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  • As the Rising Sun expanded across East  Asia, the United States Pacific Fleet  

  • laid broken in the shallow waters of Pearl HarborThe British colonies had also been invaded,  

  • suffering defeat after defeat both in  Hong Kong and in the Malayan Peninsula.  

  • But this would not be the end of the  Japanese aggression, as the strategic  

  • American possessions in the Pacific were now  up for grabs. Today, we are going to cover the  

  • initial landings in the Philippines, as well  as the attacks against Guam and Wake Island.

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  • As we've already seen, the United States  had neglected the defenses of its Pacific  

  • possessions for too many years since their victory  in the Great War. And with the Japanese threat  

  • approaching like dark clouds on the horizon, the  effort to prepare for a new war was still minimal,  

  • leading to a considerable weakness for  the American forces in the Pacific.  

  • In July of 1941, after the Japanese occupation  of southern Indochina, the USAFFE was formed,  

  • including both American and Filipino forces in the  region, with Lieutenant-General Douglas MacArthur  

  • as its commander-in-chief. The Philippine Army had  thousands of troops, but it lacked modern weapons,  

  • adequate training, and valuable experiencesomething MacArthur set out to correct from  

  • the get-go, even though he wouldn't have the  time to complete his task. The US Navy also  

  • had a small presence in the region with the old  Asiatic Fleet of Admiral Thomas Hart, which is  

  • not to be confused with the Pacific Fleet based  on Hawaii. This fleet depended on a few cruisers  

  • and WWI-era destroyers , although it counted  with a considerable submarine squadron as well,  

  • albeit not big enough to successfully struggle  against the Japanese. The Asiatic Fleet was also  

  • responsible for the defense of Guam, while the  defense of Wake Island was under the jurisdiction  

  • of Admiral Husband Kimmel's Pacific Fleet. In the Philippines, MacArthur counted some  

  • 22,532 men, including one fully-American regiment  , three well-trained regiments of Philippine  

  • Scouts, two tank battalions , ten inexperienced  Philippine divisions, and considerable coastal and  

  • anti-aerial artillery . MacArthur also had at his  disposal the Far East Air Force under the command  

  • of Major-General Lewis Brereton, totaling some 218  modern aircraft , as well as the Philippine Air  

  • Corps' six squadrons of obsolete aircraft ; a very  sizable air force to stem the Japanese offensive.  

  • In Guam, although the US didn't think that  the island could be successfully defended,  

  • naval forces were under the command of Captain  George McMillin, counting with some 271 Navy  

  • personnel, as well as 153 Marines led  by Lieutenant-Colonel William McNulty  

  • and some 246 volunteers of the Guam Insular Force  Guard. Meanwhile, in Hawaii, Admiral Kimmel had  

  • noticed the valuable strategic importance  of Wake Island since the start of the year,  

  • ordering the construction of naval-base  facilities with the objective of turning  

  • it into a stronghold, something that wouldn't  be completed by the end of 1941. Kimmel had the  

  • 1st Defense Battalion of marine units for the  defense of the American islands in the Pacific,  

  • with the other three battalions assigned to  Midway and Hawaii. Two detachments were sent  

  • to the Johnston and Palmyra Islands, while the  rest of the battalion remained at Pearl Harbor.  

  • On August 8, a new detachment of the 1st Defense  Battalion was sent to Wake, totaling some 422  

  • marines under the command of Major James DevereuxIn late November, the defense of Wake was placed  

  • under the command of Winfield Cunninghamwhile the defenders would be reinforced with  

  • the VMF-211 squadron of Major Paul Putnamconsisting of twelve F4F-3 Wildcat fighters

  • As for the Japanese, limited by the war in China  and the attacks against the British and Dutch  

  • colonies, they could only count on 2 divisions  and a brigade for their offensives against the  

  • American possessions in the Pacific. The rest of  the hard work would have to be carried out by the  

  • IJN and their Special Naval Landing Forcethe Japanese equivalent to the US Marines.  

  • For the invasion of the Philippines in  particular, Tokyo had planned to first  

  • neutralize the American air forces in the  Philippines to have full control of the air.  

