Bataan

Bataan , peninsula and province (1990 pop. 426,000), W Luzon, the Philippines, between Manila Bay and the South China Sea. Balanga is the provincial capital. A mountainous, thickly jungled region, it has some of the best bamboo forests in the Philippines. There is a pulp and paper mill, a large fertilizer plant, and an oil refinery (established there in 1961). Subsistence farming is carried on. Early in World War II (Dec., 1941-Jan., 1942), the U.S.-Filipino army withdrew to Bataan, where it entrenched and, despite the lack of naval and air support, fought a gallant holding action that upset the Japanese timetable for conquest. The army was crippled by starvation and disease when it was finally overwhelmed on Apr. 9, 1942. The U.S. and Filipino troops captured there were subjected to the long, infamous "Death March" to the prison camp near Cabanatuan; thousands perished. Homage is annually paid these victims on Bataan Day, a national holiday, when large groups of Filipinos solemnly rewalk parts of the death route. The battleground of Bataan is now a national shrine. See also Corregidor .

Bibliography: See S. L. Falk, Bataan: The March of Death (1962); R.Conroy, The Battle of Bataan (1969).

Bataan Province of the Philippines, on the peninsula of Luzon Island. It extends s from the w central coast, shielding Manila Bay from the South China Sea. The capital is Balangos. It is densely forested on the w side and the population is concentrated in the e. There was heavy fighting here during World War II. Products include rice and sugar cane. Fishing is also important. Area: 1,373sq km (530sq mi). Pop. (2000 est.) 557,659. 467,078.

Bataan, Battle of (December 1941– April 1942), a defeat of U.S. forces attempting to withstand the Japanese Invasion of the Philippines at the beginning of World War II. On December 24, 1942, Gen. Douglas MacArthur ordered U.S. troops to withdraw to the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island, which he believed defensible until reinforced. Over the following two weeks, more than 80,000 made it to the peninsula. Supply shortages led to malnutrition and disease, but the Americans managed to hold a stable line by the end of January. American forces were unable to send help, however, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to escape, which he did on March 11, 1942. A Japanese offensive begun on April 3 led to the unconditional surrender of the remaining U.S. forces on April 9.