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Philippine Defense Campaign of WWII - 75 Years Ago


FriscoHare
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Morning of December 8, 1941 — Philippines: Below is a graphic of some of the units the US Army Forces-Far East (USAFFE) and the Asiatic Fleet had on this day before the start of WWII. (I’ll attempt to update this graphic now through May of next year.)

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Within this hour, the Japanese attacked the Philippines by air. From December 1941 to May 1942, these men and women bravely stalled the Japanese juggernaut, giving the Allies time to gather their forces — a feat worthy of the Congressional Gold Medal.

*Note the number of aircraft. In Louis Morton’s “The Fall of the Philippines,” he mentions that writers have argued how many planes were in operation in the Philippines before the Japanese attack. These figures are from his book.

P.S. This graphic was inspired by BBC’s D-Day graphic showing the “armada” that came to swarm the French beaches. It can be seen here: http://bit.ly/2gElJuz There were thousands of ships, planes, tanks, and troops invading Normandy in 1944. But only a handful defended the Philippines in 1941-42.

 

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