The Second World War

During the opening days of the war, a ship carrying a cargo of Bren gun carriers intended for the Canadian Battalions in Hongkong arrived in the Philippines. Upon arrangement with the Canadian government, the combat vehicles were acquired for the USAFFE – a part for the Provisional Anti-Tank Battalion, 2nd Regular Division, PA while the bulk was assigned to the Provisional Tank Group. 6

After the annihilation of the Far East Air Force (FEAF) with the destruction of over one hundred twenty (120) aircraft neatly lined up on the Clark Field’s tarmac by the raiding land and carrier-based Japanese aircraft, the 14th Japanese Army under Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma numbering about 57,000 men landed in Lingayen Gulf on 22 December 1941, and made a quick advance towards Manila.

Part of Homma’s main invasion force were; the 4th Tank Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Kumagaya with thirty-eight (38) 7.4-ton Type 95 Ha-Go Light Tanks and the 7th Tank Regiment Colonel Sonoda with thirty-four (34) 12-ton Type 89 Chi-Ro Medium Tanks, fourteen (14) Type 95 Ha-Go Light Tanks and two (2) 15.8-ton Type 97 Chi-Ha Medium Tanks

Tank battles, though not comparable with those in Europe, happened in the retrograde operations of Filipino-American forces to Bataan. One such incident happened in the vicinity of Baliuag, Bulacan in December 1941.

Collectively and individually, these combat vehicles figured prominently during the retrograde operations in Bataan.

The global war has pitted the best technologies on earth. The tank which has now replaced the horse became the backbone of their armored cavalry. Our own army first used tanks during the last global war in the retrograde operation preceding the Battle of Bataan.

The last stand of the Filipino-American forces was on the Island of Corregidor. For one month of Japanese artillery and aerial bombardment, the island’s coastal guns were all destroyed. On 5 May 1942, Japanese forces carried out their amphibious landing on Corregidor and successfully landing three (3) tanks – two (2) 15.8-ton Type 97 Shinhoto Chi-Ha tanks and one (1) captured M3 Stuart light tank.

The fall of Bataan and Corregidor ended the Army’s conventional warfare with the Japanese but men under the pre-war cavalry and armored units fled to the hills to fight as irregular forces or guerrillas.

Most of the M3 Stuarts captured were used by the Japanese 7th Sensha Rentai (armored unit) for garrison duty, and propaganda as in the film “The Dawn of Freedom” while some were sent home for research and development. During the liberation period, many of these Stuarts were used against their former owners.

The Japanese occupation brought much suffering to the nation and its people but the struggle went on until the country sides were largely liberated by the guerrillas. On 20 October 1944, the Americans returned to the Philippines to deliver the coup d’grace on the Japanese, but ironically took most of the credit as liberators. The end of the war brought a new chapter in the development of the cavalry and armor in the country.

From 1942 to 1944, the Imperial Japanese Army (Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) reinforced their land forces in the Philippines with additional armored units. From an initial invasion force of two tank regiments, the entire 2nd Tank Division was redeployed from Manchukuo (Japanese-occupied Manchuria) to the country.

The 2nd Tank Division under the command of Lieutenant General Iwanaka, the following subordinate units became the backbone of the armor support of the 14th Japanese Army - the 3rd Tank Brigade (Brigadier General Shigemi), the 4th Tank Brigade, the 4th Tank Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Kumagaya), the 6th Tank Regiment (Colonel Ida), the 7th Tank Regiment (Colonel Maeda), the 10th Tank Regiment (Colonel Harada), the 11th Tank Regiment, the 1st Independent Tank Company (Captain Uchida), the 2nd Independent Tank Company (Captain Kurobe), the 7th Independent Tank Company (Captain Kono), the 8th Independent Tank Company (1st Lt. Matsumoto), the 9th Independent Tank Company (1st Lt. Nakajima), the Itoh SNLF Tank Company (Major Itoh), the Iwashita Independent Tank Company (Captain Iwashita), and the Sumi Independent Self-propelled (SP) Gun Company (Captain Sumi).

The 2nd Tank Group (Division), nicknamed as "Geki" (Hit) was organized by General Tasuku Okada in December 1941 in Manchukuo. It was upgraded into a Division in June 1942 and was re-deployed to the Philippines in 1944 as Allied Liberation forces were already successfully conducting “Island-hopping operations” throughout the Pacific. The tank division was effectively destroyed / attrited as a unit by the American forces in March 1945.

Although relatively unheard of, a tank battle took place on 17 January 1945 in the general vicinity of the initial delaying points in the retrograde operations of the Filipino-American forces after the unsuccessful beach defenses of the Japanese landing points in La Union and Pangasinan – in San Manuel, PangasinanAfter the amphibious landing of American liberation forces in Lingayen on 9 January 1945, a series of armor-infantry team engagements happened in the towns of Urdaneta and Binalonan, Pangasinan. Determined to halt the American advance, the “Shigemi Detachment,” named after Brigadier General Shigemi of the 3rd Tank Brigade was given the mission to engage the Americans. Composed of over a thousand men, mortars and machine guns, the detachment withdrew to San Manuel on 17 January 1945 with thirty-three (33) light and medium tanks.

After the futile Japanese defense of Urdaneta and Binalonan, Shigemi decided to dig in and “to fight to the death” at San Manuel entrenching most of their forty (40) Type 97 Chi-Ha tanks  and five (5) Type 95 Ha-Go light tanks at “hull down” position.

A defensive line of seventy-five (75) interlocking rifle, machine gun and mortar emplacements were established in key terrain features at the town’s outskirt, with thirty (30) dedicated tanks assigned to them, support by fifteen (15) 75mm guns, a number of 47mm anti-tank guns and fifteen (15) mortars.

A five-day bombardment of San Manuel commenced on 19 January 1945 followed by an American assault on the 23rd by the U.S. Army 25th Division’s 161st Infantry Regiment, supported by M4 Shermans of the 716th Tank Battalion.

After four (4) days of sustained offensive operations initiated by the Americans, the Japanese 7th Tank Regiment carried out a Banzai attack at 1:00 A.M. on 28 January with remaining thirteen (13) tanks initially breaking American lines but eventually repulsed with all the tanks destroyed and the remnants retreating to the hills.

The Japanese had abandoned San Manuel on 28 January losing all their tanks, heavy weapons and seven hundred fifty (750) men killed, including General Shigemi and the 7th Tank Regiment commander Colonel Maeda.
From 18 October 1944 until the end of the war, Japanese ground and naval forces in the Philippines totaled 529,802 based on the Japanese 1st and 2nd Demobilization Bureau Reports, the “Strength of Japanese Forces in the Philippines, 1944-1945.” On the other hand, a total of fifteen (15) Army Divisions with 300,000 men comprised the bulk of the U.S. Liberation forces that joined General MacArthur in his return to the Philippines.

The formal end to the war came with the formal surrender of Japan to General MacArthur aboard U.S.S. Missouri anchored along Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. The same day, Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashita surrendered with 50,000 of his men at the Kiangan Central School, Kiangan, Ifugao ending the Japanese reign of terror in the Philippines.