Back to Bataan! US Forces in the Far East 1941-1942, Part 5

 I'd like to finish up this series with a discussion of what was probably the most famous unit of the Philippine Scouts (PS), the redoubtable 26th Cavalry. They were the elite of the US forces assigned to the Philippines in the era under discussion. Like all of the Scout units, they were long-serving regulars whose record was one of unmatched valor. The average trooper had served anywhere from ten to thirteen years and in terms of discipline and adherence to the rules and regulations, their record shows the lowest rates of infractions among the military on the islands. In a considerable number of cases, this was further strengthened by multiple generations of families serving within the unit.

Squad on Patrol. The bottom center shows the Regimental Crest of the 26th Cavalry (PS)

 

By the way, while I will use the term Troop/Platoon, it should be noted that US practice used the term "Company" in official documents to describe a unit of three or more troops. Squadrons were units of multiple (4-6) companies and light support with a small headquarters element. Regiments were usually two Squadrons with slightly heavier support.  

As for their organization, the cavalry was similar to that of the infantry overall. It consisted of a Headquarters element (troop/platoon leader, troop/platoon sergeant, and 3-5 men used as messengers, replacements, general duties), and three troops/platoons. Support was primarily in the form of light machine guns (M1919A2, a slightly more compact version of the common M1919A4). What anti-armor weapons existed were heavy (.50 caliber Browning M2) machine guns and AT rifle grenades. 

The M2 was effective in this role in the early part of the war as Japanese tanks were lightly armored compared to European and even American models. The HMG's were held at Squadron-level. No mortars were assigned at any level.

For Chain of Command, the organization would be as follows:

    Troop Headquarters: Platoon Leader, Senior Leader, armed with a pistol; Platoon Sergeant, Senior Leader, armed with a rifle and pistol. At this point, I should say that the 26th Cavalry (PS) had been completely re-armed with the M1 Garand Rifle, although according to some interviews with veterans, some preferred their original M1903 Springfields and acquired them surreptitiously.

    3 Squads, each with: Squad Leader (CPL), Junior Leader, armed with a rifle and pistol,  eight (8) privates also armed with a rifle and pistol. 

 

Given the high quality and long-service of this unit, it should probably be classed as "Elite". Strong consideration should be given to allowing the units to have an additional "Red Die" added to their Command dice. 

It should be noted that a troop of this unit under LT Edwin P. Ramsay, using only their pistols and horses, charged and routed a superior Japanese force on 16 January 1942. Ultimately surrendering to the Japanese in April, 1942, a significant number (including LT Ramsay) continued the fight as guerillas in  Luzon.

 

 

Back to Bataan! US Forces in the Far East, 1941-1942 (Part 4)

 In this installment of this series, I will take a look at the Regular Philippine Army (PA) whose defenders made up the bulk of the forces on the islands.

 

The Philippine Army was formed shortly after the US Congress passed the law giving the Philippines full and complete independence in 1946. The relatively long transition period of ten years (Commonwealth of the Philippines) would allow for the full development of both its government and military. On paper, the plan was both practical and even brilliant -- but the US Congress still pretty much controlled the budget and America was still recovering from the Great Depression. Still, progress was made.

 

The Army was envisioned as basically a light infantry force consisting of two regular divisions and ten reserve divisions. Each was to have about 7,500 men, about half the size of the then current US Infantry Division. Camps and training facilities were built or expanded, units organized and trained, and the supporting air and naval forces developed. Weapons were mostly Great War vintage, relatively cheap on the surplus market, but still useful. Some American 1903 Springfields and the more common M1917 Enfields, along with Lewis LMG's and Browning MMG's made up the bulk of the small arms. While US M1918 BARs were available, they were few and far between. Mortars and artillery were also procured from US, British, and French sources. The Army was mobilized in September 1941 under the mistaken (as it turned out) belief that Japan wouldn't strike until April of 1942 at the earliest. Some interesting "what ifs" could certainly be drawn from this!

