The 192nd Tank Battalion of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

was a federalized

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...

unit activated in November 1940. Deployed to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, the battalion was engaged in combat during the Japanese invasion and the US retreat to the

Bataan Peninsula Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...

; being part of the force that surrendered to the Japanese there, it subsequently ceased to exist as an active unit.

History

Activation and deployment

In 1941, the

US Army Chief of Staff The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and a ...

General George C. Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S ...

, directed that the army's new

M3 Stuart The M3 Stuart/Light Tank M3, was an American light tank of World War II. An improved version of the tank entered service as the M5 in 1942 to be supplied to British and other Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. ...

light tanks, then just rolling off the assembly lines, were to have the highest priority in reinforcing

General MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

's command in the Pacific. The activated

194th and 192nd Tank Battalions were each equipped with 54 of the newly manufactured ''M3 Stuart'' light tanks, along with 23 half-tracks per battalion.Hunnicutt (Stuart) p. 395 The federalized California Army Guard

194th Tank Battalion The 149th Armored Regiment was an armored regiment that was part of the California Army National Guard. Its lineage dates back to a cavalry unit organized in 1895 in Salinas. As Troop C, the unit's first major action occurred when it deployed ...

deployed from San Francisco on 8 September 1941, arriving in the Philippines on 26 September. That deployment was followed by the 192nd Tank Battalion, which reached

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

in November. The 192nd Tank Battalion was composed of tank companies from: *

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat and largest city in the county. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison–Jane ...

(Company A, formerly 32nd Tank Company), *

Maywood, Illinois Maywood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded on April 6, 1869, and organized October 22, 1881. The population was 23,512 at the 2020 United States Census. History ...

(Company B formerly 33rd Tank Company), *

Port Clinton, Ohio Port Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Ottawa County, located at the mouth of the Portage River on Lake Erie, about 44 miles east of Toledo. The population was 6,056 at the 2010 census. The city has been nicknamed the "Walleye Capit ...

(Company C formerly 37th Tank Company) and *

Harrodsburg, Kentucky Harrodsburg is a home rule-class city in Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 9,064 at the 2020 census. Although Harrodsburg was formally established by the House of Burgesses after Boonesbo ...

(Company D formerly 38th Tank Company). On 21 November 1941 the 192nd and 194th Tank Battalions were combined to form the ''Provisional Tank Group'' under the command of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

James R. N. Weaver. With the subsequent commencement of hostilities, and Japanese landings along the coastlines in December, the ''Provisional Tank Group'' was ordered to counterattackZaloga (M3/M5 Stuart) p. 13 the landing forces, and to cover the allied retreat towards the

America's first clash of armor

On 21 December 1941, the 192nd Tank Battalion, under the command of Major Theodore F. Wickord, was ordered to move north. Major Wickord sent Company B, commanded by ''Captain Donald Hanes'', ahead, most likely as an advanced guard. During B company's advance, they had planned to refuel their gasoline powered M3's at Gerona and then again at

Bauang Bauang, officially the Municipality of Bauang ( ilo, Ili ti Bauang; fil, Bayan ng Bauang), is a 1st class municipality in the province of La Union, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 78,449 people. In Philippine ...

. However, upon reaching Gerona, no fuel was available, and word reached Captain Hanes that the enemy was fast approaching Bauang. The US Army's last official US Horse Cavalry to see combat was the US 26th Cavalry (Horse) (Philippine Scouts) in 1942. The 26th Cavalry had just recently been under enemy aerial attack, and was operating in the area currently being traversed by B company tanks. General Wainwright, commander of US/allied forces in the Philippines during its final period, received reports that the town of ''Damortis'' was fast being approached by mechanized elements of the Japanese Army; and he ordered Captain Hanes to engage them. Since Hanes had not been able to re-fuel at Gerona, his ''Stuarts'' were nearly out of gas, so he had to consolidate the fuel from the whole company in order to "top-off" just one platoon of five light tanks. Hanes ordered the tank platoon, led by LT Ben R. Morin, to move north from the town of ''Damortis'', where here on 22 December 1941, the platoon of M3 Stuarts ran into Japanese Type 95

light tanks A light tank is a tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller in size with thinner armor and a less powerful main gun, tailored for better tactical mobility and ease of ...

from the Imperial Japanese Army ''4th Tank Regiment''. In this, the first American tanks manned by US tank crewmen to engage enemy tanks during World War II, the M3's of the 192nd Tank Battalion went up against the equally armed Type 95 light tank, which were armed with the 37mm cannon, but were equipped with

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

engines. The ''Type 95 light tank'' had been at the forefront of tank technology when it was fielded in 1935. In the tank to tank battle that ensued, the lead 192nd tank immediately left the road to maneuver, but was instantly hit and caught fire. The remaining four ''Stuarts'' also received hits, but withdrew from the field, only to be destroyed by enemy aircraft later on. Lieutenant Morin was wounded, and he along with his crew were captured. Both the 192nd and the 194th Tank Battalions continued to

skirmish Skirmishers are light infantry or light cavalry soldiers deployed as a vanguard, flank guard or rearguard to screen a tactical position or a larger body of friendly troops from enemy advances. They are usually deployed in a skirmish line, an ir ...

with the 4th Tank Regiment, as they retreated towards

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...

. But tank losses during the fighting required the re-organization of some of the units. Consequently, tank companies were re-organized into 10 tank companies with 3 tank platoons, and 1 tank for the company commander. During the remaining struggle for Bataan, the two Tank Battalions tried to defend the beaches, the airfield, and provided support for the infantry, until 8 April 1942, when the 192nd and 194th received orders to prepare to destroy their M3s, upon receiving the ''code word''. The code word "Crash" was transmitted, and the US Army/allies on Bataan surrendered on 9 April 1942.

Overview

The activated Army National Guard 192nd Tank Battalion initially received training at

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold res ...

, and Polk. The unit left

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in October 1941, arriving in the

on 20 November 1941. On 22 December 1941, the 192nd Tank Battalion became the first American tank unit to engage enemy armor in tank to tank combat during World War II. The unit withdrew to the

as part of the general retreat, and ceased to exist on 9 April 1942 when the last surviving American and Philippine forces on the Bataan Peninsula surrendered. Some men went to

Corregidor Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...

, while others escaped to the jungle. Those who remained, participated in the

Bataan Death March The Bataan Death March (Filipino: ''Martsa ng Kamatayan sa Bataan''; Spanish: ''Marcha de la muerte de Bataán'' ; Kapampangan: ''Martsa ning Kematayan quing Bataan''; Japanese: バターン死の行進, Hepburn: ''Batān Shi no Kōshin'') was ...

. They remained

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

until the close of the invasion of the Philippines. Some prisoners at

Cabanatuan Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan ( fil, Lungsod ng Cabanatuan; ilo, Siudad ti Cabanatuan), is a 1st class component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 327,325 peop ...

were rescued by

US Army Rangers United States Army Rangers, according to the US Army's definition, are personnel, past or present, in any unit that has the official designation "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the US Army Ranger School, even if t ...

on 30 December 1944. Others were sent to Japan or other parts of the

Japanese empire The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

as laborers. Of the 593 officers and men of the 192nd Tank Battalion who went to the Philippines in October 1941, 328 did not survive the war.

Notes

;Footnotes ;Citations

References