The island bastion of Corregidor, with its network of tunnels and formidable array of defensive armaments, along with the fortifications across the entrance to Manila Bay, was the remaining obstacle to the Japanese 14th Army of Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma.

Homma had to take Corregidor because as long as the island remained in American hands, the Japanese would be denied the use of Manila Bay and its harbor.

Americans called it "The Rock" or even the "Gibraltar of the East", comparing it to the fortress that guards the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Africa.

Reinforced with concrete walls, floors, and overhead arches, it also had blowers to furnish fresh air and an electric trolley along the east–west passage.

[1]: 39, 43–46 Caballo Island, with Fort Hughes, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of Corregidor's lighthouse, with an area of 75 acres (30 ha), rises to a height of 381 ft (116 m).

[1]: 5, 50–51 Fort Drum (El Fraile Island) is 6.3 mi (10.1 km) southeast of Corregidor's lighthouse.

[1]: 14–15 Fort Frank on Carabao Island is 8.1 mi (13.0 km) south of Corregidor's lighthouse, near the Cavite shoreline, and rises 180 ft (55 m) above the sea.

[1]: 28  On 29 December, after evacuating Olongapo, Subic Naval Base, Samuel L. Howard's 4th Marine Regiment became the primary fighting unit on Corregidor.

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.

[1]: 29–31 On 12 March under the cover of darkness, MacArthur was evacuated from Corregidor, using four PT boats bound for Mindanao, from where he was eventually flown to Australia.

From Cebu, seven private ships under orders from the army, loaded with a supply of food, sailed towards Corregidor.

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 mm GPF battery, Wainwright prohibited counterbattery fire for three days, fearing there were wounded POWs on Bataan who might be killed.

Although the Aggies on Corregidor did not physically gather for Muster, stories were widely published celebrating their heroic assembly in an island tunnel including yelling and singing of songs about Texan independence.

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.

[1]: 34 Japanese propaganda to its home population repeatedly declared in this period that Corregidor was about to fall, followed by weeks of silence when it did not happen.

[15][5]: 142–144 [16] On 5 May Japanese forces led by Maj. Gen. Kureo Taniguchi boarded landing craft and barges and headed for the final assault on Corregidor.

The initial landing of 790 Japanese soldiers was quickly bogged down by fierce resistance from the American and Filipino defenders, whose 37 mm artillery exacted a heavy toll on the invasion fleet.

At 4:30 a.m. Paul C. Moore's Q Company, followed by R, S, and T joined the battle, but at 4:40 a.m., an additional 21 Japanese landing craft were spotted headed for the Corregidor shore.

However, some officers bypassed on the tail of the island, were able to form a defensive perimeter at Monkey Point, causing trouble for the Japanese on the other side of Kindley Field.

[5]: 176–185 Unlike the Filipinos and Americans on Bataan who surrendered to the Japanese forces, the Prisoners of War (POWs) in Corregidor were not subjected by the death march.

[18] On 23 May, the Japanese prisoners on Corregidor were marched to the South Mine Wharf and boarded on three ships anchored in San Jose Bay.

After landing in Manila, the Filipinos were off loaded onto a dock, while the Americans were paraded down Dewey Boulevard to Old Bilibid Prison, then onward to Cabanatuan Camp No.

We have plenty of guns and ammunition But not cigars and cigarettes, At the last we may be smoking leaves Wrapped in Nipponese propaganda leaflets.