21 December the 77th Division artillery expended half a unit of fire, intermittently bombarding enemy positions west of the 77th Division and to the east of Highway 2. The bombardment was the most intensive made by the 77th Division during the campaign. Just before renewal of the attack on 21 December, the artillery delivered a concentrated thirty-minute preparation. General Bruce ordered the 306th Infantry to move out at 0630. Since the 1st Battalion was short of ammunition, it was to await the arrival of Company E, which had been attached to the battalion, with additional ammunition. At 1250, having received the ammunition, the battalion moved out and at 1330 secured the ridge (overlooking the bridge site), which had blocked its advance the previous day.

Immediately afterward General Bruce ordered the battalion to proceed west along the Palompon road and secure the bridge over the Pagsangahan River. The ridge was thereupon outposted as the 1st Battalion withdrew to prepare for continuation of the assault, but elements of the 5th Infantry Regiment drove the outposts off the ridge and immediately occupied it. At 1500 the 1st Battalion attacked unsuccessfully in an effort to retake the position. It formed a night perimeter at the river crossing at 1600, and at 0750 concentrated a ten-minute artillery preparation on the enemy positions on the ridge. The 1st Battalion then moved out toward the high ground and secured the ridge within twenty minutes, the Japanese offering only slight resistance.[36]

The 77th Division had reached the Palompon road. In its drive north the division had destroyed the major elements of the 5th and 77th Infantry Regiments and the 4th Airborne Regiment.

The 32d Division Resumes the Offensive

Elements of the X Corps were slowly moving south in an attempt to effect a juncture with the XXIV Corps. On 14 December the 126th and 127th Infantry Regiments of the 32d Division had pushed south down Highway 2 against very determined resistance and through mountainous terrain to the main defense line of the 1st Division. The Japanese were well entrenched on a series of ridges overlooking Highway 2. A heavy rain forest covered the ridges and the deep ravines in between. The enemy had carefully selected his defensive positions and camouflaged his machine guns, which were flanked by hidden riflemen. Targets could not be spotted beyond a range of about seventy-five feet. The employment of mortars was very limited because of the lack of visibility, and the hazards of tree burst were equally dangerous to both the Japanese and the Americans. The troops had to “approach within spitting distance of the [Japanese machine] guns” before they could locate the weapons.[37]

For the next few days the regiments of the 32d Division fought valiantly against a foe that limited the division’s advance to a few score yards a day. Of the many acts of individual bravery, those of Pfc. Dick J. Vlug and Sgt. Leroy Johnson were outstanding. Private Vlug single-handedly destroyed five enemy tanks that were moving north along the highway. Sergeant Johnson threw himself upon an enemy grenade that killed him but did not hurt those comrades near him. Both men were awarded the Medal of Honor.

On the morning of 17 December advance elements of the 126th Infantry were about 4,000 yards south of Limon. After a preparation of heavy mortar fire the 1st Battalion moved out at 0730, encountering about a platoon of the enemy on a knoll 300 yards east of the road. A bitter fire fight broke out and continued throughout the day. The battalion was unable to advance farther and set up a night perimeter. During the fight the 1st Battalion captured four enemy machine guns.

In the zone of the 2d Battalion, east of the highway, all the battalion’s mortars, machine guns, and 37-mm. guns, together with four medium tanks, massed their combined fires on the enemy positions to the front. These positions consisted of numerous foxholes, pillboxes of coconut logs, and L-shaped fortifications dug into the mountain sides. A rain of steel descended upon the Japanese on the high ground directly east of the battalion. This preparatory fire had excellent results and the 2d Battalion, after moving out at 1100, quickly secured the ridge and consolidated its position. It captured three 47-mm. antitank guns, three 75-mm. mountain guns, and two 70-mm. battalion guns. About 150 of the enemy were killed by the preparatory fire and the battalion attack.

Company I, 3d Battalion, quickly secured and destroyed a roadblock that the enemy had constructed the previous day. Accompanied by the four tanks, the company then advanced down the highway just behind the 2d Battalion without encountering opposition. For the rest of the day the 3d Battalion protected the road and patrolled five or six hundred yards to the rear. The 127th Infantry to the south remained in position awaiting the 126th Infantry.[38]

By the following morning, 18 December, the 126th Infantry was on a line that extended east of Highway 2. To the front of the regiment, elements of the 1st Division occupied three positions on an east-west line approximately 800 yards in length and extending across Highway 2. There were actually three ridges along this line. The first ran north and south beside the road, and on it was located the western position of the enemy. From this site the Japanese were able to roll hand grenades down on the road. About 200 yards to the east was another strongly fortified north-south ridge, east of which was a small valley with a banana grove. Still farther east was a small knoll upon which was located a strong enemy defensive position. An estimated two reinforced enemy companies, well supported by automatic weapons and well dug in, occupied this position. The whole area was covered with a dense rain forest, and it was impossible to spot any Japanese fortified position more than thirty yards away.

Before the troops moved out, the mortars and tanks placed heavy fire on the Japanese positions for twenty minutes. At 1010 on 18 December the 126th Infantry attacked with the 1st Battalion on the right and the 2d Battalion on the left. In advancing to the ridge nearest the road, the American troops received considerable small arms fire just east of the road. The 1st Battalion moved ahead up the ridge east of the road and by 1230 it had advanced 200 yards to the top of the ridge. The Japanese resisted strongly and heavy fighting occurred in which both sides used machine guns, grenades, and bayonets. By 1800 the 1st Battalion was in firm possession of the ridge. The 2d Battalion, supported by machine guns and mortars, was able to creep up through the forested ravine to within thirty yards of the enemy position on the knoll before it was fired upon. A bitter engagement then ensued. After five hours of intense fighting the battalion drove the Japanese defenders off the knoll. The 1st and 2d Battalions formed their night perimeters within fifty yards of the enemy front lines. The 3d Battalion of the 126th Infantry moved south along the road and closed the gap between the 126th and 127th Infantry Regiments.[39] The artillery fired upon several buildings about 800 to 1,500 yards southwest of the forward elements of the 32d Division. Lucrative artillery targets were practically nonexistent.[40]

On the morning of 19 December the 126th Infantry followed the same procedure that had been used the previous day. A heavy machine gun and mortar concentration was placed upon the Japanese positions on the crest of a ridge fifty yards to the front. At 1100 the 126th Infantry moved out with battalions abreast, the 1st Battalion on the right and the 2d on the left. Six heavy machine guns immediately fired on the left flank of the 1st Battalion. The battalion withdrew and placed a concentration of more than 200 rounds of mortar fire on the position while its machine guns raked the Japanese force “fore and aft.” The troops then renewed the assault but the Japanese continued to resist. Elements of the 1st Division had dug in on the top and both sides of a ridge and had utilized caves to construct a defensive position in which there were more than 100 foxholes with communicating trenches. Heavy fighting continued throughout the day. The 1st Battalion used mortars, flame throwers, white phosphorus grenades, hand grenades, rifles, and supporting flanking fire from its heavy and light machine guns, but was able to advance only seventy-five yards. Although the battalion overran many emplacements, a determined Japanese force remained to be overcome when the battalion established its night perimeter on the eastern slope of the ridge.

The 2d Battalion, 126th Infantry, encountered only scattered rifle fire that came principally from the enemy position on its right flank. During its advance the battalion delivered flanking machine gun and rifle fire in support of the 1st Battalion on its right. By 1200 the 2d Battalion had advanced 200 yards and secured the area in its zone of action. At 1530 the 1st Squadron, 112th Cavalry, which had been protecting the eastern flank of the 32d Division, relieved the 2d Battalion, which withdrew to an assembly area in the rear.

During the night of 19–20 December, the commanding officer of Company B, 126th Infantry, which had borne the brunt of the enemy resistance, placed one platoon of the company along the eastern side of the ridge and another platoon on the western side. At the same time he continued the pressure from the south. Throughout the night the company kept firing at known enemy positions and the sector in general. The company commander also required each of his men to throw hand grenades periodically. At first light and without any breakfast the troops rushed the enemy position. The Japanese had lost the power to resist and by 1000 the company had taken the last of the three enemy positions. Two hundred Japanese dead were counted in the area.

At 1245 on 20 December the 127th Infantry took over the conquered sector and the 1st Battalion, 126th Infantry, withdrew to an assembly area in the rear.[41]

Debouchment From the Mountains

Since the 32d Division had borne the brunt of the assault, General Sibert ordered the 1st Cavalry Division to make the main attack south. It was to assist the advance of the 32d Division to a bridge 1,000 yards north of Lonoy and then move south and make contact with the 77th Division.[42] The 1st Cavalry Division had been operating in the central mountain chain on the eastern flank of the 32d Division and had been opposed by the 102d Division. The latter, after its arrival at Ormoc, had gone directly into the mountains in the vicinity of Mt. Pina.[43] The 102d Division did not play a significant role in the Leyte campaign.

The 112th Cavalry Regimental Combat Team had moved south on the eastern flank of the 32d Division. The 1st Squadron of the 112th Cavalry had been able to keep pace with the 32d Division, but the 2d Squadron had encountered a very strong enemy force on a ridge overlooking the Leyte River south of Limon. The Japanese resisted all the squadron’s efforts to dislodge them. The 2d Squadron, 7th Cavalry, relieved the 2d Squadron, 112th Cavalry, and on 14 December it had succeeded in overcoming the Japanese and had seized the ridge.

Spearhead of the Assault

While the 112th and 7th Cavalry Regiments were busily engaged in defending the east flank of the 32d Division in its push south along Highway 2, the 12th Cavalry was mopping up enemy groups entrenched in the mountains farther to the east. Particularly strong enemy resistance had been encountered in the Mt. Badian and Hill 2348 sector, which was about five miles northeast of Kananga, a barrio on Highway 2.[44] In the process of reducing the Japanese-held area, it was estimated that an enemy force of 500 to 600 men had been wiped out. From 28 November to 9 December, the 12th Cavalry remained in the Mt. Badian and Hill 2348 sector, sent out westward patrols, and slowly moved westward.

On 10 December, General Sibert decided to have elements of the 1st Cavalry Division debouch from the mountains onto Highway 2 south of the 32d Division and in the Lonoy area. This move was to be concurrent with the expected advance of the 32d Division down the highway.[45] The 1st Squadron, 12th Cavalry, was in the vicinity of Mt. Cabungaan, and the 2d Squadron, on Hill 2348, was 2,000 yards northeast of the 1st Squadron. An enemy strong point existed to the north of the perimeter of the 1st Squadron. The 12th Cavalry spent 10 December in making preparations for a two-squadron assault against this enemy force. The plan was for the 1st Squadron to attack at 0830 while the 2d Squadron from Hill 2348 supported the attack by enveloping the left flank of the enemy. In furtherance of this plan Troop E of the 2d Squadron moved off Hill 2348 at 0800 toward the southwest and dug in for the night just north of Mt. Cabungaan.[46]

On the morning of 11 December, an intense mortar and artillery concentration was placed upon the enemy position in front of the 1st Squadron. The fire was so close that fragments frequently fell on the waiting assault troops. After this fire, the 1st Squadron with Troop A in the lead moved out at 0715. At the same time Troop E attacked from the northeast. The enemy defenses consisted of seven or eight pillboxes and many caves dug into the very rugged terrain. The men of Troop A, closely followed by Troop B, charged up the hill “throwing grenades and firing from the hip.”[47] The hill fell to the 1st Squadron at 1003 after very heavy hand-to-hand fighting. Troop E had been held up by the terrain and was unable to assist the 1st Squadron. After the capture of the Japanese position, patrols established contact with Troop E at 1200. The regimental reconnaissance platoon returned from the vicinity of Lonoy with the information that the Japanese had prepared strong defensive positions in that area. The platoon had gained a good observation point 900 yards east of Lonoy.[48] The next several days were spent in sending out patrols and moving the 2d Squadron to the position of the 1st Squadron.

