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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 [[Commonwealth of the Philippines|American-controlled Philippines]] during [[World War II]].
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 [[Commonwealth of the Philippines|American-controlled Philippines]] during [[World War II]].


The [[Battle of the Philippines (1941–42)|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.
The [[Battle of the Philippines (1941–42)|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]] [[Douglas MacArthur's escape from the Philippines|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.


Japan occupied the Philippines for over three years, until the [[surrender of Japan]]. A highly effective guerilla campaign by Philippine resistance forces controlled sixty percent of the islands, mostly jungle and mountain areas. MacArthur supplied them by submarine, and sent reinforcements and officers. Filipinos remained loyal to the United States, partly because of the American guarantee of independence, and also because the Japanese had pressed large numbers of Filipinos into work details and even put young Filipino women into brothels.<ref>[http://www.worldwar2database.com/html/philip44.htm The Philippines Campaign October 20, 1944 - August 15, 1945 - World War II Multimedia Database<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Japan occupied the Philippines for over three years, until the [[surrender of Japan]]. A highly effective guerilla campaign by Philippine resistance forces controlled sixty percent of the islands, mostly jungle and mountain areas. MacArthur supplied them by submarine, and sent reinforcements and officers. Filipinos remained loyal to the United States, partly because of the American guarantee of independence, and also because the Japanese had pressed large numbers of Filipinos into work details and even put young Filipino women into brothels.<ref>[http://www.worldwar2database.com/html/philip44.htm The Philippines Campaign October 20, 1944 - August 15, 1945 - World War II Multimedia Database<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

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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.

Japan occupied the Philippines for over three years, until the surrender of Japan. A highly effective guerilla campaign by Philippine resistance forces controlled sixty percent of the islands, mostly jungle and mountain areas. MacArthur supplied them by submarine, and sent reinforcements and officers. Filipinos remained loyal to the United States, partly because of the American guarantee of independence, and also because the Japanese had pressed large numbers of Filipinos into work details and even put young Filipino women into brothels.[1]

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.

The invasion

Main article: Battle of the Philippines (1941–42)

Japan launched an attack on the Philippines on December 8, 1941, just ten hours after their 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 "Bataan 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 occupation

Warning for local residents to keep their premises sanitary or face punishment.

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.

Resistance

Japanese occupation of the Philippines was opposed by active and successful underground and guerrilla activity that increased over the years which eventually covered a big portion of the country. Opposing these guerrillas were a Japanese-formed Bureau of Constabulary (later taking the name of the old Constabulary during the Second Republic),[2][3] Kempeitai,[2] and the Makapili.[4] Postwar investigations showed that about 260,000 people were in guerrilla organizations and that members of the anti-Japanese underground were even more numerous. Such was their effectiveness that by the end of the war, Japan controlled only twelve of the forty-eight provinces.[5]

The Philippine guerrilla movement continued to grow, in spite of Japanese campaigns against them. Throughout Luzon and the southern islands Filipinos joined various groups and vowed to fight the Japanese. The commanders of these groups made contact with one another, argued about who was in charge of what territory, and began to formulate plans to assist the return of American forces to the islands. They gathered important intelligence information and smuggled it out to the American Army, a process that sometimes took months. General MacArthur formed a clandestine operation to support the guerrillas. He had Lieutenant Commander Charles "Chick" Parsons smuggle guns, radios and supplies to them by submarine. The guerrilla forces, in turn, built up their stashes of arms and explosives and made plans to assist MacArthur's invasion by sabotaging Japanese communications lines and attacking Japanese forces from the rear.[6]

Various guerrilla forces formed throughout the archipelago, ranging from groups of U.S. Army Forces Far East (USAFFE) forces who refused to surrender to local militia initially organized to combat banditry brought about by disorder caused by the invasion.[7] Several islands in the Visayas region had guerrilla forces led by Filipino officers, such as Colonel Macario Peralta in Panay,[7][8] Major Ismael Ingeniero in Bohol,[7][9] and Captain Salvador Abcede in Negros.[7][10] The island of Mindanao, being farthest from the center of Japanese occupation, had 38,000 guerrillas that were eventually consolidated under the command of American civil engineer Colonel Wendell Fertig.[7]

One resistance group in the Central Luzon area was known as the Hukbalahap (Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon), 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 portions of Luzon.[11] However, guerrilla activities on Luzon were hampered due to heavy Japanese presence and infighting of the various groups,[12] including Hukbalahap troops attacking American-led guerrilla units.[13][14]

