I think something like this was attempted IOTL, though it was at an observation plane, rather than a raid.
Eisenhower in the Pacific: Part 1 The Shoestring Warriors of Luzon
- Thread starter galveston bay
- Start date
It is indeed based on a real incident. I have to admit I never would have thought of it because it seems, to be kind, a hell of along shot. But yeah, they tried that. The fuse couldn't be made to work properly to function as a massive AAA weapon.
Although if it had, boy would that have been a hell of a shock to a formation of medium bombers one afternoon.
OTL in a couple of places the defending forces made chutes place on the top of bluffs and used them to roll explosives down on the landing forces. The few tanks on the island are going to make mincemeat of any Japanese ashore, as they have no weapons to take them out. Huam land mines with explosives might work, if the Japanese can get them organized, but even so before the few US tanks are taken out they will wreak havoc. The odds are good the the first assault will fail, depending on how many landing craft have been lost, once they can get enough together they can do it again, and I doubt the Americans can repulse them again.
Between the fact that the commander of the harbor forts does not have the authority to order the surrender of other US forces in the PI, and even if he orders the surrender he won't be obeyed, and the high price the Japanese have paid it will get ugly. OTL the folks who surrendered on the rock did not get the treatment the bataan defenders did, at least until they got to the POW camps. Here it may be very ugly.
Between the fact that the commander of the harbor forts does not have the authority to order the surrender of other US forces in the PI, and even if he orders the surrender he won't be obeyed, and the high price the Japanese have paid it will get ugly. OTL the folks who surrendered on the rock did not get the treatment the bataan defenders did, at least until they got to the POW camps. Here it may be very ugly.
I read about the chutes. Assault landings at the base of a bluff are always very expensive
It's been a while since I read my books on Corregidor. IIRC there was an attempt to shorten the fuses on the 12-inch Mortar shells to try and get them to airburst over the Japanese rather than explode after digging into the ground. I don't think it worked, I need to drag out my books and check on this...
I seem to recall reading of efforts to modify the fuses of certain AP projectiles so they would burst on contact. My dim recollection is that the work was described as extremely time consuming, but some what successful ?
it got a mention... ordinance could convert about 25 shells a day
Assault on Corregidor: May 25 and 26 (part one)
The May 25/ 26 Assault on Fort Mills
The bombardment on the Rock and nearby Fort Hughes continues unabated all through the afternoon and into night on Monday, May 25. General Homma, who is in overall command and has taken a direct role in the fight with the departure of General Siechi and his 20th Army, has ordered the landing to take place at 2300 Hours with the 61st Regiment assaulting Bottomside, and the 1st Guards Regiment assaulting Tailside with the goal of a two pronged assault on Malinta Hil and capture of the American headquarters, which should prevent the need of assaulting the more formidable heights of Topside.
The 61st Regiment, and most of the 21st Engineer Regiment (landing craft) will have the easier approach, a short journey from Mariveles two miles across the channel to the Corregidor. The Guards and the 23rd Engineer Regiment (landing craft) have a longer nearly 4 hour approach from Cavite. This distance turns out to be a critical problem, as in the darkness the the landing craft miss their intended landing zone and instead of landing on both sides of North Point, instead mistake in the darkness Infantry Point for their destination. The landing craft from Mariveles have an easier time, as shorter distance, and the very clearly defined landmarks of the looming mass of Topside and the somewhat smaller mass of Malinta Hill to aim between. They simply follow the Bataan coastline until past the American minefield and then proceed straight across the channel.
