Execution of Japanese General Responsible for the Bataan death March in Philippines - Masaharu Homma
Summary
TLDROn December 7, 1941, the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor marked the beginning of the Pacific War. Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma, known as the Beast of Bataan, led the invasion of the Philippines, resulting in the Bataan Death March, a war crime that claimed over 18,000 lives. Despite his Western education and respect, Homma's command was marred by severe brutality. Tried and convicted post-war, he was executed for his crimes, reflecting the atrocities of war and the importance of holding leaders accountable.
Takeaways
- ποΈ On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, resulting in the loss of 2,400 American lives and damaging or destroying over half of the military aircraft stationed there.
- π―π΅ The following day, Japan invaded the Philippines, leading to the eventual surrender of the US and Philippine armies on May 8, 1942.
- πΆββοΈ The Bataan Death March, initiated on April 9, 1942, involved the forced transfer of 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war, with over 18,000 lives lost due to severe physical abuse and killings.
- πΊ Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma, known as the Beast of Bataan, was responsible for the war crime of the Bataan Death March.
- π Homma was well-educated, spoke fluent English, and had a deep respect for the West, having studied at Oxford and served as a military attachΓ© in the UK.
- π Homma had a distinguished military career, including service in World War I and commanding the Japanese 27th Division before World War II.
- π³οΈ The Battle of Bataan was a significant part of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines and represented a major challenge for the Allied forces.
- π The Japanese control over Southeast Asia was nearly absolute by the time of the Bataan battle, with only a few strongholds remaining, including Bataan and Corregidor.
- π₯ The Bataan Death March was marked by extreme cruelty, with prisoners subjected to torture, minimal food and water, and denied medical care.
- π The 'Sun Treatment' was a form of torture where prisoners were forced to sit in direct sunlight without protection, and requests for water were met with execution.
- π« Homma was tried and convicted by an American tribunal for war crimes related to the Bataan Death March and was executed by firing squad on April 3, 1946.
Q & A
What significant event occurred on December 7, 1941 at 7:55 a.m.?
-The Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor using naval aircraft from six aircraft carriers.
What was the human cost of the Pearl Harbor attack for the US forces?
-2,400 US sailors and soldiers were killed, and 1,200 were wounded.
What invasion followed the attack on Pearl Harbor?
-The Japanese launched the invasion of the Philippines one day later, on December 8, 1941.
When did the US and Philippine armies surrender to the Japanese forces?
-They surrendered on May 8, 1942.
What was the Bataan Death March and why is it significant?
-The Bataan Death March was a 65-mile long transfer of 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war characterized by severe physical abuse and wanton killings, which claimed more than 18,000 lives.
Who was Masaharu Homma, and what was his role in World War II?
-Masaharu Homma was a Japanese lieutenant general responsible for the Bataan Death March and other war crimes, earning him the nickname 'Beast of Bataan'.
What educational and cultural experiences did Masaharu Homma have that influenced his perspective on the West?
-Homma spoke fluent English, studied at Oxford University, loved to watch Western movies, and was known for his paintings and poems, reflecting a deep respect for the West.
How did the Battle of Bataan impact the Japanese invasion of the Philippines?
-The Battle of Bataan represented the most intense phase of the Japanese invasion, with American and Filipino forces fighting the Japanese for three months, delaying their victory across the Pacific.
What were the conditions like for the prisoners during the Bataan Death March?
-Prisoners received little food or water, were subjected to severe physical abuse including beatings and torture, and many died due to the harsh conditions.
What was the outcome of Masaharu Homma's trial for war crimes?
-Homma was convicted on all counts of violating International rules of War and was sentenced to death by firing squad.
What was the final fate of Masaharu Homma?
-Masaharu Homma was executed by firing squad by American forces on April 3, 1946, in Los BaΓ±os, the Philippines.
Outlines
π₯ Attack on Pearl Harbor and the Bataan Death March
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, resulting in the loss of 2,400 US servicemen and significant damage to military aircraft. The following day, Japan invaded the Philippines, leading to the surrender of US and Filipino forces in May 1942. The Bataan Death March, a brutal war crime under the command of Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma, claimed over 18,000 lives. Homma, known as the 'Beast of Bataan,' was a complex figure with a deep respect for the West, having studied at Oxford and served as a military attachΓ© in the UK. Despite his Western ties, Homma's military career included major roles in the Japanese invasion of China and Southeast Asia, culminating in the atrocities committed during the Bataan Death March.
