| 22 December 1941 Japanese troops land in the Philippines |
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| 43,000 Japanese troops under the command of General
Homma Masaharu landed on two different locations at the north end of Luzon, the largest island
in the Philippine chain and home to Manila, the capital. Further landings followed in the south
two days later. U.S. and Filipino forces, under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, retreated
south to the Bataan Peninsula, where they were able to hold out for over three months. Unsupplied
and subjected to almost constant bombardment, 78,000 men—12,000 of them Americans—surrendered
to the Japanese on April 9. One who escaped capture was MacArthur himself, whom President Roosevelt
ordered to Australia to take command of all Allied forces in the Pacific. Upon his departure
from the Philippines on March 11, he was heard to say, “I shall return!”
Histories: Campaign Maps: Documents: Photographs: |
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