US divisional casualties in The Philippines?

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Larso
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US divisional casualties in The Philippines?

#1

Post by Larso » 13 Oct 2013, 07:30

Hi, I'm doing some comparisons with late war Australian casualties and I was looking for stats on casualties suffered by US divisions in The Philippines. I've done a fair bit of looking but precious little is specific to this campaign. So far I have (providing it's correct) -

11th Airborne - 614 dead / 1,926 wounded
96th Infantry - 514 dead / 1500 wounded

Apparently the 25th Infantry suffered the most but the actual figure has escaped me. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Carl Schwamberger
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Re: US divisional casualties in The Philippines?

#2

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 13 Oct 2013, 14:12

I'd just found a web site for the US 6th ID while searching for something else this morning. Maybe it will help.


Larso
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Re: US divisional casualties in The Philippines?

#3

Post by Larso » 14 Oct 2013, 03:05

Thanks Carl, I did try some of the div websites with out much luck - do you have a link to the one you've talked about here?

Delta Tank
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Re: US divisional casualties in The Philippines?

#4

Post by Delta Tank » 15 Oct 2013, 12:39

Larso wrote:Hi, I'm doing some comparisons with late war Australian casualties and I was looking for stats on casualties suffered by US divisions in The Philippines. I've done a fair bit of looking but precious little is specific to this campaign. So far I have (providing it's correct) -

11th Airborne - 614 dead / 1,926 wounded
96th Infantry - 514 dead / 1500 wounded

Apparently the 25th Infantry suffered the most but the actual figure has escaped me. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Larso,

This is not exactly what you are looking for, but it may be in the book entitled "Triumph in the Philippines" by Robert Ross Smith. I found this in the book listed above.

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA ... mph-H.html

Killed Wounded Total
Luzon
Shobu Areab 4,035 12,155 16,190
Shimbu Areac 1,020 3,615 4,635
Kembu Area 835 3,380 4,215
Manilad 1,010 5,565 6,575
Corregidore 240 675 915
Bataanf 315 1,285 1,600
Southern Luzong 255 880 1,135
Bicol Peninsula 95 475 570
Miscellaneoush 505 1,530 2,035
Subtotal 8,310 29,560 37,870

Central and Southern Philippinesi
Mindoro and the Visayan Passagesj 125 255 380
Palawan and offshore islets 15 60 75
Zamboanga Peninsula 220 665 885
Sulu Archipelago 35 130 165
Panay and offshore islets 20 50 70
Northern Negros 370 1,025 1,395
Cebu and Mactan 420 1,730 2,150
Bohol Island 10 15 25
Southern Negros 35 180 215
Eastern Mindanao 820 2,880 3,700
Subtotal 2,070 6,990 9,060

Grand total 10,380 36,550 46,930

While primarily reflecting the casualties of ground combat units, the figures in the table include the casualties of ASCOM units while under Sixth Army control from 9 January to 13 February, and also include the casualties of ground service units attached directly to ground combat units. Such casualties were usually reported as those of division, corps, and army troops. Because of many obvious duplications, it is impossible to derive any reliable figures for service units as a whole. There being no reliable figures except for the USAFIP(NL), guerrilla casualties are not included. Slight differences between the figures given in the text and those in the table are explained on the one hand by differences in time coverage and on the

--692--

other by the fact that the text figures are normally those of the infantry regiments alone. As an example of the differences in time coverage, it can be noted that the text's figures for Corregidor are as of 4 March, while the table's figures carry the casualties through the end of the war.

Includes XIV Corps casualties only from 9 through 17 January; I Corps casualties from 9 January through 30 June; Eighth Army casualties from 1 July through the end of the war.

Includes XIV Corps casualties (except for units in the Kembu area) during the last stages of the approach to Manila, 31 January-3 February, and also the casualties of all units engaged against the Shimbu Group from 20 February to the end of the war,

Covers the period 3 February-4 March only.

Includes jump casualties of the 503d Parachute RCT and casualties incurred on the smaller islands of Manila Bay.

Includes XI Corps operations from the Zambales landing beaches to the northwestern base of Bataan Peninsula and also operations on Grande Island.

Includes jump casualties of the 511th Parachute Infantry and all other 11th Airborne Division casualties through 4 February.

Includes Army casualties resulting from kamikaze raids at Lingayen Gulf; ASCOM units to 13 February; the casualties of corps and army troops that cannot be placed on the ground (for example, the XIV Corps had operations at Manila and against the Kembu and Shimbu Groups under way at the same time); and the casualties of attached service units after 13 February.

Excludes Leyte and Samar except for the operations in northwestern Samar and on offshore islets that were part of the Eighth Army's campaign to clear the Visayan Passages.

Includes Army casualties resulting from kamikaze attacks and includes both Sixth and Eighth Army operations on Mindoro.

