The Battle of Luzon (; ; ) was a land battle of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II by the Allied forces of the U.S., its colony the Philippines, Mexico, and allies against forces of the Empire of Japan. The battle resulted in a U.S. and Filipino victory. The Allies had taken control of all strategically and economically important locations of Luzon by March 1945, although pockets of Japanese resistance held out in the mountains until the unconditional surrender of Japan. 8,000 American combatants killed, and over 150,000 Filipinos, overwhelmingly civilians who were murdered by Japanese forces, mainly during the Manila massacre of February 1945.
Background
The Philippines was considered to be of great strategic importance because its capture by Japan would pose a significant threat to the U.S.<!--What significant threat?--> As a result, 135,000 troops and 227 aircraft were stationed in the Philippines by October 1941. However, Luzon—the largest island in the Philippines—was captured by Imperial Japanese forces in 1942. General Douglas MacArthur—who was in charge of the defense of the Philippines at the time—was ordered to Australia, and the remaining U.S. forces retreated to the Bataan Peninsula.
A few months after this, MacArthur expressed his belief that an attempt to recapture the Philippines was necessary. The U.S. Pacific Commander Admiral Chester Nimitz and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest King both opposed this idea, arguing that it must wait until victory was certain. MacArthur had to wait two years for his wish; it was 1944 before a campaign to recapture the Philippines was launched. The island of Leyte was the first objective of the campaign, which was captured by the end of December 1944. This was followed by the attack on Mindoro, and later, Luzon. This would place his troops close to several roads and railways on Luzon, which led to Manila—the main objective—through the plains in the center of the island.
Deception operations
U.S. aircraft constantly made reconnaissance and bombing flights over southern Luzon, intending to deceive the Japanese forces into believing that the attack on Luzon would come from the south. In addition, transport aircraft were used to make parachute drops with dummies. Minesweepers were used to clear the bays of Balayan, Batangas, and Tayabas, located to the south of Luzon, and Filipino resistance fighters conducted sabotage operations in southern Luzon. These deception operations failed to convince General Tomoyuki Yamashita, the leader of the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines, and he built significant defensive positions in the hills and mountains surrounding Lingayen Gulf in Northern Luzon.
<br>
General Douglas MacArthur
22px US Sixth Army (193,901 officers and enlisted)<br>
Lieutenant General Walter Krueger
Western Landing Area (Lingayen)
: 20px XIV Army Corps
: Major General Oscar W. Griswold
: Embarked in Task Force 79 (Vice Adm. Theodore S. Wilkinson)
:: Left (Crimson and Yellow) beaches
::: 18px 37th Infantry ("Buckeye") Division
::: Major General Robert S. Beightler
::::129th Infantry Regiment
:::: 145th Infantry Regiment
:::: 148th Infantry Regiment
:::: 6th, 135th, 140th Field Artillery Bttns. (105mm)
:::: 136th Field Artillery Bttn. (155mm)
:: Right (Orange and Green) beaches
::: 18px 40th Infantry ("Sunshine") Division
::: Major General I. Rapp Brush
:::: 108th Infantry Regiment
:::: 160th Infantry Regiment
:::: 185th Infantry Regiment
:::: 143rd, 164th, 213th Field Artillery Bttns. (105mm)
:::: 222nd Field Artillery Bttn. (155mm)
Eastern Landing Area (San Fabian)
: 18px I Army Corps
: Major General Innis P. Swift
: Embarked in Task Force 78 (Vice Adm. Daniel E. Barbey)
:: Left (White) beaches
::: 18px 43rd Infantry ("Winged Victory") Division
::: Major General Leonard F. Wing
:::: 103rd Infantry Regiment
:::: 169th Infantry Regiment
:::: 172nd Infantry Regiment
:::: 103rd, 152nd, 169th Field Artillery Bttns. (105mm)
:::: 192nd Field Artillery Bttn. (155mm)
:: Right (Blue) beaches
::: 16px 6th Infantry ("Red Star") Division
::: Major General Edwin D. Patrick
:::: 1st Infantry Regiment
:::: 20th Infantry Regiment
:::: 63rd Infantry Regiment
:::: 1st, 51st, 53rd Field Artillery Bttns. (105mm)
:::: 80th Field Artillery Bttn. (155mm)
Japanese
160px|thumb|Lt. Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita
Fourteenth Area Army The landing forces faced strong opposition from Japanese kamikaze aircraft. The escort carrier was destroyed by a kamikaze attack, with a total of around 47 ships damaged, and four sunk, on January 3–13, primarily by kamikazes.
thumb|right|Captain Radamés Gaxiola of [[Escuadrón 201 stands in front of his P-47D with his maintenance team after returning from a combat mission over Luzon.]]
The landings at Lingayen Gulf on 9 January were carried out by the 6th Army under the command of General Walter Krueger. Approximately 175,000 troops from the 6th Army landed along the beachhead within a few days, while the I Corps protected their flanks. XIV Corps under General Oscar Griswold then advanced south toward Manila, despite Krueger's concerns that his eastern flank was unprotected and vulnerable if the Japanese forces attacked. However, no such attack occurred, and the U.S. forces did not meet much resistance until they reached the Clark Air Base on 23 January. The battle there lasted until the end of January, and after capturing the base, XIV Corps advanced toward Manila.
