The invading Japanese controlled the Philippine media, which portrayed imperial forces as helpful liberators. In reality, the Japanese were committing brutal war crimes like the Bataan Death March. This front page claims that Japanese occupation will bring peace and tranquility to the Philippines. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Following the Pearl Harbor attack, the Japanese turned their attention to the Southwest Pacific. For the next five months they were to sweep the Allies before them with alarming ease.
Their first objective was the Philippine Islands, which they attacked from the air on Dec. 8, 1941 (Philippines time) and invaded the following day. In the face of overwhelming odds, U.S. and Filipino forces gradually withdrew over a period of weeks to the peninsula of Bataan and to Corregidor Island in Manila Bay. The defenders of Bataan were forced to surrender on April 9, 1942, whereas troops on Corregidor, although encircled and isolated, held out until May 6.
Click on the following links to learn more about this period of World War II.
