The Battle of Mindoro presaged the main invasion of Luzon in the northern Philippines by US forces in the penultimate campaign for the liberation of the archipelago. Combatants Allies: • Soviet Union, • UK & Commonwealth, • USA, • France/Free France, • China, • Poland, • ...and others Axis: • Germany, • Japan, • Italy, • ...and others Casualties Military dead: 18 million Civilian dead: 33 million Full list Military dead: 7 million Civilian dead: 4 million Full list World War II, also known as the Second World... US landings in the Pacific, 1942–1945 The Pacific War occurred in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in Asia. ... December 13 is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events A Roman army commanded by Germanicus manages a victory at Idistaviso over the German war chief Arminius and captures his wife Thusnelda, and recovers the lost eagles of Varus legions. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Mindoro is the fourth-largest island in the Philippines. ... The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the invasion and conquest of Leyte in the Philippines by Allied forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur between October 20 and December 31, 1944. ... Combatants United States, Australia Japan Commanders William Halsey, Jr Jisaburo Ozawa Strength 17 aircraft carriers 18 escort carriers 12 battleships 24 cruisers 141 destroyers Many other ships, PT boats, and submarines About 1,500 planes 4 aircraft carriers 9 battleships 19 cruisers 34 destroyers About 200 planes Casualties 3,500... The Battle of Ormoc Bay was a series of air-sea battles between Imperial Japan and the United States in the Camotes Sea in the Philippines between 11 November 1944 and 21 December 1944, part of the Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II. The battles... Luzon, home to the Filipino capital Manila, saw the showdown between Japanese commander Tomoyuki Yamashita and General Douglas MacArthur on December 15, 1944. ... Combatants United States Japan Commanders Henry Mucci (6th Ranger Battalion) Robert Prince (C and F Companies, 6th Ranger Battalion) Juan Pajota (USAFFE guerrillas) unknown Strength 127 U.S. troops, 200 Filipino guerrillas estimated 8,000 Japanese troops around the camp and about 700 in the camp Casualties 4 killed and... The Battle for the Recapture of Bataan from January 31 to February 8, 1945 by U.S. Forces from the Japanese, part of the campaign for the liberation of the Philippines was waged to secure the western shore of Manila Bay to enable the use of its harbor and open... Combatants United States Japan Commanders Robert S. Beightler (37th Infantry Division) Verne D. Mudge (1st Cavalry Division) Oscar W. Griswold (U.S. XIV Corps) Joseph M. Swing (11th Airborne Division) Iwabuchi Sanji (Manila Naval Defense Forces) Strength 35,000 US troops 16,000 Japanese sailors, marines, and Army troops Casualties... The Battle for the Recapture of Corregidor , from February 16 to 26 , on the island fortress used by the USAFFE , which was the last bastion to surrender to invading Japanese forces. ... Los Banos was a Japanese-run Interment and Prisoner of War (POW) camp in the Phillippines. ... Combatants United States Japan Commanders Strength Casualties The Battle of Mindanao was fought on March 10, 1945 between the United States and Japan. ... Map of the Philippines showing the island groups of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. ...

Doorstep to Luzon

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. Douglas MacArthur (January 26, 1880 — April 5, 1964) was a senior American military leader in the Pacific Theater who served in World War II. MacArthur helped rebuild Japan after the war, and played a key role in limiting the Communist takeover of Korea with his daring Inchon landing. ... Leyte (pronounced LAY-teh or LAY-tee) is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines. ... Mindoro is the fourth-largest island in the Philippines. ... Official language(s) None defined, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 47th 22,608 km² 110 km 240 km 14. ...

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. Leyte (pronounced LAY-teh or LAY-tee) is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines. ...

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. Walter Krueger (1881-1967) was a German-American soldier and general in the first half of the 20th century. ... (Redirected from 24th Infantry Division) Shoulder sleeve patch of the United States Army 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized). ... The Regiments 1st and 2nd Battalions were formed at Fort Benning, GA, from the 503d and 504th Parachute Battalions, respectively. ...

Kamikazes Up High

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. A kamikaze (just left of center near the top border), a Mitsubishi Zero in this case, about to hit the USS Missouri. ... The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the invasion and conquest of Leyte in the Philippines by Allied forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur between October 20 and December 31, 1944. ...

On December 13, 1944 , two days before the scheduled assault on the island, kamikazes struck at the naval task force ferrying the invading troops. The light cruiser 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 landing ships, tank (LSTs) and disabled several other ships. December 13 is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

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.

The Landings

On December 15 ,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 PRCT came ashore in Mangarin Bay with the landing forces, being unable to make the jump due to 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 (Landing Ship-Tank) were struck by kamikazes, abandoned and sunk. In one heroic action, U.S.S. MOALE (DD-693) under the command of Commander Walter M. Foster went alongside the burning LST-738 (which was loaded with aviation fuel and ordnance) to rescue crewmembers. Several minor explosions aboard the LST-738 did cause minimal damage to the MOALE as she pulled away. December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The 1,000 defending Japanese, along with some 200 survivors from ships sunk off Mindoro en route to Leyte could do little. Some 300 enemy troops manning an air raid warning station at the island's northern end only managed to put up a stiff fight against a company of the 503rd.

Aftermath and Historical Significance

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. Formosa is a placename which comes from Latin formosa (*formous, meaning beautiful). Other Iberian Romance versions are hermosa. ...

See also

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