[April 10, 2021] Yesterday was the 79th anniversary of the formal surrender of the U.S. Army and Filipino forces at Bataan to the Japanese under the command of Lieutenant General Homma Masaharu. More than we may know, this event was one of the momentous acts of World War II.
Bataan featured prominently during the war. Before the Japanese invasion, Bataan was a military reservation for the purpose of defending the fortress island of Corregidor. After the Japanese invaded, U.S. and Filipino forces were gradually overrun. Gen. Douglas MacArthur moved his troops to the Bataan Peninsula in an attempt to hold out until a relief force could be sent.
Major General Edward P. King, Jr. surrendered Bataan after fighting from 7 January to 9 April 1942 (against the orders of Gen. MacArthur). Our military had no food or ammunition left. Gen. King believed his soldiers and the people would be treated respectfully. This did not happen.
There were three major lessons learned on Bataan. Or re-learned lessons because the military doctrine was clear.
- Military force unreadiness: Lack of training at senior Army officer levels down to the lowest soldier contributed to this failure. The Naval presence was also inexperienced in combat operations and, along with the Army, had little practical weapons training or Division or Corps level staff experience.
- Poor use of command and control: There was an inability to properly mass troops at critical defensive points. This allowed the Japanese Army to overrun strong points quickly.
- Lack of preparation: American and Filipino forces did not have sufficient modern equipment, maintenance capabilities, fuel and ammunition, security measures, or even a good defensive plan.
Shortly after the surrender, the Bataan Death March began. Approximately 500 Americans and 5,000 Filipino troops died on the 62-mile march. They were not given food or water. Filipino citizens who tried to help by giving them food or water were beaten or killed. If a soldier stumbled, they were beaten or bayoneted to death.
After the war, the International Military Tribunal, established by Gen. MacArthur, tried Gen. Masaharu. He was held responsible for the death march, a war crime, and was executed by firing squad on 3 April 1946.1
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It is always a good thing to read more about history and any lesson that can be learned from it. In this case, we learn from failure. Good!
The idea that we can learn valuable, continually useful information from the past is ingrained in our way of being one of the most successful nations on earth. A problem that keeps coming up is that many people no longer believe this for several reasons. What I want to point out is that learning those lessons means being open about what went wrong and what we can do about it.
Thanks for giving us some of the lessons learned from the Bataan surrender. Looks like there was failure at many levels.
Yes, and that is why this blog exists. What can we learn from the failures of others? Seems like we consistently fail to pay much attention to those lessons.
Like the issue of abortion (that is morally wrong), we can learn lessons from almost any failure (or success but less so). Here is the case of the surrender of Bataan. I recommend reading up more on this surrender to get a better understanding of it and what can be done to avoid future Bataans.
I had a friend whose uncle was in the Bataan Death march and didn’t survive. The stories that came back to his family from survivors are some that no one should hear.
Thanks to all who commented here and to Gen. Satterfield who puts a bit of history up for us to read on occasion. Well done!!!
Thank you Gen. Satterfield for the message here about unpreparedness and the lack of strategic and operational level thinking. Too many things happen in a bad way when you don’t focus on the tactics or operational art of battle. That is what happened here. The biggest failure was in the NCOs and senior officers who failed to properly train. They didn’t have enough food or ammo but they also failed in their military duty to train.
Army Cpt, right! This is a common failure when we get too complacent. Complacency is a devil that keeps coming after us. Be vigilant.
Army Capt and Otto, you are both spot on with your comments. I learned about this in boy scouts. They told me to ‘be prepared.’ Geee, even Gen. S. has written about this numerous times. Along with telling the truth and adopting responsibility, being prepared is the most important trait you can possess.
Good comments. Another reason I read all the way down to the bottom of the leader’s forum is to see what others have said that can add to what Gen. Satterfield has written for us.
Pray for our souls, Rev Cain. The US is going downhill fast. You surely see it. I do as well. There are islands of sanity like this blog but too many spout the PC ideology at every turn. It’s time now to stand up against it.
Excellent article. Thanks for highlighting it for me and the rest of your readers. Keep these history lessons coming our way. 😊
Yes, Harry, Gen. Satterfield has a very long running series on military history. Being a Navy vet, he does not give me much but for those interested in land warfare, he is spot on. I give his website a big thumbs up.
This is a part of our history that we do not teach. Not being prepared has bad consequences.