Black Beach Slaughter PTO (id:#63696)

(Corregidor: The Rock ID: CtR-9)   [next]   [previous]

Corregidor Island, San Jose docks area 1945-02-17 (7 others)

Overview:

After 3rd Battalion had completed jumping onto Topside in the morning, Colonel Jones made a quick head count. Of the nearly one thousand men who jumped, fourteen percent were killed or were severely injured upon landing. Of the seven hundred and fifty able bodied men who could still fight, nearly all suffered some sort of injury. The 2nd Battalion, due to land on Topside within ninety minutes, was already in flight towards Corregidor. To reduce needless jump injuries, Colonel Jones suggested to General Hall that Major Pug Woods' 1st Battalion should arrive on D+1 by boats instead of being para-dropped. General Hall readily agreed to the plan. On 17 February, while the LCVP's were approaching the shore, they came under sporadic but accurate gunfire from Japanese positions along the cliffs facing the small cove. One rocket gunship LCM received four direct hits from a Japanese 150mm gun on shore, but did not sink. It continued to fire its rockets and 40mm guns at Japanese positions on the cliffs. One mortar round landed squarely inside one of the landing craft causing numerous casualties. Several of the men leaped over the sides of their landing craft into neck-deep water to escape further losses. When the ramps dropped on the landing craft, the paratroopers stormed ashore seeking cover in the ruins of San Jose.

Defender: Japanese (IJN, Manila Bay Entrance Force)  

Errata (source)