Great Raid Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Great Raid - Essay Example Many of the American troops that had surrendered in the course of the Bataan Battle were sent to the prison camp in Cabanatuan. This development came after the Bataan Death that took place in March of the same year. The Japanese, following this news rushed to transfer many of the prisoners to different parts of the country, leaving behind more than 500 POWs, most of whom were American but also comprised other allied civilians and POWs in the particular prison camp in Philippines. The prisoners faced a lot of hardships at the camp, with many of them dying from the hard labour and harsh conditions that they were being subjected to. Some of the brutal conditions that characterized life at the prison camp included malnourishment, severe torture and many other chronic diseases that the POWs contracted. With no one showing concern over their fate the health of most of the POWs deteriorated making them succumb to the harsh condition. In fact, after Gen, Douglas MacArthur and many of the American forces went back to Luzon, the POWs feared for the lives as they thought that they were going to be executed. Following the need to free the POWs, strategic planning was started by the leaders of the Sixth Army, who were collaborating with Filipino guerrillas. According to Alexander (2009), the initial idea was to send a sizeable army with the main responsibility of recuing and freeing the POWs. After thorough planning, a group of more than one hundred Scouts and Rangers including guerrilla fighters made a journey of more than 30 miles to the camp. It is believed that the planning and execution of the strategy in rescuing the POWs started in 1944 when Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s army managed to land on Leyte. This development was enough to pave the way for liberation of the POWs and other civilian prisoners. Later, the American forces idea to consolidate their army in the rescue process was realized by the camp soldiers, who responded