Highway 5

By late December it was obvious to MacArthur that the time had come for the retreat to Bataan. For the Philippine Army’s 71st and 91st Divisions, assigned to hold the Baliuag-Plaridel-Calumpit area, the order to withdraw came not a moment too soon. The 91st withdrew during the morning …

1941-12-31

A092

By late December it was obvious to MacArthur that the time had come for the retreat to Bataan. For the Philippine Army’s 71st and 91st Divisions, assigned to hold the Baliuag-Plaridel-Calumpit area, the order to withdraw came not a moment too soon. The 91st withdrew during the morning of the 31st. By 1330, the 71st had hastily withdrawn out of Baliuag just as General Sonoda’s 7th Tank Regiment was moving at full speed down Highway 5 towards the town. Sonoda’s tanks and advanced infantry took up positions around Baliuag to allow the remainder of the force’s infantry to catch up and to prepare for an assault on Plaridel and Calumpit. Fearing the green 51st Infantry Regiment would not be able to stand up to the Japanese attack, Brigadier-General Jones sent two tank platoons, supported by a self-propelled artillery battery, to intercept Sonoda’s tanks.

Baliuag, Luzon

The Philippines campaign, also known as the Battle of the Philippines or the Fall of the Philippines, was from December 8, 1941 to May 8, 1942 the invasion 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 Formosa, over 200 miles north of the Philippines. The defending forces outnumbered the Japanese 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 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, enabled the Americans and Filipinos to hold out for four more months. Japan's conquest of the Philippines is often considered the worst military defeat in US history. About 23,000 American military personnel, and about 100,000 Filipino soldiers were killed or captured.

American

Japanese

Scenario Type = Standard