MY GALLERY OF HISTORY

Field Marshal Count Hisaichi Terauchi (pictured above) led the successful Japanese conquest of Southeast Asia and was briefly considered as a replacement for Tojo as prime minister. Terauchi was promoted to Commander-In-Chief of the 680,000 Japanese troops in the Philippines following the action inSoutheast Asia. General Yamashita disagreed with Terauchi on the wisdom of an all-out defense of Leyte, but Terauchi insisted on fighting a decisive battle on the island. This ended in an Allied victory and weakened the defense of Luzon, making possible MacArthur's successful landing there. On April 10, 1945, under great stress from the fall of the Philippines and Mandalay, Terauchi suffered a stroke. He personally surrendered to Lord Mountbatten on November 30, 1945 and died of another stroke while in a prisoner-of-war camp in Malaya after the end of the war. U.S. Forces under General MacArthur successfully landed in the Philippines at Leyte on October 19. While it was not known to the American prisoners of the Japanese, the daily sightings of American aircraft led them to believe that their deliverance was not far off. MacArthur signed this directive to Field Marshal Terauchi warning him that his military command would be held responsible for the abuse of prisoners, internees, and noncombatants. The directive incorporates phrase such as dignity, honor and protection provided by the rules and customs of war and violation of the most sacred code of martial honor. These leaflets, with a facsimile of MacArthur's signature, were dropped by air on enemy positions throughout the Philippines on November 25, 1944. This is an original copy of the leaflet. A large poster-size version of this, nailed to palm trees throughout the Philippines, was donated by this collector to the MacArthur Memorial Library in Norfolk, Virginia.