The morning of January 9th 1945 at 0930, the 37th Infantry Division, along with other XIV Corps Divisions, landed in Luzon through the Lingayen Gulf to begin their campaign. S-Day, which marked the beginning of the invasion, was met with little resistance and was surprisingly unremarkable in terms of fire fights and combat for XIV Corps. Along the beach XIV Corps occupied the west with I Corps landing on the eastern portion adjacent to them. The 37th ID landed left of the 40th Infantry Division and was organized with the 148th Infantry to the right and the 129th Infantry to the left. To the northeast of the beachhead was a large Japanese force, set into defensive positions utilizing terrain and fortifications. With the successful landing …show more content…
The 37th ID however, was met with little resistance for the majority of their pursuit to Manila, which prevented such delays. On the day of the landing the 37th ID stormed the beaches at Lingayen Gulf to surprisingly find no enemy resistance. Following the beaches the 37th ID moved through the Central Plain where they were met only by isolated pockets of Japanese forces. These isolated pockets were small and destroyed quickly, or the enemy would retreat after a short firefight. One example of these minor contacts occurred when the 129th IN made an attack on enemy elements at Bautista on January 14th, in order to secure a railroad station. This engagement was only a minor delay, after taking the station the 129th secured the remainder of the area with no major opposition. This period of rapid progress stalled as the division approached one of its main objectives, Clark Air Field. Spirits were high as casualties were few and enemy contact was expected to remain light until reaching the air field. Enemy troops numbered 30,000, with General Tsukada’s Kembu Group occupying the air field. This unit of Japanese soldiers was assigned with denying Allies access to Clark Air Field as long as possible. This objective was where the 37th ID was met with their first major opposition. Elements from the 129th IN and 145th IN captured the main strips of the airfield in three days. Following the airfield the 37th ID captured Fort Stotsenberg and seized San Fernando, the provincial capital of Paampanga. The 40th ID, which had been moving closely with the 37th, changed course southwestward as the 37th pushed on towards Manila. The Pampanga proved to be one of the most difficult obstacles and challenges for the 37th ID, with bridges destroyed and enemy fire fights, the 37th ID wasn’t able to continue their