subject: What Excaty Is A Bataan [print this page] Bataan is a mountainous peninsula on the island of Luzon, in the Philippine Islands. It was here that American and Filipino soldiers bravely made their last stand in the Philippines against the Japanese army, early in World War II. Although they finally had to surrender, other American and Filipino soldiers returned later in the war, and recaptured Bataan from the Japanese. Bataan is 517 square miles in size, which is half as large as Rhode Island. More than 90,000 people live there. Most of the people live along the low, eastern coast, where they grow rice and cotton. Most of Bataan is mountainous and rocky. Mt. Mariveles, in the southern part, rises to 4,700 feet and is the highest point on the peninsula. There are also forests and jungles in the central and western regions. Before World War II, hardly anyone thought much about Bataan. But it became famous after the Japanese attacked the Philippine Islands during the first weeks of the war. The powerful Japanese army quickly captured all the Philippines, except Bataan. The American forces led by General Douglas Mac- Arthur made their last stand there in January, 1942. General MacArthur had only about fifty thousand men, while the Japanese had five times as many soldiers. The American and Filipino soldiers had little ammunition, food or medical supplies, but they fought heroically for more than three months. General MacArthur was flown out to take command of all the forces in the Pacific. A small group under Lt. General Jonathan M. Wainwright held Corregidor Island, off the tip of the Bataan peninsula. Those on Bataan surrendered to the Japanese on April 9, 1942. Corregidor fell to the Japanese the following month. Lt. General Masaharu Homma was the Japanese general who captured Bataan. He was a cruel man, and he forced all his prisoners to march day and night for more than 60 miles to a concentration camp. Many died along the way, and many were killed by the Japanese soldiers. This terrible journey became known as the Bataan Death March. After the war, General Homma was put on trial for his war crimes. He was found guilty, and executed.
