The Battle of Battan After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the invasion of the Philippines began. About 30,000 Americans, 25,000 Filipino regular army and roughly 100,000 Filipino volunteers faced the Japanese 14th Army. Although the Filipino and American defenders outnumbered the Japanese by 3-2, their large number went against them because their supplies, food, and medicine died down due to the large size of the allied forces. Within the four months of battling, their goal became clear: to provide time for America and Australia to build. Their rations were cut, medicines dwindled, and the outdated weaponry they were using was soon wearing out. In March, General Douglas MacArthur and his staff had been ordered by President Franklin Roosevelt to escape by boat to Australia. MacArthur assured the defenders and promised that he would be back. However, his famous speech "I shall return." did only little to reassure the defenders because help was not obviously on the way.
The men began calling themselves the "the Battling Bastards of Bataan" and recited lines "No mama, no papa, no Uncle Sam...No pills, no planes, no artillery pieces, and nobody gives a damn". Fearing that many people would suffer and die by the hands of the Japanese, Bataan Commander General Edward King was forced to surrender his troops on April 9 1942 which became known as the "Araw ng Kagitingan/Day of Valor" in the Philippines. Bataan Death March The events that occurred after their surrender were far worse than anyone can imagine. The Bataan Death March began as soon as the American and Filipino forces were assembled at Mariveles. Orders from the high command called for no sympathy for those who surrendered. The Japanese looked down upon those who surrendered, believing that it is better to die than to surrender. Since the Japanese were lacking trucks to transport the 70,000 prisoners of war, a force march was the only way to move them while some wounded Americans did ride trucks to San Fernando. About 11,700 Americans and as many as 65,000 Filipinos began the 65-mile march from Bataan Peninsula to San Fernando.
Between 600 and 700 Americans and between 5,000 and 10,000 Filipinos died from diseases such as malaria and dysentery, starvation and sheer exhaustion. Other deaths were brutal and horrific. Many Filipinos were beheaded and Americans and Filipinos suffered from the "sun treatment", in which they were forced to look toward the sun. Japanese captors were very violent and cruel to their captives, dangling food and water within their captives' reach before knocking with a bayonet thrust. Those who fell from exhaustion were stabbed with a bayonet or shot. |