210:
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showed up in this battle. The division was 4,000 soldiers under strength and problems with morale and mental and physical exhaustion were noted as early as April. No fresh division was available to relieve the 32nd, so the division slogged on. Six thousand soldiers were evacuated at least temporarily from the battle for illness, disease, and especially "combat fatigue and associated psychoneurotic upsets." Guerrilla leader Hunt commented that "the three F's of combat are 'fog, fatigue, and fear' and the latter two deepen visibly near the end of long campaigns or long wars."
115:
34:
129:
545:
629:". Supply of the advancing troops was a problem with a road only partially traversable by vehicle. 150 Filipino porters trudged up and down the trail carrying ammunition and food to the soldiers. Communications in the mountains were sporadic and heavy rains, mud, and landslides inhibited travel. Battle casualties of the 32nd Division were 825 dead and 2,160 wounded, a casualty rate of about 27 percent. The Japanese lost at least 5,750 of the 8,750 men engaged.
608:
would wait for air and artillery support to soften up the opposition and try again. Then there would be company and battalion outflanking maneuvers, some successful, some ending in near disaster, and all, as the result of
Japanese defensive dispositions, inevitably winding up as frontal assaults. Every type of action would be repeated day after dreary day, either in heat enervating to the extreme on clear days, or in cloudbursts, fog, and mud.
621:
Americans and on 29 May the 32nd
Division was united with the 25th Infantry Division after the Buena Vista guerrillas captured the last Japanese strong point and made contact with elements of the 25th on Route 5 near Santa Fe. The route northward into the Cagayan Valley was open. It had taken more than three months for the army to eliminate the Japanese along the Villa Verde Trail.
217:
574:. A second division, the 32nd would attack up the Villa Verde Trail, a difficult, primitive, winding track through the mountains, to Santa Fe. The Villa Verde Trail at its best was a dirt road 10-12 feet wide, but mostly only a footpath that climbed in elevation from 400 ft (120 m) at its western terminus at the hamlet of
599:
at the Second
Salacsac Pass. The Japanese here were dug into a mutually-interlocking defense in caves and tunnels and with machine guns and artillery covering every foot of the trail. The higher ground overlooking the Trail and occupied by the Japanese acquired the name of "Yamashita Ridge" after the
598:
The 127th
Infantry Regiment (already understrength with 2,650 men instead of the 3,000 called for by regulation), one of three infantry regiments in the 32nd Division, proceeded without major opposition for the first few miles of the Villa Verde Trail but ran into the Japanese defense line on March 5
612:
Efforts to assault and bypass
Japanese defenses were futile, and on 23 March a badly depleted 127th regiment was relieved temporarily by the 128th Infantry Regiment. The third infantry regiment, the 126th, was brought into action to assault the Japanese positions from the north. The Americans made
637:
The 32nd
Infantry Division logged a total of 654 days of combat during World War II, more than any other United States Army division. About 30 percent of the men in the division had been overseas for nearly three years and had participated in several combat operations. The strain on the soldiers
620:
attacks. Several efforts to flank or encircle the
Japanese forces were mostly unsuccessful, although inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese. Not until 24 May did the Americans finally capture the pass. The surviving Japanese withdrew from the area. On 28 May the village of Imugan fell to the
607:
The battle for the Villa Verde Trail became a knock-down, drag-out slug fest...the 32d
Division's difficult operations in the Salacsac Pass area could hardly avoid taking on a monotonous pattern. First, there would be unsuccessful frontal attacks against hillside strongholds. Failing, the troops
526:. Somewhat to the surprise of the Americans, the Japanese had constructed strong defenses along the narrow and winding Villa Verde Trail, 27 mi (43 km) in length. The campaign began on 21 February 1945 and concluded with the success of the Americans on 31 May 1945. The U.S.'s
561:
winding down, American units in the northern part of Luzon were freed to go on the offensive against the
Japanese forces who occupied strong defensive positions in the Caraballo mountains blocking American access to the fertile Cagayan Valley. The plan was for the
585:
was the liaison between the
Americans and Filipinos. The U.S. planners anticipated that the advance on the Villa Verde trail would be accomplished rapidly and that on arriving at Santa Fe the 32nd division would be in the rear of Japanese defenders at
624:
The capture of the Villa Verde Trail was facilitated by the work of the 114th Engineer Battalion which widened the trail under fire to make it possible for vehicular travel. The trail acquired the nickname of the "Little
613:
slow progress, but by 17 April the Japanese had mostly evacuated their defenses at the Second Salacsac Pass and retreated to the First Salacsac Pass, little more than 1 mi (1.6 km) to the east.
952:
260:
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641:
In the words of one author, "the price for that goat path in the clouds had been too high." General Gill would later say that "the 32nd had gained too little for what it had lost."
253:
972:
533:
The 32nd Division suffered heavy casualties during the campaign. U.S. casualties were 825 dead and 2,160 wounded. About 6,000 soldiers were treated for illness, disease, or
977:
616:
Two American regiments, the 126th and 127th assaulted the First Salacsac Pass. The Japanese defense was even stiffer there. The Japanese attempted several unsuccessful
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The soldiers of the 32nd were assisted by a battalion of Filipinos, the Buena Vista guerrillas, which operated in the rear of the Japanese defenses. Captain
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to 4,400 ft (1,300 m) near the Salacsac Pass and then dropped down in elevation to 2,000 ft (610 m) at Santa Fe.
