Probing the Mabatang Line PTO (id:#61482)

(Bataan: Battle for the Mabatang Line ID: BML1)   [next]   [previous]

Mabatang, Philippines 1942-01-11 (9 others)

Overview:

General Homma, commander of the Japanese 14th Army ordered General Akira Nara, the senior officer of the 65th Brigade, to clear the Bataan Peninsula. He specifically commanded that the defenses at Matabang be attacked immediately. Based on intelligence, American forces were apparently on the run and the enemy formations arrayed before the Japanese were merely a token rear guard. While that might have been true, General Homma also greatly overestimated the capabilities of his own men. The 65th was composed of poorly-trained conscripts. Short of supplied, the unit rationed artillery ammunition and lacked detailed maps of the battlefield.

Defender: American (Elements of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 57th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Scouts)  

Errata (source)