In September and November 1941, two ships left San Francisco carrying the men and 108 M3 tanks of the 192nd and 194th Tank Battalions. On 19 November, both units were joined, along with the 17th Ordnance Company, to form the Provisional Tank Group under Brig. Gen. James Weaver to serve in the defense of the Philippines. Both units had been formed from National Guard Tank Companies and neither group had ever seen an M3 before they embarked. Each battalion had 54 M3 tanks, but their allotment of half-tracks and support vehicles was far understrength. On inspection it was found that there was no high explosive ammunition for the guns, no oil for the guns' recuperators and no tank radios. Not until after the war began were the tank guns able to be fired, and when the radios arrived they proved to be the wrong type. As a result of the radio mix-up, the machine gun in the right sponson had to be removed to make room for the new set. This left a hole in the front armor that local Ordnance refused to cover over in the absence of written orders from stateside. Like so many other matters, this had to be resolved by extraordinary means.
On 8 December, the tanks of Company D of the 194th Tank Battalion were stationed around the perimeter of Clark Field in anti-paratroop positions. During the Japanese air raids, the tanks brought down one fighter which was later matched by the 192nd Tank Battalion. The 192rd Tank Battalion was eventually assigned to assist in repulsing the Japanese amphibious invasion at Lingayen Gulf and in the first tank-vs-tank engagement of the U.S. Army in World War II, met tanks of the Japanese 4th Sensha Rentai around Damortis on 22 December 1941. A small scouting patrol of 5 tanks from Company С was sent down a narrow jungle road where it ran into a group of Type 95 Ha-Gos which had prepared an ambush. The lead tank was destroyed and the remaining 4 tanks all hit, but managed to escape. The 192nd Tank Battalion was forced to withdraw with the rest of the Army, but remained in contact with its adversaries in the 4th Sensha Rentai, fighting another battle outside Moncada on 27 December without result. Company С finally got revenge on 31 December 1941 around Baliuag. That day, the Japanese had captured the town, and the Company, now under Lt. Wm. Gentry, was ordered to dislodge them. Around 1700, the M3s barreled into the town, shooting the place up and making a general shambles of things. They soon ran into Ha-Gos of the 4th Sensha Rentai and in the fading light, American and Japanese tanks began chasing each other through the narrow streets. By nightfall, the M3s had knocked out 8 Type 95s at no cost to themselves.
During the subsequent months of action during the retreat towards Bataan, there were few other tank-vs-tank engagements and the Provisional Tank Group was used mainly in desperate rear guard actions. These skirmishes were extremely costly in men and equipment and many tanks had to be left behind when bridges were prematurely blown up by other retreating units. This was such a problem that by 20 February 1942 the Japanese had captured 31 M3s. In the later phases of the fight, the M3s served alongside M3 Gun Motor Carriages (M3 half-tracks fitted with a 75mm anti-tank gun). The last tank action of the campaign occurred on 7 April 1942 when the tanks of the 194th Tank Battalion destroyed two enemy tanks, probably of the 7th Sensha Rentai. The 194th Tank Battalion was the last American unit to withdraw into Bataan and saw action until the end of the campaign at which point all remaining equipment was destroyed. Many of the crews subsequently died in the infamous Bataan Death March. Several of the M3s that had" been captured by the Japanese were sent home for evaluation, but the rest were used in the Philippines by the 3rd Chutai of the 7th Sensha Rentai for garrison duty. During the fighting in the Philippines in January and February 1945, some of these Stuarts were used against the Americans, being captured or destroyed. Ironically, these Stuarts were the first and last M3s to see action in the Pacific. |