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590:(now Dalton Pass) on Route 5. The planners were wrong and the Battle of Villa Verde Trail would be long and difficult.
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537:. Japanese losses were estimated of at least 5,750 dead out of 8,750 defenders. The U.S. commander, Major General
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530:, called the Red Arrow Division, carried out the campaign with assistance from Filipino guerrillas.
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871:"World War II: The U.S. 32nd Infantry Division Battle to Control the Villa Verde Trail"
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541:, would later say that cost of the battle was too high for what was achieved.
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506:) was a campaign by the United States Army and Filipino guerrillas in the
659:, p. 504. The 32nd Division was understrength by 4,000 troops..
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667:
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904:
The 32nd Infantry Division in World War II: the Red Arrow
953:
Military history of the Philippines during World War II
795:. Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation. Archived from
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Battles of World War II involving the United States
682:
680:
216:
894:. Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky.
38:American soldiers trudge up the Villa Verde Trail.
566:to fight its way northward along Route 5 (now
18:
548:A map of the Battle for the Villa Verde Trail
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183:11,000 U.S. soldiers; 500 Filipino guerrillas
8:
841:
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973:South West Pacific theatre of World War II
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247:
239:
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26:South West Pacific theatre of World War II
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978:United States military in the Philippines
900:"Luzon Campaign - The Verde Villa Trail"
983:Battles of World War II involving Japan
890:Hunt, Ray C.; Norling, Bernard (1986).
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601:Japanese commander in the Philippines
229:The location of the Villa Verde Trail
7:
514:in 1945 to force its way across the
504:Labanan sa Tugaygayan ng Villa Verde
968:Military history of the Philippines
14:
869:Derks, Tracy L. (February 2002).
793:"Wisconsin National Guard Museum"
958:Philippines campaign (1944–1945)
570:) toward the crossroads town of
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208:
127:
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19:Battle for the Villa Verde Trail
272:Philippines campaign (1944–45)
1:
921:"Triumph in the Philippines"
919:Smith, Robert Ross (1993).
496:Battle of Villa Verde Trail
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928:Center of Military History
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50:21 February – 31 May 1945
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963:1940s in the Philippines
832:, pp. 503, 509–510.
418:Cotabato and Maguindanao
842:Hunt & Norling 1986
708:Hunt & Norling 1986
572:Santa Fe, Nueva Vizcaya
610:
564:25th Infantry Division
549:
528:32nd Infantry Division
483:Action of 24 July 1945
163:32nd Infantry Division
142:Commanders and leaders
892:Behind Japanese Lines
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191:Casualties and losses
930:. United States Army
473:South China Sea raid
226:class=notpageimage|
782:, pp. 509–510.
758:, pp. 506–509.
746:, pp. 491–505.
722:, pp. 492–505.
674:, pp. 491–492.
516:Caraballo Mountains
75: /
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79:16.174°N 120.870°E
993:Conflicts in 1945
799:on 19 August 2008
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378:Villa Verde Trail
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172:2nd Tank Division
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524:Cagayan Valley
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932:. Retrieved
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801:. Retrieved
797:the original
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698:Google Earth
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633:Consequences
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512:World War II
503:
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468:Convoy Hi-81
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444:Shin'yō Maru
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438:Convoy Hi-71
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398:Bessang Pass
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199:5,750 killed
152:Haruo Konuma
107:Belligerents
24:Part of the
875:History Net
588:Balete Pass
583:Ray C. Hunt
576:Santa Maria
508:Philippines
342:Kirang Pass
82: /
70:120°52′12″E
59:Philippines
947:Categories
934:2 February
910:5 February
881:2 February
863:References
854:Derks 2002
830:Smith 1993
818:Smith 1993
780:Smith 1993
768:Derks 2002
756:Smith 1993
744:Smith 1993
732:Smith 1993
720:Smith 1993
687:Luzon 2020
672:Smith 1993
657:Smith 1993
627:Burma Road
594:The Battle
457:Leyte Gulf
367:Corregidor
347:Cabanatuan
196:825 killed
67:16°10′26″N
803:10 August
645:Footnotes
557:With the
518:from the
463:Ormoc Bay
383:Los Baños
313:Cebu City
500:Filipino
446:incident
412:Bukidnon
405:Mindanao
393:Wawa Dam
178:Strength
55:Location
553:Prelude
510:during
451:Formosa
388:Palawan
329:Mindoro
284:Visayas
618:banzai
373:Baguio
360:Manila
353:Bataan
307:Negros
302:Simara
132:
118:
95:Result
924:(PDF)
568:AH 26
425:Davao
321:Luzon
297:Panay
291:Leyte
186:8,750
135:Japan
936:2022
912:2022
883:2022
805:2016
494:The
47:Date
603:.
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902:.
873:.
679:^
664:^
502::
938:.
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885:.
807:.
689:.
498:(
262:e
255:t
248:v
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
