BATTLE OF CORREGIDOR NOONG WORLD WAR 2 | PAGBAGSAK NG PILIPINAS

The Battle of Corregidor The Battle of Corregidor is considered the end of the campaign of the Japanese in the Philippines After the bloody battle in Bataan, the Japanese invaded the islands in Bunganga of Manila Bay It is very important for the Japanese to conquer the islands in Manila Bay as well as the Corregidor, so that they can help the invaders in Manila and Cavite The Corregidor is known as the Gibraltar of the East because of its strategic position in the middle of the lagoon at the entrance of Manila Bay Using its large coastal guns, the Corregidor's defenses can sink any country that comes from the sea at the entrance of Manila The Corregidor is a flat island with a length of 5.6 kilometers and a width of 1.5 kilometers The widest and highest part of the island is the topside where most of their artillery and coastal guns can be found The middle side is filled with ships and ammunition The bottom of the Corregidor is the bottomside where ships and boats can be found and where some civilians live The island of Corregidor has a wide and complicated tunnel system where the soldiers dig to save themselves from the bombardment of the enemy Aside from being a hideout, these tunnels also serve as hospitals and headquarters The most famous tunnel here is the Malinta Tunnel where it became the headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur and first recognized by Jonathan Wainwright It has thick walls and walls made of concrete and steel, protection against bombs It also has a hospital, ammunition and supplies, and became a small train for a quick journey The Corregidor has 45 coastal guns and mortars, 72 anti-aircraft guns and controlled mines or bombs that will explode when the enemy is close The island has two 12-inch guns, the Battery Hern and the Battery Smith Both have a distance of 27,000 meters or 27 kilometers These two batteries in the Corregidor are their weapons with the longest range These two batteries can also rotate 360 degrees so they can hit any enemy in any direction The defense of the Corregidor is supported by several smaller island forts around it Cabayo Island in the south of the Corregidor is the next big island in Manila Bay It is led by Commander Francis Bridget, where it has 800 soldiers Cabayo Island is armed with 13 coastal guns It does not have many anti-aircraft guns because it is protected by anti-aircraft guns in the Corregidor The Fort Drum under Cabayo Island is considered the most unique of the island forts of Manila Bay It was built by military engineers on El Frile Island where they built a concrete bunker-shaped battleship It has a length of 350 feet and a width of 144 feet Its cement and steel walls are 25 to 36 feet thick Aside from the thick walls, the Fort Drum is also armed with 4 14-inch guns, 4 6-inch guns, and 2 anti-aircraft guns These defenses are really powerful so it was believed that no one could withstand the Fort Drum The last island here is Carabao Island It is only 500 meters away from the province of Cavite It has 2 14-inch guns, 8 12-inch mortars, 4 155mm GPFs, anti-aircraft guns, and other beach-defensive weapons It is estimated that more than 13,000 Filipino and American soldiers are scattered on these four islands to protect the fort of Manila Bay The first Japanese aerial bombardment hit the corridor on December 29, 1941 The two-hour bombing destroyed the barracks and the gas station on the middle side of the corridor It was followed by a more intense bombing on January 1, where the bombardment lasted three hours Even so, the bombing of the corridor was stopped when the attention of the Japanese was shifted to a larger battle in the north, the Battle of Bataan It lasted for a period of peace throughout January, where the defenders only experienced intense bombing in the corridor They used this opportunity to strengthen their defense On February 3, 1942, the USS Trout submarine crossed the corridor to deliver bullets and bombs It also carried 20 tons of gunpowder and silver from the banks of the Philippines It was brought to the USA to avoid going to the hands of the Japanese As these events unfolded, the situation in Bataan gradually worsened That is why on March 12, MacArthur left the corridor towards Australia in accordance with President Roosevelt's orders He was replaced by Jonathan Wainwright as Commander of the Philippine-American Forces in the Philippines Filipino and American soldiers experienced a great lack of food and water Each soldier was only allowed to eat 850 grams of food a day In addition, they could only drink water twice a day Because of the great hunger, even the horses' horses were dragged into the tunnel to be slaughtered and eaten This hunger greatly affected the performance of the soldiers in the battle Many of these soldiers were weak and had a bad look on their faces To answer this hunger, the Philippine Armed Forces ordered seven