A detailed and fascinating exploration of the 1945 US combined land, naval and air operation to retake Corregidor and the other Japanese-held islands in Manila Bay from a determined and well-entrenched enemy. The islands guarding the entrance to Manila Bay, Luzon, had been seized by the Japanese in May 1942. In February 1945, US forces were back, and closed in on Manila from the north and south against heavy Japanese resistance. A joint US parachute and amphibious assault was planned to capture the largest island Corregidor, using the much-reinforced 503rd PRCT and elements of the 24th Infantry Division and 2nd Engineer Special Brigade. Facing them were over 6,000 Japanese troops recently evacuated from Bataan, where they had been cut off by advancing US forces. General MacArthur desired the island, once a symbol of American defiance, to be liberated with a flourish. This superbly illustrated work examines the ambitious US assault on Corregidor, which witnessed the most dangerous and risky parachute drop in airborne history, and vicious, desperate fighting by the defenders as they sought to prevent American troops from taking the island. It also covers the recapture of other islands defending Manila Bay: El Fraile/Fort Drum, Caballo, and Carabao.

"The two-week battle for Corregidor was complicated by the American's gross underestimation of enemy strength: expecting a few hundred demoralized defenders, they encountered more than 6,000 Japanese soldiers and marines deployed in tunnels and caves, every man dedicated to the Bushido code that dictated a fight to the death. As the dust was settling, MacArthur himself came ashore and was greeted by the commander of the victorious U.S. Army troops. 'Sir, ' said Col. George Jones, 'I present to you the Fortress Corregidor' -- a stirring conclusion to a dramatic and well-told story". -- Publishers Weekly

The Philippines were declared an American Territory on January 4, 1899, and fortification construction soon began on the islands in the mouth of Manila Bay. Among the sites built were Fort Mills (Corregidor), Fort Frank, and the formidable "concrete battleship" of Fort Drum. The defenses suffered constant Japanese bombardment during World War II, leading to the surrender of American forces. In 1945 the forts were manned by Japanese soldiers determined to hold out to the bitter end. This title details the fortifications of this key strategic location, and considers both their effectiveness and historical importance.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of No Easy Day comes a thrilling World War II story of the American airborne soldiers who captured a Japanese-held island fortress “Rock Force is a beautifully told story of war: the friendships, the courage and despair, and the terror... One of the most exciting books ever written about the Pacific War.”—Mitch Weiss, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Countdown 1945 In late December 1941, General Douglas MacArthur, caught off guard by the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, is forced to retreat to Corregidor, a jagged, rocky island fortress at the mouth of Manila Bay. Months later, under orders from the president, the general is whisked away in the dark of night, leaving his troops to their fate. It is a bitter pill for a fiercely proud warrior who has always protected his men. He famously declares "I shall return," but the humiliation of Corregidor haunts him, even earning him the derisive nickname "Dugout Doug." In early 1945, MacArthur returns to the Philippines, his eyes firmly fixed on Corregidor. To take back the island, he calls on the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, a highly trained veteran airborne unit. Their mission is to jump onto the island—hemmed in by sheer cliffs, pockmarked by bomb craters, bristling with deadly spiky broken tree trunks—and wrest it from some 6,700 Japanese defenders who await, fully armed and ready to fight to the death. Drawn from firsthand accounts and personal interviews with the battle's surviving veterans, acclaimed war correspondent and bestselling author Kevin Maurer delves into this extraordinary tale, uncovering astonishing accounts of bravery and heroism during an epic, yet largely forgotten, clash of the Pacific War. Here is an intimate story of uncommon soldiers showing uncommon courage and winning, through blood and sacrifice, the redemption of General MacArthur.

A volume on the liberation of the Philippines that concentrates on events from July 1944 through March 1945.

“Illuminating.… An eloquent testament to a doomed city and its people.” —The Wall Street Journal In early 1945, General Douglas MacArthur prepared to reclaim Manila, America’s Pearl of the Orient, which had been seized by the Japanese in 1942. Convinced the Japanese would abandon the city, he planned a victory parade down Dewey Boulevard—but the enemy had other plans. The Japanese were determined to fight to the death. The battle to liberate Manila resulted in the catastrophic destruction of the city and a rampage by Japanese forces that brutalized the civilian population, resulting in a massacre as horrific as the Rape of Nanking. Drawing from war-crimes testimony, after-action reports, and survivor interviews, Rampage recounts one of the most heartbreaking chapters of Pacific War history.

