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Glite Dictionary
Battle of Bataan

Battle of Bataan

8.3
A World War II battle where Japanese forces defeated American and Filipino troops on the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines
  • proper noun
  • /ˈbætəl əv bəˈtæn/
translation icon : Batalla de Bataan
  • During World War II, the Battle of Bataan was a crucial engagement where American and Filipino troops fought valiantly against Japanese forces.

Examples

  • Surrounded by Japanese troops, the soldiers fought until their surrender during the Battle of Bataan in 1942.

  • The Battle of Bataan marked a significant turning point in the Philippine campaign during World War II.

  • MacArthur's at the battle of Bataan facing fully armed Japanese forces.

    Fiction book (2000)

Surface Forms

Battle of Bataan main

Morphology

battle + of + Bataan

The construction 'battle of [place]' is compositionally transparent: 'battle' (a large armed fight) + 'of' + 'Bataan' (a place) clearly denotes a military engagement that took place at Bataan. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words will understand it refers to a specific battle at that location, even if they lack detailed historical knowledge of the event.

Etymology

Battle of Bataan is named after the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines, where American and Filipino soldiers were surrounded and fought a long, hard battle in 1942. Because the fighting and the many losses were so severe, the name now reminds people of a desperate early World War II 'defeat'.