Bataan battlefield visit

I visited Bataan in December and took pictures of the Mabatang battlefield site. These are some of the research materials I used to find the battlefield where the 57th Infantry Philippine Scouts defended against the Japanese attack at the start of the "First Battle of Bataan." Mabatang was the eastern anchor of the Abucay line.

Here is a page from the book the "Philippine Scouts" printed by the Philippine Scout Heritage Society.

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From the Book "Fall of the Philippines" by Louis Morton
The 57th Infantry, under the command of Col. George S. Clarke, was the first unit on the II Corps line to come under heavy infantry attack. Along the main line of resistance were the 1st Battalion on the right and the 3d Battalion on the left. The 2d Battalion was in reserve. On 11 January a reinforced company of the reserve battalion, which had established an outpost line south of the Calaguiman, came under attack by the advance elements of Colonel Imai's eastern column, the 2d Battalion, 141st Infantry. Soon the Japanese began to cross the Calaguiman, about one mile north of the main line of resistance. By 2300 the Japanese battalion had reached a cane field on the left front of the 57th's 3d Battalion, directly before Company I. This cane field, about 150 yards in front of the main line of resistance, had not been cleared on the assumption that artillery would effectively prevent its use by the enemy as a route of approach.
That night the Japanese in the cane field moved out against the main line of resistance. First came an artillery and mortar barrage, which was answered by concentrated fire from the 75-mm. guns of the 24th Field Artillery (PS). Hardly had the 24th opened fire than the Japanese infantry jumped off in a banzai attack across the moonlit patch of ground in front of Company I. Wave after wave of screaming Japanese troops hurled themselves forward in the face of intense fire. Men in the leading wave threw themselves on the barbed wire entanglements, forming human bridges over which succeeding waves could pass.
Despite the appalling effects of the pointblank fire from the 75's, the Japanese continued their ferocious attack until Company I, its commander seriously wounded and its executive officer killed, finally gave ground. Company K on the right immediately refused its flank and the battalion commander threw his reserve, Company L, into the fight. When this force failed to halt the Japanese, Colonel Clarke committed a company of the reserve battalion and the Japanese attack stalled. At the approach of dawn, the Scouts began a counterattack which took them almost to the original line. When the action was broken off on the morning of the 12th, there were an estimated 200 to 300 dead Japanese on the field of battle.
During the night a number of Japanese had infiltrated into the 3d Battalion area, on the left of the regimental line. The 57th Infantry spent most of the next day routing out the infiltrators, man by man, in hand-to-hand combat. After a number of Scouts had been killed, a more efficient scheme for the elimination of the infiltrated Japanese was devised. Sniper parties consisting of riflemen assisted by demolition engineers were formed and these began to comb the 3d Battalion area systematically. By the end of the day most of the Japanese had been found and killed. It was as a result of his action as the leader of one of these sniper parties that 2d Lt. Alexander R. Nininger, Jr., was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
His was the first of World War II, although Calugas received his award for heroism in the earlier fight at Layac Junction.
(ommitted text)
On the 12th, as the Japanese moved into position for the attack, all units on the II Corps line found themselves under increasingly heavy pressure. On the right, in front of the 57th Infantry, the Japanese succeeded in establishing themselves again on the south bank of the Calaguiman; in the center they pushed back the outpost line before the 43d Infantry.15 It was on the left of the corps line that the Japanese made their most important gains on 12 January, when they tore a gap in the 51st Infantry sector. A counterattack by a reserve battalion regained some of the lost ground but at a heavy cost. By nightfall it was evident that the Japanese, thwarted in their advance on the east, were shifting their effort westward.
The threat to the eastern anchor of the line was still too serious to be ignored. Though the 57th Infantry had beaten back all attempts by the 2d Battalion, 141st Infantry, to pierce the main line of resistance, it was still hard pressed on the left and was beginning to feel pressure on its right. Late on the evening of the 12th, therefore, General Parker released the two-battalion 21st Infantry (PA) from corps reserve and gave it to Colonel Clarke. With these fresh troops Clarke made plans for an attack the next morning with the 21st Infantry's 2d Battalion and the same numbered battalion of the 57th. That night the 2d Battalion, 21st Infantry, took over the left of the line and the 3d Battalion went into reserve to free the 2d Battalion, 57th Infantry, for the counterattack.
At 0600, 13 January, on the heels of a rolling artillery barrage, the 2d Battalion, 21st Infantry, jumped off in the counterattack. Its task was made more difficult by the fact that the Japanese had pushed a deep salient into the left of the 57th line during the night. The Filipinos advanced quickly and aggressively, pushing the Japanese back across the bloodied ground. It soon became evident to Capt. Philip A. Meier, the battalion's American instructor, that the gap was too large to be filled by his men alone and he moved east to tie in with the 1st Battalion, 57th Infantry, on his right, thus creating a hole between his men and the 41st Infantry on his left. Colonel Clarke, the 57th commander, thereupon ordered the 3d Battalion of the 21st Infantry from reserve to plug the gap. As the battalion began to move up at about 1300 it came under Japanese artillery fire and was pinned down. When the artillery fire ceased three hours later, the 2d Battalion, 57th Infantry, counterattacked and advanced to within 150 yards of the original line. By late afternoon the gap had been closed and the Japanese were left in possession of only a small salient on the left of the 57th Infantry line, a meager return indeed for four days of hard fighting.
The counterattack by the 21st Infantry on the morning of the 13th had forestalled the Japanese offensive in that sector, leading General Nara to complain that "the battle did not develop according to plan."
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This is the road heading east toward Mabatang. This is the road that ran parallel and behind the main line of resistance.

