Battle of Bataan

The Battle of Bataan was fought between the Japanese and the Americans in April of 1942. The Japanese overwhelmed the American and Filipino forces stationed on the island of Luzon. The Japanese wanted the island for the resources and strategic positioning. This was the worst battle during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines.

            The Americans were commanded by General Douglas MacArthur and The Japanese were commanded by one of the best Generals the Japanese had to offer. Pretty much all of MacArthur’s defensive plans failed and he had to keep falling back until he was on the island of Luzon. Roosevelt ordered that MacArthur was to be extracted from the island and the command went to Major General Jonathon Wainwright. Shortly after the Battle of Bataan Began.

The Japanese won the battle capturing 15,000 American troops and 60,000 Filipino troops. The Japanese forced them to march 100 miles to CampO’Donnell with out food or water. If you tried to run for it they would shoot, if you fell over from dehydration they would kick you until you got up. Many people died along this march and the other Americans would carry the dead with them so that the bodies wouldn’t be left to be mutilated by the Japanese. And once they got their, the living conditions weren’t much better. Hundreds of men crammed into one room with no bathroom or windows or doctors.

            Some of the prisoners were shipped over to Tokyo and forced to work in the mines as slaves. Some of these ships were sunk by the Americans not knowing that they were transporting American prisoners.