Misplaced Pages

#470529

96-856: During the invasion of the Philippines in December 1941, the Japanese Fourteenth Area Army headed by Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma , and the Imperial Japanese Navy 's 3rd Fleet swept through the Filipino main island of Luzon. The United States Army Forces in the Far East headed by General Douglas MacArthur was ordered to fall back to Bataan and Corregidor Island under the War Plan Orange . The American and Filipino defenders put up

192-555: A landing on Batan Island (not to be confused with Bataan Peninsula ), 120 miles (190 km) off the north coast of Luzon, on 8 December 1941 by selected naval infantry units. Landings on Camiguin Island and at Vigan , Aparri , and Gonzaga in northern Luzon followed two days later. Two B-17s attacked the Japanese ships offloading at Gonzaga. Other B-17s with fighter escort attacked the landings at Vigan. In this last coordinated action of

288-890: A "Greater East Asia War" in which their Southern Expeditionary Army Group seized sources of raw materials in Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies while the Combined Fleet neutralized the United States Pacific Fleet . Five years earlier, in 1936, Captain Ishikawa Shingo, a hard-liner in the Imperial Japanese Navy , had toured the Philippines and other parts of the Southeast Asia, noting that these countries had raw materials Japan needed for its armed forces. This helped further increase their aspiration for colonizing

384-507: A German club, Japanese soldiers entered in and bayoneted infants and children of mothers pleading for mercy and raped women seeking refuge. At least 20 Japanese soldiers raped a young girl before slicing her breasts off after which a Japanese soldier placed her mutilated breasts on his chest to mimic a woman while the other Japanese soldiers laughed. The Japanese then doused the young girl and two other women who were raped to death in gasoline and set them all on fire. The Japanese went on setting

480-421: A battalion of the 45th Infantry (PS), and the 1st Provisional Artillery Group of two batteries of 155 mm guns and one 2.95 inch (75 mm) mountain gun . The Philippine 71st Infantry Division served as a reserve and could be committed only on the authority of MacArthur. The South Luzon Force , under Brigadier General George M. Parker Jr. , controlled a zone east and south of Manila . Parker had

576-403: A mobile defense against any attempt by airborne units to seize the field. Four U.S. Coast Artillery Corps regiments guarded the entrance to Manila Bay , including Corregidor Island . Across a narrow 3 kilometre (2 mi) strait of water from Bataan on Corregidor was Fort Mills , defended by batteries of the 59th and 60th Coast Artillery Regiments (the latter an anti-aircraft unit), and

672-663: A mortar battalion. An unusually strong group of combat engineer and bridging units was included in the 14th Army's support forces. For the invasion, the Third Fleet was augmented by two destroyer squadrons and a cruiser division of the Second Fleet , and the aircraft carrier Ryūjō from the 1st Air Fleet . The Philippines Force consisted of an aircraft carrier, five heavy cruisers , five light cruisers , 29 destroyers , two seaplane tenders , minesweepers and torpedo boats. Combined army and navy air strength allocated to support

768-532: A paramilitary survey force, operated in Manila with the ship USC&GSS Research . News reached the Philippines that an attack on Pearl Harbor was in progress at 02:20 local time on 8 December 1941. FEAF interceptors had already conducted an air search for incoming aircraft reported shortly after midnight, but these had been Japanese scout planes reporting weather conditions. At 03:30, Brigadier General Richard Sutherland , chief of staff to MacArthur, heard about

864-603: A part of the Mindanao Force. USAFFE's Reserve Force , under MacArthur's direct control, was composed of the Philippine Division, the 91st Division (PA), and headquarters units from the PA and Philippine Department, positioned just north of Manila. The 192nd and 194th Tank Battalions formed the separate Provisional Tank Group, also under MacArthur's direct command, at Clark Field / Fort Stotsenburg , where they were positioned as

960-547: A stubborn resistance against Japanese forces in the Battle of Bataan , and delayed the timetable of the Japanese expansion into Southeast Asia and Australia . However, after five months of resistance with limited supplies, food, ammunition and medicine, the forces in Bataan commanded by Major General Edward P. King surrendered on April 9, 1945 to General Homma in the largest capitulation of

1056-487: A superior force, with the testament of their occupation of China, but they did not get what they wanted. Under Terauchi's command were four corps-equivalent armies, comprising ten divisions and three combined arms brigades, including the Japanese Fourteenth Area Army . Operations against the Philippines and Malaya were to be conducted simultaneously when Imperial General Headquarters ordered. The invasion of

SECTION 10

#1732859015471

1152-469: A supporter of anti-Japanese guerilla forces, or disagreements with pro-Japanese Filipino organizations, such as the Makapili . The Japanese military also systematically forced young Filipino women and girls into sexual slavery as " comfort women ". Of the four Japanese military governors of the Philippines, three were tried and convicted of war crimes. General Shizuichi Tanaka , who was the military governor of

