| Original caption: “Tanks, covered with palm leaves to avoid the stifling heat, make a reconnaissance. Enemy bullets and shells cannot cope with these soldiers and machinery.” This image of Type 95 Ha-Go light tanks during the invasion of Cebu appeared in Hitō Hakengun (“Philippine Expeditionary Force”), a photographic record of the Japanese conquest of the Philippines. An invasion convoy departed Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, for Cebu, Philippines, on April 5, 1942. The convoy carries 4,852 men of Imperial Japanese Army Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi’s (December 3, 1892 – May 16, 1961) Detachment, consisting of the 35th Infantry Brigade Headquarters; the 124th Infantry Regiment under Colonel Akinosuke Oka (July 5, 1890 – February 2, 1943); 1 platoon of the 16th Reconnaissance Regiment; 4th Company, 22nd Field Artillery Regiment; 2nd Company, 21st Field Heavy Artillery Battalion; the main force of the 44th Port Operations Unit; 1 platoon of the 23rd Independent Engineer Regiment; 1 company (less 2 platoons) of the 26th Independent Engineer Regiment; and part of the Logistics Units. On April 10, 1942, Nagano Maru and Borneo Maru landed troops at Argao, Cebu Island, consisting of the 124th Infantry Regimental Headquarters, 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment under Major [????] Yamada (???? – ????), 2nd Battalion (less 7th Company), 124th Infantry Regiment, Rapid-fire Gun Company (less 1 platoon), main force of Regiment Signal Unit, 1 platoon of the brigade radio signal unit, 1 armored car platoon of the Sxiteenth Reconnaissance Regiment, 4th Company, 22nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1 platoon of the 14th Army Road Construction Unit, part of the 14th Army Propaganda Section, 2nd Company, 21st Field Heavy Artillery Battalion, and a temporarily formed anti-aircraft machine cannon unit. The same day, Risshun Maru landed Major Etsuo Takamatsu (died September 5, 1942), commander of the 2nd Battalion, and the 7th Company at Cebu City. Seaplane tender Sanuki Maru covers the landings. India Maru, Mexico Maru, Tairyu Maru, and Tottori Maru also land troops at Cebu City and on the west coast (Aloguinsan and Barili) of Cebu Island with 4 Daihatsu and 3 Shohatsu landing craft. This landing consists of the 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, Regimental Gun Company, 1 platoon of a Rapid-fire Gun Company, part of the Regimental Signal Unit, a temporarily formed Armored Car Company, 2 platoons of the brigade signal unit, part of the 14th Army Radio Platoon, and part of the 67th Line-of-communications Hospital. The convoy was escorted by light cruiser Kuma with Destroyer Division 2, consisting of Harusame, Murasame, Samidare, and Yudachi, torpedo boat Kiji, gunboat Busho Maru, and auxiliary subchasers Kiyo Maru Number 12 and Kiyo Maru Number 13. North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, which had just arrived at Mindanao from Australia, attacked the convoy on April 13, 1942. 6,500 troops of the Philippine Army 82nd and 83rd Infantry Battalions opposed the landings, along with the Cebu Military Police Regiment, a Philippine Army Air Corps detachment, and miscellaneous units, all known as the Cebu Brigade, under the command of United States Army Colonel Irvine C. Scudder (October 9, 1895 – April 4, 1950). Brigadier General Bradford G. Chynoweth (July 20, 1890 – February 8, 1985) arrived to take command of the allied forces in the southern Philippine Islands as commander of the Visayan Force. The allies lacked heavy weapons, having no artillery, and few machine guns or grenades. The fight for Cebu City lasted only 1 day. Faced by a foe superior in numbers and weapons, the defenders fell back slowly, fighting for the time needed to block the roads and destroy the bridges leading into the interior. By the afternoon, the fight had reached the outskirts of the city, and at 1700 Hours, the Japanese broke off the action. Under the cover of darkness, Edmands pulled his men back to previously selected positions about 10 miles inland, along a ridge which commanded the approaches from Cebu City to the central mountain area. Though the Japanese were in undisputed control of the capital at the end of the day, Edmands had achieved his purpose. He had gained the time needed by the demolition teams, and his regiment was still intact and withdrawing in good order. The Japanese enjoyed equal success that day on the west side of the island, in the neighborhood of Toledo. Western terminus of the cross-island highway, that town was an important military objective. But, on the assumption that the narrow channel along the west would discourage an enemy from landing there, only a small force, the 3rd Battalion, 82nd Infantry, had been placed in that area. The Philippine Army battalion opposed the enemy landing vigorously but without success and finally fell back along the cross-island highway toward the town of Cantabaco, leaving the Japanese in possession of Toledo. At Cantabaco, midway across the island, the highway splits in 2. 