Bataan Peninsula

Bataan Peninsula, peninsula of western Luzon Island in the Republic of the Philippines, bounded by Manila Bay on the east and by the South China Sea on the south and west. The peninsula is mountainous, and its population is concentrated in the eastern coastal plain. The peninsula contains a pulp and paper mill, a fertilizer plant, and an oil refinery. The chief towns are Balanga, which is the capital of Bataan Province, as well as Orion and Abucay. Mariveles Bay, at the southern end, contains shipyards and a port. Dense vegetation covers much of the peninsula, including some of the most extensive bamboo forests in the Philippines.

During World War II (1939-1945) the Bataan Peninsula was the scene of heavy fighting between Allied and Japanese forces. Nearby Manila was one of the first Philippine cities to be bombed by the Japanese, and Luzon was quickly overrun. Allied forces defending the region made a valiant last stand on Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island, off the southern coast of the peninsula, in the early months of 1942. After the Bataan Peninsula fell to Japan, captured Filipino and U.S. troops were subjected to the infamous Death March to a prison camp near Cabunatuan. The peninsula was recaptured by an American force in February 1945. Bataan National Park, mainly a commemorative area for the events of World War II, encompasses much of the land in the north central section of the peninsula.