PHG Blog

Although Subic is smaller than Manila Bay, this has been an important waterway for the Philippine Islands for hundreds of years. Unsurprisingly, there are many shipwrecks here, stretching back to the Spanish Colonial period. Four of these caught my attention, and I was able to locate them and add them to the Pacific History Guide Google Maps list. The history of these ships match not just the history of the Second World War in the Philippines but Pacific History more generall

The effect of the atomic bombs, the collapse of Manchuria, and the general devastation on the Japanese mainland from constant Allied air raids all informed the decision to end the war. The following day, 10 August, the Konoe government informed the Allies that it would accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration.

Last year I presented an analysis of the Battle of Leyte Gulf for WW2TV, speficially from the perspective of Admiral Kurita Takeo. This is my favorite story of the Second World War, and Kurita is my favorite Japanese admiral to talk about.

On 27 August 1944, Stingray made a secret drop near here of 15 Filipino guerrillas (trained in Brisbane by the Allies) and six tons of supplies.

The American reconquest of the Philippines ended only after the Japanese surrendered on 15 August of that year; the strategy of fighting a delaying retreat action across the entirety of Luzon resulted in an estimated 8,500 American, Filipino and Mexican deaths and an astonishing 192,000 Japanese killed.

Here at Pacific History Guide, we are always looking for new and interesting ways to improve, and get folks connected to history, where they are. If you've used the Guide to find some historical monument or site, or have thought of better ways to reach people, let us know! Our inbox is always open.

Greetings Pacific History guide fans! This week we're marking the 81st anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, which reached its climax on this day with the Battles of Surigao Strait, Samar, and Cape Engano. Taken as a whole, the battle is a complex, multi-faceted series of events that reaches from Brunei to the Philippine Sea, from the tip of Luzon right down to the Sulu Sea. Described as the largest sea battle in history, the Battle for Leyte Gulf featured the first U.S. a

I've recently done some reading on the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in the Philippines over at the Asia Maritime...