The Luzon Campaign 1945: MacArthur Returns by Nathan N. Prefer. Casemate, 2024, 307 pp.
Bataan. Corregidor. Manila. These are the battles that most people think of when they consider the Philippines during World War II. They also likely think of the disastrous defeats that American troops suffered at the hands of the Japanese army in 1942, General Douglas MacArthur’s dramatic nighttime departure from the battle before all was lost, and the horrific death march that 75,000 prisoners of war endured. Most people forget, or are simply unaware, that hundreds of thousands of American Soldiers fought for eight months in 1945 to liberate the main Philippine island of Luzon in the largest American ground campaign in the Pacific. Nathan Prefer’s new work aims to set the record straight and shed light on an often overlooked and even forgotten campaign.
This work is the latest from a historian who has made a career of writing well-researched books about World War II. In addition to works on the campaigns in Tinian, New Guinea, and Burma, Prefer previously covered the battle of Leyte (Casemate, 2012), and this new work provides an excellent conclusion to the Philippines campaign. The Luzon Campaign 1945 is exhaustively researched and blends the strategic picture with foxhole-level views of the battles, helping the reader gain an appreciation for the strategy, tactics, and operations involved in the overall campaign as well as the hardships of the common soldier. Through this analysis Prefer tries to convey the historical significance of the campaign and situate it in the pantheon of major World War II actions. He largely succeeds through careful explanation of the scale of the campaign in terms of forces on both sides, logistics, time, and the significant personalities involved, including MacArthur and Generals Walter Kruger and Robert Eichelberger. These facts are the key to readers understanding that Luzon was one of the longest major battles of the Pacific Theater as well as one of the largest commitments of American manpower.
The book explores the campaign chronologically, beginning with the landings at Lingayen Gulf that put more US divisions ashore in one day than did Operation Overlord in Normandy. From there it describes in detail how forces advanced toward MacArthur’s personal objective of Manila. There is space dedicated to the recapture of Corregidor that opened Manila Bay, where most histories of the campaign end, but Prefer spends the majority of his book detailing the follow-on operations. He demonstrates that while the reduction of Japanese forces in southern and western Luzon could arguably be described as “mopping up” operations, the battles to secure the bulk of Luzon were every bit as brutal as the most famous battles in Western Europe. These include operations to seize the dams and reservoirs outside Manila, the action to take the Villa Verde Trail and open the way to Baguio, and joint operations with Filipino guerillas that are all fascinating laurels of the US Army. This book explores those battles, along with individual heroes from each, while always providing strategic context.
At times, the work can be monotonous and repetitive. The disparate images of ridge lines, enemy ambushes, troop thirst, and soldiers’ exhaustion all blend together in the mind of the reader. But perhaps that is the point. Prefer does not gloss over battles when they start to sound the same, because the men who fought them did not have the option to fast forward to something new or exciting. The book clearly describes how each ridge had to be cleared with firepower and the exhausting maneuvers of small units and individual soldiers. The campaign continued long after the flashy drive to the capital, the unimaginable hellscape of urban fighting in Manila, and the dazzling recapture of Corregidor.
After those battles, hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers remained. They needed to be rooted out and eliminated lest they threaten Luzon’s use as a massive air base and supply depot for the anticipated climactic battle for the Japanese Islands. Two US field armies—the Sixth and Eighth—were committed to the task through August 1945. Despite their Herculean efforts, over 50,000 Japanese soldiers survived to surrender. Those Army forces suffered more than 47,000 battle casualties during the operation, and Prefer tells their story.
Admittedly, the work is not as accessible as some other recent World War II histories that touch on operations in the Philippines, such as John C. McManus’ To the End of the Earth: The US Army and the Downfall of Japan, 1945 (Dutton Caliber, 2023). It is, however, vastly more detailed. Prefer offers a more comprehensive look at the battle, providing information that is missing in recent World War II Philippines scholarship. He sets the stage for future study of the campaign as the efforts to defeat General Tomoyuki Yamashita’s forces required significant troops, equipment, and effort on the part of the US military. Although Prefer’s work is heavy on details, there is ample room for future research and analysis.
Unfortunately, the book does suffer from a lack of accessible maps. Prefer includes several maps from the official US Army history of the battle, but these are too infrequent and difficult to read. This makes it challenging for general readers to follow the specific battles that take place across a vast island that is unfamiliar to most.
Still, the battle for Luzon holds important lessons for potential modern conflict in the Pacific. The island is similar in size, terrain, and climate to Taiwan. Because of this, readers can glean from the book’s historical examples how to both attack and defend such an island. Modern planners of Taiwan’s strategy could learn much from Yamashita’s slow withdrawal into Luzon’s northern mountains, and how his forces exacted a heavy toll on American forces for every ridge and village while often slipping away to set up new defenses. Prefer’s work serves as a starting point for that analysis.
The Luzon Campaign 1945 is a fitting capstone to Prefer’s previous study of World War II operations in the Philippines. Academics and history buffs alike will enjoy his examination of little-known battles. As noted, modern US Indo-Pacific Command strategists should also take a look at the latter chapters of the book for applicable case studies in island warfare. All will find the book to be a satisfying read.
Lieutenant Colonel Ian Bertram, USAF