Battle of Philippines
The battle of the Philippines refers to several wars, military campaigns, and major battles which have been fought in the Philippine Islands. The objects of Japan invading the Philippines was to prevent use of the Philippines as an advance base of operations by American force, acquire staging areas and supply bases to enhance operations against the Netherlands East Indies, and secure the lines of communication between occupied areas in the south and Japanese Home Islands.
General Douglas MacArthur had been in the Philippines for many years before WWII. But in 1942 Roosevelt secretly ordered MacArthur to leave so that he wouldn't be captured when the Philippines fell to the Japanese. He left by PT boat for Australia on March 11, 1942 leaving Major-General Wainwright in command. Upon arriving in Australia, MacArthur promised the people over radio broadcast that "I came through and I shall return" to liberate the Philippines when the US was powerful enough to defeat the Japanese occupation forces. On Oct. 20, 1944 he waded ashore in the Philippines thus keeping his promise.
Batann was also forced to surrender on April 9,1942. Almost 78,000 troops were captured by the Japanese but for the defenders of the peninsula, the ordeal was only the beginning. The "Bataan Death March" was to severely test the resolve of Allied soldiers. Many troops died of exhaustion or hunger, as well as at the hands of their merciless captors during the sixty-mile trek to the prison at Camp O'Donnell.
While all this was going on, on the island of Corregidor, known as the "Rock," American and Filipino holdouts were enduring intense day-and-night aerial and artillery bombardment. On May 5, the Japanese invaded the little island but met stiff resistance from American Marines, Philippine scouts and civilian volunteers. General Wainwright then surrendered corregidor on May 6 making this the last American stronghold in the Pacific. The disaster in the Philippines was to become the worst military defeat in U.S. history. The war in the Philippines appeared over.
Although it was over thousands of Americans and Filipinos refused to obey the surrender orders and continued to fight the Japanese forces in a lengthy guerrilla war that lasted until the American recapture of the 7,000-island nation in October, 1944.
This sounds like it was a tough war. But i don't get why they just wouldn't surrender when they were supposed to!?
Comments
Well done! When you say when they were supposed to surrender, what do you mean? Bring this up in class when you discuss it on Tuesday.