Lack of equipment, difficult terrain and undeveloped infrastructure made coordination of these groups nearly impossible, and for several months in 1942 all contact was lost with Philippine resistance forces. Communications were restored in November 1942 when the reformed Philippine 61st Division on Panay island led by Colonel Macario Peralta was able to establish radio contact with the USAFFE command in Australia. This enabled the forwarding of intelligence regarding Japanese forces in the Philippines to SWPA command as well as consolidating the once sporadic guerrilla activities and allowing the guerrillas to help in the war effort.[7] Among the signal units of Col Peralta were the 61 Signal Company manned by 2Lt Ludovico Arroyo Bañas, which was attached to forces of the 6th Military Division, stationed in Passi, Iloilo, under the command of Capt. Eliseo Espia; and the 64th Signal Company of the same Military Division, under the Command of LtCol. Cesar Hechanova, to which 2Lt. Bañas was given the responsibility sometime later.[15][unreliable source?]

Increasing amounts of supplies and radio were delivered by submarine to aid the guerrilla effort. By the time of the Leyte invasion, four submarines were dedicated exclusively to the delivery of supplies to the guerrillas.[7]

Other guerrilla units were attached to the SWPA, and were active throughout the archipelago. Some of these units were organized or directly connected to pre-surrender units ordered to mount guerrilla actions. An example of this was Troop C, 26th Cavalry.[16][17][18] Other guerrilla units were made up of former Philippine Army and Philippine Scouts soldiers who had been released from POW camps by the Japanese.[19][20] Others were combined units of Americans, military and civilian, who had never surrendered or had escaped after surrendering, and Filipinos, Christians and Moros, who had initially formed their own small units. Colonel Wendell Fertig organized such a group on Mindanao that not only effectively resisted the Japanese, but formed a complete government that often operated in the open throughout the island. Some guerrilla units would later be assisted by American submarines who delivered supplies,[21] evacuate refugees and injured,[22] as well as inserted individuals and whole units,[23] such as the 5217th Reconnaissance Battalion,[24] and Alamo Scouts.[24]

By the end of the war some 277 separate guerrilla units made up of some 260,715 individuals fought in the resistance movement.[25] Select units of the resistance would go on to be reorganized and equipped as units of the Philippine Army and Constabulary.[26]

War Crimes

Main articles: Japanese war crimes and Manila Massacre

War Crimes committed by forces of the Empire of Japan against surrendered Allied forces,[27] and civilians have been documented.[28][29]

End of the occupation

Main article: Philippines Campaign (1944–45)
File:Sherman intramuros.jpg
Sherman tank at the ruins of the Fort Santiago gate in Intramuros, February 28, 1945

When General MacArthur returned to the Philippines with his army late in 1944, he was well supplied with information. It has been said that by the time MacArthur returned, he knew what every Japanese lieutenant ate for breakfast and where he had his hair cut. But the return was not easy. The Japanese Imperial General Staff decided to make the Philippines their final line of defense, and to stop the American advance toward Japan. They sent every available soldier, airplane and naval vessel into the defense of the Philippines. The Kamikaze corps was created specifically to defend the Philippines. The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the biggest naval battle of World War II, and the campaign to re-take the Philippines was the bloodiest campaign of the Pacific War. But intelligence information gathered by the guerrillas averted a bigger disaster—they revealed the plans of Japanese General Yamashita to entrap MacArthur's army, and they led the liberating soldiers to the Japanese fortifications.[6]

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. 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.[30] Filipino guerrillas also played a large role during the liberation. One guerrilla unit came to substitute for a regularly constituted American division, and other guerrilla forces of battalion and regimental size supplemented the efforts of the U.S. Army units. Moreover, the loyal and willing Filipino population immeasurably eased the problems of supply, construction,civil administration and furthermore eased the task of Allied forces in recapturing the country.[31][32]