1248-468: A trial or due process on Yamashita's orders, long before Yamashita left Manila. The Japanese Navy and Rear Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi had nothing to do with the massacres done by Yamashita's Kempeitai and regular Army soldiers that were under his chain of command. Yamashita's lawyers tried to claim, to no avail, that for all of these Army massacres that Yamashita had no responsibility whatsoever and didn't know anything. General MacArthur, five other generals, and

1344-684: The Battle of the Philippines ( Filipino : Labanan sa Pilipinas ) or the Fall of the Philippines , was the invasion of the American territory of the Philippines by the Empire of Japan and the defense of the islands by United States and the Philippine Armies during World War II . The Japanese launched the invasion by sea from Taiwan , over 200 miles (320 km) north of the Philippines, and from Palau to

1440-519: The Commonwealth of the Philippines ' National War Crimes Office in Manila, established by President Sergio Osmena in 1945. Around 1948, the convicts who had not been executed were all transferred to Filipino custody. They were released under an amnesty by Elpidio Quirino in 1953. Overall, the Commission handled the prosecution of more than 169 defendants, of whom 133 were found guilty. 25 were given

1536-518: The Manila massacre , the total number of civilians who were killed was at least 100,000. The commander of the Japanese marines and units that committed the massacre was Rear Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi . Although Admiral Iwabuchi's marines had committed the atrocity, Yamashita was convicted as a war criminal for the Manila massacre even though Yamashita had earlier ordered Iwabuchi to evacuate Manila as he had. Iwabuchi himself escaped justice and committed suicide in

1632-621: The Palawan Massacre of 139 U.S. POWs, wanton executions of guerrillas, soldiers, and civilians without due process like the execution of Philippine Army general Vicente Lim , and the massacre of 25,000 civilians in Batangas Province . These crimes that were committed outside of the Manila massacre were done by the Japanese Army, not the Navy. It was argued that Yamashita was in full command of

1728-476: The Solomon Islands , buying time for the U.S. Navy to make plans to engage the Japanese at Guadalcanal instead of much further east. Japan's conquest of the Philippines is often considered the worst military defeat in U.S. history. About 23,000 American military personnel and about 100,000 Filipino soldiers were killed or captured. The Japanese planned to occupy the Philippines as part of their plan for

1824-459: The Third Fleet , supported by the land-based aircraft of 11th Air Fleet of Vice Admiral Nishizo Tsukahara . The 14th Army had two first-line infantry divisions, the 16th (Susumu Morioka) and 48th Divisions ( Yuitsu Tsuchihashi ), to invade and conquer Luzon, and the 65th Brigade as a garrison force. The Formosa-based 48th Division, although without combat experience, was considered one of

1920-403: The U.S. Army Air Forces , and by three Army National Guard units, including its only armor, two battalions of M3 light tanks . These units, the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment (an antiaircraft unit), 192nd Tank Battalion , and 194th Tank Battalion , drew troops from New Mexico , Wisconsin , Illinois , Ohio , Kentucky , Minnesota , Missouri , and California . After reinforcement,

2016-717: The United States Army 's Philippine Department . General Douglas MacArthur was recalled from retirement by the War Department and named commander of USAFFE on 26 July 1941. MacArthur had retired in 1937 after two years as military advisor to the Philippine Commonwealth and accepted control of the Philippine Army, tasked by the Filipino government with reforming an army made up primarily of reservists lacking equipment, training and organization. On 31 July 1941,

SECTION 20

#1732859015471

2112-606: The United States Army . 80,000 Americans and Filipinos surrendered to Japanese forces, and the Japanese committed them to the Bataan Death March , where an estimate of 15,000 died from heat, exhaustion, abuse or summary execution . The following day, units of the Japanese Army committed the Pantingan River Massacre , where 600 officers of the Philippine Army 's 91st Infantry Division were summarily executed with

2208-472: The Yamashita standard . A group of American military lawyers attempted to defend General Yamashita by appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court , but the appeal failed, 5 votes to 2. As a result, Yamashita was sentenced to death by hanging. He was hanged on 23 February 1946 in a camp south of Manila. The two dissenting Supreme Court Justices called the entire trial a miscarriage of justice, an exercise in vengeance, and

2304-497: The death sentence , and 16 received life imprisonment . Philippines campaign (1941%E2%80%931942) [REDACTED]   United States Japanese source: 11,225 US estimate: 17,000–19,000 146,000 1941 1942 Second Sino-Japanese War The Philippines campaign ( Filipino : Kampanya sa Pilipinas , Spanish : Campaña en las Filipinas del Ejercito Japonés , Japanese : フィリピンの戦い , romanized :  Firipin no Tatakai ), also known as