This is the view from the road looking north - panning from northweset to northeast. This is roughly the position of the 3rd battalion, 57th Infantry PS. The sugarcane field no long exists. The area is cultivated for rice, and there is a small housing development in what would have been the middle of the 3rd battalion positions.

This is from the middle of the field looking west toward Mt. Natib. The Japanese eventually broke through the lines around the slopes of Mt. Natib in the 51st Division area where the terrain was more rugged and porous.

This is from the middle of the field looking east beyond the housing development toward Mabatang town.

A pair of carabaos stand guard in the middle of the field. The carabao's head is the symbol on the patch of the Philippine Division.

Looking further north. Beyond the trees is the Calaguiman river.

This is Donnie Calara, the young man who the tills these fields. He didn't know the history of his land but told me that every once in a while they dig up spent cartridge casings and artillery round casings. I hope he doesn't dig up a dud round.

A carabao wallow. It explains what I thought were artillery shell craters looking at the satellite images.

Me, holding the maps and satellite images I used to locate the battlefield.

Walking back to the road. The fields are peaceful now and kids play on the hardened earth prior to rice planting.

This is looking south of the road. Somewhere here, Lt. Alexander Nininger earned his Medal of Honor hunting snipers, infiltrators and stragglers.

 

Good pics. My friends and I did something similar about three years ago in Bataan. Now I realize that I should have put the Day Tour of Corregidor post in this part of the forum. And to provide the pics.

 

Thanks Jun, here are more:

Here are more pictures from my trip to Bataan. These ones are from Mt. Samat. I feel this inscribed message at the shrine's marble wall is what this trip is all about and why I'm posting these photos for everyone to see:

A little background info about Mt. Samat for those who don't know. It was the focal point of the Pilar-Bagac line of the Bataan defense in 1942. The mountain dominated over the valley and the Philippine Army artillery threw a curtain of very effective barrage at the Japanese trying to breakthrough the defenses. It was also where the second Japanese offensive concentrated their efforts. Eventually the mountain was neutralized by carpet bombing and artillery barrages, severing communication lines, shrouding the mountain in smoke and burning the foliage with incendiary bombs.
On the way to Mt. Samat.


The shrine at the museum level.

A couple of the mural sculptures. There were more but I didn't photograph all of them.

A couple of plaques dedicated to the various defenders. These two are for the nurses and the 31st Infantry.

The unit dispositions of the defenders around the mountain. I think it's a little too rounded around the mountain. The line was straighter all the way to the east coast.

Here's the 155mm GPF that I see in all the other pictures of the shrine by other people. The piece turned out to be facing southeast, away from the battle. It would have been a nice touch if it had actually faced the defense line (north). But where it is situated is the best place for it to be at the shrine.


Here is one during its heydays.

The cross.

 

Base of the cross.

View looking due north. Across is Mt. Natib. This area was the responsibility of the PA 21st Division.

View looking northeast. I think the town of Pilar is on the upper left and Orion the upper right. Somewhere down here is Trail 2 where the sputtering Japanese offensive was stopped by the Philippine army's 41st and 21st divisions.

View looking northwest. This was the 41st division's defensive area.

The kind of jungle terrain some of the fighting took place in.

Looking west toward the I Corp area and the west coast where the Battle of the Points took place.

View of the museum area from the horizontal bar of the cross.

Looking south and southeast. This is where considerable fighting was done by the Philippine Scouts and the American 31st Infantry trying to stem the Japanese tide afer Mt. Samat fell to the Japanese.

