Battle of Bataan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Bataan
Part of World War II, Pacific theater
Japanese soldiers celebrate victory on Bataan
Date 7 January – 9 April 1942 (3 months, and 2 days) Location Bataan Peninsula near Manila Bay in Luzon Island, Philippines Result Japanese tactical victory, strategic delay Bataan Death March
Belligerents
United States  Commonwealth of the Philippines	Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
Douglas MacArthur Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV George M. Parker Edward P. King Vicente Lim	Masaharu Homma Susumu Morioka Kineo Kitajima Kameichiro Nagano
Strength
79,500 U.S. and Filipino troops	75,000 Japanese troops
Casualties and losses
115,000 10,000 killed, 20,000 wounded, 75,000 prisoners	19,000 7,000 killed, 12,000 wounded,

The Battle of Bataan was part of Japan's invasion of the Philippines during World War II.

The capture of the Philippine Islands was important to Japan's goals. Japan wanted to control the Southwest Pacific, capture the resource-rich Dutch East Indies, and protect its Southeast Asia side.

It was the largest surrender in American and Filipino military history. It was the largest United States surrender since the pre-Civil War's raid on Harper's Ferry.

Invasion

Japanese carrier planes attacked the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on the morning of 7 December 1941. Japanese aircraft also bombed the main bases of the American Far East Air Force near Manila, and the headquarters of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines. Many American planes were destroyed. The U.S. Asiatic Fleet withdrew its ships from its naval base in Cavite and retreated south. Only the submarine force was left to fight the Japanese.

From 8 to 10 December, Japan captured airfields at Batan Island, Aparri, and Vigan City. Army Air Force B-17s attacked Japanese ships. U.S. planes damaged two Japanese transports, the flagship Nagato, a destroyer and sank one minesweeper.

The main attack was on 22 December 1941. The 14th Japanese Imperial Army attacked, led by Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma.

War Plan Orange-3

After capturing the beaches, the Japanese launched a major attack. The American commander, General Douglas MacArthur, realized that the beach defense plan had failed. On 26 December, he said that War Plan Orange-3 (WPO-3) was now being used. This was a plan to defend only Bataan and Corregidor. The plan of WPO-3 was to delay Japanese forces until the U.S. Pacific Fleet could get to the Philippines.

Manuel L. Quezon, the president of the Philippines, his family and government staff were moved to Corregidor. MacArthur's headquarters were also moved to Corregidor.

The retreat

Gen. MacArthur wanted to move his men to defensive positions.

When the Japanese attacked, the untrained Philippine Army troops defending the beach were beaten. The U.S. decided to fight at Layac to slow down the Japanese troops. Later, from 1 to 5 January 1942, the U.S. fought to allow its troops to withdraw to Bataan.

WPO-3 had two defensive lines across Bataan.

The stand

On 9 January, Japanese forces under Lt. Gen. Susumu Morioka attacked the eastern side of the Abucay-Mauban line. They were beaten by the U.S. The Japanese advanced to the Salian River valley. U.S. troops fought off the attackers. At another battle to the west, a Japanese force got past the Abucay-Mauban line. The U.S. stopped their advance. On 15 January, 1st Regular Division was bombed, but they held the line. The Japanese moved through a gap. The Abucay-Mauban line had to be abandoned on 22 January.

Within four days, the Orion-Bagac line was formed. The remaining Japanese troops managed to get through. General Homma ordered the stopping of all operations to reorganize his forces. On 22 February the 14th Army line was withdrawn a few miles to the north.

Japanese troops landed on the west coast of southern Bataan on the night of 22 January. The US sunk two barges and the rest scattered into two groups. The Japanese forces were stopped by Philippine Constabulary units and U.S. Army Air Corps men fighting as infantry. Japanese commanders sent new troops to the beaches, but they could not break out.

Fall of Bataan

Gen. Edward King discusses surrender with Japanese officers

On the night of 12 March, General MacArthur, his family left Corregidor. MacArthur went to Australia. He promised the Filipino people that he "shall return". After the failure of their first attack against Bataan, the Japanese sent artillery forces to the Philippines. They had 190 artillery pieces, which included bigger guns like 150 mm cannons, and the Type 96 240 mm field howitzer. The Japanese sent new troops to Gen. Homma's 14th Imperial Army. Toward the end of March, the Japanese forces prepared for the final attack.

