6 May in military history: Battle of Corregidor, 1942

Quick answer

On 6 May 1942 Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright surrendered Corregidor, the island fortress at the mouth of Manila Bay, after Japanese troops and tanks had landed there in the night; by midnight he had agreed to surrender every American and Filipino force in the Philippines. Also on 6 May: Frederick II at Prague, 1757, and the sack of Rome, 1527.

Battle of Corregidor, 1942: the fall of the Rock

6 May 1942 · 84 years ago

After Japanese troops and tanks landed on the island fortress at the mouth of Manila Bay the night before, Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright surrendered Corregidor to the Japanese. On Homma's terms he then ordered all American and Filipino forces in the Philippines to lay down their arms.

Read the full story of Battle of Corregidor, 1942: the fall of the Rock ›

Battle of Wimpfen, 1622: the powder wagons that decided a Thirty Years' War battle

6 May 1622 · 404 years ago

In the Thirty Years' War, the Catholic League and Spanish troops of Tilly and Córdoba caught the Protestant army of the Margrave of Baden near Wimpfen on the Neckar. The margrave's wagon fort held at first, but his army was finally beaten.

Read the full story of Battle of Wimpfen, 1622: the powder wagons that decided a Thirty Years' War battle ›

Battle of Prague, 1757: Frederick the Great's bloodiest victory

6 May 1757 · 269 years ago

Frederick the Great's Prussians attacked the Austrian army on the hills east of Prague early in the Seven Years' War. The Austrians lost but withdrew in good order, many into the city, and the weakened Frederick could not take Prague.

Read the full story of Battle of Prague, 1757: Frederick the Great's bloodiest victory ›

Also on this day

1757: Frederick II of Prussia attacked the Austrian army near Prague on 6 May. Frederick's own history dates his crossing of the Moldau to the 5th and the battle to the following morning. Archenholz gives 64,000 Prussians and 76,000 Austrians actually engaged. Field Marshal Schwerin seized a flag, led his regiment forward and was killed. Frederick put the Austrian loss at 24,000, including 5,000 prisoners, and the Prussian at 18,000, "without counting Marshal Schwerin, who alone was worth above 10,000", in Carlyle's translation. Archenholz gives 16,500 Prussians killed and wounded and 1,550 captured, and 19,000 Austrians killed and wounded and 5,000 prisoners; Carlyle gives 12,500 Prussians killed, wounded and missing and 13,000 Austrians, prisoners included. Our article on the Battle of Prague tells the full story.¹

1527: in fog at dawn on Monday, 6 May, the imperial army under the Constable of Bourbon stormed the walls of Rome. Bourbon was struck by a shot at the head of the assault and died. Sebastian Schertlin von Burtenbach, who marched with him, wrote in his memoirs, in Pastor's translation: "on the 6th of May, we took Rome by storm, put over 6000 men to the sword, plundered the whole city".²

Frequently asked questions

Who won the Battle of Corregidor?

Japan. Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright surrendered the island on 6 May 1942; the Japanese records date the fall of the last island forts to 7 May. American forces retook Corregidor in 1945, and Smith's Army history dates the official end of that operation to 2 March.

How many died at Corregidor in 1942?

Morton's US Army history says that by about 1000 on 6 May between 600 and 800 defenders had been killed and about 1,000 wounded. Morton writes that Japanese casualties in the two landings were estimated at several hundred; the Marine Corps history gives estimates of Japanese losses on 5-6 May from 900 to 4,000.

Why did Corregidor surrender?

Morton's Army history says that by 1000 Japanese tanks were in action, there were no weapons to stop them and all reserves had been committed, and that Wainwright feared what the Japanese would do when they reached Malinta Tunnel and its 1,000 wounded.

Did the surrender of Corregidor end the fighting in the Philippines?

Not at once. On Homma's terms Wainwright ordered all American and Filipino forces to surrender; General Sharp surrendered on 10 May, and on 9 June the Japanese told Wainwright that all organized resistance had ended.

What did Wainwright tell Roosevelt?

That with broken heart and head bowed in sadness but not in shame he must arrange terms for the surrender of the fortified islands of Manila Bay, and that his troops had accomplished all that was humanly possible.

Sources

Johann Wilhelm von Archenholz, “Geschichte des siebenjährigen Krieges in Deutschland, vol. I”, Berlin, 1793, pp. 73-80, via Internet Archive (in German)

Thomas Carlyle, “History of Friedrich II of Prussia, vol. 18”, Book XVIII, chapter II, “Battle of Prag”, Project Gutenberg

Frederick II of Prussia, “Histoire de la guerre de sept ans, tome I”, Œuvres posthumes, Amsterdam, 1789, pp. 129-133, via Internet Archive (in French)

Ferdinand Gregorovius, “History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages, vol. VIII, part II”, London: George Bell, 1902, pp. 567-569, via Internet Archive

Ludwig Pastor, “The History of the Popes, vol. IX”, ed. Ralph Francis Kerr, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1910, pp. 388-391, 414, via Internet Archive

Sebastian Schertlin von Burtenbach, “Lebensbeschreibung des berühmten Ritters Sebastian Schärtlin von Burtenbach”, 1777, p. 19, via Internet Archive (in German)