Editing Fort Mills (section)

===Fall of Corregidor===
{{main|Battle of Corregidor}}

Corregidor had been bombed intermittently since 29 December 1941. Supplies on the island were short, with food and water severely rationed and the defenders correspondingly weakened. Japanese artillery bombardment of Corregidor began immediately after the fall of Bataan on 9 April. It became intense over the next few weeks as more guns were brought up, and one day's shelling was said to equal all the bombing raids combined in damage inflicted. However, after an initial response from a 155&nbsp;mm GPF battery, Lt. Gen. Wainwright prohibited counterbattery fire for three days, fearing there were wounded POWs on Bataan who might be killed.<ref>Morton, p. 536</ref> Japanese aircraft flew 614 missions, dropping 1,701 bombs totaling some 365 tons of explosive. Joining the aerial bombardment were nine [[Type 45 240 mm howitzer|{{convert|240|mm|in|2|abbr=on}} howitzers]], thirty-four [[Type 96 15 cm howitzer|{{convert|149|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} howitzers]], and 32 other artillery pieces, which pounded Corregidor day and night. It was estimated that on 4 May alone, more than 16,000 shells hit Corregidor.<ref>Morton, p. 549</ref> Forts Frank and Drum had been bombarded from the [[Pico de Loro]] hills on the [[Cavite]] shore since 6 February by a gradually increasing Japanese artillery force.<ref name="Bobart">Bogart, Charles. [http://corregidor.org/chs_bogart/bogart2.htm "Carabao Island's Fort Frank"]. The Corregidor Historical Society. Retrieved on 10 March 2018.</ref>

On 3 February 1942 {{USS|Trout|SS-202}} arrived at Corregidor with 3,500 rounds of 3-inch anti-aircraft ammunition. Along with mail and important documents, ''Trout'' was loaded with 20 tons of gold and silver previously removed from banks in the Philippines before departing.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/trout-i.html |title=Trout I (SS-202) |work=[[Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]] |year=1970 |publisher=Naval Historical Center}}</ref>

By the end of April Corregidor's main power plant was too damaged to function most of the time. This was needed for the ammunition hoists of the disappearing gun batteries, which had gasoline-powered generators but for which fuel could not be spared. The Malinta Tunnel had its own generators, but sometimes these failed too.<ref>Morton, p. 546</ref> The bombardment by high-angle artillery and aircraft gradually destroyed the utility of almost all of Corregidor's big guns, which had no overhead protection except for magazines and generators. The [[12-inch coast defense mortar|{{convert|12|in|0|adj=on}} mortar]]s of Battery Geary and [[Battery Way]] fared better until near the end; their battery arrangement did not require electric power for ammunition hoists. However, Battery Way at least had been out of service for years; only three mortars were restored to service and these not until 28 April, and by 5 May two of these were out of action. There was also a shortage of high explosive shells, and adapting the armor piercing shells for instantaneous detonation was time-consuming at only 25 shells per day. On 2 May a 240&nbsp;mm shell penetrated one of Battery Geary's magazines; the resulting explosion put the entire battery out of action, blowing one mortar {{convert|150|yd}} from the battery and embedding another mortar entirely inside another magazine.<ref>Morton, pp. 540-541</ref> Among the harbor forts, only Fort Drum's turrets proved impregnable to attack; they remained in action until the surrender despite damage to other parts of the fort.<ref>Morton, pp. 486-487, 540</ref>

On the night of 4 May a submarine returning to Australia from patrol evacuated 25 persons. Among the passengers were Colonel Constant Irwin, who carried a complete roster of all Army, Navy, and Marine personnel still alive; Col. Royal G. Jenks, a finance officer, with financial accounts; Col. Milton A. Hill, the inspector general, 3 other Army and 6 Navy officers, and about 13 nurses. Included in the cargo sent from Corregidor were several bags of mail, the last to go out of the Philippines, and "many USAFFE and USFIP records and orders".<ref>Morton, p. 548</ref>

