Guardian54
Banned
Let's hope the Japanese get the war crimes tribunals they deserve this time around.
*Totally not bitter over Japanese revisionism and denialism.
Last edited:
Eisenhower in the Pacific: Part 1 The Shoestring Warriors of Luzon
- Thread starter galveston bay
- Start date
Let's hope the Japanese get the war crimes tribunals they deserve this time around.
*Totally not bitter over Japanese revisionism and denialism.
as things come to an end in the Philippines, a new campaign is about to begin
https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...2-43-eisenhower-in-the-pacific-part-2.431343/
https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...2-43-eisenhower-in-the-pacific-part-2.431343/
rereading some source material on the final siege and battle for the Rock as well as figuring out where everything is on the larger scale (major warships, air groups and wings, divisions etc) for Eisenhower in the Pacific and Flattops and Flyboys so nothing planned this week as far as story line is concerned
updated information... rereading of two books on Corregidor this week determined that the Coast Artillery men of the 59th, 60th, 91st and 92nd Coast Artillery Regiments were trained in beach defense, infantry tactics and equipped for that mission. Indeed they fought very bravely indeed in the final battle alongside the Marines and Sailors
Enemy at the Gate: The Japanese Army during the Battle of Corregidor
The Japanese Army has spent decades planning for this battle and while the Battle of Bataan did not go as expected, at long last the Army is ready to deal with the American fortresses guarding Manila Bay. The Japanese receive their final reinforcement for the campaign in the form of the Mixed Guards Brigade, which has been in Tokyo while the rest of the Imperial Guard was in Singapore and with that division returning to Japan the remaining 2 infantry regiments and cavalry regiment of of the Guards Brigade is free for deployment. With them is the 23rd Special Engineer Regiment (amphibious assault boats) and 75 small and large landing craft.
The Guards reach Subic Bay on May 1, and is sent to Manila and then positions around Mariveles. Joining it are two battalions of heavy mortars (90 mm), and it has in addition its 2 regiments of infantry, a reconnaissance battalion (light infantry), cavalry regiment (less one squadron) which are dismounted infantry, plus an engineer battalion and special engineer detachment to operate small boats plus a battalion of light artillery (18 x 75 mm guns). The reconnaissance troops and dismounted cavalry, along with the artillery, mortars and engineers. There the Guards join with the Kondo Detachment (4x 4.7 inch guns, 2 x 150 mm howitzers) which have been harassing Fort Drum and Fort Frank for some weeks now. The Engineers and their boats wait at Subic Bay, as they will have to wait until the American guns have been sufficiently silenced to move into Manila Bay. However a detachment rounds up 75 Filipino Bankas (outrigger fishing boats) and begins moving them into position at Mariveles.
At Bataan, the Japanese have their 7th Artillery Command, with 10 x 240 mm guns, 12 x 150 mm guns, 48 x 105 mm guns, and 60 x 75 mm guns which move into their firing positions within hours of the American surrender on Bataan, using the presence of the masses of Filipino-American POWs and the evacuation of the Filipino-American sick and wounded as cover. Unwilling to shell this movement and possibly hit the helpless, General Moore orders his guns to withhold fire. The biggest problem the Japanese have however is a shortage of infantry. All 3 divisions that took Bataan are needed elsewhere, although the all have so many malarial cases that they are no longer fit for service in a tropical zone. They are earmarked for Manchuria to replace divisions that have not been exposed to months of brutal tropical heat and disease.
On one regiment is retained, the 61st Infantry Regiment from the 4th Division, along with one engineer battalion (actually a severely understrength regiment) and they provide security to the artillery units and will be available as an assault force.
The Japanese have in all 136 guns and 36 heavy mortars assigned to the bombardment, plus 14 battalions of assault troops available. The major limitation is landing craft, of which only 75 are available, just enough to move a single regiment at a time, plus assault boats converted from outrigger canoes, enough to move a battalion at a time, although only from Mariveles to Fort Frank. Over 200,000 rounds of artillery and mortar ammunition have been assembled, the movement of which tied numerous cargo ships, more when the additional supplies needed are included. In addition over the course of the battle another 100,000 rounds have to be brought from Japan, along with a significant number of replacement guns.
The Japanese Army would not muster this kind of firepower again until much later in the war in the final battles near the Home Islands.
The Japanese soldiers would endure harsh conditions throughout the battle. Cerebral Malaria will sicken nearly 90% of the troops in Bataan, so that at times artillery crews are at half strength or less. Brutal heat and humidity will make serving the guns, particularly during the peak periods of shooting, a truly hellish ordeal. The assault troops spent days simply waiting, although American counter battery fire would occasionally inflict a toll when shells hit them instead of the artillery crews. During the assaults, they take horrific losses, indeed losses not seen by the Japanese Army since the siege of Port Arthur, with entire companies and battalions nearly or completely wiped out while the units that survived badly hurt by the loss of junior officers and senior NCOs.
