-EZ 9z;T CLASS. FICA ICN OF THIS PAGE (mi-,t Data E~to 7REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE BFREA CDMSTRMGTTONS ITLE(medSubdl.)S. TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERED I---r egdor--ebruary 19145 -S-t,_dent Paper CO 6.PERFORMING CRG. REPORT NUMBER AUNR..).A. Jates E. Bush, MAJ William M. Cochrane..COTATRGATNMS(8 0) :.:jJohn R. Gingrich, C?T David F. Gross, I.TAJ 7ri D. Hacket-t, 1.11 Douglas P. Schultz Ina- _ _ _ __ _ _ S. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS to. laROGRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT, TASK AREA & WORK UNIT NUMBERS :=_tat Studies institute, t)SACGS0C I A:ZLSWI, Ft. Leavenwvorth, KS 66027 I~It. CONTROLLING OFFICE. 4AME AND ADDRESS .2 R1*O. OT :c~mbat Studies Institute, ZZACGSC 3 -'w e 19 53_ A:Ft.~I Leaven-worth, Ks 66027 13k N'fOFPAGES 14. MONITORING AGENCY' NAME &AioDkIE.SI different Ii. Coioihia Ollie Is*. :.:UR.%': .'LASS. (of this report) 1S1" OECLASSIFICATION/IDOWNGRADING SCNEDUL9 6.. 01STRIU111UTION STATEMENT (of h~ AV ale D Akn:rove d for public release: Tett distribution unlimited. L A*i ~ 17. 'OISTRIS UTION STA T tM EN T ( of 0 SI MIe 41111teE b&A8 1o 0e 6k 0- ffHe. t h 00 -Report) IL. SUPPLIZMEMTARY NOTE) A ?s-ttlebook pre-A&red by Student~s of the 2k ri,? Command and General Staff !allege under the supervision of Comba~t :.... -sti.tute. fig. Key IFOROS1(Guntoe. roe~me side DIaee,~~~~History Case Studies, Military Operations, .,actic&A.. Analysis, 3a,,t~es, Military tactics, Tactical E0 0 L 'Warfare. Airborne, :1 nmphihious Operations, Joint Military Operations, Beach Heads, 1.L) Infartry, Artillery, Tactical Air Support. Free*Terms: Corregidor, Philippines, LL Offensive-Deliberate Assault, Island Warfare. 25. WN C? (mI~e-'I n ~ ~iEP epSlek ~ The following document will > exanine World Wlar 11'3 second battle of CORFEGIDOR, which resulted in the recap­ 02 < ture of the island by LIS forcee. COE~qEGIDOR is a rocky 0. W~ outcrop of land which 1 Id'.o,,Jd be totally without bignifirance were it net for its location,' guarding the M entrance to' Ihnila bay--the largest and most important harbor in the Philippines. I1h~i3 ac*-i',.n began at 0833 on, 16 'Fsbruary 1945 with the dropping of the first pa&ratroopers. The island was offcielly secured tvo iVeeks later, on 2 March. LE unlit: involved were the' 503d Regimental Combat Team, XI Corps, 6th Army; 5th Air 1 Force-, ?-34 Infantry: arviUS Task Fore.L 78. D~nTrt' ' DO m-gn.. *v 9 NOV65 is *@aLC~t 108 09a.llCIT CL*USpICAVIOW OP ThIM PAG( (Whn00Dte oo DISCLAIMER NOTICE THIS DOCUMENT IS BEST-QUALITY PRACTICABLE. THE COPY FURNISHED ! TO DTIC CONTAINED A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PAGES WHICH DO NOT REPRODUCE LEGIBLY. r.. -,cck 20. Abstract. (Continued) "of the Bay Entrance Defense Force, an ad hoc force consisting of about 75' navy -"garrison troops and 25% army forces.. /.•I, 7 n AcOOssiOn ?o • oand-or STIS GRA&I -ji. if to |0 *Lamnou1pced t T AvatU ili COdas ".................. 07 L.. CORREGIDOR -- FEBRUARY 1945 'C. A Battlebook presented to the Staff and Faculty of the United States Army Command and General Staff College in fullfillment of the requirements for A660 Ut. p. by JAMES-E., BUSH, 1 -­ IN )W-UA•4, M. COCHRANE ,-MAJ, MI " " "JeHN R./GINGRICH,-HA-J,-FA 'DO"t F.*GROSS ,-CMP-AR N•- t-I 1-D./kACKETT,-MAJ" 1IN "bOUGLAS P. SCHULTZ, MAJ, CM a.­ "FortLeavenworth, Kansas 1983 UQ. U­ U. a. N4 9. .3 Q- . - -." P *s*.tsOC*.w.t bt'. .R a.SS W SS W* . t..*. ... 2 a'-...- ,..: TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ........ ............................................ i SIntroduction ... #oo. o o o .......... i.i Chapter 1 - Historical Background .......................... ..... .. "1-1 Chapter 2- The Phillipine Campaign .......... 2-1 Chapter 3 - Planning the Operation ........ ..................... 3-1 Chapter 4 - The Airborne and Amphibious Landings ....................... 4-1 Chapter 5 - Rockforce Operations, 17 Feb - 2 Mar ...................... 5-1 i Chapter 6 -. The Key Events & the Outcome of the Battle of CORREGIDOR .o. 6-1 Chapter 7 - Signifi=ance of CORREGIDOR .............. o.................. 7-1 Bibliography ............ o......... ..... .......................... , 8-1 * I 'I II .............. * . .*j,*,*-*. 4 INTRODUCTION % The following document will examine World War I's second battle of CORREGIDOR, which resulted in the recapture of the island by US forces. 