83rd Infantry Regiment (PA)

83rd Infantry Regiment
83rd Infantry Regiment
Active	November 1941 - May 1942
Disbanded	May 12, 1942
Country	Philippines
Allegiance	United States Army
Branch	Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Reserve
Size	1,500
Part of	81st Infantry Division
Garrison/HQ	Tubigon, Bohol
Equipment	M1917 Enfield Rifles; M1923 Thompson Submachineguns; M1918 Browning Automatic Rifles;
Engagements	Battle of Cebu Island (1941)
Commanders
Notable; commanders	Lieutenant Colonel Rufus "Bill" Rodgers, USA; Colonel Fortunato Borbon, PA
Insignia
Identification; symbol

Last updated August 20, 2024

83rd Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Army is a reserve unit activated and organized in late 1941 few months before WW II commenced in the Philippines. It fought in Cebu Island during Japanese landings in April 1942 but ordered surrendered in May 1942. It was disbanded after all soldiers were POWs but some escaped and joined the guerilla movement in Cebu.

Organization

The regiment was activated with reserve soldiers coming mostly from Cebu and Bohol islands. Officers came from the main island of Luzon including its commander Lieutenant Colonel Fortunato Borbon a PC officer.^[1] The regiment was still organizing went hostilities broke in December 1941, and soldiers has not been full trained neither fired its issues weapons. Except for the 3rd Battalion under Major Arthur Grimes were it was left in Bohol to organized its defense in the island the entire regiment was transferred to the Northern part of Cebu Island with headquarters in Liloan town. In January 1942 the 81st Infantry Division Headquarters and its supporting units were ordered transferred to Mindanao. 83rd and 82nd Infantry were left to maintain the island defense. The 2 infantry regiments along with 808th MP Regiment comprises the Cebu Brigade under Colonel Irvine Scudder.^[2] In April, Lieutenant Colonel Rufus Rodgers took over the command of the regiment and continued the training of his men.

Japanese landing in Cebu

A new command was established Visayas Force to command all forces in the Visayas islands. Its commander Brigadier General Bradford Chynoweth established his headquarters at Camp X, Cantabaco in the southern Cebu.^[3] Realizing the critical point in securing the cross-island highway ordered Major Grimes to transfer 3rd Battalion, 83rd Infantry to Cebu from Bohol.

Commander of 83rd Infantry Regiment during battle of Cebu in April 1942. Rufusrodgers.jpg — Commander of 83rd Infantry Regiment during battle of Cebu in April 1942.

Kawaguchi Detachment landed in the southern coasts of Cebu on April 17, 1942, which 82nd Infantry Regiment fought hard to repulse these landings in Toledo and Talisay moving towards Cantabaco. 3rd Battalion was tasked to secure the town but after few skirmishes the overwhelming Japanese firepower with naval and air support was too much and they were forced to retreat inland. A demolition was set but when it failed to explode Major Grimes moved forward to scout the Japanese position but he was never seen again.^[4]

General Chynoweth ordered Colonel Rodgers who was in Liloan, to send reinforcements but due to lack of motor vehicles to transport one of his battalion it took them longer to reach Cebu by walking but a confusion of the order made the battalion turned around losing time to reinforce Cantabaco. it was lost and entire Visayas Force Headquarters retreated towards mountainous area of Sudlon. The defense of Cebu was disorganized in April 19, it was considered lost and communication was not established between forces outside Cebu and Visayas Force HQ and it was dissolved by General Wainwright.^{[ citation needed ]}

Surrender

On May 12, 1942, upon order of General William F. Sharp the commander of Visayas-Mindanao Force all units surrendered and soldiers are now POWs. The unit disbanded was never reactivated after the war.^{[ citation needed ]}

Related Research Articles

Fortunato Borbon (1890-1954) was a former soldier and politician in the Philippines. He was Captain in Philippine Constabulary and became a provincial commander of Palawan in 1931 to 1934 prior Philippines was transition to a Commonwealth.

The 61st Division of the Philippine Army was an infantry division from the 1941 to 1942.

The 81st Infantry Division was a reserve division of the Philippine Army under the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). It was established in the prewar period and fought 1941–1942. Its troops are from Cebu, Bohol, and Leyte but most of its troops are Americans and junior officers are Filipinos coming mostly from Luzon. The division served in defense of Mindanao but it never commanded the 4 of its maneuver regiments but was supplemented with 61st Infantry from Panay and 73rd Infantry from Negros. Also, 2nd Regular Regiment was transferred to its command in the early part of Japanese invasion of Mindanao.

Visayas-Mindanao Force was a military formation created in November 1941 to command all soldiers of US Army, US Philippine Scouts, Philippine Army, and Philippine Constabulary in the southern islands of the Philippines. Colonel William F. Sharp was appointed as commanding general and was promoted to Brigadier General in November 1941 and later Major General. His executive officer is Major Howard Edmands. He was just starting to organize his command and train his soldiers into a fighting unit when the war started on December 7, 1941.

Mindanao Force is a corps size military unit defending the island of Mindanao the second largest Island of the Philippines from March 17, 1942, to its surrender on May 9, 1942. The force was already created when the Visayas-Mindanao Force was split into two in March 1942. It was initiated in February 1942 in the headquarters of US Army Forces in the Far East but took effect when General Douglas MacArthur departed for Australia on March 17, 1942.