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 from all causes; of these 131,028 were listed as killed in seventy-two war crime events.[33] U.S. casualties were 10,380 dead and 36,550 wounded; Japanese dead were 255,795.[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ The Philippines Campaign October 20, 1944 - August 15, 1945 - World War II Multimedia Database
  2. ^ a b "The Guerrilla War". American Experience. PBS. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  3. ^ Jubair, Salah. "The Japanese Invasion". Maranao.Com. Retrieved 23 February 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ "Have a bolo will travel". Asian Journal. Retrieved 24 February 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ Caraccilo, Dominic J. (2005). Surviving Bataan And Beyond: Colonel Irvin Alexander's Odyssey As A Japanese Prisoner Of War. Stackpole Books. pp. 287. ISBN 978-0-8117-3248-2.
  6. ^ a b War in the Pacific
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Guerrilla Activities in the Philippines". Reports of General MacArthur. {{cite web}}: |chapter= ignored (help)
  8. ^ "General Macario Peralta, Jr". University of the Philippines - Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  9. ^ Villanueva, Rudy (2003). The Vicente Rama reader: an introduction for modern readers. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press. p. 140. ISBN 971-550-441-8. Retrieved 4 January 2011. {{cite book}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Bradsher, Greg (2005). "The "Z Plan" Story: Japan's 1944 Naval Battle Strategy Drifts into U.S. Hands, Part 2". Prologue Magazine. 37 (3). The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved 4 February 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. ^ Dolan & 1991-21
  12. ^ Schaefer, Chris (2004). Bataan Diary. Riverview Publishing. p. 434. ISBN 0-9761084-0-2. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  13. ^ Houlahan, J. Michael (27 July 2005). "Book Review". Philippine Scouts Heritage Society. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  14. ^ Valeriano, Napoleon D. (2006). Counter-guerrilla operations: the Philippine experience. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-275-99265-1. Retrieved 7 May 2011. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ Affidavit H18179, 6th Military District, Unit Number T-8, Province of Iloilo (for USAFFE Guerilla), dated 9 January 1946, signed at OTC, Sta. Barbara, Iloilo, Philippines by 2Lt Samuel L. Bell O-1329677, Summary Court Officer, US Processing Team No. 8. The Document can be found in the Non-current Records of the Office of the Adjutant General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
  16. ^ Map of known insurgent activity
  17. ^ Norling, Bernard (2005). The Intrepid Guerrillas of North Luzon. University Press of Kentucky. p. 284. ISBN 0-8131-9134-3, 9780813191348. Retrieved 2009-05-21. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  18. ^ "The Intrepid Guerrillas of North Luzon". Defense Journal. 2002. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  19. ^ "Last of cavalrymen a true hero". Old Gold & Black. Wake Forest University. 2003-03-06. Retrieved 2009-05-21. [dead link]
  20. ^ My Father by Jose Calugas Jr.
  21. ^ Hogan, David W., Jr. (1992). U.S. Army Special Operations in World War II. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army. p. 81. Retrieved 25 January 2011. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ Roscoe, Theodore (1949). United States submarine operations in World War II. Naval Institute Press. p. 577. ISBN 0-87021-731-3. Retrieved 25 January 2011. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ Holian, Thomas (2004). "Saviors and Suppliers: World War II Submarine Special Operations in the Philippines". Undersea Warfare. Summer (23). United States Navy. Retrieved 25 January 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  24. ^ a b Rottman, Gordon L. (2005). US Special Warfare Units in the Pacific Theater 1941–45. Osprey Publishing. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-84176-707-9. Retrieved 3 December 2009. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  25. ^ Schmidt, Larry S. (1982). American Involvement in the Filipino Resistance Movement on Mindanao During the Japanese Occupation, 1942–1945 (PDF) (Master of Military Art and Science thesis). U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  26. ^ Rottman, Godron L. (2002). World War 2 Pacific island guide. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 318. ISBN 978-0-313-31395-0. Retrieved 7 May 2011. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
  27. ^ "People & Events: Japanese Atrocities in the Philippines". WGBH. PBS. 2003. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  28. ^ Frank Dexter (3 April 1945). "Appalling Stories of Jap Atrocities". The Argus. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  29. ^ AAP (24 March 1945). "Japs Murdered Spaniards in Manila". The Argus. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  30. ^ Chambers, John Whiteclay (1999). The Oxford companion to American military history. New York, New York: Oxford University Press US. p. 547. ISBN 978-0-19-507198-6. Retrieved 7 May 2011. {{cite book}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ http://www.history.army.mil/books/amh/AMH-23.htm World War II: The war against Japan by Robert W. Coakley. The Philippines Campaign
  32. ^ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bataan/peopleevents/p_filipinos.html Bataan Rescue. Filipinos and the war
  33. ^ a b Rottman, Gordon L. (2002). World War 2 Pacific island guide. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 318. ISBN 978-0-313-31395-0. Retrieved 9 January 2012. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
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