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Post by batteryboy on May 11, 2009 17:43:48 GMT 8
Just a few days ago, I was down at EXO's place and we have been discussing about the actions during the 503rd drop on Feb 16, '45. One of the topics that I brought up was the death of Capt. Akira Itagaki (Japanese commander at Corregidor). He was known to have been near the location at Geary Point observing the landings and he was caught by bunch of troopers who ambushed his group. Can anyone shed light on how this happened and from what platoon did the troopers belonged too?
Thanks in advance.
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Post by mapmaster on Nov 29, 2009 11:41:47 GMT 8
Hi Batteryboy I'm no expert on this subject, but wouldn't mind knowing who and why myself. I think there are a number of stories that relate to the death of Captain Itagaki. One is the story you have outlined above. However, I have seen a few variations of the same story including that the Paratroopers were part of a group that were blown short of Landing Field B and landed near the Japanese party. Another variation was suggests the Paratroopers were moving to an assembly area when they came across the Japanese party. US Army reports and studies give the position of the US Paratroopers' contact with the Japanese part as directly north of Geary Point and on top of the cliff near Battery Crockett. The time of the encounter has been given as 0930. These reports were completed by senior officers not present on Corregidor. Col. Jones does not mention the incident in his report dated March 1945. Most accounts give the reason for Captain Itagaki being near Geary Point as observing the amphibious landing craft heading for San Jose Bay. Apparently, the paratrooper caught the party unaware that a Parachute Operation as underway. If the Paratroopers were patrolling the south eastern edge of Landing Field B, they may have been from D Company, which is known to have been near that area until 1500. If the Paratroopers were some of those blown short of Landing Field B, they may have come from Company D or I. But, what I've seen in documents doesn't entirely match - timing of operations may not have Captain Itagaki in the open. On the morning of 16th February 1945 the sequence of operations was: - 24 B-24s bombed Corregidor until 0759
- From 0800 until 0829, 11 B-25s bombed and strafed AAA and strong points. At the same time 31 A-20s bombed and strafed defense positions on Corregidor and Caballo Island
- At 0830 the lead C-47 made a pass over the drop zone
- At 0830 the amphibious assault team in 35 Army LCMs left Mariveles
- At 0833 the 503d PRCT started parachuting onto Landing Field A and B
- 0930 Naval Units commenced the preinvasion bombardment of the amphibious landing area
- 0932 the last run over the landing fields by C-47s was completed
- 1028 the amphibious landing commenced on Black Beach
Well what does this all mean? The timing suggests Captain Itagaki was killed at the commencement of the Naval bombardment of San Jose. However, it is unlikely that he was surprised by US Paratroopers without knowing the 503d PRCT had already commenced landing on Corregidor 1 1/2 hours previously. It is also unlikely that he was killed observing the amphibious landing. Apparently, Captain Itagaki's command post/s was on Topside, but clear of the Landing Fields. Perhaps he was absent from Topside and his party were caught the open by D or I Company. But why was he absent from his command post? Observing the amphibious landing preparations doesn't fit because of the timing. We only know for sure that he was killed on 16th February. If not by paratroopers then perhaps he was killed during the bombing of Topside. The bombing of Corregidor had commenced on 23rd January with 3,128 tons of bombs dropped by the morning of 16th February. Such a weight of ordnance, with a lot direct at Topside, it is a possibility as well. Regards mapmaster
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Post by EXO on Nov 29, 2009 18:05:41 GMT 8
The following are from my notes with Bill Calhoun: Several 3rd Battalion men had landed near Battery Crockett, which was located between “B” Field and the cliffs at the sea. Heading back toward their assembly area, they ran into a party of Japanese and killed all of them except one. The one turned out to be the Korean orderly. Capt Itagaki and his staff were killed. The orderly surrendered and revealed this information. I understand, but cannot at this instant pin down my authority, that Itagaki had gone to Topside as the result of the reports of a fleet of invasion craft, which had been observed forming up and coming from Mariveles. (The previous night, he had supervised a number of shinyo tai boats being launched to attack shipping in Mariveles Harbor.) He ad a number of other boats available to be used that morning, though in retrospect it may well have been that no order was ever given that they be launched. He had been warned of the possibility of a paratroop assault and had replied to his superiors that he considered such a thing impossible. (The Japanese for "impossible" is "of greatest difficulty.") Hence, his defenses were awaiting an invasion fleet, as was he, and he was there to give the final orders. Given that the bombing continued on the island well through the first two hours of the paratroop drop, in all likelihood he was caught at his observation point out away from his command bunker. The number of aircraft passing over the island at any one time dropping troops was small, and it was a possibility that their noise (and importance) was masked by all the other aircraft bombing and strafing. The noise of the invasion fleet too would have been considerable as it headed across from Mariveles.
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Post by mapmaster on Nov 29, 2009 20:47:07 GMT 8
Hi EXO
All this makes sense. What I am thinking though is that Captain Itagaki may not have been observing the incoming LCMs, but instead had gone to where he could view the Naval Bombardment units forming up to bombard the amphibious landing beach. The bombardment started at 0930, therefore the ships could have been visible heading towards San Jose and Caballo Bays ,well before this time.
