1942 - US Army Center Of Military History

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on Baguio hastened. 37th Div is to make main effort
along Highway 9 while 33d Div is opening other
routes, among them Galiano–Baguio and Kennon
roads. 123d Inf has elements beyond Galiano, on
the crude Pugo–Baguio trail, and on Mt Calugong,
about 5 1/2 miles SW of Baguio. 129th Inf is still
held up in Salat area of Naguilian–Baguio highway.
136th Inf reaches positions about midway between
Rosario and Baguio on Kennon road. Along Villa
Verde Trail, 32d Div troops continue battle for
Salacsac Pass, the saddle between Hills 504 and 505.
On Highway 5, 161st Inf, 25th Div, reaches W
slope of Crump Hill, about 1,000 yards W of Kapintalan,
and pauses until 35th Inf can clear Kapintalan.
In XI Corps area, air and arty fire saturates
Mt Mataba as 63d Inf, 6th Div, prepares to renew
ground assault. 43d Div mops up and patrols extensively.
In XIV Corps area, some elements of
corps probe eastward toward Lamon Bay; others
maintain pressure on Mt Malepunyo. 187th Inf,
11th A/B Div, occupies Sulac, in W foothills of
Mt Mataasna Bundoc.
S PHILIPPINES—In U.S. Eighth Army area, 3d
Bn of 132d Inf takes ridge 2,000 yards NW of Hill
27 on Cebu and holds it against night counterattack.
Co E, 182d Inf, and guerrillas move against
Hill 20, between the Reservoir and Race Course.
On Negros, 3-regt assault is ordered to prevent
enemy from improving positions in mountainous
interior. Enemy positions are pounded by aircraft.
OKINAWA—In U.S. Tenth Army’s III Amphib
Corps area, battle for Motobu Peninsula begins as
columns of 29th Marines, 6th Mar Div, move forward
to fix enemy positions. In XXIV Corps area,
383d Inf of 96th Div, with air, arty, and naval gunfire
support, presses toward Kakazu Ridge and
makes unsuccessful attacks on its approaches. Japanese
employ spigot mortar fire for the first time.
382d Inf is virtually halted since friendly forces on
its flanks cannot advance. 184th Inf, 7th Div, attacks
toward 2 strongpoints—Tomb Hill, 1,000
yards NW of Ouki, and Triangulation Hill, 1,000
yards NW of Tomb Hill—taking the latter. 32d Inf
continues to gain ground on E in coastal sector.
9 April
WESTERN EUROPE—RAF BC sinks Admiral
Scheer during attack on Kiel, night 9–10.
21 Army Group: In Br Second Army area, 30
Corps advances E and NE of Lingen, Gds Armd
Div reaching positions beyond Fuerstenau and 43d
Div crossing Hase R. 3d Div passes to 12 Corps
command. In 12 Corps area, 7th Armd Div reaches
the Weser in Hoya area and establishes bridgehead.
8 Corps crosses Leine R, making contact with
[ 9 APRIL 1945 ]
U.S. forces to right, and starts toward Aller R at
Celle.
12th Army Group: In U.S. Ninth Army’s XIII
Corps area, 84th Div gets into position for assault
on Hannover from N, NW, and W. CCR, 5th
Armd Div, crosses the Leine S of Hannover and
drives rapidly toward line Uetze–Peine en route to
Oker R, cutting autobahn near Vohrum. CCA,
directed toward line Celle–Uetze and thence to the
Aller R, moves to Hameln to cross the Weser. Congestion
there, where 102d Div is also crossing, delays
CCA, which is ordered to attack instead in S
portion of corps zone. 407th Inf, 102d Div, motors
to new assembly areas and begins clearing Obernkirchen
region, E of the Weser. XIX Corps is relieved
of responsibility for Ruhr pocket by XVI
Corps, which takes command of TF Twaddle, and
prepares to renew eastward drive. XVI Corps, now
commanding all Ninth Army forces operating
against the Ruhr, further compresses the pocket.
75th Div, closely supported by aircraft and arty,
presses S: 290th Inf takes Dorstfeld, at W edge of
Dortmund; 289th clears Luetgendortmund; 291st
blocks roads on right flank of div. 35th Div, less
320th Inf, drives S across Rhein–Herne Canal to
positions N and E of Gelsenkirchen. 79th Div, continuing
S with 3 regts—314th passing through elements
of 315th and 313th—overruns Kray, Frillendorf,
and Steele to reach the Ruhr and split enemy
forces; prepares to drive E toward Dortmund. 507th
Para Inf, 17th A/B Div, protecting right flank of
79th Div, reaches Berne Canal, its objective. TF
Twaddle continues W toward Unna and Kamen.
8th Armd Div’s CCB takes Holtum, Hemmerde,
Westhemmerde, and Stockum; CCR continues W
along N bank of the Ruhr; CCA holds Mohne R
sector. 378th and 379th Regts, 95th Div, gain
ground toward Kamen. TF Faith is rapidly clearing
region between the Mohne and the Ruhr and
makes contact with First Army on left.
In U.S. First Army’s XVIII Corps (A/B) area,
97th Div further expands and strengthens bridgehead
N of the Sieg on left flank of corps, crossing
rest of 387th Inf into it at dawn and 303d Inf at
1800. 303d opens assault on Siegburg and clears
about two thirds of the city. 386th Inf, on right flank,
mops up bypassed pockets. 78th Div, committing
311th Inf between 309th and 310th, moves northward
on broad front, reaching positions near Nuembrecht
and Oberwiehl on left, Denklingen–Erdingen region
in center, and Bueschergrund on right. 8th Div’s
zone is narrowed as 86th Div takes over right flank
from 28th Inf. Continuing NW with 13th and
121st Regts, 8th Div reaches Olpe–Rahrbach region,
a gain of 5–10 miles. 86th Div begins attack on right
flank of corps with 342d Inf, which advances northward
in narrow zone to Hotolpe–Altenhundem