Battle of Mindoro

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Mindoro


caption=
partof=World War II, Pacific theater
date=13 December – 16 December 1944
place=Mindoro Island, Philippines
result=American victory
combatant1=flagicon|United States|1912United States
combatant2=flagicon|Empire of JapanEmpire of Japan
commander1=George M. Jones Roscoe B. Woodruff
commander2=Rikichi Tsukada
strength1=10,000 U.S. troops
strength2=1,200 Japanese troops
casualties1=148 killed
271 wounded
casualties2=200 killed
375 wounded

The Battle of Mindoro fought between U.S. and Japanese forces at Mindoro Island in the northern Philippines from December 13 to December 16, 1944, to establish a strong base of operations for the main invasion of Luzon Island, was part of the penultimate campaign for the liberation of the archipelago.

Background

Before the invasion of Luzon was to get underway, Gen. Douglas MacArthur needed a base of operations closer to the northern island than Leyte. Mindoro became a logical choice for this strategy. Just south of Luzon, and about half the size of the state of New Jersey, the island is covered by mountains, with a few narrow plains along its coast. Almost daily rains and high humidity, caused by clouds moving up from the south trapped by the high peaks made it a breeding ground for malaria and other tropical diseases. Furthermore, Japanese defenses on the island were minimal.

The unsatisfactory condition of airfields recently constructed at Leyte were deemed unreliable, so the potential of more aircraft landing sites at Mindoro to support the Luzon operation appealed more to MacArthur. Taking it, however, proved a daunting task. Amphibious landings on its northeastern part were best but were vulnerable to what was left of Japanese air power on Luzon, so this was ruled out. The town of San Jose on its southwest corner, though nearer to Mangarin Bay, Mindoro's best deepwater port, was the spot chosen by his planners.

The U.S. Sixth Army under Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger was assigned to seize Mindoro. Krueger, in turn, gave the task to Maj. Gen. Roscoe B. Woodruff's 24th Infantry Division, with the 19th Infantry and the separate 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team of Lt. Col. George M. Jones, nicknamed "The Warden" , to spearhead the assault.

The main threat for the amphibious assault vessels and supporting warships came from land-based Japanese kamikaze suicide planes. The Japanese had begun the deadly practice as a desperate measure during the final stages of the Leyte campaign and perfected it by December 1944.

On 13 December 1944 , two days before the scheduled assault on the island, "kamikazes" struck at the naval task force ferrying the invading troops. The light cruiser USS "Nashville" was hit by a "kamikaze", killing over 130 men and wounding another 190. Brig. Gen. William C. Dunkel, the commander of the landing force was among the injured. Other "kamikaze" attacks damaged two tank landing ships (LSTs, for Landing Ship, Tank) and disabled several other ships.

Earlier, U.S. Army and Navy aviation stepped up an unprecedented campaign to eliminate the "kamikaze" threat in the first weeks of December, claiming to have destroyed more than 700 Japanese planes in the air and on the ground, but to no avail.

Battle

On 15 December, the invasion of Mindoro began. The clear weather allowed the full use of American air and naval power, including six escort carriers, three battleships, six cruisers and many other support warships against light Japanese resistance. The paratroopers of the 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team came ashore in Mangarin Bay with the landing forces, being unable to make the jump because of inadequate airstrip facilities at Leyte. Destroyers provided fire support for the troop landings and anti-aircraft protection for the ships in the transport area. Two LSTs were struck by "kamikazes", abandoned and sunk.

In one heroic action, USS "Moale" under the command of Commander Walter M. Foster went alongside the burning USS "LST-738" (which was loaded with aviation fuel and ordnance) to rescue crewmembers. Several explosions aboard "LST-738" caused damage to the "Moale" as she pulled away. Some pieces of shrapnel were two feet square and they put four holes in "Moale"'s hull. Gunner's Mate Ed Marsh reported that a one-gallon jar of Vaseline from the LST's cargo splattered on one barrel of his twin 40 mm Bofors AA gun, providing unwelcome lubrication. The "Moale" suffered one casualty and thirteen wounded. In addition, the "Moale" also rescued 88 survivors.

The 1,000 defending Japanese, along with some 200 survivors from ships sunk off Mindoro en route to Leyte were outnumbered and outgunned. Some 300 enemy troops manning an air raid warning station at the island's northern end managed to put up a stiff fight against a company of the 503rd but except for mopping up, the island was secure within 48 hours.

Aftermath

The defending Japanese forces on Mindoro suffered some 200 killed and 375 wounded. The 24th Infantry Division lost 18 men and had 81 wounded. By the end of the first day, Army engineers were at work preparing airfields for the invasion of Luzon. Two were completed in thirteen days. Together, the airfields allowed U.S. aircraft to provide closer direct support for the planned Luzon beachhead, striking "kamikaze" airfields, before the deadly enemy planes could take off, and enabled interdiction flights on Japanese shipping between northern and southern Luzon and Formosa.

ee also

*Military History of the Philippines
*Military History of the United States
*Military History of Japan
*History of the Philippines

References

* World War II in the Pacific: An Encyclopedia (Military History of the United States) by S. Sandler (2000) Routledge ISBN 0-8153-1883-9

External links

* [http://www.army.mil/cmh/brochures/luzon/72-28.htm U.S. Army Center of Military History: World War II Commemorative Brochures, Luzon]