So I was doing some reading on the Bataan Death March and I have to say I feel bad for the Japanese. They were basically told to accommodate anywhere from 60k-80k prisoners and anywhere from 60k-50k of their own troops in a very short notice after a very decisive bloody battle. Like any action they could have taken there would have looked bad. IF they let go of the US-Flip troops they'd be dumbasses for letting 60k-80k enemy troops go. If they just executed them they'd be seen as monsters to the world stage. Or if they did what actually happened, which is attempt to do the march, while trying to feed themselves and take care of the prisoners they'd be the target of propaganda pieces disingenuously portraying them as ruthless monsters who love to torture their opponents.

Honestly if I was General Homma I would have just executed as many of the prisoners as possible on the spot while putting weapons on their bodies afterwards to make it seem they went down fighting. Yeah armchair general decision, but still like, this is just an awful situation to be placed in and I'm genuinely shocked he stuck to the rules this badly and was still shat on by western propaganda as a ruthless tyrant. IT's incredibly sad he was also killed for a "crime" he had no way of undoing, or getting himself out of as well. Like what the fuck, it's war!