The two Regular Divisions (1st and 2nd) were the best trained of the Commonwealth forces, being full-time with officers who were both experienced and perhaps more importantly, local, a number of whom had graduated from American ROTC as well as West Point. They formed a strong nucleus. Many of the NCO's were also experienced and good leaders. 

While the 1st Division was a standard Army division with some advanced training, the 2nd was primarily a Constabulary whose weapons were mostly small arms and whose training was mostly in small unit tactics and policing activities. 

As for the organization of the reserve infantry units, the then current American squad of an 8-9 men armed with rifles was a pretty good model. Three squads and a platoon headquarters likewise followed American practice. A few BARs and Lewis guns would equip the LMG squads at the company level, while mortars (usually 3" Brandt) and Browning MMG's were located at the battalion level or higher. Fire control equipment was lacking or sorely limited. This was envisioned as a defensive force only.

Using the Chain of Command model, here's what we come up with:

Rifle Platoon HQ

Platoon Leader, SL, armed with a pistol

Platoon Sergeant, SL, armed with a rifle

3 Rifle Squads, each with:

Squad Leader, JL, armed with rifle

8-9 Riflemen 

I can find no reference to an Automatic Rifle Squad, as in the Regular Scouts. But it would not be unreasonable for the platoon to have a Lewis LMG with 3-crew. I would also add that it would not be unreasonable for the SL's to be rated as Inferior as defined in the rules. Other than the 1st and 2nd Divisions, all should be classed as Green. Provision for entrenchments and obstacles in support should be fairly liberal. 

I hope to finish up next time with the 26th Cavalry, and perhaps a few notes on the US Marines stationed there, and some of the ad hoc units that were critical to the defense of Bataan. Until next time... 

 

 

Back to Bataan! U.S. Forces in the Far East, 1941-1942 (Part 3)

 In my last post, I looked at the higher echelons of  the American-Philippine ground forces prior to the outbreak of war in December 1941. In this part, I am going to look at the small unit organization of the troops in question. To do that properly, however, will require some speculation. Since 1940, the U.S. and Philippine Commonwealth had been more or less preparing for a conflict they hoped to avoid, but expected nonetheless. The Philippine Archipelago is primarily agricultural. Unlike the oil and metal rich Dutch and British colonies/possessions to the south, it was seen by the Japanese as primarily a block to the United States and its inevitable retaliation after December 7.

For the American armed forces, mobilizing since late 1940, the results of a parsimonious Congress in terms of military outlays after the Great Depression of the thirties was uneven. Industry was just gearing up and while the institution of a peacetime draft/conscription was producing numbers, the equipment and training had a ways to go.  Almost all were leftovers from World War 1. The Army, my primary focus, was undergoing significant changes.

In 1938, the American Arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts, had developed and started producing the iconic M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle. As units were equipped, organization of low-level units were experimenting with adaptations to this new technology. It was now thought by military writers and commanders that the old Great War organization of the platoons and squads would need to be rethought. With such new levels of individual firepower, perhaps the venerable M1918 BAR automatic rifle could be eliminated. This led to the first of several re-organizations. The one below made official in October, 1940 (T/O 7-17). 

As stated in Part 1 of this series, these organizations will be modeled for Chain of Command v.2 by Too Fat Lardies. 

Under this organization the rifle platoon was organized as follows. This is the "wartime" organization. The "peace" establishment was considerably smaller.

Rifle Platoon:

    Headquarters

1 Platoon Leader, rifle, Senior Leader

1 Platoon Sergeant, rifle/SMG, Senior Leader

1 Platoon Guide, rifle, Superior Junior Leader

5-7 Basics (messengers, replacements), all rifle armed

    Rifle Squad (3 per platoon)

1 Squad Leader, rifle, Junior Leader

1 Assistant Squad Leader, armed with an M1903 Springfield for rifle grenades.

6-10 Riflemen, rifles 

    Automatic Rifle (AR) Squad

1 Squad Leader, rifle, Junior Leader

2 BAR gunners, pistol

2 Loaders, rifle

2 Ammo Bearers, rifle

Now, here's the speculation. The Army had both a peacetime organization and a wartime organization. In the first, the platoon headquarters was stripped of its 5-7 basics, and these were replaced by 2 messengers. The Platoon Guide, by the way, was primarily responsible for the platoon logistics. The role was later dropped. 

