The Battle of Manila (1945)

In the early months of 1945, the Battle of Manila took place in the capital of the Philippines. This battle between the Japanese and Americans led to the second most devastated city affected by World War II. Although the battle only lasted one month, it ruined the city of Manila and resulted in the death of 100,000 Filipino civilians. Even though all these lives were lost, the battle ended the three years of Japanese military occupation in the Philippines.

On February 3, 1945, American forces were surrounding the outskirts of the capital. The American forces accounted for amounted in about 35,000 men. As the American forces surrounded the outskirts, Japanese General Yamashita ordered a withdrawal from the city, and during the process, destroyed bridges and spaces that could have helped advance American forces. Yamashita and his forces moved towards Luzon, where the final battle occurred.

Although Yamashita ordered his troops to retreat out of Manila, 10,000 Japanese marines, led by Vice Admiral Iwabuchi, disobeyed his orders and stayed in Manila. Since these Japanese troops remained in Manila, General MacArthur had no choice but to deploy artillery to destroy the Japanese held section of Manila. This upset the Japanese troops, who in turn took their frustration out on the civilians. These Japanese troops brutally executed women, children, and men in Manila, all while defending against American troops. The death toll rose up to an estimated 100,000 civilians. This was known as the Manila Massacre.

The Intramuros, a fortress-like structure area protected by high walls located in along the southern bank of the Pasig River, played a key role in the Japanese defense in Manila. This is where 4,000 civilians were held hostage between February 23 and February 28. The American troops used artillery to fight against the Japanese and to save the civilians. The high walls, stone ramparts, underground edifices all provided an excellent source of protection against it. In the end, less than 3,000 civilians escaped. The Japanese soldiers killed the other 1,000 civilians, and a few hostages died during the American fighting. Finally, on March 3^rd, the last of the Japanese resistance was destroyed by heavy artillery.

On March 4^th, the Intramuros was finally secured, which meant that Manila was officially liberated from the Japanese occupation. Although this was a moment to celebrate, the city of Manila was destroyed and the battle resulted in 1,010 US soldiers dead and 5,565 soldiers wounded. Although it lasted only a month, the Battle of Manila is remembered as the worst urban fighting and Manila was the second most devastated city in World War II.

By: N.N.

Sources: Connaughton, R. "Battle for Manila" 2002. Random House Publishing.

Sandler, S. "World War II in the Pacific: An Encyclopedia" 2000.