TY  - BOOK
AU  - Morton, Louis
ED  - United States. Department of the Army. Office of Military History. United States Army in World War II.
TI  - The fall of the Philippines
SN  - (hardbound)
PY  - 1953///,
PY  - 1978///,
PY  - 1989///
PY  - 2004///
CY  - Washington, D.C. : 
PB  - Center of Military History, United States Army, 
KW  - World War, 1939-1945
KW  - Campaigns
KW  - Philippines
KW  - Bataan
KW  - Corregidor
KW  - defense of the Visayas and Mindanao
KW  - Japanese invasion and conquest
KW  - military history
KW  - Philippine defense campaign
KW  - US Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE)
N1  - "First printed 1953"--t.p. verso.    This work covers one of the initial campaigns of the war of the Pacific (8 December 1941 through 6 May 1942), that ended with the Japanese conquest of the Philippine Islands
N2  - This is the official US Army history, originally published in 1953, detailing the campaign to defend the Philippines in 1941-1942.

Published just over a decade after the defeat took place, and when many key officers were still alive, this work sought to answer the question of why the Americans lost. Written by a professional historian, the book provides a careful and balanced narration of the military campaign, from the highest decision-making levels to conditions at the front line.

Dr. Morton utilized sources from both US and Japanese sides to present an objective history. Since most of the papers had been destroyed by war (deliberately or otherwise), the author had to resort to a variety of other sources to try to make the picture as complete as possible – diaries, interviews and correspondence.

Unfortunately, the book is weak on the Philippine side of the story – the Filipino soldiers or officers are only briefly mentioned, and not all in a very positive light. Morton includes sections on planning in Washington DC, the attempt to bring supplies in by submarine and other means, and also the Visayas and Mindanao fronts.

The volume ends with the formal surrender of the USAFFE forces and does not deal with the Prisoner of War experience and the Death March, since these were not military operations. (In the "US Army in World War II" series, there is no volume on operations in the Philippines between the fall of Corregidor and MacArthur’s return to Leyte). As an official history, the research, writing and publication were all paid for by the US; a board of editors (including generals) went over the drafts before final publication.

Although published over fifty years ago, Morton’s book is still the best work to consult regarding the Philippine defense campaign in 1941-1942; it is a very important, classic work which has not been superseded. Understandably, there is little on the naval and air side of the campaign. - Prof. Ricardo T. Jose
UR  - https://issuu.com/filipinasheritagelibrary/docs/rhc-016129?e=18015266/46935037
UR  - https://issuu.com/filipinasheritagelibrary/docs/rhc-016130?e=18015266/46935286
ER  -