American and Filipino defensive line after Japanese attack on Luzon. MacArthur and President Manuel Quezon were evacuated to Bataan on December 24, 1941. The entire peninsula fell to the Japanese on April 8, 1942. It was liberated by US Army forces on February 21, 1945.
The Bataan Death March had been a topic for debate as a systematic atrocity in the same line as the Holocaust by the Nazis Germany. However, 60 years after the war, it is now being reconsidered from various perspectives.
An estimated 80,000 or 90,000 US and Philippine military personnel and civilians came out and surrendered under a white flag. They were forced to move by the Japanese Army, on foot to San Fernando, given very little water and food. Maj. Gen. Masaharu Homma, the General Commander of the 14th Army, was executed by shooting after the war, as responsible for the “Death March.” According to his indictment, the number of the dead or missing was as high as around 1,200 for the US POWs and 16,000 for the Filipino POWs.
The Japanese Army made a transport plan beforehand, but because the number of the POWs exceeded their estimate, they lacked in the means of transport such as trucks, accommodation facilities, and medical facilities. Also, it was common for the Japanese troops to move on foot. In the first place, food was not enough for the Japanese Army so they couldn’t afford to supply food to the POWs. Moreover, the Japanese soldiers had a rifle and other full apparatus on them, while it was easier for the POWs as they weren’t armed. In addition, although the General Commander of the US Forces of the Bataan Peninsula had surrendered, artillery battle against the US-Philippine Forces in Corregidor Island across the sea was still going on.
Corregidor
Corregidor is a protected national park, with a small population whose job it is to maintain the grounds and look after the tourists. Most people choose the short day trip by fast catamaran from Manila, which includes a guided bus tour around some of the more significant sites. For the more serious visitor, there is a nice hotel in the
Island of Corregidor.
Nearly 90,000 soldiers and refugees marched along the road, and nearly 20,000 of them disappeared on the way.
The Japanese Army made a transport plan beforehand, but because the number of the POWs exceeded their estimate, they lacked in the means of transport such as trucks, accommodation facilities, and medical facilities. Also, it was common for the Japanese troops to move on foot. In the first place, food was not enough for the Japanese Army so they couldn’t afford to supply food to the POWs. Moreover, the Japanese soldiers had a rifle and other full apparatus on them, while it was easier for the POWs as they weren’t armed. In addition, although the General Commander of the US Forces of the Bataan Peninsula had surrendered, artillery battle against the US-Philippine Forces in Corregidor Island across the sea was still going on.
Corregidor