The aerial bombing of Topside had ceased at 0830 and Captain Itagaki may have moved towards Geary Point cliffs at that time, perhaps unaware (as you say) that the aircraft noise overhead was the 503d PRCT arriving over the Landing Fields.
There was a track leading from Battery Crockett and towards Geary Point. The track leads to Geary Road, which is quite close to the cliff above the ocean. It may have been somewhere along this road that he was killed.
Reports have the LCMs, 35 in all, some carrying M4 Tanks, as leaving Mariveles at 0830. The route they took to Black Beach was on a bearing of 135 degrees from Mariveles; then 180 degrees (due south) passed the western side of Monja Island; then 90 degrees (east); with the final run in on a bearing of 0 degree (north).
This route is approximately 12 miles or 10 nautical miles. The maximum speed of a LCM is 9 knots, but with a M4 Tank, the speed drops to about 6 knots. The group of LCMs would have been shepherded together at the speed of the slower LCMs and not strung out across the entrance to Manila Bay.
If all this detail is correct, the LCMs would have still been on the southerly leg of their route past Monja and possibly not visible from the southern cliffs of Corregidor until after 0930. By then, the first airborne landing was complete and Captain Itagaki had been killed.
Regards
mapmaster
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Post by EXO on Nov 29, 2009 21:29:09 GMT 8
Your message prompted me to have a look for my source, who in this instance turns out to be Gerry Devlin, whose book Back To Corregidor is something I do recommend. Unfortunately, Gerry doesn't say whose statement he relies on for the following: Ironically, one of the first defenders to die in the attack was Captain Itagaki himself, the unbeliever. For the past two days, Itagaki had been receiving reports from clandestine Japanese radio stations operating on Battaan (sic) informing him that the americans were assembling landing craft in the vicinity of Mariveles, a small fishing village located near the southern tip of the peninsula. At 8:30 on the morning of D day, Itagaki left his command bunker on Topside and began hurrying with his aide and a squad of marine security guards to an observation post overlooking the Bataan Peninsula to see for himself just what the Americans were up to. Itagaki was so desperately concerned about the threat of an amphibious attack on his island fortress that he failed to hear the leading paratroop airplanes that were then closing in behind him from the south. Suddenly, Itagaki's attention was rudely diverted as a platoon of misdropped paratroopers began landing all about him and his party. The Japanese fired first, killing two of the Americans. But the remainder of the American platoon was able to quickly assemble behind a small knoll and launch a vigorous attack, killing Itagaki, all of his security guards, and wounding his aide.
Now, I wouldn't have used 'platoon' as a wayward stick was probably just eight men at that point. I haven't heard of an entire stick being dropped away from the landing zones, much less several of them, so I am guessing there were just a few 3d Bn men from some of the very early sticks who may have fallen astray. The headwinds were blowing quite beyond what was 'textbook acceptable' even for combat jumps, and because the first passes over the island were seen to be rather too high, they would soon be dropped a least another 100 ft, and the number of men in the stick reduced. I have the names of the 3d Bn men killed that day, but I cannot say which of them were the two KIA's that Devlin refers to. Incidentally, 2nd Bn had its men jumpmastered mostly by troopers who had actually done a one-month jumpmaster course, rather than just by stick-leaders, and consequently the proportion of men placed on the landing zone without injury was higher for the 2nd Bn than the 3d. I think that we are truly into the "fog of war" here.
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Post by The Phantom on Nov 29, 2009 21:44:10 GMT 8
From "CORREGIDOR THE SAGA OF A FORTRESS" by The Belote brothers.
" On their return to Manila Bay the next morning, February 16th, D day for Corregidor, Berkley's task force sank 4 stalled "Shinyo" boats and thanked their lucky stars, no ship had hit any of the hundred previously cut loose mines found drifting aimlessly about.
At 7:15 Berkley began shooting, this time concentrating on Topside as well as Endo's tunnels. He fired until 7:50, when the first flight of B-24's arrived for the pre-invasion bombing. The big planes dropped forty 240-pound fragmentation bombs apiece on Topside, a tactic to encourage the Japanese to scurry for their caves. Close behind came eleven B25's and thirty-one A-20's sweeping in low, firing .50 caliber machine guns and dropping deadly 260 pound"parademo" bombs, demolition bombs with parachutes attached to give the planes time to get clear. The intent was to stun any Japanese who had ducked into foxholes in the exposed areas. The "Grim Reapers" then swung back to strafe the Topside cliffs again and again for the next hour to keep the Japanese away from the tunnel mouths and blind them to what was happening on Topside." The first C-47's passed over Topside at 8:33 AM and 8 tiny specks quickly spilled from it.