  • To do this, they would also need to execute  several amphibious invasions against the main  

  • American northern airfields to extend Japanese  aircraft capabilities. Once air superiority was  

  • assured, they would launch their main amphibious  assault against Luzon and Mindanao , then  

  • advancing across the Philippines to occupy their  vital strategic locations . The 14th Army of  

  • Lieutenant-General Homma Masaharu, consisting of  the 16th and 48th Divisions, as well as the 65th  

  • Independent Mixed Brigade and two tanks regimentswas appointed to carry out this operation, and  

  • they would be supported by the 5th Army Air Force  Division of Lieutenant-General Obata Hideyoshi,  

  • consisting of 183 short-range aircraftThe Japanese also appointed Vice-Admiral  

  • Takahashi Ibo's 3rd Fleet to support the invasion  of the Philippines, primarily showcasing a variety  

  • of cruisers and destroyers , and providing some  358 valuable long-range aircraft in the form of  

  • the 11th Air Fleet. Takahashi's role in the  Philippines was to destroy the Asiatic Fleet,  

  • cover and support the naval landings, and then  protect Japanese supply lines and reinforcements

  • Meanwhile, the 4th Fleet of Vice-Admiral Inoue  Shigeyoshi was selected to conduct operations  

  • against the islands of the Pacific Oceanincluding the invasions of Wake and Guam.  

  • For the attack on Wake Island, Inoue planned  to conduct three days of aerial bombardment,  

  • followed by naval landings on Wilkes Island and  Wake proper. The invasion force, designated as  

  • COMDESRON 6” and commanded by Rear-Admiral  Kajioka Sadamichi, consisted of a covering  

  • and support force of cruisers and destroyers , 34  bombers of the 24th Air Flotilla, an occupation  

  • force , and 450 SNLF marines. For the assault on  Guam, Inoue assigned the South Seas Detachment of  

  • Major-General Horii Tomitaro, mainly counting with  4886 men from the 144th Infantry Regiment . To  

  • support the naval landings on Guam, the Japanese  would also appoint the 6th Cruiser Division  

  • of Rear-Admiral Goto Aritomo, consisting of four  heavy cruisers, four destroyers, and 370 SNLF  

  • marines . Inoue also planned to occupy the Gilbert  Islands and to conduct bombardments of the Howland  

  • and Baker Islands. For this operation, he created  a supporting group under the command of Captain  

  • Miyazaki Shigetoshi, consisting of two minelayerstwo destroyers, and a gunboat, to escort the 51st  

  • Naval Garrison Unit in its invasion of the  Gilberts. At the same time, the 24th Air  

  • Flotilla was placed in charge of the bombardment  of the Howland, Baker, and Gilbert Islands

  • As we've seen, on December 2, the order  toClimb Mount Niitakawas given,  

  • setting up the final preparations for the  Japanese offensives to be launched on December 8.  

  • Three days later, Homma's men departed Haha-jima  en route to Guam, with the objective of landing at  

  • Tumon Bay, on the southwest coast near Merizoand on the eastern shore of Talofofo Bay. The  

  • other invasions, however, would have to wait  first for the air attacks to be successful.  

  • Around 03:00 on December 8, the American  commanders in the Philippines were informed  

  • of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although the US  thought that the Philippines were a lost cause  

  • and only wanted to execute a limited resistance  for reinforcements of the Pacific Fleet to arrive,  

  • MacArthur had planned to do a more active  defense, trying to defeat the Japanese on the  

  • beaches before they could establish a footholdThus, he established three main defense forces,  

  • the North Luzon Force of Major-General Jonathan  Wainwright; the South Luzon Force of Major-General  

  • George Parker Jr.; and the Visayan-Mindanao Force  of Brigadier-General William Sharp. MacArthur  

  • also believed that the combined strength of the  Asiatic Fleet and his air forces were capable  

  • of destroying any Japanese fleet; something  Admiral Hart opposed, believing it would be  

  • best for his forces to retreat south and joincombined fleet with the British and the Dutch.  

  • General Brereton wanted to prepare a retaliatory  B-17 bombing strike against Formosa in accordance  

  • with the Rainbow 5 war plan. At 05:30, Chief of  Staff of the U.S. Army, General George Marshall,  

  • ordered MacArthur to execute the existing war  plan, Rainbow Five, but MacArthur did nothing.  

