The Japanese air power and artillery continued to pummel Corregidor and especally Bataan, while US air power was reduced to a several residual aircraft used for reconaissance and occasionally called in for straffing runs. Now all means of land line communication were cut, so only encrypted HF radio msg’s remained to communicate across military ground forces. Communications with military command in the states was sporadic and confused. There existed a seesawing of both offensive and defensive positions, both sides made progress often to lose gained ground from counterattacks and many mistakes. The Japanese filled the jungle trees with snipers so that whenever USAFFE advanced to new ground to set up artillery positions, they either paid dearly for it in blood, or else retreated. The success of the 57th Regiment of Philippine Scouts were initially successful in stopping the Japanese cold on the east end of line defensive line, but jeopardized by the collapse of the defenses on their left flank. The 45th and 31st Regiments requested a tank assault against the northern defensive line which had stubbornly cast off all attempted assaults on it, but the tank commander refused, insisting the rugged terrain was not suitable for tanks(in review, it was well suitable for tanks, largely flat). Too many of the Philippine USAFFE troops had no small arms. The US command pulled back and made a priority of defending their left flank by running suppies and materiel up an obscure road shown on their maps. It turned out this was a narrow trail, unsuitable for any vehicular traffic, so they had to ferry the suppies on slow moving pack mules(WPO-3 plan never verified the utility of this or any “road”). Logistical ignorance exacted a high toll. Despite harassment from Japanese Zeroes, most of the supplies reached their destination. General Fitch relayed a message to General Wainwright not to fire upon any barges coming down the coast, as they were said to be provisions(those barges never arrived). Instead, it gave the opportunity of small enemy landing craft the chance to disembark. Many of these were intercepted by Navy PT boats and sunk, which created chaos among the Japanese whose remains ultimately landed at Longoskawayan Point and Caibobo, many miles from their objective. The most endangered position now stood at Mariveles at this point, and an Naval squadron of PT boats, accompanied by Marines(who were also tasked with training Filipino Reserves in warfighting) were ordered to defend it. An unfortunate fact was that the newly formed infantry regiments defending Bataan were cobbled together with non-infantry trained personnel along with well trained troops. As such, one can understand the erratic nature of the defensive gains and losses. A dead Japanese soldier’s diary described in his diary the spotting of an American “suicide squad”. This siting turned to be Navy sailors dressed in their whites who were set up at night chatting and smoking cigarettes, for which the Japanese assumed they were being used as decoys to attract an ambush.

In late January, a company comprised of Philippine Constabulary forces(PCs) were called in to eliminate a Japanese position endangering the main road supply route to Bataan at Mt. Pucet. The frontal attack was successful, but the PCs were reluctant to work off their flanks, insisting to stay on the road. The commander(Alexander), requested heavy guns mounted on carriers to displace the Japanese on Mt. Pucet. The carriers happened to be very noisy, allowing the enemy to prepare to knock it out, which they did indeed. The numbers of dead and wounded were devastating. Artillery support from Corregidor was minimally effective, since its flat trajectory shells could not be lobbed over the protective mountain ridge at Bataan. Days later, a USAFFE counterattack was launched, without success. But the USAFFE forces persisted, Philippine Scouts attacked enemy emplacements at Longoskawayan, at times resorted to hand to hand combat, and ultimately swept the Japanese out of their positions there. Quinauan Point remained in a heated battle with the Scouts for which more Scout reinforcements were called in. The Japanese were experts in concealment and camouflage, digging large bell shaped entrenchments which allowed only one soldier and his rifle to pop up through the surface hole, while other troops hidden below could replace the rifleman if out of ammo, or shot. It took a bit of practice for the Scouts to learn their enemy’s tactic, and their expert sharpshooting became highly effective in picking off the enemy “gophers”. Captured enemy warplan documents revealed that the Japanese now planned a seaborne invasion at Mariveles. This grand stroke of luck allowed USAFFE to ready artillery and amass troops there, while the few remaining intact P-40s were called upon to strafe the enemy landing barges. While all the landing barges were sunk and over half the enemy attacking force dead, nevertheless, around 400 enemy troops managed to land at Mariveles. The remaining US Navy PT boat squadron blasted away at these troops, while shore based artillery and riflemen took out a large portion of the remaining enemy. The war was becoming increasingly ruthless. Virtually no prisoners on either side were being taken, revenge running hot through the veins of both sides. Japanese reinforcements were requested for the Mariveles raid were denied, but enemy command decided to rescue the seaborne stragglers. Again, their tactical plans were intercepted and the Japanese rescue team was annihilated. Still, the Japanese ground offensive persisted with tight coordination, while USAFFE troops struggled to maintain seamless defensive lines. Various USAFFE factions fought with eachother for possession  of the heavy artillery and machine guns. The Japanese began setting up “pockets” behind USAFFE defensive lines, which were found to be extremely difficult to neutralize. General Wainwright was now in command of all defensive forces with the objective of eliminating the Japanese emplacements at the pockets and points(potential landing points). When asked by a Navy officer what he had to offer his men, Wainwright responded with “morale”, as there was little remaining ammo, food, reserve troops, aircraft, or boats. Against all odds, Wainwright’s troops brought forward their remaining tanks and guns, and at a heavy cost, swept out all enemy troops in the pockets and points.