The Guards reach Subic Bay on May 1, and is sent to Manila and then positions around Mariveles. Joining it are two battalions of heavy mortars (90 mm), and it has in addition its 2 regiments of infantry, a reconnaissance battalion (light infantry), cavalry regiment (less one squadron) which are dismounted infantry, plus an engineer battalion and special engineer detachment to operate small boats plus a battalion of light artillery (18 x 75 mm guns). The reconnaissance troops and dismounted cavalry, along with the artillery, mortars and engineers. There the Guards join with the Kondo Detachment (4x 4.7 inch guns, 2 x 150 mm howitzers) which have been harassing Fort Drum and Fort Frank for some weeks now. The Engineers and their boats wait at Subic Bay, as they will have to wait until the American guns have been sufficiently silenced to move into Manila Bay. However a detachment rounds up 75 Filipino Bankas (outrigger fishing boats) and begins moving them into position at Mariveles.
At Bataan, the Japanese have their 7th Artillery Command, with 10 x 240 mm guns, 12 x 150 mm guns, 48 x 105 mm guns, and 60 x 75 mm guns which move into their firing positions within hours of the American surrender on Bataan, using the presence of the masses of Filipino-American POWs and the evacuation of the Filipino-American sick and wounded as cover. Unwilling to shell this movement and possibly hit the helpless, General Moore orders his guns to withhold fire. The biggest problem the Japanese have however is a shortage of infantry. All 3 divisions that took Bataan are needed elsewhere, although the all have so many malarial cases that they are no longer fit for service in a tropical zone. They are earmarked for Manchuria to replace divisions that have not been exposed to months of brutal tropical heat and disease.
On one regiment is retained, the 61st Infantry Regiment from the 4th Division, along with one engineer battalion (actually a severely understrength regiment) and they provide security to the artillery units and will be available as an assault force.
The Japanese have in all 136 guns and 36 heavy mortars assigned to the bombardment, plus 14 battalions of assault troops available. The major limitation is landing craft, of which only 75 are available, just enough to move a single regiment at a time, plus assault boats converted from outrigger canoes, enough to move a battalion at a time, although only from Mariveles to Fort Frank. Over 200,000 rounds of artillery and mortar ammunition have been assembled, the movement of which tied numerous cargo ships, more when the additional supplies needed are included. In addition over the course of the battle another 100,000 rounds have to be brought from Japan, along with a significant number of replacement guns.
The Japanese Army would not muster this kind of firepower again until much later in the war in the final battles near the Home Islands.
The Japanese soldiers would endure harsh conditions throughout the battle. Cerebral Malaria will sicken nearly 90% of the troops in Bataan, so that at times artillery crews are at half strength or less. Brutal heat and humidity will make serving the guns, particularly during the peak periods of shooting, a truly hellish ordeal. The assault troops spent days simply waiting, although American counter battery fire would occasionally inflict a toll when shells hit them instead of the artillery crews. During the assaults, they take horrific losses, indeed losses not seen by the Japanese Army since the siege of Port Arthur, with entire companies and battalions nearly or completely wiped out while the units that survived badly hurt by the loss of junior officers and senior NCOs.
authors notes: the Japanese suffered 50,000 cases of Cerebral Malaria during March and April of 1942, and after the battle was over the 4th Division was sent back to Japan to reform as too many of its personnel were unfit for further duty in the tropics. The artillery suffered just as badly, with casualties as indicated.
The Japanese Army would not have this kind of artillery concentration and ammunition supply available until the Battle of Okinawa in OTL. The shipping requirements alone slowed the buildup of garrison and defense forces along the outer perimeter, which was to be important in the Solomons and New Guinea campaigns and butterfly into shortages throughout the war with most garrisons only getting a portion of what they needed in troops and equipment before the Allies turned up or isolated them completely (assisted by US submarine forces as well)
Historically the Japanese shot the hell out of the American positions and had silenced many of the batteries at Corregidor and the other island forts by the time of the final assault as well as inflicting tremendous damage to infrastructure. The firepower TTL is a bit larger (more 105 mm guns) but the major firing in OTL began in February while here the Japanese sent those guns to Bataan. So the Island forts have had a reprieve compared to OTL thus far.
