Japanese Era

(Fall of the Philippines into Japan)

Submitted by: Stephanie Amaba Ellyn Estrada Carla Lugue Samantha Von Giese Section: Mkt-11 Subject Schedule: Wednesday,1:30-3 :30 Submitted to: Prof. Bella Victoriano

INTRODUCTION

JAPANESE ERA The Japanese occupation of the Philippines was the period in the history of the Philippines between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan occupied the previously American-controlled Philippines during World War II. The invasion of the Philippines started on December 8, 1941, ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. As at Pearl Harbor, the American aircraft were severely damaged in the initial Japanese attack. Lacking air cover, the American Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines withdrew to Java on December 12, 1941. General Douglas MacArthur escaped Corregidor on the night of March 11, 1942 for Australia, 4,000 km away. The 76,000 starving and sick American and Filipino defenders on Bataan surrendered on April 9, 1942, and were forced to endure the infamous Bataan Death March on which 7-10,000 died or were murdered. The 13,000 survivors on Corregidor surrendered on May 6. For over three years, right to the day of the surrender of Japan, the Philippines were to suffer grievously under military occupation. General MacArthur discharged his promise to return to the Philippines on October 20, 1944. The landings on the island of Leyte were accomplished by a force of 700 vessels and 174,000 men. Through December 1944, the islands of Leyte and Mindoro were cleared of Japanese soldiers.

JAPANESE INVASION

The Philippines is the north-eastern part of the Malayan Archipelago. It is made up of around 7,000 islands and on the outbreak of the Second World War had a population of around 19,000,000 people. Manila, is the capital and chief port and other important cities include Cebu, Davao and Zamboanga. The territory was ceded to the United States in 1898 under the terms of the Treaty of Paris. During the first half of the 20th century the Philippines became of great strategic importance to the defence of the United States. President Franklin D. Roosevelt became increasingly concerned about the possibility of the Japanese Army invading the islands and in 1935 sent General Douglas MacArthur to organize the defence of the Philippines. He retired from the army in 1937 but stayed on the island where he became the country's military adviser. When negotiations with the Japanese government broke down in June 1941, Roosevelt recalled MacArthur to active duty as a major general and was granted $10 million to mobilize the Philippine Army. It was also decided to send MacArthur 100 B-17 Flying Fortress to help defend the Philippines.

Most of MacArthur's troops were deployed to protect the two main islands of Luzon and Mindanao and by October 1941, MacArthur informed General George Marshall that he now had 135,000 troops, 227 assorted fighters, bombers and reconnaissance aircraft and this provided a "tremendously strong offensive and defensive force" and claimed that the Philippines was now the "key or base point of the US defence line." The Japanese Air Force attacked the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on the 7th December 1941. The following day they carried out air strikes on the Philippines and destroyed half of MacArthur's air force. MacArthur was much criticized for this as he had been told to move his airforce after the raid on Hawaii the previous day. The Japanese Army also invaded the Philippines and they soon held the three air bases in northern Luzon. On 22nd December the 14th Army landed at Lingayen Gulf and quickly gained control of Manila from the inexperienced Filipino troops. Although only 57,000 Japanese soldiers were landed on Luzon it had little difficulty capturing the island. General Douglas MacArthur now ordered a general retreat to the Bataan peninsula. A series of Japanese assaults forced the US defensive lines back and on 22nd February, 1942, MacArthur was ordered to leave Bataan and go to Australia. General Jonathan Wainright remained behind with 11,000 soldiers and managed to hold out until the beginning of May. Within a few months of leaving MacArthur argued that the US Army should make an attempt to recapture the Philippines. However, Admiral Chester Nimitz, US Pacific Commander and Admiral Ernest King, the Chief of Naval Operations, argued that this should wait until the US forces were guaranteed of victory. It was not until 1944 that MacArthur was given permission to begin the campaign to recapture the Philippines. The first objective was the capture of Leyte, an island situated between Luzon and Mindanao. After a two day naval bombardment General Walter Krueger and the 6th Army landed on 22nd October, 1944.

