Hello, and thank you for listening to The History of World War II podcast.

Episode 311.

MacArthur defending the indefensible.

Even before the 48th Division, General Homo's main attacking force came ashore on December

22nd. MacArthur had guessed that the enemy forces who had come ashore in northern

Luzon earlier in December would only play a support role their main task being to capture

airfields. And that guess had been correct. But when the enemy also came ashore in southern

Luzon at Legaspi before the main attack, the General realized his plan of stopping the

enemy on the beaches of Lengeyan was moot as he faced a threat from the north and south.

Perhaps General Grunert, the previous commander, had been right all along. Either way, the

General now realized his options were shrinking as were his chances of victory.

Regardless, MacArthur now told General Jonathan Wainwright to give up protecting northern

Luzon and only focus his defenses from San Fernando along the northern beaches of Lengeyan

Gulf and further south. So as we have seen, Wainwright sent the Philippine 11th Division

and the Philippine scouts of the 26th cavalry to spread themselves out along those beaches.

To assist them, Wainwright ordered a regiment of the Philippine 71st Division stationed

in southern Luzon and on Mindenau to move north of Lengeyan Gulf to block the Kano and

Tanaka detachments that were in northern Luzon who would surely come south to help in the

main invasion. As for the Philippine units north of San Fernando, the new northern most

defensive line, they were to concentrate on blocking the roads route three along the coast

and route five that went into the interior as both could be used to get to flatter terrain

to make for Manila to the south. But as history shows, most plans go out the window when

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