Note 58 — Chapter XVI · The Fall of Ormoc

The Japanese forces suffered greatly in the course of the day. The commander of the Kamijo Battalion was severely wounded and the battalion itself had many casualties. Consequently, the Tateishi and Maeda Battalions of the 12th Independent Infantry Regiment, which had been alerted to join the Kamijo Battalion, were ordered to take positions north of Ormoc, on the night of 9 December.58 The Japanese troops in the sector opposing the 77th Division were two companies totaling 100 men of the 1st Battalion, 12th Independent Infantry, with three machine guns and two battalion guns; three companies totaling 250 men of the 3d Battalion of the same regiment with nine machine guns, two battalion guns, and four antitank guns; sixty men with three machine guns from the 30th Division; a paratroop unit of eighty men; a ship engineer unit of 500 men; and 750 personnel from the Navy. The total effective military strength was 1,740 men.59