Four months have passed since the start of the Pacific War, and of all the initial objectives of
the Japanese Empire, only one remained unachieved. The invaders had up until now conquered the Dutch
East Indies, advanced down the Malayan Peninsula to capture Singapore, expanded through a series
of islands in the Pacific Ocean, and achieved important air and naval attacks that caused havoc
on the Allied fleets. Furthermore, with the fall of Rangoon, the Burma operation was on good track,
so Tokyo was planning to shift to phase two of operations, looking east towards Midway
and the US, south towards Australia and New Guinea and west towards Ceylon and India. But
despite the early capture of Manila, still there was a huge thorn on the Japanese side
that hadn’t been vanquished by the invaders. Thus, today we’ll continue to cover the Battle of Bataan
as the Japanese get reinforced and prepare for a final assault against the Filipino defenders.
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As we had last seen in the Philippines, the Japanese forces had suffered a tremendous
defeat in the month of February. Discouraged and battle weary, the invaders’ advance had
been stopped by the resilient American defenders at the Orion-Bagac Line. Diseases like malaria
and dysentery , alongside starvation, weakened both sides in the Philippines,
but they took a heavy toll on the Japanese in particular. But not everyone died from disease:
by the end of February, some units had been surrounded in pockets, others had been held by
the tenacious defenders and two entire battalions had been destroyed at the Battle of the Points,
which finally forced General Homma to order the withdrawal of all his engaged forces all along
the Orion-Bagac Line. This defeat had left Homma humiliated by commanders in Tokyo and he forced to
ask for reinforcements, being the only Japanese commander to have been defeated up until now.
And yet, they would still allow him to prove his worth in the end,
with the reinforcement of a completely fresh division and some much needed siege artillery.
The transfer of the 4th Division from Shanghai to the Philippines would take some time though,
and with the focus of the Empire on the Dutch East Indies, it would finally arrive by March 15.
Now, with his other forces strengthened and well-rested and with the additional
reinforcement of the Nagano Detachment , the Japanese general was ready for a final assault.
Meanwhile, the American defenders had their spirits up after the successful defense of
the Orion-Bagac Line, but the lack of food and medicine due to the strong Japanese blockade
would eventually leave them weaker with each passing day, as food rations would be cut by
50% in the last two weeks of fighting. The 26th cavalry's horses were slaughtered for meat.
Efforts were made to break Homma’s blockade, but it was fruitless, the Americans simply didn’t have
the naval resources needed to do so. President Roosevelt and Chief of Staff George Marshall
thus continued their efforts to supply General MacArthur, but it was too little for the
commander of the USAFFE, who felt abandoned by Washington. At this point, MacArthur had also
become a war hero for the American population, bolstered by his personal media coverage team,
thus his safety was paramount, losing him to the Japanese would be disastrous for morale.
On February 22, with the situation getting ever more difficult on the Bataan Peninsula,
Roosevelt finally ordered MacArthur to leave the Philippines and take command of forces
in Australia and the Southwest Pacfiic Area. The general chose to remain in the Peninsula
as much as he could to ensure that his forces wouldn’t get completely demoralized, but he
eventually had to leave on March 12, traveling first to Mindanao and then flying to Australia.
Before he left, MacArthur assigned the Visayan Force to Brigadier-General Bradford Chynoweth
as to allow General Sharp to fully focus on the defense of Mindanao, from where the Americans
still hoped to launch a counteroffensive; and also ordered Major-General George Moore
to prepare supplies and defenses on Corregidor Island for a final stand in case Bataan fell.
Despite MacArthur’s intentions to retain command from Australia, General Wainwright would be left
in command of American forces in the Philippines , with the final order to fight for as long as
his troops had the ability to resist. When MacArthur arrived at Adelaide on March 17,
he promised to return to the Philippines with his famous words “I Shall Return” , which would
become a rallying cry for the Americans in the future. But at this point, the morale of
the Filipinos was already starting to decline due to their bad situation, and the general’s
departure only hurted their confidence even more. With the assumption of Wainwright, 1st Corps was
then assigned to General Jones, who had commanded the South Luzon Force in its retreat to Bataan,
and the overall command of the peninsula was assigned to Major-General Edward King,
who had been the commander of the artillery during the campaign. By the end of March, defenses across
the Orion-Bagac Line had been improved and the half-starved and poorly equipped Filipino soldiers
had further enhanced their training in jungle warfare. On the other side, Homma planned to make
a coordinated three-pronged assault along a narrow front located around the key Mount Samat. After
breaking through Samat, the Japanese would then push to Mount Limay and from there to Mariveles.
This plan was based on the incorrect assumption that the defenders were executing a defense
in depth along three lines , so Homma expected the assault to take over a month.
