this episode is sponsored by magellan tv
check out their documentary streaming
service to learn more about history
their platform has many high-profile
videos and documentaries including one
of our new favorites
shanghai 1937 where world war ii began a
battle between the japanese and chinese
that lasted almost three months was the
beginning of six years of fighting
initiated by the japanese military
including rarely seen footage and vivid
recollections of the men and women that
experienced these events
this is not a documentary to miss
magellan tv is a unique streaming
platform
focused entirely on bringing historical
content not found anywhere else on the
web
with over 3 000 documentaries movies and
series
some available in 4k high definition
there's something for every history
lover
from early wars to space exploration
they add new content weekly so you'll
never be able to watch it all
[Music]
the baton death march april 1942
world war ii
during the second sino-japanese war in
the second world war the imperial
japanese army committed a series of war
crimes
in territories they occupied in china
burma and southeast asia
these crimes resulted in the millions of
deaths of civilians and prisoners of war
the bataan death march was one such
atrocity
after the surrender of joint u.s
filipino forces at the bataan peninsula
in the philippines on april 9th of 1942
the japanese forced 76 000 prisoners of
war to march to the camp o'donnell
prison camp
accounts of the total distance of the
march vary but it was approximately 66
miles
or 106 kilometers on foot during the
march that lasted from five to ten days
depending on when the prisoner joined
the allied prisoners of war suffered
inhumane conditions
and severe maltreatment from the
japanese soldiers
many of them would never reach the final
destination
immediately after the pearl harbor
attack the japanese commenced a campaign
of seizing the philippine islands
the most important geostrategic position
for the control of southeast asia
main japanese troops had already landed
on the island of luzon on december 10th
but the main attack began on december
22nd 1941.
the philippine archipelago was defended
by no more than 150 000
troops from the us and filipino armies
under the command of american general
douglas macarthur
however he didn't have command of the
navy
as general macarthur prepared for the
defense of the islands
he abandoned the previously made defense
scenario warplane orange or wp03
which concentrated troops at minola bay
and deployed troops along the entire
archipelago coast
it was a costly mistake that allowed the
japanese 14th army to capture most of
the country by the end of december
facing defeat general macarthur switched
back to planned wpo3
but it was too late the remaining
defenders withdrew to the area of the
bataan peninsula that extended
into manila bay and the battle of bataan
began the first week of january 1942.
unlike the rest of the island the baton
defenders showed fierce resistance but
it wasn't enough
the defense was prepared hastily and
they were extremely low on supplies and
ammunition
their defeat was imminent on march 11
1942 general douglas macarthur left
manila at the direct order of u.s
president franklin roosevelt
he promised his troops i shall return
and repeated this promise afterwards in
many speeches
the soldiers at baton called the
battling baptists of bataan
held out for one more month their name
was immortalized in the limerick written
by american war correspondent
frank hewlett we're the battling backers
of baton
no mama no papa no uncle sam no aunts no
uncles no cousins no nieces
no pills no planes no artillery pieces
and nobody gives a damn
on april 9th after three months of
fierce combat in the most difficult
conditions
the battle of bataan was over soldiers
from both the philippine army and the us
army surrendered to the japanese forces
however grueling their efforts were in
defending bataan it would be nothing
compared to the agony that they were
about to suffer as japanese prisoners of
war
the japanese army had expected to
conquer the philippines in just a few
days
but the amount of soldiers that they
captured far exceeded their expectations
they had expected to capture around 30
000 prisoners
but the reality was that 76 000 american
and filipino soldiers had laid down
their arms
it became a tremendous logistical
problem for the japanese
who were able to provide neither
transport nor food for such a large
number of prisoners
besides this the japanese army in
general suffered from a shortage of
motor transport
during surrender discussions us major
general edward king
asked for permission to drive the pows
to camp o'donnell
in american army trucks but japanese
general masaharo homa
dismissed this request eventually it was
decided that the prisoners would march
on foot to the o'donnell camp
the prisoners were gathered at the
municipality of marevelez
where the march started the route went
along the coast of manila bay to the
town of lubao
and then to the san fernando train
station
from there the plan was to transport the
prisoners by railway to kappas
and then on foot an additional 8 to 10
miles or about 14 kilometers to camp
o'donnell
at the moment of their surrender the us
and filipino soldiers were already
exhausted by the arduous combat with the
japanese troops
they were also suffering from
malnutrition because of their reduced
food rations during the final stages of
the battle of bataan
for the men already in such a bad state
the 66 mile march was sheer torture
the japanese forced them to march 25
miles per day
which was the average marching speed for
the japanese soldiers
even in the best of conditions the