Source: The table is based upon all relevant American sources cited in the text. The primary sources are, for the most part, the regimental and divisional records. Casualties of corps and army troops are derived from the records of the Sixth and Eighth Armies and the I, X, XI, and XIV Corps. The table comprises deliberate approximations because various sets of sources are mutually irreconcilable. In general, since the Japanese took very few prisoners, the figures for Missing in Action are included in the Killed in Action column. Missing in action figures for all echelons of the commands were very incomplete and contradictory. The figures in this table will not necessarily agree with the official figures arrived at by The Adjutant General after the war. In this connection, however, it should be noted that a similar breakdown relative to location cannot be obtained from the latter source.
--693--

The cost of retaking Manila had not been light. XIV Corps lost over 1,000 men killed and 5,500 wounded in the metropolitan area from 3 February through 3 March. The breakdown among major units is shown in Table 5.

The Japanese lost some 16,000 men killed in and around Manila. Of this

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TABLE 5
CASUALTIES IN BATTLE FOR MANILA
Unit Killed Wounded Total Casualties
37th Infantry Division 300 2,700 3,000
1st Cavalry Division 250 1,250 1,500
11th Airborne Division 210 865 1,075
XIV Corps troops 250 750 1,000
Total 1,010 5,565 6,575
Source: Based upon a study of relevant corps, divisional, and regimental sources, all of which, as usual, provide contradictory and irreconcilable information.

Carl Schwamberger
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Re: US divisional casualties in The Philippines?

#5

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 15 Oct 2013, 20:37

Larso wrote:Thanks Carl, I did try some of the div websites with out much luck - do you have a link to the one you've talked about here?
Sorry. I failed to properly paste the link

http://6thinfantry.com/6thinfantry/a-br ... -division/

Actually there are quite a few web site, but most dont have much information.

Larso
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Re: US divisional casualties in The Philippines?

#6

Post by Larso » 16 Oct 2013, 13:46

Hey thanks Carl! I did have a look at that main one you posted but you've added some bits I didn't see. The Manila figures are particularly usefull. In a very rough way, given there were 12 or so US divisions, KIA/DOW average out to be short of 1,000 per division. I know that there were other units/services involved of course, but it seems likely that most divisions had death tallies of the order that I found for the 11th and 96th, with the 25th topping it out in the region of 1,000 (it had 1,500 for the war). How strange that figures are so hard to come by? Unit histories might be more specific but no one seems to have any!

Again, thanks for your time on this!
John

Le Page
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Re: US divisional casualties in The Philippines?

#7

Post by Le Page » 17 Oct 2013, 09:05

1st Cavalry Division losses:

Leyte-Samar: 241 KIA, 856 WIA, 2 MIA
Luzon: 680 KIA, 2334 WIA, 3 MIA

This is from the division's WWII unit history.

Interestingly, the total figure (including the Admiralty Campaign) is higher than those on Wikipedia and the 1st Cav Div website, both of which have conflicting figures.

Larso
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Re: US divisional casualties in The Philippines?

#8

Post by Larso » 17 Oct 2013, 14:01

Thank you Le Page - I looked at the 1st Cav but obviously not the right site. Also, thanks to Delta tank - I got you mixed up with Carl's post.

It is certainly clear that fighting in the Philippines campaign was no picnic. It really is ignored in favour of Iwo and Okinawa and the earlier marine battles but it was bitter stuff that the army soldiers faced there.

As for comparisons with Australian formations. The 3rd Aust Div and the two attached Bds and support troops suffered 516 dead and 1572 wounded on Bouganville. The three brigades organic to the 3rd suffered 1200 of those, with about 300 being killed I guess. Those other two brigades suffered 600 casualties but as to how many of the remaining 200+ casualties were 3rd men, or from other units, I have no idea.

The 9th Australian suffered 1190 casualties in Borneo in 1945. 350 dead & 840 wounded. The 7th Division in the same general campaign suffered 655 (185 / 470).

The 5th was on New Britain and suffered only about 200 battle casualties, with just 53 KIA. I think it was only a two brigade formation at this time.

The 6th was in New Guinea in 1945 and its figure was 1583, with 442 dead.

All up it is evident that Australian operations were of a significantly different scale to that conducted by the Americans. Generally, US divisions were suffering two - three times (and on Okinawa up to five times) the casualties that some Australian divisions were. There's more to it of course (Australia had been in the war longer) but there are some sobering statistics here.

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Rian
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Re: US divisional casualties in The Philippines?

#9

Post by Rian » 10 Apr 2014, 16:33

TABLE 5
CASUALTIES IN BATTLE FOR MANILA
Unit Killed Wounded Total Casualties
37th Infantry Division 300 2,700 3,000
1st Cavalry Division 250 1,250 1,500
11th Airborne Division 210 865 1,075
XIV Corps troops 250 750 1,000
Total 1,010 5,565 6,575
In my opinion - these figures are "too nice". These numbers appear to be rounded, so probably real figures should by some different.

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