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Battle of the Philippines

Far East Air Force controversy - Invasion
Battle of Bataan - Battle of Corregidor
The Battle of the Philippines was the invasion of the Philippines by Japan in 1941–42 and the defense of the islands by Filipino and United States forces. Although the result was a Japanese victory, the perseverance of the defenders delayed Japanese attacks on other areas and assisted Allied counterattacks in the South West Pacific theatre, from late 1942.
Defenses
From mid-1941, following increased tension between Japan and several other powers, including the United States, Britain and the Netherlands, many countries in South East Asia and the Pacific began to prepare for the possibility of war.

By December 1941, the combined defense forces in the Philippines included the 10 divisions of the Philippine Army (PA), under General Douglas MacArthur, who had retired as U.S. Army Chief of Staff in 1937 and had accepted control of the PA. MacArthur had been tasked by the Government of the Philippines with reforming an army made up primarily of reservists lacking equipment, training and organization.

The U.S. Army's 22,532 strong garrison, known as the Philippine Department, was under Maj. Gen. George Grunert. The main part of Grunert's force was the U.S. Army's Philippine Division, which included a substantial number of Filipinos, in Philippine Scouts (PS) units. The garrison had been augmented by 8,500 personnel from National Guard units on the U.S. mainland, including the only armour, two tank battalions.

The U.S. Army Air Forces Far East Air Force (FEAF), under Maj. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton, was the largest U.S. air formation outside the United States and included 107 P-40 fighters and 35 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers.

MacArthur organized the defenders into four commands. The North Luzon Force, under Maj. Gen. Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV defended the most likely sites for amphibious attacks and the central plains. This included Bataan Peninsula, the fallback position, which adjoined Manila Bay. Across a narrow 3 kilometre (2 mi) strait of water from Bataan was Ft. Mills, on the island of Corregidor, which housed the 59th and 60th AntiAircraft Regiments, fixed seacoast defense batteries, as well as the 91st Reg. and forces of the Filipino Scouts. Wainwright's forces included the PA 11th, 21st and 31st Infantry Divisions, the U.S. 26th Cavalry Regiment (a PS unit), a battalion of the 45th Infantry (PS), two batteries of 144 mm guns and one 2.95 inch (75 mm) mountain gun. The Philippine 71st Infantry Division served as a reserve and could be committed only on the authority of MacArthur.
The South Luzon Force, under Brig. Gen. George M. Parker Jr. controlled a zone east and south of Manila. Parker had the PA 41st and 51st Infantry Divisions and two batteries from the US 86th Field Artillery Regiment .

The Visayan–Mindanao Force under Brig. Gen. William F. Sharp comprised the PA 61st, 81st, and 101st Infantry Divisions.

A reserve force, under MacArthur's command, was composed of the Philippine Division, the Far East Air Force and headquarters units from the PA and Philippine Department, stationed just north of Manila. Four U.S. artillery regiments guarded the entrance to Manila Bay, including Corregidor Island.
Defenses - Far East Air Force controversy
Invasion - Battle of Bataan - Battle of Corregidor

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Far East Air Force controversy
After the outbreak of war on December 8, 1941, Brereton urged his superiors to launch bombing missions against Formosa, which was then a Japanese territory from which an attack was likely to come, but he was denied. This proved to be a fatal error. When the Japanese pilots of the 11th Air Fleet attacked Clark Field nine hours later, they caught two squadrons of B-17s lined up on the field and a number of American fighters just preparing to take off. The first wave of twenty-seven Japanese twin-engine bombers achieved complete tactical surprise and destroyed most of the American heavy bombers.

B-17 Flying Fortress
A second bomber strike followed while Zero fighters strafed the field. Only three P-40s managed to take off. A simultaneous attack on Iba Field in northwest Luzon was also successful: all but two of the 3d Squadron's P-40s were destroyed. The Far East Air Force lost fully half its planes on the first day of the war, and was all but destroyed over the next few days.
Defenses - Far East Air Force controversy
Invasion - Battle of Bataan - Battle of Corregidor

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Invasion

The Japanese 14th Army, under General Masaharu Homma, began its invasion with a landing on Batan Island (not to be confused with Bataan), off the north coast of Luzon, on December 8, 1941. Landings on Camiguin Island and at Vigan, Aparri, and Gonzaga in northern Luzon followed two days later. Two B-17s attacked the Japanese ships offloading at Gonzaga.

Other B-17s with fighter escort attacked the landings at Vigan. In this last coordinated action of the Far East Air Force, U.S. planes damaged two Japanese transports, the cruiser Naka, and the destroyer Murasame, and sank one minesweeper. Early on the morning of December 12, the Japanese landed 2,500 men of the 16th Division at Legazpi on southern Luzon, 150 miles from the nearest American and Philippine forces.

The attack on Mindanao followed on December 19. Meanwhile, Admiral Thomas C. Hart withdrew most of his U.S. Asiatic Fleet from Philippine waters following Japanese air strikes that inflicted heavy damage on U.S. naval facilities at Cavite on December 8. Only submarines were left to contest Japanese naval superiority.

The main attack began early on the morning of 22 December as the 43,110 men of General Homma's 14th Army entered Luzon's Lingayen Gulf. The 48th Division and elements of the 16th Division, with support from artillery and 80 to 100 tanks, landed at three points along the east coast of the gulf. A few B-17s flying from Australia attacked the invasion fleet, and U.S. submarines harassed it from the adjacent waters, but with little effect.

