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Philippines World War II, 1941-45
Japan launched a surprise attack on the Philippines on
December 8, 1941, just ten hours after the attack on Pearl
Harbor. Initial aerial bombardment was followed by landings of
ground troops both north and south of Manila. The defending
Philippine and United States troops were under the command of
General Douglas MacArthur, who had been recalled to active duty
in the United States Army earlier in the year and was designated
commander of the United States Armed Forces in the Asia-Pacific
region. The aircraft of his command were destroyed; the naval
forces were ordered to leave; and because of the circumstances in
the Pacific region, reinforcement and resupply of his ground
forces were impossible. Under the pressure of superior numbers,
the defending forces withdrew to the Bataan Peninsula and to the
island of Corregidor at the entrance to Manila Bay. Manila,
declared an open city to prevent its destruction, was occupied by
the Japanese on January 2, 1942.
The Philippine defense continued until the final surrender of
United States-Philippine forces on the Bataan Peninsula in April
1942 and on Corregidor in May. Most of the 80,000 prisoners of
war captured by the Japanese at Bataan were forced to undertake
the infamous "Death March" to a prison camp 105 kilometers to the
north. It is estimated that as many as 10,000 men, weakened by
disease and malnutrition and treated harshly by their captors,
died before reaching their destination. Quezon and Osmeña had
accompanied the troops to Corregidor and later left for the
United States, where they set up a government in exile. MacArthur
was ordered to Australia, where he started to plan for a return
to the Philippines.
The Japanese military authorities immediately began
organizing a new government structure in the Philippines.
Although the Japanese had promised independence for the islands
after occupation, they initially organized a Council of State
through which they directed civil affairs until October 1943,
when they declared the Philippines an independent republic. Most
of the Philippine elite, with a few notable exceptions, served
under the Japanese. Philippine collaboration in
Japanese-sponsored political institutions--which later became a
major domestic political issue--was motivated by several
considerations. Among them was the effort to protect the people
from the harshness of Japanese rule (an effort that Quezon
himself had advocated), protection of family and personal
interests, and a belief that Philippine nationalism would be
advanced by solidarity with fellow Asians. Many collaborated to
pass information to the Allies. The Japanese-sponsored republic
headed by President José P. Laurel proved to be unpopular.
Japanese occupation of the Philippines was opposed by
increasingly effective underground and guerrilla activity that
ultimately reached large-scale proportions. Postwar
investigations showed that about 260,000 people were in guerrilla
organizations and that members of the anti-Japanese underground
were even more numerous. Their effectiveness was such that by the
end of the war, Japan controlled only twelve of the forty-eight
provinces. The major element of resistance in the Central Luzon
area was furnished by the
Huks (see Glossary),
Hukbalahap, or the
People's Anti-Japanese Army organized in early 1942 under the
leadership of Luis Taruc, a communist party member since 1939.
The Huks armed some 30,000 people and extended their control over
much of Luzon. Other guerrilla units were attached to the United
States Armed Forces Far East.
MacArthur's Allied forces landed on the island of Leyte on
October 20, 1944, accompanied by Osmeña, who had succeeded to the
commonwealth presidency upon the death of Quezon on August 1,
1944. Landings then followed on the island of Mindoro and around
the Lingayen Gulf on the west side of Luzon, and the push toward
Manila was initiated. Fighting was fierce, particularly in the
mountains of northern Luzon, where Japanese troops had retreated,
and in Manila, where they put up a last-ditch resistance.
Guerrilla forces rose up everywhere for the final offensive.
Fighting continued until Japan's formal surrender on September 2,
1945. The Philippines had suffered great loss of life and
tremendous physical destruction by the time the war was over
(see The Armed Forces in National Life
, ch. 5). An estimated 1 million
Filipinos had been killed, a large proportion during the final
months of the war, and Manila was extensively damaged.
Data as of June 1991
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