" In the drop zones and about Topside Barracks the defenders were scattered in 2 and 3's without a semblance of an organized defense. The airdrop had taken Itagaki completely by surprise. A prisoner later revealed that Tokyo had warned the Captain to guard against an airborne landing, but that he had completely discounted this possibility and instead had disposed over half his men to cover James Cheney, and Ramsey ravines and the North slopes of Malinta Hill on the assumption that attack would come by sea. Itagaki own survey of Topside had convinced him that paratroopers could not land there.
This proved fatal to him. Itagaki had noticed the infantrymen of the 34th Infantry's 3rd Battalion boarding landing barges in Mariveles Harbor at about 8:00 A.M. and, anticipating their early departure for Corregidor, had rushed to an observation point near Breakwater Point. So intensely did he watch the barges that he failed to notice the C-47's approaching and did not alert his command to the impending airdrop. A few minutes later some twenty-five to thirty of the troopers, blown 300 yards from the Golf Course plummeted about his position. The Japanese began firing, but the aggressive 'chutists formed up, laid down covering fire, and attacked the O.P., killing Itagaki and 8 of his men with grenades. Thus at the outset of the battle, the Japanese had lost their Commander, their "communications" Central in the old bombproof telephone exchange on Topside, and their ability to organize a an immediate counterattack."
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Post by mapmaster on Nov 29, 2009 21:47:36 GMT 8
Hi
"Fog of War" most definitely! The timing then fits well with Gerry Devlin's account and the purpose of Captain Itagaki looking towards Mariveles fits.
The Belote brothers account timing doesn't appear correct and especially Captain Itagaki intent on the landing craft viewed from Breakwater Point doesn't fit. For Captain Itagaki to be looking towards Mariveles Harbor, he would have been on the north side of Corregidor and not overlooking Geary or Breakwater Points on the southern side of the island.
Regards
mapmaster
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Post by The Phantom on Nov 29, 2009 22:27:54 GMT 8
More to chew on............
From "CORREGIDOR - THE ROCK FORCE ASSAULT" By Lt Gen. E.M Flanagan Jr.
" Because of the strong wind, some 25 men of I Company , targeted to land on the Golf Course, drifted about 300 yards southeast of the D.Z. over the cliff near Breakwater Point and landed in some scrub- covered hillocks 200 ft or so above the waters edge. They quickly got out of their chutes, assembled, and started to move along a trail that led to Topside. At a turn in the trail the lead man of the I Company group saw about 8 or 9 Japanese standing near the trail, starring intently to the South over Geary Point. The lead man immediately waved his arms, quietly motioned the men behind him to deploy.They started shooting and throwing grenades immediately at the startled Japanese., who scattered but returned the fire. But the Japanese fire was to little to late. In short order most of the Japanese were killed. One I Company man was injured. But with almost unbelievable good fortune, one of the dead Japanese was Captain Itagaki. One who survived the attack and was captured was Itagaki"s aide.
Captain Itagaki and his staff were at an observation post., an outcropping on the cliff well below the level of Topside, to watch the progress of Col. Postlethwait's 3/34 combat team around Geary Point. One of Itagaki's officers on the north side of Corregidor had seen the 3/34 load up in the landing craft in Mariveles at about 8:00 that morning. He alerted Itagaki, who then moved out to the Breakwater Point observation post from his Command post in Malinta Tunnel.
Coupled with the Immediate loss of the overall commander of the Japanese forces on the island, was the capture of the communications center on Topside in the old Bomb Proof Telephone Exchange , by some of Erickson's men who had landed near the center. All of the Japanese wire communications from the tail of the island, from Malinta Tunnel, from the defensive positions in the ravines, and on the beaches all around the island fed into the center. But none of the outlying positions was wired laterally.
Therefore, with the the capture and destruction of the center, the various elements of the defense could not communicate with each other.
These two events early in the battle, effectively stole from the Japanese, so reliant on centralized control and authority, their ability to mount coordinated attacks, or to defend their positions with any overall supervision and coordination."
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Post by The Phantom on Nov 29, 2009 22:38:58 GMT 8
These 2 accounts have lots in common as you can see, but the second from "The Rock Force Assault" answers how Itakagi happened to be at Breakwater Point O.P. A call to his headquarters from one of his Officers observing the loading at Mariveles.
Fog of war indeed Mapmaster, it's who you talk to, or who you CAN talk to that was there.
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Post by mapmaster on Nov 30, 2009 7:19:22 GMT 8
Hi
I hope there is no suggestion, on the part of the Belote Brothers, that one of Captain Itagaki's officer observers at Breakwater Point spotted the loading of LCMs in Mariveles Harbor?(!). Why go to Breakwater Point and not Rock Point, Morrison Point or Battery Point? Breakwater Point overlooks San Jose Bay and the Cavite shoreline. Topside, is 80 - 100 feet higher that the cliffs at Breakwater Point; Mariveles cannot be seen from Breakwater point.
So, 1/2 time summary; there is strong evidence that Captain Itagaki was killed at about 0930 on the morning of 16th February by a group of paratroopers from the 3d Battalion of the 503d PRCT. As for where and why, "the Fog of War" shrouds the debate.
Regards
mapmaster
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