Location
Lat 15° 31' 60N Long120° 47' 60E San Jose is located at the intersection of Highway 5 and Highway 8 in Nueva Ecija Province in central Luzon in the Philippines. San Jose was the terminus of a railroad line connecting to Manila. To the north is Digdig.
Wartime History
In early 1945, San Jose was part of the Japanese Army retreat route using the railroad line to move troops from Manila northward to San Jose then northward into the in Cagayan Valley and mountains as part of their defense of Luzon. To defend San Jose, the Japanese Army 10th Infantry Division took up positions behind the city, not in front of it (toward American lines) as ordered. The 2nd Tank Division headquarters was located two miles north of San Jose on the highway with two tanks, two 75mm guns and two infantry companies.
In early February 1945 while the battle of Munoz raged nearby, on February 4, 1945 the U. S. Army 63rd Infantry Regiment and 1st Infantry Regiment attacked San Jose. After the 63rd Infantry Regiment defeated small units to the south while the 1st Infantry Regiment liberated the town and established a roadblock facing Munoz with the 165th Field Artillery Battalion based at this location. Afterwards, San Jose was developed into a U. S. Army base area to support operations to the north.
References
Taki Home Page - The History of Battles of the Imperial Japanese Tanks, Part II
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Last Updated
January 30, 2020
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