The Pacific Theater of World War 2
The Pacific Theater of World War 2 was characterized by a brutal Island hopping campaign that saw Allied forces engaging Japanese troops in places they’d never heard of before. This state of affairs was not the case when the Allies started their invasion of the Philippines. The former US colony fell in 1942, but General MacArthur made good on his promise and returned in October 1944. Swift Allied advances saw them on the doorstep of the Philippine capital of Manila. General Tomoyuki Yamashita, the Japanese Commander in-country ordered his forces to retreat north towards the mountainous regions of Northern Luzon Island. Manila cannot be defended by his forces since for one, he could not feed its inhabitants. Most of the Japanese forces followed his orders, but not Rear Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi. Many of you may know that the relationship between the Japanese Army and Navy during World War 2 was a bit weird. Rear Admiral Iwabuchi probably did not appreciate being ordered around by an