April Fools

Finally, on April Fools' Eve, the assault came. Lieut. General Tomoyuki Yamashita had held back for weeks, planning, grouping his forces, flexing his muscles. For ten days he had bombarded both Bataan and Corregidor, as if those were things to be softened. The world, knowing an attack was coming, expected it to break Bataan.

The noise rose early on April Fools' Eve, with the full moon. It grew from a rattle to a roar, insistent, oncoming. It was mortar fire, machine-gun fire, rifle fire, dive-bombing, naval bombardment, all the powder in the powder box.

When April Fools' Day broke, the Americans and Filipinos had yielded advance posts, but ,the main line held. That night the enemy came back with the same noises and almost the same numbers. The Japanese pierced the defenders' left center and began to pour through. But a noise came up angrily to meet the noise: the defenders closed their line, pocketing many Japanese behind them. Later the Japanese tried to land from barges on the Manila Bay side of the peninsula, and came noisily once more against the defenders' right center.

After that the Japanese settled back to breathe hard. Fooled again.

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