Professor Greg Jackson

That peninsula is called Bataan, or again, as we often pronounce it in the States, Bataan.

With the dawn of 1942, the defense of the Bataan Peninsula begins.

General Skinny Wainwright's roughly 22,500-strong 1st Philippine Corps and General George Parker's 25,000-strong 2nd Philippine Corps take up defensive positions along the Abukai Ma'uban Line, usually shortened to just Abukai Line.

This 20-mile front stretches across the northern neck of the Bataan Peninsula, where it opens to the rest of Luzon.

Meanwhile, Japanese General Honma assigns General Nada Akira's 65th Brigade to clear out what he believes to be the demoralized and defeated remnant of the Allied Army.

Well, that might not be quite as easy as it seems.

It's early in the morning, January 16, 1942.

We're near the coastal town of Morong, where Lieutenant Edwin Ramsey is leading a small mixed force of American and Filipino men, E Troop of the 26th Cavalry, as they ride through the dense jungle vegetation.

They're here as advanced scouts.

Word came in at about 0300 that Japanese soldiers are nearing this town toward the top of the Bataan Peninsula.

And given its position next to the Batalan River, General Skinny Wainwright wants to make sure they don't lose control of Mawang, or this precious waterway that serves as a natural defense barrier.

That's why Ed is here, on this trail, so well known both to him and his trusty chestnut brown steed, called Bryn Arwen.

Approaching the town, Ed's men ride in columns of eight, their pistols cocked and ready.

Point riders silently move toward this settlement of thatched huts.

It's completely deserted.

No people, no livestock.

Just huts perched on bamboo stilts, surrounded by coconut palms gently whispering in the wind.

With no visible enemy forces, the cavalrymen push forward into Morong.

with their horses' heads in line with the roofs of the huts.

Ed and his troops maneuver through eerily empty dirt paths.