Battle of Mindoro
Part of World War II, Pacific theater
Date December 13–16, 1944 Location Mindoro Island, Philippines Result American and Filipino victory
Belligerents
United States	Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
George M. Jones Roscoe B. Woodruff	Rikichi Tsukada
Strength
10,000 American troops	1,200 Japanese troops
Casualties and losses
18 killed and 81 wounded	~200 dead 15 captured 375 wounded

The Battle of Mindoro was a battle in World War II between forces of the United States and Japan, in Mindoro Island in the central Philippines, from 13-16 December 1944, during the Philippines campaign.

Troops of the United States Army, supported by the United States Navy and U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF), made an amphibious landing on Mindoro and defeated Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) forces there. There was no significant opposition from the Imperial Japanese Navy, nor from the Japanese Army and Navy Air Forces, except for kamikaze (suicide) attacks on American ships.

The Japanese force in Mindoro was not large, and was eliminated in three days. The Army was assisted in the campaign by guerrillas from the local Filipino population.

The U.S. captured Mindoro to establish airfields there, which would be in fighter range of Lingayen Gulf in northern Luzon Island, where the next major amphibious invasion of the Philippines was planned. Ground-based fighter cover was necessary for this operation. Mindoro could also serve as the advanced base for U.S. troops going to fight in Luzon.

Background[link]

For the invasion of Luzon, U.S forces needed air bases that were closer to the northern island than Leyte Island. Mindoro was the logical choice. Located not too far south of Luzon, and being about one-half the size of New Jersey, Mindoro is mostly covered by hills and mountains, with a few narrow plains along its seacoasts. Almost daily rains and high humidity, caused by clouds moving up from the south trapped by the high peaks made it a breeding ground for malaria and other tropical diseases. However, Japanese defenses on the island were minimal.

The airfields recently constructed at Leyte were deemed unreliable, so potential additional airfields in Mindoro appealed to General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, the commanding general of this theater of operations.

But taking Mindoro was a daunting task. The northeastern coast was best suited for amphibious landings, but was exposed to what was left of Japanese air power on Luzon, so this was ruled out. The town of San Jose on the southwest corner, though nearer to Mangarin Bay, Mindoro's best deepwater port, was the spot chosen by his planners.

The U.S. Sixth Army under Lieutenant General Walter Krueger was assigned to seize Mindoro. Krueger, in turn, gave the task to Major General Roscoe B. Woodruff's 24th Infantry Division, with the 19th Infantry and the separate 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team of Lieutenant Colonel George M. Jones to spearhead the assault.

The main threat to the amphibious assault vessels and supporting warships was land-based Japanese kamikaze planes. The Japanese had begun the deadly practice as a desperate measure during the final stages of the Battle of Leyte and widened its use by December 1944.

In early December, USAAF and USN airplanes attacked Japanese air bases to destroy potential kamikazes before they could attack. U.S. aviators claimed more than 700 planes destroyed on the ground.

On 13 December 1944, two days before the scheduled assault on the island, kamikazes struck at the Navy task force bringing the landing force. The light cruiser USS Nashville was hit by a kamikaze, killing over 130 men and wounding another 190. Brigadier General William C. Dunkel, the commander of the landing force, was among the injured. Other kamikaze attacks damaged two tank landing ships (LSTs, for Landing Ship, Tank) and disabled several other ships.

Battle[link]

On 15 December, the invasion of Mindoro began. The clear weather allowed the full use of American air and naval power, including six escort carriers, three battleships, six cruisers and many other support warships against light Japanese resistance. Because of inadequate airstrip facilities in Leyte, the 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team came ashore in Mangarin Bay with the landing force instead of jumping. Destroyers provided fire support for the troop landings and anti-aircraft protection for the ships in the transport area. Two LSTs struck by kamikazes were abandoned and sank.

In one heroic action, the destroyer USS Moale (DD-693), under the command of Commander Walter M. Foster, went alongside the burning LST-738 (which was loaded with aviation fuel and ordnance) to rescue crewmembers. Several explosions aboard LST-738 caused damage to Moale as she pulled away. Some pieces of shrapnel were two feet square and they put four holes in Moale's hull. Gunner's Mate Ed Marsh reported that a one-gallon jar of vaseline from the LST's cargo splattered on one barrel of his twin 40 mm Bofors AA gun, providing unwelcome lubrication. Moale suffered one casualty and thirteen wounded. In addition, Moale also rescued 88 survivors.

There were 1,000 defending Japanese soldiers stationed on Mindoro. Another 200 survivors from ships sunk off Mindoro en route to Leyte were also present. The defenders were outnumbered and outgunned. Some 300  Japanese manning an air raid warning station at the island's northern end put up a stiff fight against a company of the 503rd, but except for mopping up, the island was secure within 48 hours.

Aftermath[link]

The defending Japanese forces on Mindoro suffered some 200 killed and 375 wounded. The survivors fled into the jungles, where they lurked till the end of the war. The 24th Infantry Division lost 18 men and had 81 wounded.

By the end of the first day, Army engineers were at work preparing airfields. Two were completed in thirteen days. These airfields allowed U.S. aircraft to provide direct support for the Luzon invasion. The Mindoro airfields were also used by long-range bombers, especially USAAF B-24 Liberators, to attack Japanese shipping from Formosa to Luzon. These bombers also operated over the South China Sea, and combined with the Navy to blockade shipping between Japan and south-east Asia.

