Barvenkovo Salient was released by German bombs The gas had been brought to Italy to be used in retaliation should Germans use gas weapons first In addition to killing sailors and townsfolk, many rescuers were affected who rushed into the area unaware that they were dealing with lethal chemicals Others died in hospital from the wrong treatment, again because the presence of mustard gas in Bari was a close secret In 1988 the British government admitted the presence of poison gas at Bari and paid compensation to survivors See also chemical weapons BARRAGE See artillery; balloons; creeping barrage; fire plan; murder; rolling barrage; serenade; standing barrage; stonk; time on target BARRAGE BALLOONS See balloons BARVENKOVO SALIENT Soviet term for what was known to Germans as the “Izium pocket.” This was a 60-mile-wide Red Army bulge into the German lines some 80 miles below Kharkov, near the Donets River Along with the Toropets step, it was formed during an otherwise failed set of winter offensives overseen by Marshal Semyon Timoshenko in January–April 1942 See also FRIDERICUS; Izium-Barvenkovo operation; Kharkov BASTOGNE See Ardennes offensive BATAAN DEATH MARCH (APRIL 1942) The last significant, organized Filipino and U.S forces resisting the Japanese in the first Philippines campaign (1941– 1942) were hemmed into the Bataan peninsula and the island fortress of Corregidor The “battling bastards of Bataan, no mama, no papa, no Uncle Sam,” were indeed bereft of hope of reinforcement and ran out of food, medicine, and ammunition They surrendered to the Japanese on April The better-supplied fortress of Corregidor held out until May 6, and only fell upon being stormed Some 78,000 captives from Bataan were marched 65 miles up the peninsula over a 12-day period, to improvised prisoner of war camps Nearly 10,650 died of wounds, illness, or were murdered along the way by Japanese guards Most victims were Filipinos, but over 1,000 Americans also died Wounded and sick stragglers were shot, bayoneted, or beheaded by callous victors who despised any enemy who chose surrender Others died from heat, dehydration, dysentery, or some untreated tropical disease Another 17,600 prisoners died within a few weeks of arrival in the dreadful camps, most from maltreatment and malign neglect that aggravated their poor physical condition after months of starvation-level subsistence on Bataan Others were simply murdered All were routinely beaten This cruel tale was widely disseminated in 144