Word: davao
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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...Davao, on the south shore of Mindanao, Lieut. Colonel Roger Hilsman and his small force still fought the invader. But it was a losing fight, a small-scale replica of the great battle of Luzon. Unless help should come, all the Philippines' defenders could hope for was the bitter, bloody price of a last-ditch fight. It would not be in vain. As long as the Philippines held out, the Jap could not exert his full force on the vital fortress of Singapore...
...defense Colonel Hilsman had more problems than a small force, a long supply line and the size of his opponent (who probably came from the Japanese base at Palau in the Mandated Islands 600 miles east of Davao). Colonel Hilsman's worst problem was likely to be the Japanese population of Davao, estimated as high as 25,000, composed predominantly of men and flecked heavily with youngsters whose carriage and demeanor bear the unmistakable marks of military training...
Meanwhile the Japanese opened up a new sector last week, swinging far to the south in an enveloping action. Off Davao, 600 miles south of Manila on the Moro-inhabited island of Mindanao, the enemy appeared one day with four transports, naval and air support...
...Davao had no defenses to compare with those on Luzon. Strategists have long recognized that in a pinch Mindanao might have to be abandoned to the Jap-who would still be far from his objective, with no solid land bridge to the north. Davao's defenders were a comparatively small force headed by a 51-year-old Texan, Lieut. Colonel Roger Hilsman...
Colonel Hilsman's first act when the war began was to throw 1,500 Japanese into the clink. When the Japs struck at Davao, first by an aerial assault and then by landing party, the news from Mindanao thinned out. All Manila could say was that "fighting continues." The Japanese were not fighting a silly, diffused battle for the Philippines. They were playing heavily on the assumption that they could wear down Philippine supply-especially of planes and ammunition-and strike hard before more could come from the mainland. In snatching Davao they were also going after a base...