Leaving Mt. Samat...the sun shining on this now peaceful land. One of the many Death March markers every few miles on the road.

Thank you to all the veterans. Our mission now is to remember.

 

Good of you to share those pics. From the pics, it seems to me that you took the NLEX route to get to Bataan. Next time, try taking the Macarthur Highway route. Admittedly, it's often a traffic jam today but in some nooks and cranny's there are markers where skirmishes and holding encounters occurred. Still, the food's good along the way.

 

I stumbled upon this article by accident on another website, i am very surprised that some one out there like you is still vry much interested and dedicated to the memories of the Bataan campaigne during WWII in my country. It is sad that many of todays generation in the Phils. no longer know or care about the events that happened there 60 years ago other than my self, i first heard stories about the battles of Bataan when i was just a kid from my Uncle George Agunos who himself is a Philippines Scout and survivor of the death march and O'Donnell. Ever since that afternoon when i was a kid while watching and tending the carabaos in his field in SanMarcelino zambales PI, upon hearing about his experiences, I go bit by the history bug and have always been fascinated and very interested in Bataan's history. I salute your enthusiasm and dedication to the men who served and fought there six decades ago, Bravo Zulu.

Sam

 

Very nice! Thanks for sharing!

 

Sam (HXP),
Thanks for the appreciation. I first posted this over a year ago. I'm actually planning a trip back to Bataan in the next week or so. This time, to Abucay Hacienda, the western end of the Abucay line. Yup... not many people even know what happened there.

Here's my bit of internet recon of the area trying to match and determine battle positions of the Philippine Scouts and the American 31st Infantry during the battle for the Abucay line.

The Abucay Hacienda area is now turning into a college town since the Colegio de San Juan de Letran opened a new campus there. The campus' main building can be seen from the satellite image and looks like it was under construction at the time when the Google satellite image was taken.
Here are some notes and material I came up with:

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31st Infantry counterattack/advance:

 

And here's some info from the Morton book as background info on Abucay Hacienda:
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General Parker had recognized the gravity of his position almost as soon as the 51st sector gave way. At about 1200 of the 16th he had ordered Brig. Gen. Maxon S. Lough to move his Philippine Division (less the 57th Infantry) to the left of the 41st Division and to counterattack the next morning with two regiments abreast. The 31st Infantry (US)-not to be confused with the 31st Infantry (PA), a regiment of the Philippine Army's 31st Division which was also in the II Corps sector at this time- moved out early in the afternoon and about 1900 reached its destination, approximately one mile east of Abucay Hacienda. The 45th Infantry (PS) left its bivouac area at 1700 of the 16th but lost its way and when the counterattack began the next morning it was about 5,000 yards to the southeast.

....
At 0815, 17 January, the American troops of the 31st Infantry, led by Col. Charles L. Steel, jumped off from the line of departure and advanced north along Trail 12, nearly a mile east of Abucay Hacienda. On the left was the 1st Battalion; next to it, astride and to the right of the trail, was the 2d Battalion. The 3d Battalion was in reserve. The 1st Battalion on the left met little opposition and was able to reach the Balantay River by nightfall. The 2d Battalion on the right was not so fortunate. About 400 yards from the line of departure it encountered enemy resistance and, despite numerous attempts to break through, was unable to advance farther that day. To fill the gap between the 1st and 2d Battalions, which had developed as a result of the unimpeded advance on the left, Company K from the reserve battalion was sent into the line.50

Plans for the next day's action were drawn up at a predawn conference held at the 41st Division command post. Present at the meeting were General Lough, Philippine Division commander; Col. Malcolm V. Fortier, 41st Division senior instructor; Col. Thomas W. Doyle, commander of the 45th Infantry, which had finally reached the scene; and Colonel Steel of the 31st. After some discussion it was agreed that a co-ordinated attack by all present would be made that morning. The 31st Infantry was to attack north, and the 45th, echeloned by battalion to the right rear, would deliver the main assault between the 31st and 43d to the right. The 43d Infantry was to maintain its position along the regimental reserve line. Artillery support for the advance would be furnished by 41st Division artillery.

As his 45th Infantry moved forward to the line of departure early on the morning of the 18th, Colonel Doyle learned that the 1st Battalion of the 31st was under strong enemy pressure and in danger of being outflanked. A hurried conference between Doyle and Steel produced a revised plan of operations. The 3d Battalion, 45th Infantry, was now to move to the left of the 31st Infantry, supporting the 1st Battalion of that regiment on the extreme left of the Abucay line. The rest of the units would continue the attack as planned.