πΉ The Battle of Bataan and Its Aftermath
The Battle of Bataan marked a pivotal phase in the Japanese invasion of the Philippines during World War II. Fought from January 7 to April 9, 1942, it was a desperate last stand by American and Filipino forces against the Japanese Army, who controlled most of Southeast Asia. Despite being vastly outnumbered and undersupplied, the Allied forces managed to delay the Japanese advance, costing them valuable time. The surrender at Bataan was the largest in US history, with 76,000 soldiers captured. The ensuing Bataan Death March subjected prisoners to inhumane treatment, including severe physical abuse, torture, and execution. The march resulted in the deaths of thousands of Filipino and American POWs, with only a fraction surviving to form guerrilla units in the mountains.
βοΈ Masaharu Homma's Trial and Execution
Masaharu Homma, the Japanese general responsible for the atrocities committed during the Bataan Death March, faced trial for war crimes after Japan's surrender in 1945. The trial, overseen by General Douglas MacArthur, charged Homma with 48 counts of violating international rules of war. Despite claiming ignorance of the mistreatment of prisoners, Homma was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death. His execution by firing squad on April 3, 1946, was a testament to the international community's commitment to holding war criminals accountable. MacArthur's review of the case emphasized the gravity of Homma's crimes and the necessity of punishment to uphold the fabric of world society.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Pearl Harbor
π‘Bataan Death March
π‘Masaharu Homma
π‘Imperial Japanese Army
π‘World War II
π‘Geneva Disarmament Conference
π‘Nanjing Massacre
π‘Battle of Bataan
π‘Douglas MacArthur
π‘War Crime
π‘Atomic Bombings
Highlights
On December 7, 1941, Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, resulting in significant U.S. casualties and damage.
The Japanese invasion of the Philippines began on December 8, 1941, leading to the surrender of U.S. and Philippine forces on May 8, 1942.
The Bataan Death March, a 65-mile forced transfer of 75,000 prisoners, began on April 9, 1942, and resulted in over 18,000 deaths.
Masaharu Homma, known as the Beast of Bataan, was responsible for the war crime of the Bataan Death March.
Homma was well-educated, spoke fluent English, and had a deep respect for the West, having studied at Oxford and served in the UK.
Despite his Western education, Homma played a significant role in the invasion of China and the atrocities committed in Nanjing.
The Battle of Bataan was a critical phase of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, where Allied forces fought against overwhelming odds.
General Douglas MacArthur led the U.S. and Filipino forces in the defense of the Bataan Peninsula.
The fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942, marked the largest surrender of U.S. troops in history.
The Bataan Death March was characterized by severe physical abuse, torture, and wanton killings of prisoners.
Despite the harsh conditions, some prisoners managed to escape and form guerrilla units to resist the Japanese occupation.
The death toll from the Bataan Death March ranged from 5,000 to 18,000 Filipino and 500 to 650 American prisoners.
Homma was removed from command after the fall of Corregidor and was later tried for war crimes.
General MacArthur, who had been defeated by Homma, was in charge of the tribunal that tried him for war crimes.
Homma was convicted and sentenced to death, executed by firing squad on April 3, 1946, for his role in the Bataan Death March.
General MacArthur affirmed the tribunal's sentence, stating that Homma deserved his judicial fate for the mass destruction of helpless men.
Despite his crimes, Homma's wife expressed gratitude for her husband and wished their children to emulate his character.
