<P> The Commonwealth of the Philippines was attacked by the Empire of Japan on 8 December 1941 nine hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor ( the Philippines is on the Asian side of the international date line ) . The United States of America controlled the Philippines at the time and possessed important military bases there . The combined American - Filipino army was defeated in the Battle of Corregidor in April 1942 , but guerrilla resistance against the Japanese continued throughout the war . Uncaptured Filipino army units , a communist insurgency and supporting American agents all played a role in the resistance . Due to the huge number of islands , the Japanese never occupied many of the smaller and more minor islands . Japanese control over the countryside and smaller towns was often tenuous at best . </P>
<P> The Commonwealth of the Philippines was attacked by the Empire of Japan on 8 December 1941 nine hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor ( the Philippines is on the Asian side of the international date line ) . The United States of America controlled the Philippines at the time and possessed important military bases there . The combined American - Filipino army was defeated in the Battle of Corregidor in April 1942 , but guerrilla resistance against the Japanese continued throughout the war . Uncaptured Filipino army units , a communist insurgency and supporting American agents all played a role in the resistance . Due to the huge number of islands , the Japanese never occupied many of the smaller and more minor islands . Japanese control over the countryside and smaller towns was often tenuous at best . </P>
combined filipino and american forces during japanese invasion
combined filipino and american forces during japanese invasion
The combined American - Filipino army was defeated in the Battle of Corregidor in April 1942 , but guerrilla resistance against the Japanese continued throughout the war .
The combined American - Filipino army was defeated in the Battle of Corregidor in April 1942 , but guerrilla resistance against the Japanese continued throughout the war .