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The Last Battle of the Asiatic Fleet: Escape to Batangas Bay (part 3) Chase and Ambush
The Chase
A few minutes after midnight, a Japanese floatplane spots 3 shapes in the darkness, illuminated only by the bioluminescence created by the passing wakes of the ships. Flares illuminate the night and a radio message is quickly relayed to base. However, it is several more minutes before it is passed on to Ifune who then has to gather up his scattered fleet. The the 3 smaller patrol boats are left behind and at 0100 hours Ifune begins his pursuit with the Tenyru, PB1, PB2 and all four minesweepers. He is now 24 nautical miles behind the American ships and his force departs steaming at their best speed of 20 knots.
The American ships are now 40 nautical miles from Fort Frank, steaming at their best speed of 13 knots, and after being illuminated by the Japanese, both American minesweepers drop back behind the American submarine tender to cover the rear. At this speed, the Canopus will reach Batangas Bay in roughly 5 hours, including avoiding some dangerous reefs, which will put her in the bay at sunrise. At their current speed, the Japanese will catch them just outside of the bay.
Luckily, Ifune again misinterprets the Filipino-American plan, and assuming still that the Americans are trying to reach the central islands, he sends a message asking for the Central Islands Invasion force to take up interception positions further south, hours away from the true destination.
Lieutenant Commander Morrill figures out that the Japanese will likely catch them, and he orders his two small ships to hide close to shore at Cape Santiago at the entrance of Balayan Bay With the secret out, he figures radio silence is a dead issue and so signals Captain Jurado aboard the Canopus and suggests that Balayan Bay is now a better bet and that the fall back plan for the Canopus to beach herself at or near the town of Taal, which is likely to have only a small Japanese garrison. Jurado and Lim both reject this idea, as they suspect a much larger Japanese presence and insist on sticking to the plan.
As it happens there is indeed a garrison in the area, elements of the Japanese 59th Infantry Regiment of the 14th Infantry Division, which is at 50% strength having rebuilt only somewhat from the fighting earlier in the campaign at Bataan. A weak battalion is in the Taal area with the rest of the regiment spread out throughout Batangas Province. Another weak battalion is at Batangas, which also has a pier and channel leading straight to it, and intelligence indicates no guns have been set up to cover the approaches.
The Japanese Army of course is ignorant of what is coming as what will be a typical problem that would plague the Japanese throughout the war, there has been no communication from the Imperial Navy to the Imperial Army. In this instance, no communication that the Americans have left Manila Bay and the Navy has also failed to inform the Army air units in Luzon that something is afoot and indeed has not even mentioned that it has plans for its aircraft once the sun comes up that will prevent Navy bombers from conducting their usual missions against the American Luzon Force. Thus the Japanese Army is in its normal routine, with only the normal sentries enforcing curfew and guarding installations and Army air units have not changed their plans to continue normal flight operations at Bataan and Corregidor.
Ambush at Cape Santiago
By 0330 the Japanese are closing in and have rounded Cape Santiago off Balayan Bay, while the Canopus has reached the entrance of Batangas Bay.
Lookouts aboard the two American minesweepers spot the wakes of the Japanese ships as they pass in the darkness and a few moments later the Quail and the Finch both open fire at 3,000 yards with 50 and 30 caliber machine guns while firing star shells to light up the Japanese fleet. The Japanese have in the lead all 4 of their minesweepers, with the 600 ton W1 in the lead. Both the W1 and W2 are heavily strafed by machine gun fire, and their thin steel hulls are not proof against the heavy machine gun bullets. Both suffer devastating crew casualties, with the W1 losing control as its bridge crew all killed or wounded, while the W2 suffers a massive explosion as machine gun bullets detonate a depth charge in her stern, creating a series of explosions that blow off her stern and leave her sinking. The W1 smacks hard into a reef, going firmly aground while the W2 is afire from amidships to her stern and is drifting.
The Japanese quickly return fire however, with all four minesweepers opening up with 4.7 inch and 3 inch guns, as well as their pair of machine guns. Both the W1 and W2 have been quickly silenced without doing any damage in return. The other pair move up to support them, as do the patrol boats, both of which are heavily armed with 25 mm anti aircraft guns.
It is a close range slug fest with automatic weapons and those decide the issue. Tracers light up the night sky and while the heavier cannons would have been decisive at longer range, at the close ranges of this fight their crews quickly become casualties and few rounds are successfully fired, all to no effect by either side. The thin hulls of the combatants mean that all are vulnerable to 50 caliber machine gun and 25 mm cannon rounds, and within 20 minutes the Finch, Quail, W3 and W4 are all sinking and all four, as well as both Japanese patrol boats, have fires aboard and have suffered serious crew casualties.
The final blow is the arrival of the cruiser Tenyru, and Ifune keeps her back out of automatic weapons range and she begins firing 5.5 inch rounds at the American ships as well as illumination rounds to light them up for better targeting. As both are on fire, this is hardly necessary but it does improve targeting somewhat for the heavier guns.
By 0430, three Japanese and two American minesweepers have sunk or are sinking, and Ifune begins sorting out the mess. Reports indicate that only his cruiser remains battle worthy, and he has lost track of the last American ship in the darkness and confusion of battle. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander Morrill and several surviving members of his crew have swum ashore and are met by Filipino resistance members who will eventually smuggle them to safety. A year from now he and all of his surviving crew (18 in all) will make their way back to the United States in a epic journey and Morrill is awarded the Navy Cross for this action. Sadly the surviving crew of the Finch are all captured and only a handful survive the war.