Transcripts
the 7th of December 1941 7:55
a.m. the first of two waves of Japanese
naval aircraft launch from six aircraft
carriers attack Paul Harbor catching the
US forces completely by
surprise while the attack costs only 29
Japanese planes 2,400 us sailors and
soldiers are killed and 1,200 are
wounded over half of the military
aircraft are damaged or destroyed almost
all of which were grounded at the time
one day later on the 8th of December the
Japanese launched the invasion of the
Philippines and the US and the
Philippine armies finally surrender on
the 8th of May
1942 1 month prior on the 9th of April
the Imperial Japanese Army in
Philippines Begins the firstc march of
75,000 American and Filipino prisoners
of War this 65m long transfer
characterized by severe physical abuse
and wanton killings will become known as
the batan Death March and will claim
more than 18,000 lives the name of the
Japanese liutenant General who is
responsible for this war crime and will
become known as the Beast of batan is
Masaharu Homa Masaharu hom was born on
the 27th of November 1887 in the city of
sad in Japan in May 1907 hom graduated
from the 19th class of the Imperial
Japanese Army Academy and 3 years later
later from the 27th class of the Army
staff College he spoke fluent English
studied at Oxford University in England
loved to watch western movies and was
nicknamed poet Shogun because of his
paintings and poems written during the
first world war Masaharu H had a deep
respect for the west and served as a
military atachi in the United Kingdom
for 8 years in 1918 he served in the
British expeditionary forces sent to
France and was awarded the military
Cross by the end of the war he was
already a father of two children a son
Michio and a daughter masahiko whom he
had with his first wife toshiko hom then
returned to Japan but from 1930 to 1932
he was again sent as a military atache
to the United Kingdom he was also
assigned to be a part of the Japanese
delegation to the Geneva disarmament
conference in 1932 and served with the
Press section of the army Ministry from
1932 to
1933 the conference was organized and
campaign for by the League of Nations
with a main objective to avoid another
world war from 1933 to 1935 Homer was
given a field command again as commander
of the Imperial Japanese Army first
Infantry Regiment and was promoted to
command the Army's 32nd infantry Brigade
from 1935 to
1936 in 1937 he was appointed a de comp
to Prince chichibu who was a brother of
the Emperor
Hirohito with chichibu h made diplomatic
tour in Western Europe attending the
coronation of King George V 6 at
Westminster Abbey in London which took
place on the 12th of May
1937 the visit continued to Germany
where he attended the nurg rally and met
the German dictator Adolf Hitler with
whom the prince tried to boost
relations in July 1938 hmer was promoted
to leftenant General with the start of
the second Ceno Japanese war hmer was
appointed commander of the Army's 27th
division in CH from 1938 to 1940 and
erected the blockade of the foreign
concessions in ton where he led the
negotiations with the British during
this war which was the Prelude to the
Pacific side of World War II the
Japanese Army scored major victories
capturing Beijing and shangai and in
December of 1937 the Japanese military
invaded Nanjing then China's
capital after the fall of naning hom
declared publicly that unless peace is
achieved immediately it will be disas
he was right as many as 300,000
civilians and numerous unarmed Chinese
soldiers were killed in naning over the
course of two months the chaos fires and
mass Graves make a precise count of
casualties
Impossible on the 7th of December 1941
the Japanese attacked pal Harbor one day
later they launched the invasion of the
Philippines with a specific task of
invading and occupying the Philippines
must tked the Japanese 14th Army which
consisted of more than
commander of the Southern Army who sent
a number of unfavorable reports about
hom to Tokyo also subversion was growing
within homa's command by a small group
of ins subordinates who in H's name sent
out secret orders against his policies
including ordering the execution of the
Filipino chief of Justice Jose Abad
Santos and the attempted execution of
the former Speaker of the House of
Representatives Manuel roas which Homer
found out about in time to
stop on the 7th of January 1942 began
the Battle of batan which was fought by
the United States and the Philippine
Commonwealth against Japan this battle
represented the most intense phase of
the Japanese invasion of the Philippines
during the war batan is a province in
the Central Luzon region of the
Philippines the commander-in-chief of
the US and Filipino forces in the
islands general Douglas MacArthur
Consolidated all his lison based units
on the batan peninsula to fight against
the Japanese Army by this time the
Japanese controlled nearly all of
Southeast Asia and the batan peninsula
and the island of coridor were the only
remaining Allied strongholds in the
region despite their lack of supplies
American and Filipino forces managed to
fight the Japanese for 3 months engaging
them initially in a fighting Retreat
Southwood as the combined American and
Filipino forces made a Last Stand the
delay cost the Japanese valuable time
and prevented immediate Victory across
the Pacific the American surrender at
batan on the 9th of April 194 2 was the
largest United States surrender in
history with 76,000 soldiers
surrendering in the Philippines
altogether the defeat was the beginning
of three and a half years of harsh
treatment for the Allied
survivors after the battle hom and his
staff encountered almost twice as many
captives as his reports had estimated
creating an enormous logistical
challenge which was to transport and
move over 6,000 starved sick and
habilitated prisoners and over 38,000
equally weaken civilian non-combatants
who had been caught up in the battle
Homer wanted to move prisoners and
refugees to the north to get them out of
the way of the final assault on the
island of gidor but there was simply not
enough mechanized transport for the