2400-440: The 16th Army temporarily attached to the invasion force to permit the 14th Army to use all its troops on Luzon. Meanwhile, Hart withdrew most of his U.S. Asiatic Fleet from Philippine waters following Japanese air strikes that inflicted heavy damage on U.S. naval facilities at Cavite on 10 December. Only submarines were left to contest Japanese naval superiority, and the commanders of these, conditioned by prewar doctrine that held

2496-403: The 20th (four), 21st (two), and 3rd (six) Squadrons attacked the strafers but with little success, losing at least four of their own. The FEAF lost half its planes in the 45-minute attack and was all but destroyed over the next few days, including a number of the surviving B-17s lost to takeoff crashes of other planes. The 24th Pursuit Group flew its last interception on 10 December, losing 11 of

2592-427: The 34th PS at Del Carmen never received its orders to protect Clark Field and did not launch. The 20th PS, dispersed at Clark, was ready to take off but did not receive orders from group headquarters. Instead a line chief saw the incoming formation of Japanese bombers and the section commander, 1st Lt. Joseph H. Moore , ordered the scramble himself. Even though tracked by radar and with three U.S. pursuit squadrons in

2688-448: The 40 or so P-40s it sent up, and the surviving P-35s of the 34th PS were destroyed on the ground at Del Carmen. That night FEAF combat strength had been reduced to 12 operable B-17s, 22 P-40s, and 8 P-35s. Fighter strength fluctuated daily until 24 December, when USAFFE ordered all its forces into Bataan. Until then P-40s and P-35s were cobbled together from spare parts taken from wrecked airplanes, and still crated P-40Es were assembled at

2784-439: The 81st on Cebu and Negros , and the 101st on Mindanao . In January a fourth division, the 102nd , was created on Mindanao from the field artillery regiments of the 61st and 81st Divisions acting as infantry (they had no artillery pieces), and the 103rd Infantry of the 101st Division. The 2nd Infantry of the Philippine Army's 1st Regular Division and the 2nd Battalion of the U.S. 43rd Infantry (Philippine Scouts) were also made

2880-531: The 91st and 92nd Coast Artillery Regiments (Philippine Scouts) of the Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays . The 59th CA acted as a supervisory unit for the batteries of all units positioned on Forts Hughes , Drum , Frank , and Wint . The majority of the forts had been built circa 1910–1915 and, except for Fort Drum and Battery Monja on Corregidor, were unprotected against air and high-angle artillery attack except by camouflage. The USAFFE's aviation arm

2976-511: The American 34th Infantry from the 8th Infantry Division in the United States to the Philippine Division, accompanied by two field artillery battalions to create a pair of complete regimental combat teams , was actually underway when war broke out. The deployment ended with the troops still in the United States, where they were sent to defend Hawaii instead. The United States Asiatic Fleet and 16th Naval District , based at Manila, provided

Philippine War Crimes Commission - Misplaced Pages Continue

3072-471: The Battle of Manila was about 100,000, most of which was attributed to massacres by Japanese forces. Some historians, citing a higher civilian casualty rate for the entire battle, suggest that 100,000 to 500,000 died as a result of the Manila massacre on its own, exclusive of other causes. Extensive as were the Japanese atrocities during the battle, American artillery and firepower were most responsible for

3168-515: The Far East Air Force, U.S. planes damaged two Japanese transports ( Oigawa Maru and Takao Maru ), the cruiser Naka , and the destroyer Murasame , and sank minesweeper W-10 . Early on the morning of 12 December the Japanese landed 2,500 men of the 16th Division at Legazpi on southern Luzon, 150 miles (240 km) from the nearest American and Philippine forces. The attack on Mindanao followed on 19 December using elements of

3264-608: The Japanese Air Force." He quotes Major General Emmett O'Donnell Jr. , then a major in charge of the B-17s sent to Mindanao, as concluding that the first day was a "disorganized business" and that no one was "really at fault" because no one was "geared for war." The attitude is not inline with his superiors, the United States Secretary of War Stimson 's recommendation was that, “all practical steps should be taken to increase

3360-624: The Japanese Army's best units, was specially trained in amphibious operations, and was given the assignment of the main landing in Lingayen Gulf . The 16th Division, assigned to land at Lamon Bay , was picked as one of the best divisions still available in Japan and staged from the Ryukyus and Palau . The 14th Army also had the 4th and 7th Tank Regiments, five field artillery battalions, five anti-aircraft artillery battalions, four antitank companies, and

3456-515: The Japanese Army's secret military police, the Kempeitai , which committed numerous war crimes on POWs and civilian internees and he simply nodded his head without protest when asked by his Kempeitai subordinates to execute people without due process or trials because there were too many prisoners to do proper trials. World War II in the Philippines resulted in the deaths of approximately 530,000 to 1,000,000 Filipinos, mostly civilians. The Commission

