June 14, 1945: The Fall of Bessang Pass- “Behind in the Cloud”.

105-MM. HOWITZER FIRING AT EXTREME ELEVATION in Bessang Pass.

Bessang Pass is a towering mountain rising 5,250 feet above sea level in Cervantes, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. It was seized by the Japanese following the fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942 and made it as their strategic fortress in Northern Luzon.The classic fighting was dubbed “Behind in the Cloud” because the warriors literally hugged the clouds during the fighting.

Bessang Pass in World War II.

The final battle between Filipino guerrillas and Japanese forces at Bessang Pass  lasted for almost six months (January to June 1945) before the Filipinos conquered the strategic mountain fortress on June 14, 1945. Around 3,400 Filipino guerrillas were killed and wounded during the fierce fighting at the Pass.

It was the defeat at Bessang Pass that forced the Supreme Commander of Japanese Imperial Forces Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita (Tiger of Malaya) to eventually surrender on 2 September 2, 1945. 

General Tomoyuki Yamashita, Supreme Commander of Japanese Imperial Forces, comes out of the mountains to surrender to the 32D ‘Red Arrow’ Infantry Division Kiangan, Luzon,  Philippines,on 2 Sep. 1945.U.S. Army Signal Corps photo. 

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