June 15, 1941 Fort Stotsenburg the Philippines
Major General Jonathan Wainwright looked at the fifty eight hundred men of the 11th Division of the Republic of Philippines’ Army. These men had been called up two weeks earlier in a test mobilization of the Philippines Army. Theoretically, the 11th Division was supposed to be able to call on 7,500 men in three infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, a scout battalion, plus supporting elements of transportation, signals, administrative and medical units.
In reality, the 11th Division could muster two infantry regiments that were fully equipped to the light Filipino Army standard and a third regiment that was still a hollow shell.
The artillery regiment had a battalion of British mountain guns, and a short battalion of twelve 75mm guns. The artillery men were still getting used to the new 75mm guns that they had received only that month. There was a third artillery group consisting of 18 37mm anti-tank guns and 24 60mm mortars. This was an ad-hoc group with the intention of pushing the light support weapons forward to the infantry units when they were sufficiently well trained and supported.
The division had seventy five 5 ton trucks and another ninety 2 ½ ton trucks available. Most were commandeered from civilian usage and if it was a war, they would have been repainted green. The staff was still understrength, but the native officers had filled in most of the gaps in the organizational chart and were enthusiastic if undertrained.
As he walked through the ranks of the men who had shown up for the muster, he saw every rifleman with an Enfield rifle. Each platoon had at least one automatic weapon team. Some of those weapons were Lewis guns, others BARs that the Pacific Fleet found, and there were still an array of Chauchats that should have been melted down for scrap twenty years ago. The machine gun platoon of each battalion was at half strength with their new to them M1917 machine guns. The men were in uniforms of light green cotton shirts, green canvas pants and every man had a decent pair of boots. Not all men had steel helmets, and the style varied by battalion.
The men had enjoyed the past week as they were taken to the firing ranges. Each infantry weapon fired a full basic load. Or at least they attempted to fire a full day’s load for each man. The Chauhans were still the most temperamental gun ever invented, and the BAR men had trouble learning how to use their new, heavy, awkward weapons. The mortar men consistently were inconsistent as a string of 60 mm training shells would land in a tight cluster and then forty seconds later, the same tube and crew would send three shells 200 yards long. At least no one was seriously hurt, although several men were wounded.
General Wainwright suppressed a grimace as he knew the army was improving, but with the war clouds on the horizon, would it be good enough soon enough?
