WW2: Corregidor Philippines Battle Fortress

World War 2- Corregidor is an island in the entrance of the Philippines' Manila Bay. Due to its position in the bay, it has served as a focal point for the naval defenses of the capital city of Manila. During World War II, Corregidor was the site of several battles and its fall to the Japanese forces was instrumental in the subsequent capture of the Philippines and the retreat of the United States in the early stages of the war. Currently, it is an important historic and tourist site and is managed under the jurisdiction of Cavite City.
The island is about 48 kilometers west of Manila. It is shaped like a sperm, with its tail running eastward, and has a land area of 9 km². Along with Caballo (which lies 2 km south of the "tail's" tip), it partially blocks the entrance to Manila Bay, and thus has strategic importance. It also creates a northern and southern entrance to the bay.
Because of its rocky landscape and the fortifications of Fort Mills, the island was also known as "the Rock".

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Geography
Corregidor is a tadpole-shaped island four miles (6 km) long and about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) at its widest point, with a total area roughly about three square miles. Its bulbous head, which points towards the South China Sea rises prominently to a large flat called Topside. This was the nerve center of the Island and here was located the headquarters, barracks for enlisted personnel, officers quarters, underground ordnance shops, the traditional parade grounds, and the bulk of the batteries that constituted the strength of Corregidor.

Middleside

Middleside is a small plateau that interrupts the upward slope from Bottomside to Topside, and was the location of barracks for the enlisted men, a hospital, quarters for non-commissioned officers, a service club, and two schoolhouses—one for the children of Filipino soldiers and the other for American children.

Bottomside

Bottomside is the lower part of the island and is the neck that connects the tail and head of the island. South of Bottomside is Barrio San José (near what was Navy Beach); on the north is what was Army Dock, with its three large piers, and, east of Bottomside, is Malinta Tunnel.

Fortification

There were 23 batteries installed on Corregidor, consisting of 56 Coastal guns and mortars. In addition, Corregidor had 13 anti-aircraft artillery batteries with 76 guns (28 3-inch and 48 50-caliber) and 10 60-inch Sperry searchlights.
The longest-range coastal pieces were the two 12-inch (305 mm) guns of Batteries Hearn and Smith, with a horizontal range of 29,000 yards (27,000 m). Although capable of an all around traverse, these guns, due to their flat trajectories, were not effective for use against targets on Bataan.
During the siege, the island had ample armor-piercing ammunition but very little of the anti-personnel type, which then was of greatest demand for use against land targets on Bataan. In fact, most of the anti-personnel shells were only for the 12-inch mortars of Batteries Way and Geary.

Battery Way

Battery Way was named in honor of the Coast Artillery Corps of the U.S. Army, which along with Battery Geary, was the mainstay of the Corregidor Garrison during the Japanese invasion. Its mortars, capable of a 360-degree traverse, could fire on land targets at Bataan. They brought the most destruction on Japanese positions during the attempted landings on the southwest coast of Bataan late in January to the middle of February 1942. These mortars were silenced by enemy shelling in May 1942.

Battery Geary

Battery Geary was a battery of six 13-ton, 12-inch mortars. This battery, when pinpointed by the Japanese, was subjected to heavy shelling. One direct hit by a 240 mm shell, which detonated the magazines of this Battery in May 1942, proved to be the most crippling shot during the entire siege of Corregidor. This shelling tossed the mortars around, one to a distance of 150 yards (140 m), another was blown through three feet of reinforced concrete wall into the adjoining powder magazine of Battery Crockett. Large chunks of steel were blown as far as the Malinta Tunnel, killing 27 of the battery crew instantly. Also 1 mortar still has live round in its breech, it was in the process of firing a barrage when the magazine was hit.

Corregidor Defenders Surrender to the Japanese

Malinta Tunnel

Defenders : Filipino and American Soldiers

Battle of Corregidor

The Battle for Corregidor was the culmination of the Japanese campaign for the conquest of the Philippines. The fall of Bataan in April 9, 1942 ended all organized opposition by the U.S. Army Forces – Far East (USAFFE) to the invading Japanese forces on Luzon in the northern Philippines. The island bastion of Corregidor, with its network of tunnels and formidable array of defensive armament, along with the fortifications across the entrance to Manila Bay, was the remaining obstacle to the 14th Japanese Imperial Army of Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma. The Japanese had to take Corregidor; as long as the island remained in American hands, they would be denied the use of the Manila Bay, the finest natural harbor in the Orient.

Return to Corregidor

The Battle for the Recapture of Corregidor, between 16 February and 26 February 1945, by American and Filipino liberation forces against the defending Japanese garrison on the island fortress used by the USAFFE, which was the last bastion to surrender to invading Japanese forces in 1942.''