December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor is when the Japanese began invasion of the Philippines. Within a month, the Japanese had captured Manila, capital of the Philippines, and troops defending Luzon (both Filipino and American) were forced to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula. On April 9, 1942, U.S. General Edward King Jr. (1884-1958), his troops crippled by starvation and disease, surrendered all 75,000 troops at Bataan. All of the surrendered Filipino and American troops were rounded up by the Japanese and forced to march 65 miles to prison camps, hence the name "the Bataan Death March".
An image of the Bataan Death March.
Once forced to march, the troops decided it would be best to divide into groups of approximately 100, (750 groups in total). The Bataan March typically took about 5 days for each group to complete. The precise numbers are unknown as to how many troops died during the march, but it is estimated that about 1,000 died due to the brutality of their captors, who starved and beat the troops. The Japanese Captors even bayoneted those who were too weak to work.
This is a World War 2 bayonet.
bay·o·net
ˈbāənət,ˌbāəˈnet/
noun
bay·o·net
ˈbāənət,ˌbāəˈnet/
noun
- 1.
a swordlike stabbing blade that may be fixed to the muzzle of a rifle for use in hand-to-hand fighting.