American Defenses of Corregidor and Manila Bay 1898-1945 (Fortress) [Paperback]

Mark A. Berhow (Author), Terrance C. McGovern (Author), Chris Taylor (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 19, 2003 | Series: Fortress (Book 4)

The Philippines were declared an American Territory on January 4, 1899, and fortification construction soon began on the islands in the mouth of Manila Bay. Among the sites built were Fort Mills (Corregidor), Fort Frank, and the formidable "concrete battleship" of Fort Drum. The defenses suffered constant Japanese bombardment during World War II, leading to the surrender of American forces. In 1945 the forts were manned by Japanese soldiers determined to hold out to the bitter end. This title details the fortifications of this key strategic location, and considers both their effectiveness and historical importance.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark A. Berhow has long had an interest in the history of American coastal and continental air defenses. He was worked at the Fort MacArthur Museum, and Nike missile post in Los Angeles for 10 years, and is a past chairman of the Coast Defense Study Group (CDSG). Terrance McGovern has been an avid student of fortifications for many years, with a particular interest in American coastal defenses in overseas territories. A former Chairman of the Coast Defense Study Group, Terrance lives in McClean, Viriginia, with his wife and three daughters.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing Ltd.; 1st edition (February 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841764272
• ISBN-13: 978-1841764276
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,153 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #79 in Books > History > Asia > Philippines

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Uneven, Due to Lack of Structured Format, April 22, 2003

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R. A Forczyk (MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Defenses of Corregidor and Manila Bay 1898-1945 (Fortress) (Paperback)

...this book is somewhat uneven; it is almost implicitly written as a travel guide for those who might wish to visit the remnants of these fortifications and in that regard, the authors' amply accomplish their purpose. In essence, this volume seems to suffer from Osprey's failure to establish a uniform structure for this new Fortress series, leaving it up to the authors to decide what to focus upon. Thus a reader looking for greater detail about the fortifications will find that this volume does not suffice...

The authors cover the fall of the Manila Bay fortifications and their recapture in two sections totaling 19 pages. These sections are adequate, but provide relatively sparse detail on the garrisons and critical aspects of the siege...

Graphically, this volume is quite appealing. There are five 2-D maps (the Manila Bay environs, the defenses of Manila Bay in 1941, a strategic map in December 1941, the Japanese assault on Corregidor, the American recapture of Corregidor) and two very nice 3-D maps (Corregidor island and Carabao Island). However, none of the maps depict the range fans of the American coastal batteries, which is rather important. The artwork is also excellent and includes cut-away diagrams of Battery Cheney, Fort Drum as well as depictions of Battery Smith in action, Battery Gillespie, and the destruction of Battery Geary. The authors provide a bibliography and two appendices (American coast artillery weapons and a list of batteries around Manila Bay). In sum, this volume is very good in areas that the authors have chosen to emphasize, but it is noticeably lacking in areas that they found less interesting.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, accurate book on the "Alamo of the Pacific", March 20, 2004

By 

Penelope A. Blake (Roscoe, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Defenses of Corregidor and Manila Bay 1898-1945 (Fortress) (Paperback)

I have spoken to a number of survivors of the fall of Corregidor (May 6, 1942,) and they are all asking me to send them more copies of this book to pass around to their fellow survivors. They contend that it is the only book which shows the island and its batteries as they were in 1942. This is perhaps the best tribute I can give the authors. The book has also proved immensely helpful to me as I continue to collect the oral histories of those who served on Corregidor. Well done!

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shallow treatment, April 14, 2006

By 

Jersey Kid (Katy, Texas, America!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Defenses of Corregidor and Manila Bay 1898-1945 (Fortress) (Paperback)

For those involved in the study of the Taft and Endicott Periods of coast defense doctrine and technology, the Philippines is considered as the mother-lode of extant artifacts. The archipelago came under formal American control after the Spanish-American War. Almost immediately, the military looked to develop modern defenses for two bays on the main island of Luzon. Subic Bay, with a classic bottleneck entrance channel was able to be protected by a single fort at the mouth of the bay. Manila Bay - on the eastern edge of which sat the capital city of Manila - was a more difficult proposition. The bay's 12 mile wide mouth stretched the limits of late-19th century artillery technology, but the width of the bay was compensated for by the fact that the entrance contained a number of islands.

Fortification construction began soon after the American occupation. Among the sites built were Fort Mills (Corregidor), Fort Frank, and the unique and formidable "concrete battleship" of Fort Drum. War came in December 1941, and the defenses suffered constant Japanese bombardment, leading to the surrender of American forces. In 1945 the forts were manned by Japanese soldiers determined to hold out to the bitter end: bloody and brutal fighting ensued. This title brings to life the fortifications of this key strategic location, and considers both their effectiveness and historical importance.

This book, written by two former Chairpersons of the US-based Coast Defense Study Group (CDSG), provides an cursory overview of the strategic and tactical thinking that went into the design of the harbor defenses. It then provides a historical context for their use - an event that is unique for US Coast Defense systems. While the fall of the Philippines in 1942 was a failure of the joint US/Philippine military, the Coast Artillery Corps did not fail. In fact, a few installations had to be ordered to give up after the surrender of Corregidor.

Perhaps the authors should have paused to give consideration to how they were going to address as massive a topic as this within the confines of 64-page format of Osprey's 'Fortress' series. If they had, they might haver suggested a different approach to the publishers such as a series of books, each concentrating on one of the island forts.

I mention this because this volume is not just a high-level melange of information delivered with a brevity that reminds one of the six-countries-in-six-days approach to tourism. In that aspect, one comes away somewhat concussed (excuse the pun) over the sheer volume of data presented in a whirl of style and quality. On one page is a reproduction of a period map showing the locations of fortification, while on the enxt page is a somewhat graphic novel depiction of an explosion at one paricular battery.

To me, this is surprising in view of the authors' credentials. The CDSG offers far more detailed information about these facilities on its website, as does the Corregidor Foundation.

Perhaps the book is targeted at neophytes or a younger audience. But, for anyone seeking a detailed description of American defenses in The Philippines should look elsewhere.