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A Last Desperate Sortie: The Final Battle of the Asiatic Fleet (part 1)
A last desperate sortie: The final battle of the Asiatic Fleet
The remains of a Fleet
While the Army was fighting a grinding battle to delay the Japanese for as long as possible on Bataan, the majority of the ships of the Asiatic Fleet have been sunk, damaged or otherwise driven away from the Philippines. But a small remnant of the US Navy, along with the survivors of the Philippine Coast Guard remained. A small force consisting of a pair of minesweepers and various lightly armed converted fishing boats and yachts provided support at Panay and Cebu for the movement of troops to dispersed stay behind locations around the central and southern islands. The Cebu Force finally meets its end on April 18 when a Japanese invasion fleet of several cruisers, numerous destroyers and escorts as well as 30 transports, supported by land based aircraft land 20,000 troops at Cebu and Panay, capturing the last base outside of Bataan and also destroying the last of the American and Filipino warships and armed craft in the central and southern islands.
This invasion also results in the destruction of 2 divisions of the Philippine Army, which surrender a total of 10,000 men. Just as sadly, the rescue attempt of General Ord and his senior staff from Cebu by the USS Perch results in the loss of that submarine somewhere between Cebu and Rabaul. Postwar it is believed the ship suffered a collision at sea as her shattered hull is found in the San Bernadino Strait. The Japanese also take Del Monte Airfield at the same time, completing the job of eliminating formal resistance everywhere but Manila Bay.
A Desperate Plan
Following the Good Friday Offensive (2nd Bataan), Captain Enrique Jurado, Commander Jose Andrade, the senior officers of the Philippines Coast Guard and Lieutenant Commander John Morrill (USN, their advisor) come up with a plan to evacuate some of the troops off Bataan and land them in southern Luzon after a discussion with General Wainwright regarding the desirability of getting some of the veteran troops out to form cadres for a larger partisan war. Commander Earl Sackett, commander of the Canopus and the senior naval officer present, helps the men finalize the plan before he is ordered out along with General Wainwright on April 13. Those officers and others are evacuated on April 17 by the submarines Skipjack and Seawolf.
Operation Mayari
For two weeks leading up to April 17, the 3 light transports (converted civilian coasters), as well as 2 US Navy ships are fitted out to carry as many wounded on stretchers as can be placed aboard them. The steamers will carry 6,000 wounded and seriously ill aboard all three ships, with another 1,000 Filipino soldiers too shell shocked for further service to care for them. The US Navy ships will act as tugs should they need it as well as carrying some of the sick and wounded as well. Their destination is the evacuation hospital at Cebu from which they can be sent on to villages throughout the central Philippine Islands. The three darkest nights of the month are April 17-19, and ships are loaded the night of the 17th, even as 2 American submarines are taking off personnel and delivery supplies at Mariveles.
As normal, the next morning the ships of the Bataan Force are hidden under camouflage and again escape detection by the Japanese. A final confirmation order is received from Admiral Ballinger and General Eisenhower authorizing Operation Mayari (named for the Tagalog Goddess of the Moon) and Operation Tala (Tagalog Goddess of the Stars).
Slipping through the minefields in the darkness of a new moon, the 5 ships assigned to Operation Mayari escape detection and manage to almost get to Cebu before destroyer patrols of the oncoming Cebu Invasion Force detect and capture the unarmed ships (all of which are marked with a Red Cross as well). Through poor luck the attempt fails. However one of the few remaining Ducks at Cebu spots the oncoming fleet, and the fate of the hospital ships, and a message is sent to Australia and Corregidor reporting events.
Operation Tala
On the morning of April 6, General Lim meets with General King and General Wainwright and proposes a plan. In his estimation the next Japanese attack is going to bring about a collapse of the front as the most of the troops are exhausted, artillery ammunition is down to a few rounds a gun, most of the armored vehicles are gone or barely operational, and there are few reserves left. Lim proposes that a picked force built around volunteers from the Scouts and National Army be formed into a regiment and that it infiltrate through Japanese lines and make their way through the jungle north to the Zambales Mountains. However Wainwright has already been given another proposal from the Navy and he discusses it with Lim, who agrees that a breakout south along the coast to Balayan Bay offers potential. The remnants of the Navy will beach themselves in the shallows, and the troops aboard will disembark and make their way by hard march away from the Lake Taal area into the jungles and mountains of southern Luzon. The sailors will join in with the infantry and with any luck some may be able to escape further south using small craft to other islands.
The plan is the hallmark of desperation, but as defeat and capitulation is certain, Wainwright is willing to approve it and he forwards it to Australia where it is given authorization. Lim sends a call for volunteers and gets over 10,000, allowing him to pick and choose. The Scouts in particular are forthcoming, and he picks 1,500 of them including all of the Filipino survivors of the 26th Cavalry (250 in all fit for duty). The rest are from the Philippine Army, along with 25 US Army junior officers and senior enlisted men, including a number of signal corps personnel. In all 2,500 men form the 4th Infantry Regiment (Philippine Army) and in 10 days are hurriedly formed into a unit. Whenever possible squads and platoons are grouped around men from their original units, and when possible so are companies and battalions. They are moved by truck to Mariveles, and for two days are fed up as much as possible to build up their strength and then on the night of April 18 begin loading above the Canopus.
Meanwhile the remaining ships of the Asiatic Fleet are given last minute hurried maintenance by the skilled crew of the Canopus, many of whom are being left behind. The Marines petition to be included and 90 volunteers supplement the crews of the gunboats and minesweepers. Last minute repairs manage to get 3 of the PT boats into combat readiness, although the fourth is too worn out and is used as a source for parts for the others.