That reprieve will end shortly...
more over the course of this week... everything is plotted out and outlined, just a matter of writing and posting
The Japanese Army would not have this kind of artillery concentration and ammunition supply available until the Battle of Okinawa in OTL. The shipping requirements alone slowed the buildup of garrison and defense forces along the outer perimeter, which was to be important in the Solomons and New Guinea campaigns and butterfly into shortages throughout the war with most garrisons only getting a portion of what they needed in troops and equipment before the Allies turned up or isolated them completely (assisted by US submarine forces as well)
Historically the Japanese shot the hell out of the American positions and had silenced many of the batteries at Corregidor and the other island forts by the time of the final assault as well as inflicting tremendous damage to infrastructure. The firepower TTL is a bit larger (more 105 mm guns) but the major firing in OTL began in February while here the Japanese sent those guns to Bataan. So the Island forts have had a reprieve compared to OTL thus far.
That reprieve will end shortly...
more over the course of this week... everything is plotted out and outlined, just a matter of writing and posting
OTL the Corregidor defense OIC (a Marine) requested some tanks be sent to the island. This was not done OTL, although 4-6 could have been spared. When the Japanese landed tanks the defenders by that time basically had nothing to stop them. A few tanks could have severely trashed the landing parties and also dealt with the 2-3 Japanese tanks that made it ashore. Of coursde the end would have been the same but it might have actually taken a second assault another day.
TTL there are some tanks, halftracks w 75 mm, and some Boys Anti Tank Rifles borrowed by Ike from the Australians and sent by submarine to the island plus HMGs and 37 mm AA guns
although a last straw for Wainwwright, by the time he surrendered so much damage had been done (among other things, communications were down to runners only) those tanks didn't actually affect the battle, only his decision to surrender
Which in my reading seems like the right call.... there was only enough fuel to run the water system until June 30th OTL (remedied a bit in this one, enough fuel until December in one hand)
Barry Bull
Donor
If the TTL Corregidor garrison manage to destroy sufficient landing crafts in the 1st assault, they would have a chance to earn a longer reperive as the logistic and assault capacity of the IJA is a one use item.
And with the guns still active....
Yeah, even if the explosion isnt a direct hit, the shockwave of a big shell is gonna rock everyone on it, maybe cause chaos.
Intresting. The rock of Manila bay will be the Alamo v 3.0 and make a historic last stand that will eco for generations and produce many Movies ITTL? If the Americans keep their guns quiet until the attack the devastation will be big. Then as food, ammo and water is about to run out a flotilla of subs come and pick up as many defenders as possible. That besieged Island will be a thorne in the Japanese side for many months and make it impossible to use Manilla bay as a staging Point for the IJN.
@mattep74 : The guns of the harbor forts are quite visible to aerial recon, and also have been firing at the Japanese during the Bataan campaign, as well as firing on Japanese artillery (counterbattery), troop concentrations, and any vessels in range. (1)There are some mobile guns, but relatively few. Also the 3" and other AA guns have been firing at Japanese aircraft. ITTL the rock is better supplied with food and ammunition, that is not going to be the problem here. Sadly, the is no way that, even if EVERY submarine the USN owned made it in to Manila Bay, only a small fraction of those on the rock could be evacuated. ITTL the longer the siege goes on, the more folks can be evacuated and I expect it will be the same priority as OTL - female nurses and other personnel, severely wounded who can travel, and personnel with special skills. I expect ITTL, like OTL, the crypto specialists of Station CAST have already been evacuated. (2)
(1) With the exception of some casement installations and the turrets on Ft Drum (the "concrete battleship), the majority of the heavy guns were in open installations, both mortars and the "disappearing" guns. When the installations were built the threat from aerial bombing was not a consideration, and they had not been upgraded.
(2) Folks like pilots were evacuated if possible, as they were of little use as infantry and were more useful as pilots elsewhere. Removing as many female personnel as possible was obvious given the known atrocities committed by IJA troops. Wounded who were either permanently disabled (blind, amputees, etc) and those needing lots of care were evacuated as much as possible as their fate under the Japanese was going to be poor indeed.
(1) With the exception of some casement installations and the turrets on Ft Drum (the "concrete battleship), the majority of the heavy guns were in open installations, both mortars and the "disappearing" guns. When the installations were built the threat from aerial bombing was not a consideration, and they had not been upgraded.
(2) Folks like pilots were evacuated if possible, as they were of little use as infantry and were more useful as pilots elsewhere. Removing as many female personnel as possible was obvious given the known atrocities committed by IJA troops. Wounded who were either permanently disabled (blind, amputees, etc) and those needing lots of care were evacuated as much as possible as their fate under the Japanese was going to be poor indeed.
minor edit: Discovered that roughly 2,200 men (and the remaining American nurses) managed to get to Corregidor by boat or swam there OTL ... in spite of their weakened condition... so assuming at least that number of healthier men managed to make it TTL. As of of the Fall of Bataan, no American nurses remain in the Philippines. However there are about 100 Filipino nurses and clerks on Corregidor.