On 14 December, the 12th Cavalry was ordered to continue west to Highway 2 and assist the advance of the 32d Division, to establish a roadblock on the highway, and to attack the hostile forces to the north between it and the 32d Division.[49] In furtherance of this order, the 1st Squadron, less A and C Troops, moved west on 15 December toward a previously reconnoitered area that was about 1,800 yards east of the barrio of Lonoy. This site, a banana plantation, was chosen for its observation facilities to the west and as an excellent dropping ground for supplies. The 1st Squadron, having encountered little opposition, closed on the area before dusk. Thereupon the rest of the regiment was ordered to close in on the area before nightfall on 17 December.

Lonoy

The 12th Cavalry on 18 December sent out patrols to Lonoy, Kananga, and to the northwest to make contact with the nearest friendly troops. The patrols to Lonoy and Kananga, although they ran into scattered groups of the enemy, were able to locate suitable approaches to Lonoy for their squadrons.[50]

At 2235, on 18 December, the 12th Cavalry received orders to move out the following morning, seize Lonoy, and be prepared to seize Kananga. The commanding officer of the regiment decided to have the 1st and 2d Squadrons move out abreast with the 2d Squadron on the left. During the entire night the artillery was to deliver harassing fire on the highway north of Lonoy and on the area between the routes of approach of the two squadrons.

After a preparation on 19 December, the 1st and 2d Squadrons moved out at 0800. The 1st Squadron met only light, sporadic resistance. The troops observed many Japanese proceeding north along the highway and had mortar and artillery fires placed upon them. At 1200, the 1st Squadron seized Lonoy, captured much enemy equipment, and destroyed many supply dumps. The 1st Squadron moved to assist the 2d Squadron in the capture of a knoll southeast of the barrio. The 1st Squadron closed on the knoll about 1400, and aided the assault of the 2d Squadron by fire and by sending a troop east to assist it.

The 2d Squadron jumped off on schedule but at 0930, when it was 800 yards short of its objective, the squadron came under heavy rifle and machine gun fire from the thick woods. The 271st Field Artillery Battalion placed fire on the area and a great many of the enemy were killed, the remainder fleeing south. The squadron received additional machine gun fire from the north but a patrol quickly silenced it. In the meantime the mortar platoon from Troop D, in support of the 1st Squadron, fired upon Lonoy. The Japanese immediately responded with fire from a 105-mm. gun, which they had cleverly concealed in the gap between the two squadrons and about 600 yards from the regimental observation post at which the gun directed its fire. The enemy gun killed one man and wounded fifteen others of the command-post group. The heavy machine guns from the Weapons troop and the artillery from the 271st Field Artillery Battalion began concentrating their fires upon the enemy gun. The Antitank Platoon was sent out to destroy the gun and its crew. Following the machine gun and artillery fire, the enemy gun was silent for about half an hour. It then suddenly opened up against the 2d Squadron at a range of about 300 yards. The enemy fire resulted in tree bursts which killed five men and wounded fifteen others. Troop G, which suffered the most casualties, and the Antitank Platoon immediately turned and attacked to the north to destroy the gun. The 2d Squadron, less Troop G, renewed the attack towards Lonoy, receiving scattered rifle fire. At 1730 it reached Lonoy and was in contact with the 1st Squadron.

Meanwhile, Troop G sideslipped to the west and with the Antitank Platoon attacked and destroyed the enemy gun and four of its crew. A patrol located another enemy 105-mm. gun but, because of darkness and point-blank fire from the weapon at a range of about twenty-five feet, it was unable to knock out the gun. At 2200 Troops G and H, the medical group, and the Antitank Platoon formed a joint night perimeter.[51]

Late that night the regimental commander ordered the 2d and 1st Squadrons of the 12th Cavalry to move south on the morning of 20 December along Highway 2 in a column of squadrons, with the 2d Squadron in the lead. During the night, in preparation for this advance, the 271st Field Artillery Battalion fired 1,096 rounds on Kananga, on the road north of Lonoy, and on sectors occupied by the enemy artillery. This fire destroyed the enemy 105-mm. gun.

At 0715 on the morning of 20 December the 2d Squadron, less Troop G, moved out and immediately came under heavy fire from enemy forces that had dug in underneath houses and behind small pieces of cover along the road. The squadron eliminated these pockets of resistance by direct fire and by flanking movements on both sides of the highway. At 1200 the 2d Squadron forced the Japanese off a ridge which was just east of the highway and about 500 yards north of Kananga. The squadron then encountered heavy rifle and machine gun fire that came from a coconut grove and some houses about 200 yards south of the ridge.

In the meantime, the 1st Squadron, at 0830, moved south to support the attack of the 2d Squadron. At about 1230, the 1st Squadron arrived behind the ridge occupied by the 2d Squadron and then continued south, at 1500, seizing and completely dominating a ridge about fifty yards east of Kananga. The 2d Squadron and a platoon from the 1st Squadron attacked north, parallel to the highway, and by nightfall cleaned out the coconut grove and set up a night perimeter.

General Mudge, commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division, said of the 12th Cavalry:

As a result of the stout-hearted efforts of the 12th Cavalry Regiment, elements of the Division are within 2,500 yards of making contact with forward elements of the 77th Division. Considering the fact that the regiment has been reduced to 50% strength by the rigors and deprivations of 40 days in the mountains, the display of courage, stamina, and drive on the part of the 12th Cavalry is a credit to the best traditions of the United States Cavalry.[52]

During the night General Mudge ordered the 12th Cavalry to move out at 0800 21 December, seize Kananga, and then make physical contact with the 77th Division, which was pushing north from Libongao. He attached the 1st Squadron, 5th Cavalry, to the 12th Cavalry.

Juncture of Forces

On the morning of 21 December the 1st and 2d Squadrons of the 12th Cavalry, supported by the 271st Field Artillery Battalion, moved out in a co-ordinated assault against Kananga. The 1st Squadron attacked from the north while the 2d Squadron drove in from the ridge on the east. The first elements of the regiment reached Kananga at 1157 and by 1425 the 12th Cavalry was in the town. The regiment methodically cleared out every hut, ferreted out each Japanese, and destroyed every installation. While the mopping up was going on, patrols from the 12th Cavalry pushed to the south to make contact with the 77th Division.

The regimental commander ordered the commander of the 3d Battalion, 306th Infantry, to push east at 0730 on 21 December along the Palompon road to the juncture of the road with Highway 2 and then turn north for 1,000 yards and attempt to establish contact with the 1st Cavalry Division. The 3d Battalion moved out on time, and within fifteen minutes reached the road junction and turned north. The battalion had gone only 200 yards north when its left-flank company came under intense fire from a ridge overlooking the road. The 2d Battalion complied with orders from the regimental commander to “put out something” on the 3d Battalion’s left flank and sent out one rifle company to envelop the enemy position. This move relieved the pressure to some extent but the advance was still slow and costly.

In the meantime, the 307th Infantry reached the road junction at 0800, having advanced without incident. With the slowing up of the 306th Infantry, General Bruce ordered the commander of the 307th Infantry Regiment to send forward additional troops. The 2d Battalion, 307th Infantry, and the Cannon and Antitank Companies of the regiment were sent to the front to reinforce the 306th Infantry. This maneuver was successful and the attacking forces pushed forward.

At 1645, the 306th Infantry and Troop A of the 12th Cavalry made physical contact. At 1115 on 22 December, Col. John H. Stadler, the commanding officer of the 12th Cavalry, representing General Mudge, met General Bruce at a bridge south of Kananga. The X and XXIV Corps had joined hands. Highway 2 was at long last open for its entire distance from Ormoc to Pinamopoan.[53]

The Ormoc Valley, in which the Japanese had so tenaciously resisted the American advance, was now securely in the hands of the Sixth Army. The northern and southern prongs of the trap had closed. There remained only Palompon as an exit for the Japanese forces. To the securing of that port, the X and XXIV Corps, acting in concert, could concentrate their main efforts. Plans had been readied. The Sixth Army was poised in a position from which it could drive westward to the sea and bring the Leyte campaign to a successful conclusion.

[1] XXIV Corps FO 37, 18 Dec 44. [↑]

[2] Sixth Army G-2 Wkly Rpt 68, 13 Dec 44, p. 14. [↑]

[3] Ltr, Gen Bruce to Gen Ward, 16 Aug 51, OCMH. [↑]

[4] Msg, CG XXIV Corps to CG 77th Div, 13 Dec 44, XXIV Corps G-3 Jnl, 13 Dec 44. [↑]

[5] Msg, CG XXIV Corps to G-3 Sixth Army, 14 Dec 44, Sixth Army G-3 Jnl, 14 Dec 44. [↑]

[6] 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 24–25; 305th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 5; 305th Inf Unit Rpt 11, 16 Dec 44; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 22, 16 Dec 44; 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 16 Dec 44. [↑]

[7] XXIV Corps FO 37 (Confirmatory of Oral and Fragmentary Orders), 18 Dec 44; 77th Div FO 17, 15 Dec 44. [↑]

[8] 77th Div FO 17, 15 Dec 44. [↑]

[9] Ltr, Gen Bruce to Gen Ward, 16 Aug 51, OCMH. [↑]

[10] 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 16 Dec 44; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 22, 16 Dec 44; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 25; 307th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 6. [↑]

[11] 306th Inf Unit Jnl, 16 Dec 44; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 22, 16 Dec 44; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 24–25; 306th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 9. [↑]

[12] MI Div, War Dept, “Leyte Field Fortifications,” Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 57 (April, 1945), pp. 108–10. [↑]

[13] 35th Army Opns, pp. 99–101. [↑]

[14] Ibid., p. 101. [↑]

[15] 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 26, 27. [↑]

[16] 77th Div FO 18, 17 Dec 44; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 25–26. [↑]

[17] 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 17 Dec 44; 77th Div G-2 Jnl, 17 Dec 44; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 27; 305th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 6; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 23, 17 Dec 44. [↑]

[18] 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 17 Dec 44; 306th Inf Unit Jnl, 17 Dec 44; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 23, 17 Dec 44; 306th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 9; 35th Army Opns, pp. 101–103. [↑]

[19] Ltr, Gen Bruce to Gen Ward, 16 Aug 51, OCMH. [↑]

[20] 307th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 7; 77th Div Arty Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 5–6; 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 17 Dec 44; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 27; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 23, 17 Dec 44. [↑]

[21] 35th Army Opns, p. 101. [↑]

