Bataan Death March

Introduction
Lead-up to the march
The march and imprisonment at Camp O’Donnell
Aftermath

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Japanese soldiers with bayonets and military flags advance under a cloudy sky during the Fall of Corregidor, Philippines, in World War II.

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Germany invades Poland, September 1, 1939, using 45 German divisions and aerial attack. By September 20, only Warsaw held out, but final surrender came on September 29.

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U.S. marines raising the American flag over Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, in February 1945

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Related Questions

How did escaped prisoners help reveal the story of the Bataan Death March?
How did malaria and dengue fever affect the defenders of Bataan?
How did tropical heat affect prisoners during the Bataan Death March?
How far did prisoners walk from Capas to Camp O’Donnell?
How far were prisoners forced to march during the Bataan Death March?
How long did Allied troops defend Bataan before surrendering?
How long did the main Bataan Death March last?
How many American prisoners took part in the Bataan Death March?
How many Filipino and American prisoners were captured after the fall of Bataan?
How many Filipino prisoners died at Camp O’Donnell?
How many Filipino prisoners took part in the Bataan Death March?
How many prisoners reached Camp O’Donnell after the Bataan Death March?
How were prisoners transported from San Fernando to Capas?
What conditions did prisoners face inside the boxcars traveling from San Fernando?
What happened to prisoners who tried to get water during the Bataan Death March?
What shortages did Filipino and American defenders face on the Bataan Peninsula?
When did Douglas MacArthur leave Corregidor for Australia?
When did the Bataan Death March begin?
When did the U.S. government release details about the Bataan Death March?
Where did the Bataan Death March take place?
Where is the Bataan Peninsula located in the Philippines?
Which places marked the route from Mariveles to Camp O’Donnell?
Who commanded the Japanese invasion force in the Philippines?
Who surrendered the Allied ground forces on Bataan on April 9, 1942?
Why are the exact death tolls of the Bataan Death March uncertain?
Why did U.S. and Filipino forces retreat to the Bataan Peninsula?
Why did many prisoners suffer from exhaustion during the Bataan Death March?
Why did the defenders of Bataan have little air and naval support?
Why was Homma Masaharu tried after World War II?
Why was the defense of Bataan important to the United States despite the surrender?
Why was the surrender at Bataan one of the largest in U.S. military history?
Why were Japanese forces unprepared for the number of prisoners captured on Bataan?
Why were prisoners crowded into boxcars at San Fernando?
Why were prisoners marched from Bataan to San Fernando?
Where was George Patton educated?
What was George Patton most famous for?
How did George Patton die?
When did Charles de Gaulle become famous?
What were Charles de Gaulle’s policies as president of France?
When did Charles de Gaulle lose power?
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External Websites

Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus - The Bataan Death March and the 66-Year Struggle for Justice
The National WWII Museum - Battle of Bataan
Live Science - Bataan death march: Japan's WWII massacre
The Ohio State University - Origins - The Bataan Death March
U.S. Army - 1942 - 1943, The Bataan Death March
Atomic Heriage Foundation - Bataan Death March
National Museum of the US Air Force - The Bataan Death March
BBC Sounds - Crossing Continents - Death Marches: uncovering the truth beneath the soil
CNN travel - A double dose of hell: The Bataan Death March and what came next
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Death Marches

Bataan Death March

World War II [1942]

Written by

Elizabeth M. Norman

Elizabeth M. Norman currently is a full professor in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Development and Education where she teaches history, writing and research design in the Department of Humanities and...

Elizabeth M. NormanAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Sep. 24, 2026 •History

Bataan Death March, march in the Philippines of some 66 miles (106 km) that 76,000 prisoners of war (66,000 Filipinos, 10,000 Americans) were forced by the Japanese military to endure in April 1942, during the early stages of World War II. Mainly starting in Mariveles, on the southern tip of the Bataan Peninsula, on April 9, 1942, the prisoners were force-marched north to San Fernando and then taken by rail in cramped and unsanitary boxcars...

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