3552-691: The Japanese Navy were solely responsible for the massacre in Manila as a way to excuse Yamashita of committing all war crimes in the Philippines, of which there were many outside of Manila, according to the Chief of the Government Section for the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers and Chief of Civil Affairs Section, U.S. Army Forces, Pacific Ocean Area, Brigadier General Courtney Whitney . Yamashita

3648-402: The Manila massacre was it completely ignored the numerous war crimes and atrocities committed by Yamashita's Army soldiers outside of Manila that no Navy sailors and marines committed, making them Yamashita's responsibility. Yamashita was held responsible for numerous war crimes that the prosecution claimed was a systematic campaign to torture and kill Filipino civilians and Allied POWs as shown in

3744-608: The Manila massacre were done by the Japanese Army, not the Navy. It was argued that Yamashita was in full command of the Japanese Army's secret military police, the Kempeitai , which committed numerous war crimes on POWs and civilian internees and he simply nodded his head without protest when asked by his Kempeitai subordinates to execute people without due process or trials because there were too many prisoners to do proper trials. Philippine Army generals Lim, Simeon de Jesus, and Fidel Segundo were beheaded alongside hundreds of other people in mass graves by Army soldiers in Manila without

3840-547: The Marines at Cavite and Olongapo Naval Stations into its understrength ranks. An initial plan to divide the 4th into two regiments, mixing each with a battalion of Philippine Constabulary, was discarded after Howard showed reluctance, and the 4th was stationed on Corregidor to augment the defenses there, with details detached to Bataan to protect USAFFE headquarters. Additionally the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey ,

3936-422: The PA 41st and 51st Infantry Divisions and the 2nd Provisional Artillery Group of two batteries of the 86th Field Artillery Regiment (PS). The Visayan–Mindanao Force under Brigadier General William F. Sharp comprised the PA 61st , 81st , and 101st Infantry Divisions , reinforced after the start of the war by the newly inducted 73rd and 93rd Infantry Regiments. The 61st Division was located on Panay ,

Philippine War Crimes Commission - Misplaced Pages Continue

4032-518: The Philippine Air Depot. Clark Field was abandoned as a bomber field on 11 December after being used as a staging base for a handful of B-17 missions. Between 17 and 20 December, the 14 surviving B-17s were withdrawn to Australia. Every other aircraft of the FEAF was destroyed or captured. No formal investigation took place regarding this failure as it occurred in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. After

4128-606: The Philippine Department had 22,532 troops assigned, approximately half of them Filipino. MacArthur recommended the reassignment of department commander Major General George Grunert in October 1941 and took command himself. The main component of the department was the U.S. Army Philippine Division , a 10,500-man formation that consisted mostly of Philippine Scouts (PS) combat units. The Philippine Department had been reinforced between August and November 1941 by 8,500 troops of

4224-433: The Philippines between June 1942 and May 1943, committed suicide near the end of the war and could not be tried. In 1944, during the Philippines campaign , Japanese forces under the overall command of General Tomoyuki Yamashita also perpetrated attacks and massacres against the civilian population. During the battle for Manila , the Filipino capital city, Japanese soldiers committed atrocities against Filipino civilians in

4320-491: The Philippines had four objectives: Terauchi assigned the Philippines invasion to the 14th Army, under the command of Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma . Air support of ground operations was provided by the 5th Air Group, under Lieutenant General Hideyoshi Obata , which was transferred to Formosa from Manchuria . The amphibious invasion was conducted by the Philippines Force under Vice Admiral Ibō Takahashi , using

4416-632: The Philippines were augmented by the arrival of the six PT boats of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three . Likewise, the China Yangtze Patrol gunboats also became part of the Philippine naval defenses: USS  Asheville , USS  Mindanao , USS  Luzon , USS  Oahu , and USS  Quail . In December 1941, the naval forces were augmented by the schooner USS  Lanikai . The U.S. 4th Marine Regiment , stationed in Shanghai since

4512-455: The Philippines. The Southern Expeditionary Army was created on 6 November 1941, commanded by General Hisaichi Terauchi , who had previously been minister of war. It was ordered to prepare for war in the event that negotiations with the United States did not succeed in peacefully meeting Japanese objectives. They also included the condition of America's acceptance of their position in the Pacific as

4608-715: The Pockets, enabled the Americans and Filipinos to hold out for four more months. After the Japanese failure to penetrate the Bataan defensive perimeter in February, the Japanese conducted a 40-day siege. The crucial large natural harbor and port facilities of Manila Bay were denied to the Japanese until May 1942. While the Dutch East Indies operations were unaffected, this heavily hindered the Japanese offensive operations in New Guinea and

4704-486: The Supreme Court of the United States ultimately held Yamashita responsible for war crimes since he was in command of all Japanese troops in the Philippines at the time. President Harry S. Truman also agreed with the verdict and chose not to pardon Yamashita or commute his sentence. Yamashita was convicted on the grounds that he made no attempt to discover or stop atrocities from being committed. This would become known as