  • General Brereton proceeded three times time  to ask permission and was denied until he  

  • personally spoke to MacArthur at 11:00 finally  obtaining permission. This procrastination of  

  • a preemptive attack would cost them dearly. Meanwhile, at Wake, the American defenders  

  • were informed of the attack on Pearl Harbor  around 06:00, quickly rushing to man the  

  • islands' defenses. Four Wildcats were also sent to  patrol around Wake, with the rest being prepared  

  • for lift-off. Around 07:00, Japanese aircraft took  off from Formosa, heading towards the Philippines  

  • and then striking Tuguegarao and Baguio at 09:30.  At this point, army bombers returned to Taiwan,  

  • leaving the Americans feeling like the attack  was over, even though it had just begun.  

  • 34 bombers had also taken off at dawn from Roi  island towards Wake, while from Saipan, Japanese  

  • aircraft struck Guam, destroying one of their  minelayers . At the same time, Japanese bombers  

  • from the Marshall Islands shelled Nauru, HowlandBaker, and the Gilbert Islands. As a result,  

  • airstrips and infrastructure in the islands were  damaged and Howland lost two of its four cruisers.  

  • Meanwhile, troop transports from the Marshalls  also began to embark en route to the Gilberts.  

  • They would arrive on December 9, with SNLF marines  landing on Makin and Tarawa unopposed and starting  

  • the construction of seaplane bases there . Two  days later, the Japanese would also take control  

  • of Little Makin and Bokati, completing  their invasion of the Gilbert Islands.  

  • And back to the main action, Japanese navy bombers  caught the Americans unaware at 12:30, bombarding  

  • the Iba airfield and destroying a flight of  P-40s and its radar station. They then headed  

  • to Clark Field, where they managed to destroy  most of the American aircraft on the ground,  

  • leaving only 17 B-17s operational. By afternoonhalf of the Far East Air Force was shattered,  

  • assuring Japanese air superiority for the rest of  the campaign. Douglas MacArthur's procrastination  

  • of Brereton's requests cost them dearly. At the same time, Japanese bombers at Wake  

  • managed to slip through the American patrols, then  bombarding the airfield and destroying the eight  

  • Wildcats on the ground. They also struck the  American camps, defenses, and seaplane facilities,  

  • causing considerable damage before  returning back to the Marshall Islands.  

  • In a single day, the Japanese air forces  had repeated their success at Pearl Harbor,  

  • leaving the American presence in the Pacific  severely weakened. Furthermore, some 490 SNLF  

  • marines had already landed in Batan Island, taking  control of its small airfield to further execute  

  • air operations. This convinced Admiral Hart to  order the bulk of the Asiatic Fleet to withdraw  

  • and join the British and the Dutch on the Borneojust as he had planned. More aerial bombardments  

  • over the remaining American airfields would follow  in the next few days, destroying most of the  

  • remaining aircraft and leaving only a handful of  P-40 and B-17 unscathed. Thus, MacArthur was left  

  • without naval or air forces, alone to defend  the Philippines with his ground divisions.  

  • Wake and Guam were also hit again on December  9, although this time the American defenders  

  • were prepared to brace the Japanese attack, so  they didn't suffer much damage. More air attacks  

  • would follow on December 10, but this day would  also see the first major fighting in the Pacific

  • Around 02:00, Goto's 370 SNLF marines landed  on Agaña Bay , quickly engaging the men of  

  • the Guam Insular Force Guard and overtaking  their positions with their superior firepower.  

  • They subsequently advanced towards Sumay and  the Marine barracks, while Horii's South Seas  

  • Detachment landed at its objectives practically  unopposed and then started its advance across the  

  • island. Some fighting ensued on Agaña's Plaza  de España, and soon Captain McMillin saw that  

  • further resistance was pointless, calling  a ceasefire. Around 06:00, he would finally  

  • surrender his forces, making Guam the first  American territory to fall into Japanese hands.  

  • Meanwhile, in the Philippines, the situation was  also very grim. At dawn, three Surprise Attack  

  • Forces, carrying around 2000 Japanese soldiers  each, started their operations, with the first  

  • one landing at Aparri. This was a very important  target, as its airfield could allow army aircraft  

  • of the Japanese to conduct attacks all across the  Philippines. Despite this, the Japanese landed  

  • unopposed and could capture Aparri, Gonzaga, and  the Camiguin Island in a matter of hours. At the  

  • same time, the second force disembarked at Viganbut was met with an intense B-17 and P-40 attack