private ships from Cebu to bring food and supplies to the corridor Unfortunately, only one of these seven ships arrived at their destination, the MV Princesa In the fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942, the Japanese bombarded the corridor Artillery tried to respond to the bombardment, but they were stopped by General Jonathan Wainwright Because of the fear that they would hit the corridors On May 4, 1942, a submarine from Australia entered the corridor to take some important people here One of them was Colonel Constant Irwin, who had a complete list of US Army, Navy, and Marines soldiers in the Philippines He was escorted to avoid the Japanese from finding out the true number of soldiers in the Philippines Who they claimed to be their enemies as guerrillas Despite the hardships of the Filipinos and Americans, the fight in the corridor also became a big blow for the Japanese Many of the Japanese commanders promised that the campaign in the Philippines would be easy However, they did not expect the beating of the Filipino and American soldiers in Bataan and now in the corridor They were forced to lie to the public to avoid their embarrassment On May 5, 1942, the Japanese began their last invasion of the corridor The Japanese carried out a massive bombing, which was followed by an amphibious assault of 790 Japanese marines It was met by Filipino and American soldiers armed with 37mm artillery, where many Japanese were killed It was followed by the 2nd Battalion of 785 Japanese soldiers Although many of their soldiers were killed and injured, the Japanese were still able to advance and destroy the Denver Battery It was important for the Filipinos and Americans to recover the Denver Battery because it was close to the entrance of the Malinta Tunnel With 500 soldiers of the 4th Marines, Colonel Howard tried to recover the battery However, his troops were shot by Japanese snipers, so it was very difficult for them to advance The situation worsened again due to the invasion of the 3rd Battalion in the Corridor of 780 Japanese soldiers Despite the brave fight of the 4th Marines against the Japanese, they were slowly retreating The last blow to the defense of the Corridor was the invasion of three Japanese tanks The invasion of the tanks was quickly supported by a massive artillery bombardment, which retreated the Marines towards the Malinta Tunnel Jonathan Wainwright knew that if the Japanese entered the Malinta Tunnel, it would mean the death of everyone inside it, including the 1,000 injured and its caretakers In a radio message, General Jonathan Wainwright sent the following to President Franklin Roosevelt There is a limit to human endurance, and that point has long been passed Colonel Howard burned the flags and symbols of the USA and Marines to prevent the Japanese from taking them On May 6, 1942, at around 1.30 p.m., two officers sent Wainwright to the Japanese line, carrying a white flag and a message of surrender At first, only the soldiers of the Corridor were surrendered by Jonathan Wainwright, but it was not accepted by Masaharu Homma The Japanese commander would only accept Wainwright's surrender if he surrendered the Philippine-American forces throughout the Philippines Wainwright was forced to accept it because he feared that his refusal could result in the death of all the soldiers in the Corridor On May 7, the surrender of the Corridor and Wainwright's order to all the Philippine-American forces in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to surrender their weapons and themselves to the nearest Japanese outpost Despite the fall of the Corridor, thousands of Filipino and American soldiers refused to surrender and formed their own guerrilla groups Thousands of prisoners of war marched to Manila and helped Fort Santiago, Bilibid Prison, and various POW camps where they were forced to work Some parts of the war were sent to Japan, Korea, and Manchuria to serve General Jonathan Wainwright was sent to Manchuria, where he also experienced great hardship Because of the Battle of Bataan and Corridor, the schedule of the Japanese Empire was disrupted These delays were necessary to prepare the Allied forces in the battle and to defend their territory in the Pacific, such as Guadalcanal, Australia, and New Guinea For Masaharu Homa, the leader of the Japanese Invasion Force, he was able to conquer the Philippines in five months instead of two months Therefore, he was removed from his post An estimated 800 Filipino and American soldiers were killed in the Corridor, while 1,000 Japanese were injured Despite the fall of Bataan and Corridor, instead of a weakening of the inside, this battle made the Allied Forces more determined to prepare and fight the Japanese Empire In our next episode, we will talk about the tragic Bataan Death March We still have a lot of history to talk about, so make sure to click the Like and Subscribe button Again, I am Sir Ian and see you in the next video