A second amphibious landing took place on 15 January, southwest of Manila. On 31 January, two regiments of the 11th Airborne Division made an airborne assault, capturing a bridge, and later advanced toward Manila. On 3 February, the 1st Cavalry Division captured the bridge across Tullahan River leading to the city. They advanced into the city that evening, beginning the battle for the capture of Manila. On 4 February, the paratroopers of the 11th Airborne—approaching the city from the south—came to the main Japanese defenses south of the city of Manila where their advance was halted by heavy resistance. General Yamashita had ordered his troops to destroy all bridges and other vital installations as soon as the U.S. forces entered the city, and Japanese forces entrenched throughout the city continued to resist U.S. forces. General MacArthur announced the imminent recapture of Manila on the same day. On 11 February, the 11th Airborne Division captured the last Japanese outer defenses, thus encircling the whole city. U.S. and Filipino forces carried out clearing operations in the city in the following weeks. The weapon attracted little attention during World War II in part because the name “napalm” was classified.
Aftermath
Battles continued throughout the island of Luzon in the following weeks, with more U.S. troops having landed on the island. Filipino and American resistance fighters also attacked Japanese positions and secured several locations. The Allies had taken control of all strategically and economically important locations of Luzon by early March. Small groups of the remaining Japanese forces retreated to the mountainous areas in the north and southeast of the island, where they were besieged for months. Pockets of Japanese soldiers held out in the mountains—most ceasing resistance with the unconditional surrender of Japan, but a scattered few holding out for many years afterwards. U.S. losses were 8,310 killed and 29,560 wounded. Civilian casualties are estimated at 120,000 to 140,000 dead. Only 2,000 Japanese troops out of the 30,000 in the Kembu group and 8,300 troops out of the 80,000 in the Shimbu group survived the war. After the Japanese surrender it was revealed that Yamashita's Shobu group in northern Luzon had enough food to sustain themselves for only one more month. Yamashita had planned on committing suicide if the war had continued and almost all of his remaining men died of starvation and were no longer able to fight.
Appendix
Weapons on hand and ammunition expended by Sixth Army units, 9 January 1945 to 30 June 1945, exclusive of Eighth Army phase (173 days):
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Item/Ammunition Type
!Ammunition Expended
!Average per Day
!Maximum number of weapons
|-
|Carbine
|12,992,493
|75,101
|77,773
|-
|Automatic Rifle
|11,467,625
|66,267
|3,145 BAR, 3,212 '03 Rifle
|-
|M1 Rifle
|22,388,947
|129,416
|58,380
|-
|.30 cal. MG
|25,257,659
|145,998
|5,369
|-
|.45 cal. pistol
|7,102,776
|41,057
|9,664 pistol, 13,533 SMG
|-
|.50 cal. MG
|4,318,847
|24,964
|3,756 ground, 1,829 AA
|-
|40 mm AA gun
|33,053
|191
|280
|-
|90 mm AA gun
|44,570
|258
|102
|-
|37 mm Tank & AT gun
|64,524
|373
|116 Tank, 355 AT
|-
|37 mm T-32
|10,818
|63
|33
|-
|57 mm AT gun
|25,244
|146
|235
|-
|60 mm mortar
|691,969
|4,000
|892
|-
|81 mm mortar
|1,061,620
|6,136
|559
|-
|75 mm Tank gun
|81,524
|471
|229
|-
|76 mm AT gun
|15,398
|89
|36
|-
|3 inch (76.2 mm) AT gun
|10,948
|63
|72
|-
|75 mm howitzer
|144,959
|898
|52 Field Artillery, 21 LVT/SP
|-
|105 mm howitzer M2A1
|689,010
|9,763
|380 Field Artillery, 135 SP-Tank, 10 Tank
|-
|105 mm howitzer M3
|17,296
|141
|12
|-
|155 mm howitzer M1
|384,288
|2,220
|180
|-
|Launcher, rocket, 2.36 inch
|83,494
|483
|5,892
|-
|Rifle & Carbine grenades
|117,322
|678
|18,250 launchers
|-
|Hand grenades
|841,413
|4,864
| --
|-
|155 mm gun
|56,424
|326
|36
|-
|8 inch (203 mm) howitzer
|14,026
|92
|12
|-
|240 mm howitzer
|5,445
|41
|6
|-
|Land mines/Bangalore torpedoes
|11,923
|69
| --
|-
|Artillery fuses
|374,493
|2,165
| --
|-
|Flares, signals, projectors
|36,978
|214
| --
|-
!|Total Tonnage Expended (short tons)
!|111,327
!|644
!| --
|}
See also
- Invasion of Lingayen Gulf
- Battle of Bessang Pass
- Battle of Balete Pass
- Battle of Manila (1945)
- Battle of Villa Verde Trail
- Battle of Wawa Dam
- List of American guerrillas in the Philippines
- Escuadrón 201
- Japanese holdout
- Manila massacre
- William R. Shockley