After the surrender of tens of thousands of American troops during the Battle of Bataan, many were sent to a Cabanatuan prison camp following the Bataan Death March. The Japanese transferred most of the prisoners to other areas, leaving just over 500 American and other Allied POWs and civilians in the prison. Facing brutal conditions including disease, torture, and malnourishment, the prisoners feared they would all be executed as General Douglas MacArthur and his American forces returned to Luzon. In late January 1945, a plan was developed by Sixth Army leaders and Filipino guerrillas to send a small force to rescue the prisoners. A group of over a hundred Rangers and Scouts and several hundred guerrillas traveled behind Japanese lines to reach the camp.
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| - After the surrender of tens of thousands of American troops during the Battle of Bataan, many were sent to a Cabanatuan prison camp following the Bataan Death March. The Japanese transferred most of the prisoners to other areas, leaving just over 500 American and other Allied POWs and civilians in the prison. Facing brutal conditions including disease, torture, and malnourishment, the prisoners feared they would all be executed as General Douglas MacArthur and his American forces returned to Luzon. In late January 1945, a plan was developed by Sixth Army leaders and Filipino guerrillas to send a small force to rescue the prisoners. A group of over a hundred Rangers and Scouts and several hundred guerrillas traveled behind Japanese lines to reach the camp.
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| Strength
| - 133(xsd:integer)
- 250(xsd:integer)
- est. 1,000 Japanese near the camp
- est. 220 Japanese guards and soldiers
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| Partof
| - World War II, Pacific theater
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| Commander
| - Tomoyuki Yamashita
- Robert Prince
- Juan Pajota
- Eduardo Joson
- Henry Mucci
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| Caption
| - Former Cabanatuan City POWs in celebration, January 30, 1945
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| Casualties
| - 2(xsd:integer)
- 4(xsd:integer)
- 21(xsd:integer)
- 530(xsd:integer)
- United States:
- Philippine Commonwealth:
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| Result
| - Allied victory; liberation of 552 Allied prisoners of war
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| Place
| - Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
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| Source
| - —one of the POWs during the trek back to American lines
- —Capt. Prince reflecting on the time constraints on planning the raid
- —Capt. Prince, reflecting on the public reaction to the mission
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| Conflict
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| Quote
| - "People everywhere try to thank us. I think the thanks should go the other way. I'll be grateful for the rest of my life that I had a chance to do something in this war that was not destructive. Nothing for me can ever compare with the satisfaction I got from helping to free our prisoners."
- "We couldn't rehearse this. Anything of this nature, you'd ordinarily want to practice it over and over for weeks in advance. Get more information, build models, and discuss all of the contingencies. Work out all of the kinks. We didn't have time for any of that. It was now, or not."
- "I made the Death March from Bataan, so I can certainly make this one!"
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| abstract
| - After the surrender of tens of thousands of American troops during the Battle of Bataan, many were sent to a Cabanatuan prison camp following the Bataan Death March. The Japanese transferred most of the prisoners to other areas, leaving just over 500 American and other Allied POWs and civilians in the prison. Facing brutal conditions including disease, torture, and malnourishment, the prisoners feared they would all be executed as General Douglas MacArthur and his American forces returned to Luzon. In late January 1945, a plan was developed by Sixth Army leaders and Filipino guerrillas to send a small force to rescue the prisoners. A group of over a hundred Rangers and Scouts and several hundred guerrillas traveled behind Japanese lines to reach the camp. In a nighttime raid, under the cover of darkness and a distraction by a P-61 Black Widow, the group surprised the Japanese forces in and around the camp. Hundreds of Japanese troops were killed in the 30-minute coordinated attack; the Americans suffered minimal casualties. The Rangers, Scouts, and guerrillas escorted the POWs back to American lines. The rescue allowed the prisoners to tell of the death march and prison camp atrocities, which sparked a new rush of resolve for the war against Japan. The rescuers were awarded commendations by MacArthur, and were also recognized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A memorial now sits on the site of the former camp, and the events of the raid have been depicted in several films.
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