[22] Ltr, Gen Bruce to Gen Ward, 16 Aug 51, OCMH. [↑]

[23] 305th Inf Unit Rpt 15, 18 Dec 44; 77th Div G-2 Jnl, 18 Dec 44; 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 18 Dec 44; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 24, 18 Dec 44; 305th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 6; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 28. [↑]

[24] 306th Inf Unit Jnl, 18 Dec 44; 77th Div G-2 Jnl, 18 Dec 44; 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 18 Dec 44; 306th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 9–10; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 28; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 24, 18 Dec 44. [↑]

[25] 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 18 Dec 44; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 24, 18 Dec 44; 307th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 7; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 28. [↑]

[26] Sixth Army FO 39, 19 Dec 44. [↑]

[27] XXIV Corps FO 38 (Confirmatory of Oral and Fragmentary orders), 21 Dec 44. [↑]

[28] 77th Div FO 19, 19 Dec 44. [↑]

[29] 35th Army Opns, p. 103. [↑]

[30] 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 19 Dec 44; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 25, 19 Dec 44; 307th Inf Unit Jnl, 19 Dec 44; 307th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 7. [↑]

[31] 306th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 10; 306th Inf Unit Jnl, 19 Dec 44; 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 19 Dec 44; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 29; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 25, 19 Dec 44. [↑]

[32] 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 26, 20 Dec 44; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 31; 77th Div G-2 Jnl, 20 Dec 44; 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 20 Dec 44; 307th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 7–8; 307th Inf Unit Jnl, 20 Dec 44. [↑]

[33] 306th Inf FO 11, 19 Dec 44. [↑]

[34] 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 30–31; 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 20 Dec 44; 77th Div G-2 Jnl, 20 Dec 44; 306th Inf Unit Jnl, 20 Dec 44; 306th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 10–11; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 26, 20 Dec 44. [↑]

[35] 35th Army Opns, pp. 103–104. [↑]

[36] 306th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 11–12; 306th Inf Unit Jnl, 21 Dec 44. During this action Pfc. George Benjamin, Jr., a radio operator from Company A, killed the crew of a machine gun nest at the cost of his life. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. [↑]

[37] 32d Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 30, 16 Dec 44. [↑]

[38] 32d Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 31, 17 Dec 44; 32d Div G-3 Jnl, 17 Dec 44; 126th Inf Unit Jnl, 17 Dec 44; 32d Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 31, 17 Dec 44. [↑]

[39] 32d Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 32, 18 Dec 44; 32d Div G-3 Jnl, 18 Dec 44; 126th Inf Unit Jnl, 18 Dec 44. [↑]

[40] 32d Div Arty Daily Rpt, 18 Dec 44. [↑]

[41] 32d Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 33, 19 Dec 44; 32d Div G-3 Jnl, 19 Dec 44; 126th Inf Unit Jnl, 20 Dec 44; 32d Div G-3 Jnl, 20 Dec 44. [↑]

[42] X Corps FO 22, 20 Dec 44. [↑]

[43] 10th I&HS, Eighth Army Stf Study of Opns of Japanese 102d Division on Leyte and Cebu, Interrog of Maj Chuji Kaneko, p. 3. [↑]

[44] Unless otherwise stated the part of this subsection dealing with the 12th Cavalry is based on: 12th Cav Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 20–30, 76–85; 1st Cav Div G-3 Periodic Rpts 51–63, 10–22 Dec 44; and 12th Cav Unit Rpts 54–65, 11–22 Dec 44. [↑]

[45] 1st Cav Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 52; 1st Cav Div FO 17, 10 Dec 44. [↑]

[46] 12th Cav Unit Rpt 53, 10 Dec 44; 1st Cav Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 52, 11 Dec 44. The spelling of Mt. Cabungaan used here follows that of the maps employed by the combat troops. The Board of Geographic Names gives the spelling as Mt. Cabungangan. [↑]

[47] 12th Cav Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 24. [↑]

[48] 12th Cav Unit Rpt 54, 11 Dec 44; 1st Cav Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 53, 12 Dec 44. [↑]

[49] 1st Cav FO 18, 14 Dec 44. [↑]

[50] 1st Cav Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 60, 19 Dec 44. [↑]

[51] 1st Cav Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 61, 20 Dec 44; X Corps G-2 Periodic Rpt 59, 19 Dec 44; 1st Cav Div G-3 Jnl, 19 Dec 44. [↑]

[52] 1st Cav Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 62, 21 Dec 44. [↑]

[53] 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 21 Dec 44; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpt 27, 21 Dec 44; 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 31–32; 307th Inf Unit Jnl, 21 Dec 44; 307th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 8; 306th Inf Unit Jnl, 21 Dec 44; 306th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 11–12. [↑]

CHAPTER XXI

Westward to the Sea

The co-ordinated pressure exerted from the north and south on the Japanese forces in the Ormoc area had compelled the commander of the 35th Army to make successive changes in his plans. General Suzuki had abandoned the aerial and ground assault against the Burauen airfields, transferred the field base of the 35th Army from Ormoc to Palompon and, finally, had found it necessary to order the remaining Japanese units on Leyte to retreat to the hills behind Ormoc Valley. General Tomochika said afterward, “The best that the 35th Army could do from then on was to hold out as long as possible.”[1]

The northwestern mountains of Leyte west of Ormoc Bay provided a difficult barrier to any movement toward the northwest coast. The area was the last one available to the Japanese either for escaping from Leyte or for staging defensive actions. In general, the terrain was rough, increasing in altitude from broken ground and low hills in the north to steep rocky ridges and high hills in the south. The northern part was either under cultivation or covered with cogon grass. Toward the south, the cultivated fields and grasslands were gradually supplanted by dense forests.

Palompon had been extensively used by the Japanese as an auxiliary port of entry to Leyte. The town was the western terminus of the road that ran north and eastward across the northwestern hills to join Highway 2 near Libongao. ([Map 23]) It was this road junction that the X and XXIV Corps had seized. The Palompon road, as it was called, followed the lower slopes of the hills until the flat interior valley floor was reached. The confining hills were steep-sided with many knife-edged crests.[2] Such was the area into which the forces of the Sixth Army had driven remnants of the Japanese 35th Army.

When the 77th Infantry Division and the 1st Cavalry Division joined forces on 21 December just south of Kananga, Highway 2 between Ormoc and Pinamopoan was opened to the Americans. The Sixth Army, anxious to deliver the coup de grâce, arranged its troops for a four-division thrust to the west coast on a long front. In the south the 77th Division was to drive west along the Palompon road. To its right (north) there would be, from left to right, the 1st Cavalry Division and the 32d and 24th Infantry Divisions. The Sixth Army had started the Leyte Campaign with two corps on a four-division front and was ending its part in the campaign with two corps on a four-division front.

MAP 23 H. Damon

OPENING THE PALOMPON ROAD

22–31 December 1944

The 77th Division Goes West

Overwater to Palompon[3]

Guerrillas had informed General Bruce that the bridges on the road that wound through the mountains from the vicinity of Libongao to Palompon either were intact or could be quickly repaired. General Bruce decided to verify this by having an engineer patrol work with the guerrillas and by having a reconnaissance made over the area in a cub plane. On 19 December General Bruce directed that a fast-moving force be organized to operate along the road to Palompon. The engineers later informed him that because of the condition of many of the bridges it would be impossible to send an advance column along the road.[4]

On 21 December General Hodge, anticipating the juncture of the X and XXIV Corps, ordered the 77th Division to be prepared after that event to move rapidly west and seize the Palompon area.[5] On 22 December General Krueger, acting on a recommendation that had been made by General Bruce through General Hodge,[6] informed Admiral Kinkaid that it might be possible to expedite the capture of Palompon by having an infantry battalion, utilizing amphibian vehicles and LCM’s, make an amphibious movement from Ormoc to the vicinity of Palompon. He therefore asked Admiral Kinkaid if naval support to escort and guide this movement could be furnished for either the night of 23–24 or that of 24–25 December. If possible, the amphibious force should have a destroyer escort.[7] Admiral Kinkaid stated, in reply, that because of preparations for other operations it would be “most difficult” to provide a destroyer escort but that he could furnish a PT escort which he believed would be sufficient protection.[8] This was satisfactory to General Krueger and he ordered the XXIV Corps to make plans for the amphibious movement.[9] In turn General Hodge told General Bruce to prepare for the operation.

On 22 December, General Bruce put his plan into operation. The 1st Battalion, 305th Infantry, was to make the amphibious landing in the vicinity of Palompon while the 2d and 3d Battalions were to proceed west along the Palompon road, after moving in trucks from Valencia to the Palompon road near the Togbong River. Previously, on 21 December, Battery A of the 531st Field Artillery Battalion (155-mm. gun) was brought with a great deal of effort to a position near San Jose from which it could fire on Palompon, which the guerrillas and civilians had received instructions to evacuate.[10]

The 1st Battalion was to commence loading at 1400 on 23 December at Ormoc. The convoy was to be protected en route by patrol torpedo boats and close air support. Upon arriving at Palompon at 0500 on 25 December, the mortar-firing LCM’s were to bombard the shore before the assault forces moved in. Beginning 23 December, the artillery of the 77th Division was to bombard Palompon and to continue as long as Lt. Col. James E. Landrum, the task force commander, desired it.[11]

The 1st Battalion was to move ashore on the beach about 1,500 yards north of Palompon with Companies C and B in assault, Company C on the left. Its mission was to destroy the enemy force in Palompon and then turn north.[12]

In support of the proposed landing, aircraft from the Fifth Air Force bombed Palompon on 23 December. The results were “hot stuff,” an overenthusiastic observer reported, claiming that “only half of two houses were left standing in the whole town.”[13]

On 23 December, the reinforced 1st Battalion moved to Ormoc to prepare for the amphibious landing and at 1930 on 24 December the troops embarked.[14] The convoy departed at 2000. The vessels included, in addition to the mechanized landing craft, the LVT’s of the 718th and 536th Amphibian Tractor Battalions. They made the tedious ten-hour trip without incident as far as enemy action was concerned, although three of the LVT’s “sank owing to mechanical failure.”

PALOMPON AFTER ALLIED BOMBINGS. Note bomb craters in foreground.

The vessels took position off the landing beaches on the morning of 25 December. After the 155-mm. guns of the 531st Field Artillery Battalion had fired from positions near San Jose, twelve and a half miles east of Palompon, the mortar boats of the 2d Engineer Special Brigade softened up the beaches. The landing waves then started for the shore, the first wave landing at 0720 and the last one at 0755. They received no hostile fire.

