The Battle of Corregidor

When the Pacific War started in 1941, Japanese troops moved into the Philippines swiftly just after the Pearl Harbor airstrike. This was just one particular of the targets that they had pinpointed in the Pacific. The Philippines was a prospective supply of oil, which was in increasingly quick source for the Japanese Empire due to the Allied financial blockade.

The Philippines Campaign started when thousands of Japanese troops landed at Luzon. The Japanese swiftly established a beachhead at Luzon with the Allied divisions dispersed. The Allies also lacked naval and artillery help, which ensured that the Japanese quickly consolidated their positions. Sooner or later, the U.S. troops withdrew to Bataan.

While roughly equal in numbers, the U.S. divisions May possibly not hold Bataan either. The Japanese had heavy losses, but not as lots of as the U.S. divisions stationed there. Additional Japanese air and artillery strikes ensured the fall of Bataan. The U.S. Army fell Additional back to Corregidor.

It was here that the final remnants of the U.S. Army in the Philippines remained. Corregidor guarded the entrance to Manila Bay, and was fortified with a wide variety of coastal batteries. It was also the place of the final Allied headquarters in the Philippines. As such, the Japanese army had to take Corregidor to win the campaign.

The U.S. troops have been outnumbered by the Japanese. Despite the fact that Corregidor did have relatively comprehensive fortifications that gave them a thing of an benefit. There have been 4 forts positioned about Manila Bay, which integrated mortar batteries, coastal guns and artillery. An substantial tunnel network had also been established at Corregidor.

To take Corregidor, the Japanese army firstly besieged the island. The bombardment mainly consisted of Japanese air and artillery strikes. This bombardment preceded the main Japanese landings at the island.

When the Japanese troops landed, they At some point pushed the Allies off the beaches and established a beachhead at North Point on the eastern side of Corregidor. Additional battalions of Japanese troops did not make adequate headway in Corregidor till reinforcements arrived. When the Japanese have been supported by Further tanks, the Allies withdrew from Denver Battery. In May possibly 1942, Allied officers have been sent forward with a white flag to bring the battle to an finish.

The Battle of Corregidor ended as a victory for the Japanese army. When they occupied Corregidor the Philippines Campaign was all but more than. They had won a essential harbor at Manila Bay, and as they occupied the rest of the Philippines the Japanese oil supplies had been replenished.

While this was the final battle in the Philippines in 1942, the campaign was not precisely more than. MacArthur vowed to return, and when 1944 came the U.S. Marines landed in the Philippines to retake the islands. A second campaign in the Philippines started in 1944, and continued up till 1945 as the Allies steadily retook the territory in the Philippines that they had previously lost to the Japanese Empire in 1942.

Matthew is the author of the book Battles of the Pacific War 1941 - 1945. This is a book that covers nine of the biggest land and naval battles in the Pacific Theater. For Additional specifics, verify out the book's weblog ( http://battlesofthepacificwar.blogspot.co.uk/ ), Amazon ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battles-Pacific-War-1941-ebook/dp/B008YDCBBQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345193117&sr=8-1 ) and Lulu pages.