In peacetime, the squads were led by corporals (CPL) and had 7 riflemen. The AR squad was also led by a CPL did not change, although a third BAR could be made available in "defensive" situations.

The wartime models had squads led by Sergeants (SGT) with the CPL becoming the Assistant Squad Leader. Ten riflemen completed the squad. 

A legitimate question then would be how were the US Regulars (31st Regt.), and Philippine Scouts (1-43rd, 45th, and 57th Regts.) organized under the peace time model or war model? That's a question I can't answer, but I suspect the peacetime model. I would note, that several sources have confirmed that these units were all issued the M1 in lieu of the M1903 Springfield or M1917 Enfield. I'll include a more comprehensive list of sources at the end of this series. 

That's it for now. Next time, I'll look at the 26th Cavalry (PS). I will also take a look at the Commonwealth Forces, the Philippine Army (PA), both regulars and reserves. 

   

Back to Bataan! US Forces in the Far East, 1941-1942 (Part 2)

In Part 1, I tried to explain my interest (inspiration?)for this series of articles looking at the early years of US involvement in World War 2. Some months ago, the two books came across my path, both on the Bataan Campaign. Heretofore, the classic study of this remarkable campaign was the US Army's Official History of World War Two, which came out in the early 1950's and edited by Louis Morton, specifically, The Fall of the Philippines (1953). While long out of print, I suspect that most public libraries, at least here in the US, have one or more volumes in their stacks, or can obtain them through an inter-library loan. But as official histories, while long on facts, figures, and tables lack to a great extent the human element who witnessed or participated in the campaign. The  other two are: Whitman: Bataan: Our Last Ditch (1990), and, Young: The Battle of Bataan, A Complete History (2009). 

 In this edition, I am going to take a look at the organization of the Philippine Division which provided the backbone for the defense of the archipelago. Originally organized along the Great War model of a "square division", in 1940 General MacArthur requested and received permission to reorganize it along the then current triangular division model, ultimately allowing it to field three Regimental Combat Teams (RCT's). As this went on just prior to the outbreak of hostilities, some anomalies were bound to occur. However, my goal here is to look at the small unit level -- the level of many war game's rules, including my current favorite, Chain of Command 2 and its associated The Far East. 1941-45.

 The heart of the Philippine Division were the Philippine Scouts (PS), long-service and highly trained local forces, commanded by both American (mainly) and Philippine officers and NCO's. They were in many ways an elite, often having multiple generations of troops within the units, and all being required to have a high school diploma (a requirement that was absent in the Regular American Army). Highly disciplined, the troops had the fewest instances of disciplinary issues in the American establishment. Their emphasis on marksmanship rivaled that of the much smaller US Marines. Oddly enough, they along with the 26th Cavalry (PS), were all equipped with the M1 Garand, something the Marines did not yet have!

Under the old Brigade organization (square division), The Scouts were organized as follows: 23rd Infantry Brigade (PS) 45th Infantry Regiment (PS) 57th Infantry Regiment (PS) 

24th Infantry Brigade (PS) 1/43rd Infantry Regiment (PS) 

These Brigades were supported by the 23rd (2.95" QF mountain guns, left) and 24th (75mm M1917 guns, right) Field Artillery Regiments (PS) They are shown below:

The American 31st Infantry Regiment was assigned officially to the Philippine Division in December of 1941. Unfortunately, the paper organization was undergoing a drastic change when the War struck so too much was still undone. 

The Division had been reinforced, reorganized, and mostly equipped. There even was another US Infantry Regiment (34th Infantry) sailing to reinforce them (it left the West Coast on 1 December 1941. Ultimately, it was diverted to Australia). Next time, I'll discuss the small unit (company/platoon/squad) organization of the infantry. Until then...

