This timeline was originally prepared by the Heritage Division of PCDSPO as part of he interactive web project World War II in the Philippines which sought to provide the structure by which we unify the people’s stories, in search of a history we can truly call our own. With this, we can finally see the intersections of the past and of what is before is now. We only make familiar what should have been familiar to us in the first place.
Start Date | End Date | Headline | Text |
---|---|---|---|
1941 | 1945 | World War II in the Philippines | An interactive timeline of the events in the Philippines during World War II |
12/2/1941 | A Japanese reconnaissance aircraft is spotted over Clark Airfield. | ||
12/6/1941 | U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt sends a "last resort" letter to Japanese Emperor Hirohito. | ||
12/8/1941 | A radio transmission is received by the USAFFE: Pearl Harbor is under attack. | ||
12/8/1941 | U.S. President Roosevelt declares war against Japan. | U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt speaks in front of the U.S. Congress: "Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy. The United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." | |
12/8/1941 | Executive Secretary Jorge B. Vargas informs President Manuel L. Quezon of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the declaration of war by the United States against the Axis Powers. | President Quezon is staying in their private residence along Legarda Road in Baguio, recovering from an illness. | |
12/8/1941 | Japanese aircraft attack commenced in Davao at 6:20 a.m. | Japanese aircraft carrier Ryujo launched an air raid to the port of Davao. | |
12/8/1941 | The Japanese bomb the Philippines, and other U.S. installations in the Pacific. | ||
12/8/1941 | President Quezon tells the press, "the Zero Hour has arrived." | “The zero hour has arrived. I expect every Filipino—man and woman—to do his duty. We have pledged our honor to stand to the last by the United States and we shall not fail her, happen what may.” | |
12/8/1941 | Japanese aircraft attack Camp John Hay, Baguio at 8:30 a.m. | ||
12/8/1941 | Japanese aircraft attack Tuguegarao at 9:30 a.m. | ||
12/8/1941 | Attack on Pearl Harbor: NBC Bulletin | ||
12/8/1941 | Attack on Pearl Harbor: NBC broadcast | ||
12/8/1941 | Japanese planes attack Clark Field. | ||
12/8/1941 | Japanese planes attack airfield in Iba, Zambales at 12:30 p.m. | ||
12/8/1941 | Japanese planes attack Fort McKinley. | ||
12/8/1941 | Field Marshal MacArthur orders B-17s to load bombs. | ||
12/8/1941 | President Quezon departs for Arayat, Pampanga. | Mrs. Aurora Quezon, Manuel L. Quezon Jr., and Sofia Fuentes are at the Quezon Farm (Kaledian) when Japanese attacks commence. | |
12/8/1941 | Japanese soldiers arrive in Batan Island at dawn. | ||
12/8/1941 | Japanese aircraft attack Tarlac at 12:35 p.m. | ||
12/8/1941 | Japanese aircraft attack Davao at 12:45 p.m. | ||
12/8/1941 | BBC reports on Pearl Harbor. | ||
12/8/1941 | BBC reports on attacks in the Far East. | ||
12/8/1941 | Japan declares war against the United States and the British Empire. | Prime Minister Hideki Tojo declares war on the Allied Powers: "We, by the grace of Heaven, Emperor of Japan, seated on the Throne of a line unbroken for ages eternal, enjoin upon ye, Our loyal and brave subjects: We hereby declare war on the United States of America and the British Empire." | |
12/9/1941 | Cavite Navy Yard is bombarded at 11:00 a.m. | From the diary of Gen. Basilio Valdes, December 9, 1941. See the full entry here. | |
12/9/1941 | Japanese task force departs Palau for Legazpi City; another departs for Davao. | ||
12/9/1941 | President Quezon arrives back in Manila, stays in his Mariquina home. | ||
12/10/1941 | Japanese Air Force launches heavy attacks on Cavite Navy Yard at 11:45 a.m. | ||
12/10/1941 | Japanese Air Force launches heavy attacks on Nichols Airfield (present-day Villamor Air Base) at 12:00 p.m. | ||
12/10/1941 | Japanese forces land in Aparri at dawn. | Tanaka Detachment lands in Aparri, Cagayan. | |
12/10/1941 | Japanese forces land at Pandan, near Vigan at 5:13 a.m. | Kanno Detachment lands to capture Vigan, Ilocos Norte. | |
12/10/1941 | Japanese forces capture Camiguin Island. | ||
