Philippines: Japanese imperial troops celebrate the capture of Bataan in May, 1942.

The Battle of Bataan is famous in history as one of the last stands of American and Filipino soldiers before they were overwhelmed by the Japanese forces in World War II. Prior to the 1941 Japanese invasion, the US army stored nearly 1,000,000 US gallons of gasoline in Bataan. Shortly after the Japanese army invaded the country in December 1941, the combined US and Filipino forces were being gradually overrun and General Douglas MacArthur moved his troops to the Bataan Peninsula in an attempt to hold out until a relief force could be sent from the US. Japanese forces started a siege of the peninsula on 7 January 1942, and launched an all-out assault on 3 April. The majority of the American and Filipino forces surrendered on 9 April and were forced to march more than 100 km from Bataan to Tarlac, which became known as the Bataan Death March.