Also managed to get some hard numbers on submarine supply.... a typical trip can bring 30-40 tons of supplies (limited to the size to an item that can pass through the hatch of a submarine) and can take off about 20 personnel (and up to $7 million in Gold bullion in place of ballast)
Among the last evacuated, along with some nurses, were finance officers with records to ensure that personnel got proper credit for promotions and time in grade as well as any decorations earned. This mattered to their families while they were in captivity (allotments) as well as themselves if they survived to get back pay (roughly 35% did not see that day of liberation).
Also managed to get some hard numbers on submarine supply.... a typical trip can bring 30-40 tons of supplies (limited to the size to an item that can pass through the hatch of a submarine) and can take off about 20 personnel (and up to $7 million in Gold bullion in place of ballast)
Among the last evacuated, along with some nurses, were finance officers with records to ensure that personnel got proper credit for promotions and time in grade as well as any decorations earned. This mattered to their families while they were in captivity (allotments) as well as themselves if they survived to get back pay (roughly 35% did not see that day of liberation).
It should be noted that in OTL, the Japanese 240 and 150 mm guns managed to grind away 8 to 15 FEET of concrete off the Fort, and indeed managed to create a crack several inches wide and about a foot across on the turret ring of one of the turrets of Fort Drum... in a 4 day shoot!
So while impressive, Fort Drum is not indestructable
But were not knocked out by the Japanese, worked till their gun crews wrecked them before the surrender
The First Bombardment May 2-May 14, 1942
The First Bombardment
The 7th Artillery Command spends nearly a week digging in its guns, preparing and filling ammunition dumps, deploying security to protect their guns and supply lines and ranging in their guns. An observation balloon company also sets up shop and by May 5 is making careful observations of the harbor forts, while daily reconnaissance missions carefully map every inch of the islands.
Meanwhile Kondo Detachment commences nightly bombardments of the various islands, not firing many shells, but just enough that sleep is disrupted by random shellfire at unpredictable intervals on all four forts. Every day sees bombing raids scattered throughout the day which do little damage but still disrupt work. However American antiaircraft fire, now aided by the arrival of sufficient mechanical fuses so that three of the 3 inch batteries can shoot up to 30,000 feet, is intense enough where the Japanese must remain at high altitude and bombing accuracy is poor, frequently seeing entire sticks of bombs missing the islands entirely and merely killing fish.
Japanese Army Bombers striking Corregidor May 1942
On May 9th the Japanese are prepared to open their first phase of the battle. The lighter 75 mm and 105 mm guns open fire on Tailside, targeting Battery Keysor (2 x 155 guns, semi-fixed mounts), Battery Denver (8 x 3 inch guns), Water Tank Hill (specifically the water tank), Kindley Airfield structures, and Bottomside including the North Dock, various warehouses and machine shops, as well as the barbed wire along the shore and various pillboxes that have been observed. The 4/59th and the 1st Marine Battalion are the beach defense units targeted, and both quickly move their mobile 75 mm guns, 4.2 inch mortars and 37 mm guns into the seaside of the island, or into the Navy Tunnel or Malinta Tunnel to preserve them, while the remainder of the machine gunners and riflemen hunker down in their dugouts and foxholes.
At the same time the 150 mm guns and howitzers from Bataan (now reinforced to 12 guns and 12 howitzers with the arrival of an attached artillery battalion that arrived with the Imperial Guards Brigade) open fire on Fort Frank, along with 3 dozen 90 mm mortars. The 10 heavy 240 mm howitzers have as their target Fort Drum, and every hit removes several inches of concrete up to two feet across and sounds like the hammer of doom each time.
The Americans are quick to reply, although forced to rely on maps and intuition to reply to the heavy guns and observation through smoke and dust for the lighter Japanese guns located on the shore of Bataan. In spite of these handicaps, over the next 5 days, American gunners manage to knock out at least for a few hours 30 guns on the shore (75 and 105 mm) and several 150 mm guns and even 2 of of the 240 mm howitzers. Even more satisfying the gunners on Fort Drum manage several 14 inch shell hits directly into the operations area of the 1st Balloon Company, and these rounds whose fuses have been altered to explode on impact, blast most of the personnel into casualties, wreck the support apparatus and cut the cable of a balloon in flight, which drifts away before falling into Manila Bay.
But all this only partially limits the fury of a bombardment that lasts every daylight hour from May 8 through May 13.
The Rock takes a Pounding
Damage on Fort Mills is relatively light, but the 3 inch guns at Battery Denver are all knocked out, as well as a number of observation points on the tail important for air defense. The radar on Topside is blasted into wreckage, while the 155 mm guns of Battery Keysor are all destroyed. Nearly every inch of barbed wire is blasted away, while the wooden structures are all reduced to charred wreckage at Kindley Field and Bottomside, although careful American planning ensured that all had been emptied of their contents in early April. The water tank on Water Tank Hill however manages to survive, although it is punctured to the point of uselessness and structurally unstable.
