Loss Of Hope

As disaster manifested itself in every form for Fil-American forces, General Parker, the American commander of II Corps, looked for units to plug gaps in the line. Units of untrained Filipinos would quickly form up and then, just as quickly, disperse or disintegrate. There were, however, still some …

1942-04-07

O12

As disaster manifested itself in every form for Fil-American forces, General Parker, the American commander of II Corps, looked for units to plug gaps in the line. Units of untrained Filipinos would quickly form up and then, just as quickly, disperse or disintegrate. There were, however, still some units under control facing the Japanese. And with them was General Bluemel. Bluemel had all but lost hope of being able to right the sinking ship in II Corps’ sector. Parker ordered Colonel Vance and the remaining 26th Cavalry, without horses but still the most effective fighting force on Bataan, to report to Bluemel at the intersection of Trails 2 and 10. Bluemel positioned the horseless cavalry just north of a large crater that was blocking vehicular movement southward and ordered them to hold in place. Bluemel then found some reinforcements and ordered them to assist the now hard-pressed position as they were in danger if being overwhelmed by a large force of well-trained and lead Japanese infantry.

Bataan, Luzon

The Battle of Bataan (7 January – 9 April 1942) was fought by the United States and the Philippine Commonwealth against Japan during World War II. The battle represented the most intense phase of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines during World War II. In January 1942, forces of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy invaded Luzon along with several islands in the Philippine Archipelago after the bombing of the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. The commander-in-chief of all U.S. and Filipino forces in the islands, General Douglas MacArthur, consolidated all of his Luzon-based units on the Bataan Peninsula to fight against the Japanese army. By this time, the Japanese controlled nearly all of Southeast Asia. The Bataan Peninsula and the island of Corregidor were the only remaining Allied strongholds in the region. Despite their lack of supplies, American and Filipino forces managed to fight the Japanese for three months, engaging them initially in a fighting retreat southward. As the combined American and Filipino forces made a last stand, the delay cost the Japanese valuable time and prevented immediate victory across the Pacific. The American surrender at Bataan to the Japanese, with 76,000 soldiers surrendering in the Philippines altogether, was the largest in American and Filipino military histories, and was the largest United States surrender since the American Civil War's Battle of Harpers Ferry. Soon afterwards, U.S. and Filipino prisoners of war were forced into the Bataan Death March.

Japanese

American / Filipino

Scenario Type = Standard