“Meanwhile,” wrote General Bruce, “the Division Commander could stand it no longer and called for a plane, flew soon after daylight across the mountains and seaward, located the amphibious forces still at sea, ... witnessed the preparatory fires by the 155-mm. guns and that from the mortar boats ... saw them going in ... and advance to the beach. (He obeyed a rather boyish impulse and flew from 25 to 50 feet above the heads of the troops in the assault boats and leaned out, giving a boxer’s victory sign with both hands.)”[15]

The troops quickly organized on the beach. A light fast armored column moved north to clear the road and to forestall any Japanese counterattack from that direction as the rest of the task force went rapidly south through the barrio of Look to Palompon, which fell at 1206. This closed the last main port of entrance on the island to the Japanese. Within four hours after hitting the beaches the battalion had secured the barrios of Buaya and Look as well as Palompon, and had strong patrols operating to the northeast and south. The troops met no opposition at any point. It was doubtless with great satisfaction that General Bruce sent the following message to the Commanding General, XXIV Corps: “The 77th Infantry Division’s Christmas contribution to the Leyte Campaign is the capture of Palompon, the last main port of the enemy. We are all grateful to the Almighty on this birthday of the Son and on the Season of the Feast of Lights.”[16] The 1st Battalion received “warm congratulations and thanks” from General Krueger.[17]

The 1st Battalion occupied a defensive position in the vicinity of Look on 25 December, and rested on 26 December, which was Christmas Day back home. It spent the next five days sending out patrols and awaiting the arrival through the mountains of the rest of the 305th Infantry. On 30 December, Company C made a reconnaissance in force and an amphibious landing at Abijao, about seven miles north of Palompon. The company overcame some Japanese resistance and burned down the town to prevent its reoccupation. It then pushed 1,300 yards north and established radio contact with elements of the 1st Cavalry Division, which had pushed through the mountains to the vicinity of Villaba.[18]

The Palompon Road

The Palompon road wound through the mountains and crossed many rivers, over which some forty bridges would have to be built or repaired. It ran northwest two and a half miles from the Togbong River to the barrio of Humaybunay and then cut sharply to the southwest for about four miles to Matagob, at which point it went into the hills almost directly south for about 2,000 yards, and then turned south-southwest for 1,000 yards. At this point it turned and twisted to the southwest for approximately five and a half miles to the vicinity of San Miguel, from where it arched 3,500 yards to Look, on the Camotes Sea.

The Japanese had pockmarked Matagob and the area surrounding it with foxholes and emplacements and had dug spider holes under the houses. South of Matagob, where the road climbed into the hills, the enemy had utilized natural caves, gullies, and ridges on both sides of the road and dug many deep defensive positions. Some of these were eight feet deep, two feet in diameter at the top, and widened to six feet at the bottom. The Japanese had emplaced machine guns in culverts and had constructed several well-camouflaged coconut log pillboxes on the forward slopes of the ridges. An excellent, almost invisible installation, which served as an observation post, was dug in on the forward slope of a ridge about three miles north of San Miguel. It had a concealed entrance on the reverse slope. From this post eight miles of the road to the north and east could be observed.

The Japanese 5th Infantry Regiment was the principal enemy unit in the sector, although remnants of other units retreating west from Highway 2 were in the area. The following Japanese units were identified: 1st, 3d, and 6th Batteries of the 8th Field Artillery Regiment; elements of the 8th Division Signal Unit; the 8th Transport Regiment; and the 8th Engineer Regiment. Although intelligence officers estimated that there were between 2,000 and 3,000 enemy troops in the sector, only a force of about battalion strength opposed the 305th Infantry. The rest had scattered into the hills to the northwest.

At 0700, on 22 December, the 2d Battalion, 305th Infantry, left Valencia followed at 1035 by the 3d Battalion. The 2d Battalion crossed the Togbong River, moved through the 1st Battalion, 306th Infantry, and at 1030 attacked along the Palompon road. The battalion had advanced 1,600 yards northwest by 1230 and secured the Pagsangahan River crossing. The assault continued with the 3d Battalion coming up on the right flank of the 2d. The battalions moved through rice paddies and through Humaybunay and established a night perimeter about one mile southwest of the barrio.

The 302d Engineer Battalion, which followed behind the assault battalions, fought the “battle of bridges.”[19] The engineers worked around the clock, frequently without any infantry protection, to restore the bridges as soon as possible. The bridges were to be sufficiently strengthened initially to support 2½-ton truck traffic for infantry supply, then they were to be reinforced to carry 20 tons in order to bring M8’s forward, and eventually to 36-ton capacity to carry the M10’s. General Bruce had hoped that sufficient Bailey bridges could be made available for important crossings to carry traffic while engineers built wooden bridges under the Bailey bridges. Only a limited number of Bailey bridges were furnished, however, and engineer progress to the west was slowed down.[20]

The assault battalions of the 305th Infantry that were astride the Palompon road spent a quiet night. They had before them the enemy’s strongly fortified positions at Matagob. At 0830 on 23 December, the 2d Battalion moved out, followed at 1130 by the 3d Battalion. The 2d Battalion moved forward west of the road while the 3d advanced east of the road. Intermittent enemy rifle fire fell upon the 2d Battalion but it pushed ahead steadily. At 1500, the 2d Battalion was 500 yards beyond Matagob and the 3d was 300 yards behind the 2d. The troops came under heavy fire from two enemy 75-mm. guns on the hills west of Matagob and suffered several casualties. The mortars and artillery with the 305th Infantry silenced the Japanese guns. The regimental commander issued orders for the battalions to move out for the assault at 1000 on the following day against the regimental objective, a road bend that was 2,000 yards to its front. The 2d Battalion set up its night perimeter in place while the 3d Battalion withdrew to a point 1,000 yards east of Matagob. The regimental command post moved from Humaybunay to the 3d Battalion perimeter.[21]

During the night the Japanese made several attempts to penetrate the American lines. The 3d Battalion destroyed a demolition squad that entered its position, while the 2d Battalion beat back one attack at 0245 and another one, which was accompanied by mortar fire, at 0630. The 305th Infantry killed an estimated 100 Japanese with no casualties to the regiment.[22]

At 1000 on 24 December the assault troops jumped off. The Japanese resistance was light and intermittent, but American progress was slow because of the rough, irregular hills in which the enemy had established positions in foxholes, spider holes, and caves. Since it was not possible to bypass these positions, the regiment had to clear each one before the advance could continue. The force received some artillery fire but a mortar platoon from Company A, 88th Chemical Weapons Battalion, silenced the enemy guns. At 1500 the battalions set up their night perimeter 500 yards short of the road bend. During the night a Japanese force of twenty men, which tried to penetrate the defenses of the 3d Battalion, was killed.[23]

At 0800 on 25 December the attack was renewed, but made very slow progress. The enemy, dug in in small pockets along the road, resisted stubbornly. The 3d Battalion advanced 200 yards and was pinned down by machine gun, mountain gun, and rifle fire. The 2d Battalion attempted to envelop the enemy strong point on the Japanese right (south) flank but was repulsed.[24]

On 26 December the regiment limited its activity to patrolling. Since it was Christmas Day in the States, “All guns of the Division Artillery fired ... at ... 1200 as a salute to the nation on Christmas Day. This was followed by one minute of silent prayer for the dead and wounded of the 77th Division.”[25] That night General Bruce ordered the troops to build bonfires and sing, and employ other ruses in the hope that the Japanese might believe that the troops were celebrating Christmas and might therefore try to enter the defensive perimeters. These ruses were unsuccessful in the sectors of the assault battalions, but a similar one employed in the area of the regimental command post attracted some Japanese patrols, which were either destroyed or driven off.

At dawn on 27 December the 3d Battalion moved around the Japanese left flank toward the high ground six hundred yards from the line of departure. Despite enemy artillery and machine gun fire and the difficult terrain, the battalion reached the objective, killing 160 Japanese. The remainder fled to the hills.

When it became apparent that the Japanese resistance was strong and determined and might unduly delay the progress of the 305th Infantry, General Bruce decided to move the 2d Battalion of the regiment overwater to the vicinity of Palompon at the western terminus of the road. The 2d Battalion could then attack east along the road while the 3d Battalion continued the attack west. The Japanese defenders would thus be under fire on their front and rear. This eastern attack force, which was called the Provisional Mountain Force, moved to Ormoc and thence, after arrangements had been made with the naval representatives of Krueger’s staff, overwater by LCM’s to Palompon. It arrived at the latter without incident at 1500 on 28 December. On the same day the 3d Battalion, reinforced, continued the attack westward. The Japanese resisted strongly with small arms fire from pillboxes and with artillery. The 3d Battalion advanced approximately 1,000 yards during the day.[26]

At 0800 on 29 December, the 3d Battalion moved out. The battalion had advanced 650 yards at 1000 when it encountered very determined resistance from an enemy force in very well camouflaged, dug-in positions. The troops were pinned down for the rest of the day. The Provisional Mountain Force moved out of Look at 1200 to a position from which it could launch its assault eastward along the road.

At 0930 on 30 December the 305th Infantry struck along the Palompon road, the 3d Battalion driving west, and the Provisional Mountain Force attacking east. The Mountain Force encountered only scattered resistance until 0930, when the Japanese, from well-entrenched positions in the precipitous sides of the road at a point about four miles east of Palompon, directed strong machine gun fire along the road. The Mountain Force dug in for the night on high ground overlooking the point at which its advance had been halted. The 3d Battalion succeeded in overcoming the opposition which had halted it the previous day, and pushed forward to a point about 1,000 yards southwest of Tipolo. The Japanese had emplaced artillery on curves in the road and could fire directly on the advancing American troops. Although the 305th Infantry lost one tank to enemy artillery fire, it was able to destroy three 75-mm. guns and capture two others intact.[27]

During the night, the Japanese force withdrew; only scattered troops were left to delay the advance. At 0800 on 31 December, the assault forces of the 305th Infantry resumed the attack, and encountered only sporadic rifle fire. At 1225 at a point two miles northeast of San Miguel the 3d Battalion and the Provisional Mountain Force met. This ended all organized resistance along the Palompon road and secured an overland route from Highway 2 in the Ormoc Valley to Palompon on the west coast.[28] The 77th Division made the astounding estimate that for the period from 21 through 31 December 1944, it had killed 5,779 Japanese, taken 29 prisoners, and had lost 17 men killed, 116 wounded, and 6 missing in action.[29]

X Corps Goes West

Meanwhile, to the north of the 77th Division, elements of the 1st Cavalry Division and the 32d Infantry Division had turned off Highway 2 and were pushing over the mountains to the west coast.[30]

The 1st Cavalry Division

With the clearing of Highway 2 and the junction of the X and XXIV Corps at a point just south of Kananga, the 1st Cavalry Division was in readiness to push toward the west coast in conjunction with assaults by the 77th Division on its left and the 32d Division on its right. The troops were on a 2,500-yard front along Highway 2 between Kananga and Lonoy.

On the morning of 23 December the assault units of the 1st Cavalry Division moved out from the highway and started west. None encountered any resistance. The 1st Squadron, 12th Cavalry, established a night perimeter on a ridge about 1,400 yards slightly northwest of Kananga. The 1st Squadron, 5th Cavalry, set up a night perimeter 1,000 yards north of that of the 1st Squadron, 12th Cavalry, while the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry, dug in for the night on a line with the other two squadrons.

This first day’s march set the pattern for the next several days. The regiments pushed steadily forward, meeting only scattered resistance. The chief obstacles were waist-deep swamps in the zone of the 12th Cavalry. These were waded on 24 December. The tangled vegetation and sharp, precipitous ridges that were henceforward encountered also made the passage slow and difficult.

