Battle of Corregidor The Battle for Corregidor ( May 5 – 6 , 1942 ) was the culmination of the Japanese campaign for the conquest of the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World War II . The fall of Bataan on April 9 , 1942 ended all organized opposition by the U . S . Army Forces Far East 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 Manila Bay , the finest natural harbor in the Far East . The US and Filipino army recaptured the island in 1945 . Background . Gibraltar of the East . Corregidor , officially named Fort Mills , was the largest of four fortified islands protecting the mouth of Manila Bay from attack and was fortified prior to World War I with powerful coastal artillery . At long and across at its head , the tadpole - shaped island lay from Bataan . Its widest but elevated area , known as Topside , contained most of its 56 coastal artillery pieces and installations . Middleside was a small plateau containing more battery positions as well as barracks . Bottomside was the low ground where a dock area and the civilian town of San Jose was located . American servicemen alternately dubbed it " The Rock " or the " Gibraltar of the East " , in comparison to the peninsular fortress that guards the main entrance to the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Africa . The tunnel system under Malinta Hill was the most extensive construction on Corregidor . It consisted of a main east - west passage long with a diameter and had 25 lateral passages , each about long , branching out at regular intervals from each side of the main passage . A separate system of tunnels north of this main tunnel housed the underground hospital ; it had its own 12 laterals ( tunnels ) and space for 1 , 000 beds . The facility could be reached either through the main tunnel or by a separate outside entrance on the north side of Malinta Hill . The Navy tunnel system , which lay opposite the hospital , under the south side of Malinta was connected to the main tunnel by a partially completed low passageway through the quartermaster storage lateral . East of this was Malinta Tunnel , the location of General Douglas MacArthur ' s headquarters . Reinforced with concrete walls , floors , and overhead arches , it also had blowers to furnish fresh air , and a double - track electric tramway line along the east - west passage . The Malinta Tunnel furnished bombproof shelters for the hospital , headquarters , and shops , as well as a maze of underground storehouses . Defenses . The defensive arsenal on Corregidor was formidable with 45 coastal guns and mortars organized into 23 batteries , some seventy - two anti - aircraft weapons assigned to thirteen batteries and a minefield of approximately 35 groups of controlled mines . The two guns of Batteries Smith and Hearn , with a horizontal range of and all - around traverse were the longest range of all the island ' s artillery . Caballo Island , with Fort Hughes — just south of Corregidor — was the next largest in size . At about , the island rose abruptly from the bay to a height of on its western side . Commander Francis J . Bridget was in charge of its beach defenses with a total of 800 men , of whom 93 were Marines and 443 belonged to the Navy , by the end of April 1942 . Coastal artillery numbered some 13 assorted pieces , with its anti - aircraft defenses tied in with those of Corregidor . Fort Drum — which lay about south of Fort Hughes — was the most unusual of the harbor defenses . Military engineers had cut away the entire top of El Fraile Island down to the water - line and used the island as a foundation to build a reinforced concrete " battleship " , long and wide , with exterior walls of concrete and steel thick . The top deck of this concrete battleship was above the low - water mark and had thick walls . Equipped with four guns in armored turrets facing seaward , a secondary battery of four casemated guns , and antiaircraft defense , the fort with its 200 - man garrison was considered impregnable to attack . The last — Carabao island — lay only from the shores of Cavite Province . Except at one point along its eastern shore , the island rises precipitously from the sea in cliffs more than high . The Americans had placed Fort Frank on this island , which late in 1941 , had a military garrison of about 400 men , mostly Philippine Scouts . Its armament consisted of two guns , eight mortars , four GPFs , as well as anti - aircraft and beach defense weapons . All four forts in Manila Bay — as well as Fort Wint in Subic Bay — had been formed before the war into an organization called the Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays , which by August 1941 became a part of the Philippine Coast Artillery Command . Both were under Major General George F . Moore who also commanded the Corregidor garrison . The 5 , 700 men of the Harbor Defense Force were assigned to four Coast Artillery Regiments : the 59th , 60th , 91st , and 92nd CA ( the 60th CA being an antiaircraft artillery unit and the 91st and 92d CA Philippine Scout units ) , plus headquarters and service troops . About 500 Philippine Army soldiers in training were organized into the 1st and 2nd Coast Artillery Regiments ( PA ) , but