The Destruction of Fort Drum
Fort Drum takes the worst pounded as the 440 pound shells from the 240 mm howitzers inflict massive damage to the superstructure and knock inches of concrete each time they hit. Over the course of 5 days, between 10-20 feet of concrete are literally blasted into dust. The mast is blasted away, along with the searchlights, all of the anti aircraft guns are destroyed, and each night volunteers have to climb onto the deck to realign the 14 inch guns of the turrets which are repeatedly hit and knocked out of alignment. But worst damage begins on May 12, after days of pounding. Three of the 6 inch guns in casemates are destroyed after penetrations occur, while the a hit on the upper 14 inch turret (Battery Marshall) and knocks a hole 6 inches wide and 14 inches long in the turret which requires the hurried welding of steel rebar rods to provide splinter protection for the gun crew.
On May 13 however Fort Drum meets its doom. Fire continues as heavy as before, and while it is on this day that the gunners have the satisfaction of knocking out the Japanese 1st Balloon Company the joy of the soldiers of the 59th and 91st Coast Artillery who man the fort is short lived. It is not until postwar and careful analysis that details are determined, but observers on Fort Mills see at 1330 hours a bright flash from Battery Marshall, and then a few minutes later at 1338 hours within seconds of another 240 mm round impacting that turret the entire fort erupts in a massive explosion. One large piece of debris estimated at several tons flies several hundred feet into the air before falling into Manila Bay with a massive splash. Postwar this is determined to be a 10 ton chunk of armor from Battery Marshall. Investigation postwar reveals that a 240 round penetrated the gap in the armor of Battery Marshall, wiping out its entire crew in a heartbeat and opening up a gap of several feet wide in the armor of the turret. Another hit soon after penetrates deep into the fort and exploding in the ammunition handling room below the turret, igniting a chain reaction that results in the detonation of the primary magazine. Every man in the fort died almost instantly or soon after from smoke and flame that resulted.
Fort Drum May 13, 1942 1339 Hours
The Fall of Fort Frank
Fort Frank is only a half mile away from Cavite Province, and is only 44 acres in size. The sheer volume of mortar and artillery rounds means that inevitably damage is going to be heavy. By the last day of the shoot, every one of the 14 fixed guns have been damaged, all 4 of the antiaircraft guns have been wrecked as well, and only 3 mobile 75 mm guns remain operational due to being hidden away in tunnels, while only one of the mortars remains operational along with 2 of the 155 mm guns due to hurried repairs. Casualties are relatively light each day, but add up to 100 of the 720 men on the island, including 30 dead. Every structure, including the concrete ones, are damaged significantly and much of the brush and trees have been blasted or burned away.
By the night of May 13, the fort has been pounded to the point where the personnel are exhausted and when the shooting stops that evening, even the normal harassment shelling by the Kondo Detachment (with its 4 x 4.7 inch guns and 2 x 150 howitzers) which have been bothering all four forts every night for the last few days, the exhausted garrison mostly collapses from exhaustion and desperate need for rest. Thus they fail to note the movement of 45 bankas down the coast from Cavite harbor and the loading of the troops of the Guards Reconnaissance battalion on the beach across the half mile of water from the port. It is not until the boats are within a couple of hundred yards from the small beach at the base of the narrow cove below the loading derrick (which has been obliterated already). To defend this only vulnerable point, a provisional rifle company consisting of gunners from those weapons that have been knocked out already, hurriedly takes up positions and as the boats come into range, open fire with 22 machine guns of heavy and medium caliber, all 3 of its 75 mm guns, and of course every rifle that is available. The military police (now infantry) of the 803rd MP Company, remain in reserve. The American and Philippine Scouts inflict a fearful slaughter, sinking 22 of the 45 boats before they even reach shore, and killing many of the troops that manage to make it to the beach. But 150 of them survive and cling to base of the cliff, returning fire with knee mortars and light machine guns, while others use the darkness as well as the incredible stealth and suicidal bravery for which they will be known throughout the Pacific War, Japanese infantry begin to move up the narrow steep sloped ravine toward the top of the bluff.
They have accomplished their mission already however, as the full attention of the garrison is on the beach and thus misses the approach of 8 small steamers, tug boats and pilot boats that have moved across Manila Bay from Cavite taking advantage of the darkness and shelling of Fort Mills by Kondo along with an unusually heavy night air raid that has Fort Mills completely distracted. Between them the craft have 600 troops of the Guards Cavalry Regiment, and each craft has one or two scaling ladders taken from fire departments in Japan and shipped specifically for this mission. The craft approach the base of the cliff directly below the searchlight stations (all of which have been knocked out) and with excellent seamanship, the skippers hold their craft steady long enough for each of their passengers to climb up the ladders to the clifftop above. The entire force reaches the top with only 20 men falling to their deaths due to missteps and have achieved complete surprise.