'V CORRECIDOR is a.rocky outcrop of land which would be totally without "significance were it not for its. location, guarding the entrance to Manila i bay -- the largest and most important harbor in the Phillippines. - This action began at 0833 on 16 February 1945 with the dropping of the first paratroopers. The island was officially secured two weeks later, on 2 March. US.units involved were the 503d Regimental Combat Team, XI Corps, 6th Army; 5th Air Force; 3-34 Infantry; and USN Task Force 78. Defending the island were elements of the Bay Entrance Defense Force, an ad hoe force consisting of about 75% navy garrison troops and 25% army forces. i U f. * i ! I, qo ÷ CHAPTER ONE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND | Ce½eial Empires The chain of events which culminated in the United States facing 'the Empire of Japan in World War II can be traced to the late 18th Century expansion of the two antagonists into the Pacific. While other major colonial powers in the Pacific (Spain, Great Britain, Germany, France, and S ~ Holland) were well established by the mid-Nineteenth Century, both the United States and Japan were relatively late in establishing their holdings. The US annexation of Hawaii and the Phillipines in 1898 climaxed the acquisitions which began with Alaska and Midway Island in 1867 and the port of Pago Pago,.Samoa, in 1877. Japan, meanwhile, although a Pacific 'nation herself, was the last major power to develop an empire in the region. In the late 1870's she annexed the Kuril Bonin, and Ryukyu Islands, followed in 1894-1895 by Formosa and "the Pescadores, taken in the Sino-Japanese war. China also ceded Japan the Liaotung Penisula in Manchuria, but Russia, France and Germany interceded to block Japanese expansion to the mainland. I The US annexation of Hawaii and the Phillippinep was a stinging rebuke to Japan, following so closely her inability to enforce the provisions of her treaty with China in the face of interference by western nations. Convinced that force was now necessary to achieve her national aims, Japan began a deliberate program of military buildup. Seeds of Conflict In 1904, Japan launched a surprise attack against the Russian fleet at Port Arthur on the tip of the Liaotung Penisula, seeking both revenge, for her humiliation following the war with China and to establish her' control of Korea.. After a year of heavy fighting, with both sides ready for peace, President Theodore Roosevelt assisted in negotiating, the Treaty of Portsmouth which ended the war, recognized Korea as within Japan's sphere of influence, and granted Japan Russia's lease on the Liaotung Peninsula, rail and miring pr-,ileges in southern Manchuria, and the southern half of * Sakhalin Is)And Then,' in 1910, Japan annexed Korea and by secret agreement with Russia established southern Manchuria as within the Japanese sphere of influence. World War I enabled Japan, by declaring war with Germany, to seize the Marshall, Careline, and Mariana 'Islands (less Guam), as well as German interests in Shantung province and the port of Tsingtao in China. The Treaty of Versailles sanctioned these Japanese gains over the objections of President Wilson, who protested that the islands' only valve was military, *3WPC1417j/AUG 83 1­ | .*** . and that their control by Japan would make defense of the Philippines impossible. As a result, Japan held most of Micronesia, and was the dominant power in the western Pacific north of the equator. Besides the Japanese holdings, other major powers in the area 'included the United States, who controlled the northeast Pacific' with Alaska, Hawaii, and the Aleutians, as well as scattered outposts in Japanese controlled areas -- Guam, Wake, and the Phillipines. The British were dominant in the central and southwest Pacific areas from Australia, New Guinea,. Samoa, and Melanesia, while the French controlled most of the southeast Pacific with bases in French Oceania, New Caledonia, and the New Hebredes. Dutch interests were also present in the East Indies and New Guinea. Enhancement of Japanese dominance in the region also came in the Washington Conference of 1922, in which Japan agreed to accept a 5-5-3 ratio of naval vessels' (United States, Britain, Japan) in return for an agreement by the United States ar.- Britain to maintain the status quo of their bases in the, Western Pacific. This had the effect of halting any further fortification of the Phillippines, Hong Kong, Guam, the Aleutians, and other US and British possessions west of Hawaii. Only the Philippines, at the conclusion of the Washington Conference, were sufficiently developed to support a naval force adequate to present a threat to Japanese dominance in the Western Pacific. Expansion into Manchuria Since her victory in the Russo-Japanese war, Japan had invested considerable amounts of money and troops in the development of her interests on the mainland. Under her successful operation of the railroads captured from the Russians, Manchuria became attractive to large numbers of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean merchants and settlers. Japan had the right to station troops along the railroads for protection from bandits, and to engage in farming, mining, and business activities. At the same time, Japan was feeling the squeeze of a rapidly expanding population and its effects upon the economy. Secret societies within the military called for internal reforms as well as territorial growth.