The 45th Infantry attack began later than planned, but proceeded without major mishap. The regiment-less the 3d Battalion, which had lost its way and overshot the mark-advanced between the 31st and 43d but was unable to reach its objective, the Balantay River, before dark. The 3d Battalion, after a false start which found it "climbing the backs" of the 31st Infantry's left company, finally reached the river by 1630. There it settled down to hold a front of 1,400 yards, with no protection on its left except that offered by the jungle. The 1st Battalion, 31st Infantry, to its right was at the river line, but the 2d Battalion was still short of the river, as were the 45th Infantry elements to its right. Thus at the end of the second day of counterattack the Japanese still held the salient above Abucay Hacienda.

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On the 19th the American and Scout regiments resumed the attack. Starting just before noon the 31st Infantry hit the enemy salient only to be repulsed. Time after time the American infantrymen re-formed and attacked, but with no success. Efforts to bring tanks into the action failed when Parker's request for tank support was refused on the ground that the terrain was unsuitable for tank operations. Sending armor into such an engagement, wrote Weaver, would be "like sending an elephant to kill flies."51 On the west, the 3d Battalion, 45th Infantry, now attached to the 31st Infantry, was under fire throughout the day from troops of the 141st Infantry who had infiltrated into the American line. Only on the right did the Philippine Division make progress that day. There, elements of the 1st and 2d Battalions, 45th Infantry, were able to reach the Balantay early in the afternoon.

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On 20 and 21 January the Americans and the Scouts again made numerous unsuccessful efforts to restore the original line. The terrain, dense vegetation, and the lack of accurate information about the enemy prevented effective co-ordination and made contact between front-line units extremely difficult and sometimes impossible. During these two days the Japanese made their preparations for the scheduled offensive. Leaving enough men in position to contain the two Philippine Division regiments, Colonel Imai gradually shifted the bulk of his men westward to the extreme left of the II Corps line. At dawn of the 22d these men began crossing the Balantay northwest of Abucay Hacienda, to the left of the 3d Battalion, 45th Infantry. By 1000 enough men and heavy weapons had been put across to begin the attack.

The offensive opened shortly before noon with an air attack and an artillery barrage, directed mainly against the 1st Battalion, 31st Infantry, immediately adjacent to the 45th Infantry's 3d Battalion on the corps left flank. Colonel Imai then sent his men into the attack. Whether by chance or design, the weight of the infantry attack fell upon the same battalion that had suffered most from the artillery preparation, and the 1st Battalion, 31st Infantry, began to fall back slowly. Under the threat of envelopment from the east and west, the 3d Battalion, 45th Infantry, broke contact with the enemy and also moved back. The 3d Battalion, 31st, was also exposed by the withdrawal, for on its right was the enemy salient and on its left was the gap left by the 1st Battalion. It, too, began to fall back, refusing its left flank. By late afternoon the 31st Infantry and the attached 3d Battalion of the 45th had formed a new line east and south of Abucay Hacienda. The 2d Battalion remained in place about 1,000 yards east of the Hacienda, along the east-west road leading to that barrio. To its left was the 3d Battalion, 31st Infantry, then the 1st Battalion with its flank sharply refused and facing almost due west. The 3d Battalion, 45th Infantry, was in support about 100 yards behind the 31st Infantry line.

By nightfall on the 22d, the 31st and 45th Infantry were in approximately the same place they had been five days earlier when they began the counterattack. The physical condition of the men, however, had greatly deteriorated. They had been in action almost continuously during these five days and the strain of combat was clearly evident. The men on the front line had received little water or food and practically no hot meals during the battle. Many had been forced to rely on sugar cane to satisfy their thirst and hunger. All the men showed the effects of sleepless nights spent in beating off an enemy who preferred to attack during the hours of darkness. Casualties had been heavy, and the men were particularly bitter about Japanese air bombardment, against which the Americans had no weapon.

 

Thank you for sharing these pictures with us ! For sure this is one battlefield which I shan't be touring in person, so your photos are a great substitute....

 

Dear Sir, thank you very much for accepting and welcoming me aboard!!!Yes, just like having intense history for my country's military history specially that of Bataan and the Phil. insurection, I also have having very deep interest and respect for the United States's Civil war history. I first read about the US civil war when i came upon a short article about Picket's charge and Anteitam and other battles, this was when i was only 12 yrs old. My sister is just as enthusiastic with history as me, she actually named her youngest daughter Shiloh. So thank you once again and it is an extreme pleasure to meet fellow history buffs.

