VIDEO: US Army Airstrikes on Mt. Maculot, Batangas, 1945
In the liberation of the province of Batangas conducted by the United States Army and the other Allied Forces in 1945, a common Japanese tactic that they encountered was the rush of the latter to higher grounds. Thus, among the most troublesome operations conducted by the Americans were in Mt. Maculot (Macolod in United States Army records) and the Malepunyo Mountain Range east of what is now the city of Lipa.
The video contained in this page contains airstrikes over Mt. Maculot, either in March or April of 1945. The Allied forces had quickly secured the town of Cuenca in March as the Japanese retreated up the mountain. Detachments of the 11th Airborne Division stayed at Maculot to engage the Japanese, but the greater bulk of troops pushed on to liberate Lipa and secure the Lipa Airfield.
There would be a difficult battle for Mt. Malepunyo, where the Japanese had retreated from Lipa, but this battle paled in comparison to that in Maculot, where the Japanese were well-dug in. Frequent air strikes had to be called in, including those documented by the video below.
The video has been taken from the United States National Archives and is now made available by Batangas History to researchers, teachers, students and the general public in Batangas.
Notes and references:
“Crossing the Po River, Italy; Air Strike on Town of Sulac, Batangas Province, Luzon, Philippine Islands,” video online at the United States National Archives.
The video contained in this page contains airstrikes over Mt. Maculot, either in March or April of 1945. The Allied forces had quickly secured the town of Cuenca in March as the Japanese retreated up the mountain. Detachments of the 11th Airborne Division stayed at Maculot to engage the Japanese, but the greater bulk of troops pushed on to liberate Lipa and secure the Lipa Airfield.
There would be a difficult battle for Mt. Malepunyo, where the Japanese had retreated from Lipa, but this battle paled in comparison to that in Maculot, where the Japanese were well-dug in. Frequent air strikes had to be called in, including those documented by the video below.
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| Bombs explode from U.S. airstrikes on Mt. Maculot in 1945. |
The video has been taken from the United States National Archives and is now made available by Batangas History to researchers, teachers, students and the general public in Batangas.
Notes and references:
“Crossing the Po River, Italy; Air Strike on Town of Sulac, Batangas Province, Luzon, Philippine Islands,” video online at the United States National Archives.