Editing Fort Mills (section)

==Overview==
The United States acquired the Philippines as a territory as a result of the [[Spanish–American War]] in 1898. The [[Board of Fortifications|Taft board]] of 1905 recommended extensive, then-modern fortifications at the entrance to [[Manila Bay]]. The islands there had been declared military reservations on 11 April 1902. Construction soon started and the forts were substantially complete by 1915 as the [[Coast Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays]] (renamed Harbor Defenses in 1925).<ref>Berhow 2015, p. 430</ref> All of them were on islands at the mouth of the bay, except [[Fort Wint]] on [[Grande Island]] in [[Subic Bay]]. As the only large island of these, Corregidor had more gun batteries than the others, along with barracks, other garrison buildings, and facilities for controlling two [[Submarine mines in United States harbor defense|underwater minefields]]. Corregidor also had 13 miles of electric railway, an unusual feature in US forts.<ref>Morton, p. 473</ref> The forts were designed for one purpose: to prevent enemy surface vessels from entering Manila Bay or Subic Bay. They were designed before airplanes became important in war, and (except for [[Fort Drum (Philippines)|Fort Drum]]) were vulnerable to air and high-angle artillery attack, being protected only by camouflage. Except for the mortar batteries, the turrets of Fort Drum, and the two [[12-inch gun M1895|{{convert|12|in|0|adj=on}} guns]] of the 1920s Batteries Smith and Hearn, the forts' guns had restricted arcs of fire of about 170°, and could only bear on targets entering the bay from the west.<ref name=McG1/>