Why was corregidor important

When the Pacific War broke out in , the Japanese sought to take over Corregidor, which was the last bastion of the allied Filipino and U. It took more than full-scale air raids and hundreds of thousands of heavy artillery rounds, or up to 16, on a single day, for the Imperial Japanese Army to finally take control of Corregidor Island on May 6, On that day, U.

Army Lt. Jonathan Wainwright, commander of all troops on the island, surrendered to the Japanese, led by Lt. Masaharu Homma. MacArthur was the commander of the U.

When the Americans returned in to take the Philippines back, the fight for Corregidor posed another struggle.

World War II ». Related Content. Document Type. World War II Navy Communities. File Formats. Location of Archival Materials. Author Name. Place of Event. Recipient Name.

Bataan and Corregidor. December —May Marines on Corregidor celebrate the arrival of a fresh supply of Camel cigarettes, early Since the Asiatic Fleet had dispersed large amounts of supplies to Bataan from Cavite in a timely fashion, these men received slightly better rations than their U. Army counterparts. NH KN. The ship is depicted as a cruiser, but was actually a freighter.

Though reportedly hit and sunk, this is not confirmed in Japanese records. NH Japanese map of Corregidor, indicating their landings and operations there, on 6—7 May Most of the Americans who had met the Japanese in hand-to-hand fighting along the north beaches were now dead or wounded. There were no more troops left to send.

Bodies were piling up in Malinta Tunnel outside the hospital section, awaiting burial until the bombardment slackened—if it ever did. Countless casualties littered the beaches and ravines along the north side of the island.

And now, as if to confirm the finality of the situation, came the news that three Japanese tanks were grinding their way toward the main entrance to Malinta Tunnel. With nothing more powerful than rifles, a few light machine guns, and moldy vintage hand grenades, the defenders had not a single weapon capable of slowing down—much less stopping—a tank. Wainwright could envision the resulting bloodbath should the tanks fire their cannons down the main tunnel, where scores of nurses were treating more than 1, sick and wounded men amidst vast stores of munitions and gasoline.

At 10 a. What do you think? Wainwright sighed. After Beebe and Moore left to broadcast the surrender message, Wainwright scribbled a final note to President Roosevelt.

There is a limit of human endurance, and that limit has long since been passed…. Goodbye, Mr. Army radio operator Irving Strobing was the last to tap out a message from Corregidor, aimed at anyone listening.

My love to you all. God bless you and keep you. Sign my name, and tell mother how you heard from me. Stand by. M arine Private Ernest J. Bales learned of the surrender when a runner managed to reach his position in James Ravine, where he was assigned to one of four. All of them were waiting for something—but not surrender. But he soon regretted it, because the Japanese gave no indication of honoring the so-called cease-fire.

The persisting hostilities stemmed from two causes. One was Japanese determination to use the Corregidor surrender to take full possession of the Philippines. The other was a last-gasp attempt by General Wainwright to avoid exactly that. Nearly two hours passed before the Americans detected a noticeable decline in the shelling outside.

Wainwright recruited a young Marine, Captain Golland L. Clark, to go in search of a senior Japanese officer to relay the surrender message in writing. Another hour went by before Captain Clark returned with discouraging news.

Wainwright barked back at Uramura that he had no intention of negotiating with a lieutenant, and in due time Colonel Motto Nakayama—the non-English-speaking officer who had accepted the surrender of Bataan—arrived on the scene. Wainwright reacted with his own flash of anger, and declared he would only negotiate with General Masaharu Homma, commander of the Philippines Invasion Force.

Accompanied by his staff officers, Wainwright arrived on the peninsula at 4 p.