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Under the haze of war, in the Philippines in 1942, a sad event took place - the "Bataan Death March". This incident has been hailed as one of the "Three Great Atrocities in the Japanese Far East". To understand this tragedy, let's go back to the source of events and look for answers.
At that time, the Japanese Empire was in the midst of an expansion frenzy. The war situation entered a stalemate phase, and Japan's resource supply was in trouble. Southeast Asia became their new target because of its abundant resources and relatively weak military. In addition, the southward expansion plan also included India, Arabia and other places in order to join forces with Germany and Italy and expand the sphere of influence of the fascist camp. As China's battlefield resources dried up, Japan's expansion momentum became more and more urgent.
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the United States' Pearl Harbor, leading to the United States' involvement in the war. Immediately afterwards, they attacked the Philippines. At that time, the combined forces of the United States and the Philippines, led by MacArthur, were defeated in the face of the Japanese army. The Japanese army invaded the Bataan Peninsula, and thousands of Filipino troops became prisoners of war.
The prisoners were asked to walk 120 kilometres on foot without adequate food and water. A contingent of 80,000 people was forced to embark on this road of starvation, which was the prelude to the "Bataan Death March".
The prisoners of war hoped to board the train and end this nightmare, but they were wrong. The Japanese forced them into cattle carts and were forced to endure crowding, heat and harsh conditions. Thousands of people died of suffocation.
Not only that, but prisoners of war along the way were subjected to various abuses. There is not enough food, it is forbidden to drink water, and of course it is impossible to find food. After drinking the dirty water, the prisoners of war contracted infectious diseases, but the Japanese treated the sick with no mercy.
During that time, there were only two things in the life of prisoners of war: marching and sleeping. They have no beds, no quilts, and can only spend long nights in crowded spaces.
What is terrifying is that the Japanese army's handling of backward troops is even more cruel. Tired prisoners of war were forced to speed up, and those who could not keep up were killed in cold blood. Even some well-behaved prisoners of war suffered the same fate, simply because the Japanese considered them a waste of resources.
Eventually, when the winds of war turned and the U.S.-Filipino coalition recaptured the Philippines, the surviving prisoners were rescued. But Japan has left deep scars in this dark history.
Justice will eventually be done. After the war, the U.S. Eighth Army arrested Masaharu Honma and tried him at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Despite the controversy, the trial brought some comfort to prisoners of war and their families, while also bringing Japan's war crimes to light.
The "Bataan Death March" was a horrific crime that brought immeasurable suffering to the war. This tragedy reminds us that war is never the way to solve problems, but only misery and pain.
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