For the boats and their crews it is a brilliant success for the Navy, marred only by two of the larger steamers ripping open their hulls to rocks on the way out (and sinking soon after) and allows the Navy to recover some of the lost face they have suffered in the Philippines Campaign so far.
The Guards Cavalry quickly overruns nearly a third of the island and it is not until they overrun men of the crew of the 14 inch gun of Battery Greer who are attempting to repair their gun and a frantic survivor runs off to warn the 803rd MP Company that the garrison is alerted. By then it is too late, as the Japanese Cavalry troopers hit the American soldiers by surprise and quickly slaughter most of them in an intense battle in the concrete communications trench that connects the various gun batteries. The American survivors are routed, and this leaves the rear of the coast artillery troops wide open. They too retreat, although in decent order, and thus the beach is now open and the surviving troops of the Guards Reconnaissance Battalion manage to climb up to the top (all 60 survivors). Enough boats survived the slaughter that the rest of that battalion, along with an engineer company, is ferried across by dawn.
Meanwhile Colonel Octave De Carre, commander of the 92nd Coast Artillery and garrison commander, views disaster in the face. With little choice, as his garrison is down to only 350 shaken men still on their feet, all his major weapons knocked out or overrun and with no hope of taking the island back, he surrenders his men at 0800 on May 14.
Official US Army Plans of Fort Frank, Manila Bay as of the 1930s
In a mere 48 hours, the Manila Defense Command has suffered very harsh blows and is left in shock. Only the arrival of submarines on the nights of May 8, May 10, and May 12 partially reduce the pain, as over 90 tons of supplies and 30 tons of mail are delivered, while 40 crippled hospital patients, 10 nurses and 10 staff officers with vital skills are evacuated.
The 7th Artillery Command spends nearly a week digging in its guns, preparing and filling ammunition dumps, deploying security to protect their guns and supply lines and ranging in their guns. An observation balloon company also sets up shop and by May 5 is making careful observations of the harbor forts, while daily reconnaissance missions carefully map every inch of the islands.
Meanwhile Kondo Detachment commences nightly bombardments of the various islands, not firing many shells, but just enough that sleep is disrupted by random shellfire at unpredictable intervals on all four forts. Every day sees bombing raids scattered throughout the day which do little damage but still disrupt work. However American antiaircraft fire, now aided by the arrival of sufficient mechanical fuses so that three of the 3 inch batteries can shoot up to 30,000 feet, is intense enough where the Japanese must remain at high altitude and bombing accuracy is poor, frequently seeing entire sticks of bombs missing the islands entirely and merely killing fish.
Japanese Army Bombers striking Corregidor May 1942
On May 9th the Japanese are prepared to open their first phase of the battle. The lighter 75 mm and 105 mm guns open fire on Tailside, targeting Battery Keysor (2 x 155 guns, semi-fixed mounts), Battery Denver (8 x 3 inch guns), Water Tank Hill (specifically the water tank), Kindley Airfield structures, and Bottomside including the North Dock, various warehouses and machine shops, as well as the barbed wire along the shore and various pillboxes that have been observed. The 4/59th and the 1st Marine Battalion are the beach defense units targeted, and both quickly move their mobile 75 mm guns, 4.2 inch mortars and 37 mm guns into the seaside of the island, or into the Navy Tunnel or Malinta Tunnel to preserve them, while the remainder of the machine gunners and riflemen hunker down in their dugouts and foxholes.
At the same time the 150 mm guns and howitzers from Bataan (now reinforced to 12 guns and 12 howitzers with the arrival of an attached artillery battalion that arrived with the Imperial Guards Brigade) open fire on Fort Frank, along with 3 dozen 90 mm mortars. The 10 heavy 240 mm howitzers have as their target Fort Drum, and every hit removes several inches of concrete up to two feet across and sounds like the hammer of doom each time.
The Americans are quick to reply, although forced to rely on maps and intuition to reply to the heavy guns and observation through smoke and dust for the lighter Japanese guns located on the shore of Bataan. In spite of these handicaps, over the next 5 days, American gunners manage to knock out at least for a few hours 30 guns on the shore (75 and 105 mm) and several 150 mm guns and even 2 of of the 240 mm howitzers. Even more satisfying the gunners on Fort Drum manage several 14 inch shell hits directly into the operations area of the 1st Balloon Company, and these rounds whose fuses have been altered to explode on impact, blast most of the personnel into casualties, wreck the support apparatus and cut the cable of a balloon in flight, which drifts away before falling into Manila Bay.
