United States Army Forces in the Far East

United States Army Forces in the Far East was a major United States Army formation established in the lead-up to World War II to consolidate American and Philippine Army units in the Philippines. Activated under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, it was the primary U.S. command responsible for the defense of the Philippines against the Japanese invasion. The formation's brief but pivotal history was defined by the desperate defense of the archipelago, culminating in the epic siege of the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor.

History

The command was created by War Department orders on 26 July 1941, as tensions with Japan escalated following its occupation of French Indochina. This move placed all American military activities in the Philippines, then a U.S. Commonwealth, under a single unified command. The formation absorbed the pre-existing Philippine Department of the United States Army and integrated the nascent Philippine Army, which was being mobilized under the supervision of American military advisors like Dwight D. Eisenhower. The attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and the subsequent Japanese invasion just hours later immediately thrust USAFFE into active combat, beginning a relentless retreat that would last for several months.

Organization

The core of USAFFE consisted of the Philippine Department, which provided the veteran U.S. regulars, notably the Philippine Division. Its main combat power, however, was built around ten newly mobilized Philippine Army infantry divisions, which were poorly equipped and largely untrained. Key subordinate commands included the North Luzon Force under Major General Jonathan M. Wainwright, the South Luzon Force led by Brigadier General George M. Parker Jr., and the Visayan-Mindanao Force under Brigadier General William F. Sharp. Support elements included the Far East Air Force, commanded by Major General Lewis H. Brereton, which was largely destroyed on the ground in the initial attacks, and the small Asiatic Fleet of the United States Navy.

Commanders

The sole commander of USAFFE was General Douglas MacArthur, who was recalled from retirement by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and given the title of Military Advisor to the Commonwealth of the Philippines before assuming this theater command. His principal subordinates were Major General Jonathan M. Wainwright, who commanded forces on Bataan and later succeeded him, and Lieutenant General George H. Brett, who briefly served as his deputy. Following MacArthur's controversial evacuation to Australia on President Roosevelt's orders in March 1942, Wainwright assumed command of the dwindling forces, which were redesignated as United States Forces in the Philippines.

Major campaigns and operations

USAFFE's entire combat history was the Philippines campaign (1941–1942). Initial operations included failed attempts to intercept Japanese landings and the disastrous withdrawal to Bataan after the Japanese landings at Lingayen Gulf. This retreat, known as the Battle of Bataan, involved a series of defensive lines such as the Abucay–Mauban line. The command also directed the defense of Manila and the fortified islands in Manila Bay, most famously the Battle of Corregidor. Other significant actions included the delaying battles on Luzon and the isolated resistance in the Visayas and Mindanao conducted by the Visayan-Mindanao Force.

Disbandment and legacy

The command effectively ceased to exist with the fall of Corregidor and the surrender of all USAFFE forces on 6 May 1942, though it was formally dissolved months earlier when Douglas MacArthur departed. Its legacy is one of heroic but doomed resistance, epitomized by the Bataan Death March that followed the surrender. The struggle provided a potent symbol of American and Filipino defiance, with the "Battling Bastards of Bataan" entering American folklore. MacArthur would later use "USAFFE" as a nominal headquarters during his South West Pacific Area campaign, and the postwar Armed Forces of the Philippines traces its lineage to the integrated forces of this command.

Category:Commands of the United States Army Category:Military history of the Philippines during World War II Category:Military units and formations established in 1941 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1942