The Luftwaffe is defeated, but Malta is still incapable as a base for offensive action. US troops arrive at the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, in the Pacific, to defend the giant tortoises from Japanese invasion. In Mindanao, in the Philippines, Japanese troops crash through the remaining American defenses. Gen. William F. Sharp gets the point and surrenders. The Philippines have fallen.
Historians spend decades debating the impact of the Philippine defense, and why the islands fell.
Chance aided the Japanese. Warning messages were never delivered. Teletype operators were out to lunch when radar warnings came in. Fighter planes took off and landed at the wrong moment, and were caught on the ground. AA shells were out of date.