Battle of Visayas: Difference between revisions

|conflict=Battle of the Visayas

|caption=U.S. soldiers during landings at Talisay Beach, Cebu Island, 26 March 1945. ''U.S. National Archives''

|date=18 March – 3015 JulyAugust 1945

|commander1={{nowrap|{{flagicon|United States|1912}} [[Robert L. Eichelberger]]}}<br />{{flagicon|United States|1912}} [[Rapp Brush]]<br />{{flagicon|United States|1912}} [[William Howard Arnold (general)|William H. Arnold]]<br />{{flagicon|United States|1912}} [[James M. Cushing]]<br />{{flagicon|Philippine Commonwealth}} [[Macario Peralta Jr.|Macario P. Peralta Jr.]]<br />{{flagicon|Philippine Commonwealth}} [[Ruperto Kangleon]]

|commander2={{flagicon|Empire of Japan|army}} [[Sōsaku Suzuki]]{{KIA}}<br />{{flagicon|Empire of Japan|army}} [[Takeo Manjome]]{{KIA}}

[[image:Japanese surrender to 40th.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Japanese troops surrender to the 40th Division, September 1945]]

The '''Battle of the Visayas''' ([[Filipino language|Filipino]]: ''Labanan sa Visayas;'' [[Visayan languages]]: ''Gubat sa Kabisay-an'') was fought by U.S. forces and Filipino guerrillas against the Japanese from 18 March – 3015 JulyAugust 1945, in a series of actions officially designated as Operations Victor I and II, and part of the campaign for the liberation of the [[Philippines]] during [[World War II]]. The battle was waged to complete the recapture of the central portions south of the archipelago and secure them from remaining Japanese forces.

With Filipino guerrillas controlling most of the countryside in these islands, some thirty thousand Japanese troops held the vital coastal towns including [[Cebu City]] on Cebu island and [[Iloilo City]] on [[Panay]], among the largest cities in the Philippines. Aside from fulfilling his desire and promise to clear the Japanese from the islands, Gen. MacArthur wanted these two port cities as vital staging points for the expected large numbers of troops scheduled for the invasion of the Japanese mainland. Earlier, the United States Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff had told him to be prepared to stage twenty-two divisions for the mainland operation at bases across the Philippines by November 1945, with another eleven to follow by February 1946.<ref>{{Citation|title=Operation Victor. The liberation of Negros Island, 1945 Part 1.|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkPAAyPxfRY|language=en|access-date=2021-11-09}}</ref>

Two areas of operations were suggested to divide the entire region, given the mountainous terrain of [[Negros Island|Negros]], a dominant terrain feature that ran north to south of the island, and the planners chose to seize the western portion, including Northwestern Negros and Panay island, which was named VICTOR I. Lt. Gen. [[Robert L. Eichelberger]], the Eighth Army commander, appointed the [[40th Infantry Division (United States)|40th Infantry Division]], a [[California National Guard]] formation and veterans of the recent [[Battle of Luzon|fighting in Luzon]] under Maj. Gen. [[Rapp Brush]], with the [[503rd Infantry Regiment (United States)|503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team]] in reserve.

The regiment proceeded to seize the airfield at Barrio Tiring, [[Cabatuan, Iloilo]].<ref name="tlf">{{cite web |title= Tiring Landing Field, located in Cabatuan, Iloilo |publisher=Cabatuan.com Center for Cabatuan Studies, IloiloAirport.com | url=http://www.cabatuan.com/iloiloairport.html#history }}</ref>{{efn|1= This airfield was called the Tiring Landing Field by the Free Panay Civil Government of Governor Thomas Confesor and the Panay guerillas of Col. Peralta, the Cabatuan Airfield by the Japanese Forces, and the Tiring Airfield by the American Forces.<ref name=tlf /> By mistake, the Americans also called it the Santa Barbara Airfield even though it is not located in Santa Barbara. The Americans were apparently cognizant of the error that they usually write "(Tiring)" next to the name. It is worth noting that there is no Barrio Tiring in the neighboring town of Santa Barbara, only in Cabatuan. Other writers who do not know the geography of the place may have added to the error by simply assuming that an airfield mistakenly called Santa Barbara is located in a place called Santa Barbara, even though it is actually located in [[Cabatuan, Iloilo]].<ref name=tlf />}} The [[Iloilo International Airport]] <ref name="iloiloairport">{{cite web |title= Iloilo International Airport |publisher=IloiloAirport.com | url=http://www.iloiloairport.com }}</ref> is currently located on the same area in [[Cabatuan, Iloilo]].<ref name="iloiloairport"/>

The regiment also proceeded to seize the [[Mandurriao Airport|airfield at Mandurriao]] district. The Japanese were holed up in Iloilo City, and the 40th Division easily swept these Japanese outposts in two days. Mopping up operations by the guerrillas and 2nd Battalion of the 160th Infantry Regiment continued, and at war's end, some 1,500 Japanese troops surrendered.