The bombardment increased in intensity through 5 May, and the Japanese landed that night. Their initial landing was near the east end of the island, north of Kindley Field, the airstrip. This was somewhat east of their objective, which was between Infantry Point and Cavalry Point, due to a miscalculation of the current.<ref>Morton, pp. 553-554</ref> The [[4th Marine Regiment (United States)|4th Marine Regiment]] coordinated the ground forces, which included many soldiers and sailors from support units untrained in ground combat, many of them escapees from Bataan. Several coast artillery and antiaircraft batteries were abandoned to free their crews as ground forces.<ref name=Morton556>Morton, pp. 556-558</ref> Of 229 officers and 3,770 enlisted men attached to the regiment, only around 1,500 were US Marines. The Japanese landed on the night of 5 May about 2300, with [[75 mm Gun M1917|75 mm]] and [[37 mm Gun M1|37 mm guns]] deployed for beach defense reportedly causing them heavy casualties. At least three of the 155&nbsp;mm guns were also still in action. However, by 0130 the Japanese captured Battery Denver, turning back three Allied counterattacks by 0400. At dawn, around 0440, more invasion barges were spotted and fire support from Fort Drum's 14-inch (356&nbsp;mm) guns was requested. Although smoke obscured the barges, Fort Drum was directed to fire "anywhere between you and Cabcaben" (in Bataan), and over 100 rounds were fired on the invasion route.<ref name=Morton556/> By 1000 the Japanese were firmly lodged on the island. With 600-800 Allied troops killed and over 1,000 wounded, no reserves were left. No one was available to evacuate the wounded, and most of those who attempted to walk to the Malinta Tunnel were either further wounded or killed. General Wainwright felt certain that further Japanese troops would land in the night and seize the Malinta Tunnel, where they might massacre the wounded and noncombatants. He decided to sacrifice one day of freedom to save several thousand lives. After giving orders to his forces to destroy their weapons to prevent their use by the enemy, he surrendered.<ref>Morton, pp. 560-561</ref>

Although all the harbor forts were included in the surrender, General Wainwright made every effort to avoid surrendering the troops in the southern Philippines. He sent an order placing them directly under MacArthur just before surrendering Corregidor. However, the Japanese insisted that all US and Filipino forces in the islands be included, and stated they would not cease offensive operations until that took place. Wainwright believed this meant they might start executing the 10,000 or so prisoners from Corregidor and the other forts, so he ordered the surrender of all forces. The units in the south were in much better positions for both supplies and continued resistance than those at Bataan or Corregidor were, and their commanders believed Wainwright's surrender orders were made under duress. It was not until 9 June that the Japanese accepted that all of the islands had surrendered. Some units never did surrender, and became nuclei for [[Philippine resistance against Japan|guerrilla operations]] that continued until the Japanese were mostly killed or captured in early 1945, following MacArthur's [[Philippines Campaign (1944–1945)|return to the Philippines]] in force in October 1944.<ref name="Morton, pp. 61-70"/><ref>Morton, Ch. XXXII</ref>

The conquest of the Philippines by Japan is often considered the worst military defeat in United States history.<ref>[https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/npswapa/extContent/wapa/guides/first/sec2.htm "War in the Pacific: The First Year", accessed 4 May 2016]</ref> About 23,000 American military personnel were killed or captured, while Filipino soldiers killed or captured totaled around 100,000.<ref>[http://www.mansell.com/pow_resources/camplists/philippines/pows_in_pi-OPMG_report.html "American Prisoners of War in the Philippines", Office of the Provost Marshal, November 19, 1945, accessed 4 May 2016]</ref>

The Philippines, [[Japanese conquest of Burma|Burma]], and the [[Dutch East Indies campaign|Dutch East Indies]] were the last major territories the Japanese invaded in World War II, all captured in early 1942. As Corregidor surrendered, the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]] was in progress, turning back a Japanese attempt to seize [[Port Moresby]], [[New Guinea]] by sea. By the final surrender on 9 June, the [[Battle of Midway]] was over, blunting Japan's naval strength with the loss of four large aircraft carriers and hundreds of skilled pilots. Both of these victories were costly to the US Navy as well, with two aircraft carriers lost, but the United States could replace their ships and train more pilots, and Japan, for the most part, could not do so adequately.