Japanese Assault Forces
Landing Craft
23rd Engineer (elements) (Cavite)
w 24 Daihatsu (1 HaGo tank or 70 infantry or 10 tons cargo or 2 x 75 light guns and crews)
w 22 Shohatsu (35 infantry or 3.5 tons cargo)
21st Engineer (elements) (Subic Bay)
w 11 Daihatsu
w 22 Shothatsu
Assault troops
Guards Brigade
1st Guards (3 infantry battalions, each with 4 rifle companies, 1 machine gun company, battalion gun section w 2 x 70 mm mountain guns plus regimental gun company with 4 x 75 mm guns, anti tank company with 6 x 47 mm guns, plus 1 escort (rifle) company
2nd Guards (as above)
61st Infantry Regiment
2 infantry battalions, each with 3 rifle companies, 1 machine gun company, reinforced by 1 engineer company, 2 light artillery batteries (12 x 75 mm guns), 1 tank company (12 HaGo tanks)
Landing organization
Bottom Side assault - 61st Infantry Regiment and 21st Engineer Brigade
first wave – 22 Shohatsu landing craft (1/61 BN plus 1 engineer company) (770 troops plus 110 crew) + 6 escorting light gunboats
second wave – 11 Daihatsu (2/61 BN plus 4 HaGo tanks plus 4 x 75 mm guns, regimental command staff) (700 troops plus 55 crew)
Tailside/Infantry Point assault - 1st Guards Regiment
first wave – 22 Shohatsu landing craft (1/1 Guards BN) (770 troops plus 110 crew) + 4 escorting light gunboats
second wave – 24 Daihatsu landing craft (2/1 Guards BN, regimental gun company, anti tank company, regiment command staff) (1400 troops and 120 crew)
The Slaughter at Bottomside
The 22 Shohatsu landing craft and 6 Daihutsu boats acting as gunboats are approaching Bottomside have only a 200 yard stretch of beach to aim for, between the wreckage of North Dock and the Engineering dock that served the Cold Storage and Powerplant. The Japanese are spotted nearly 1,000 yards away, and by the time they are within 100 yards of the beach the Philippine Scouts of the 4/92 have 36 M2 30 caliber machine guns, 36 Boys Anti Tank Rifles, and a couple of hundred rifles aimed at them, while two platoons of the 4/91st have 4 x 75 mm guns, and an additional 8 50 caliber machine guns have been brought up by men of the 1/60th Coast Artillery. All of them are aiming down slope at the landing craft below. On Malinta Hill and on Bottomside, taking cover in building wreckage and shell craters, are 300 more men of the 59th Coast Artillery, although they only have rifles and 6 remaining 37 mm guns that were given to them by the Marines. Additional support comes from 4 x 3 inch mortars from the 65th Infantry and a single 4.2 inch mortar, all of which have starshells, and a courier reaches 2 towed 155 guns that are hiding in Ramsey Ravine.
As the Japanese come to within 50 yards of the beach, the order is given to light them up, and starshells and flares light up the sky. For the gunners manning nearly 50 machine guns and 12 light guns it is a shooting gallery. The 30 foot steel Japanese boats are well constructed, and indeed pretty durable, but they have no overhead protection from the fire coming down on them from Topside, and within a very few minutes nearly all are taking horrific casualties among crew and passengers alike. Soon 155, 75 and 37 mm shells are impacting among them, and tightly packed because of the restricted landing zone, there is no room to dodge and even a near miss sends shrapnel everywhere. At least 6 boats and all of the gunboats are observed sinking or exploding before even reaching the beach, the rest manage to reach shore but only 7 more manage to pull off the beach after the surviving passengers climb over the side. Not one of those boats makes it 100 yards from shore before sinking or blowing up or going adrift. It is estimated that nearly 90% of the Japanese troops and crewmen were killed or fatally wounded in those few minutes. Of the nearly 60 that managed to disembark, only a few managed to reach any kind of cover but they were quickly flushed out and killed by American soldiers of the 59th CA who have endured weeks of hell and want to pay back their foes. None of the Japanese survive, while American casualties are 6 dead and 12 wounded in the counterattack but no other casualties.
Offshore, 10 minutes behind the 1st wave, the 2nd Wave of attackers looks on in horror at the staggering number of tracers and shells, the explosions and fires aboard the leading boats, and the discovery that not one boat leaves the beach. The way ahead blocked by wreckage, and with shells already impacting among them, the 2nd wave boats scatter and then retreat at their best speed to their rally point, which will put them in position to act as a third wave for the Guards landing attempt on Tailside.
The bombardment on the Rock and nearby Fort Hughes continues unabated all through the afternoon and into night on Monday, May 25. General Homma, who is in overall command and has taken a direct role in the fight with the departure of General Siechi and his 20th Army, has ordered the landing to take place at 2300 Hours with the 61st Regiment assaulting Bottomside, and the 1st Guards Regiment assaulting Tailside with the goal of a two pronged assault on Malinta Hil and capture of the American headquarters, which should prevent the need of assaulting the more formidable heights of Topside.
