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Invasion of Lingayen Gulf
The Invasion of Lingayen Gulf (Pangasinan: Inlusob ed Golfo na Lingayen; Ilocano: Iraraut iti Golfo ti Lingayen; Tagalog: Paglusob sa Golfo ng Lingayen; Spanish: Invasión del Golfo de Lingayén), 3–13 January 1945, was an Allied amphibious operation in the Philippines during World War II. In the early morning of 6 January 1945, a large Allied force commanded by Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf began approaching the shores of Lingayen from Lingayen Gulf, on the island of Luzon. U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy warships began bombarding suspected Japanese positions along the coast of Lingayen from their position in Lingayen Gulf for three days. On "S-Day", 9 January, the U.S. 6th Army landed on a roughly 25 mi (40 km) beachhead at the base of the Gulf between the towns of Lingayen and San Fabian.
During World War II, Lingayen Gulf proved a strategically important theater of war between American and Japanese forces. Shown in the center of the figure left, on 22 December 1941, the Japanese 14th Army—under Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma—landed on the northeastern shores of the gulf, at Agoo, Caba, Santiago and Bauang, where they engaged in a number of relatively minor skirmishes with the defenders, a poorly equipped contingent of predominantly American and Filipino troops. Facing limited opposition, the larger Japanese forces managed to successfully invade and occupy the gulf.
On the day after the defeat, General Douglas MacArthur issued the order to retreat from Luzon and withdraw to Bataan. Following their defeat at the Battle of Bataan, U.S. and Filipino prisoners of war were forced into the Bataan Death March, with their destination Capas, Tarlac, not far from the capital city of Manila.
After attempting to establish an independent Allied government supported by American troops under the command of General McArthur on Corregidor, Japanese troops forced the surrender of the remaining American and Filipino forces there at the Battle of Corregidor on 6 May 1942. On 11 March 1942, Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley had picked up MacArthur, his family, and his immediate staff, who had been ordered to flee the Philippines. For the next three years, the gulf remained under Japanese occupation prior to the Lingayen Gulf landings.
From 3–9 January 1945, the ships of Admiral Oldendorf's invasion force took a lengthy circuitous route through the previously captured islands of Leyte Gulf in the Southeast of the Philippines, shown in blue as the Eastern Visayas in the map at left, and West, South of the Southern Visayas through the Suriago Strait and the Bohol Sea. Then heading north and following the Western coastlines of the Western Philippine Islands of Negros, Panay, and Mindoro (In green), shown at left in the map, the forward staged ships of Admiral Oldendorf's naval invasion force headed for the mouth of Lingayen Gulf on the Island of Luzon, shown to the immediate left of Bagaio. From the mouth of the Gulf, two vertical channels would be swept of mines by the minesweepers, one for landing areas terminating at the base of the Gulf, west on the beach of Lingayen, and one for landing areas terminating east at the town of San Fabian. The narrow base of the roughly rectangular Lingayen Gulf provided a relatively small landing area, only 25–30 miles wide, but its assault forces needed to take only a 100-mile overland route South to reach Luzon's capital city of Manila, shown clearly at left.
Commencing around noon on 6 January 1945, a heavy naval and air bombardment of suspected Japanese defenses on Lingayen began from their position inside the Gulf, the base of which is shown in the figure above. Estimates of resistance from the coastline and inland shores on the landing areas on the mouth of the Gulf proved inaccurate, as much of the bombardment proved unnecessary.
Demolitions near the planned landing sites on the base of the Gulf by Underwater Demolition Teams were undertaken, but they found no beach obstacles, and only one mine and encountered sparse opposing forces. Lieutenant Commander W. R. Loud, who commanded the minesweeper force, claimed to have found around ten additional mines in his sweeping efforts by end of day 7 January, though intelligence estimates by Philippine resistance may have overestimated the number present. Smith writes that surprisingly, during the 7th, exploratory sweeps during the morning "turned up only two floating mines and none of the moored type." Both sources seemed to indicate a total of less than 10–12 mines, not a particularly large number for a close approach to a landing area, considering the large numbers soon to be found off the beaches of Iwo Jima. As approach channels were swept, buoys were placed to delineate the areas where ships could approach or land safe from the threat of active contact mines.
The sweepers performed with efficiency and courage considering they were the constant target of air attacks, several causing damage, or the sinking of their ships. They performed their tasks effectively during 6–8 January, during frequent attack, and in difficult weather, including high waves on the Eastern base of the gulf near Lingayen during 7 January, which may have affected those craft closer to the eastern side of the Gulf. Aircraft and naval artillery bombardment of the landing areas also occurred, with kamikazes attacking on the 7th, though enemy kamikazes, bombers and torpedo planes had reigned terror on the naval forces on their long route to the Gulf from the 2nd and would continue through the 13th. Smith writes that Allied planes from Allied escort carriers flew "from 250 to 300 sorties during the period from 6 through 8 January", bombing and strafing targets along the beaches. Many downed enemy planes and kamikazes, but many escaped their grasp. Ian W. Toll writes that on 7 January, "in response to urgent requests from Admiral Kinkade and General MacArthur, Halsey threw his "big blue blanket" over Luzon." Airmen from the carriers, after returning to their ships, touted "claims of at least seventy-five Japanese planes destroyed on the ground." On the 8th, it was observed that in the town of Lingayen, as a response to the pre-landing bombardment, Filipinos had begun to form a parade, complete with United States and Philippine flags; fire was shifted away from that area.
