 Complete the following phrase:  During World War II, the Lingayen Gulf proved a strategically important theatre of war between American and Japanese forces. On 22 December 1941, the Japanese 14th Army under Lieutet General Masaharu Homma landed on the Eastern part of the gulf at San Ferdo City, Bauang, Santiago, Caba, Aringay, Agoo, and Santo Tomas, where they engaged in a number of relatively minor skirmishes with the defenders, which consisted of a poorly equipped contingent of predomitly Filipino and American troops, and managed to successfully invade and occupy the gulf. Following the defeat, the next day General MacArthur issued the order to retreat from Luzon and withdraw to Bataan. For the next three years, the gulf remained under Japanese occupation prior to the 