Formation Inspired by the pioneering German use of large-scale airborne formations during the
Battle of France in 1940 and later the
invasion of Crete in 1941, the various
Allied powers decided to raise
airborne units of their own. One of the resultant five American and two British airborne divisions, the 11th Airborne Division, was officially activated on 25 February 1943 at
Camp Mackall in
North Carolina, under the command of
Major General Joseph Swing. As formed, the division consisted of the
511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the
187th Glider Infantry Regiment and the
188th Glider Infantry Regiment, and with a complement of 8,321 men was around half the strength of a regular U.S. infantry division of
World War II. The division initially remained in the United States for training, which in common with all airborne units was extremely arduous to befit their elite status. Training included lengthy forced marches, simulated parachute landings from towers, and practice jumps from transport aircraft; hesitancy in the doorway of an aircraft resulted in an automatic failure for the candidate. The washout rate was high, but there was never a shortage of candidates, especially because in American airborne units the rate of pay was much higher than that of an ordinary infantryman. The 11th Airborne Division commanding general, Swing, was temporarily transferred to act as airborne advisor to
General Dwight D. Eisenhower for the operation and observed the airborne assault which went badly. The 82nd Airborne Division had been inserted by
parachute and had suffered high casualties, leading to a perception that it had failed to achieve many of its objectives.
Swing Board Eisenhower reviewed the airborne role in
Operation Husky and concluded that large-scale formations were too difficult to control in combat to be practical.
Lieutenant General Lesley J. McNair, the overall commander of
Army Ground Forces, had similar misgivings: once an airborne supporter, he had been greatly disappointed by the performance of airborne units in North Africa and more recently Sicily. However, other high-ranking officers, including the
Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, believed otherwise. Marshall persuaded Eisenhower to set up a review board and to withhold judgement until the outcome of a large-scale maneuver, planned for December 1943, could be assessed. When Swing returned to the
United States to resume command of the 11th Airborne in mid-September 1943, he was given the role of preparing the exercise. McNair ordered him to form a committee—the Swing Board—composed of
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), parachute, glider infantry and artillery officers, whose arrangements for the maneuver would effectively decide the fate of divisional-sized airborne forces.
Knollwood Maneuver The 11th Airborne, as the attacking force, was assigned the objective of capturing
Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield near
Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The force defending the airfield and its environs was a combat team composed of elements of the
17th Airborne Division and a battalion from the
541st Parachute Infantry Regiment. The entire operation was observed by McNair, who would ultimately have a significant say in deciding the fate of the parachute infantry divisions. The Knollwood Maneuver took place on the night of 7 December 1943, with the 11th Airborne Division being airlifted to thirteen separate objectives by 200
C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft and 234
Waco CG-4A gliders. The transport aircraft were divided into four groups, two of which carried paratroopers while the other two towed gliders. Each group took off from a different airfield in the Carolinas. The four groups deployed a total of 4,800 troops in the first wave. Eighty-five percent were delivered to their targets without navigational error,
Leyte Following the Knollwood Maneuver the 11th Airborne remained in reserve until January 1944, when it was moved by train from Camp Mackall to
Camp Polk in
Louisiana. After four weeks of final preparation for its combat role, in April the division was moved to
Camp Stoneman, California and then transferred to
Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, between 25 May and 11 June. Four days later it was attached to
XXIV Corps and committed to combat, but operating as an infantry division rather than in an airborne capacity. The 11th Airborne was ordered to relieve the
7th Infantry Division stationed in the Burauen-La Paz-Bugho area, engage and destroy all Japanese forces in its operational area, and protect XXIV Corps rear-area supply dumps and airfields. Swing ordered the 187th Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR) to guard the rear installations of XXIV Corps, while the 188th GIR was to secure the division's rear and conduct aggressive patrols to eliminate any enemy troops in the area. The 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) was assigned the task of destroying all Japanese formations in the division's operational area, which it began on 28 November when it relieved the 7th Infantry. The 511th PIR advanced overland with two battalions abreast and the third in reserve, but progress proved slow in the face of fierce Japanese resistance, a lack of mapped trails and heavy rainfall (with more than falling in November alone). As the advance continued resupply became progressively more difficult; the division resorted to using large numbers of