Both sides of the war suffered heavily from disease and exhaustion. Malaria, dysentery, starvation and exhaustion prevailed on both sides. A lull fell over Bataan in February, a case of good news and bad news. The reason was that the Japanese were gathering reinforcements, supplies and equipment; while the USAFFE troops only gathered a couple of weeks of rest.  They would receive none of what the Japanese were receiving. Army cavalry units now slaughtered and ate their horses, stray caribou were immediately slaughtered for their meat. At one point, nearly 7,000 troops lay in Bataan’s and Corregidor’s field hospitals. Japanese dropped pamphlets throughout the Philippines urging them to surrender so that they would be rewarded with big meals and humane treatment. The Filipinos didn’t buy it. Now troops were on 1/4 daily food rations. It was on this account that the Japanese controlled the supreme advantage, time. The enemy war planners knew they could take their time readying for a renewed assault with plenty of troops, food, and materiel. MacArthur had told his staff he would die before surrendering the Philippines. However, higher powers to be(General Marshall, President Roosevelt) believed MacArthur to be an indispensable war strategist and ordered MacArthur to be secretly evacuated to Melbourne, Australia. On the evening of March 11, 1942, General MacArthur boarded PT boats with his wife, child and numerous staffers. Despite the risks involved by the Japanese Naval blockade, the Navy skipper found a narrow escape route, and headed for Del Monte, Mindinao. After an intermediate refueling stop, they reached their destination from which the MacArthur entourage boarded a B-17 for Australia. It is noted that MacArthur thus became the Pacific theater supreme commander of all allied forces…except the Philippines, for which General Wainwright was awarded this grim duty. It was enroute that General MacArthur spoke the words to his staff “I shall return” which was widely circulated in the global press and of course the exhausted and nearly starving troops on Bataan. But the real question was, When? It should be realized that since December of 1941, the Japanese had established a de facto siege on the USAFFE forces. No reinforcement troop ships, no cargo ships with ammunition or food, no air drops could survive the encirclement of Bataan by the Japanese Navy, Air force, AA batteries and land forces…save for the small quantities of materiel that could sneak through the the Japanese Naval encirclement by submarine.  Both American and Filipino troops had greatly respected Mac’s command, and it seemed the Filipinos understood better the reason for his evacuation. This was not the case with American NCO troops who grew hotly resentful, and created the following well known chant:

No Mama, no papa, no Uncle Sam
No aunts, no uncles, no nephews, no nieces
No rifles, no planes, or artillery pieces
And nobody gives a damn
We’re the Battling Bastards of Bataan