The Japanese Invasion of Aparri (Filipino: "Paglusob ng mga Hapones sa Aparri") on 10 December 1941 was one in a series of advance landings made by Imperial Japanese forces as first step in their invasion of the Philippines. The purpose was to obtain control of local air strips, which could be used as forward bases by fighter aircraft for operations further south. The first invasion was at Batan Island on 8 December 1941. This was followed by Vigan, Legaspi, Davao, and Jolo Island over the next few days