THE BATAAN DEATIONAL MARCH

688 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Pearl Harbor and how it changed our world

THE BATAAN DEATH MARCH
As a result of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. American force was immediately sent to defend the Philippine islands in the Pacific Ocean. President Roosevelt appointed American General Douglass MacArthur Commander of the U.S. Army troops in the Philippines. It was their job to defend the Bataan Peninsula until reinforcements could arrive. American troops had to fight the Japanese from the crack of dawn until sunset every day. On April 3rd the Japanese fleet, through headed to Australia, detoured and began an onslaught on the MacArthur’s troops. During this horrifying time, the Americans …show more content…

Before going into World War II, America was placed under defense to protect its main possessions, this led to early battlefronts with japan. The general, Douglass MacArthur, appointed a new commander of US army forces by President Franklin Roosevelt, demanding the American troops in the Philippines to treat the south’s Bataan peninsula until reinforcements arrived. However, in 1941 the attack on the Pearl Harbor acted so brutally that it distracted the flow of reinforcements, which then led to the troops being on their own. From the year 1941-1942, the troops in Bataan overly resisted the Japanese conquest from the crack of dawn to sunset. On April 3rd the japan flotilla originally destined for Australia arrived in the Philippines, which led to new surge of Japanese attacks. During this horrifying time the Americans and Philippines had no other choice but to wait, wait to die, and wait to live, or wait for an absolution. On April 9th 1942 the 12,000 Americans and nearly 58,000 Filipino soldiers decided to surrender. By this time, a third of them were already sick and dying. Getting deeper in to the death march, Japanese rounded up the captured troops in to long lines and told them to start marching for the next seven consecutive days with no food or water and had very little rest with temperatures constantly increasing by the minute. This torturous march caused over five thousand deaths. During this time, there was a code called “the bushido code” that the

Show More
Related

  • The Influences on the Signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

    1472 Words  | 3 Pages

    Previous to the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7th 1941, tensions had been forming between the USA and Japan in the pacific. The US had cut of most supplies to Japan with the fear of Japanese expansion. The conflict that had been escalating between Japan and China since 1937 had the US treating Japan with great cautiousness. They had been monitoring Japanese Americans in anticipation of a surprise attack. However the attack on Pearl Harbour still shocked and outraged the American nation and affected the American psyche. After being assured that “a Japanese attack on Hawaii is regarded as the most unlikely thing in the world”(1), the sudden mass destruction of the U.S Navy’s Pacific fleet and deaths of roughly 2400 U.S soldiers and civilians as a result of such an attack undoubtedly lead to confusion and racial hatred amongst many US citizens. The assumption on the War Department’s behalf that Japan’s Navy were incapable of launching a full scale assault on the US Navy’s chief Pacific base was more than inaccurate. As a result, the US Naval base was unprepared and was quickly taken out. A hidden bias would soon become evident in both average civilians and higher positioned government officials. This bias against Japan aided in the formation of the Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) on February 19th 1942.

    Read More

  • Day of Infamy Speech by President Roosevelt

    605 Words  | 2 Pages

    President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the United States Congress following the unexpected attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor the previous day. As a result, Roosevelt asked the Congress to declare war on Japan. In his speech to Congress, President Roosevelt stated that the previous day, which was December 7th, 1941, was a date that they will live in notoriety. President Roosevelt said that the United States of America was abruptly and intentionally attacked by naval and air forces of the Japanese emperor.

    Read More

  • Pearl Harbor Dbq Essay

    626 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Battle of Pearl Harbor was one of the most atrocious events that happened in U.S. history. On December 7, 1941, Japan made a surprise aerial attack on the United States naval base and airfields at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. More than two thousand Americans died and a thousand two hundred were wounded. Eighteen ships were badly damaged, including five battleships. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt with the support of the Congress, declared war on Japan. It led United States’ official involvement in World War II. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because of a deteriorating relationship with the U. S. The “New World Order”, expansion and resources, and economic sanctions were factors that conducted to another disaster on the Second World War.

    Read More

  • The Doolittle Raid: An Analysis

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the early days of World War II, the United States remained officially neutral. It was not until the attack on Pearl Harbor, by the Japanese, that the United States had no choice, but to declare war. At the beginning of the war Japan won most of the battles (Gailey). These defeats resulted in the morale being low among the American troops. President Theodore Roosevelt wanted to boost morale and push forward the Pacific front with a strike on the Japanese homeland to serve as a testament to American military prowess and retribution for the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor (Shepherd).

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of The Day Of Infamy

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    December 7, 1941 was a day of great tragedy. At 07:48 in the morning the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States at the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii. This attacked caused the destruction of seventeen ships and one hundred and eighty eight aircraft as well as killing two thousand four hundred and three Americans. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt took to the microphone to address congress and the American people. This speech by President Roosevelt was effective in convincing congress to declare war on Japan by using ethos, pathos, and also logos.

    Read More

  • How Is Japanese Internment Justified

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    During 1941, many Americans were on edge as they became increasingly more involved in WWII. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese decided to take matters to their own hands. They attacked the naval base Pearl Harbor and killed 68 Americans in order to prevent the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with their military. After this surprise attack, the Americans officially entered the war, which caused many people to become paranoid (Baughman). Many people feared the Japanese because they thought they were spies for Japan, and because of this the Executive Order 9066 was signed and issued by FDR which sent many Japanese Americans to live in internment camps (Roosevelt).

