On January 9, 1945, American forces led by General Douglas MacArthur invaded Luzon. A few months earlier, Japan had issued a "kill-all" order. Any camp that was in danger of being taken by American forces was to kill all the prisoners. The prisoners at Cabanatuan were not aware of the danger they were in. But MacArthur had become aware of the order. The Japanese had executed all but 11 of 150 prisoners at a POW camp on Palawan, in the Philippines. The 11 managed to escape the massacre by hiding. MacArthur did not want this happening at Cabanatuan. As the Americans came to within from the camp, the prisoners were now in immediate danger. A plan to rescue the prisoners was hastily put together.