Most tank buffs ignore the Pacific Campaign since there is the popular perception that tanks were not widely used in these battles. That was certainly the case in many of the early campaigns on the islands in the Southwest Pacific. These small volcanic islands were often covered by tropical growth and impassible to tanks. But many of the campaigns after 1943 involved large numbers of tanks. The US Army deployed about a third of their separate tank battalions to the Pacific theater. All six US Marine tank battalions were committed there as well.

I chose to write about the 1944-45 Philippines campaign since this was by far the largest use of tanks in the Pacific Campaign. Not only were there large numbers of US tanks and tank destroyers involved, but it was the only time that Japan committed one of its armored divisions against US forces.

The campaign is a good example of the challenges facing tank units in the Pacific. For example, during the initial Leyte campaign, the US Army found that tanks were very circumscribed in their operations due to the mountainous jungle terrain. Nevertheless, several tank battalions were used in the fighting whenever the terrain permitted. This was especially the case when fighting along the coast.

The subsequent Luzon campaign was a complete contrast. As the largest of the islands, it had a much more varied terrain. The large central plains leading toward the capital of Manila were quite suitable for tank operations as were some of the areas in the northeast. It was on Luzon that Japan committed its 2nd Tank Division. The US Army deployed numerous tank and tank destroyer battalions on Luzon as well.

One of the surprises when researching this book was the extent of surviving Japanese accounts of tank operations. There were several interviews with captured Japanese officers that provide some fascinating insights into Japanese views of the use of tanks in the Philippines. These accounts are not well known since they are buried in the G-2 (Intelligence) records of some of the US Army Corps that fought in the Philippines. I have gotten in the habit of looking at G-2 reports when doing books on the US Army in the European Theater in 1944-45 since they often have interesting documents dealing with the Germans. I did not expect to find as many documents in the Pacific G-2 records since far fewer Japanese soldiers were captured than in Europe. But to my delight, there were excellent records for the Philippines. You never know what you will find when digging through old records at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA II) in College Park, Maryland!

You can get your copy of NVG 334 Tanks in the Philippines 1944–45 here.