The 31st Infantry Division was a division of the

Philippine Army The Philippine Army (PA) (Tagalog: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''; in literal English: ''Army of the Ground of the Philippines''; in literal Spanish: ''Ejército de la Tierra de la Filipinas'') is the main, oldest and largest branch of the ...

under the

United States Army Forces in the Far East United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) ( Filipino: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Estados Unidos sa Malayong Silangan/HKEUMS''; Spanish: ''Fuerzas del Ejército de los Estados Unidos en el Lejano Oriente'') was a military formation of the Unit ...

(USAFFE).

Organization

History

It was active from November 18, 1941 to April 9, 1942, whereupon it surrendered when Bataan fell. It was organized and trained in

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...

Province of Northern Luzon. Col. (later BGen.) Clifford Bluemel (USA) was the division's commander. Col. Pastor C. Martelino (PA), a 1920

U.S. Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

graduate, was his chief of staff.

Combat Narrative

At the opening of hostilities, 8 December 1941, the 31st Division formed a part of BGen. (later LGen.) Jonathan M. Wainwright's

North Luzon Force The North Luzon Force was a corps-sized grouping of the U.S.-sponsored Philippine Army, defeated in battle against the Japanese in 1941–42. On November 4, 1941, United States Army Forces Far East (USAFFE) announced the creation of new commands ...

of the Philippine Army (later renamed

I Philippine Corps I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

), alongside the 11th and 21st Divisions, and the 26th Cavalry Regiment. The 31st was initially headquartered at

San Mateo, Rizal San Mateo, officially the Municipality of San Mateo ( tgl, Bayan ng San Mateo), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 273,306. It is bordered by Quezon City to t ...

, but most of its personnel were training at

San Marcelino, Zambales San Marcelino, officially the Municipality of San Marcelino ( ilo, Ili ti San Marcelino; tgl, Bayan ng San Marcelino), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37 ...

, near Subic Bay, when hostilities broke out.

Order of Battle

* 31st Infantry Regiment (PA) - (LCol. John W. Irwin) * 32nd Infantry Regiment (PA) (LCol. Edwin Johnson) * 33rd Infantry Regiment (PA) (Col. Edwin H. Johnson) (Major Stanley Holmes) ** 3rd Battalion: Captain Robert Chapin, USA * 31st Field Artillery Regiment (PA) (Col. Harry J. Haines) ** 31st FA Regt HQ Company ** 1st Bn/31st FA Regt (PA) (75mm guns, 16x) ** 2nd Bn/31st FA Regt (PA) (2.95-inch pack howitzers, 4x) ** 3rd Bn/31st FA Regt (PA) * 31st Engineer Battalion (PA) * 31st Division Units ** 31st Division Headquarters & HQ Company ** 31st Medical Battalion ** 31st Signal Company ** 31st Quartermaster Company (Motorized) ** 31st QM Transport Company (Truck)

Sources

* *

Bibliography

*Morton, Louis.
The Fall of the Philippines (Publication 5-2)
''. Retrieved on 14 Feb 2017.

References

* {{Philippine Army (1935–1946) Infantry divisions of the Philippines Military units and formations of the Philippine Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1942