LUZON

THE "ROLLER-COASTER" ROAD TOWARD KAPINTALAN

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On 12 March the 2d battalion, minus E Company and G Company, had moved northeast from Carranglan and occupied the high ground overlooking the Old Spanish Trail. Battalion activities consisted of routine patrolling. Several small enemy infiltration attempts were repulsed.

On 16 March E Company returned to Carranglan to take over security of the town and the 64^th Field Artillery Battalion. On the same date, the Battalion was alerted for possible action in the Tarlac area Due to the alert status, the battalion was limited to routine patrolling close to the base camp.

Division Field Order No. 17, dated 15 March, had assigned the 35^th Infantry the mission of securing the high ground to the east of the Balete Pass, and of protecting a bulldozer road to be constructed by the Engineers along the route of advance.

The 1^st Battalion was assigned to protect the bulldozer road in its initial stages, and on the 15^th C Company moved out to provide security for Company B of the 65^th Engineers. On the 16^th construction began, with C Company advancing ahead and patrolling far to the front.

B Company protected the rear of the engineer group, and patrolled on both sides of the road. The road was swept from beginning to end each day to clear it of mines laid by the Japs the night before.

On 19-20 March the 2d Battalion, less E Company, moved from the vicinity of the Old Spanish Trail to the bulldozer road east of Putlan. E Company moved from Carranglan the same day and joined the Battalion. From the 21^st to 26^th March they maintained guard on the bulldozer road being constructed behind the advance of the 1^st Battalion. During this period the enemy made several attempts to destroy the bulldozers, using demolitions. Two dozers were damaged.

We were moving through unmapped territory. The sheet supposedly covering the area was blank except for one terrain feature., the Barak River, which was shown in the wrong place. Intelligence reports were incomplete. It was certain that an enemy force of at least a battalion was deployed east of Highway #5, near Kapintalan. But how many more of the enemy were there in the sector, and where they were, was very uncertain indeed.

Meanwhile, at the head of the road, the 1^st Battalion began to run into opposition. By the 19^th, they had advanced some 7000 yards to the north. On the afternoon of the 20^th, both A and C Companies encountered enemy riflemen, and a fire fight ensued, in which C Company lost one man killed.

The riflemen withdrew, and our advance was continued. On the 21^st the situation continued to develop. At 1030 the Japs were contacted again, this time around armed with knee mortars, from which we suffered three casualties. The enemy was forced to retreat, and the advance continued.

By the night of the 21^st, we were within striking distance of our objective, which was a very steep and wooded ridge.

At 0900 on the 22^nd, B Company moved through C Company and continued the advance toward the objective. Shortly after, they ran into an enemy block consisting of two machine guns supported by a platoon of riflemen.

The company help up and called for mortar and artillery fire on the enemy. Their increasingly offensive attitude indicated that they were being reinforced from the north. During the afternoon, the Japs attempted a flanking movement, but B Company set an ambush for them, and after suffering several casualties, the flanking party withdrew. Two platoons from A Company moved up to reinforce B Company during the day.

Hell broke loose during the night of 22-23 March. B Company repelled six banzai attacks during the night. Ten Japs, including one officer, were killed inside the perimeter. Over two hundred knee mortar, and twelve 90mm mortar shells landed in the area during the night.

At 0950 the next morning, strong patrols from both A and B Companies jumped off, with A Company going around the right flank of the ridge, and B Company around the left flank. The mission was to determine the strength of the unit and the extent of their flanks. Both patrols encountered stiff opposition from machine guns and riflemen, and returned to their positions at 1300.

Between 0945 and 1045 the Division Artillery treated the Jap positions to a solid hour of fire.

On the 22^nd and 23^rd, about seventy of the enemy had been killed. We lost nine men killed and thirteen wounded. It was evident that the "strong block" we had encountered on the 22^nd was in reality an outpost of the enemy battalion reputed to be in the area.

Back on the bulldozer road, a serious supply and evacuation problem had been created by the Putlan River Valley. To cross the valley the road was forced considerably out of its way, and in addition, the valley was especially accessible to infiltrating Jap snipers and mine-laying parties. At 1600 on the 22^nd the 65^th Engineers completed a cable hoist stretching six hundred feet across the valley. This hoist proved invaluable, both in getting supplies forward and evacuating the wounded to the rear.

Company A relieved Company B on the morning of the 23^rd, and on the 24^th sent out probing patrols to locate the enemy flanks. At 1025 on the 25^th, after an artillery preparation, the company jumped off and advanced to the point where Company B had met opposition on the 22^nd. They hit the same positions, plus some new ones. Heavy machine guns and rifle fire was received from the right flank. A platoon of C Company went around A Company’s left to flank the enemy positions there. By dusk, Company A had advanced about one hundred yards past the line of Departure, and dug in for the night.

The 2d Battalion, back on the bulldozer road, had its troubles too. The road was cut at 1100 by an enemy force equipped with demolitions, machine guns and rifles. Two bulldozers were damaged before the road could be cleared by 1400.

On 26 march, B and C Companies moved forward to cover the trail to A Company’s rear. A platoon from C Company attempted to swing around A company’s left flank, but was met by fierce resistance and could not advance. In the evening, the battalion was ordered to hold its present positions pending relief by the 2d battalion.

The 2d Battalion commenced relief of the 1^st on the morning of 27 March. During the day, Company E passed through A and B Companies and occupied positions five hundred yards to their northeast. The remainder on the 2d Battalion bivouacked just behind A and B Companies for the night of the 27^th. Relief of the 1^st Battalion was completed early on the morning of the 28^th. The 1^st Battalion then fell back and, with the 3^rd Battalion, who had moved to the bulldozer road upon relief on the Old Spanish Trail by the 1^st ICAF Regiment, assumed joint responsibility for the road.

E Company continued pushing up the center of the ridge, with C Company on the left flank and F Company on the right. There was no way to flank the enemy positions, and no soft spots in their lines had been found. The advance was steady but slow, a dogged, persistent slugging against a deeply dug-in, heavily defended positions. By dark, they had shoved their way one hundred fifty yards closer to the objective.

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