american soldiers normally marched only
15 to 20 miles per day
contrary to what was planned the caravan
moved slowly
as at times they had to make way for the
japanese troops moving southwards
the march lasted for days while the
first contingent of prisoners finished
the march in five days
the last of them arrived at the camp
after 10 days
during the entire length of the march
the prisoners were exposed
to direct sunlight and tropical
temperatures of over 100 degrees
fahrenheit
making them feel even more exhausted the
fact that they were denied food and
water only made the journey
more agonizing faced with a substantial
number of pows the japanese did not have
enough food or supplies for them all
as the japanese soldiers were the
priority for receiving food rations
the prisoners only received one meal
during the entire march
if they were lucky to receive food at
all most prisoners had their first meal
only when they arrived at the prison
camp
what was worse than the hunger was the
lack of drinking water
which the japanese guards intentionally
deprived the prisoners of
[Music]
a lot of soldiers went mad from thirst
and ended up being shot by japanese
guards
others were so desperate that they drank
the water from wallow pits and ditches
that were filled with animal waste
the polluted water caused dysentery
which in most cases had fatal
consequences
after only two days the lack of food and
water had taken its toll
as many soldiers were so exhausted they
couldn't continue the march
all those who were not able to continue
the march faced execution by a group of
japanese soldiers that had trailed the
procession
the americans called these groups
buzzard squads
many of those who survived the thirst
and hunger did so thanks to the bravery
of local filipinos
they secretly threw sugar cane and
canteens of water along the way
so that prisoners could pick them up and
get some measure of sustenance
the japanese guards made the march agony
for the prisoners
during the entire journey they forced
the prisoners to march at a steady pace
disregarding the fact that most of them
were physically unable to do so
all of those who were lagging behind
were encouraged to continue with
bayonets
however the japanese guards wasted no
time with the pows
who showed the lack of strength to
continue they simply killed them
and left them on the road their entire
route was filled with the bodies of dead
prisoners
this horrifying image was worsened by
the fact that many of the prisoners were
mangled by vehicles as the japanese ran
over them
the american and filipino prisoners were
completely stripped of their dignity
they faced constant abuse and beatings
for no reason the japanese guards would
slap
kick or hit prisoners with the butt
stocks of their rifles
often prisoners were beaten for
disobeying orders from the japanese
guards
and the prisoners didn't understand what
they were being asked to do
those that tried to escape were shot or
beheaded
prisoners who were too exhausted to wake
up were buried alive in graves
a deeper reason for the maltreatment lay
in the japanese belief that americans
and filipinos were less worthy nations
on top of that the japanese were furious
at their enemies for the resistance
they showed in the battle of bataan the
japanese guards were pushed by this
intense hatred in treating their enemies
with merciless cruelty
the prisoners were forced to march until
most of them collapsed bathroom breaks
were infrequent so soldiers either had
to hold it
or urinate and defecate into their
trousers
this caused infections to the wounds on
their legs from the brutal marching
breaks were only made for japanese
guards to rest even in these few cases
the prisoners were not allowed to sit
down anyone who disobeyed
would have been shot immediately to make
things worse for the prisoners
the japanese made stops by artesian
wells without allowing them to quench
their thirst
once they arrived at san fernando they
transported the prisoners by railway to
the town of capac
not far from camp o'donnell it seemed
like a moment of relief but it was
another stage to their suffering
the prisoners were packed into old metal
box cars that had no openings or any
kind of ventilation
they were crammed in so tightly that it
was impossible to sit down
if anyone passed out or died from
exhaustion he would not be able to fall
over
the train traveled without making any
stops the prisoners that needed to
relieve themselves had to do it right
there in the boxcar
and they were still without food or
water
after finally reaching cappas the
prisoners walked for another eight to
ten miles to camp o'donnell
in the camp they received a single ball
of rice as a meal
for most of the prisoners it was their
first meal since they began the march
the only relief was that they were
finally able to lie down and rest their
feet
though many of their comrades did not
live to see this happen
in the days to come many continued to
die because of the inhumane conditions
of the camp
some of these from the exhaustion and
dysentery they had caught along the way
estimates are that approximately 650
american soldiers and between 5 000 to
18 000 filipino soldiers died during the
march
after the war captured general masaharo
homa commander of the japanese 14th army
was put to trial for war crimes and
sentenced to death in 1946
masanobu suji a japanese officer who
ordered the killing of prisoners
avoided justice and even served as a
member of the post-war japanese
parliament
the bataan death march was one of the
worst war crimes of the
entire war in the pacific its horrors
are truly a perfect example of why
historians have named the second world
war
the war without mercy
you