Leyte: The Return to the Philippines

by M. Hamlin Cannon

Accordingly, General Irving ordered the 21st Infantry, after the completion of its relief of the 34th Infantry, to reconnoiter Breakneck Ridge to its front on 6 November and on the following day to launch its drive south. A battalion of the 19th Infantry was to move to Pinamopoan and protect the line of communications of the 21st Infantry as the attack progressed. The rest of the 19th Infantry was to move to the mountains in the vicinity of Daro and Jaro to protect the 226th Field Artillery Battalion and secure the mountain passes that led into Leyte Valley.[26]

The 21st Infantry relieved the 34th Infantry in the vicinity of Pinamopoan without difficulty and sent out strong patrols to Breakneck Ridge. One of these patrols was led by Lt. Col. Frederick R. Weber, the regimental commander.

Breakneck Ridge, over which Highway 2 corkscrewed its way between Pinamopoan and Limon for about 7,200 yards, was actually a hill mass with many spurs branching off from an irregularly shaped crest line toward the shores of Carigara Bay to the north and the Leyte River valley to the south. Shoulder-high cogon grass was thick on the low ground, and the pockets between the hills were heavily forested. The valleys were deep, with precipitous sides. The 1st Division had heavily fortified the area, taking advantage of the innumerable thickly wooded pockets that served as natural forts. The Japanese had also built an elaborate system of trenches and other defensive positions and had honeycombed the area with spider holes. Many of the latter were on reverse slopes some distance below the crests and were protected from direct fire. In front of each spider hole the enemy had cut fire lanes through the cogon grass, which was left so short that even a crawling soldier would be exposed to fire. The constant rainfall made the hills slippery and treacherous, and, more important, provided a protective curtain in the day and covered movements of the enemy at night.[27]

On 5 November, before the relief of the 34th Infantry, Maj. Kemuel K. Blacker, leading an artillery forward observer’s party from the 52d Field Artillery Battalion and a patrol from the 34th Infantry, had reconnoitered far forward on Breakneck Ridge to the top of a knoll, later called OP Hill, which was some 2,500 yards west of Pinamopoan, and was directing fire from that point.[28] The party was attacked by a group of about platoon strength from the 57th Infantry Regiment and took refuge in an abandoned position. At 1230 Colonel Weber ordered the 3d Battalion, 21st Infantry, to move out to the party’s assistance. Company K, on the right side of the highway, was able to secure the northern approaches to the hill and rescue the observation party, though it ran into heavy machine gun and rifle fire. In the meantime Company I moved to the left and against stiff resistance secured a ridge later known as Corkscrew Ridge, which was about 1,200 yards southeast of OP Hill and which formed the southeastern spur of Breakneck Ridge. Since both companies needed more ammunition, vehicles with the required supply were sent up along the road. After hidden Japanese riflemen had punctured the tires, the vehicles withdrew and the ammunition was carried up by hand. A platoon of riflemen from Company I cleared out the enemy position but received mortar fire from an unknown source.[29]

Both companies were so far in advance of the rest of the 21st Infantry that only limited supplies of ammunition and rations could reach them. As the afternoon hours wore on, the pressure from the 57th Infantry increased but the companies dug in and held their positions. During the night they repulsed three counterattacks of about fifty men each.[30] On the following morning the 57th Infantry placed mortar fire upon the companies,[31] augmented at first by fire from one artillery piece and later by fire from a four-gun battery.[32] The intensity of this fire forced the companies to withdraw from their position and rejoin the rest of the 3d Battalion on the beach near Colasion.[33]

During the day the 1st Battalion tried unsuccessfully to secure positions to support the attack through Breakneck Ridge. At the close of 6 November the 57th Infantry of the 1st Division securely occupied Breakneck Ridge and its northern approaches. For the assault the following day, General Irving attached the 3d Battalion, 19th Infantry, to the 21st Infantry. The 3d Battalion, 21st Infantry, had reorganized about 2,000 yards east of Pinamopoan. The 1st Battalion was on the regiment’s right, the 2d Battalion was in the center astride the highway, and the 3d Battalion, 19th Infantry, was on the 21st Infantry’s left.[34]

The 2d Battalion, 21st Infantry, was the object of a night attack that started at 2000 and lasted for two hours. The enemy used mortars and grenades against the battalion but was unable to penetrate its perimeter.[35] Colonel Weber ordered the 21st Infantry to be prepared to move out at 0800 on 7 November. The assault was to be made in column of battalions, the 2d Battalion in the lead, with a spur of Breakneck Ridge as the initial objective. This spur or branch ridge extended east and west across the road 400 yards south of the front line. General Irving ordered the 52d Field Artillery Battalion to mass its fire immediately in front of the troops for fifteen minutes just before they jumped off and then to shift its fire to the ridge. Attached to the 2d Battalion for support were a platoon from the 44th Tank Company, a company from the 85th Chemical Battalion, and a company from the 632d Tank Destroyer Battalion.[36]

At 0940 the 308th Bombardment Wing bombed the headquarters of General Suzuki at Ormoc and strafed the highway near by. Ormoc had also been under constant fire from the battalion of 155-mm. guns in Jaro, at a range of 25,000 yards. Only a few houses were left standing after the bombardment was completed.[37]

The troops moved out as scheduled. Company E, on the west of the road, reached the branch ridge at 0915 and came under fire from enemy automatic weapons on the right. Company G ran into about 200 men from the 3d Battalion, 57th Infantry Regiment. They were well entrenched at a bend of the road on the forward slope of the high ground, and Colonel Weber had the self-propelled guns of the tank destroyer battalion brought forward. These fired into the pocket, and although they killed the commander of the 3d Battalion the unit held fast.[38] Weber then called two tanks forward, but as they moved along the road a Japanese soldier jumped out of the high cogon grass and disabled one of the tanks by planting a magnetic mine against it. The other tank then withdrew.[39]

General Sibert was dissatisfied with the progress of the 21st Infantry and felt that Colonel Weber was not sufficiently aggressive. Accompanied by his G-2, Col. William J. Verbeck, he visited the command post of Colonel Weber at noon. Dispensing with the usual command channels and in the presence of General Irving, he relieved Colonel Weber and made Colonel Verbeck the commanding officer of the 21st Infantry. Colonel Weber was retained in the regiment as its executive officer.[40]