Piper Cub aircraft to drop food and ammunition. Several attempts were made to improve the rate of advance, such as dropping platoons of the 187th GIR from Piper Cubs in front of the 511th PIR to reconnoiter, and using C-47 transport aircraft to drop artillery pieces to the regiment's location when other forms of transport, such as
mule-trains, failed. On 6 December the Japanese tried to disrupt operations on Leyte by conducting two small-scale airborne raids. The first attempted to deploy a small number of Japanese airborne troops to occupy several key American-held airfields at
Tacloban and
Dulag, but failed when the three aircraft used were either shot-down, crash-landed or destroyed on the ground along with their passengers. The second, larger, raid was carried out by between 29 and 39 transport aircraft supported by fighters; despite heavy losses, the Japanese managed to drop a number of airborne troops around
Burauen airfield, where the headquarters of 11th Airborne Division were located. Six
L-5 Sentinel reconnaissance aircraft and one C-47 transport were destroyed, but the raiders were eliminated by an
ad hoc combat group of artillerymen, engineers and support troops led by Swing. The 511th PIR was reinforced by the 2nd Battalion, 187th GIR, and continued its slow but steady progress. On 17 December it broke through the Japanese lines and arrived at the western shoreline of Leyte, linking up with elements of the
32nd Infantry Division. It was during this period that Private
Elmer E. Fryar earned a
posthumous Medal of Honor when he helped to repel a counterattack, personally killing twenty-seven Japanese soldiers before being mortally wounded by a
sniper. The regiment was ordered to set up temporary defensive positions before being relieved on 25 December by the 1st Batt., 187th GIR, and the 2nd Batt., 188th GIR, who would themselves incur considerable casualties against a heavily dug-in enemy. The 511th PIR was reassembled at its original base-camp in Leyte on 15 January 1945.
Luzon On 22 January the division was placed on alert for an operation on the island of
Luzon, to the north of Leyte. By 10:30 elements of the 188th had pushed deep into southern Luzon, creating the space for the 187th GIR to come ashore. The 188th's 2nd Battalion was relieved and the regiment continued its advance, reaching the River Palico by 14:30 and securing a vital bridge before it could be destroyed by Japanese
combat engineers. Following Highway 17 to Tumalin, the regiment began to encounter heavier Japanese resistance. At midnight the 187th took over the lead and the two glider infantry regiments rested briefly before tackling the main Japanese defensive lines. These consisted of trenches linked to bunkers and fortified caves, and were manned by several hundred infantry with numerous artillery pieces in support. At 09:00 on 1 February the glider infantry launched their assault, and by midday had managed to break through the first Japanese position; they spent the rest of the day conducting mopping up operations. On the morning of 2 February the second line was breached, and by midnight the 188th had broken a third. The divisional reconnaissance platoon was now in the vicinity of Tagaytay Ridge, the intended site of the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment's first combat drop. The 511th's airborne operation had originally been scheduled for 2 February, but with Swing's insistence that the drop was only to go ahead if his ground forces were in range to offer support, the dogged Japanese resistance encountered delayed the operation. At 03:00 on 3 February the troops of the first lift entered their transport planes, and at 07:00 the first transports left Mindoro. Protected by an escort of
P-61 Black Widow night fighters, on arriving over Luzon they followed Highway 17 to Tagaytay Ridge. The ridge itself was an open space some long and wide, plowed in places, and had been largely cleared of Japanese troops by local Filipino soldiers and recognized guerrillas. However, the entire regiment was assembled within five hours of the first landings. After overcoming minor Japanese resistance, by 15:00 the 511th had made contact with the 188th and 187th, and the entire division was once again assembled as a single formation. The ridge having been cleared of its remaining defenders, the division began to advance towards
Manila, with the national highway in Silang, Dasmarinas, Imus and Bacoor where cleared by Fil-American Cavite Guerilla Forces FACGF under General Mariano Castaneda and reaching the Paranaque River by 21:00. The city was protected by the Genko Line, a major Japanese defensive belt that stretched along Manila's southern edge. The line consisted of approximately 1,200 two- to three-story deep
blockhouses, many of which emplaced naval guns or large-caliber mortars. Entrenched heavy anti-aircraft weapons, machine-gun nests and booby-traps made of naval bombs completed the defenses, which were manned by around 6,000 Japanese soldiers. after the Battle of Manila, May 1945 The 11th Airborne Division was ordered to breach the Genko Line and drive into Manila, where it would link up with other American forces attacking the city from the north. All three regiments were committed to the assault. During the advance on Manila, the division's Chief of Staff, Colonel Irvin R. Schimmelpfennig III, was killed by Japanese small arms fire on 4 February and posthumously awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross. Spearheading the division's attack on 5 February, the 511th overcame fierce resistance and broke the crust of the Japanese position, but was soon relieved by the 188th. As the glider regiment took up the push westwards in the face of heavy opposition, the 511th changed their axis of advance and attempted to move into the city from the south. By 11 February, the division had penetrated as far as