The Japanese Navy now made a strenuous effort to save the Philippines. Admiral Soemu Toyoda, Commander in Chief of the Combined Fleet, deployed every surviving Japanese warship in two groups under Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita and Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa. The strategy was to use Ozawa's smaller fleet to draw the US Navy away from Leyte. On 24th October 1944 Admiral William Halsey fell into a Japanese trap when he headed north with 64 ships to attack Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa leaving the San Bernardino Strait unprotected. Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita and his fleet now moved in to attack the Allied invasion force. However Vice-Admiral Thomas Kinkaid and the 7th Fleet was still in the area providing cover for the 175,000 members of the US Army landing on Leyte. The battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval engagement in history. It was a decisive victory for the Allies with the Japanese Navy lost four carriers, three battleships and ten cruisers. It was now clear that the US Navy had control of the Pacific and that further Allied landings in the region were likely to be successful. After the successful amphibious landings General Douglas MacArthur and General Walter Krueger pushed the Japanese 35th Army out of the central valley onto the mountainous inland backbone of Leyte. After bitter fighting the US forces captured the important port of Ormoc on 10th December. By the time the island was completely secured the US Army had lost 3,500 men. It is estimated that over 55,000 Japanese soldiers were killed during the campaign. On 9th January 1945 Allied troops landed on Luzon, the largest of the islands in the Philippines. The Japanese Army, under General Tomoyuki Yamashita, fought a vigorous rearguard action but within a month General Douglas MacArthur and his troops had crossed the Central Plain and were approaching Manila. Yamashita and his main army now withdrew to the mountains but left enough troops in Manila to make the capture of the city as difficult as possible. An estimated 16,000 Japanese soldiers were killed before it was taken on 4th March 1945.

General Robert Eichelberger and the US 8th Army landed on Mindanao on 10th March and began advancing through the southern Philippines. This included the capture of Panay, Cebu, Negros and Bohol. Yamashita and his remaining men continued to fight from isolated mountain positions on Luzon. After hearing that Emperor Hirohito had announced that Japan had surrendered Yamashita and his 50,000 troops stopped fighting on 2nd September 1945.

OCCUPATION 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 Jos P. Laurel proved to be unpopular.

Main Objectives of the Attack Intended to destroy important American fleet units, thereby preventing the Pacific Fleet from interfering with Japanese conquest of the Dutch East Indies and Malaya. Hoped to buy time for Japan to consolidate its position and increase its naval strength before shipbuilding authorized by the 1940 Vinson-Walsh Act erased any chance of victory. To deliver a severe blow to American morale, one which would discourage Americans from committing to a war extending into the western Pacific Ocean and Dutch East Indies.

GREATER EAST ASIA It is also known as Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. In August 1, 1940 a concept created by the government and military Empire of Japan. To represents the desire of a self-sufficient "bloc of Asian nations led by the Japanese and free of Western powers. Japan intended to exclude both European imperialism and Communist influence from the entire Far East, while ensuring Japanese political and industrial hegemony. The Sphere was initiated by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe, in an attempt to create a Great East Asia, comprised of Japan, Manchukuo, China, and parts of Southeast Asia, that would, according to imperial propaganda, establish a new international order seeking co prosperity for Asian countries which would share prosperity and peace, free from Western colonialism and domination.

OPEN CITY

On 26 December, Manila was declared an open city. All newspapers published the text of the proclamation and radio stations broadcast the news through the day. A huge banner bearing the words Open City and No Shooting was strung across the front of the city hall. That night the blackout ended and Manila was ablaze with lights. With the evacuation of the government and the army, a feeling of foreboding and terror spread through the city, and the exodus, which had ceased after the first confusion of war, began again. "The roads back into the hills," noted one observer, "were black with people striving to reach their native villages . . . . The few trains still running into the provinces were literally jammed to the car tops." The business district was deserted and there were few cars along Dewey Boulevard. Here and there a few shops made a brave attempt at a holiday spirit with displays of tinsel and brightly wrapped gifts. On the Escolta, two Santa Clauses with the traditional white beards and red costumes looked strangely out of place. One walked up and down as if dazed while the other, more practical, piled sandbags before the entrance to his shop. "No girls in slacks and shorts were bicycling along the water front," wrote Maj. Carlos Romulo reminiscently, "and there were no horseback riders on the bridle path . . . the Yacht Club, the night clubs and hotels ... all looked like funeral parlors." "Let it be known,"