On 28 December, the foremost elements of the 5th and 12th Cavalry Regiments broke out of the mountains and reached the barrio of Tibur on the west coast, about 2,800 yards north of Abijao. (See Map 2.) By nightfall on the following day, the 7th Cavalry was also on the west coast but farther north. In its advance it had encountered and destroyed many small, scattered groups of the enemy, most of whom showed little desire to fight. The regiment arrived at Villaba, two and one-half miles north of Tibur, at dusk, and in securing the town killed thirty-five Japanese.

During the early morning hours of 31 December, the Japanese launched four counterattacks against the forces at Villaba. Each started with a bugle call, the first attack beginning at 0230 and the final one at dawn. An estimated 500 of the enemy, armed with mortars, machine guns, and rifles, participated in the assaults, but the American artillery stopped the Japanese and their forces scattered. On 31 December, the 77th Division began to relieve the elements of the 1st Cavalry Division, which moved back to Kananga.

On the morning of the 30th of December, the 7th Cavalry had made physical contact northeast of Villaba with the 127th Infantry, 32d Division, which had been driving to the west coast north of the 1st Cavalry Division.

The 32d Division

On 22 December the 127th Infantry had reached Lonoy and made contact with the 7th Cavalry. On the following day the troops rested.[31] The 128th Infantry had been engaged in sending out patrols throughout the Limon area from 11 to 18 December. These patrols were successful in wiping out pockets of resistance that had been bypassed by the advance forces of the 32d Division in the division’s drive along Highway 2 to the south. On 20 December, the 128th received orders from General Gill to prepare for a move to the west coast.[32]

Both the 127th and 128th Infantry Regiments sent out patrols on 23 December to reconnoiter the terrain. At 0800 on 24 December the two regiments started for the west coast. Throughout the march to the sea, they encountered only small parties of the enemy, who put up no effective resistance, but heavy rains, dense, almost impassable forests, and steep craggy hills slowed the advance.

The commanding officer of the 127th Infantry said of the hills encountered on 24 December:

The morning was spent in climbing to the top of a mountain ridge. The climbing was difficult but as we later found out, the descent was much worse. The trail led almost perpendicular down the side. After reaching the bottom, another ridge was encountered, this almost straight up, everyone had to use hand holds to pull themselves up. All in all there were seven ridges from the bottom of the first descent to the first possible bivouac area.[33]

The hills were less rugged from then on. On the morning of 25 December, the 1st Battalion, 127th Infantry, encountered and dispersed 300 to 400 Japanese. Throughout the march both regiments received supplies by airdrop, which was not completely satisfactory since none of the drops was made at the requested time and frequently there was a wide scattering of supplies.

On the afternoon of 29 December the two regiments were on their objectives: the 128th Infantry on the high ground overlooking Tabango and Campopo Bays and the 127th Infantry on the high ground overlooking Antipolo Point, approximately three miles to the south. Patrols were sent out to scout the terrain and establish contact with the 1st Cavalry Division on the south and with the 24th Infantry Division on the north.[34]

The 24th Infantry Division[35]

The 24th Division, after having been relieved by the 32d Division on Breakneck Ridge, had protected the rear areas on a trail leading from Jaro to Ormoc. Two weeks before the march to the west coast a large Japanese convoy had been attacked by U. S. aircraft and forced into San Isidro Bay on the northern part of the west coast. Although the vessels were destroyed, some of the troops were able to get ashore. On 9 December they headed toward Calubian, on Leyte Bay about six miles northeast of San Isidro. General Woodruff, who had replaced General Irving on 18 November, ordered Colonel Clifford’s 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry, which had been defending Kilay Ridge, to wipe out the part of the enemy force that had landed at San Isidro and fled northeastward to the vicinity of Calubian.

At 2300 on 21 December, Colonel Clifford notified Colonel Dahlen, the commanding officer of the 34th Infantry, that a Japanese force of about 160 men was at Tuktuk, about four miles south of Calubian. He added that at 0800 on the following morning the 1st Battalion would move out and destroy the force.

At 0300 a force consisting of a platoon from Company C and a platoon from Company A moved toward the high ground northwest of Tuktuk in preparation for the assault, but because of very poor trails the force was delayed. In the meantime four LVT’s with a platoon of mortars moved overwater to Tuktuk. At 0830 the attack started, with machine guns mounted on the LVT’s and mortars furnishing supporting fire. The Japanese resistance was sporadic, although some mortar fire was received. As the troops of the 34th Infantry neared the barrio, the enemy defenders broke and fled, and the town was deserted as the soldiers entered. Approximately thirty enemy dead were counted in the barrio and vicinity. The fleeing enemy force was later destroyed by patrols that worked over the sector. The Japanese had obviously been looting because linens, silverware, and women’s clothing were found in their packs. One soldier had a baby’s high chair tied on the top of his pack.

On 23 December, Col William W. Jenna, former commanding officer of the 34th Infantry, returned from sick leave in the States and assumed command of the 34th Infantry. With his arrival plans were expedited to clean up the northwestern end of the Leyte peninsula in conjunction with the assaults of other units of the Sixth Army.

From 23 to 26 December, extensive patrolling was conducted along the west coast of the Leyte peninsula. On 26 December the 34th Infantry issued orders for clearing the part of the Leyte peninsula in its zone. The 1st Battalion was to secure all trails and high ground in the interior, prevent any enemy movement to the north and to the east, and, finally, be prepared to assist the 2d Battalion in the capture of the San Isidro Bay area.

At 2245 on 26 December the LCM’s at Villalon (a barrio on Biliran Strait and about six miles northwest of Calubian) began to load Companies F and G. By 2300 the embarkation was completed and the craft moved to Gigantangan Island, arriving there fifteen minutes after midnight. The troops disembarked and slept. At 0530 they again embarked and proceeded to Taglawigan, arriving there at 0730. After strafing the shore the companies landed, meeting no resistance. At the same time Company F completed its assignment without opposition, pushing east and south and encircling Taglawigan. Before noon, some elements of the 2d Battalion were moving overland to Daha, about two miles to the south, while others had re-embarked and were making an overwater movement toward it. By noon Taglawigan and Daha had fallen to the 2d Battalion.

Company G, reinforced, left Company F at Daha, re-embarked on the landing craft, and headed toward the San Isidro Bay area, 6,000 yards to the south. As the convoy neared San Isidro, it came under machine gun fire from the barrio and the hills to the southwest. A frontal attack on the town was abandoned and the landing craft moved to the southwest of the jetty to make their landing. The LVT’s mired in the mud about 100 to 150 yards offshore. The rest of the force, which was in the LCM’s, waded ashore. Some of the troops from the LVT’s met with great difficulty in trying to get ashore but the LVT’s finally succeeded in retracting and picked them up. Approximately 150 soldiers with supplies for the task force returned to Gigantangan Island. The convoy had only one casualty.

In the meantime, the 1st Battalion had received orders at 1300 to take San Isidro. The battalion moved overland from Calubian and at nightfall it dug in on the high ground overlooking San Isidro.

At 0800 on 28 December, the co-ordinated assault was made against San Isidro, with elements of the 2d Battalion attacking from the north while the 1st Battalion attacked from the east. The troops encountered light resistance, the Japanese defenders being only partially armed. Fifty-five of the enemy were killed and one prisoner was taken. By 1230, the 1st Battalion was out-posting San Isidro.

With the capture of San Isidro, the last main point on the Leyte peninsula was safely in the hands of the 34th Infantry. The troops moved south along the coast and destroyed small, poorly equipped groups of the enemy. One group of Japanese, whose only weapons were bayonets attached to bamboo poles, tried hopelessly to break through the lines.

On 1 January 1945, the 77th Division was ordered to relieve the 32d and 24th Infantry Divisions and the 1st Cavalry Division. The relieved divisions were to move to staging areas and prepare for future operations.

The Japanese Retreat

Condition of Japanese Forces

The morale and physical condition of the Japanese Army were very low. With the juncture of the American X and XXIV Corps, the 35th Army had begun to disintegrate. Desertion became common. The wounded would not assemble with their units. The problem of the wounded became serious since there were no proper facilities for medical treatment. General Tomochika later said: “Commanders employing persuasive language frequently requested seriously wounded soldiers at the front to commit suicide; this was particularly common among personnel of the 1st Division and it was pitiful. However the majority died willingly. Only Japanese could have done a thing like this and yet I could not bear to see the sight.”[36]

Those of the slightly wounded that could not march with the able-bodied soldiers walked by themselves. They became separated from their units and some, although able to do so, refused to rejoin their outfits, giving their wounds as an excuse. In addition there were deserters who fled to the hills. The 35th Army began the policy of sending the slightly wounded back to the front lines. Many of the service units, such as the Mitsui Shipping Unit and the air corps ground crews, refused to fight since they were not trained as combat troops. “Even the artillery and antiaircraft units retreated without facing the enemy. Their excuse was that they were not trained to fight as infantry and were useless without their guns.”[37]

Doubtless, some of the unwillingness of the Japanese service troops to serve on the front lines was due to their physical condition. When the 1st Division arrived on Leyte on 1 November it brought with it enough food and ammunition for one month, and by 1 December this supply was exhausted. On 3 December an additional one-half month’s supply was brought in at Ormoc; but this was destroyed or captured by the 77th Division in its advance. Consequently after the 1st of December all Japanese troops on Leyte “were on a starvation diet and had to live off the land.”[38] The 1st and 57th Infantry Regiments were the principal sufferers. The men were forced to eat coconuts, various grasses, bamboo shoots, the heart fibers of coconut tree trunks, and whatever native fruits or vegetables they could forage. When the troops received orders to withdraw to the west coast of Leyte, “they were literally in a starved condition, ... many instances occurred in which men vomited seven to ten times a day because they could not digest some of the food due to their weakened stomachs.”[39]

The 1st Division abandoned much equipment, ammunition, and rations along the highway through the Ormoc Valley. Many of the stragglers and deserters clothed and fed themselves with the abandoned matériel. The chief of staff of the 35th Army stated that when the Americans captured army headquarters, he left the headquarters without any clothing. However, he picked up “a new uniform and sufficient food while on the road.”[40]

Withdrawal Plans

On 19 December, General Suzuki, the commander of the 35th Army on Leyte, had received word from the 14th Area Army in Manila that henceforth the 35th Army was to subsist on its own resources and what it could obtain within its operational area.[41]

On the same day, probably because of the information received from Manila, General Suzuki ordered a conference of the staff officers of the 1st and 102d Divisions. At this meeting, General Suzuki ordered the 1st Division to retreat to the northern sector of the Matagob area and the 102d Division to the southern part of the same sector. At Matagob the divisions were to reorganize for a counterattack. The order did not give any specific time for the withdrawal; each division was to take action according to the situation in its sector. On 20 December, General Suzuki moved his headquarters farther west to a point approximately three and a half miles north of Palompon.[42]

