32d Division Assumes the Offensive
General Sibert made arrangements for the introduction of the 32d Division and the 112th Cavalry into the battle. The 2d Battalion, 19th Infantry, and the 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry, which had reached positions overlooking Highway 2 south of Limon, were to remain in those locations and temporarily under the operational control of General Gill. The 112th Cavalry was to operate in the mountains between Ormoc and Leyte Valleys and assist the 1st Cavalry Division in a drive to the southwest toward Highway 2. A regimental combat team from the 32d Division was to relieve the 21st Infantry on Breakneck Ridge. Another regiment from the division would mop up in the vicinity of Hill 1525 and prepare to assist in the drive south. Elements of the division were to relieve the units of the 24th Division in the Daro area, from which the artillery had been shelling Ormoc. The 24th Division artillery was to support the advance of the 32d Division until relieved.[11] The flanks of the 32d Division were protected. The 2d Battalion, 19th Infantry, had established a roadblock on Highway 2, about 2,000 yards south of Limon, and the 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry, was on the high ground known as Kilay Ridge, which was 700 yards from the road and west of the roadblock of the 2d Battalion, 19th Infantry.
General Gill directed the 128th Infantry of the 32d Division, commanded by Col. John A. Hettinger, to pass through the 21st Infantry and attack south astride Highway 2, to push through Breakneck Ridge, and to capture Limon, 1,500 yards to the south. Colonel Hettinger ordered the regiment to move out on 16 November at 0800 with battalions abreast—the 3d Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. William A. Duncan, on the right (west) of Highway 2, and the 1st Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. James P. Burns, on the left.[12] ([Map 14])
MAP 14
BATTLE FOR NORTHERN ENTRANCE TO ORMOC VALLEY
16 November–14 December 1944
The forward elements of the 1st and 3d Battalions moved out of their assembly areas on time. They were followed by the remainder of the troops as fast as rations and ammunition could be distributed. The battalions assembled immediately in the rear of the 21st Infantry and at 1200 pushed through that regiment and entered upon their first battle on Leyte.[13]
Colonel Hettinger ordered Colonel Burns to overcome the enemy opposition on Corkscrew Ridge. The 1st Battalion made little progress. Company A was immediately pinned down by machine gun, mortar, and rifle fire, and Company B went forward only 150 yards. The 3d Battalion encountered no opposition and advanced to a point 350 yards south of its line of departure, from which Company M delivered machine gun fire and Company L rifle fire at long range on the enemy in the vicinity of Limon.[14]
On the morning of 17 November the 1st Battalion reached the slopes of Corkscrew Ridge, where it dug in. At 0737 the 3d Battalion moved out along Highway 2 with companies abreast—Company K on the right and Company L on the left. Company K met no resistance, advanced about 1,000 yards, and reached a ridge about 500 yards north of Limon. Elements of the 57th Infantry stopped Company L almost immediately, but a platoon from the company moved fifty yards west around the pocket of resistance and destroyed it. The company then continued its advance to the ridge.[15] Companies K and L dug in on the ridge for the night.[16]