On April 15, 1942, the American and Filipino soldiers who had surrendered at Bataan began their grueling march from Mariveles to San Fernando. The 65-mile death march would take six days. The sun was burning hot and the air stifling. Little food or water was available. And along the way, Japanese guards—part of Masaharu Homma’s army—would bayonet stragglers, club or shoot other captives for sport, and bury alive some sick and wounded who were unable to walk.
An estimated l0,000 prisoners—2,500 Americans and 7,500 Filipinos—died on the forced march. It would forever be known as the Bataan Death March. Those who survived it were packed by Homma’s troops into railroad boxcars that took them to the end of the line. They then walked another seven miles to reach their prison camp.Douglas MacArthur (Number 8) heard about it months later, when escaped American prisoners told him of the terrible ordeal. The American general who had led forces in the Philippines bided his time. When the war was over, he would make his move.
Masaharu Homma, conqueror of the Philippines, whose troops were responsible for the atrocities, was arrested and charged with war crimes. Was Homma responsible for the actions of his troops? If so, what should the penalty be?
Military Achievements Lead to the Philippines
Homma was born on Sado Island, Japan, in 1888. After graduating from the Japanese war college, he was assigned to the Japanese general staff. During World War I, he was sent to France to see the British Army in action. When the war ended, he taught at the War College before being posted to India.
He served under several officers until 1927, when he became an aide to the younger brother of Emperor Hirohito (Number 49). By 1938, he had become a lieutenant general in command of the 27th Division at Tientsin, China.
In 1940, he commanded the army in Formosa (Taiwan). A month before Pearl Harbor was attacked, he received his orders for the coming war with the United States. His goal: the Philippines.
The Philippines Fall to the Japanese
Homma’s force landed in northern Luzon island late in December 1941. A second force landed near Manila several days later. According to the timetable, Homma was supposed to have the entire Philippines in Japanese hands by the end of January 1942. Manila fell early, but American and Filipino forces withdrew to the Bataan peninsula. It was a good defensive position for a while, but attempts to resupply the besieged army failed.
In April 1942, the sick, starving Bataan garrison of 35,000 men—running out of ammunition and watching as the big Japanese guns were dragged closer and closer to vulnerable military hospitals—surrendered. It was one of the largest surrenders of personnel in American military history. Then the nightmare of the Bataan Death March began.
In May, just weeks after the fall of Bataan, Corregidor fell, and the entire Philippines were surrendered to a victorious Homma. By August 1942 he was back in Japan. The following year he became a government minister.
Homma Faces War Crimes
When Japan surrendered in September 1945, MacArthur ordered the arrest of Homma, who was taken back to the Philippines. In January 1946, he was put on trial in Manila.
Listening to the witnesses testify to the atrocities of the Bataan Death March, Homma insisted that he had been completely unaware of such events. But the prosecution argued that, as commanding officer, he was responsible for the actions of his troops.
Homma was found guilty and sentenced to death. It is reported that his wife personally appealed to MacArthur to spare her husband’s life, but it was to no avail. He was shot by a firing squad in April 1946.
The trial and execution of Masaharu Homma introduced a new interpretation of the code of military justice. Commanding officers were now required to control the actions of their men or take responsibility for the consequences of those actions. Using this interpretation, the atrocities of the Bataan Death March became Homma’s burden to bear, and he paid for it with his life.
0 comments:
Post a Comment