On 21 December, the 102d Division, which had about 2,000 men, began to withdraw to the vicinity of Matagob. The division, having failed to get in touch with the 35th Army, moved to the west coast near Villaba, approximately ten miles north of Palompon.[43] It made contact with the 1st Division at the end of December, and also with the 68th Infantry Brigade and the 5th Infantry Regiment, which were already in that sector.[44] The 1st Division also began to withdraw on 21 December, making the withdrawal in two columns. The southern column consisted of about six hundred men of the 49th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division Transport Regiment, and other units. On its way west, it was met on 23 December by the 68th Brigade which, unaware of the loss of the Ormoc road, was proceeding toward the highway. The brigade joined the southern column, which reached the Bagacay sector the following day. (The barrio of Bagacay is six miles northeast of Villaba.) The northern column also had about six hundred men and consisted of elements of the Division Headquarters, the 1st Infantry Regiment, the 57th Infantry Regiment, and other units. The detachment was forced to cut its way through dense jungle. On 25 December it was attacked by the Americans and further decimated. That night the northern and southern columns met at Bagacay and on the following day started towards Matagob. On the 28th, following orders from General Suzuki, they turned north and established defensive positions on the eastern slope of Mt. Canguipot, two and a half miles southeast of Villaba.[45]

As the Japanese, pursued by the forces of the X and XXIV Corps, spiritlessly retreated toward the mountains of western Leyte, Imperial General Headquarters notified the Japanese people: “Our forces are still holding the Burauen and San Pablo airfields and continue to attack the enemy positions. Our forces are fighting fiercely on the eastern mountain slopes near Ormoc and Albuera.”[46]

[1] 10th I&HS, Eighth Army Stf Study of 35th Army on Leyte, Part 1, p. 24, Interrog of Maj Gen Yoshiharu Tomochika. [↑]

[2] Sixth Army G-2 Wkly Rpt 69, 20 Dec 44, pp. 14–18. [↑]

[3] Unless otherwise indicated, this subsection dealing with the 77th Division is based upon the following: 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 32–35; 77th Div Supp Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 1–8, 28–29; 77th Div G-3 Periodic Rpts 33–37, 27–31 Dec 44; 77th Div G-2 Summary Leyte Campaign; 305th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 7–8; 305th Inf Hist Rpt 1944, pp. 5–7; 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 23–30 Dec 44; 77th Div Admin O 7, 24 Dec 44; 77th Div FO 20, 19 Dec 44; 77th Div FO 22, 24 Dec 44; 1st Bn, 305th Inf, FO 3, 23 Dec 44; 305th Inf Unit Jnl, 25 Dec 44–2 Jan 45. [↑]

[4] Ltr, Gen Bruce to Gen Ward, 16 Aug 51, OCMH. [↑]

[5] XXIV Corps FO 38, 21 Dec 44. [↑]

[6] Ltr, Gen Bruce to Gen Ward, 16 Aug 51, OCMH. [↑]

[7] Rad, CG Sixth Army to CTF 77, 22 Dec 44, Sixth Army G-3 Jnl, 22 Dec 44. [↑]

[8] Msg, CTF 77 to CG Sixth Army, 23 Dec 44, Sixth Army G-3 Jnl, 23 Dec 44. [↑]

[9] Memo for Col Guerard, unsigned, 23 Dec 44, XXIV Corps G-3 Jnl, 23 Dec 44. [↑]

[10] Ltr, Gen Bruce to Gen Ward, 16 Aug 51, OCMH. [↑]

[11] 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 25 Dec 44. [↑]

[12] 77th Div FO’s 20 and 21, 19 Dec 44; 1st Bn, 305th Inf, FO 3, 23 Dec 44. [↑]

[13] Rad, 9th Air Liaison Party to Fifth Air Force, X Corp G-3 Jnl, 24 Dec 44. [↑]

[14] In addition to the 1st Battalion, 305th Infantry, the Special Task Force included: the Amphibian Tractor Company; Company A, 776th Amphibian Tank Battalion; one platoon of Company D, 706th Tank Battalion; three guns from the regimental Cannon Company; the 2d Platoon of Company A, 302d Engineer Battalion; a detachment from Company A, 302d Medical Battalion; the 292d JASCO detachment; the 305th Field Artillery Battalion; a detachment of the 306th Field Artillery Battalion; a detachment from Battery A, 531st Field Artillery Battalion. 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 33. [↑]

[15] Maj Gen A. D. Bruce, The Operations of the 77th Division in Leyte, 19 January 1951, pp. 27, 28, MS in OCMH. [↑]

[16] 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 25 Dec 44. [↑]

[17] 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 26 Dec 44. It is possible that the weary soldiers were more interested in the following administrative order of General Bruce:

General Brace wished the troops to have turkey on the same day that Christmas is observed in the States. 77th Div Admin Order 7, 24 Dec 44. [↑]

[18] 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 32–35 and Supplemental Opns Rpt, pp. 1–8, 305th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte; 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 26–30 Dec 44. [↑]

[19] 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 35. [↑]

[20] 77th Div and 305th Inf Opns Rpts Leyte; 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 22 Dec 44. [↑]

[21] 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 35; 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 23 Dec 44; 305th Inf Opns Rpt, p. 7. [↑]

[22] 77th Div G-3 Jnl, 24 Dec 44. [↑]

[23] 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 36. [↑]

[24] 77th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 37; 77th G-3 Jnl, 25 Dec 44; 305th Inf Unit Rpt No. 19, 25 Dec 44. [↑]

[25] 77th Div Supplemental Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 2. [↑]

[26] Ibid., p. 4; 305th Inf Supplemental Opns Rpt, p. 2. [↑]

[27] Ibid., p. 5. [↑]

[28] Ibid., p. 6. [↑]

[29] 77th Div G-1 Casualty Rpts; 77th Div Supplemental Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 2–7. [↑]

[30] The subsection dealing with the elements of the 1st Cavalry Division is based upon the following: 1st Cav Div Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 59–69; 1st Cav Div Supplementary Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 1–7; 1 Cav Div FO No. 21, 24 Dec 44; 1st Cav Div G-3 Periodic Rpts Nos. 65–84, 23 Dec 44–11 Jan 45; 1st Cav Div G-2 Periodic Rpts Nos. 64–75, 23 Dec 44–3 Jan 45; 5th Cav Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 28–29; 1st Cav Div Arty Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 21–22; 1st Cav Div Brig Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 6–7; 12th Cav Unit Rpts Nos. 66–68, 23–25 Dec 44; 5th Cav S-3 Periodic Rpt 72, 2 Jan 45; 1st Cav Div G-3 Jnl, 26–31 Dec 44. Sixth Army Opns Rpt Leyte and 8th Army Opns Rpt Leyte. [↑]

[31] 127th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 13. [↑]

[32] 128th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 11. [↑]

[33] 127th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 13. [↑]

[34] 32d Div Supplementary Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 1–5; 127th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 12–14; 32d Div Leyte Opn Diary, pp. 31–43; 128th Inf Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 10–12. [↑]

[35] The material in this subsection is based upon 24th Div Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 73–76; 34th Inf Unit Jnl, 9–30 Dec 44; 34th Inf Unit Rpts Nos. 51–71, 9–29 Dec 44; 2d Bn, 34th Inf, FO No. 8, 26 Dec 44; 34th Inf FO No. 17, 18 Dec 44; 34th Inf FO No. 18, 26 Dec 44; 24th Div G-3 Periodic Rpts Nos. 45–67, 2–25 Dec 44; 24th Div FO No. 12, 8 Dec 44 and FO No. 13, 17 Dec 44. [↑]

[36] Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn, p. 28. [↑]

[37] Ibid., p. 29. [↑]

[38] 10th I&HS, Eighth Army Stf Study of the Japanese 35th Army on Leyte, Interrog of Col Junkichi Okabayashi [CofS 1st Div] pp. 10–11. [↑]

[39] Ibid. [↑]

[40] Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn, p. 28. [↑]

[41] 35th Army Opns, p. 114. [↑]

[42] Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn, p. 27. [↑]

[43] 35th Army Opns, p. 115. [↑]

[44] 10th I&HS, Eighth Army Stf Study of Japanese 102d Division on Leyte and Cebu, Interrog of Maj Chuji Kaneki [G-2 102d Division], p. 5. [↑]

[45] 10th I&HS, Eighth Army Stf Study of Japanese 35th Army on Leyte, Part IV, Col Junkichi Okabayashi, Opns of the 1st Division on Leyte, p. 18. [↑]

[46] Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn, p. 25. [↑]

CHAPTER XXII

Leyte Is Liberated

On 15 December, General MacArthur had directed General Eichelberger’s Eighth Army to be prepared to assume control of nearly all Sixth Army units in the Leyte area at 0001 on 26 December 1944 in order to relieve the Sixth Army for future operations. The Eighth Army was to relieve the Sixth of all duties and missions in the area except certain ones dealing with logistics and construction. These were assigned to the USASOS (SWPA). The Allied Naval and Air Forces were directed to continue, in support of the Eighth Army, the missions which hitherto had been specified for the Sixth.[1]

In furtherance of General MacArthur’s instructions, General Krueger issued orders covering the transfer to Eighth Army control of certain Sixth Army units. On 21 December he named the units over which he was relinquishing control as of 0001, 26 December, and stated that the responsibility for continuing assigned duties and missions in the area would then pass from him to the Commanding General, Eighth U. S. Army, the Commanding General, USASOS (SWPA), and the Commander, Allied Naval Forces.[2]

General Eichelberger, also, prepared orders for the forthcoming transfer of authority. The supply and evacuation procedures of the Sixth Army would remain in effect. The X and XXIV Corps would “continue on their present assigned missions of destroying Japanese wherever found, and ... be prepared to conduct overland or amphibious shore to shore operations to seize enemy supply points and bases, and ports of entry.”[3]

On 25 December, when elements of the 77th Division had seized Palompon, the last important port on Leyte, General MacArthur declared that all organized resistance had ended. He said in a message to General Krueger: “Heartiest congratulations on capture of Palompon. This closes a campaign that has had few counterparts in the utter destruction of the enemy’s forces with a maximum conservation of our own. It has been a magnificent performance on the part of all concerned.”[4]

The Eighth Army Assumes Control

On 26 December, General Eichelberger assumed control of all combat units in the Leyte-Samar area. It was not until the first part of January 1945 that the American troops secured the west coast of Leyte. Thereafter only isolated pockets of enemy resistance remained.

Assembly of Japanese Forces

On 25 December 1944, General Yamashita, commanding the 14th Area Army, notified General Suzuki, the 35th Army commander, that he had written off the Leyte Campaign as a loss; henceforward the 35th Army on Leyte would be self-sustaining and self-supporting, the units on Leyte would be transferred to other areas, and, finally, the units on the island would be assembled at a point from which raiding operations could be conducted. Since these orders were ambiguous and apparently contradictory, General Suzuki asked that the message be repeated but he never received an answer. Accordingly, in the latter part of December, he sent his chief of staff to Manila for further clarification of the orders. The chief of staff arrived at Manila, by way of Cebu, in late January, but he was unable to obtain any further information for General Suzuki.

