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

323, Patan, The Readiness, Ezal.

From mid-February 1942 until early April, the Filipino and American troops in southern

Patan waited to be attacked by the resurgent Japanese under General Homa.

Indeed, during that time, Homa had been drilling his new arrivals on everything from heavy

weapons that were also coming in to the specific needs of the coming attack against the enemy,

who were still just south of the Pilar Bagak Road, a distance of some 13 miles.

In contrast, the 79,500 ally troops of which 12,500 were American and the rest Philippine

wanted to do the same, that is, properly train, but could not for lack of food and medicine.

Hence, the Japanese grew stronger and more confident, the defenders weaker and more secure

in the knowledge that they would lose.

The terrain, held by major general Edward P. King's Luzon Force, was squeezed into an area

just under 200 square miles.

On the right half of the defensive line, waited major general George M. Parker's second

corps.

To his left was Brigadier General Albert Jones' first corps.

Besides these two corps, there was a reserve force of about 5,000 men, the service command,

two coastal artillery regiments, the provisional tank group, two battalions of 75 millimeter

guns, along with engineer and signal troops.

Of course, having so many people, including the 20,000 refugees in such a relatively small

area, meant that as King told Wainwright, enemy aircraft could drop their payloads at almost

any point or place and hit something of military value.

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