81st Infantry Regiment is a military unit and formation of the Philippine Commonwealth Army

Visayan Force is a US Forces in the Philippines subcommand which was created and took effect on March 17, 1942, after General Douglas MacArthur departed for Australia. It was disintegrated in the month after its creation due to the loss of contact of Visayan Force headquarters during the Japanese invasion of Cebu in April 16 to 19, 1942, it resorted to guerilla warfare. Eventually all forces in the Visayas was ordered to surrender on May 11, 1942.

82nd Infantry Regiment is a unit activated by the Philippine Commonwealth Army for the defense of the Philippine during World War II. It defended the Cebu Island particularly in the southern part of Cebu during the Japanese landings in Cebu island on April 16, 1942. It surrendered on May 12, 1942, after it was ordered by Visayas-Mindanao Force commander General Sharp to surrender.

Cebu Brigade is a military unit and formation organized in January 1942 by Visayas-Mindanao Force to defend the island of Cebu after ordering 81st Infantry Division Headquarters moved to Mindanao to bolster its defenses. USAFFE and later USFIP saw the island vital for the transport of the supplies to Bataan and Corregidor. Colonel Irvine Scudder was appointed as its commander until its surrender to Japanese.

94th Provisional Infantry Regiment is a territorial defense organized by Colonel Theodore Cornell

Negros Force was activated by USAFFE on September 1, 1941, to May 12, 1942. The force did not fought during the war but played in organizing units deployed to different sector. The force also continued to fight as a guerilla after the surrender. Although the two provinces was never united due to different affiliation of the commanders.

62nd Infantry Regiment was Philippine Army Reserve unit activated in November 1941 in Panay Island. It was organized from the Army reservist in that area with officers mostly coming from Luzon and Americans. I was based and trained in Cabatuan, Iloilo and was placed as part of 61st Infantry Division activated on November 1, 1941, in preparation for Japanese invasion of the Philippines.

63rd Infantry Regiment is a reserve unit of Philippine Army activated and organized during World War II. I was organized from reservist and recruits high school and college students around the 6th Military District. It is part of the 61st Infantry Division activated to cover the island of Panay. The regiment fought entirely in Panay island until it was ordered to surrendered on May 12, 1942.

United States Forces in the Philippines (USFIP) is a unified command in the Philippines during World War II. It was the successor to the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) which General Douglas MacArthur commanded. He moved to Australia as he evacuated as ordered by President Roosevelt in March 1942. The command only lasted two months as it surrendered by Lieutenant General Jonathan M. Wainwright to Lieutenant General Homma Masaharu commander of 14th Army of the Imperial Japanese Army.

On April 14, 1942 Kawaguchi Detachment who just landed in Lingayen, Pangasinan intended as reinforcement of the 14th Imperial Japanese Army to finally subdue Philippine-American forces in Bataan. However, General King surrendered days earlier before they arrived. Instead, General Homma Masaharu commander of 14th Army ordered them south to secure Cebu island in the Visayas intended as launching place for invasion of Mindanao after it is secured.

Irvine C. Scudder (1895–1950) is a retired United States Army Colonel who fought both World War I in France and World War II in the Philippines. He is best known as the commander of Filipino-American troops in Cebu Island from January 5, 1941, until ordered surrendered in May 12, 1942. He is both recipient of US Silver Star and Legion of Merit for his action as commander of Cebu Brigade. He was a POW and was released in Mukden POW camp in Manchuria in 1945.

75th (Provisional) Infantry Regiment was a reserve unit of Philippine Commonwealth Army activated under Negros Force in January 1942. It saw no action as it was disbanded in May 1942 after it surrendered to Japanese during World War II. Most of its soldiers escaped and joined guerilla movement organized by Major Salvador Abcede.

Leyte Force is a brigade size unit that was organized in Leyte Island in the Philippines during World War II. It was commanded by Colonel Theodore Cornell of US Army until its surrender in May 1942 upon orders of General Sharp commander of Visayas-Mindanao Force.

61st Field Artillery Regiment is a reserve unit of Philippine Army activated in August 1941 as part of 61st Infantry Division based in Panay Island. It fought as infantry as their guns did not reached them as it was sunk when SS Corregidor hit landmine in Manila Bay.

81st Field Artillery Regiment is a reserve unit of Philippine Commonwealth Army activated in August 1941 as part of 81st Infantry Division. It was organized and inducted in Cebu out of reserve soldiers and officers.

References

↑ Morton, Louis (June 26, 1953). The Fall of the Philippines (1st ed.). Washington D.C: Government Printing Center. pp. 502–503.
↑ Tarkington, Hiram. There Were Others (PDF). pp. 265–270.
↑ Scudder, Irvine (1945). Rpt of Military Activities in Cebu Dec 1941 - March 1942. pp. 96, 397–98, 484, 490–92.
↑ Tarkington, Hiram. There Were Others (PDF). pp. 225–235.

External links

There were others Unpublished papers of Colonel Hiram Tarkington.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Morton, Louis (June 26, 1953). The Fall of the Philippines (1st ed.). Washington D.C: Government Printing Center. pp. 502–503.

[2] Tarkington, Hiram. There Were Others (PDF). pp. 265–270.

[3] Scudder, Irvine (1945). Rpt of Military Activities in Cebu Dec 1941 - March 1942. pp. 96, 397–98, 484, 490–92.

[4] Tarkington, Hiram. There Were Others (PDF). pp. 225–235.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]