wounded sick and weakened masses
ultimately more than 60,000 Filipino and
15,000 American prisoners of War were
forced into the batan Death March which
began on the 9th of April
1942 at the beginning there were rare
instances of kindness by Japanese
officers and those Japanese soldiers who
spoke English such as the sharing of
food and cigarettes and permitting
personal possessions to be kept this
however was quickly followed by
unrelenting brutality theft and even
knocking men's teeth out for gold
fillings as the common Japanese soldier
had also suffered in the battle for
batan and had nothing but disgust and
hatred for these
captives during the march prisoners
received little food or water and many
died they were subjected to severe
physical abuse including beatings and
torture the sun treatment was a common
form of torture during the march where
prisoners were forced to sit in
sweltering direct sunlight without
helmets or other head coverings anyone
who asked for water was shot dead some
men were told to strip naked or sit
within sight of fresh cool water the
trucks drove over some of those who fell
or succumbed to fatigue and cleanup
Crews killed those too weak to continue
though trucks did pick up some of those
too fatigue to go on prisoners were
randomly stabbed with bayonets or
beaten the Japanese did not provide the
prisoners with medical care so us
medical personnel tended to the sick and
wounded with few or no supplies and part
of the death march took part in trains
in sweltering brutally hot metal box
cars at least 100 prisoners were pushed
into each of the unventilated box cars
the trains had no sanitation facilities
and disease continued to take a heavy
toll on the prisoners
staff sergeant elf Larson later recalled
the train consisted of six or seven
World War I era box cars they packed Us
in the cars like sardines so tight you
couldn't sit down then they shut the
door if you passed out you couldn't fall
down if someone had to go to the toilet
you went right there where you
were among the Allied soldiers H became
known as the Beast of batan sources
report death numbers ranging from 5 to
18,000 Filipino deaths and 500 to 650
American deaths during the
march however about 10 to 12,000 men
eventually escaped from the march to
form gorilla units in the mountains
tying down the occupying
Japanese the total distance of the march
from mares to San Fernando and from
kabas to Campo Donell is variously
reported by differing sources as between
60 and 69.6 Mi or 96.6 and 112 km
the death match was later judged by an
allied military commission to be a
Japanese war crime despite Japanese
victory in the battle of batan the
deteriorating relationship between hom
and the chief of Imperial Japanese Army
general staff hajim mes suyama Lear to
the removal of Homa from command shortly
after the fall of coridor and he was
thereafter commander of the 14th Army in
name
only in March 1942 MacArthur his family
and his staff left nearby coridor Island
and escaped to a Australia where
MacArthur became Supreme Commander
Southwest Pacific area upon his arrival
MacArthur gave a speech in which he
promised I shall return to the
Philippines after more than 2 years of
fighting he fulfilled that promise
Japanese forces in the Philippines were
ordered to surrender by Tokyo on the
15th of August 1945 after the dropping
of the atomic bombs on Mainland Japan
and the Soviet invasion of
Manchuria at the time H was retired from
the military and lived in semi-
seclusion in Japan the Imperial General
headquarters had regarded Homer as not
aggressive enough in war and too lenient
with a Filipino people in peace and in
August 1943 he was subsequently forced
into
retirement after the surrender of Japan
in mid-september 1945 the American
occupation authorities arrested hom and
extradited him to the Philippines where
he was tried in Manila by an American
tribunal on 48 counts of violating
International rules of War relating to
the atrocity committed by troops under
his command during the batan Death
March the responsibility of selecting
the venue the defense the prosecution
the jury and the Rules of Evidence in
the trial belonged to General Douglas
MacArthur a man whom Homer had beaten on
the battlefield during his defense H
claimed that he was so preoccupied with
the plans for the coridor assault that
he had forgotten about the prisoner's
treatment believing that his offices
were properly handling the matter he
claimed that he did not learn of the
atrocity until after the war though his
headquarters were only 500 ft or 150 M
from the route of the March hmer stated
in court I came to know for the first
time in court of the atrocities and I am
ashamed of myself that these atrocities
have
happened on the 11th of February 1946
hom was convicted of all counts and
sentenced to death originally Masaharu
hom was to be hanged but at the request
of his second wife fuor he was executed
by firing squad H's wife visited Douglas
MacArthur to urge a careful review of
her husband's case but MacArthur
affirmed the tribunal
sentence when Masaharu H was executed by
firing squad by American forces on the
3rd of April 1946 in Los BOS in the
Philippines he was 58 years old general
Douglas MacArthur wrote in his review of
the case if this defendant does not
deserve his judicial Fai
none in jurisdictional history ever did
there can be no greater more heinous or
more dangerous crime than the mass
destruction under guise of military
Authority or military necessity of
helpless men incapable of further
contribution to war effort a failure of
law process to punish such acts of
criminal enormity would threaten the
very fabric of world
society H's wife Fujiko said I am
grateful to my husband and and want my
daughter to marry a man like him I want
to teach my son to be a man like his
father and to be a loyal Japanese
citizen there were no tears shed for
Masaharu
H thanks for watching the World History
Channel be sure to like And subscribe
and click the Bell notification icon so
you don't miss our next episodes we
thank you and we'll see you next time on
the
channel
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)