reported NBC correspondent Bert Silen, "that our Christmas Eve was the darkest and gloomiest I ever hope to spend." Late on the night of 26 December Radio Tokyo acknowledged receipt of the Manila broadcasts declaring the capital an open city.5 Official notification to 14th Army came later, either on the 28th or after, when Imperial General Headquarters forwarded the information from Tokyo. Apparently MacArthur made no attempt to notify the Japanese forces in the Philippines of his intentions, but a mimeographed announcement of the open city declaration was in the hands of the Japanese troops by 31 December. Either the Japanese in the Philippines were unaware of the open city declaration or they chose to ignore it, for enemy aircraft were over the Manila area on 27 December. The Army's 5th Air Group sent 7 light and 4 heavy bombers against Nichols Field, and at least 2 fighters over the port district that day.7 But the main bombing strikes, directed against the Manila Bay and Pasig River areas, were made by naval aircraft. For three hours at midday, successive waves of unopposed bombers over Manila wrought great destruction on port installations and buildings in the Intramuros, the ancient walled city of the Spaniards. The attacks against shipping continued the next day, with additional damage to the port area.

PUPPET GOVERNMENT The Puppet Government, or the Second Philippine Republic, is a Japanese-imperial-sponsored government established during the Japanese occupation and World War II in the Philippines. This government sought to legitimize Japanese occupation in the country and promised independence for the Filipino people but Imperial government failed to commit to this pledge. Established in October 14, 1943, Jose P. Laurel was inaugurated as the first President of the Second Philippine Republic after leaving his post as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. The Japanese's choice for president was based on Laurel's open criticisms against the U.S administration in the Philippines and his degree from Tokyo International University. Benigno Aquino Sr. and Ramon Avancena were also elected as vice-presidents, and Manuel Roxas and General Jorge Vargas were appointed as the cabinet member and chair of the Executive Commission, respectively. The first act of the puppet regime was to sign a military alliance with Japan. The second act appealed for the sympathy of the United States but was denied by the said country. US President Franklin Roosevelt refused to recognized the puppet government. The Puppet Government was established in the pursuit of creating the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere under the chairmanship of the Japanese Imperial government. Manuel Roxas and Jose Laurel wrote and signed the Philippine puppet constitution which was an act of rebellion against the U.S. and a testament of allegiance to Japan. Those who pledged their loyalty to Japan were showered with supply of the best food, luxuries and finest accommodations while the Filipino who did not pledged suffered under the harsh Japanese rule. [1] The sons of Laurel were sent to Japan to study. Consequently, the Puppet Government gained little popularity amongst the Filipino people. The Americans through General Douglas MacArthur led a war against the Japanese in the Philippines. Manila was liberated in March 4, 1945 and on March 22 of the same year President Laurel and the Second Republic officials departed for Japan.

BATAAN DEATH MARCH

The Bataan Death March or The Death March of Bataan was the march of captured American and Filipino troops from the Battle of Bataan in 1942. They were forced by the Japanese to walk from Mariveles at the southern tip of Bataan Peninsula to Camp O'Donnell. The route of the march measured about a hundred miles and it took six days for the surviving prisoners to reach the camp, with many dying along the way.

The Battle of Bataan was led by a major general in the United States Army, Edward P. King, who was the commanding general of the PhilippineAmerican forces on 11 March 1942. After a month defending against the Japanese invaders, exhausted and lacking food and medicine, King surrendered to Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma on 9 April 1942, along with his more than 70,000 American and Filipino troops. This was known as the Fall of Bataan. The Japanese were unprepared for the number of prisoners and had expected the fight to last longer. Lacking the proper facilities to handle them, they moved the prisoners to Camp O'Donnell. The march, involving the forcible transfer of 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war[1] captured by the Japanese in the Philippines from the Bataan peninsula to prison camps, was characterized by wide-ranging physical abuse and murder, and resulted in very high fatalities inflicted upon the prisoners and civilians along the route by the armed forces of the Empire of Japan. Beheadings, cutting of throats and casual shootings were the more common actionscompared to instances of bayonet stabbing, rape, disembowelment, rifle butt beating and a deliberate refusal to allow the prisoners food or water while keeping them continually marching for nearly a week in tropical heat. Falling down or inability to continue moving was tantamount to a death sentence, as was any degree of protest or expression of displeasure.

The march began on 12 April 1942. Troops of injured and ailing POWs marched in a long column along the dusty road with no food or water during the first four days of their travel. They were mandated to walk the whole day long, even under the intense heat of the sun. Some of the men, weakened by fatigue and hunger, stumbled and fell out of line, usually leading to their deaths. Some of them were hit by the Japanese trucks passing by, or flattened by tanks. Others were hit by the "sparkling metal pieces" that were dropped by the Japanese planes. Some POWs tried to run to nearby fresh streams to drink and were struck down by the swords of the Japanese guards. They were only allowed to drink from dirty and contaminated streams. A large portion of the POWs died along the road without reaching their destination. The route starts fromMariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga by marching , from San Fernando, Pampanga to Capas, Tarlac through train and Capas, Tarlacto Camp O' Donnell through marching. Many soldiers are died and suffer from heat, dehydration and sickness. However, some survived by "playing dead".