USS Quail
Japanese minesweeper W3
A few minutes after midnight, a Japanese floatplane spots 3 shapes in the darkness, illuminated only by the bioluminescence created by the passing wakes of the ships. Flares illuminate the night and a radio message is quickly relayed to base. However, it is several more minutes before it is passed on to Ifune who then has to gather up his scattered fleet. The the 3 smaller patrol boats are left behind and at 0100 hours Ifune begins his pursuit with the Tenyru, PB1, PB2 and all four minesweepers. He is now 24 nautical miles behind the American ships and his force departs steaming at their best speed of 20 knots.
The American ships are now 40 nautical miles from Fort Frank, steaming at their best speed of 13 knots, and after being illuminated by the Japanese, both American minesweepers drop back behind the American submarine tender to cover the rear. At this speed, the Canopus will reach Batangas Bay in roughly 5 hours, including avoiding some dangerous reefs, which will put her in the bay at sunrise. At their current speed, the Japanese will catch them just outside of the bay.
Luckily, Ifune again misinterprets the Filipino-American plan, and assuming still that the Americans are trying to reach the central islands, he sends a message asking for the Central Islands Invasion force to take up interception positions further south, hours away from the true destination.
Lieutenant Commander Morrill figures out that the Japanese will likely catch them, and he orders his two small ships to hide close to shore at Cape Santiago at the entrance of Balayan Bay With the secret out, he figures radio silence is a dead issue and so signals Captain Jurado aboard the Canopus and suggests that Balayan Bay is now a better bet and that the fall back plan for the Canopus to beach herself at or near the town of Taal, which is likely to have only a small Japanese garrison. Jurado and Lim both reject this idea, as they suspect a much larger Japanese presence and insist on sticking to the plan.
As it happens there is indeed a garrison in the area, elements of the Japanese 59th Infantry Regiment of the 14th Infantry Division, which is at 50% strength having rebuilt only somewhat from the fighting earlier in the campaign at Bataan. A weak battalion is in the Taal area with the rest of the regiment spread out throughout Batangas Province. Another weak battalion is at Batangas, which also has a pier and channel leading straight to it, and intelligence indicates no guns have been set up to cover the approaches.
The Japanese Army of course is ignorant of what is coming as what will be a typical problem that would plague the Japanese throughout the war, there has been no communication from the Imperial Navy to the Imperial Army. In this instance, no communication that the Americans have left Manila Bay and the Navy has also failed to inform the Army air units in Luzon that something is afoot and indeed has not even mentioned that it has plans for its aircraft once the sun comes up that will prevent Navy bombers from conducting their usual missions against the American Luzon Force. Thus the Japanese Army is in its normal routine, with only the normal sentries enforcing curfew and guarding installations and Army air units have not changed their plans to continue normal flight operations at Bataan and Corregidor.
Ambush at Cape Santiago
By 0330 the Japanese are closing in and have rounded Cape Santiago off Balayan Bay, while the Canopus has reached the entrance of Batangas Bay.
Lookouts aboard the two American minesweepers spot the wakes of the Japanese ships as they pass in the darkness and a few moments later the Quail and the Finch both open fire at 3,000 yards with 50 and 30 caliber machine guns while firing star shells to light up the Japanese fleet. The Japanese have in the lead all 4 of their minesweepers, with the 600 ton W1 in the lead. Both the W1 and W2 are heavily strafed by machine gun fire, and their thin steel hulls are not proof against the heavy machine gun bullets. Both suffer devastating crew casualties, with the W1 losing control as its bridge crew all killed or wounded, while the W2 suffers a massive explosion as machine gun bullets detonate a depth charge in her stern, creating a series of explosions that blow off her stern and leave her sinking. The W1 smacks hard into a reef, going firmly aground while the W2 is afire from amidships to her stern and is drifting.
The Japanese quickly return fire however, with all four minesweepers opening up with 4.7 inch and 3 inch guns, as well as their pair of machine guns. Both the W1 and W2 have been quickly silenced without doing any damage in return. The other pair move up to support them, as do the patrol boats, both of which are heavily armed with 25 mm anti aircraft guns.
It is a close range slug fest with automatic weapons and those decide the issue. Tracers light up the night sky and while the heavier cannons would have been decisive at longer range, at the close ranges of this fight their crews quickly become casualties and few rounds are successfully fired, all to no effect by either side. The thin hulls of the combatants mean that all are vulnerable to 50 caliber machine gun and 25 mm cannon rounds, and within 20 minutes the Finch, Quail, W3 and W4 are all sinking and all four, as well as both Japanese patrol boats, have fires aboard and have suffered serious crew casualties.
The final blow is the arrival of the cruiser Tenyru, and Ifune keeps her back out of automatic weapons range and she begins firing 5.5 inch rounds at the American ships as well as illumination rounds to light them up for better targeting. As both are on fire, this is hardly necessary but it does improve targeting somewhat for the heavier guns.
By 0430, three Japanese and two American minesweepers have sunk or are sinking, and Ifune begins sorting out the mess. Reports indicate that only his cruiser remains battle worthy, and he has lost track of the last American ship in the darkness and confusion of battle. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander Morrill and several surviving members of his crew have swum ashore and are met by Filipino resistance members who will eventually smuggle them to safety. A year from now he and all of his surviving crew (18 in all) will make their way back to the United States in a epic journey and Morrill is awarded the Navy Cross for this action. Sadly the surviving crew of the Finch are all captured and only a handful survive the war.
USS Quail
Japanese minesweeper W3
- galveston bay
- Word Count: 1.2k