 The Japanese guards were surprised, and the bridge was secured for several hours before reinforcements arrived.The sudden seizure of the Bago river bridge easily allowed the 185th Infantry Regiment to land at Pulupandan unopposed, then they advanced rapidly, seizing seven more bridges in turn, and finally captured Bacolod City the next day 30 March, mostly because the Japanese did not contest the beach landings; with the use of artillery, they could have inflicted numerous casualties.The 40th Division pushed farther inland and toward Talisay, where Japanese forces tried to disrupt its advance with delaying actions, but the Americans simply overwhelmed these, and on 2 April, the coastal plain of Negros was in Allied hands.