The assault on Mount Samat would be carried out by the 4th Division of Lieutenant-General
Kitano Kenzo, closely supported by General Nara’s 65th Independent Mixed Brigade.
Nara was to advance west up the Pantingan River and then continue towards the Mariveles Mountains,
while the 4th Division divided in two, with the Right Wing getting across the Tiawir River
and then heading down along the Catmon Valley towards Samat,
and with the Left Wing advancing on the east directly towards the mount.
Kitano believed that once Samat was taken, only a pursuit of the Americans would be required,
so his estimate was far more optimistic than that of Homma’s. In the meantime, General Morioka’s
16th Division would make a feint attack to pin down the 1st Corps and the Nagano Detachment
would cover the right flank of the invaders with feint landings across the eastern coast of Bataan.
By the end of March, American forces started to be subjected to heavy air and artillery attacks,
and on March 28, Homma ordered the final preparations to be carried out,
so the Japanese units began to move forward to their expected battle positions.
Two days later, the 16th Division would start its feint attacks against the 1st Sector;
and by April 2, the preparations for the final assault against Bataan were finally ready.
At dawn on April 3, the Japanese commenced a final 6-hours long air and artillery barrage
over the Mount Samat area before the start of the offensive. This was undoubtedly one of the most
devastating bombardments of the war, with more than 60 tons of bombs dropped over the defenders,
destroying many of the defenses recently constructed and weakening three entire
regiments . By afternoon, the heavy barrage had achieved its main objective,
so the invaders began their advance . Nara was confronted by the bulk of the 41st Division,
while Kitano would face the 21st Division of Brigadier-General Mateo Capinpin.
Some elements of the 65th Brigade would also engage the 2nd Philippine Constabulary
to prevent them from coming to the aid of 2nd Corps, but Nara’s main effort was directed against
the center of the 41st Division, where they got to quickly push down against the 42nd Regiment.
The Japanese general expected heavy opposition but found none , so he decided to continue southwards.
Meanwhile, the Right Wing had crossed the Tiawir and immediately engaged the 21st Regiment,
rapidly scattering them and continuing its advance southwards. By nightfall, both forces
had surprisingly advanced up to 1000 yards without facing strong resistance due to the success of the
bombardment earlier that day, which had devastated the morale and organization of the defenders.
When news of the disintegration of the corps’ left flank reached General Parker, he sent forward the
33rd Regiment to stop the Japanese advance on an area between Samat and the Catmon River.
The following day would start with a renewed air and artillery bombardment.
The remnants of the 42nd and 43rd Regiments would yet again flee to the south in a stampede,
leaving only three regiments to stem the Japanese offensive.
Yet despite their courageous resistance, they were no match against the superior Japanese firepower,
so they had to retreat further south to prevent any more losses. At the same time, the Left Wing
finally went into action, attacking the 22nd and 23rd Regiments and forcing them to retreat.
American artillery at this point was hitting friendly and enemy units alike, but could not
stop the advance of the invaders. By the end of the day, the Japanese were in possession of the
entire main line of resistance and the Right Wing had gotten to the northern foothills of Samat.
Facing a looming disaster, General King sent the 31st Regiment to further reinforce the American
defenders, while also placing the 45th and 57th Regiments on positions of readiness nearby.
On Easter Sunday, the 4th Division reorganized its forces for Kitano to start his attack
against Mount Samat. The Right Wing would seize the heights of the mountain and then
continue south to the Tala River while the Left Wing executed the main attack against Samat.
After the customary bombardment of the defenders’ positions, Kitano started his assault but found
strong resistance coming from Capinpin’s men . Nonetheless, the Right Wing would
advance unopposed towards the northwest slopes of Samat, forcing the American artillery to retreat.
Deprived of artillery support, the defenders began to concede terrain and were eventually pushed back
by the Left Wing. Furthermore, the Right Wing also advanced on the southern slopes of Samat
and captured many soldiers of the 21st Division, including General Capinpin. By nightfall,
Mount Samat was under Japanese control and the Right Wing had advanced to the west,
fully routing the 21st Division headquarters. Nara also continued to drive south towards Mariveles
and the 16th Division and the Nagano Detachment were preparing to join in the attack against Mount
Limay. But now, with the arrival of the new reinforcements , King was planning to launch
a four-pronged counterattack aimed to regain the main line. Yet Homma was also planning to launch
an attack eastwards against the 51st Division and the 32nd Regiment, with the intention of
pushing southeast to get to the Limay River. At dawn on April 6, both sides put their plans in
motion. Within a day, the American counterattack rapidly ended up in complete disaster. Since
the 21st Division had already been routed , the 31st Regiment would have to attack Samat alone.