END OF JAPANESE OCCUPATION MacArthur's Allied forces landed on the island of Leyte on October 20, 1944, accompanied by Osmea, 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 towardManila was initiated. The Commonwealth of the Philippines was restored. 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. The Philippine Commonwealth troops and the recognized guerrilla fighter units 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. An estimated 1 million Filipinos had been killed, a large proportion during the final months of the war, and Manila was extensively damaged.

LEGACIES OF JAPANESE Religion Shintos -Shinto is an ancient Japanese religion. -It started in 500 BCE and its name was derived from the Chinese word shin tao which means the way of the gods -Unlike other religions, Shinto has no real founder, scriptures or religious law. -Shinto creation stories tell of the lives of Kami (gods). Japanese names and surnames - adopted by the Filipinos Education and love of labor Educational Policies of Japan 1. Spiritual and moral rejuvenation emphasizing honesty and hard work 2. Promotion of nationalism and patriotism 3. Emphasized dignity of labor and love for work introducing vocational and technical educational. 4. Presentation/preservation and promotion of Filipino culture

Japanese culture and arts -traditions, foods and games Introduction of Japanese Culture: 1. Language(Niponggo) 2. Food 3. Arts 4. Sports Etc.

Filipino learn to value their rights and freedom

PERSONALITIES IN CORREGIDOR'S HISTORICAL PAST In the defense and siege of Bataan and Corregidor, the principal participants included the United States government, the Philippine Commonwealth, the American and Filipino forces in the Philippines, and the Japanese invading forces stationed in the island of Luzon. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Manuel L. Quezon, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright, Gen. George F. Moore, and Gen. Masaharu Homma represented these principal participants, respectively. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd president of the United States and a strong ally and supporter of the Philippines. Assuming the Presidency at the depth of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt helped the American people regain faith in them. He brought hope as he promised prompt, vigorous action, and asserted in his Inaugural Address, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Roosevelt was elected President in November 1932, to the first of four terms. In 1935, he sent Gen. Douglas MacArthur to be the military advisor to Manuel Quezon, president of the Philippine Commonwealth. MacArthur's job was to build an army, because it was expected that someday the Japanese would attack and the Philippines had to be ready. When the Japanese finally attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt directed organization of the Nation's manpower and resources for global war. He designated Gen. MacArthur as Supreme Allied Commander of the Southwest Pacific Theater and placed in charge of the American Forces in the Philippines. Prior to the fall of Corregidor in 1942, it was Roosevelt who directed MacArthur to leave Corregidor and proceed to Australia for the purpose of organizing the American offensive against the Japanese forces. As the war drew to a close, Roosevelt's health deteriorated, and on April 12, 1945, while at Warm Springs, Georgia, he died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Manuel L. Quezon, the president of the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines, was advised by Gen. MacArthur to evacuate to Corregidor. The presidential party left Manila on December 24, 1941 and became refugees in the island fortress. With President Quezon were his wife, Dona Aurora; his two daughters, Maria Aurora and Zenaida, and his son Manuel, Jr. Also in the party were Vice President Sergio Osmena, Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, Maj. Gen. Basilio J. Valdes, the Philippine Army Chief of Staff, Col. Manuel Nieto, the President's aide; and Serapio D. Canceran, the president's private secretary. At the Malinta Tunnel in Corregidor, the quarters of Pres. Quezon and his family was a lateral beside the 1st lateral and nearest the East entrance to the tunnel. The inauguration of President Quezon for his second term as President of the Philippine Commonwealth on December 30, 1941 provided a strange break in the routine of life in the tunnel. The ceremony was simple, and though seeming

