Battle of Bataan
The Battle of Bataan was a significant and tragic confrontation during World War II, occurring in early 1942 on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. Following Japanese landings on Luzon in December 1941, American and Filipino forces, totaling over 80,000 soldiers, retreated to Bataan and Corregidor Island. The battle saw fierce fighting, characterized by intense Japanese assaults and a two-month stalemate due to severe shortages of supplies, which weakened the defenders. Despite their determination and hopes for rescue, the situation deteriorated after General Douglas MacArthur evacuated the Philippines on March 11, 1942. The Japanese forces, under General Masaharu Homma, resumed their offensive in April, ultimately leading to the unconditional surrender of the Allied troops on April 9. The aftermath of the battle is marked by the horrific Bataan Death March, where approximately 75,000 prisoners were forced to march sixty miles under brutal conditions, resulting in thousands of deaths. The Battle of Bataan remains a poignant chapter in military history, representing both valor and suffering.
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Battle of Bataan
Type of action: Ground battle in World War II
Date: December, 1941-April, 1942
Location: Bataan Peninsula in Luzon, Philippines
Combatants: 80,000 Americans and Filipinos vs. 43,000 Japanese
Principal commanders:American-Filipino, General Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964); Japanese, General Masaharu Homma (1887–1946)
Result: Helped Japan conquer the Philippines
Japanese landings on Luzon in late December of 1941, during World War II, forced General Douglas MacArthur to withdraw to Bataan and Corregidor Island. By January 6, 1942, more than 80,000 Americans and Filipinos had retreated to the jungles and mountains of the rugged peninsula.
Fierce Japanese attacks, amphibious assaults along the west coast, and numerous infiltration operations pushed the defenders back until they established a solid defensive line on January 26. With both armies exhausted, a two-month stalemate developed. Severe shortages of all supplies, especially food and medicine, progressively weakened MacArthur’s men. Even though their effectiveness deteriorated daily, “the battling bastards of Bataan” believed they might be rescued. MacArthur’s departure from the Philippines on March 11 dashed those hopes.
The heavily reinforced Japanese, led by General Masaharu Homma, resumed their offensive in early April and steadily drove the sick and starving defenders down the peninsula until April 9, when all troops on Bataan were unconditionally surrendered. Corregidor would hold out for almost a month, but the Japan won the Philippines with its victory on Bataan.
Significance
The tragedy of Bataan—beyond the death and suffering of those who fought there—was the fate that befell the 75,000 surviving American and Filipino soldiers immediately after surrender. On the Bataan Death March, a grueling, six-day, sixty-mile march to prison camps, thousands of prisoners died.
Bibliography
Bataan. Fiction feature. 1943. MGM/UA Home Video, 1986.
Beck, John J. MacArthur and Wainwright: Sacrifice of the Philippines. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1974.
Conroy, Robert. The Battle of Bataan: America’s Greatest Defeat. New York: Macmillan, 1969.
Knox, Donald. Death March: The Survivors of Bataan. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981.
Morton, Louis. The Fall of the Philippines: History of the United States Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1953.
Nieva, Antonio A. The Fight for Freedom: Remembering Bataan and Corregidor. Quezon City, Philippines: New Day, 1997.
Young, Donald J. The Battle of Bataan. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1992.