03/29/2026
March 29, 1945
US Army 40th Infantry (possibly the 185th RCT) and an M4 Sherman tank move towards the Bago River Bridge on Negros Island, Philippines.
"....... the key initial objective had to be the 650-foot steel truss bridge across the Bago River, the sole span that could support movement of heavy weapons and equipment across the wide river separating Pandan Point from Bacolod. Filipinos reported that the bridge had been mined for demolition. If the Japanese blew it up, the wide river channel would become a significant logistical obstacle and might derail the entire operation.
Sacrificing a naval bombardment in the interest of surprise, the first element of the 185th RCT slipped ashore to secure the bridge about 0500 the morning of 29 March, several hours ahead of the main landing. Led by Lt. Aaron H. Hanson, the reinforced platoon from Company F, 185th Infantry, surprised the Japanese guards and seized the span, holding on for several hours until reinforcements arrived.
The main body of the 185th Infantry landed at 0900 without opposition. Eichelberger thought the Japanese decision not to contest the landing beach had been a mistake, judging that, properly deployed, the Japanese could have decimated the first two American battalions to land. Perhaps more significantly, defense of the beach would have gained the Japanese sufficient time to destroy the Bago River bridge. Because eight more bridges, each prepared for destruction, lay along the division's route from the landing site to Bacolod, Hanson's capture of the first bridge enabled the Americans to advance so rapidly thereafter that they were able to seize each bridge in turn. Bacolod itself was taken the following day, 30 March.
The 160th Infantry came ashore two days after the 185th, and the 503d Regimental Combat Team (Parachute), originally on call for a possible airborne assault, followed by sea. Off-balance and with their defenses ruptured, the Japanese tried to delay the American advance, but the soldiers of the 40th Division simply overwhelmed the delaying forces and continued their attack. By early April the 40th Division had captured most of the coastal plain of northwestern Negros. The Americans then consolidated their forces before moving inland. (ibiblio.org)
Colorized by David Stroodle
