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The Fall of Bataan (part 2)
The Emperors Birthday Offensive April 29, 1942
Japanese Forces – Final Bataan Offensive
20th Army (Major General Siechi commanding)
Eastern sector
38th Infantry Division – 3rd, 228th, 229th Infantry Regiments, 38th Mountain Artillery Regiment (48 x 75 mm guns)
attachments: 4 medium artillery battalions (48 x 105 mm guns), 6 engineer battalions, 2 tank regiments (64 tanks), 2 heavy mortar battalions (36 heavy mortars), 2 heavy artillery battalions (24 x 150 mm guns), 1 heavy artillery battalion (12 x 240 mm guns)
61st Infantry Brigade Group (drawn from 4th Infantry Division) - 61st Infantry Regiment, 4th Reconnaissance Regiment, 4th Field artillery regiment (all motorized)
Central sector
4th Infantry Division – 8th, 37th Infantry Regiments
attachments: 2 heavy mortar battalions
Western sector
16th Infantry Division – 9th, 20th Infantry Regiments, 22nd Field Artillery Regiment (36 x 75 mm guns, 12 x 105 mm guns), 16th Reconnaissance Regiment, 16th Field Engineer Regiment
attachments: 3 engineer battalions, 1 tank regiment (40 tanks), 2 heavy mortar battalions, 2 medium artillery regiments (24 x 105 mm guns), 1 heavy artillery battalion (12 x150 mm guns)
0400 Hours April 29
After a 15 minute bombardment from heavy mortars, the two regiments of the 4th Division slip infiltrators past forward positions of the 21st and 11th PA Divisions using the darkness, jungle and rugged terrain as cover while taking positions bypassed under heavy fire with light and knee mortars and machine gun fire, pinning the Filipino troops in place. By first light, both PA Divisions find themselves under attack all along the line and a growing number of Filipino soldiers are making their way to the rear.
It is now that the realities of combat exhaustion are really hitting the Filipino troops who have been holding the line for the last 4 months. Unrelenting stress, lack of sleep, rations hurriedly gulped down, diarrhea from bad water, food served in marginally sanitary conditions, and finally the gradual wearing down of mental energy from the fear that is the norm in combat means that the defending troops are well past experienced to worn out Many of the men holding the line now were drawn from support units cannibalized to provide infantry replacements and thus inadequately trained compared to the troops who started the battle. A growing sense of despair and hopelessness as it is obvious no more help is coming and there is no chance of escape any longer completes the picture.
While many of the Filipino troops hold in place, all too many begin seeking escape to the rear or in the case in the fighting around Mount Bataan, hiding in the jungle and ravines further back from the line. However enough men hold their ground that while the Japanese are penetrating their positions, they have not yet broken through, and vicious close range combat rages all morning. As the battle continues the Filipino troops begin to reach the limit of their ammunition reserves and steady trickle soon becomes a flood of Filipino soldiers heading for the rear.
First Light 0615 Hours
The Japanese open fire with every available artillery piece and mortar on the positions held by the 51st Infantry Division in the west, and on the 12th and 22nd Divisions in the east, with the heaviest fire falling on the 22nd. The bombardment lasts nearly an hour, cutting communications lines, forcing the troops to hide in the holes as deep as they can, and wiping out most of the forward artillery positions that had been identified by careful Japanese reconnaissance over the last few days by air and infiltrators. The dry conditions over the last few weeks also mean that most of trees and foliage catches fire and dense smoke and intense heat forces some Filipino units to retreat to save themselves from asphyxiation.
Out of the smoke the Japanese launch their assault, spearheaded by tanks and engineers armed with satchel charges and flamethrowers, backed by knee mortars and light machine guns. The 2 regiments of the 22nd are overrun and destroyed within by 0900, with fleeing survivors in panicked flight south, while the 12th is pushed back toward Mount Limay and in the west the two regiments of the 51st Division both break and run after suffering devastating casualties. Unlike in previous battles, there is no well directed artillery fire from the Filipino-American rear area, no reserves, and almost no machine gun ammunition after the first few minutes of combat. A few brave gunners who survived the bombardment manage to knock out a few tanks but they too run out of ammunition all to quickly.
By noon, Japanese troops have overrun the rear area of the 51st and 22nd Divisions and both divisions have effectively ceased to exist except for a few hundred fleeing survivors moving as fast as they can south. Only the 1st Infantry Division still holds its positions, mainly because it has not been attacked, and the combat effectiveness of the 11th, 12th and 23rd Divisions is at best marginal and all three are retreating hurriedly as their flanks and rear are threatened.
Meanwhile Weaver and Parker are both attempting to get a picture of the scope of the attack as late as 0900, at which point it is clear that disaster is at hand. Again careful Japanese preparation shows itself to advantage as air and artillery attack have severed primary telephone links to USAFE headquarters while further Japanese bombing and shelling quickly silence many radio transmitters. Japanese fighters strafe anything they spot on the roads, resulting in the loss of many couriers and also bringing casualty evacuation to a halt. Many of the retreating fugitives that survived the Japanese assault are killed or wounded by strafing aircraft as well. It is not until after noon that General King has a clear picture of the scale of the collapse of his front and there is little left for him to do. His remaining reserves consist of the Philippine Scouts and attached flak guns holding positions in the rear as a final stop gap, the remnants of the tank battalion guarding his headquarters, and the 1st Division, which he has only finally heard from. He orders it to launch a counterattack after dark to try and slow down the Japanese.
As night falls, the Japanese have overrun the rear areas of I and II Corps, cut off the 11th, 12th and 23rd Division which are organized groups of survivors instead of combat forces, and are rapidly approaching the final defense lines. He sends a radio message to Australia asking for permission to surrender at 2100 hours. Eisenhower has no choice but to grant that permission at King's discretion.
Meanwhile on this disastrous day for the Philippine and US Armies, Japanese troops are taking few prisoners. Bitter after months of fighting and repeated defeat, angry over continued existence in a tropical hell hole, the Japanese infantry are savage in the assault. When positions are overrun the wounded are usually killed out of hand and even battalion and regimental aid stations are scenes of massacre. Men who try to surrender are generally shot or bayoneted or executed by swords and pistols at the hands of officers almost right away. It is estimated postwar that 3,000 Filipino and 200 American soldiers are killed this day, many as they lay wounded. Another 2,000 Filipino troops are missing in action, their deaths never confirmed aside from the occasional discovery of remains in the decades after the war. The assault by the 16th Division, a unit that was part of the Rape of Nanking and which still have officers and NCOs serving who were there for that slaughter is the worst area for battlefield murder but the other 2 Japanese divisions make their own considerable contribution.