4800-598: The United States, Britain and the Netherlands, many countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific began to prepare for the possibility of war. By December 1941, the combined defense forces in the Philippines were organized into the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), which included the Philippine Army 's 1st Regular Division, 2nd ( Constabulary ) Division, and 10 mobilized reserve divisions , and

4896-529: The World War I M1917 Enfields equipping the PA, of which there were adequate numbers, but the War Department denied the request because of production difficulties. The divisions had only 20% of their artillery requirements, and while plans had been approved to significantly reduce this gap, the arrangements came too late to be implemented before war isolated the Philippines. By contrast, the Philippine Division

SECTION 50

#1732859015471

4992-520: The air, when Japanese bombers of the 11th Kōkūkantai attacked Clark Field at 12:40, they achieved tactical surprise. Two squadrons of B-17s were dispersed on the ground. Most of the P-40s of the 20th PS were preparing to taxi and were struck by the first wave of 27 Japanese "Nell" bombers; only four of the 20th PS P-40Bs managed to take off as the bombs were falling. A second bomber attack (26 "Betty" bombers) followed closely, then escorting Zero fighters strafed

5088-509: The area while the bombers landed at Clark Field between 10:30 and 10:45, then dispersed to their revetments for servicing. The 17th Pursuit Squadron, based at Nichols Field , also landed at Clark and had its aircraft refueled while its pilots ate lunch, then put its pilots on alert shortly after 11:00. All but two of the Clark Field B-17s were on the ground. At 11:27 and 11:29, the radar post at Iba Field detected two incoming raids while

5184-488: The attack from a commercial radio broadcast. At 05:00 Brereton reported to USAFFE headquarters where he attempted to see MacArthur without success. He recommended to Sutherland that FEAF launch bombing missions against Formosa in accordance with Rainbow 5 war plan directives from which an attack was likely to come. Brereton was further made aware of an attack against the USS ; William B. Preston at Davao Bay. Authorization

5280-491: The battle from all causes, including the massacre by Japanese troops. The Manila massacre was one of several major war crimes committed by the Imperial Japanese Army , as judged by the postwar military tribunal . The Japanese commanding general, Tomoyuki Yamashita , and his chief of staff Akira Mutō , were held responsible for the massacre and other war crimes in a trial which started in October 1945. Yamashita

5376-583: The battle, deciding that he would be unable to defend Manila with the forces available to him, and to preserve as large a force as possible in the rural, more defensible Sierra Madre mountain region of northern Luzon , General Tomoyuki Yamashita had insisted on a complete withdrawal of Japanese troops from Manila in January 1945. However, Yamashita's order was ignored by about 10,000 Japanese marines under Rear Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi who chose to remain in Manila. About 4,000 Japanese army personnel were unable to leave

5472-570: The campaign, made a strategic decision to advance by a month their timetable of operations in Borneo and Indonesia and to withdraw their best division and the bulk of their airpower in early January 1942. That, coupled with the defenders' decision to withdraw into a defensive holding position in the Bataan Peninsula and also the defeat of three Japanese battalions at the Battle of the Points and Battle of

5568-638: The city due to the advance of the American and Filipino forces. In the Battle of Manila from February to March 1945, the United States Army advanced into the city of Manila in order to drive the Japanese out. During lulls in the battle for control of the city, Japanese troops took their anger and frustration out on the civilians in the city. Violent mutilations, rapes, and massacres occurred in schools, hospitals and convents, including San Juan de Dios Hospital, Santa Rosa College, Santo Domingo Church , Manila Cathedral , Paco Church , St. Paul's Convent, and St. Vincent de Paul Church . Dr. Antonio Gisbert told of

5664-451: The closest was still 130 miles out. It alerted FEAF headquarters and the command post at Clark Field, a warning that reached only the pursuit group commander, Major Orrin L. Grover, who apparently became confused by multiple and conflicting reports. The 3rd Pursuit Squadron took off from Iba at 11:45 with instructions to intercept the western force, which was thought to have Manila as its target, but dust problems during its takeoff resulted in

5760-559: The defensive strength of the Philippines.” as noted in the book With Courage: The U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II. McArthur was supposed to get the Philippines ready to resist a Japanese invasion if it came, however he was only recalled to duty in July 1941 and while many new pilots were being trained the aircraft were fast becoming obsolete compared to the latest generation of Japanese aircraft. The Japanese 14th Army began its invasion with

5856-412: The department's strength was 31,095, including 11,988 Philippine Scouts. MacArthur organized USAFFE into four tactical commands. The North Luzon Force , under Maj. Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright , defended the most likely sites for amphibious attacks and the central plains of Luzon . Wainwright's forces included the PA 11th , 21st and 31st Infantry Divisions , the U.S. 26th Cavalry Regiment (PS),

