The Japanese celebrate the fall of Bataan

The Japanese invasion that began the day after Pearl Harbor swept on like a steam roller through the Philippines. As the army would enter a village on the plain the standard tactic was to rush through, shoot everything in site, and keep going. Most peasants were able to escape the assault, but some were not so lucky. Any livestock left behind was gunned down, and people often returned to find their houses flattened and their fields ruined.

The remants of a household after the Japanese advance

The peasants, newly organized from their work against the landlords, saw a chance to strike at their mutual enemies in one move. They quickly built a guerrilla army on their existing base, and began gathering arms and intelligence. Overwhelmingly popular, to the tune of 90%, they were a ragged and ruthless army whose aggression was fueled by revenge and promises of land. Any landlord who had not escaped to Manila found himself in danger, some were assassinated in their homes. Open warfare began against the Japanese and the corrupt Philippine Constabulary. Huks claimed to have killed more than 20,000 Japanese, Constabulary troops and known collaborators.

The remains of a Huk patrol caught by one of their many enemies

Despite these successes, odds were long against the Huks in open combat. They were poorly armed, as made evident by my Grandfather's encounter. Training was severely lacking, an expert was one who had survived enough skirmishes to be able to give a little advice. There were cases of Huks taking the sights off their guns because they caught on their clothes, the idea was to point, not aim. When news came of American landings further South in the country, the Huks celebrated by heavy assaults on the Japanese, and experienced large losses. While a potent striking force and a motivated guerrilla army, the Huks lacked training enough to make use of all their potential.

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This exhibit was researched and designed by [Andrew David Freeman].

This exhibit and museum were created during an introductory seminar on the Asia-Pacific War, taught at Wake Forest University during the spring semester 2002.

The material and opinions are those of their respective authors and do not represent the views of the University or the Department of History.