Chapter V: Section IV: The Final Phase4

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The last three months of 1944 marked the almost complete destruction of Japanese air power in the Philippines and the defeat of the enemy ground forces on Leyte. In January 1945 men and equipment began to arrive in the Pacific in ever increasing numbers. Sixth and Eighth Armies were fighting the Japanese in the Philippines, while the Tenth was being organized to be used later on Okinawa. The Navy and Air Forces were also expanding in number of men, ships, and planes.

[4] See Roy E. Appleman, James M. Burns, Russell A. Gugeler, and John Stevens, _Okinawa: The Last Battle_. Washington D.C. 1948, in the series _U.S. ARMY IN WORLD WAR II._

The next step in the reconquest of the Philippines was the battle for Luzon. Mindoro was seized before the invasion of Luzon was launched so that an Allied air base could be established to provide air support for the ground operations on Luzon. On 9 January 1945 U.S. troops landed on the beaches of Lingayen Gulf on the western side of Luzon. The landings were virtually unopposed and assault troops advanced rapidly inland until they came to rugged terrain and well-prepared Japanese defense. While part of the forces were left to hold a line facing north, the bulk of the troops turned south toward Manila, which was captured. Bataan Peninsula was cleared of enemy troops and Corregidor was seized. While the U.S. attack carried on to clear the southern portion of the island, another advance through the difficult mountainous terrain in the north got under way. This was the climax to the fighting on Luzon.

While the battle for Luzon was in progress, other U.S. troops were clearing the enemy pockets on Leyte and Samar and capturing the islands in the southern Philippines with a speed and thoroughness which showed the high degree of coordination developed by the ground, sea, and air forces.

By the time the fighting stopped on Luzon, U.S. troops were being redeployed from Europe to the Pacific, and in July the first contingent of service troops from the ETO arrived in Manila. In August the U.S. First Army established its command post on Luzon.

On 19 February 1945 Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands was assaulted by marines who, by 16 March, overcame the stubborn enemy resistance and secured the island for an advance air base from which the U.S. Air Forces could support the invasion of Japan. On 1 April the invasion of Okinawa in the Ryukyus began. This island, assaulted by Marine and Army troops, was the last in the island-hopping warfare--in fact the last of the battles before the fall of Japan itself. As on Iwo, the enemy had prepared elaborate defenses and fought fanatically in the unsuccessful attempt to prevent the U.S. forces from seizing the island. Because of its closeness to Japan, the enemy was able to attack Okinawa by air from its home bases and air superiority had not been gained by the Allies before the amphibious assault began. This period of fighting was marked by Japanese suicide attacks against Allied naval ships and the Navy sustained heavy losses, losses greater than in any other campaign during the war. On 21 June the island was declared secure and the next few days were spent mopping up enemy pockets. The fall of Okinawa and Iwo gave the Allies the air bases from which the almost daily aerial attacks on the principal industrial cities of Japan were to be launched, as well as emergency landing fields for crippled B-29’s returning to their more distant island bases from attacks on Japan.

PHILIPPINES

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

IWO JIMA

OKINAWA

JAPAN

KEISE ISLANDS

OKINAWA

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA

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The war against Japan: Pictorial recordChapter V: Section IV: The Final Phase4

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