Leyte: The Return to the Philippines

by M. Hamlin Cannon

DISABLED M4 TANK on the Dulag-Burauen road.

On to Burauen

The flying wedge was very successful. The tanks of the 767th Tank Battalion moved out at 0730 on the morning of 23 October. Though one of the tanks was knocked out about 3,000 yards west of Julita at 1000, the others reached the western edge of Burauen at 1712 and scattered the enemy forces in that area. At 0800 the assault units of the 17th Infantry jumped off, 400 yards to the rear of the tank battalion. Because of the narrow front the column of troops was elongated, and it was not until shortly after 0900 that the 1st Battalion, 32d Infantry, was able to move forward. Because of the difficult terrain and the blazing heat, the infantrymen experienced difficulty in keeping up with the tanks. The troops encountered sporadic opposition during the day, passed rapidly through the barrios of Julita and San Pablo, and secured San Pablo airfield. At 1115 General Arnold notified Colonel Logie that the 32d Infantry was to be responsible for the right flank of the 7th Division’s zone of action, less the 200-yard front covered by the 17th Infantry.

At 1700 the units prepared their night perimeters, the 1st Battalion of the 32d, 400 yards south of the San Pablo airstrip; the 3d Battalion, 1,500 yards north of Julita; and the 2d Battalion in division reserve, 500 yards southeast of Julita.[23] At the same time the 17th Infantry was on the west end of the San Pablo airfield.[24] The 184th Infantry, minus the 2d Battalion, was south of the highway between San Pablo and Julita. During the day’s action, the commanding officer of the Japanese 20th Infantry Regiment was killed.[25] The action for the next few days resolved itself into two separate engagements—the seizure of the Buri airstrip and the battle for Dagami.

Securing the XXIV Corps Beachhead Line

Burauen

The 7th Division attacked at 0830 on 24 October, using the same formation employed on the previous day except that the 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry, reverted to regimental reserve. The 1st and 2d Battalions, 17th Infantry, continued along the road to Burauen; the 32d Infantry crossed San Pablo airfield and then went to the right in a north-northwest direction toward the Buri airstrip. The 2d Battalion, 17th Infantry, fought its way through the northeastern part of the town of Burauen and managed to reach the road to Dagami. As the main part of Burauen is south and west of the road, the barrio was in the zone of the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry, which was advancing along the left side of the road.

The 17th Infantry reached the edge of Burauen at 1030. As the troops explored the situation, they found that though there was no organized resistance in the town, scattered throughout Burauen were elements of the 20th Infantry Regiment, dug in under the buildings in spider holes and armed with satchel charges, Bangalore torpedoes made of bamboo, and antitank mines.[26]