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Old April 2nd, 2008, 10:34 AM
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Default Re: How long do you thing that MacArthur could have held out in the Philippines?

Quote:
Originally Posted by mac_bolan00 View Post
homma already had his hands full with the existing bataan defense. he had to pull back and wait for reinforcements. there followed a 45-day lull in the fighting. after that, it was the beginning of the end for bataan.

so the question is, would additional preparation and war material for doug have reversed the outcome, given homma's luxury of calling for reinforcements?
It took a while before I answered this because I to check on some stuff to be able to qualify my answer.
My answer would be a "Yes." I'm tempted
Let's assume that Mac did get what he wanted in terms of additional war material and that he had consolidated his available forces in Bataan instead of meeting the Japanese invasion on the beaches.
Instead of making do with makeshift fortifications, a well supplied Bataan garrison would have the benefit of time to improve their defensive works.
I would also assume that this additional time would be used to organize special units as stay-behind forces to harass Japanese units in the rear. Couple this with improving the airstrip on Corregidor plus adding a few more on Bataan itself.
Since the appropriate supplies, equipment, fuel and ammo are available, it's not inconceivable for the few fighters remaining to go on operating and probably stop the Japanese from gaining air superiority. At best the Allied troops in Bataan would be operating under a neutral sky.
Since it can be shown that the possibility of Bataan and Corregidor holding out against the Japanese attack, I think it would be more likely for the Allies to be more willing to risk reinforcing Mac.

John Dudek had asked that "had the Philippines Islands held out well into 1942, would the US War strategy have been changed, with a much more aggressive war policy towards the seizure of Japanese bases leading up towards the PI, using Army Divisions originally slated for North Africa?"

I think this would be more likely. In this what if, Bataan would have played the role of Guadalcanal. In reality, the Japanese had a hard time cracking Bataan. Homma failed to meet his deadline, thus throwing the Japanese timetable out of sync. Homma had to ask for additional reinforcements and the Japanese had to send 40,000 more troops from Malaya and Indonesia to the Philippines. Had the Bataan fallen earlier and according to the Japanese time table, these troops would've been available to bolster further Japanese operations in the Pacific.

So, in this Bataan what if, with Mac having the proper supplies to sustain his forces, the Allied troops in Bataan could last longer and plausibly delay further Japanese expansion. With the Japanese diverting his attention in Bataan, the Allies would have a freer hand in moving forces closer to the Philippines and establishing bases earlier than what happened historically.
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