See also[link]

• Military History of the Philippines
• Military History of the United States
• Military History of Japan
• History of the Philippines

References[link]

• Sandler, S. World War II in the Pacific: An Encyclopedia (Military History of the United States) (2000) Routledge ISBN 0-8153-1883-9

Further reading[link]

• Andrade, Dale. Luzon. The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II. United States Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 72-28. http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/luzon/72-28.htm. 

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010)

Mindoro

Map of Mindoro
Mindoro (Philippines)
Geography
Location	South East Asia
Archipelago	Philippine islands
Major islands	Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Palawan
Area	10,572 km2 (4,081.9 sq mi)
Area rank	74th
Highest elevation	2,582 m (8,471 ft)
Highest point	Halcon
Country
Philippines
Province	Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro
Largest city	Calapan (pop. 105,910)
Demographics
Population	1,062,000 (as of 2000)
Density	100.5 /km2 (260.3 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Mangyan, Tagalog

Mindoro (Tagalog pronunciation: [mɪnˈdoɾo]) is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.^[1]

History[link]

In past times, it has been called Ma-i or Mait by ancient Chinese traders and, by Spaniards, as Mina de Oro (meaning "gold mine") from where the island got its current name. The island was once a single province from 1920 to 1950 when it was divided into its two present-day provinces, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro.

According to the late historian William Henry Scott,^[2] an entry in the official history of the Sung Dynasty for the year 972 mentions Ma-i as a trading partner of China. Other Chinese records referring to Ma-i or Mindoro appear in the years that follow.

Prehispanic Source Materials enumerates the products that Mindoro traders exchanged with the Chinese as "beeswax, cotton, true pearls, tortoise shell, medicinal betelnuts and yu-ta [jute?] cloth" for Chinese porcelain, trade gold, iron pots, lead, colored glass beads and iron needles.

Economy[link]

Beach in Northern Mindoro

The economy of Mindoro is largely based on agriculture. Products consist of a wide variety of fruits, such as citrus, bananas, lanzones, rambutan, and coconuts, such cereals as rice and maize, sugar cane, peanuts, fish (catfish, milkfish, tilapia), livestock, and poultry. Logging and the mining of marble and copper also thrive.

Tourism is a lucrative business as well, with locations such as Apo Reef National Park, Lubang Island, Puerto Galera, Sabang Beach, and Mount Halcon. Puerto Galera's beaches are the island's most known tourist attraction and are widely visited.

Culture[link]

The principal language in Mindoro is Tagalog, although in some parts it has been greatly influenced by the native Visayan and Mangyan languages. Mainstream Filipino and Taglish are, indeed, present in and around such areas as Puerto Galera, Pinamalayan, and Calapan City. Visayan and Mangyan languages, too, are spoken on the island, as are Ilokano and some foreign languages — e.g., English, Fukien, and, to a much lesser extent, Spanish.

The common religions on the island fall under Christianity. The religion of the indigenous Mangyan population is animism. Though they are into animism as a religion, the Catholic Church in some of Mindoro's parts is also active.

Other information[link]

Mindoro is also home to the Tamaraw or Mindoro dwarf buffalo (Bubalus mindorensis), which is endemic to the island. The Tamaraw is a bovine related to the water buffalo and is an endangered species.

During World War II, Mindoro Island was where Bill Frederick of the U.S. 17th Army Air Corps piloted a B-25; he and his crew fought a Japanese naval force preparing to attack the joint U.S. and Philippine Commonwealth armed forces there. On the night of December 26, 1944, flying through intense anti-aircraft fire, Frederick's aircraft, the Sticky Kitty, was credited with sinking a lead Japanese Cruiser. The warplane, one of only eight aircraft available to defend the island's garrison and installation, flew repeated sorties during the night, resulting in a successful defense of the island.^[3]

The local Filipino troops and officers under the 4th, 5th, 41st, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 46th, and 47th Infantry Divisions of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and 4th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary were helping the military conduct special operations in the island province of Mindoro from December 1944 to August 1945. They also helped local Mindoro guerrilla fighters and the U.S. and Australian troops defeat the Japanese Imperial forces during the Battle of Mindoro (December 13-16, 1944) and during 1945 until World War II ended.

The Second Battle of Mindoro (January to August 1945) during the Second World War also involved the Philippine Commonwealth and Allied military forces, the local Filipino soldiers of the 4th, 5th, 41st, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 46th and 47th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and 4th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary, as well as the local guerrilla resistance fighters and the U.S. and Australian troops. Capturing the islands of Mindoro included the province of Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro in the defeat of the Japanese Imperial forces. The casualties of the second battle of Mindoro in 1945 included 34,000+ Filipino troops and local recognized guerrillas killed and wounded in action, 27,000+ American and Australian troops killed and wounded in action, and over 253,000+ Japanese troops killed, wounded and captured in action.

Bibliography[link]

• C.Michael Hogan. 2011. Sulu Sea. Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. P.Saundry & C.J.Cleveland. Washington DC

References[link]

External links[link]

• "Map of Mindoro" showing towns and major mountain tops
• Mindorenyos - Connecting Mindoro People
• Online Community for Mindorenyos

Videos[link]

• Born to be Wild: Mindoro, 19 June 2008

Coordinates: 12°55′49″N 121°05′41″E / 12.93028°N 121.09472°E / 12.93028; 121.09472