But all this only partially limits the fury of a bombardment that lasts every daylight hour from May 8 through May 13.
The Rock takes a Pounding
Damage on Fort Mills is relatively light, but the 3 inch guns at Battery Denver are all knocked out, as well as a number of observation points on the tail important for air defense. The radar on Topside is blasted into wreckage, while the 155 mm guns of Battery Keysor are all destroyed. Nearly every inch of barbed wire is blasted away, while the wooden structures are all reduced to charred wreckage at Kindley Field and Bottomside, although careful American planning ensured that all had been emptied of their contents in early April. The water tank on Water Tank Hill however manages to survive, although it is punctured to the point of uselessness and structurally unstable.
The Destruction of Fort Drum
Fort Drum takes the worst pounded as the 440 pound shells from the 240 mm howitzers inflict massive damage to the superstructure and knock inches of concrete each time they hit. Over the course of 5 days, between 10-20 feet of concrete are literally blasted into dust. The mast is blasted away, along with the searchlights, all of the anti aircraft guns are destroyed, and each night volunteers have to climb onto the deck to realign the 14 inch guns of the turrets which are repeatedly hit and knocked out of alignment. But worst damage begins on May 12, after days of pounding. Three of the 6 inch guns in casemates are destroyed after penetrations occur, while the a hit on the upper 14 inch turret (Battery Marshall) and knocks a hole 6 inches wide and 14 inches long in the turret which requires the hurried welding of steel rebar rods to provide splinter protection for the gun crew.
On May 13 however Fort Drum meets its doom. Fire continues as heavy as before, and while it is on this day that the gunners have the satisfaction of knocking out the Japanese 1st Balloon Company the joy of the soldiers of the 59th and 91st Coast Artillery who man the fort is short lived. It is not until postwar and careful analysis that details are determined, but observers on Fort Mills see at 1330 hours a bright flash from Battery Marshall, and then a few minutes later at 1338 hours within seconds of another 240 mm round impacting that turret the entire fort erupts in a massive explosion. One large piece of debris estimated at several tons flies several hundred feet into the air before falling into Manila Bay with a massive splash. Postwar this is determined to be a 10 ton chunk of armor from Battery Marshall. Investigation postwar reveals that a 240 round penetrated the gap in the armor of Battery Marshall, wiping out its entire crew in a heartbeat and opening up a gap of several feet wide in the armor of the turret. Another hit soon after penetrates deep into the fort and exploding in the ammunition handling room below the turret, igniting a chain reaction that results in the detonation of the primary magazine. Every man in the fort died almost instantly or soon after from smoke and flame that resulted.
Fort Drum May 13, 1942 1339 Hours
The Fall of Fort Frank
Fort Frank is only a half mile away from Cavite Province, and is only 44 acres in size. The sheer volume of mortar and artillery rounds means that inevitably damage is going to be heavy. By the last day of the shoot, every one of the 14 fixed guns have been damaged, all 4 of the antiaircraft guns have been wrecked as well, and only 3 mobile 75 mm guns remain operational due to being hidden away in tunnels, while only one of the mortars remains operational along with 2 of the 155 mm guns due to hurried repairs. Casualties are relatively light each day, but add up to 100 of the 720 men on the island, including 30 dead. Every structure, including the concrete ones, are damaged significantly and much of the brush and trees have been blasted or burned away.
By the night of May 13, the fort has been pounded to the point where the personnel are exhausted and when the shooting stops that evening, even the normal harassment shelling by the Kondo Detachment (with its 4 x 4.7 inch guns and 2 x 150 howitzers) which have been bothering all four forts every night for the last few days, the exhausted garrison mostly collapses from exhaustion and desperate need for rest. Thus they fail to note the movement of 45 bankas down the coast from Cavite harbor and the loading of the troops of the Guards Reconnaissance battalion on the beach across the half mile of water from the port. It is not until the boats are within a couple of hundred yards from the small beach at the base of the narrow cove below the loading derrick (which has been obliterated already). To defend this only vulnerable point, a provisional rifle company consisting of gunners from those weapons that have been knocked out already, hurriedly takes up positions and as the boats come into range, open fire with 22 machine guns of heavy and medium caliber, all 3 of its 75 mm guns, and of course every rifle that is available. The military police (now infantry) of the 803rd MP Company, remain in reserve. The American and Philippine Scouts inflict a fearful slaughter, sinking 22 of the 45 boats before they even reach shore, and killing many of the troops that manage to make it to the beach. But 150 of them survive and cling to base of the cliff, returning fire with knee mortars and light machine guns, while others use the darkness as well as the incredible stealth and suicidal bravery for which they will be known throughout the Pacific War, Japanese infantry begin to move up the narrow steep sloped ravine toward the top of the bluff.