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Invasion of Lingayen Gulf
The Invasion of Lingayen Gulf (Pangasinan: Inlusob ed Golfo na Lingayen; Ilocano: Iraraut iti Golfo ti Lingayen; Tagalog: Paglusob sa Golfo ng Lingayen; Spanish: Invasión del Golfo de Lingayén), 3–13 January 1945, was an Allied amphibious operation in the Philippines during World War II. In the early morning of 6 January 1945, a large Allied force commanded by Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf began approaching the shores of Lingayen from Lingayen Gulf, on the island of Luzon. U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy warships began bombarding suspected Japanese positions along the coast of Lingayen from their position in Lingayen Gulf for three days. On "S-Day", 9 January, the U.S. 6th Army landed on a roughly 25 mi (40 km) beachhead at the base of the Gulf between the towns of Lingayen and San Fabian.
During World War II, Lingayen Gulf proved a strategically important theater of war between American and Japanese forces. Shown in the center of the figure left, on 22 December 1941, the Japanese 14th Army—under Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma—landed on the northeastern shores of the gulf, at Agoo, Caba, Santiago and Bauang, where they engaged in a number of relatively minor skirmishes with the defenders, a poorly equipped contingent of predominantly American and Filipino troops. Facing limited opposition, the larger Japanese forces managed to successfully invade and occupy the gulf.
On the day after the defeat, General Douglas MacArthur issued the order to retreat from Luzon and withdraw to Bataan. Following their defeat at the Battle of Bataan, U.S. and Filipino prisoners of war were forced into the Bataan Death March, with their destination Capas, Tarlac, not far from the capital city of Manila.
After attempting to establish an independent Allied government supported by American troops under the command of General McArthur on Corregidor, Japanese troops forced the surrender of the remaining American and Filipino forces there at the Battle of Corregidor on 6 May 1942. On 11 March 1942, Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley had picked up MacArthur, his family, and his immediate staff, who had been ordered to flee the Philippines. For the next three years, the gulf remained under Japanese occupation prior to the Lingayen Gulf landings.
From 3–9 January 1945, the ships of Admiral Oldendorf's invasion force took a lengthy circuitous route through the previously captured islands of Leyte Gulf in the Southeast of the Philippines, shown in blue as the Eastern Visayas in the map at left, and West, South of the Southern Visayas through the Suriago Strait and the Bohol Sea. Then heading north and following the Western coastlines of the Western Philippine Islands of Negros, Panay, and Mindoro (In green), shown at left in the map, the forward staged ships of Admiral Oldendorf's naval invasion force headed for the mouth of Lingayen Gulf on the Island of Luzon, shown to the immediate left of Bagaio. From the mouth of the Gulf, two vertical channels would be swept of mines by the minesweepers, one for landing areas terminating at the base of the Gulf, west on the beach of Lingayen, and one for landing areas terminating east at the town of San Fabian. The narrow base of the roughly rectangular Lingayen Gulf provided a relatively small landing area, only 25–30 miles wide, but its assault forces needed to take only a 100-mile overland route South to reach Luzon's capital city of Manila, shown clearly at left.
Commencing around noon on 6 January 1945, a heavy naval and air bombardment of suspected Japanese defenses on Lingayen began from their position inside the Gulf, the base of which is shown in the figure above. Estimates of resistance from the coastline and inland shores on the landing areas on the mouth of the Gulf proved inaccurate, as much of the bombardment proved unnecessary.
Demolitions near the planned landing sites on the base of the Gulf by Underwater Demolition Teams were undertaken, but they found no beach obstacles, and only one mine and encountered sparse opposing forces. Lieutenant Commander W. R. Loud, who commanded the minesweeper force, claimed to have found around ten additional mines in his sweeping efforts by end of day 7 January, though intelligence estimates by Philippine resistance may have overestimated the number present. Smith writes that surprisingly, during the 7th, exploratory sweeps during the morning "turned up only two floating mines and none of the moored type." Both sources seemed to indicate a total of less than 10–12 mines, not a particularly large number for a close approach to a landing area, considering the large numbers soon to be found off the beaches of Iwo Jima. As approach channels were swept, buoys were placed to delineate the areas where ships could approach or land safe from the threat of active contact mines.
The sweepers performed with efficiency and courage considering they were the constant target of air attacks, several causing damage, or the sinking of their ships. They performed their tasks effectively during 6–8 January, during frequent attack, and in difficult weather, including high waves on the Eastern base of the gulf near Lingayen during 7 January, which may have affected those craft closer to the eastern side of the Gulf. Aircraft and naval artillery bombardment of the landing areas also occurred, with kamikazes attacking on the 7th, though enemy kamikazes, bombers and torpedo planes had reigned terror on the naval forces on their long route to the Gulf from the 2nd and would continue through the 13th. Smith writes that Allied planes from Allied escort carriers flew "from 250 to 300 sorties during the period from 6 through 8 January", bombing and strafing targets along the beaches. Many downed enemy planes and kamikazes, but many escaped their grasp. Ian W. Toll writes that on 7 January, "in response to urgent requests from Admiral Kinkade and General MacArthur, Halsey threw his "big blue blanket" over Luzon." Airmen from the carriers, after returning to their ships, touted "claims of at least seventy-five Japanese planes destroyed on the ground." On the 8th, it was observed that in the town of Lingayen, as a response to the pre-landing bombardment, Filipinos had begun to form a parade, complete with United States and Philippine flags; fire was shifted away from that area.