Nichols Field, an airfield that formed the center of the Genko Line. This was heavily fortified with a number of entrenched naval guns and a series of bunkers; after a short artillery bombardment on the morning of 12 February, the 187th's 2nd Battalion attacked the airfield's north-west corner while the 1st Battalion and the entire 188th regiment moved in from the south and south-eastern corners. This pincer movement succeeded in taking the airfield and, despite a local counter-attack, by nightfall the position was secured. The following day the division thrust towards
Fort William McKinley, the headquarters of Rear Admiral
Sanji Iwabuchi, commander of the Japanese defenders on Luzon. During this advance
Private First Class Manuel Perez Jr. neutralized several Japanese bunkers which were impeding the division's progress, capturing one single-handedly and killing eighteen Japanese soldiers. Perez was killed by a sniper a month later in South Luzon, and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. On 15 February, the 1st Battalion of the 187th, alongside other American units, launched an attack on Mabato Point. This was an extremely heavily fortified position featuring the same defensive measures as the Genko Line, and it would take six days of hard fighting, multiple airstrikes, and the frequent use of
napalm and heavy artillery, before the point was secured. Meanwhile, having taken heavy casualties on its approach to Fort McKinley—particularly when the Japanese detonated a quantity of buried naval
depth charges—on 17 February the rest of the 11th Airborne Division assaulted the fort. The 511th led the break-in, and by 18 February the area had been cleared of its defenders. Sporadic fighting continued in Manila until 3 March, when all organized Japanese resistance ended.
Raid at Los Baños A large number of civilian prisoners had been detained by the Japanese on Luzon, mostly in internment camps scattered throughout the island. The largest of these was located on the campus of the
Agricultural College of the Philippines at
Los Baños, some south-east of Manila.
General Douglas MacArthur had tasked the 11th Airborne Division with rescuing the Los Baños internees on 3 February, but the division's ongoing combat operations around the Genko Line left it unable to divert any resources at that time. All that could be accomplished during February was to gather information, primarily through liaison with the guerilla groups operating in Southern Luzon and around Los Baños. Swing and his command staff were briefed daily by the officer working with the guerilla groups, Major Vanderpool. Vanderpool was informed that the camp's population consisted of American civilians in three distinct groups: Protestant missionaries and their families; Roman Catholic nuns and priests; and professional workers such as doctors and engineers, and their families. The latter group included several hundred women and children. While all the inmates appeared to be in good health, many had become weak from food rationing. On 20 February, Swing was finally able to release sufficient troops for a raid on the Los Baños camp, and a four-phase plan was devised by Vanderpool and the divisional staff officers. The divisional reconnaissance platoon would travel across a nearby lake and move to the outskirts of the camp, securing a large adjacent field as the drop zone for a company of paratroopers. Having landed, the paratroopers would eliminate Japanese resistance in the area, secure the camp, and prepare for its evacuation. Fifty-four amphibious
Amtracs would transport two additional companies of paratroopers to the lake shore, where a beachhead would be established while the Amtracs continued to the camp to evacuate its occupants. Simultaneously, a task force consisting of a reinforced infantry battalion, two battalions of heavy artillery and a
tank destroyer battalion would advance down Highway 1 towards Los Baños to interdict any Japanese attempts to interfere. During the afternoon B Company of the 1st Battalion, 511th PIR was transferred to the airfield from which they would be deployed, while the rest of the battalion rendezvoused with the Amtrac convoy. At 07:00 on the morning of 23 February, B Company took off in ten C-47s, arriving over their drop zone shortly afterwards. At the lakeshore the 511th's other two companies had secured their beachhead, and the convoy of Amtracs reached the camp without incident. Priority during loading was given to the women, children and wounded; some of the able-bodied men walked alongside the Amtracs as they returned to the beach. The first evacuation convoy left the camp at approximately 10:00, with B Company, the reconnaissance platoon and the guerrillas remaining behind to provide a rearguard. By 11:30 all of the civilians had been evacuated, and at 13:00 the Amtrac convoy returned for the rearguard, with the last paratroopers leaving the beach at approximately 15:00. Meanwhile, on Highway 1, the taskforce that had been deployed to protect the operation met heavy Japanese resistance and suffered several casualties, but was able to block Japanese forces that advanced on the camp, before retreating back to American lines. The raid had been a complete success, liberating 2,147 civilians.
