Reinforcing the Philippines

On January 28, 1945, Americal Division units began arriving on the island of Leyte, in the Philippine Islands. For the previous 4 months, a furious battle had been raging on land, sea, and air. Attention was now focused elsewhere, on the Allied thrust towards Manila, on the island of Luzon. According to intelligence reports, Leyte was relatively secure, and the units of the Americal were needed only to "mop up" the few remaining Japanese forces on the island. The map at right shows landing and movement orders for the Americal Division on the island. They landed on the eastern coast, near Tacloban, and then moved towards the west coast, into the Ormoc Valley.

Unexpectedly Ferocious Resistance

It soon became painfully clear that the Japanese were still present on Leyte, and in large numbers. By February, Company G and other units of the Americal were engaged in large scale operations, and meeting with stiff resistance. At right, units of the Americal move through a village during these operations.

The Fighting Escalates

By the end of February, Americal units were dispersed all over the western peninsula of Leyte, hunting Japanese units. They often acted on intelligence reports from locals, which more often than not proved to be exaggerations. The map at right shows Americal positions on Leyte around February 24, 1945.

A Heavy Day of Combat

On March 4-5, the 182nd encountered particularly stiff resistance in the hills of Leyte. This daily report indicates that Company G claimed 55 Japanese soldiers killed during the fighting. They also reported that the Japanese were using American ammunition. The 182nd Infantry reported 593 Japanese killed since the end of January as of this report.

Note: Click on the report to view following pages.

The Lost Compass

During the fighting March 5, Ken Lachmann of Company G was asked to perform a dangerous solo mission, laying communication wire and scouting a possible route of retreat. Before departing, the company's First Sergeant, Ed Monahan, asked if Lachmann had a compass and pocket knife for the mission. Lachmann did not, so Monahan lent him his own compass and knife. In the pitched battle that soon flared up, Lachmann was shot through the arm, and evacuated. He spoke briefly with Monahan before being evacuated, but did not remember to return the compass and knife. The two men never saw each other again or spoke after the war. But Lachmann carefully held on to the two borrowed items, and returned them to the Monahan family in 2004.

Japanese Pillbox

An artistic sketch of a Japanese pillbox, drawn by a soldier of the 182nd Infantry. This series of sketches details the front, back, and inside of this defensive position. The pillbox was destroyed March 9, 1945, in the final week of Americal operations on Leyte. The division had spent less than 2 months on the island, but claimed to have killed 3500 Japanese soldiers. Many involved. including Eighth Army commanding officer General Robert Eichelberger, resented the use of the term "mop-up" for this bloody operation.

Note: Click on the drawing to view additional sketches.