In his letter, Benito Legarda Jr. pointed out two attempts of the Japanese to isolate Bataan. The first he referred to as the “Battle of the Capes” (“Corrections to commentary on Death March,” Opinion, 4/14/16). I think he meant the battle of the points when the Japanese tried to outflank the I Corps by landing troops at Anyasan, Quinauan and Longoskawayan Points at the western side of Bataan from Jan. 23 to Feb. 1, 1942. All of these landings were defeated.
The Battle of the Capes was the one fought by France and Great Britain at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on Sept. 5, 1781. The French won and prevented Charles Cornwallis from receiving reinforcement. “Without the French fleet gaining control of the Chesapeake Bay from the British, the victory of the American and French armies at Yorktown would have been impossible. Without the French victory at the Battle of the Capes, American independence from Great Britain might never have been achieved.”
On the other hand, the battle of the pockets resulted in the destruction of the Japanese troops that tried to infiltrate the sector held by the Philippine Army 1st Infantry Division commanded by Brig. Gen. Fidel Segundo.
—ARTEMIO S. TIPON, artemio.tipon@gmail.com