    Read More

  • Wake Island

    1752 Words  | 4 Pages

    Initially, Japanese strategists assumed that the tiny island would be overwhelmed in a matter of hours. However, they underestimated the fighting spirit of the military personnel and civilians stationed on the island. For sixteen days these brave men fought against overwhelming odds, but demonstrated both to the Japanese and to their fellow Americans back at home that the Americans could and would put up a courageous fight.

    Read More

  • The Attack on Pearl Harbor Shapes American History

    2445 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Attack on Pearl Harbor Shapes American History “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy. . .” These famous lines were spoken the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave this speech to the U.S. Congress on December 8, 1941. Many criticized the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but the decision to attack America was wisely made. The Americans were going to enter the war sooner or later, and on the allies’ side.

    Read More

  • The Significance of the Battle of Midway

    1393 Words  | 3 Pages

    Even before the battle started, America saw his attack coming. Japan had bombed the Dutch harbor in Alaska on the days of June 3rd and 4th. Japan landed there instead of on the islands of Attu and Kiska, in fear the United States might be there. There attacks failed when the plan to get the American fleet from Midway to aid the freshly bombed Dutch harbor. At 0900 hours an American patrol boat spotted the Japanese fleet seven hundred miles from Midway. At that point admiral Soroku Yamamoto’s plans of a sneak attack were over. Admiral fletcher commanded the U.S.S. Yorktown before it was sunk by the Japanese. Then at 0750, japan spots nine enemy (American) planes fifteen miles out. Tones, a Japanese cruiser, opened fire on the American pilots. Almost instantly if an American bomber plane were hit it would explode and go down. The bombers dropped their torpedoes to far from their targets, so the torpedoes didn’t land a single blow to Japan. At 1040 japan sent from Hiryu,...

    Read More

  • Japanese Internment After Pearl Harbor

    2439 Words  | 5 Pages

    On December 7,1941 Japan raided the airbases across the islands of Pearl Harbour. The “sneak attack” targeted the United States Navy. It left 2400 army personnel dead and over a thousand Americans wounded. U.S. Navy termed it as “one of the great defining moments in history”1 President Roosevelt called it as “A Day of Infamy”. 2 As this attack shook the nation and the Japanese Americans became the immediate ‘focal point’. At that moment approximately 112,000 Persons of Japanese descent resided in coastal areas of Oregon, Washington and also in California and Arizona.3

    Read More

  • Japanese Internment: A Lesson from the Past

    2309 Words  | 5 Pages

    World War II was a time of heightened tension. The entire world watched as fascism and dictatorships battled against democracy and freedom in the European theater. The United States looked on, wishing to remain neutral and distant from the war. On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, officially drawing the U.S. into the war. Thousands of young sailors died in the attack and several U.S. Navy vessels were sunk. The attack marked the beginning of the United States’ involvement in World War II as well as the beginning of the persecution of Japanese Americans in the U.S. Hysteria and outrage increased across the country and largely contributed to the authority’s decision to act against the Japanese. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, allowing the military to place anyone of Japanese lineage in restri...

    Read More

  • The Battle of Midway

    1931 Words  | 4 Pages

    As the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 the United States officially entered World War Two. The Japanese government later learned later that this single event sets off an explosion that subsequently caused the United States to attack the Midway Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Pearl Harbor was one of the United States largest naval bases and the largest in the Pacific Ocean. This attack ceased all trade with Japan and officially added Japan as one of the US enemies. With a new world war started it created new concerns for the army. “World War II introduced a whole new set of problems in naval tactics” (Smith, 1). The main change driving these changes was the fact that aircraft carriers became more prevalent and common in every major countries naval force. Japan was able to pull off the Pearl Harbor attack as a result of aircraft carriers to launch their airplanes. As a result of the battles leading up to the Battle of Midway and conflicts with Japan this created a lot larger of an impact on WWII as a whole and to boost unity in America leading to a more prosperous period of history following the war.

    Read More

  • Did Truman Justified To Drop The Atomic Bomb Justified Essay

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, they didn’t know where or how the attack would occur. The surprise attack turned out to be a launch on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This angered Americans to the extent that the US declared war on Japan the next day. Even though the US favored neutrality, the United States was forced to enter war. The progressive violent actions of the Japanese government against the US economic interests are what ultimately triggered the United States’s declaration to enter the war.

    Read More

  • The Battle of Iwo Jima

    1599 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the early morning of 19 February 1945, United States Marines assigned to the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Division led the initial assault on the Japanese controlled island of Iwo Jima, with the objective of capturing and securing the island. This was the beginning of one of the fiercest and bloodiest; and more decisively, the most strategically important battles fought during World War II. After the dust had settled, and the smoke had cleared, the causalities and losses were astounding. 6,821 U.S. Marines along with 18,844 members of the Imperial Japanese Army had paid the ultimate sacrifice. A decisive US victory on the island of Iwo Jima later played a pivotal role in the overarching defeat of the Japanese Empire and its Armed Forces (Morison, 1945).

    Read More

  • The Death March

    1573 Words  | 4 Pages

    When General MacArthur of the United States surrendered, the Japanese were not prepared for the immense number of US and Filipino prisoners. Their justification for their war crimes comes from their culture. The Japanese were instilled with the idea of fight or death. Surrendering was not an option to the Japanese, because it made one scum, and not even human. In the Japanese perspective, the American soldiers that surrendered had intentionally put themselves in this position. The Japanese did what they were taught; their cultural traditions allowed for the violence an...

    Read More

More about THE BATAAN DEATIONAL MARCH

Open Document