Leyte: The Return to the Philippines

by M. Hamlin Cannon

At 0850 on the following day Colonel Clifford’s men received their first airdrop of rations. Ten minutes later the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of the guerrilla 96th Infantry made contact with Colonel Clifford and gave him a résumé of the enemy situation. (The guerrillas rendered invaluable aid to the 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry, throughout the Kilay Ridge episode by furnishing intelligence and protecting the rear of the unit.) The battalion moved out at 1200 for Consuegra near the Naga River and entered the town at 1240. At 1310 Colonel Clifford outlined to the officers the plan for the next two days. For the rest of the day, the battalion was to advance to Cabiranan and bivouac for the night. On the morning of 13 November it was to split into two columns and make a fast advance by separate routes to Kilay Ridge, where it would reorganize. As Colonel Clifford was briefing his officers, LVT’s entered Consuegra with rations for the troops. The LVT’s had left Carigara Bay, passed through Biliran Strait, gone down Leyte Bay and into the Naga River, and then proceeded up the river to the vicinity of Consuegra.

At 0855 on 13 November a column of Filipino men, women, and children entered the perimeter and brought approximately thirty-five boxes of rations from Consuegra. The battalion left the area at 0930 and reached the ridge without opposition. Trenches and prepared gun positions without a man in them honeycombed the ridge from one end to the other. It was evident that elements of the 1st Division had intended to occupy the area in the latter stages of the battle for Limon.[29]

Kilay Ridge ran from southeast to northwest, with its northern tip about 2,500 yards directly west of Limon and its southern end about 3,000 yards south and slightly west of the same point. The ridge was approximately 900 feet high and though narrow in some places in others it widened to 400 yards. The summit was broken into a series of high knolls from which the entire Limon area and some parts of the Ormoc road could be observed. A view of the latter feature was obstructed to some extent by a ridge, hereafter called Ridge Number 2, between Kilay and the road. Kilay Ridge was about 3,900 yards southwest of Breakneck Ridge. It would be necessary to maintain control of Kilay Ridge and deny its use to the enemy in order to give complete support to units advancing south from Breakneck Ridge.

LT. COL. THOMAS E. CLIFFORD, JR., discusses plans with his staff as Filipino guerrillas look on.

Preliminary Attack

On 14 November Colonel Clifford ordered his battalion to entrench itself along the ridge in positions that would afford the best tactical advantage. The battalion established strong points and observation posts on the knolls, placed blocks on the trails leading through the area, and sent out reconnaissance patrols to locate enemy positions. Colonel Clifford made arrangements to utilize the Filipinos as carriers. These men were to use a trail on the north end of the ridge and bring supplies to the battalion from a supply dump at Consuegra. The first human pack train arrived in the area at 1010 with twenty-eight cases of rations and a supply of batteries for the radios.[30]

At 1125 enemy artillery shelled the southern end of the ridge and twenty minutes later shifted its fire to the Limon area. The battalion did not succeed in establishing physical contact with the 2d Battalion, 19th Infantry, which was operating east of the road, but it was able to make radio contact. Throughout the day, patrols of the battalion were active in searching out enemy positions.

On 15 November Company A sent a patrol to Ridge Number 2, which was 600 yards east of the battalion’s positions and which overlooked the Ormoc road. The patrol found numerous enemy emplacements and approximately fifty Japanese, who began firing with mortars. After killing five of the Japanese the patrol retired.[31] During the day the 24th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop reported to Colonel Clifford and was assigned the mission of patrolling the west flank of the battalion. Although patrols from the 1st Battalion pushed east of the Ormoc highway south of Limon, they again were unable to make contact with the 2d Battalion, 19th Infantry. On 16 November Colonel Clifford again sent out patrols which tried, still unsuccessfully, to establish physical contact with this battalion.[32]

A platoon from Company B, on 17 November, carried on a running fire fight with the Japanese and forced its way past Ridge Number 2. It crossed the Ormoc road and made contact with the 2d Battalion, 19th Infantry, at its roadblock. A line of communication between the battalions could not be established because of the strong enemy forces between them. At the same time parts of Companies B and D engaged the enemy on Ridge Number 3, six hundred yards south of Ridge Number 2 and slightly lower. Approximately 200 of the enemy with rifles, machine guns, mortars, and artillery were entrenched on Ridge Number 3. The American fire killed at least fifty Japanese. A patrol from Company D probed the Japanese defensive position but was forced to retire with two men missing and one wounded. Then Company B entered the fray, and the fire fight grew in intensity. The Japanese directed fire from at least three automatic weapons as well as strong rifle fire against the Americans.