The reconquest of the Philippine archipelago (exclusive of Leyte), with detailed accounts of Sixth Army and Eighth Army operations on Luzon, as well as of the Eighth Army's reoccupation of the southern Philippines.

In the opening days of World War II, a joint U.S.-Filipino army fought desperately to defend Manila Bay and the Philippines against a Japanese invasion. Much of the five-month campaign was waged on the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island. Despite dwindling supplies and dim prospects for support, the garrison held out as long as possible and significantly delayed the Japanese timetable for conquest in the Pacific. In the end, the Japanese forced the largest capitulation in U.S. military history. The defenders were hailed as heroes and the legacy of their determined resistance marks the Philippines today. Drawing on accounts from American and Filipino participants and archival sources, this book chronicles these critical months of the Pacific War, from the first air strikes to the fall of Bataan and Corregidor.

A highly illustrated account of the fall of the Philippines in 1941–42, one of the least covered campaigns of World War II. In the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese launched an attack on the Philippines to eliminate the United States' other major Pacific naval base. Catching the US forces completely by surprise, the Japanese bombed the major airfields and quickly gained air supremacy. They followed with a full-scale invasion that quickly rolled up US–Filipino opposition and captured Manila. Meanwhile US forces, under the leadership of the Douglas MacArthur, created a series of defensive lines to try and stop the Japanese advance. Despite their efforts, they were continually pushed back until they held nothing more than the small island of Corregidor. With doom hanging over the US–Filipino forces, Douglas MacArthur was ordered to fly to safety in Australia, vowing to return. Nearly five months after the invasion began, the US–Filipino forces surrendered, and were led off on the 'Bataan Death March'. This book covers the full campaign from the planning through to the execution, looking at the various battles and strategies that were employed by both sides in the battle for the Philippines.

AN ISLAND DIES WWII POW & AMERICAN GUERILLA AUTOBIOGRAPHY CORREGIDOR ISLAND, PHILIPPINES 1942 Albert joined the army at nineteen, January 1940, and served in the Philippines for five years. He was captured and escaped his captors one year later. He returned home in 1945 with the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, POW and several other medals. A DARK MEMOIR OF AN AMERICAN POW WHO ESCAPED FROM THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE ARMY & JOINED GUERILLA FORCES IN THE PHILIPPINES DURING WORLD WAR II. Do I consider myself a superhuman? In my escape, I will admit a little courage was involved. For surely it was a do or die effort. Was it patriotism? Or man revolt against bondage, perhaps it was lack of nooky. I must say a little of everything was implicated to drive a man to such desperation. As in the battle of Corregidor, what possessed a man to remain stoic, while others were reduced to whimpering vegetables, is one to believe that everyone as history tells us, at the besiege Alamo died a hero? I doubt it. They were just as scared as we were. It made no difference if a man had a college degree or was hardly able to scribble his name. Fear has no segregation. To me, the surrender although everyone knew it was coming, was the worst shock of them all. One day a proud solider, the next a slave for the enemy. To be incarcerated for the doing one thinks is just, is quite a blow. What happens to someone that is forced to survive such a terrifying experience? Can he return home and lead a normal life? Impossible. I remember calling up a certain Major stationed at Aberdeen Proving Grounds one night. This was ten years after capitulation. I had heard that he was on Corregidor at the time. As soon as I mentioned the island he broke down and cried on the phone. I also have, and still do break down to this day if I let myself become frustrated. I returned home bitter, a nervous wreck, loss of faith in God and Mankind. I suffered periodically from blackouts and was referred to a Psychiatrist from whom himself had a problem. An effeminate one, he advised me that I was all tensed up inside and told that I had to get it out of my system. After talking over with my wife I decided the best therapy for me would be to put my story on paper. It has helped. I have not had a blackout since I began writing my story. I still have nightmares of my escape, growing in intensity as the years go by leaving me in a cold sweat -Albert Caron PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Wounded Warriors, Keywords: USAFFE, Malinta Tunnel, General Fleming Moore, Supreme Allied Commander General Douglas MacArthur, President of the Philippines Manuel Quezon, Japanese Imperial Army, Corregidor Island, Philippines, Prisoner of War, Cabanatuan Prison, Billibid Prison, Nichols Airfield, American Guerrilla, Markings Guerillas, Colonel Marcos V. Agustin, Colonel Yay Panlilio, 1st Cavalry Division.