The 61st Regiment, and most of the 21st Engineer Regiment (landing craft) will have the easier approach, a short journey from Mariveles two miles across the channel to the Corregidor. The Guards and the 23rd Engineer Regiment (landing craft) have a longer nearly 4 hour approach from Cavite. This distance turns out to be a critical problem, as in the darkness the the landing craft miss their intended landing zone and instead of landing on both sides of North Point, instead mistake in the darkness Infantry Point for their destination. The landing craft from Mariveles have an easier time, as shorter distance, and the very clearly defined landmarks of the looming mass of Topside and the somewhat smaller mass of Malinta Hill to aim between. They simply follow the Bataan coastline until past the American minefield and then proceed straight across the channel.
Japanese Assault Forces
Landing Craft
23rd Engineer (elements) (Cavite)
w 24 Daihatsu (1 HaGo tank or 70 infantry or 10 tons cargo or 2 x 75 light guns and crews)
w 22 Shohatsu (35 infantry or 3.5 tons cargo)
21st Engineer (elements) (Subic Bay)
w 11 Daihatsu
w 22 Shothatsu
Assault troops
Guards Brigade
1st Guards (3 infantry battalions, each with 4 rifle companies, 1 machine gun company, battalion gun section w 2 x 70 mm mountain guns plus regimental gun company with 4 x 75 mm guns, anti tank company with 6 x 47 mm guns, plus 1 escort (rifle) company
2nd Guards (as above)
61st Infantry Regiment
2 infantry battalions, each with 3 rifle companies, 1 machine gun company, reinforced by 1 engineer company, 2 light artillery batteries (12 x 75 mm guns), 1 tank company (12 HaGo tanks)
Landing organization
Bottom Side assault - 61st Infantry Regiment and 21st Engineer Brigade
first wave – 22 Shohatsu landing craft (1/61 BN plus 1 engineer company) (770 troops plus 110 crew) + 6 escorting light gunboats
second wave – 11 Daihatsu (2/61 BN plus 4 HaGo tanks plus 4 x 75 mm guns, regimental command staff) (700 troops plus 55 crew)
Tailside/Infantry Point assault - 1st Guards Regiment
first wave – 22 Shohatsu landing craft (1/1 Guards BN) (770 troops plus 110 crew) + 4 escorting light gunboats
second wave – 24 Daihatsu landing craft (2/1 Guards BN, regimental gun company, anti tank company, regiment command staff) (1400 troops and 120 crew)
The Slaughter at Bottomside
The 22 Shohatsu landing craft and 6 Daihutsu boats acting as gunboats are approaching Bottomside have only a 200 yard stretch of beach to aim for, between the wreckage of North Dock and the Engineering dock that served the Cold Storage and Powerplant. The Japanese are spotted nearly 1,000 yards away, and by the time they are within 100 yards of the beach the Philippine Scouts of the 4/92 have 36 M2 30 caliber machine guns, 36 Boys Anti Tank Rifles, and a couple of hundred rifles aimed at them, while two platoons of the 4/91st have 4 x 75 mm guns, and an additional 8 50 caliber machine guns have been brought up by men of the 1/60th Coast Artillery. All of them are aiming down slope at the landing craft below. On Malinta Hill and on Bottomside, taking cover in building wreckage and shell craters, are 300 more men of the 59th Coast Artillery, although they only have rifles and 6 remaining 37 mm guns that were given to them by the Marines. Additional support comes from 4 x 3 inch mortars from the 65th Infantry and a single 4.2 inch mortar, all of which have starshells, and a courier reaches 2 towed 155 guns that are hiding in Ramsey Ravine.
