"At the start of WW2, the Philippine Islands were United States territory as per the 1898 Treaty of Paris. The archipelago was home to 19 million people, and was at a strategic location between Japan and the South Pacific. Because of the importance, the retired Army General Douglas MacArthur, currently serving as a Field Marshal in the Filipino military, was called back into service by President Franklin Roosevelt, and was given resources to mobilize Philippine defenses in case of a Japanese attack. MacArthur was given US$10,000,000 and 100 B-17 Flying Fortress Bombers. MacArthur deployed most of his defenses on the northern island of Luzon and southern island of Mindanao, forming what he called "key or base point of the US defense line".
ww2dbaseIn the American capital of Washington DC, Henry Stimson and George Marshall believed that a strong presence of American air power in the Philippine Islands would discourage Japanese aggression. On 15 Nov 1941, George Marshall proudly said in a press conference that "the greatest concentration of heavy bomber strength anywhere in the world" were gathered at the Philippine Islands, ready to not only counterattack any attacks on the islands but also to strike at the Japanese home islands and set the "paper" cities of Japan on fire. When a reporter noted that the B-17 bombers lacked the range necessary for a round trip between Clark Field in Philippine Islands and the Japanese capital of Tokyo, Marshall indicated air fields at Vladivostok would be shared by the friendly Soviet government. Marshall would grossly overestimate Soviet Union's friendliness.
ww2dbase
ww2dbaseMacArthur anticipated Japanese aggression as early as late Nov 1941 when Japanese aircraft were seen over northern Luzon. In early Dec, Japanese bomber formations were observed flying within 20 miles of Lingayen Gulf beaches and returning to Taiwan, presumably making trial runs in preparation for the attack. As a precaution, orders were given to move the 27th Bombardment Group B-17 bombers southward to Mindanao, out of range of the Japanese bombers. This move was delayed, however, as the pilots were invited to a big party held in the honor of Major General Lewis Bereton, an event to be held what was to become the night before the Japanese attack, at the hotel in Manila that was also MacArthur's residence. When the party ended at 0200 hours Manila time, it was 0800 hours at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii when the first Japanese aircraft dropped their torpedoes. As it was too dark for coordinated offensive operations for the Japanese, the Americans and the Filipinos had precious hours to prepare preemptive air strikes and strengthen ground defenses (furthermore, at dawn, an unexpected heavy fog over Taiwan would further hamper Japanese air operations). As it would turn out, this opportunity was forfeited. While Bereton did his best in getting his aircraft in the air to prepare for MacArthur's approval to attack the invasion fleet or the Japanese bases on Taiwan, MacArthur never gave the order. By 1100 hours, American aircraft began to land to refuel, and it was not until then, at about 1120 hours, that MacArthur gave his approval, but then it was too late. At 1235 hours, Japanese Army fighters reached the airfield at Iba on the western coast of Luzon, destroying a flight of P-40 fighters in the process of landing. A short time later, the Del Carmen airfield to the southeast was also attacked, with its outdated P-35A fighters forming little resistance against the more modern Japanese fighters. These attacks would repeat themselves, within days destroying MacArthur's air force. On 10 Dec, with air superiority achieved, General Masaharu Homma ordered the invasion to set forth. Starting on 20 Dec, the Japanese Army landed on Mindanao and then Luzon, quickly capturing airfields and other key strategic positions…"
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