1 branch turned northeast to pass close to Camp X, where General Chynoweth had his headquarters, then southeast to Talisay. The southern branch led to Naga. At both places, there was a defending force of Filipinos whose route of withdrawal depended upon the security of Cantabaco. Should the Japanese pursue the 3rd Battalion, 82nd Infantry, and gain control of that town, the defenders would be cut off. General Chynoweth appreciated fully the importance of Cantabaco to the defense of Cebu. Even before the Japanese landings, in anticipation of the difficulty that lay ahead, he had brought Colonel Arthur Grimes (May 30, 1896 – April 15, 1942) and his 3rd Battalion, 83rd Infantry, from Bohol to support the defenses of western Cebu. Now, on the afternoon of April 10, he ordered Grimes to cover Cantabaco, and as an added precaution, sent a messenger with orders to his reserve battalion in the north to move down to the threatened area. Grimes, “eager to get into the fray…started out with a gleam in his eye,” and Chynoweth, confident that he had things reasonably well in hand, settled down for a good night’s sleep. He got little rest that night. Time and again, he was awakened by anxious staff officers who reported that the enemy was approaching from the direction of Cantabaco. Despite these reports, Chynoweth remained confident. He had received no message from Grimes, and he felt sure that if the enemy had broken through at Cantabaco, Grimes would have sent word. Moreover, there had been no explosions to indicate that the demolition teams along the road were doing their work. He had inspected these demolitions himself and felt sure that if the enemy had passed Cantabaco, the charges would have been set off. But at 0330 Hours, when the sounds of battle became louder, Chynoweth’s confidence began to wane. The enemy was undoubtedly nearing Camp X. A half hour later, all doubts vanished when large groups of Filipinos, the outposts of Camp X, appeared in camp. They seemed hypnotized, fired in the air, and refused to obey commands in their haste to flee. After a brief conference with his staff, Chynoweth decided to pull back to an alternate command post on a ridge a half mile to the north and await developments there. The collapse of the Cantabaco position had been the result of an unfortunate and unforeseen combination of events. The demolition teams in which Chynoweth had placed so much faith had waited too long, and when the enemy appeared, led by tanks and armored cars, they had fled. Like his commander, Colonel Grimes believed that the enemy would be halted by blown bridges and obstacles along the road. Not hearing the sound of explosions, he, too, concluded that the Japanese were still at a safe distance. In his confidence, he drove forward to familiarize himself with the terrain and was captured by an enemy patrol. Deprived of their commander, his men “stayed quite well hidden.” So well were they hidden that even the Japanese were unaware of their presence. The reserve battalion had never even started south. The messengers sent to that battalion failed to return, and if the battalion commander did receive Chynoweth’s order to move to Cantabaco, he never complied with it. Instead, the battalion moved farther north, well out of the enemy’s reach. Opposed only by the retreating 3rd Battalion, 82nd Infantry, which was quickly dispersed by tanks and artillery despite determined resistance, the Japanese had advanced swiftly from Toledo through Cantabaco and then along the Talisay and Naga roads. It was the Japanese force along the Talisay road that had scattered the Camp X outposts and forced upon Chynoweth the realization that his plans for the defenses of Cantabaco had miscarried. With the enemy in possession of the cross-island highway, the fight for Cebu was over. Nothing more could be accomplished in central Cebu, and on the night of April 12, Chynoweth, with about 200 men, started north to his retreat in the mountains. From there, he hoped to organize the few remaining units on the island into an efficient guerrilla force. The Japanese did not claim the complete subjugation of the island until April 19, but Major General Jonathan M. Wainwright IV (August 23, 1883 – September 2, 1953) had already conceded the loss of Cebu 3 days earlier when he ordered General William F. Sharp (September 22, 1885 – March 30, 1947) to re-establish the Visayan-Mindanao Force and take command of the remaining garrisons in the Visayas on April 16, 1942. The allies took the hills and fought a guerrilla war until May 1942, when they were ordered to surrender when Corregidor fell. Cebu City was liberated after a week-long battle, March 26 – April 8, 1945, nearly 3 years after the Japanese invasion. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1455.jpg |
| Image Size | 353.32 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2125 x 1505 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Hitō Hakengun |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | April 15, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | Cebu |
| State or Province | Visayas |
| Country | Philippines |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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