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| Location Lat 15° 47' 32N Long 120° 59' 22E San Jose is located at an elevation of 403' / 122m above sea level in Nueva Ecija Province in central Luzon in the Philippines. The town is a crossroads with the intersection of Highway 5 southwest to northeast and Highway 8 spanning northwest to northeast. To the north is Digdig. To the southwest is Abar No. 1, Abar No. 2 and Caanawan and beyond Munoz. San Jose was the terminus of the Manila Railroad Company (Manila Rail Road) connected southwest via Tarlac then south to Manila. Today, known as the City of San Jose. Wartime History In early 1945, San Jose was used by the Japanese Army to stockpile supplies, primarily ammunition moved by rail and road to this location where they were then transported northward into into the mountains for the Shobu Group under the command of General Yamashita. Among the supplies were Pesos that were being transported when the Americans landed and were buried. In early January 1945 after the American landing and rapid advance, the Japanese needed to hold San Jose as long as possible to move the bulk of the supplies into the mountains and allow the 105th Division to move from the south to join the Shobu Group. Despite its importance, there was no permanent Japanese garrison in San Jose, focusing on defending the approaches to San Jose. Also, they made little attempt to defend the open ground approaching approaching along Route 5 and Route 8 or to block Route 99. On January 30, 1945 General Krueger ordered I Corps to drive eastward in capture San Jose with a pincer movement by the 6th Division attacking Munoz then advancing northeast up Route 5 to San Jose supported by the 25th Division advancing southeast along Route 8. By early February 1945, San Jose was one of the last locations linking the Shobu Group in the north to the Shimbu Group in the south. To defend San Jose, the Japanese Army 10th Infantry Division took up positions behind the city, not in front of it as ordered. The 2nd Tank Division headquarters was two miles north of San Jose on the highway with two tanks, two 75mm guns and two infantry companies. On February 4, 1945 as the battle of Munoz raged to the southwest, U.S. Army 63rd Infantry Regiment and 1st Infantry Regiment advanced towards San Jose. The 63rd Infantry Regiment defeated small units to the south while the 1st Infantry Regiment advancing along the Talavera River liberated the town and established a roadblock facing Munoz while the 165th Field Artillery Battalion established at this location. During the battle, a mortar shell uncovered the buried coins. Later, three truckloads were recovered and the coins later returned to the Philippine Treasury. After the battle, San Jose was developed into a U.S. Army base area to support operations. From San Jose, the U.S. Army continued to advance expanding their line southward to Cabanatuan and southeast to Rizal. On February 12, 1945 the 27th Inf, 25th Div, relieves 1st Inf, 6th Div, at San Jose and improves positions along Highway 5 and the next day takes over the line. References U.S. Army in World War II Triumph in the Philippines Chapter XI Protecting XIV Corps' Rear and Flanks pages 188, 189, 190-193 (The Capture of San Jose), 196-197 (Outflanking Maneuvers), 198-199 (The Seizure of San Jose), 199-200 (Mop-up on the Approaches to San Jose), 201-202 (San Jose to the East Coast) Taki Home Page - The History of Battles of the Imperial Japanese Tanks, Part II "The [10th Tank] regiment received an order of withdrawal from the [2nd] division. They advanced forwards San Jose, but they were checked by the American forces. The regimental commander decided to abandon the tanks and the crews withdrew on foot. On Feb. 6th, [1945] the [6th Tank] regiment was ordered to withdraw. In this night, the regiment intended to break through the siege [of Munoz], but the Americans found out the cars and tanks escaping from the siege and fired them furiously. When the regiment reached at the mountain near San Jose, the regiment's strength decreased to one fifth." Pacific Island Odyssey (1992) Chapter 9: "During the battle for San Jose, a Jap mortar shell uncovered a cache of silver pesos. When the infantry men started to show them off to other soldiers, their officer reported the find to G-2 who sent the CIC [Counter Intelligence Corps] to investigate. When we arrived at the scene we found that deep inside the crater were still many more pesos, and after digging for a while uncovered three truckloads. Some investigation of captured records revealed that about $500,000 was being transported to Baguio when the Americans landed. The pesos were buried in the hopes that they could be dug up by the Japanese when Americans were past." Contribute
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