Japanese wall of defense
Luzon’s densely packed mountains and valleys, fields in the distance
machine gun pillbox
A reminder of what these soldiers were up against …
The stretch of blockhouses and pillboxes and tunnels, known as the Genko Line were filled with every imaginable weapon available from the Japanese arsenal. Along mountains, under fields and connecting the rolling hills lay the traps of heinous sorts silently in wait for any or all of the troopers.
The 1,200 two and three-story blockhouses entrenched with at least 6,000 enemy soldiers that lined the southern edge of Manila. A massive feat of ingenuity.
The size of some of these tunnels amazed me, large enough for a boat or plane and some appear too small for a human to hide.
Japanese tunnel for a kamikaze squadron
Also wanted to remind the reader that on You Tube – type in – Nasugbu landing 1945; Allied Forces Land In Japan (1945) and 11th Airborne to see quite a number of actual video footage from the war.
Thank you all for your loyalty and responses.
Posted on January 23, 2013, in Uncategorized and tagged 11th airborne, Airborne, Army, family history, Genko Line, History, Japanese defense, Luzon, Manila, Military, Military History, Pacific War, Philippines, veterans, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 12 Comments.
Have you been to that area? What can’t be seen or sensed in these photos is the climate… Horrendous humidity and likely tons of mosquitoes, all while in battle trying to stay alive and kill the opposing side. If you were wounded in this time frame (’44 to ’45), penicillin had just begun mass production so your survival percentages increased dramatically…if you were US military.
The tunnel captioned for kamikaze squadron intrigues me… Large enough to house aircraft and ordnance?
Correct on all counts. There were tunnels that had hospital, shrines and armories in them, yes – some were that large.
That Doolittle raid probably made them commit a lot of assets to defense thus limiting assets available for offense.
That’s exactly right. At this point Japan was being bombed and the Philippines were too close to home to lose to the Americans.
I remember years ago, a few Japanese soldiers were found in some mountains, having no idea that the War was over. This helped me understand how that could be possible.
They had a million places to hide plus Filipinos who were still loyal to Japan to help them survive.
A reblogué ceci sur Lest We Forget and commented:
Keeping her father’s memories alive…
I am a loyal reader Gail.
I must commend you on all the research work you did. I know your readers will agree with me.
I could never question your loyalty; you are one of the best!! I not only appreciate your reading, but also your comments AND assistance.
Sometimes it is the simplest things that bring the greatest clarity. Thank you for explaining Genko Line. I have heard that term many many times and never understood it’s full meaning!
It was quite a project. The Japanese started work on it right after they took over in 1942.
Amazing!