071 - MacArthur Leaves Bataan

A Decision from Above

War Plan Orange had called for the “fighting retreat” of the entire combined army in the Philippines. It was hoped that this force could hinder Japanese access to Manila Bay and give the U.S. Navy time to sweep in and resupply the troops or arrange for their safe withdrawal. However, neither of these things happened. It became evident that General MacArthur and his combined Filipino and American forces would have to go it alone.

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War Planners back in Washington D.C. had sent several requests to General Douglas MacArthur to retreat to Australia, leaving all “non-essential personnel” stranded in Bataan. MacArthur, however, did not want to leave his men behind. The Secretary of War reasoned that having a General locked away in a prison camp would do no good to the American soldiers or people. In early March, MacArthur reluctantly agreed.

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On the evening of March 11^th, a small division of 6 Patrol Torpedo Boats, known in the Philippines as Q-Boats, met MacArthur at a dock at the island of Corregidor and whisked him away under cover of darkness.
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The Q-Boats traveled for nearly two days in choppy sea, avoiding Japanese Destroyer Squadrons patrolling the entirety of the Philippine Sea. On the afternoon of March 14th, when he reached the port of Cagayan in the southern Philippines, he boarded a B-17 Bomber and was quickly and quietly flown to his new headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, where he would remain for most of the Pacific War.

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