operated under the control of the two PS regiments . Gen . Moore organized the force into four commands to exercise tactical control : ( 1 ) seaward defense , and ( 2 ) North and South Channels defense , under Colonel Paul D . Bunker ; ( 3 ) anti - aircraft and air warning defenses under Col . Theodore M . Chase , and ( 4 ) inshore patrol under Captain Kenneth M . Hoeffel of the US Navy ' s 16th Naval District . After their evacuation from Olongapo in Zambales , close to Subic Naval Base on December 26 , the 4th Marine Regiment — under the command of Col . Samuel L . Howard — became the primary fighting unit on the island . Corregidor ' s garrison received the largest group of reinforcements right after the fall of Bataan , with some 72 officers and 1 , 173 enlisted men from more than fifty different units were integrated and assigned to the 4th Marine Regiment . Few of the reinforcements were trained or equipped for ground combat . By April 30 , 1942 , the 4th Marines actually numbered 229 officers and 3 , 770 men , of whom only 1 , 500 were members of the Corps . Siege . On December 29 , 1941 , the defenders got their first taste of aerial bombardment on Corregidor . The attack lasted for two hours as the Japanese destroyed or damaged the hospital , Topside and Bottomside barracks , the Navy fuel depot and the officers club . Three days later , the island garrison was bombed for more than three hours . Periodic bombing continued over the next four days , but with only two more raids for the rest of January , the defenders had a chance to improve their positions considerably . To the amusement of the beach defenders on Corregidor , the Japanese dropped only propaganda leaflets on January 29 . On March 12 , under cover of darkness , Gen . MacArthur was evacuated from Corregidor , using four PT boats bound for Mindanao , where he was eventually flown to Australia . Henceforth , from December 29 to the end of April 1942 , despite incessant Japanese aerial , naval and artillery bombardment , the garrison on Corregidor , consisting mainly of the 4th Marine Regiment and combined units from the US Navy , the Army and Filipino soldiers , resisted valiantly , inflicting heavy enemy losses in men and aircraft . The defenders were living on about 30 ounces of food per day . Drinking water was shared out only twice per day , but the constant bombing and shelling often interrupted the distribution of rations . When the bombardment killed the mules in the Cavalry , the men would drag the carcasses down to the mess hall and they would be cooked . The continued lack of proper diet created problems for the Corregidor garrison , as men weakened and lacked reliable night vision . From Cebu , seven private maritime ships under orders from the army , loaded with a supply of food , sailed towards Corregidor . Of the seven ships , only one reached the island , the MV " Princessa " commanded by 3rd Lieutenant Zosimo Cruz ( USAFFE ) . Japanese bombing and shelling continued with unrelenting ferocity . Japanese aircraft flew 614 missions , dropping 1 , 701 bombs totaling some 365 tons of explosive . Joining the aerial bombardment were nine howitzers , thirty - four howitzers , and 32 other artillery pieces , which pounded Corregidor day and night . It was estimated that on May 4 alone , more than 16 , 000 shells hit Corregidor . As of about April 15 , 1942 , the combined strength of the four fortified islands — including US Army , Philippine Scouts , Philippine Army , US Marine Corps , US Navy , Philippine Navy , and civilians — totaled about 14 , 728 . From April 28 , a concentrated aerial bombardment by the 22nd Air Brigade of Maj . Gen . Kizon Mikami — supported by ground artillery on Bataan from May 1 – 5 , preceded landing operations . Japanese propaganda to its home population repeatedly declared in this period that Corregidor was about to fall , followed by weeks of silence as the fall did not ensue ; Imperial General Headquarters finally declared that the resistance was becoming a serious embarrassment . Fall . On May 5 , Japanese forces led by Maj . Gen . Kureo Taniguchi boarded landing craft and barges and headed for the final assault on Corregidor . Shortly before midnight , intense shelling struck the beaches between North Point and Cavalry Point . The initial landing of 790 Japanese soldiers quickly bogged down due to surprisingly fierce resistance from the American and Filipino defenders whose 37 mm artillery exacted a heavy toll on the landing fleet . The Japanese struggled because of the strong sea currents between Bataan and Corregidor and from the layers of oil that covered the beaches from ships sunk earlier in the siege ; they experienced great difficulty in landing personnel and equipment . However the overwhelming number of Japanese infantry equipped with 50 mm heavy grenade dischargers ( " knee mortars " ) forced the defenders to pull back from the beach . The second battalion of 785 Japanese soldiers were not as successful . They encountered the same currents but landed east of North Point , where the defensive positions of the 4th Marines were stronger . Most of the Japanese officers were killed early in the landing , the huddled survivors were hit with hand