The decision of General Yamashita to abandon the Leyte operation followed a series of rapidly moving events. On the 14th of December, he canceled an optimistic plan for an amphibious assault through the shallow waters of Carigara Bay against Carigara, an assault that had been scheduled for 16 December. This cancellation followed the sighting of an Allied convoy en route to Mindoro.[5] The convoy reached Mindoro and the troops landed successfully on 15 December. On 19 December, two days prior to the junction of the X and XXIV Corps on Highway 2, General Yamashita told General Suzuki that he could no longer send any reinforcements and supplies to Leyte and that the 35th Army would have to become self-supporting. On the same day, General Yamashita assigned to the defense of Luzon three divisions that Imperial General Headquarters had earmarked for Leyte. Shortly afterward, at a conference with representatives from the Southern Army and Imperial General Headquarters, the representative from the latter told General Yamashita to forget the Leyte operation.

In the meantime, General Suzuki interpreted his orders to mean that units of the 35th Army would assemble at a common point at which they could be self-supporting. He had selected the western area of Matagob-Palompon in the vicinity of the road leading from Highway 2 at Libongao over the mountains to Palompon on the west coast. Palompon was to have been used as the rear center of the line of communications and the army headquarters was to have been established at Kompisao, but the seizure of Palompon on 25 December by the 77th Division forced Suzuki to change the location of his army headquarters.[6] He then selected as a base of operations an area in the vicinity of Ginabuyan that overlooked Silad Bay and was about three kilometers north of Villaba.

The new area was a plateau with an elevation of about 1,200 feet, heavily forested and having rocky eastern and western slopes that made it “a natural fortress.” From it one could command a view of Ormoc Valley to the east and the Camotes Sea and Cebu to the west. There were a few Filipino huts, and cultivated fields and coconut groves, interspersed with salt beds, lay along the beach. The area “was admirably suited for an extended period of defensive action.”[7] General Suzuki ordered the units of the 35th Army that were retreating westward to repair to the vicinity of the new base of operations.

The units continued to straggle westward towards the selected area. By 1 January, most of them had taken up positions in the Balanac sector, which was about three and a half miles southeast of Villaba and overlooked the Palompon road. They had been hard pressed. The 68th Brigade and the 1st Division made contact and successfully concentrated south of Villaba in early January. The 12th Independent Regiment (the Imahori Detachment), the Mitsui Shipping Unit, the 4th Airborne Raiding Regiment and the remaining troops of the 77th Infantry Regiment, which had been operating northeast of Ormoc, reached the southern Matagob area about the middle of January. It was not until the beginning of February that these units made contact with the 35th Army. The few remaining elements of the 16th Division stayed in the vicinity of Valencia until the end of February. The 26th Division also remained in this area until the middle of January, when it moved west and established contact with the 35th Army.[8]

The 102d Division presented certain difficulties. There had been instances of forty to fifty deserters fleeing to Cebu or Negros on boats they had built for themselves. Deserters that were apprehended were court-martialed. General Suzuki for some time had been out of touch with Lt. Gen. Shimpei Fukue, the commanding general of the 102d Division, which was in the Mt. Pina area. By chance, one of Suzuki’s officers learned that Fukue was planning to evacuate to Cebu. General Suzuki was incensed since he and his staff felt that Fukue “was violating the military code in taking these steps without consent.” He thereupon sent the following message to Fukue: “Lt. General Fukue and his headquarters will remain in Leyte and at the same time I am attaching other units and groups in the Visayan and Mindanao sectors to your Division. General Fukue and his Chief of Staff will report to me in person at Army Headquarters.” The commander of the 102d Division did not answer but his chief of staff sent the following reply: “We appreciate the efforts of Army but at the present time we are very busy preparing for retreat. The division commander and chief of staff are unable to report to Army Headquarters.”[9]

General Suzuki was “entirely displeased” with the reaction of Fukue and sent his chief of staff, General Tomochika, to investigate the situation. When Tomochika arrived he found that Fukue, with his chief of staff and some headquarters personnel, had already left for Cebu. This fact was communicated to General Suzuki by Tomochika, who states that “for several days I had a difficult time in consoling the general.”[10] The sequel to these events was that General Suzuki relieved General Fukue of his command and ordered him to remain on Cebu until he received further orders. Upon the arrival of Suzuki in Cebu in the spring of 1945, Fukue was sentenced to confinement for thirty days. General Suzuki asked Imperial General Headquarters in Tokyo for authority to court-martial General Fukue; no reply was forthcoming. General Fukue was released and later returned to command of the 102d Division.[11]

In the meantime, the leaderless 102d Division, with a strength of approximately 2,000 men, crossed Highway 2 north of Libongao and reached the southern area of Matagob about 24 December. The troops failed to contact the 35th Army and after remaining for a short time at Matagob moved to the vicinity of Villaba.

The units that arrived on the west coast were much understrength and very poorly equipped. All artillery had been lost. There were only five to ten machine guns per regiment in addition to individual weapons. Each man had an average of sixty rounds of ammunition and several hand grenades.

On the 30th of December, General Yamashita sent the following message to General Suzuki:

Sixty days have already elapsed since the American forces invaded Leyte Island, during which period the Thirty-fifth Army, under the forceful leadership of its commander, has waged many a heroic battle against superior enemy forces and in the face of numerous difficulties. The Army gave a great blow to the enemy. Moreover, the Thirty-fifth Army by containing the opposing enemy for this long period of time deprived him of freedom of action for the coming operation, thereby facilitating the general conduct of our operations in this battle and rendering great services to our cause. I am deeply impressed, particularly with the fact that the Takachiho Unit captured the hostile airfield at BURAUEN after the Thirty-fifth Army, despite its inferiority in equipment and number of men, and the stoppage of supply, made a timely and resolute attack against the enemy with the commander himself leading them. However, the enemy, who has increased his material power and war potential, now threatens, solely on the strength of his material superiority, to bear down on Luzon Island despite the heroic and desperate efforts of our sea and air forces as well as of the Thirty-fifth Army. In view of the sudden change in the situation, we shall seek and destroy our enemy on Luzon Island, thereby doing our part in the heroic struggle of the Army and avenging many a valiant warrior who fell before the enemy. As munitions have not been supplied adequately, I cannot keep back tears of remorse for tens of thousands of our officers and men fighting in Leyte Island. Nevertheless, I must impose a still harder task upon you. Please try to understand my intentions. They say it is harder to live than to die. You officers and men, be patient enough to endure the hardships of life, and help guard and maintain the prosperity of the Imperial Throne through eternal resistance to the enemy, and be ready to meet your death calmly for our beloved country. I sincerely instruct you as above.[12]

General Suzuki took steps to make the force on Leyte self-supporting. In January 1945, he established two principles for his troops. First, the troops were to utilize as much of the local food and material as possible and plant sweet potatoes and Indian corn. Second, all provisions in the area outside of the operation base were to be purchased. The execution of the first part of his first precept worked reasonably well but the constant American air raids and mopping-up operations prevented the Japanese from being too successful in planting and harvesting the corn and potatoes. They were also not very fortunate in purchasing supplies from outside the area, although some supplies were obtained each time the men could pass through the American protective screen.

The Japanese arrived on the western shores of Leyte at the end of the harvest season. They secured large quantities of provisions which the Filipinos had stored and also a great number of coconuts and sweet potatoes. The soldiers used the carabaos of the island as meat and obtained salt from sea water. For vegetables, the army’s chief reliance was upon wild ferns, tokay grass, and wild spinach.

In conclusion, “although there was not enough food to increase the fighting power of the Army, no one died of starvation and some units stored enough supplies for two to three months.”[13]

The Mop-up

By the end of December, most of the enemy troops were in northwest Leyte, west of Highway 2 and north of Palompon. Another large enemy concentration was located in the hills south of Palompon.[14]

The mop-up of any operation is dangerous, difficult, and unglamorous, but it is highly essential. The activities of the 7th Division on Leyte during January and February 1945 are typical of the large-scale mop-up in which many small units are sent out daily in all directions. This division was assigned all of the west coast area south of a line from Palompon to Valencia. Its records state that the division “sent out as many as forty combat patrols daily to hunt down and destroy thousands of Japanese stragglers wandering throughout the area.”[15]

Eight divisions were engaged in mopping up for varying lengths of time on Leyte, but only an outline of their activities will be attempted here. The operation may be divided into three phases: XXIV Corps activities from 1 January to 15 February 1945; X Corps activities from 1 January to 24 February 1945; and Eighth Army Area Command operations from 24 February to 8 May 1945.[16]

During the XXIV Corps phase, the 11th Airborne Division encountered an enemy force well dug in on the southern slopes of Mt. Majunag, five miles northwest of Burauen. After much bitter hand-to-hand fighting the Japanese were destroyed. The 96th Division engaged in extensive patrolling, relieved the 11th Airborne Division, and relieved the X Corps of all tactical responsibility east of the mountains. The 7th Division sent out numerous patrols in the southern part of the island, and sent out a reinforced battalion that destroyed all enemy forces in the Camotes Islands. The 77th Division, which operated in the northwestern part of the island, cleared up many pockets of enemy resistance.

In the X Corps phase, the island of Samar was cleared of Japanese troops. The Americal Division, advance elements of which arrived on 24 January, extensively patrolled both the islands of Leyte and Samar.

During the Eighth Army Area Command phase, the constant searching out of isolated groups of enemy soldiers continued. In addition to the Americal Division, the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment patrolled Leyte. On 8 May, the control of the Eighth Army over the area came to an end.[17]

The Japanese Withdrawal

At the time that General Suzuki made his plans for the units of the 35th Army on Leyte to become self-sufficient, he felt that there were too many soldiers on the island to make the plan fully effective. General Suzuki decided therefore to transfer to other islands those who, because of their good physical condition and morale, would be able to withstand the rigors of a long fight. Consequently the sick, weak, and wounded were dropped from the units that were to be withdrawn.[18] General Suzuki also considered the selection of the location of the new headquarters for the 35th Army. Since there were 15,000 Japanese residents in and around Davao on Mindanao, it was finally decided to remove the army headquarters to Davao. As a preliminary step, the 1st Division was to be sent to Cebu.[19]

General Suzuki had plans drawn up showing the order of precedence by which the units on Leyte were to be withdrawn and their destinations. All available landing barges on Leyte and additional vessels from Cebu and other areas would be used. The order of the proposed withdrawal and the destinations of the units were as follows:

1st Divisionnorthern Cebu and later to Negros
41st and 77th Infantry RegimentsMindanao
102d DivisionVisayan area
26th DivisionBacolod sector of Negros
Takahashi Detachmentnorthern Cebu
Units of the 68th Independent Mixed Brigadenorthern Cebu

General Suzuki and 35th Army Headquarters would leave Leyte about the same time as the 26th Division. The 16th Division, the 68th Independent Mixed Brigade, and other small units were to remain on Leyte and would be under the command of Lt. Gen. Shiro Makino, the 16th Division commander.[20]

When these plans were announced Lt. Gen. Tadasu Kataoka, the commanding general of the 1st Division, suggested that as the 1st Division had lost so many men and officers in the Leyte operation it might be better to use the 68th Independent Mixed Brigade, which had fresh troops and would be better suited for the assignment to Cebu. He was overruled.[21] There were, however, other officers who were more anxious to leave Leyte. General Tomochika later wrote: “Many of the troops rushed to join this movement and Staff Officer Nakamura experienced difficulty in controlling them. However, quite a number of men succeeded in transferring without the commander’s orders. The commander was displeased because only a small number of staff officers were willing to stay on Leyte.”[22]

On the morning of 12 January, four launches arrived at Abijao to begin evacuation of the 1st Division. The Americans attacked and damaged the vessels, but three were repaired. By 2300, with the embarkation of the first party, composed of elements of the 49th Infantry and Division Headquarters, the evacuation got under way. This group left Abijao at 0130 on 13 January and reached Tabogon, in northern Cebu, about 0730. At about the same time, the remnants of the 57th Infantry reached Cebu. The rest of 1st Division Headquarters, the 1st Infantry Regiment, and part of the 1st Transport Regiment left Leyte on the 18th, and on the 20th the rest of the 49th Infantry Regiment and the 1st Division Transport quitted the island.