Despite the 31st’s tenacity and resilience, the bulk of the Left Wing fell upon them, forcing the
Americans to go on the defensive . In the center, the 33rd Regiment also saw its rear disappear
against the savage Japanese forces, so it ended up completely encircled by the 65th Brigade.
And to the west, the 41st Regiment initially fared much better , but Nara counterattacked and
forced them back to the Pantingan River. The 45th Regiment was the most successful out of the four,
overcoming the Japanese resistance and continuing its advance north towards the 41st Regiment,
but already it was clear that the American counterattack was a failure. On the other hand,
Nara had managed to cut off the 2nd Sector from the 1st and had advanced so far that
forward elements of the 65th Brigade were engaging the 57th Regiment. Furthermore,
Kitano sent the 37th Regiment with tanks to attack against the 51st Division, quickly
overrunning the defenders’ positions and forcing them to retreat behind the San Vicente River.
The 31st Regiment would also have to follow suit, and to the west,
the 45th Regiment would have to withdraw as well to avoid an encirclement. By the end of the day,
the Americans truly had a disastrous situation on their hands, with the loss of two divisions
and with the complete breakdown of the main line of defense; and on April 7, the situation would
only get much worse. After a failed counterattack to reestablish a connection with 1st Corps, which
was carried out by the 45th and 57th Regiments, Homma decided to quickly capitalize on his gains.
Seeing a gap between the southern extremity of the San Vicente line and the 57th Regiment,
Kitano thus sent the 61st Regiment to endanger the flanks of the Americans.
This attack was highly successful, finally forcing the 57th to retreat eastwards.
Meanwhile, despite their strong and fierce resistance, the isolated 33rd Regiment was
routed at last and only few men would manage to escape to safety through the jungles.
But the main assault would be carried out by the 4th Division and the Nagano Detachment,
directly striking at the demoralized defenders on the San Vicente River.
Under a relentless bombardment, the Filipinos on the right would break, soon starting an
unorganized retreat . The Americans to the left fared a little better, but the assault of the 8th
Regiment would finally send them packing as well. To cover the withdrawal towards the Mamala River,
General King would send the 26th Cavalry Regiment, which recently got to arrive from 1st Corps, to
hold off the invaders . The cavalrymen tenaciously resisted Kitano’s assault, but the 8th Regiment
would finally encircle them, so they would have to retreat behind the river. By afternoon, a new
line had been formed on the Mamala River, but the invaders immediately continued to hammer down the
defenders, so the Americans would have to continue their retreat south towards the Alangan River.
In his desperation, Wainwright ordered the 11th Division to attack eastwards and save
the 2nd Corps, but the task was impossible and it was already too late. Instead, General Jones
would be forced to withdraw towards the Binuangan River to relink with Parker’s line. At this point,
the situation was completely chaotic for the defenders. With Homma continuing his drive
against Mariveles and Cabcaben on April 8, the decimated Filipino forces would continually be
on the retreat due to the strong bombardment and the heavy pressure of Kitano’s men.
It was clear now that the 2nd Corps had fully disintegrated and that the end was nigh for the
Battling Bastards of Bataan. Amidst the chaos, an order from MacArthur to launch an attack
against Olongapo was received, but King quickly dismissed it since it was impossible to execute,
instead ordering the demolition of equipment and facilities. The general
knew that he held the heavy responsibility for the fate of the 78000 men on Bataan,
but he had already made up his mind: surrender was the only option, even if
Wainwright or MacArthur ordered otherwise. Very few units would escape the fate of the peninsula,
as most were too far away from Mariveles, but when Homma heard news of a possible evacuation, he sent
forward his tank vanguard in an effort to rush to Mariveles. By noon on April 9, the Japanese
tanks reached the American headquarters, where they were received with white flags. Soon after,
King surrendered and, after several months, Bataan had fallen . Upon surrendering he asked
Major General Kameichiro Nagano's assurance that his men would be treated as prisoners of war.
Nagano's response was "The Imperial Japanese Army are not barbarians.
Another army had vanished against the might of the Japanese Empire;
and their defeat would be followed by horrors and atrocities, as the Americans and Filipinos
would be denied food and water, robbed of their possessions and equipment, maimed,
beaten and bayoneted in a forced march under the hot sun from Mariveles to San Fernando. In result,
the Bataan Death March would take the lives of 2300 Americans and almost 10000 Filipinos,
and it would only be the start of the three years of mistreatment for those who survived it.
Thus, we conclude the twentieth episode of the Pacific War. Join us next week, as we
take a look at the Doolittle Raid and the start of operations against the southern Philippines.
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