SURRENDER ON BATAAN - Physical exhaustion and sickness due to a long period of insufficient food was the real cause of this terrible disaster.

During the lull which settled over the battlefield on Bataan after the middle of February, both sides completed their preparations for the coming offensive. Throughout March General Homma trained and organized the fresh troops which poured into the Philippines from all parts of the rapidly expanding empire, and made careful and elaborate plans for a fresh assault against the stubborn American- Filipino line. The defenders, dug in along the line occupied late in January, used the interlude in battle to train and to improve their positions. What they needed most to strengthen their capacity to resist was food and medicine, but none was forthcoming. At the end of March, when the combat efficiency of the defenders was lowest, the Japanese moved into position for what Homma fully intended would be the final attack.

During the second week of March the month-long lull which had followed the Japanese withdrawal from the Orion- Bagac line came to an end. American and Philippine patrols now began to meet opposition from a counter-reconnaissance screen which Homma had thrown forward to mask preparations for the coming offensive. As the days passed Japanese patrols became more active, and troops along the outpost line reported skirmishes with the enemy who was already moving out to the line of departure. By the last week of March the Japanese had pushed forward their screen to within 1,000 yards of the American line.³⁹

More specific information about Homma's intentions came on the night of 24 March when some Filipino troops found on the body of a Japanese officer a detailed order for a reconnaissance in force of the Mt. Samat area. The order specified that information was to be obtained about routes of advance for tanks, favorable points for river crossings, and American artillery' positions around Mt. Samat. The document further revealed that, following the reconnaissance, some time after 26 March the Japanese would attack in the Mt. Samat region and even indicated "with considerable exactitude" the plan of the attack.

By 2 April all preparations had been completed and the Japanese could announce publicly over the radio that they were ready to begin "an all out offensive in Bataan."⁴⁹ "Our four groups [the 4th and 16th Divisions, the Nagano Detachment, and the 65th Brigade] have been brought into line and on a front of 25 kilometers ten flags are lined up," wrote General Homma on the eve of the attack. "Artillery is plentiful. There are also enough special guns, and supply arrangements have been completely prepared . . . . There is no reason why this attack should not succeed."

Friday, 3 April, was not only the day Homma had selected to open the offensive; it was also a religious and national holiday for the soldiers on both sides of the battle line. For the Christian defenders it was the Friday of Holy Week, and the more devout observed the anniversary of the Crucifixion with prayers and fasting. For the Japanese, the 3d of April marked the anniversary of the death of the legendary Emperor Jimmu, the first ruler to sit on the imperial throne. In Japan there would be religious ceremonies and feasting; on Bataan the soldiers of Hirohito, a direct descendant of the Emperor Jimmu, would celebrate the day in more warlike manner. If all went well, they might gain victory in time to make the emperor's birthday, 29 April, a day of special rejoicing.

The effect of the air-artillery bombardment was devastating. So violent and continuous were the explosions, so thunderous the din that it seemed as though "all hell" had broken loose. Many of the defenses so carefully constructed during the weeks preceding the attack "were churned into a worthless and useless mess." Telephone lines and artillery positions were knocked out. Fire spread rapidly when the cane fields and bamboo thickets were set ablaze and the smoke and dust lay so thick over the battlefield that observers atop Mt. Samat were unable to direct fire. By 1500 the artillery and aircraft had done their work. At that time the infantry and armor moved out to the attack.