Hello, and thank you for listening to the history of World War II podcast.

Episode 319, How Do You Solve A Problem Like MacArthur?

Last time General Matsuharu Homa, commander of the Japanese forces invading the Philippines,

realized he had failed. Yes, most of the island of Luzon was under Japanese control,

but not all of it, and the Filipinos and Americans were still defiant. So, on February 8th,

Homa ordered his forces to disengage and pull back north to the Begat Orion line. From there,

he would wait for reinforcements. Then and only then would he renew his attack,

and finish off the enemy in southern Baton and on Corregidor. At this moment, Homa's 14th Army

had lost 2,700 men, with another 4,000 wounded. But what had really crippled the war effort for

Luzon besides the defenders' tenacity were the 12,000 Japanese soldiers who had come down

with various ailments, like dysentery, which goes back to planning and supplies, which goes back to

the commander, Homa. Yes, he had failed. And as the Imperial General Headquarters had made

clear to Homa, between Tokyo's attack on Singapore, just starting, indeed, on that very date,

February 8th, and the still coming attack on the Netherlands East Indies, there were currently

no forces to spare. To be sure, on February 10th, Tokyo approved the reinforcements to Homa,

but it would take time, time to gather, refit, and transport the 4th division from Shanghai.

Until then, the officers of the General Staff would send to Homa, additional siege artillery,

to harass and keep back the enemy, just in case they felt confident enough to launch their own

attack, which they did, but command kept them in check, given the lack of food and medicine.

Additionally, Imperial Headquarters would send army air force and navy air force bombers,

and if they weren't in time to help wrap up the time, they could certainly participate in the

destruction of the enemy's command structure on Corregidor. When all was said and done,

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