On 3 April, the Orion-Bagac line was bombed by 100 aircraft and artillery bombed by 300 artillery pieces. The Japanese 65th Brigade and 4th Division attacked the left side of II Corps. By 8 April, the senior U.S. commander on Bataan, Maj. Gen. Edward P. King, offered to surrender. The next morning, 9 April 1942, Gen. King met with Maj. Gen. Kameichiro Nagano. The tired and starving American and Filipino defenders on the Bataan peninsula surrendered.

Legacy

Fall of Bataan historical marker, Bataan Provincial Capitol grounds

9 April, the day Bataan fell into Japanese hands, was declared a national holiday in the Philippines. Previously called Bataan Day, the day is now known as Day of Valor or Araw ng Kagitingan, commemorating both the Fall of Bataan and the Fall of Corregidor. The Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valor) is a war memorial erected on top of Mount Samat. The memorial grounds feature a colonnade that houses an altar, esplanade, and a museum. On the peak of the mountain is the memorial cross standing about 311 ft (95 m) high.

USS Bataan (LHD-5), commissioned on 20 September 1997, the United States Navy Wasp-class amphibious assault ship commemorates "those who served and sacrificed in the Philippines in the name of freedom in the Pacific". USS Bataan (CVL-29), commissioned on 17 November 1943, the United States Navy Independence-class aircraft carrier commemorated "those who served and sacrificed in the Philippines in the name of freedom in the Pacific" until her decommissioning on 9 April 1954.

The Bataan Death March Memorial Monument, erected in April 2001, is the only monument funded by the U.S. federal government dedicated to the victims of the Bataan Death March during World War II. The memorial was designed and sculpted by Las Cruces artist Kelley Hester and is located in Veterans Park along Roadrunner Parkway in New Mexico.

Bataan-Corregidor Memorial Bridge is a bascule bridge on State Street in Chicago, Illinois, where it crosses the Chicago River. It was built in 1949 and rededicated on 9 April 1998, commemorating the Day of Valor as well as the centennial of the declaration of Philippine independence from Spain in 1898.

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  Mariveles, Bataan Memorial Shrine (Km. Zero, starting point of Death March, 9–17 April 1942)

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  USS Bataan (LHD-5)

In film, television and song

Among the many films and television programs that feature the story of Bataan are Bataan (1943) starring Robert Taylor; the John Ford classic They Were Expendable (1945), starring Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, and Donna Reed; Back to Bataan (1945) starring Wayne and Anthony Quinn; and two movies about the nurses of Bataan: So Proudly We Hail! (1943) and Cry 'Havoc' (1943).

Dozens of documentaries have also featured stories from the Battle of Bataan including A Legacy of Heroes: The Story of Bataan and Corregidor (2003), Ghosts of Bataan (2005) and an episode of The History Channel series Shootout, entitled "Raid on the Bataan Death Camp" (2006). Though largely focusing on the Cabanatuan Raid in 1945, this last program also featured stories from the 1942 battle; notably the stand of the 57th Infantry Regiment (PS) at Mabatang.

The Battle of Bataan is referenced among important battles of American history in the song The House I Live In, sang by Frank Sinatra in the film of the same name and later taken up by Paul Robeson and various other singers: "The little bridge at Concord, where Freedom's fight began, / Our Gettysburg and Midway, and the story of Bataan".

Related pages

• Bataan Death March

Images for kids

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  Japanese troops occupy Manila, as it is declared an open city to avoid its destruction, January 2, 1942.

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  WWII First Line of Defense Memorial (Dinalupihan, Bataan, Philippines)

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  Defense of the Layac Junction approach to Bataan January 2–6, 1942

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  Historical Marker (January 6, 1942)

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  The Abucay Line January 9–23, 1942

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  The Mauban Line positions January 18–25, 1942

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  Japanese flamethrower in action against a bunker on the Orion-Bagac Line

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  The Orion–Bagac line showing the U.S. positions around January 27, 1942

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  Battle of the Pockets on the Orion-Bagac Line

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  Japanese landings on Bataan January 23 – February 1, 1942

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  Japanese soldiers guard American and Filipino prisoners of war.

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  Fall of Bataan historical marker, Bataan Provincial Capitol grounds

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  Japanese tanks and infantry advance through the Bataan jungle.