SECTION 60

#1732859015471

5952-412: The destruction of Manila's architectural and cultural heritage, and, according to a Japanese estimate, caused 40 percent of the total Filipino deaths during the battle. General Yamashita was convicted as a war criminal for the Manila massacre, although Admiral Iwabuchi's marines had committed the atrocities and Yamashita had earlier ordered him to evacuate Manila. Iwabuchi himself committed suicide in

6048-418: The east. The defending forces outnumbered the Japanese by a ratio of 3:2 but were a mixed force of non-combat-experienced regular, national guard, constabulary and newly created Commonwealth units. The Japanese used first-line troops at the outset of the campaign, and by concentrating their forces, they swiftly overran most of Luzon during the first month. The Japanese high command, believing that they had won

6144-415: The entire club on fire killing many of its inhabitants. Women who were escaping out the building from the fire were caught and raped by the Japanese. 28-year-old Julia Lopez had her breasts sliced off, was raped by Japanese soldiers and had her hair set on fire. Another woman was partially decapitated after attempting to defend herself and raped by a Japanese soldier. The combined death toll of civilians for

6240-444: The face of imminent defeat near the end of the Battle of Manila . Former war-crimes prosecutor and author Allan Ryan argues that there was no evidence that Yamashita committed crimes there, ordered others to do so, was in a position to prevent them, or even suspected they were about to happen. However, the problem with this argument was that Yamashita's lawyers resorted to using a chain of command technicality defense related to how

6336-576: The face of imminent defeat near the end of the battle. The day after the surrender of Japan , the head of the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section , Col. Sidney Mashbir , confronted Katsuo Okazaki of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , and presented him evidence gathered by the PWCC of the massacres that occurred in the Philippines. Former war-crimes prosecutor and author Allan Ryan argues that there

6432-514: The field for 30 minutes, destroying 12 of the 17 American heavy bombers present and seriously damaging three others. Two damaged B-17s were made flyable and taken to Mindanao, where one of them was destroyed in a ground collision. A near-simultaneous attack on the auxiliary field at Iba to the northwest by 54 "Betty" bombers was also successful: all but four of the 3rd Pursuit Squadron's P-40s, short on fuel and caught in their landing pattern, were destroyed in combat or by lack of fuel. Twelve P-40s from

6528-703: The fleet submarine to be a scouting vessel more vulnerable to air and anti-submarine attack than it actually was, proved unequal to the task. Because of this poor doctrine for submarine warfare and the infamous failures of the Mark 14 torpedo that plagued the U.S. submarine fleet for the first two years of the Pacific War, not a single Japanese warship was sunk by the Asiatic Fleet during the Philippines campaign. James Leutze writes: "He had 27 subs submerged in Manila Bay,... it

6624-436: The former Philippine Constabulary Intelligence Division Chief, Lieutenant Colonel Alejo Valdes, brother of the Philippine Army 's Chief-of-Staff Basilio Valdes . Diplomats such as the Chinese Embassy staff were massacred and buried in the Manila Chinese Cemetery . Civilians were also not spared as the Japanese military police, the Kempeitai , subjected them to torture or summary executions without trial for suspicion of being

6720-541: The fragmentation of its flights. Two flights of the 21st Pursuit Squadron (PS) at Nichols Field, six P-40Es, took off at 11:45, led by 1st Lt. William Dyess . They started for Clark but were diverted to Manila Bay as a second line of defense if the 3rd PS failed to intercept its force. The 21st's third flight, taking off five minutes later, headed toward Clark, although engine problems with its new P-40Es reduced its numbers by two. The 17th Pursuit Squadron took off at 12:15 from Clark, ordered to patrol Bataan and Manila Bay, while

6816-469: The ground. FEAF launched three squadron-sized fighter patrols and all of its serviceable bombers on Luzon between 08:00 and 08:30 as a precautionary move. After MacArthur gave Brereton authorization for an air strike, the bombers were ordered to land and prepare for the afternoon raid on Formosa. All three pursuit squadrons began to run short on fuel and broke off their patrols at the same time. The 20th Pursuit Squadron's Curtiss P-40B interceptors patrolled

6912-474: The home islands of Japan to be used as human shields and forced labor. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines , a number of atrocities were recorded against local government officials such as the execution of former Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos and the Mayor of Daet Wenceslao Vinzons . There were also a number of former military officers who were executed such as Brigadier General Vicente Lim , and

7008-588: The interior. Manila massacre The Manila massacre ( Filipino : Pagpatay sa Maynila or Masaker sa Maynila ), also called the Rape of Manila ( Filipino : Paggahasa ng Maynila ), involved atrocities committed against Filipino civilians in the City of Manila , the capital of the Philippines, by Japanese troops during the Battle of Manila (3 February 1945 – 3 March 1945) which occurred during World War II . At least 100,000 civilians were killed in total during