As the Japanese come to within 50 yards of the beach, the order is given to light them up, and starshells and flares light up the sky. For the gunners manning nearly 50 machine guns and 12 light guns it is a shooting gallery. The 30 foot steel Japanese boats are well constructed, and indeed pretty durable, but they have no overhead protection from the fire coming down on them from Topside, and within a very few minutes nearly all are taking horrific casualties among crew and passengers alike. Soon 155, 75 and 37 mm shells are impacting among them, and tightly packed because of the restricted landing zone, there is no room to dodge and even a near miss sends shrapnel everywhere. At least 6 boats and all of the gunboats are observed sinking or exploding before even reaching the beach, the rest manage to reach shore but only 7 more manage to pull off the beach after the surviving passengers climb over the side. Not one of those boats makes it 100 yards from shore before sinking or blowing up or going adrift. It is estimated that nearly 90% of the Japanese troops and crewmen were killed or fatally wounded in those few minutes. Of the nearly 60 that managed to disembark, only a few managed to reach any kind of cover but they were quickly flushed out and killed by American soldiers of the 59th CA who have endured weeks of hell and want to pay back their foes. None of the Japanese survive, while American casualties are 6 dead and 12 wounded in the counterattack but no other casualties.
Offshore, 10 minutes behind the 1st wave, the 2nd Wave of attackers looks on in horror at the staggering number of tracers and shells, the explosions and fires aboard the leading boats, and the discovery that not one boat leaves the beach. The way ahead blocked by wreckage, and with shells already impacting among them, the 2nd wave boats scatter and then retreat at their best speed to their rally point, which will put them in position to act as a third wave for the Guards landing attempt on Tailside.
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I didn't game this out, as I don't really have a mechanism for this small a scale, but from memory of the many tactical games I have played this kind of slaughter is certain when 48 machine guns are firing from a couple of hundred feet down onto open topped AFVs moving at basically a fast trot. Toss in the guns firing direct fire, the indirect fire from the 155s and mortars, and a total wipeout of all of the vehicles is certain as crews are killed or boats take catastrophic or cumulative damage.
Plus the OTL landing facing far less firepower suffered 50% losses in its boats and troops in a far less concentrated area.
more to come.... tomorrow
Plus the OTL landing facing far less firepower suffered 50% losses in its boats and troops in a far less concentrated area.
more to come.... tomorrow
Some views of Corregidor to give you a feel for the terrain
From the 1945 (OTL) softening up of Corregidor but the Rock would have looked like this during the 2nd Bombardment
Bottomside.... the North Dock is in the foreground, the Engineering Dock is in the background with Topside above it
From the 1945 (OTL) softening up of Corregidor but the Rock would have looked like this during the 2nd Bombardment
Bottomside.... the North Dock is in the foreground, the Engineering Dock is in the background with Topside above it
OTL the Japanese did pretty poorly with amphibious assaults against defended beaches. Almost all of their successes early in the war were against beaches defended by few troops with limited support. What happened OTL is an example of what happened when they landed where there was a motivated defense force. OTL the numbers were not as many as here, their weapons were less than here, and they were in pretty bad condition. Like ITTL OTL they had been slammed by artillery for a long period with huge destruction and yet did as well as they did.
Barry Bull
Donor
Where is the Japanese artillery and air support? The destroyers and other small gunboats gave effective fire support to the troops in Normandy and the Pacific landings. The IJA seemed to have been left the assault forces to fend for themselves in TTL.
The Japanese don't have destroyers in Manila Bay. Plus they are landing at night. So definitely no air support. No way the Japanese, even if they had destroyers in Manila Bay, they simply cannot just be firing blindly at the rock, and certainly not in direct support of any troops who are landing.
OUCH!!!!! I Think we will hear the rock Calling Tokyo "Send more men, we want more to shoot at"
StephenColbert27
Banned
In terms of one-sidedness, the battle that comes close is Alligator Creek at Guadalcanal, but this is even worse for the Japanese.
Yeah. In Tenaru/Alligator Creek, the Japanese managed to save some of their unit after the attack, about 130 men.
Here... nope. The entire wave is dead, plus all the destroyed and adrift boats providing a natural maritime hazard for a second wave to come.
The Guards, instead of landing at the non defended North Point, they will instead land at Infantry Point... right in front of the 4/59th, the 3/1st and Battery Kysor.
And if they manage to inflict a sizable slam onto the Guards its gonna hurt....
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That's going to cause serious delays. As I read it, it seems that except for siege artillery, most troops have departed after the end of Bataan campaign, leaving only a reduced force to capture Corregidor, and that force is just getting decimated, not counting artillery crews suffering from malaria.
The Japanese already lost about a fifth of the landing force, a quarter of their landing craft for basically small cuts with the Americans.
Thats gotta hurt.