Between the 13th and 20th of January the three launches, each carrying about seventy men, made four round trips. After the second trip, the Americans spotted the operation. The hiding place of the craft at Tabogon was frequently strafed by aircraft and shelled by submarines and motor torpedo boats, which kept the channel waters under sharp surveillance. On the night of the 20th, American aircraft sank three launches. Although additional craft were sent up from Liloan on Cebu, these were also sunk. It was impossible to evacuate any more personnel until the middle of March.[23]

The number of men from the 1st Division evacuated to Cebu was estimated to be as follows: 1st Division Headquarters, 73; 1st Infantry Regiment, 72; 49th Infantry Regiment, 208; 57th Infantry Regiment, 178; and 1st Transport Regiment, 212; a total of 743 men. The equipment evacuated included 332 rifles, 4 heavy machine guns, 11 light machine guns, 5 grenade launchers, and a small amount of small arms ammunition.[24] In addition several hundred men obtained their own transportation and left for other islands in the Philippines.

The Road Ends

From 20 January on, the remaining Japanese forces stayed in the Villaba sector, hoping that succor would come. On 20 January General Tomochika “waited on the beach” for a boat that never came. The men were “plunged into the depths of despair.” Time passed. On the evening of 17 March, two Japanese vessels appeared. General Suzuki and part of his staff boarded the craft and at 0030, 18 March, left the island of Leyte, For days the vessels sailed from island to island in the Visayas only to find that they were too late. The Americans were already in possession. On the evening of 16 April, the vessel bearing General Suzuki was bombed by American aircraft off the coast of Negros Island and Suzuki was killed[25] The Leyte Campaign had ended.

The liberation of Leyte had been accomplished at no slight cost. During the peak month, January 1945, there were 257,766 American Army, including Air Forces, troops on Leyte.[26] The total Army casualties for the Leyte Campaign were over 15,500, including more than 3,500 killed and nearly 12,000 wounded. (Tables 4 and 5)

It is impossible, with data now available to determine with any degree of exactitude the number of Japanese who participated in the campaign or their casualties. The estimates of the Sixth and Eighth Armies vary greatly, as do those of the various Japanese sources. The Sixth Army estimated that it had killed 56,263 and captured 389 men.[27] and that as of 26 December 1944 when it relinquished control to Eighth Army about 5,000 of the Japanese remained on the islands of Leyte and Samar.[28] The Eighth Army estimated that, for the mop-up period from 26 December 1944 to 8 May 1945, it killed and found dead 24,294 and captured 439 Japanese.[29] General Eichelberger stated that his forces killed “more than twenty-seven thousand Japanese.”[30]

Table 4—U. S. Army Battle Casualties at Leyte, 20 October 1944–8 May 1945

OrganizationTotal Killed Wounded Missing
Total15,5843,50411,99189
Sixth Army Troops961141831[31]7
Eighth Army Troops404613403
X Corps7,1261,6705,38472
Americal Div and 164th RCT7311625663
24th Infantry Division2,3425441,78414
32d Infantry Division1,9494501,4918
38th Infantry Division2726817133
1st Cavalry Division9312037262
11th Airborne Division53216835212
1st Filipino Division5214380
108th RCT5314390
112th RCT160321280
Corps Troops10415890
XXIV Corps7,0931,6325,4547
7th Infantry Division2,7645842,1791
77th Infantry Division2,2264991,7234
96th Infantry Division1,6604691,1892
Corps Troops443803630

Source: Reports of the Commanding Generals, Eighth U. S. Army, Inclosure 1, and Sixth U. S. Army, on the Leyte-Samar Operation, p. 155.

The Japanese historians of the Leyte operation estimate that the total strength of their army ground troops was 70,000 men.[32] General Tomochika, the chief of staff of the 35th Army, was interrogated several times after the war. On one occasion he estimated that the total number of Japanese involved in the Leyte operation, including naval and air personnel and those who lost their lives in transports sunk en route to Leyte, was 59,400 men, approximately one fifth of all Japanese forces in the Philippine Islands.[33] On another occasion General Tomochika estimated that 61,800 Japanese had been on Leyte, and that 13,010 were alive and 48,790 had been killed by 17 March 1945.[34]

In the plan for the defeat of Japan the objective sought in reconquering the Philippines was not only to liberate the Filipinos but also to cut off the Japanese from the rich empire that they had acquired in the Netherlands Indies, and at the same time to establish a base for the final assault on the enemy’s homeland. As early as 1942 Allied submarines had begun to gnaw at the lifeline between Japan and its new empire, rich in rubber, tin, rice, and, above all, in oil, without which Japan could not remain in the war. By the fall of 1944 the submarines had virtually cut this lifeline, which ran past the Philippines. The loss of the Philippines to the Allies would finally sever it.

Table 5—Sixth Army Battle Casualties by Arm or Service, 20 October-25 December 1944

Arm orServiceKilledWounded and InjuredMissing in ActionTotal
NumberPer CentNumberPer CentNumberPer CentNumberPer Cent
Infantry2,38082.427,74978.618552.8010,21479.14
Engineer1324.587627.734628.579407.28
Medical1003.473753.8084.974833.74
Field Artillery963.333283.3353.114293.32
Coast Artillery471.592482.521.622962.30
Ordnance451.561001.011.621461.13
Quartermaster411.4267.6895.59117.91
Signal12.4276.770.0088.68
Transportation7.2473.741.6281.63
Chemical Warfare13.4544.450.0057.44
Military Police13.4527.2742.4844.34
Chaplain0.000.000.000.00
Miscellaneous2.079.091.6212.09
Total2,888100.009,858100.00161100.0012,907100.00

Source: Sixth Army Operations Report Leyte, 20 October-25 December 1944, p. 155.

The object of the Leyte Campaign had been to force an entry into the Philippines and establish a solid base for their reconquest. It had accomplished this object, though the base had not been secured and developed as promptly or as effectively as the planners had anticipated. The construction program on the island had been a disappointment. Leyte never became a major air base. But the campaign had other and more important effects that had not been foreseen when it was launched. In their determination to make Leyte the decisive battle of the Philippines, the Japanese had committed the major portions of their fleet and air force in a vain attempt to stay the American advance. In the Battle of Leyte Gulf the Japanese Navy suffered irreparable damage—all of the carriers were lost and most of the capital ships were sunk or damaged. The air force was now almost completely dependent upon the suicidal kamikaze pilot. Finally, the dispatch of reinforcements and supplies to Leyte had seriously crippled the defenses of Luzon—the strategic heart of the Philippine Archipelago.

The Americans had established an air base in the midst of the Japanese-held Philippine Islands—a base within medium bomber range of Luzon, the principal American target in the archipelago.[35] As General Yamashita, commanding officer of all Japanese Army troops in the Philippines later said: “After the loss of Leyte ... I realized that decisive battle was impossible....”[36]

Three years of hard fighting over jungle trails had finally brought the U. S. forces back to the Philippines. Ahead lay months of weary struggle but ultimate victory was no longer in doubt.

[1] GHQ SWPA Opns Instns 81, 15 Dec 44. [↑]

[2] Sixth Army FO 40, 21 Dec 44. [↑]

[3] Eighth Army FO 8, 20 Dec 44. [↑]

[4] Quoted in Sixth Army Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 84. [↑]

[5] See M. Hamlin Cannon and Robert Ross Smith, Luzon and the Southern Philippines, a forthcoming volume in this series. [↑]

[6] 35th Army Opns, p. 119. [↑]

[7] Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn, p. 32. [↑]

[8] 35th Army Opns, pp. 115–16. [↑]

[9] Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn, p. 29. [↑]

[10] Ibid., p. 30. [↑]

[11] 10th I&HS, Eighth Army Stf Study of Opns of Japanese 102d Division on Leyte and Cebu, App., p. 3; Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn, pp. 29–31. [↑]

[12] Msg, Gen Yamashita to Gen Suzuki, 1535, 30 Dec 44. Translation of HS-23A, file of 35th Army Headquarters documents held by former Maj. Takahash Kohet, P8, GHQ FEC, MI Sec, ATIS. Copy in OCMH. [↑]

[13] 35th Army Opns, pp. 120–24. [↑]

[14] Eighth Army Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 3. [↑]

[15] Ibid., p. 9. [↑]

[16] Eighth Army Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 3. Unless otherwise cited, this subsection is based upon this operations report, pp. 1–18. [↑]

[17] Eighth Army Opns Rpt Leyte, pp. 7–17. [↑]

[18] Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn, p. 34. [↑]

[19] 35th Army Opns, pp. 118, 127. [↑]

[20] Ibid., pp. 127–28. [↑]

[21] 10th I&HS, 35th Army Opns on Leyte, Part IV, Opns of Japanese 1st Division on Leyte, pp. 19–20. [↑]

[22] Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn, p. 34. [↑]

[23] 10th I&HS, 35th Army Opns on Leyte, Part IV, Opns of Japanese 1st Division on Leyte, pp. 21–22. [↑]

[24] Ibid., p. 21. [↑]

[25] During his travels, General Suzuki composed two poems which he presented to his “dear brother Tomochika,” One of these, entitled “A Farewell Poem,” ran as follows:

Every soldier must expect to sacrifice his life in War,

Only then has his duty been done;

Be thankful that you can die at the front,

Rather than an inglorious death at home.

Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn, pp. 34—39. [↑]

[26] Strength Accounting Br, AGO, STM-30, 1 Feb 45. These figures must be treated with caution as they include, in addition to those who had actually participated, troops who were merely staging on the island and had played no part in the operation. It is important to remember that at all stages of the Leyte Campaign troops and units were constantly coming and going. [↑]

[27] Sixth Army Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 84. [↑]

[28] Eighth Army Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 3. [↑]

[29] Ibid., p. 16. [↑]

[30] Robert L. Eichelberger, Our Jungle Road to Tokyo (New York, 1950), p. 181. [↑]

[31] Estimated. [↑]

[32] 35th Army Opns, p. 126. [↑]

[33] 10th I&HS, Eighth Army Stf Study of Opns of Japanese 35th Army on Leyte, Interrog of Gen Tomochika, pp. 9–10. [↑]

[34] Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn, Interrog of Gen Tomochika, p. 7. [↑]

[35] See Cannon and Smith, Luzon and the Southern Philippines. [↑]

[36] U. S. Military Commission, U. S. Army Forces Western Pacific, United States of America vs Tomoyuki Yamashita, Testimony of General Yamashita, XXVIII, 3527. [↑]