7104-448: The landings nor pin the enemy on the beaches. The remaining Japanese units of the divisions landed farther south along the gulf. The 26th Cavalry (PS) of the well-trained and better-equipped Philippine Scouts, advancing to meet them, put up a strong fight at Rosario but was forced to withdraw after taking heavy casualties with no hope of sufficient reinforcements. By nightfall on 23 December the Japanese had moved ten miles (16 km) into

7200-528: The landings was 541 aircraft. The 11th Kōkūkantai (Air Fleet) consisted of the 21st and 23rd Kōkūsentai (Air Flotillas), a combined strength of 156 G4M "Betty" and G3M "Nell" bombers, 107 A6M Zero fighters, plus seaplanes and reconnaissance planes. Most of these were based at Takao , and approximately a third were sent to Indochina in the last week of November to support operations in Malaya. The Ryujo provided an additional 16 fighters and 18 torpedo planes, and

7296-431: The late 1920s, had anticipated a withdrawal from China during the summer of 1941. As personnel were routinely transferred back to the United States or separated from the service, the regimental commander, Colonel Samuel L. Howard , arranged unofficially for all replacements to be placed in the 1st Special Defense Battalion, based at Cavite . When the 4th Marines arrived in the Philippines on 30 November 1941, it incorporated

7392-534: The many differing dialects (estimated at 70) of the numerous ethnic groups comprising the army. By the outbreak of war, only two-thirds of the army had been mobilized, but additions to the force continued with the induction of the Constabulary and a portion of the regular army, until a force of approximately 130,000 men was reached. The most crucial equipment shortfalls were in rifles and divisional light artillery. MacArthur requested 84,500 M1 Garand rifles to replace

7488-424: The matter with your submarines?". .. MacArthur complained that Hart's inactivity allowed Japan's navy freedom of action. ... According to Stimson, MacArthur felt that Hart's ships and submarines were ineffectual, but because Admiral Hart had lost his courage. Admiral Hart's reaction to MacArthur's brickbats: "He (MacArthur) is inclined to cut my throat and perhaps the Navy in general." " The main attack began early on

7584-551: The morning of 22 December as 43,110 men of the 48th Division and one regiment of the 16th Division, supported by artillery and approximately 90 tanks, landed at the three towns of Agoo , Caba , and Bauang in La Union , along the east coast of Lingayen Gulf. A few B-17s flying from Australia attacked the invasion fleet and U.S. submarines harassed it from the adjacent waters, but to little effect. General Wainwright's poorly trained and equipped 11th and 71st Divisions could neither repel

7680-781: The murder of his father and brother at the Palacio del Gobernador , saying, "I am one of those few survivors, not more than 50 in all out of more than 3000 men herded into Fort Santiago and, two days later, massacred. The Japanese forced Filipino women and children to be used as human shields into the front lines to protect Japanese positions. Those who survived were then murdered by the Japanese. The Japanese conducted mop-up operations to clear north Manila of guerrillas, executing more than 54,000 Filipinos, including children, as they passed through towns. Pregnant Filipino women were killed by having their bellies ripped open while Filipino civilians trying to flee were executed. The Bayview Hotel

7776-529: The naval defenses for the Philippines. Commanded by Admiral Thomas C. Hart , the surface combatants of the Asiatic Fleet were the heavy cruiser USS  Houston , the light cruiser USS  Marblehead , and thirteen World War I-era destroyers . Its primary striking power lay in the 23 modern submarines assigned to the Asiatic Fleet. Submarine Squadron (SUBRON) Two consisted of 6 Salmon -class submarines , and SUBRON Five of 11 Porpoise and Sargo -class submarines . In September 1941, naval patrol forces in

7872-417: The next day. In the meantime, Japanese plans to attack Clark and Iba Fields using land-based naval bombers and Zero fighters were delayed six hours by fog at its Formosa bases, so that only a small scale Japanese Army mission attacked targets in the northern tip of Luzon. At 08:00, Brereton received a telephone call from General Henry H. Arnold warning him not to allow his aircraft to be attacked while still on

7968-493: The surface ships had 68 seaplanes for search and observation, totaling 412 naval aircraft. The army's 5th Kikōshidan (Air Group) consisted of two fighter regiments, two light bomber regiments, and a heavy bomber regiment, totaling 192 aircraft: 76 Ki-21 "Sally" , Ki-48 "Lily" , and Ki-30 "Ann" bombers; 36 Ki-27 "Nate" fighters, and 19 Ki-15 "Babs" and Ki-36 "Ida" observation planes. From mid-1941, following increased tension between Japan and several other powers, including

