History of United States Naval Operations in World War II Vol. 13 : The Liberation of the Philippines - Luzon, Mindanao, The Visayas, 1944 - 1945

by Morison, Samuel Eliot

• ISBN13: 9780252070648
• ISBN10: 025207064X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of Illinois Pr

Summary

"The smoke from the Battle for Leyte Gulf had hardly cleared before plans were being made for the liberation of the rest of the Philippine Archipelago. Volume 13 of Morison's masterful history covers the taking of Mindoro as a stepping stone to Luzon, the major landings on the shores of Lingayen Gulf, and the amphibious landings that wrested Borneo from the Japanese, as well as the series of short, swift operations that liberated Palawan, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, and Mindanao.In this volume, Morison describes the newly prominent role of the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps, whose frenzied suicidal bombings offered the main resistance to the Allied occupation of Mindoro. Alongside details of military operations, Morison includes a heartstopping account of the typhoon of 18 December 1944, which blew up unexpectedly into a shrieking hellcat of a storm while Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet worked frantically to refuel. He also recounts the work of the ""Rice Paddy Navy,"" a combined corps of American volunteers from the Navy, Army, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard that collaborated with thousands of Chinese sailors, fishermen, pirates, and guerrillas and ended up fighting the last naval battle of the war using sailing junks. "

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Abbreviations	xxiii
PART I PLANNING AND PRELIMINARIES
Planning for Luzon, October-December 1944	3	(14)
Luzon, Not Formosa	3	(3)
The Planning Process	6	(5)
The Target and the Setup	11	(1)
Japanese Plans and Preparations	12	(5)
Mindoro, December 1944-February 1945	17	(35)
The Plan	17	(5)
The Approach, 12-14 December	22	(4)
The Landing, 15 December	26	(7)
Air Attacks and Resupply Convoys, 16-24 December	33	(4)
Christmas Call	37	(6)
Admiral Kimura
Mindoro and Marinduque Secured, 27 December 1944-10 February 1945	43	(9)
Fast Carrier Forces in Support, 10 December 1944-10 January 1945	52	(41)
New Carrier Tactics	52	(7)
Weather Making Up, 15-17 December	59	(6)
Typhoon, 18 December	65	(6)
The Ordeal of the Destroyers	71	(10)
Rescue and Inquiry	81	(6)
TF 38 Back to Battery, 29 December 1944-9 January 1945	87	(6)
Preliminaries to the Lingayen Landings, 15 December 1944-9 January 1945	93	(30)
Staging and Rehearsal	93	(5)
Oldendorf's Eventful Passage, 2-6 January	98	(6)
``One Helluva Day'' in Lingayen Gulf, 6 January	104	(7)
Turn for the Better, 7-8 January	111	(4)
Attack Forces Move Up, 2-9 January	115	(8)
PART II LUZON LIBERATED January-February 1945
The Lingayen Landings, 9 January 1945	123	(14)
Lingayen Attack Force Lands	123	(7)
San Fabian Attack Force Lands	130	(3)
Unloading and Progress Ashore, S-day	133	(4)
Progress of the Operation, 9-17 January 1945	137	(20)
Hot Night in the Gulf	137	(3)
Unloading Problems and Departing Convoys	140	(4)
Reinforcements Arrive; Kamikazes Return	144	(9)
Assault Operations Concluded, 13-17 January 1945	153	(4)
Third Fleet Cuts Loose, 10-27 January 1945	157	(27)
The Mindoro-Lingayen Line	157	(4)
Halsey's Plan and Supporting Air Operations	161	(3)
Into the South China Sea, 10-20 January	164	(10)
Strategic Discussions, 11-19 January	174	(5)
Fast Carriers Strike Formosa and Retire, 20-27 January	179	(5)
Luzon Liberated, 17 January-30 June 1945	184	(29)
Southward Drive and Subsidiary Landings, 17 January-3 February	184	(9)
On to Manila, 27 January-15 March	193	(5)
Clearing the Bay and Harbor, 3 February-18 April	198	(9)
Liberation Completed, 31 March-30 June	207	(6)
PART III CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES February-August 1945
Palawan and Zamboanga, March-April 1945	213	(15)
Plans and Procedures	213	(3)
Palawan	216	(6)
Zamboanga	222	(6)
The Southern Visayas, February-June 1945	228	(11)
Panay	228	(3)
Negros Occidental	231	(2)
Cebu	233	(4)
Bohol and Southern Negros	237	(2)
Mindanao, April-July 1945	239	(16)
The Malabang-Parang Landings	239	(5)
The Mindanao River Campaign	244	(2)
Davao Gulf Operations	246	(3)
Macajalar and Minor Landings	249	(6)
PART IV MISCELLANEOUS OPERATIONS 1942-1945
Borneo, February-August 1945	255	(23)
Borneo in Pacific Strategy	255	(4)
Tarakan	259	(4)
Brunei Bay	263	(4)
Balikpapan	267	(11)
Submarine Operations Southwest Pacific, January-August 1945	278	(11)
Japanese Prowlers in Philippine Waters	278	(2)
American Submarine Operations	280	(9)
The U. S. Naval Group, China	289	(14)
The ``Rice Paddy Navy''	289	(5)
The Pony-back Navy	294	(1)
The Yangtze Raiders	295	(1)
The Coast Watchers	296	(4)
The Final Naval Battle of World War II	300	(3)
Appendix I Task Organization for the Invasion of Luzon, January 1945	303	(12)
Appendix II Task Organization for Third Fleet, 1 December 1944-23 January 1945	315	(6)
Appendix III Task Organizations in Operations to Liberate the Southern Philippines, February-April 1945	321	(4)
Appendix IV Ships Hit or Near-missed, and Casualties Inflicted, by Kamikaze Attacks in Lingayen Operation, January 1945	325	(2)
Index	327