General Wainwright's poorly trained and poorly equipped 11th and 71st Divisions (PA) could neither repel the landings nor pin the enemy on the beaches. The remaining Japanese units of the 48th and 16th Divisions landed farther south along the gulf. The 26th Cavalry (PS), advancing to meet them, put up a strong fight at Rosario but, after taking heavy casualties and with no hope of sufficient reinforcements, was forced to withdraw.

By nightfall, December 23, the Japanese had moved ten miles into the interior of the island. The next day 7,000 men of the 16th Division hit the beaches at three locations along the shore of Lamon Bay in southern Luzon where they found General Parker's forces dispersed and unable to offer serious resistance. They immediately consolidated their positions and began the drive north toward Manila where they would link up with the forces advancing south toward the capital for the final victory.

Most of the Allied forces surrendered or were overrun. The U.S. Philippine Division moved into the field to cover the withdrawal of troops to Bataan and to resist Japanese advances in the Subic Bay area. On December 26, MacArthur notified his field commanders that he was reactivating an old prewar plan to defend only Bataan and Corregidor; both the military headquarters and the Philippines government were moved there. Nevertheless substantial forces remained in other areas for several months.

On December 30, the Philippine 31st Infantry Division moved to the vicinity of Zigzag Pass to cover the flanks of troops withdrawing from central and southern Luzon, while the U.S. Philippine Division organized positions at Bataan. The 31st Division then moved to a defensive position on the west side of the Olongapo-Manila road, near Layac Junction — at the neck of Bataan Peninsula — on January 5, 1942.

The junction was lost on January 6, but the withdrawal to Bataan was a relative success. The 31st Division assumed a reserve position on the peninsula to recover from its losses in the rearguard action.
Defenses - Far East Air Force controversy
Invasion - Battle of Bataan - Battle of Corregidor

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Battle of Bataan

From January 7 to January 14, 1942, the Japanese concentrated on reconnaissance and preparations for an attack on the main battle position on the Abucay line. U.S. and Filipino forces repelled night attacks near Abucay, and elements of the U.S. Philippine Division counterattacked on January 16. This failed, and the division withdrew to a reserve position in the Casa Pilar–Bagac area on January 26.
For several weeks the Japanese, deterred by heavy losses, engaged in patrols and limited local attacks. Because of the worsening Allied position in the Asia-Pacific region, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to re-locate from Corregidor to Australia, as Supreme Allied Commander South West Pacific Area. MacArthur's famous speech regarding the Philippines, in which he said "I came out of Bataan and I shall return" was made at Terowie, South Australia on March 20.

Wainwright assumed control of Allied forces in the Philippines on March 12. During this period elements of the U.S. Philippine Division were shifted to assist in the defense of other sectors.

Battles in Bataan
Beginning March 28, a new wave of Japanese attacks hit Allied forces who were severely weakened by malnutrition, sickness and prolonged fighting. On April 3, the Japanese began to break through along Mount Samat. The U.S. Philippine Division, no longer operating as a coordinated unit, was unable to counterattack against heavy enemy assaults. On April 8, the U.S. 57th Infantry Regiment (PS) and the Philippine 31st Division were overrun near the Alangan River. The U.S. 45th Infantry Regiment (PS) finally surrendered on April 10, 1942.

Defenses - Far East Air Force controversy
Invasion - Battle of Bataan - Battle of Corregidor

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Battle of Corregidor
Corregidor was a U.S. Army Coast Artillery Post. It was armed by both older seacoast disappearing gun batteries,the 91st Regiment, and U.S. Army Anti-Aircraft units, the 60th and 59th regiments. The latter were posted on the higher elevations of Corregidor and were able to respond successfully to the Japanese air attacks downing many fighters and bombers.

The older stationery batteries with fixed mortars,and immense cannons, for defense from attack by sea, were easily put out of commission by the Japanese bombers.The American soldiers and Filipino Scouts defended the small fortress until they had little left to wage a defense.

Early in 1942 the Japanese air command had to install oxygen in its bombers to fly higher than the range of the Corregidor anti-aircraft batteries, and after that time, heavier bombardment began.

In December 1941, the Philippine President Osmena,General McArthur, other high ranking military naval and diplomatic members and families escaped the bombardment of Manila and were housed in Corregidor's Malinta Tunnel. Prior to their arrival Malinta's laterals had served as highcommand headquarters, hospital and storage of food and arms.

In March 1942, several U.S. Navy submarines arrived on the northside of Corregidor. The Navy brought in mail, orders, and weaponry.They took away with them the highly placed American and Filipino government officers, gold and silver and other important records. Those who were unable to escape by submarine were eventually military POWs of Japan or placed in civilian concentration camps in Manila and other locations.

Corregidor was defended by 11,000 personnel, comprising the units mentioned above that were stationed on Corregidor, the U.S. 4th Marine Regiment, and U.S. Navy personnel deployed as infantry. Some were able to get to Corregidor from the Bataan Peninsula when the Japanese overwhelmed the units there. The Japanese began their final assault on Corregidor with an artillery barrage on May 1. On the night of May 5-May 6, two battalions of the Japanese 61st Infantry Regiment landed at the northeast end of the island. Despite strong resistance, the Japanese established a beachhead that was soon reinforced by tanks and artillery. The defenders were quickly pushed back toward the stronghold of Malinta Hill.

Late on May 6, Wainwright asked Homma for terms of surrender. Homma insisted that surrender include all Allied forces in the Philippines. Believing that the lives of all those on Corregidor would be endangered, Wainwright accepted. On May 8, he sent a message to Sharp, ordering him to surrender the Visayan-Mindanao Force. Sharp complied, but many individuals carried on the fight as guerrillas.
Defenses - Far East Air Force controversy
Invasion - Battle of Bataan - Battle of Corregidor

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