Back to Bataan! US Forces in the Far East, 1941-1942 (Part 1)

I am a "Boomer", an aging breed of American born in the post-war era and brought up on TV shows like Combat! and The Gallant Men. Our comic books featured Sgt Rock of Easy Company, haunted tanks, and assorted other publications now long gone. Yet despite being the son and nephew of veterans (one in the Pacific, one in Europe), neither my father nor uncle talked about the war, and would only occasionally releate some story or experience. My Dad was in the Southwest Pacific assigned as a gun director for a 40mm BOFORs battery. His war began in 1942 at Guadalcanal, as one of the units replacing the Marines. From there it was New Guinea, New Georgia, and finally ending up on Leyte in the Philippines. The one relic he kept of these experiences was a knife made by a Filipino blacksmith from an old file. I inherited it, and despite its age, it still holds an edge as sharp as any knife I've ever owned. None of this, of course, is relevant to this blog, except these were the family experiences that first brought me to look at those early battles, campaigns, and defeats. Like so many events in war, small changes could have altered the course and outcome. The defeat of the US and Philippine forces on Luzon, the Bataan Penninsula, and Corregidor was in some ways a "monkey wrench" into Japan's timetable. For nearly six months, American and Filipino forces fought against steep odds, rapidly dwindling supplies, and empty promises. In the eyes of the Japanese, the Philippines were a necessary sideshow. It had few strategic resources, being primarily agricultural. The real prizes were in the south where abundant rubber and petroleum were to be had from the the British and Dutch colonies. Singapore was a rich prize and much coveted -- a Gibraltar of the East. Over the next couple of blog entries, I will be looking at the American and Philippine forces, their organizations, weaponry, and potential. I will do it in the context of the Chain of Command rules, version 2, and their various handbooks on the Far East and even Blitzkrieg 1940.

The top photo represents the American or Philippine Scouts (PS) infantry squad -- at least a variation since there were at least three organizations between 1938 and 1942. The second photo (above) is of an early M3 Light Tank. Two battalions were stationed there in 1941. The last photo (right) is of an M1916 37mm Infantry Gun -- a WW1 relic, but still effective if used properly.

 Well, we're back!

  A friend once told me, shortly after he retired, that he was busier now than when he was working. The difference, he continued, is that now he was busy with things he wanted to do, not things he had to do. Well, I have found that to be remarkably true and so it was that this blog of mine has been neglected over the last few months (well, more than a few). So, with your indulgence, I will take a few moments to re-cap.

Living in New England means having a wide variety of weather and weather conditions. Towards the end of 2024 and into 2025, that was manifest with cold spells, rain, winds, more rain, and a bit of snow. Being not quite a spry as I used to be, and with eyesight that really doesn't like driving at night, I tended to hunker down, as they say, and spend my time painting figures and working on my model railroad. War games and war gaming were not a priority! So, what's new?

In my last post, I mentioned how I had discovered a new, at least for me, set of World War II rules from Great Britain called Rapid Fire Reloaded. I had envisioned them to be an alternative to the sets we use at my club namely Chain of Command and Command Decision. Well, I was able to schedule a couple of club games using RFR which, no doubt due to their unfamiliarity with the players, were met with polite...disinterest. A couple of games were played but... there was little groundswell of any enthusiasm. At the moment, I am pondering a "Plan B": perhaps using the RFR based figures for Command Decision? I have played the rules in 15mm and 1/285 micro-armor. Why not 20-23mm? The basing is pretty much the same as is the level, so perhaps this might become Plan B.

On still another level, the War of Franconian Succession (SYW) has entered "winter quarters". One can paint and play with only so many tricornered fellows. My AWI figures have been semi-retired and I am even thinking of selling off the lot.

My French-Allied Napoleonic 54's and Royal Spanish are complete at least as far as I am concerned. The About Bonaparte rules work well with this scale and they have even garnered some enthusiasm from the Club. But ever the one to return to my roots, and with the excellent figures produced in 54mm by Expeditionary Force, I am returning to my War of 1812 gaming. In a way, I have come full circle: the first metal war game figures I ever painted (and still have a few left) were 30mm figures from that war produced by the American pioneer, Jack Scruby. The paint jobs were crude, but every apprentice needs to hone his skill!

So, I will leave you here with this photo from my archives! Until next time...