12/10/1941 | Nichols Field bombed for the second time. | ||
12/10/1941 | Cavite Naval base is bombed. | The incident results in 500 casualties, the destruction of the submarines Sealion and Pillsbury, and damage to the minesweeper USS Bittern. | |
12/11/1941 | Congress passes Resolution No. 115. | In a special session, the National Assembly passes Resolution No. 115, pledging support to the United States in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attacks and proclaiming Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmeña as winners of the November elections. | |
12/12/1941 | The Japanese land in Legazpi at 2:45 a.m. | The Kimura Detachment, a unit of the of the Japanese Army consisting of 2,500 men, lands at Legazpi, Albay. | |
12/12/1941 | President Quezon is told to evacuate. | Field Marshal MacArthur informs President Quezon of plans to evacuate to Corregidor. The President is given four hours to be ready for departure. | |
12/12/1941 | Cabinet decides on who will accompany President Quezon if they evacuate. | ||
12/13/1941 | U.S. High Commissioner to the Philippines Francis Bowes Sayre, Sr. appeals for American help in radio broadcast: "Come on, America!" | ||
12/14/1941 | Three B-17s are dispatched to bomb Japanese landing in Legazpi but failed to return. | ||
12/15/1941 | National Assembly authorizes emergency powers for President Quezon. | ||
12/16/1941 | The National Assembly grants the President extraordinary powers. | The National Assembly passes Commonwealth Act No. 671, investing the President with extraordinary powers under the state of total emergency in effect. | |
12/17/1941 | Japanese forces in Legazpi make initial contact with Filipino forces in Ragay, Bicol. | ||
12/18/1941 | United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) inducts all units of the Philippine Army; reservists called to the colors | ||
12/18/1941 | Advance units of the Japanese Imperial Army enter Naga, Camarines Sur. | ||
12/18/1941 | The Philippine flag is reversed to indicate state of war. | President Quezon issues Executive Order No. 386, s. 1941, which states that the Filipino flag is to be flown with the red stripe up, signifying the Philippines is at war. This is the first time this has happened since the Philippine-American War. | |
12/20/1941 | Japanese troops land in Mindanao, near Davao at 4:00 a.m. | The Miura Detachment landed on the northern section of Davao, while the Sakaguchi Detachment landed on the southwest part of the city. | |
12/20/1941 | President Quezon addresses the nation through radio broadcasts from the air raid shelter in his Mariquina (Marikina) home. | ||
12/20/1941 | Japanese Forces take Davao. | The Japanese Miura Detachment and Sakaguchi Detachment link up, establishing control over Davao. | |
12/22/1941 | The Department of Interior is abolished. | President Quezon, by virtue of Executive Order No. 390 s. 1941, uses his broad emergency powers granted to him by the National Assembly to abolish the department and combines its functions and duties with those of the other departments. | |
12/22/1941 | Three Japanese convoys drop anchor at Lingayen Gulf. | ||
12/22/1941 | Tanaka Detachment enters San Fernando, La Union. | ||
12/22/1941 | The Japanese Army lands in Lingayen. | Landing of Japanese forces in Lingayen, Pangasinan, under the command of Lt. Gen. Yuichi Tsuchibashi. | |
12/22/1941 | Huge enemy fleet, estimated to be 80 transports, spotted off Lingayen Gulf. | From the diary of Teodoro M. Locsin, December 22, 1941. See the full entry here. | |
12/22/1941 | Japanese units arrive at 5:00 a.m. in Agoo, La Union. | ||
12/22/1941 | Japanese units arrive at 5:15 a.m. in Aringay, La Union. | ||
12/22/1941 | Bauang, La Union occupied by the Japanese at about 7:00 a.m. | ||
12/22/1941 | Japanese Imperial Army troops land, 8:30 a.m. | ||
12/23/1941 | Wake Island falls to the Japanese. | ||
12/23/1941 | Gen. Basilio Valdes is appointed Secretary of National Defense. | From the diary of Gen. Basilio Valdes, December 23, 1941. See the full entry here. | |
12/23/1941 | Clash in Northern Luzon | USAFFE forces fights artillery duel with Japanese Imperial Army troops around noon. The Japanese Imperial Army occupies town at 7:00 p.m. USAFFE troops are driven out by the Japanese Imperial Army that night. | |
12/23/1941 | < |