Philippines

The Philippine Islands were an important focus of military action in the World War II Pacific theater. The Philippines had been a possession of the United States since the 1898 Spanish-American War. In 1936, the United States decided to grant the islands full independence by 1946, and the remainder of the 1930s saw efforts at nation building. Special emphasis was placed on raising a Philippine Commonwealth Army of 110,000 men, commanded by retired American general Douglas A. MacArthur, to protect the islands amid growing threats posed by Japan in Asia. At the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, MacArthur came out of retirement in July 1941 and assumed command of the U. S. Army Forces, Far East, which included the Filipino army and 22,000 American troops. Although the War Department considered the 7,100-island Philippine archipelago indefensible, MacArthur convinced the high command that his preparations, when complete in April 1942, would deter or delay a Japanese attack until relief could arrive from the United States.

The Japanese air attack on the Philippines on December 8, 1941, caught MacArthur’s command by surprise and resulted in the destruction of his 125 warplanes on the ground. Two days later, on December 10, Japanese forces from Formosa landed on Luzon, with Filipino forces offering only token resistance before retreating toward Manila. On December 20, additional Japanese forces landed on Mindanao and Jolo. Facing overwhelming odds, MacArthur declared Manila an open city and withdrew to the Bataan Peninsula, moving his headquarters to Corregidor Island. The precipitate retreat left no time to move food and supplies, and food rationing began in January 1942. Under constant attack between January and April, starving Ameri-

After directing a stubborn but ultimately unsuccessful defense against the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in 1942, General Douglas MacArthur was evacuated from Bataan in March and taken by PT boat to Australia, vowing, "I shall return." On October 20, 1944, with the tide of war turned in the Allies' favor, MacArthur fulfilled his promise to the Philippine people by wading ashore at Luzon. (Hulton/Archive)

Of the Army, 1953);

Can and Filipino forces continued to await reinforcements, although relief was never a realistic possibility. Following MacArthur’s evacuation to Australia on March 11, 1942, the Americans held Bataan until surrendering on April 9. Forces on Corregidor, under Major General Jonathan M. Wainwright, surrendered unconditionally on May 6. At least 10,000 Americans, and some 60,000 Filipinos, were brutalized by the Japanese during the infamous Bataan Death March to prisoner of war camps, compounding the tragedy that had already cost 20,000 American and Filipino lives.

Many American and Filipino soldiers escaped into the jungles and formed guerrilla units, but not until 200,000 U. S. Army forces supported by some 700 vessels invaded Leyte Island between October 20 and 22, 1944, was any serious challenge to Japanese control of the Philippines mounted. The battle for Leyte Island lasted until December 31 and cost 15,500 American and 70,000 Japanese casualties. Neither significant Japanese reinforcements nor attempts by its navy to interfere with the landings altered the outcome, although the naval Battle for Leyte Gulf, October 23-25, 1944, was the largest of the war and destroyed Japan’s remaining sea power.

The wisdom of liberating the entire Philippine archipelago rather than bypassing the remaining 300,000 Japanese troops there was hotly debated among American leaders. MacArthur’s entreaties that the United States had a moral obligation to the Filipinos, however, won out, and the main island of Luzon was invaded on January 9, 1945, by 68,000 U. S. Army troops. While American forces made rapid progress, Japanese forces melted away into the jungles to mount further resistance, which lasted until August 15. The capital, Manila, was declared an open city by General Tomoyuki Yamashita in February, but his order was ignored by Imperial Navy Marines, and the city was largely destroyed in the subsequent liberation. The conquest of Luzon cost 41,000 American casualties and 192,000 Japanese dead. Elsewhere between February and August 1945, U. S. Army troops began the island-by-island liberation of the country, beginning with the Visayas, Mindanao, and other southern islands. This campaign cost 119,000 American casualties and 50,000 Japanese dead.

The final liberation of the Philippines was not accomplished until August 15, 1945, when Japanese forces were ordered to lay down their arms by the emperor. In keeping with American promises, the Philippines became an independent republic on July 4, 1946.

Further reading: M. Hamlin Cannon, Leyte: The Return to the Philippines (Washington, D. C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, 1984); Robert Ross Smith, The Approach to the Philippines (Washington, D. C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department

Triumph in the Philippines

(Washington, D. C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, 1963).

—Clayton D. Laurie