Editing Fort Mills (section)

==Recapture of Corregidor==
[[File:Recapture of Corregidor 1945.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Map of the recapture of Corregidor, February 1945]]
{{main|Battle of Corregidor (1945)}}
{{main|Philippines Campaign (1944–1945)}}

US forces returned to the Philippines in a major [[Battle of Leyte|invasion at Leyte]] beginning on 20 October 1944, with General MacArthur soon declaring "I have returned". The [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] attacked the invasion fleet on 23–26 October in the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]], the largest naval battle of the war, but were repulsed with heavy losses.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Largest Naval Battles in Military History: A Closer Look at the Largest and Most Influential Naval Battles in World History|url=http://militaryhistory.norwich.edu/largest-naval-sea-battles-in-military-history/|website=Military History|publisher=Norwich University|accessdate=7 March 2015|archive-date=8 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208161359/http://militaryhistory.norwich.edu/largest-naval-sea-battles-in-military-history/|url-status=dead}}</ref> By early February 1945 much of the Manila area<ref>Smith 1963, Ch. XVI</ref> and part of Bataan<ref>Smith 1963, Ch. XVII</ref> had been secured. Corregidor was the biggest obstacle to reopening Manila Bay to shipping. A risky operation to recapture the island via near-simultaneous airborne and amphibious assault was devised. The invasion was set for 16 February. Air bombardment began on 22 January, and naval bombardment on 13 February.<ref>Smith 1963, p. 340</ref> The easiest place for a parachute drop on the island was Kindley Field, the disused airstrip. However, this would put the paratroops in an exposed position, and planners decided to immediately seize the island's high ground with a drop on Topside, the western part of the island. Only two barely-adequate drop zones were available: the parade ground and the former golf course. Each plane would have to make two or three passes to unload all of the paratroopers and equipment on these small areas. The drop would also have to be divided into two lifts, separated by at least four hours. Each lift could carry a reinforced battalion, and another drop was planned for the 17th to deliver the remainder of the regimental combat team.<ref>Smith 1963, pp. 337-338</ref> The overall plan was for the first airborne assault at 0830, the amphibious landing at 1030, and the second airborne lift at 1215. The airborne force was the [[503rd Infantry Regiment (United States)|503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team]] of Lieutenant Colonel George M. Jones. The 503rd PRCT drop force included the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, Co. C, 161st Airborne [[combat engineer|Engineer]] Battalion, and elements of the 462nd Parachute [[field artillery|Field Artillery]] Battalion with [[M116 howitzer|75 mm pack howitzers]].<ref>Smith 1963 also lists the 162nd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, but it is not in the Rock Force list, and Stanton 1991, p. 401 shows this was not a parachute unit and it served in Europe. This may refer to fire support from Corregidor in the later recapture of Caballo Island by the 163rd Field Artillery Battalion, as listed at RockForce.org.</ref> They were airlifted by [[C-47]] aircraft of the [[317th Troop Carrier Group]]. The amphibious assault was by the reinforced 3rd Battalion, [[34th Infantry Regiment (United States)|34th Infantry Regiment]] of the [[24th Infantry Division (United States)|24th Infantry Division]], carried by [[Landing Craft Mechanized]] (LCMs) of the 592nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment of the 2nd [[Engineer Special Brigade]].<ref>Smith 1963, p. 341</ref><ref name=RockForce1>{{Cite web |url=http://rockforce.org/rock_force/rf_contents.html |title=List of Rock Force units at Rockforce.org |access-date=2018-03-24 |archive-date=2016-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126235450/http://rockforce.org/rock_force/rf_contents.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Japanese forces were estimated at 850. There were actually about 5,000 Japanese military personnel on the island, primarily naval forces under Japanese Navy Captain Akira Itagaki. Surprisingly, the low initial estimate of Japanese strength did not become a major problem.<ref>Smith 1963, pp. 339-340</ref>

The airborne assault began on schedule at 0833 on 16 February 1945. It achieved surprise and Japanese resistance was light. However, a higher drop altitude and stronger winds than planned, combined with the small drop zones, resulted in a 25 percent injury rate. Many troops landed outside the drop zones in wooded or rocky areas, or on ruined buildings and gun batteries. One group of paratroopers landed on an observation post that included the Japanese commander, and killed him. The amphibious assault at 1030 on the south shore of Bottomside at San Jose was also successful, despite encountering [[land mine]]s. The surface of Malinta Hill was captured in half an hour, although numerous Japanese remained in the [[Malinta Tunnel]] below it. The second paratroop lift dropped at 1240, with a much lower injury rate than the first lift. However, due to the success of the attack, the commander of the 503rd decided to cancel the drop scheduled for the 17th, and bring the remaining paratroops in by sea. The combined forces on Corregidor became known as "Rock Force".<ref>Smith 1963, pp. 341-345</ref><ref name=RockForce1/>

As well as the force in the Malinta Tunnel, the Japanese were dug in on various parts of the island, occupying numerous tunnels and small bunkers. Many of these were south and west of Topside. Rock Force cleared the bunkers in the typical fashion of the war in the Pacific: air-delivered [[napalm]] bombs where needed, followed by assaults with [[flamethrower]]s and [[White phosphorus munitions|white phosphorus]] grenades among other weapons. The Japanese would sometimes reoccupy these positions at night. In some cases demolition charges were used to entomb the Japanese in their bunkers and tunnels.<ref name=Smith345>Smith 1963, pp. 345-348</ref> The Japanese occasionally made [[banzai charge]]s at this point in the war, which mainly succeeded in increasing their own casualties. There were attempts made to persuade the Japanese to surrender, but few did so. On at least three occasions the Japanese were able to detonate ammunition caches near American troops, usually followed by an attack, though these tactics killed more Japanese than Americans. The most spectacular of these was the detonation of a large amount of explosives in the Malinta Tunnel on the night of 21 February. Apparently the intention was to shock the Americans on and near Malinta Hill and allow the force in the tunnel to escape eastward to the island's tail. However, it appeared that the explosion was larger than intended, though perhaps several hundred Japanese out of an estimated 2,000 in the tunnel were able to join their main force on the tail. Two nights later more explosions shook Malinta Hill, probably the suicide of its remaining defenders.<ref name=Smith345/> By this time the entire western part of the island was cleared and preparations made to clear the tail area. On 24 February the 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry was relieved by the 2nd Battalion, [[151st Infantry Regiment (United States)|151st Infantry]] of the [[38th Infantry Division (United States)|38th Infantry Division]]. At 1100 on 26 February the Japanese apparently decided to finish themselves and take some Americans with them, setting off an ammunition-filled bunker at Monkey Point. Perhaps 200 Japanese were killed outright, along with 50 Americans killed and 150 wounded. Within a few hours the only Japanese left alive were in a few caves along the island's waterline, who were mopped up in a few days.<ref name=Smith345/>