On 29 March, a reinforced platoon from Company F, 185th Infantry under 1st Lt. Aaron H. Hanson slipped ashore ahead of the main landings to be staged near [[Bacolod City]], seized the 650-foot steel truss Bago River bridge, which separated Pandan Point from the city itself, a vital link in supporting movement of heavy weapons and equipment. The Japanese guards were surprised, and the bridge was secured for several hours before reinforcements arrived.<ref>{{Citation|title=From Green Beach to Silay. Pt.2, the first landings on Negros island.|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TksW3f_O3lo|language=en|access-date=2021-11-09}}</ref>

The sudden seizure of the Bago river bridge easily allowed the 185th Infantry Regiment to land at [[Pulupandan, Negros Occidental|Pulupandan]] unopposed, then they advanced rapidly, seizing seven more bridges in turn, and finally captured [[Bacolod City]] the next day 30 March, mostly because the Japanese did not contest the beach landings; with the use of artillery, they could have inflicted numerous casualties. The 40th Division pushed farther inland and toward [[Talisay City, Negros Occidental|Talisay]], where Japanese forces tried to disrupt its advance with delaying actions, but the Americans simply overwhelmed these, and on 2 April, the coastal plain of Negros was in Allied hands.

On 9 April, all three regiments of the 40th Division pushed east into the rugged, mountainous interior of the island. The Japanese resisted stubbornly, aided by booby-trapped terrain, defended their fortified positions by day, and conducted harassing attacks at night.<ref>{{Citation|title=Retracing the Tokaido Road. Pt.3|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74SbmVGfFoc|language=en|access-date=2021-11-09}}</ref> Soon, the 40th Division started using small infiltrating units to creep past tank traps and minefields, then scrambled uphill across open fields of fire to attack Japanese positions. On 23 May, at Hacienda San Jose, [[San Carlos, Negros Occidental|San Carlos]], Medal of Honor awardee, Staff Sgt. [[John C. Sjogren]] of Company I, 160th Infantry, led one such attack on a ridgetop entrenchment, and despite being wounded by gunfire, had accounted for some forty-three Japanese casualties, destroyed nine pillboxes, as he cleared the way for his comrades to follow. Sjorgen's unit, Company I, subsequently received a Presidential Unit Citation for its heroic action.<ref>{{Citation|title=From Murcia to Fabrica, Pt.4|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMQagdRz0i4|language=en|access-date=2021-11-09}}</ref>

About a week into the [[Panay]] and northwestern [[Negros Oriental|Negros]] operations, Operation VICTOR II, the [[Battle for Cebu City|seizure of Cebu]], Bohol, and southeastern Negros, was underway. The [[Americal Division]] under Maj. Gen. [[William Howard Arnold (general)|William Howard Arnold]] was tasked by Gen. Eichelberger for the operation. Some 14,500 Japanese troops held Cebu, but 2,000 Japanese soldiers under Maj. Gen. [[Takeo Manjome]] were contained in northern Cebu by about 8,500 guerrillas under Lt. Col. [[James M. Cushing]]. One-third of the Japanese forces in Cebu were combat-ready, with an extensive network of formidable defensive positions around the city.

On 11 April 1945, well before the fighting in Cebu subsided, the Americal Division went to action elsewhere, as Bohol island and southeastern Negros became the next targets, when a battalion of the 164th Infantry landed on [[Tagbilaran City]] on Bohol's western coast. With the assistance of local guerrilla forces led by Major Ingeniero, the battalion pushed inland, located the defenders and cleared the island of Japanese resistance by the end of the month, at a cost of seven men killed.

On 26 April, remnants of the 164th went ashore at [[Sibulan, Negros Oriental|Sibulan]], some five miles (8&nbsp;km) north of [[Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental|Dumaguete]], rendezvoused with a Reconnaissance Troop of the 40th Division, and in two days, attacked the 1,300 strong Japanese force entrenched in forbidding hill positions surrounding [[Dumaguete]].<ref>{{Citation|title=The Fight for Dumaguete, 1945. Pt.6|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKnesqzFz3Q|language=en|access-date=2021-11-09}}</ref> Major combat operations continued until 28 May 1945, when the Japanese positions fell and Filipino guerrillas assumed responsibility for mopping up operations. The 164th Infantry suffered thirty five men killed and 180 wounded in southeastern [[Negros]], while the Japanese lost 350 men and fifteen were captured.

Overall, the Visayas operations of the U.S. Eighth Army suffered relatively light casualties in comparison to Japanese figures. The 40th Division in Panay and northeastern Negros suffered 390 killed and 1,025 wounded with the Japanese sustaining 4,080 killed with another 3,300 succumbed to disease and starvation. The AmericanAmerical Division at Cebu and Bohol suffered 417 killed and 1,700 wounded, with Japan sustaining 5,750 killed and 500 wounded.

*{{cite book| url = http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/southphil/southphils.htm | series = The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II| title = Southern Philippines Campaign| publisher = [[United States Army Center of Military History]]| id = CMH Pub 72-40 | first = Stephen F. | last = Lofgren| access-date = 9 August 2010| archive-date = 1 January 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120101123644/http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/southphil/southphils.htm| url-status = dead}}

*[http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/wwII-m-s.html World War II Medal of Honor Recipients M-S] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430113840/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/wwII-m-s.html |date=30 April 2008 }}, [[United States Army Center of Military History]]

[[Category:Military history of the Philippines duringcampaign World(1944–1945)|* War II|Visayas2]]

[[Category:Philippine resistance against Japanese occupationJapan|Visayas]]

[[Category:March 1945 events in Asia]]

[[Category:April 1945 events in Asia]]

[[Category:May 1945 events in Asia]]

[[Category:June 1945 events in Asia]]

[[Category:July 1945 events in Asia]]