Southern Luzon and Aparri On the day that the Los Baños internees were freed, the headquarters of
Sixth United States Army assigned the 11th Airborne Division the task of destroying all Japanese formations in southern Luzon, south of Manila. The bulk of the division moved south the following day, with the 187th GIR and the 511th PIR advancing abreast. The 188th GIR was detached from the main advance by Swing; it was to eliminate all Japanese units still operating in the Pico de Loro hills along the southern shore of
Manila Bay. It would take until the end of April for the 11th Airborne Division—often acting in conjunction with Filipino soldiers, the recognized guerillas and elements of the
1st Cavalry Division—to subdue the
Shimbu Group. Conducting combat operations was extremely difficult in the mountainous terrain, and many Japanese units elected to fight to the death rather than surrender. The 11th Airborne's next operation took place on 23 June in the province of Aparri in northern Luzon. By this time the only Japanese forces remaining on the island were positioned to the far north and belonged to the 52,000-strong
Shobu Group. This last of General Yamashita's three groups proved to be the most tenacious, forcing
Lieutenant-General Walter Krueger, commander of the Sixth United States Army, to commit four infantry divisions, an armored task force and a large band of the Filipino recognized guerrillas. While these forces pinned down the Japanese, the
37th Infantry Division began an advance northwards, defeating a weaker formation and encircling the main Japanese force. To ensure the success of the 37th's drive, Krueger called for an airborne force to land near Aparri and move southwards to meet the advancing 37th. The 11th Airborne Division was to drop a battalion-sized combat team on Camalaniugan Airfield, approximately south of Aparri. It would then advance southwards, eliminating all Japanese resistance, until it linked up with the leading elements of the 37th Infantry Division. To accomplish this Swing formed a special unit–Gypsy Task Force–comprising the 1st Battalion of the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, G and I Companies of the regiment's 2nd Battalion, an artillery battery from the 457th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, and a platoon of engineers and miscellaneous signal and medical detachments. Gypsy Task Force would be transported by 54 C-47s and 13 C-46s aircraft, as well as six Waco CG-4A Gliders which would land
jeeps and supplies for the task force. On 21 June, a detachment of
pathfinders from the division was flown in to secure Camalaniugan Airfield, and two days later the transport aircraft carrying the troops of Gypsy Task Force were escorted by fighters to the area. At 09:00 the pathfinder detachment set off colored smoke to mark the drop-zone, but fierce winds and uneven ground around the airfield proved hazardous to the parachutists, causing two deaths and seventy injuries during the drop. Despite these casualties the force was rapidly concentrated, and began its advance southwards. Japanese resistance was stiff, forcing the airborne troops to rely on
flamethrowers to eliminate bunkers and fortifications along their route.
Casualties •
Total battle casualties: 2,431 •
Killed in action: 494 •
Distinguished Unit Citations: 13 •
Medal of Honor: 2 • Private
Elmer E. Fryar(
KIA) • Private First Class
Manuel Pérez Jr.(
KIA) •
Distinguished Service Cross: 10 •
Silver Star: 432 •
Legion of Merit: 10 •
Soldier's Medal: 56 •
Bronze Star Medal: 1,515 •
Air Medal: 41 ==Post-World War II==