8064-625: The use of swords. Of the prisoners who survived the march and reached the POW camp at Camp O'Donnell , malnutrition, disease, mistreatment and abuse resulted in the deaths of an additional 20,000 prisoners of war. The Filipino POWs were released August 1942, while the American POWs were distributed in other POW Camps around the country and were pressed into forced labor , building airfields, railroads, bases and other civil works. Some POWs were later transported on hell ships and brought to China, Taiwan, or

8160-402: The war, Brereton and Sutherland in effect blamed each other for FEAF being surprised on the ground, and MacArthur released a statement that he had no knowledge of any recommendation to attack Formosa with B-17s. Walter D. Edmunds summarizes the disaster: "in the Philippines the personnel of our armed forces almost without exception failed to assess accurately the weight, speed, and efficiency of

8256-466: Was Washington, not the Asiatic Fleet Commander that directed the fleet to withdraw from Manila. ... Hart was directed by Washington to send US Navy surface forces and submarines southeast toward Australia. ... Douglas MacArthur and Henry Stimson ( United States Secretary of War ) feuding with Admiral Hart over lack of US Navy submarine action. MacArthur asked Admiral Hart: "What in the world is

8352-482: Was actually held responsible for numerous other war crimes that the prosecution claimed was a systematic campaign to torture and kill Filipino civilians and Allied POWs as shown in the Palawan Massacre of 139 U.S. POWs, wanton executions of guerrillas, soldiers, and civilians without due process like the execution of Philippine Army general Vicente Lim in December 1944, and the massacre of 25,000 civilians in Batangas Province . These crimes that were committed outside of

8448-473: Was adequately manned, equipped, and trained. MacArthur received immediate approval to modernize it by reorganizing it as a mobile "triangular" division. Increasing the authorized size of the Philippine Scouts was not politically viable (because of resentments within the less-well-paid Philippine Army), so MacArthur's plan also provided for freeing up Philippine Scouts to round out other units. The transfer of

8544-512: Was executed on 23 February 1946 and Mutō on 23 December 1948. The Americans who have penetrated into Manila have about 1000 troops, and there are several thousand Filipino soldiers under the Commonwealth Army and the organized guerrillas. Even women and children have become guerrillas. All people on the battlefield with the exception of Japanese military personnel, Japanese civilians, and special construction units will be put to death. Before

8640-526: Was headed by former Justice and future Solicitor General Manuel Lim, who also became one of the Assistant Prosecutor during the trials of generals Masaharu Homma and Tomoyuki Yamashita. Lim enlisted the help of SCAP War Crimes Investigation Section and brought in more than 100 military and legal personnel in this effort. Lim investigated more than 300 individuals and 600 cases, interviewing thousands of witnesses. The Commission should not be confused with

8736-410: Was met on 1 September with the induction of one regiment per division but slowed as a lack of facilities and equipment hampered training. The second regiments of the divisions were not called up until 1 November, and the third regiments were not organized until after hostilities began. Training was also seriously inhibited by language difficulties between the American cadres and the Filipino troops, and by

8832-441: Was no evidence that Yamashita committed crimes in Manila, ordered others to do so, was in a position to prevent them, or even suspected they were about to happen. The ruling against Yamashita, holding the commander responsible for subordinates' war crimes as long as the commander did not attempt to discover and stop them from occurring – came to be known as the Yamashita standard . The problem with Ryan's argument which only focused on

8928-492: Was part of the Reserve Force, so that it fell under MacArthur's direct command. As of 30 November 1941 the strength of U.S. Army troops in the Philippines, including Philippine units, was 31,095, consisting of 2,504 officers and 28,591 enlisted (16,643 Americans and 11,957 Philippine Scouts). MacArthur's mobilization plans called for induction of the ten reserve divisions between 1 September and 15 December 1941. The timetable

9024-538: Was the Far East Air Force (FEAF) of the U.S. Army Air Forces, commanded by Major General Lewis H. Brereton . Previously the Philippine Department Air Force and Air Force USAFFE, the air force was the largest USAAF combat air organization outside the United States. Its primary combat power consisted of 91 serviceable P-40 Warhawk fighters and 34 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. Tactically the FEAF

9120-527: Was used as a designated "rape center". According to testimony at the Yamashita war crimes trial, 400 women and girls were rounded up from Manila's wealthy Ermita district, and submitted to a selection board that picked out the 25 women who were considered most beautiful. These women and girls, many of them 12 to 14 years old, were then taken to the hotel, where Japanese enlisted men and officers took turns raping them. Despite many allied Germans holding refuge in

9216-399: Was withheld, but shortly afterward, in response to a telegram from General George C. Marshall instructing MacArthur to implement Rainbow 5, Brereton was ordered to have a strike in readiness for later approval. Through a series of disputed discussions and decisions, authorization for the first raid was not approved until 10:15 for an attack just before sunset, with a follow-up raid at dawn

#470529