Sam

 

Yes, thank you very much also, i very much appreciate it!!! Yes i read about the battles at the hacienda from the web site of the All American 31st inf.regiment memorial website. Yes, i was informed that most of the hacienda land area are being converted into university campuses. I just wish that the students who will be walking those grounds will be aware that they are actually walking and stepping on hallowed sacred soil. I just wonder if there is or are any markers with bronze plaques that comemorate and will remind those who set foot there that those very grounds are sacred and have been fiercely contested and fought for back in Jan of 1942. I look forward to going back home to the Phils. very soon so I could eyeball and see the many sacred places in person. I am also a licensed radio amateur and since radio is my hobby, i am very interested to know about radio comm equipments (HF radio receivers and xmitters) in use both in bataan, corregidor and subic bay prior to 1941 and in 1942 during the Bataan campaigne. I am hoping others who may come across this might know and shed some light on this matter.

Thank you once again,
Sam

 

Well got back from the trip. This is the area that we visited. The place is big and we were there from 9:30 in the morning till about 4pm. We spent the morning checking out the general area where the second battalion 31st Infantry advanced through and defended. In the afternoon we looked at the area northwest of the college close to the Balantay river. This is the 1st Battalion 31st Infantry and the 3rd battalion 45th Infantry Philippine Scouts' area of defense.

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Pictures from the east-southeast area


Second battalion moved through this area

Looking south; the 31st infantry would have advanced coming from this direction towards you looking at the photo

The college can be seen from the east, looking west

A century old mango tree that would have been witness to the battle

The folks who showed us around their property which the second battalion 31st Infantry fought through


The spot between a tree's roots where he found two grenades. He threw them into the creek at the bottom of the ravine.

Other relics they showed us

Mortar shell fuses?

This is an old foxhole that they planted on. This one overlooks the ravine

Another one

Pointing to a foxhole or where he found relics... can't remember

 

The smaller ravine... probably the first one that the 31st infantry ran into


A carabao wallowing in the small creek at the bottom of the ravine; Be careful carabao... there are lots of grenades thrown away into that creek.


Opposite side of the ravine

Heading toward the second and bigger ravine parallel to the smaller one


However this spot in the ravine may not have been the area that the second battalion crossed


Ravine overlooking the Balantay river. This one is northwest of the college in the vicinity of the 3rd Battalion, 45th Infantry PS... or could have been in the 31st Infantry's 1st battalion area


An overgrown depression on the ground, don't know if it was an old foxhole but sure had a good field of fire overlooking sloping ground


More info:
The local who showed us around his property have found shells, grenades within his property. He usually gets rid of them by throwing them into the bottom of the ravine into the creek. The last one he found was a clip of garand ammo which he also threw down the creek. I asked him if he usually finds them when digging, he said no. It's usually plainly on the ground but overgrown and it's just a matter of chancing upon them. He also found a sword which he kept in his house in town.

A local woman said when they were growing up and about 12 years old, they'd find bayonets and grenades around. They get rid of them but kept the aluminum canteens to this day for whatever use they have for them. She also said that the area across from the Letran college, there were lots more relics and even bones and skulls.

 

The entrance to Bataan at Dinalupihan. Has a death march marker and the monument to the defenders who mistakenly depicted with what look like Japanese helmets


Heading south into Bataan


Heading up the Abucay Hacienda road


Halfway up the Abucay Hacienda road... is the Sibul Springs resort being renovated. There is a Japanese shrine to their war dead.


My battlefield exploring buddies, Karl on left and George on right


Me posing with the relics and wearing my 1917A1 as a fun prop


Heading back to Manila, going south on the North Luzon Expressway

 

And here's a video I shot and put together to keep the memory alive and honor those who fought there:

YouTube - abucay video2

 

Hlo Again,
Awesome, i just got done looking at the new pictures, Man, i just can't get enough!!! The pictures of the relics and the old foxhole, the former positions and areas where the 31st once advanced through is so touching, i could almost picture them in my mind as they pushed through the area, with fixed bayonets and full gear of the that era. If that century old mango tree could talk I would love to sit in it's shade all day and listen to it's stories and would never get bored, not even a bit!!! Outstanding photos and commentary, Job well done Man, Thank you once again for the tireless interests and dedication to help remember the events that occured there six decades ago, im very sure the men who gave a part of their youth in there are proud of you and very greatfull!!!

Hooorahhhh!!!!

 

Thanks, AnytimeAnyplace & hfxmitter! Super contributions!