Japanese invasion of Aparri
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The Japanese Invasion of Aparri (
Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
: ''Paglusob ng mga Hapones sa Aparri'') on 10 December 1941 was one in a series of advance landings made by
Imperial Japanese 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 ...
forces as first step in their invasion of the Philippines. The purpose was to obtain control of local air strips, which could be used as forward bases by fighter aircraft for operations further south. The first invasion was at
Batan Island Batan Island ( ) is the main island of Batanes, an archipelagic province in the Philippines. It is the second largest of the Batanes Islands, the northernmost group of islands in the country. Four of the six municipalities of Batanes are loca ...
on 8 December 1941. This was followed by
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, Legaspi, Davao, and
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over the next few days


Disposition of forces

Prior to
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
,
Aparri Aparri ( ilo, Ili ti Aparri; tl, Bayan ng Aparri), officially the Municipality of Aparri, is a 1st class municipality in the province of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,839 people. It sits at the mouth of ...
was considered a substantial port city, with a population of 26,500. However, although located at the mouth of the
Cagayan River The Cagayan River, also known as the Río Grande de Cagayán, is the longest river and the largest river by discharge volume of water in the Philippines. It has a total length of approximately and a drainage basin covering . It is located in t ...
, it is isolated from the rest of Luzon by mountain ranges to the east, west, and south. Manila and the central plains of Luzon were connected to Aparri by Route 5 through the narrow Balete Pass to the south, or by a long coastal route. The
Cagayan Valley Cagayan Valley ( ilo, Tanap ti Cagayan; fil, Lambak ng Cagayan), is an administrative region in the Philippines, located in the northeastern section of Luzon Island. It is composed of five Philippine provinces: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, ...
was not regarded by the Americans as a route of invasion. The area of Aparri was in theory defended by General Wainwright's North Luzon Force. However, with only a few men and a large territory to cover, Wainwright could spare only one partially trained and equipped Philippine Army division, the 11th Division, commanded by Colonel William E. Brougher, for all of northern
Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
. A reserve division, the 11th had begun to mobilize only in September and was at only two-thirds of its authorized strength of 1500 men per regiment. It also suffered from a serious shortage of equipment, including almost all of its artillery and transports. This division maintained only one battalion in the entire Cagayan Valley, with only one company actually at Aparri. On the Japanese side, General Homma had organized a detachment from the
IJA 48th Division The was an infantry division of the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the The IJA 22nd Army was a short-lived component of the Southern China Area Army from February to November 1940 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. A component o ...
’s 2nd Infantry Regiment under Colonel Toru Tanaka. This numbered approximately 2000 men of the 2nd Battalion, half the 1st Battalion and the regimental headquarters. The invasion force was supported by a flotilla of the Imperial Japanese Navy led by Vice Admiral Kenzaburo Hara, consisting of the
light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to th ...
, destroyers , , , , , , three minesweepers, six anti-submarine craft and six transports. The fleet deployed from
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in the
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and arrived at Aparri before dawn on 10 December. The landing operation was covered by aircraft of the IJAAF 24th and 50th Fighter Regiments launched from the airfield at Batan island captured the day before.


Landing and aftermath

The landing operation at Aparri faced no opposition from American forces; however, after two companies had landed rough seas and winds forced a shift in location to Gonzaga, some 20 miles to the east. Reports of the landing soon reached
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 headquarters in Manila, where it was correctly assumed that the objective was to seize airfields from which fighters could deploy for operations further south. However, General Wainwright considered the landing at Aparri to be a feint to divide his already weak defenses, and decided not to offer resistance aside from destroying bridges on the route from Balete Pass. As the Japanese were unloading at Gonzaga, two B-17 Flying Fortress bombers from Clark Field attacked the transports. One of the aircraft was piloted by Captain Colin Kelly, who reported that he had attacked and severely damaged a Japanese battleship before he was shot down. Kelly was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and was extensively portrayed in Allied propaganda as the first
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for flying his damaged aircraft into the smokestack of the battleship as the first
kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending t ...
; however, there were no Japanese battleships in the area, and the only losses suffered by the Japanese in this attack was slight damage to the light cruiser ''Natori'', and the loss of minesweeper ''W-19'',which was holed and beached. The Tanaka Detachment reported capture of Aparri airfield by 1300, and the airfield at Camalaniugan by evening. Construction troops began work immediately on expanding the runways and establishing depot facilities. The IJAAF 50th ''Sentai'' with 36
Nakajima Ki-27 The was the main fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service up until 1940. Its Allied nickname was "Nate", although it was called "Abdul" in the "China Burma India" (CBI) theater by many post war sources; Allied Intellige ...
fighters was operational at Aparri from the following day. By 12 December, the Tanaka Detachment has also secured
Tuguegarao Tuguegarao ( or ), officially the City of Tuguegarao ( ibg, Siyudad nat Tugegaraw; itv, Siyudad yo Tugegaraw; ilo, Siudad ti Tuguegarao; fil, Lungsod ng Tuguegarao ), is a 3rd class component city and capital of the province of Cagayan, Phil ...
airfield, fifty miles to the south. With the Americans on the run, Homma decided to leave only a small garrison at Aparri, and to move the bulk of his combat forces to south to assist the invasion force at Lingayen Gulf.


Consequences

In retrospect, the advance landings by the Japanese in northern Luzon, including at Aparri, accomplished little of strategic or tactical value. The air fields seized were small, and with the rapid advance of the Japanese into central Luzon, were soon unnecessary for further operations.


References

{{reflist Battles and operations of World War II involving the Philippines Invasions of the Philippines
Aparri Aparri ( ilo, Ili ti Aparri; tl, Bayan ng Aparri), officially the Municipality of Aparri, is a 1st class municipality in the province of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,839 people. It sits at the mouth of ...
1941 in the Philippines 1941 in military history World War II invasions Amphibious operations of World War II December 1941 events