They have accomplished their mission already however, as the full attention of the garrison is on the beach and thus misses the approach of 8 small steamers, tug boats and pilot boats that have moved across Manila Bay from Cavite taking advantage of the darkness and shelling of Fort Mills by Kondo along with an unusually heavy night air raid that has Fort Mills completely distracted. Between them the craft have 600 troops of the Guards Cavalry Regiment, and each craft has one or two scaling ladders taken from fire departments in Japan and shipped specifically for this mission. The craft approach the base of the cliff directly below the searchlight stations (all of which have been knocked out) and with excellent seamanship, the skippers hold their craft steady long enough for each of their passengers to climb up the ladders to the clifftop above. The entire force reaches the top with only 20 men falling to their deaths due to missteps and have achieved complete surprise.
For the boats and their crews it is a brilliant success for the Navy, marred only by two of the larger steamers ripping open their hulls to rocks on the way out (and sinking soon after) and allows the Navy to recover some of the lost face they have suffered in the Philippines Campaign so far.
The Guards Cavalry quickly overruns nearly a third of the island and it is not until they overrun men of the crew of the 14 inch gun of Battery Greer who are attempting to repair their gun and a frantic survivor runs off to warn the 803rd MP Company that the garrison is alerted. By then it is too late, as the Japanese Cavalry troopers hit the American soldiers by surprise and quickly slaughter most of them in an intense battle in the concrete communications trench that connects the various gun batteries. The American survivors are routed, and this leaves the rear of the coast artillery troops wide open. They too retreat, although in decent order, and thus the beach is now open and the surviving troops of the Guards Reconnaissance Battalion manage to climb up to the top (all 60 survivors). Enough boats survived the slaughter that the rest of that battalion, along with an engineer company, is ferried across by dawn.
Meanwhile Colonel Octave De Carre, commander of the 92nd Coast Artillery and garrison commander, views disaster in the face. With little choice, as his garrison is down to only 350 shaken men still on their feet, all his major weapons knocked out or overrun and with no hope of taking the island back, he surrenders his men at 0800 on May 14.
Official US Army Plans of Fort Frank, Manila Bay as of the 1930s
In a mere 48 hours, the Manila Defense Command has suffered very harsh blows and is left in shock. Only the arrival of submarines on the nights of May 8, May 10, and May 12 partially reduce the pain, as over 90 tons of supplies and 30 tons of mail are delivered, while 40 crippled hospital patients, 10 nurses and 10 staff officers with vital skills are evacuated.
Attachments
-
upload_2017-12-12_20-43-3.png
Last edited:
authors note:
The beach assault on Fort Frank was planned but then cancelled during the OTL bombardment prior to the Fall of Bataan. The cliff assault is my own invention but in my opinion is well within capabilities and the Japanese Navy needed a win. Something similar was planned for Fort Frank in 1945 (using LSTs and troops using ropes) but by the time the Americans did it, the Japanese Navy garrison had fled the fort for Cavite Province. It requires a leap of imagination but not an impossible one I think, especially since the Japanese Imperial Guards tended to bring some of the best and brightest of the Japanese officers.
Fort Drum did take that hit that chipped away that first hole. Only the fact that the 1st Bombardment ended early so the guns could be moved to shell Bataan prevented disaster as that rebar was the actual fix. Fort Drum was not heavily attacked after Bataan fell, but if it had been, enough shells and disaster seems likely to me. So 2 more days of heavy bombardment by those 240 mm guns and the result is disaster for the American garrison.
Pictures are from official US history of World War II, with the destruction of Fort Drum taken from the OTL 1945 event, not this fictional accounting....
The beach assault on Fort Frank was planned but then cancelled during the OTL bombardment prior to the Fall of Bataan. The cliff assault is my own invention but in my opinion is well within capabilities and the Japanese Navy needed a win. Something similar was planned for Fort Frank in 1945 (using LSTs and troops using ropes) but by the time the Americans did it, the Japanese Navy garrison had fled the fort for Cavite Province. It requires a leap of imagination but not an impossible one I think, especially since the Japanese Imperial Guards tended to bring some of the best and brightest of the Japanese officers.
Fort Drum did take that hit that chipped away that first hole. Only the fact that the 1st Bombardment ended early so the guns could be moved to shell Bataan prevented disaster as that rebar was the actual fix. Fort Drum was not heavily attacked after Bataan fell, but if it had been, enough shells and disaster seems likely to me. So 2 more days of heavy bombardment by those 240 mm guns and the result is disaster for the American garrison.
Pictures are from official US history of World War II, with the destruction of Fort Drum taken from the OTL 1945 event, not this fictional accounting....