Battle of Visayas
U.S. and Filipino guerrillas liberated the central Visayas from Japan.
The Battle of Visayas (Filipino: Labanan sa Visayas; Visayan languages: Gubat sa Kabisay-an) was a series of actions designated Operations Victor I and II, fought by U.S. forces and Filipino guerrillas against the Japanese from 18 March to 15 August 1945. It was part of the campaign for the liberation of the Philippines during World War II, aimed at completing the recapture of the central portions south of the archipelago and securing them from remaining Japanese forces.
Quick Facts
- Part of
- the Pacific theater of World War II
- Date
- 18 March – 15 August 1945
- Location
- Visayas region, Philippines
- Result
- Allied victory
Facts from the source article.
Background
General Douglas MacArthur ordered the capture of Panay, Negros, Cebu, and Bohol within two weeks of directing the seizure of Palawan and the Zamboanga peninsula. Filipino guerrillas controlled most of the countryside on these islands, while roughly thirty thousand Japanese troops held key coastal towns, including Cebu City and Iloilo City. MacArthur wanted these port cities as staging points for the large number of troops scheduled for the invasion of the Japanese mainland, as the Joint Chiefs of Staff had directed him to prepare for twenty-two divisions by November 1945 and eleven more by February 1946.
Battle
The region was divided into two operations; VICTOR I covered Panay and northwestern Negros. Lieutenant General Robert L. Eichelberger assigned the 40th Infantry Division under Major General Rapp Brush, with the 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team in reserve. On 18 March 1945, after aerial bombardment, the 185th Infantry Regiment landed unopposed at Tigbauan district on Panay, where a 23,000-strong guerrilla force under Colonel Macario Peralta had secured most of the island. The regiment seized airfields at Barrio Tiring, Cabatuan, and Mandurriao district. Japanese forces holed up in Iloilo City were swept out in two days; mopping up by guerrillas and the 2nd Battalion, 160th Infantry continued, and about 1,500 Japanese surrendered by war's end. Guimaras and Inampulagan islands were taken without opposition on 20 and 21 March. On 29 March, a reinforced platoon from Company F, 185th Infantry under First Lieutenant Aaron H. Hanson slipped ashore ahead of main landings near Bacolod and seized the 650-foot steel truss Bago River bridge, surprising the Japanese guards and holding it for hours until reinforcements arrived.
Aftermath
The U.S. Eighth Army's campaign in the Visayas saw far fewer casualties than the Japanese. On Panay and northeastern Negros, the 40th Division lost 390 dead and 1,025 wounded, while the Japanese had 4,080 killed and another 3,300 lost to disease and starvation. On Cebu and Bohol, the Americal Division suffered 417 dead and 1,700 wounded, against Japanese losses of 5,750 killed and 500 wounded. Although some Japanese held out in the mountains, General Eichelberger’s forces cleared the entire region. General MacArthur called the campaign a model of rapid exploitation.
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