9 Apr 1942 Jahr - End of the Battle of Bataan and The Bataan March

Beschreibung:

After American and Philippino troops surrendered to the Japanese on the Batan Peninsula. Defending the Philippines led to heavy casualties to American and Philippino soldiers. Finally on April 9th, 1942 the defending troops surrendered.
They surrendered because they were exhausted, starving, and sick. There were no reinforcements coming, and they were heavily outnumbered.
After their surrender, 78,000 prisoners were forced to March 65 miles to a Japanese prison camp, with 10,000 people dying along the way. This later became known as the Bataan death march.
The Battle of Bataan and the Bataan death march are significant, because it decreased American morale. This also showed how cruel the Japanese could be. Americans in the US still didn't think the Japanese were as strong or as bad as any of the powers in Europe, however, they were proven wrong. Lastly, it showed how underprepared the soldiers were to fighting the Japanese, and especially in the climate of the Philippines.