grenades , machine guns , and rifle fire . Nevertheless , some of the landing craft did reach the location of the first invasion force and together they found themselves moving inland where they had captured the Denver Battery by 01 : 30 on May 6 . A counterattack was initiated to eject the Japanese from the Denver Battery . This was the location of the heaviest fighting between the opposing forces , practically face to face . A few reinforcements did make their way to the frontline 4th Marines , but the battle became a duel of obsolete World War I grenades versus the accurate Japanese knee mortars . Without additional reinforcements , the battle would quickly go against the defenders . By 04 : 30 , Colonel Howard had committed his last reserves - some 500 Marines , sailors and soldiers of the 4th Battalion . These men tried to get to the battle as quickly as possible , but several Japanese sniper s had slipped behind the front lines to make any movement very costly . An additional 880 Japanese reinforcements arrived at 05 : 30 . The 4th Marines were holding their positions , at the same time losing ground in other areas . The Japanese were facing problems of their own : several ammunition crates never made the landing ; as a result , several attacks and counterattacks were fought with bayonets . The final blow to the defenders at came about 09 : 30 , when three Japanese tanks landed and went into action . The men around Denver Battery withdrew to the ruins of a concrete trench a few yards away from the entrance to Malinta tunnel , just as Japanese artillery delivered a heavy barrage . Particularly fearful of the dire consequences should the Japanese capture the tunnel , where 1 , 000 helpless wounded men lay , and realizing that the defenses outside Malinta tunnel could not hold out much longer , Lt . Gen . Wainright expected further Japanese landings that night . He also decided to sacrifice one more day of freedom in exchange for several thousand lives . In a radio message to President Franklin Roosevelt , Wainwright said , " " There is a limit of human endurance , and that point has long been passed . " " Howard burned the 4th Regiment ' s and national colors to prevent their capture by the enemy . Wainwright finally surrendered the Corregidor garrison at about 1 : 30 p . m . on May 6 , 1942 , with two officers sent forward with a white flag to carry his surrender message to the Japanese . Aftermath . The Japanese losses sustained from January 1 - April 30 and from the initial assault landings on May 5 / 6 , resulted in losses of about 900 dead and 1 , 200 wounded , while the defenders suffered 800 dead and 1 , 000 wounded . Corregidor ' s defeat marked the fall of the Philippines and Asia , but Imperial Japan ' s timetable for the conquest of Australia and the rest of the Pacific was severely upset . Its advance was ultimately checked at the battle for New Guinea , and at Guadalcanal , the turning point in the Pacific War . About 4 , 000 of the 11 , 000 American and Filipino prisoners of war from Corregidor were marched through the streets of Manila to incarceration at Fort Santiago and Bilibid Prison , criminal detention centers turned POW camps . US Army and Navy nurses ( the " Angels of Bataan and Corregidor " ) continued to work on Corregidor for several weeks , and were then sent to Santo Tomas . The rest were sent off in trains to various Japanese prison camps . General Wainwright was incarcerated in Manchuria . Over the course of the war , thousands were shipped to the Japanese home islands as slave labor . Some were eventually freed at the Raid at Cabanatuan and during the battle for Manila ' s liberation . While most of the Allied forces on Corregidor surrendered , many individuals continued fighting as guerrilla s . General Masaharu Homma , who conquered the Philippines in five months instead of the projected two , ended up being relieved of his command . Historical commemoration . An unnamed Marine from the 4th Marine Regiment wrote the following lyrics to the tune of the ' Marines ' Hymn , ' just before going into battle in Corregidor . The author of " The Corregidor Hymn " was captured by the Japanese in the battle and was never seen again . " First to jump for holes and tunnels And to keep our skivvies clean , We are proud to claim the title of Corregidor ' s Marines . " Our drawers unfurled to every breeze From dawn to setting sun . We have jumped into every hole and ditch And for us the fightin ' was fun . " We have plenty of guns and ammunition But not cigars and cigarettes , At the last we may smoking leaves Wrapped in Nipponese propaganda leaflets . " When the Army and the Navy Looked out Corregidor ' s Tunnel Queen , They saw the beaches guarded by more than one Marine ! " From 16 - February 26 , 1945 , liberation by American forces spearheaded by the 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team with Philippine Commonwealth troops , swept into Corregidor and took it back . Memorials . The Pacific War Memorial was built on Corregidor in memory of the American and Filipino soldiers who died . The bridge in Chicago , Illinois , where State Street crosses the Chicago River is named the ' Bataan - Corregidor Memorial Bridge ' .