pathetic, partook of a special dignity. President Quezon in his speech said: "Ours is a great cause. We are fighting for human liberty and justice, for those principles of individual freedom which we all cherish and without which life would not be worth living. Indeed, we are fighting for our own independence. It is to maintain this independence, these liberties, and these freedoms that we are sacrificing our lives and all that we possess." When Quezon left Corregidor by submarine on February 20, he gave MacArthur his ring, saying, "When they find your body, I want them to know you fought for my country." While he led the Philippine government-in-exile in the U.S. for the next two years, Quezon's tuberculosis steadily worsened. He died on August 1, 1944, less than three months before MacArthur's dramatic return to Philippine soil. Douglas MacArthur was a brilliant, controversial, and highly intelligent five-star U.S. Army General. In 1930, President Herbert Hoover appointed Gen. MacArthur Chief of Staff, U.S. Army. President Franklin D. Roosevelt retained him in this post until the fall of 1935, when MacArthur returned to the Philippines as military advisor to the newly established Philippine Commonwealth. MacArthurs principal task was to organize and train a Philippine Army. Although he retired from the U.S. Army at the end of 1937, General MacArthur remained military advisor to the Philippine Commonwealth, and was named Field Marshall of its army. Due to the spread of the war in Europe and the accelerating Japanese Expansion in the Far East, the U.S.Army Forces, Far East, were created. President Roosevelt recalled General MacArthur to active duty to command these forces. The President also directed that the Philippine army be called upon to serve with United States forces. Mobilization, planning, organization, training, re-equipping, and supplying his command occupied the General until Dec 8, 1941. Although built up considerably prior to the outbreak of war, especially in their air strength, the U.S. Philippine units were no match for the combined naval-air-ground assault by the Japanese. Having fallen back on the Bataan peninsula and the fortress islands blocking Manila Bay, most notably Corregidor Island, the Americans and Filipinos under General MacArthur brought the Japanese to a standstill. Since no significant reinforcement could reach Bataan and Corregidor and the disease ravaged, ammunition-short Filipinos and Americans could not be expected to hold out much longer, President Roosevelt ordered General MacArthur to leave the Philippines and to proceed to Australia. The General, his family, and a nucleus staff left Corrigidor in a torpedo boat for Mindanao, whence they flew to Australia. From April 1942 to October 1944, General MacArthur trained, organized, planned for, and led his Southwest Pacific Command through New Guinea, New Britain, the Bismarcks, and Morotai to an enormously successful landing in Leyte in the central Philippines which ultimately

led to the defeat of the Japanese forces in the Philippines. For his dogged, brave defense of the Philippines, General MacArthur was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He died at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. on April 5, 1964. Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright was the Commander of the Filipino-American forces in the Island of Luzon. When MacArthur was ordered off Bataan in March 1942, Wainwright, promoted to temporary Lieutenant General, succeeded to command of US Army Forces in the Far East, a command immediately afterward redesignated US Forces in the Philippines. When Corregidor was still under siege, Wainwright's concern became twofold: to preserve the morale and fighting spirit of his men, and to try to arrange for the evacuation by submarine of selected personnel, including intelligence specialists, grounded aviators, and nurses. His remaining duty was to tie up the Japanese for as long as possible. He chosed to stick it out in Corregidor and stay with his men. His last duty was to surrender Corregidor to the Japanese on May 6, 1942 which turned out to be the most painful and shattering experience in his military career. He was then held in prison camps in northern Luzon, Formosa, and Manchuria until he was liberated by Russian troops in August 1945. After witnessing the Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945 he returned to the Philippines to receive the surrender of the local Japanese commander. On his return to the United States, he was given a hero's welcome, promoted to General, and awarded the Medal of Honor. He retired from active duty in August 1947 and died at San Antonio, Texas on September 2, 1953. Maj. Gen. George F. Moore was the commander of the Philippine Coast Artillery Command and the defense of Corregidor was his responsibility. He was described by those who served under him as a soft-spoken, self-possessed person. Gen. MacArthur had earlier informed Gen. Moore that negotiations with Japan were breaking down and that he should prepare his men for war. Gen. Moore's unit was organized into three commands: Seaward Defense, with responsibility for keeping Japanese warships out of the bay and away from Manila; Anti-aircraft Defense, with responsibility for repelling air attacks; and Beach Defense, with responsibility for defeating enemy landings on the shores of Corridor. Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma was the commander of the Japanese forces in Bataan and Corregidor. He launched the final battle to capture Bataan and Corregidor on April 3, 1942 with 50,000 Japanese troops, including 15,000 new arrivals from the 4th Japanese Army Division and the Nagano Detachment. In his meeting with Gen. Wainwright in Bataan, Gen. Homma demanded the unconditional surrender of all American and Filipino forces in the Philippine Islands.