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Battle of Manila (1945)
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Battle of Manila (1945)
The Battle of Manila (Filipino: Labanan sa Maynila; Japanese: マニラの戦い, romanized: Manira no Tatakai; Spanish: Batalla de Manila; 3 February – 3 March 1945) was a major battle during the Philippine campaign of 1944–45, during the Second World War. It was fought by forces from both the United States and the Philippines against Japanese troops in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. The month-long battle, which resulted in the death of at least 100,000 civilians and the complete devastation of the city, was the scene of the worst urban fighting fought by American forces in the Pacific theater. During the battle, Japanese forces committed mass murder against Filipino civilians, while American firepower also killed many people. The fierce resistance of Japanese troops entrenched in many of the city's landmarks, along with the usage of massed artillery barrages by American forces to dislodge them, destroyed much of Manila's architectural and cultural heritage dating back to the city's founding. Often referred to as "the Stalingrad of Asia", the battle is widely considered to be one of the most destructive urban battles ever fought, as well as the single largest urban battle ever fought by American forces.
The battle caused Manila to become one of the most devastated capital cities of the Second World War, alongside Berlin and Warsaw. The Allied victory contributed greatly to ending almost three years of Japanese military occupation in the Philippines (1942–1945). Manila's capture was seen as General Douglas MacArthur's key to victory in the campaign to liberate the islands, although heavy fighting would continue on in Luzon (and elsewhere in the Philippines) until the end of the war in August 1945. It is, to date, the last battle fought within Manila.
On 9 January 1945, the Sixth U.S. Army under Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger made an amphibious landing at Lingayen Gulf and began a rapid drive south as part of the Battle of Luzon. On 12 January, MacArthur ordered Krueger to advance swiftly to Manila. The 37th Infantry Division, under the command of Major Gen. Robert S. Beightler, spearheaded the American push south.
After landing at San Fabian on 27 January, the 1st Cavalry Division, under the command of Major Gen. Verne D. Mudge, received orders from MacArthur to "Get to Manila! Free the internees at Santo Tomas. Take Malacanang Palace and the Legislative Building."
On 31 January, the Eighth United States Army of Lt. Gen. Robert L. Eichelberger, including the 187th and 188th Glider Infantry Regiments of Col. Robert H. Soule and components of the U.S. 11th Airborne Division under Maj. Gen. Joseph Swing, landed unopposed at Nasugbu in southern Luzon and began moving north toward Manila. Meanwhile, the 11th A/B Division's 511th Regimental Combat Team, commanded by Col. Orin D. "Hard Rock" Haugen, parachuted onto Tagaytay Ridge on 4 February. On 10 February, the 11th Airborne Division came under the command of the Sixth Army, and seized Fort William McKinley on 17 February
Swing was joined by the Hunters ROTC Filipino guerrillas, under the command of Lt. Col. Emmanuel V. de Ocampo, and by 5 February, his forces were on the outskirts of Manila.
As the Americans converged on Manila from different directions, they discovered that most of the Imperial Japanese Army troops defending the city had been withdrawn to Baguio on the orders of General Tomoyuki Yamashita, commander in chief of Japanese Army forces in the Philippines. Yamashita had planned to engage Filipino and U.S. forces in northern Luzon in a coordinated campaign of attrition, with the goal of buying time for defenses against an Allied invasion to be constructed on the Japanese home islands. He had three main force groupings under his command: 80,000 men of the "Shimbu Group" in the mountains east of Manila, 30,000 of the "Kembu Group" in the hills north of Manila, and 152,000 of the "Shobu Group" in northeastern Luzon.
Yamashita decided not to declare Manila an open city, as General Douglas MacArthur had done before its capture by Japanese forces in 1941. This was based on concerns that doing so would tarnish the "fighting spirit" of the Japanese military, not because Yamashita intended to seriously defend the city; he did not think that he could feed the city's one million residents, and doubted his forces' ability to defend a large area with vast tracts of flammable wooden buildings. While not planning to fight over Manila itself, Yamashita did order the commander of "Shimbu Group", Gen. Shizuo Yokoyama, to destroy all bridges and other vital installations in the area and then evacuate his men from the city as soon as American troops arrived in force.
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Battle of Manila (1945)
The Battle of Manila (Filipino: Labanan sa Maynila; Japanese: マニラの戦い, romanized: Manira no Tatakai; Spanish: Batalla de Manila; 3 February – 3 March 1945) was a major battle during the Philippine campaign of 1944–45, during the Second World War. It was fought by forces from both the United States and the Philippines against Japanese troops in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. The month-long battle, which resulted in the death of at least 100,000 civilians and the complete devastation of the city, was the scene of the worst urban fighting fought by American forces in the Pacific theater. During the battle, Japanese forces committed mass murder against Filipino civilians, while American firepower also killed many people. The fierce resistance of Japanese troops entrenched in many of the city's landmarks, along with the usage of massed artillery barrages by American forces to dislodge them, destroyed much of Manila's architectural and cultural heritage dating back to the city's founding. Often referred to as "the Stalingrad of Asia", the battle is widely considered to be one of the most destructive urban battles ever fought, as well as the single largest urban battle ever fought by American forces.
The battle caused Manila to become one of the most devastated capital cities of the Second World War, alongside Berlin and Warsaw. The Allied victory contributed greatly to ending almost three years of Japanese military occupation in the Philippines (1942–1945). Manila's capture was seen as General Douglas MacArthur's key to victory in the campaign to liberate the islands, although heavy fighting would continue on in Luzon (and elsewhere in the Philippines) until the end of the war in August 1945. It is, to date, the last battle fought within Manila.
On 9 January 1945, the Sixth U.S. Army under Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger made an amphibious landing at Lingayen Gulf and began a rapid drive south as part of the Battle of Luzon. On 12 January, MacArthur ordered Krueger to advance swiftly to Manila. The 37th Infantry Division, under the command of Major Gen. Robert S. Beightler, spearheaded the American push south.
After landing at San Fabian on 27 January, the 1st Cavalry Division, under the command of Major Gen. Verne D. Mudge, received orders from MacArthur to "Get to Manila! Free the internees at Santo Tomas. Take Malacanang Palace and the Legislative Building."
On 31 January, the Eighth United States Army of Lt. Gen. Robert L. Eichelberger, including the 187th and 188th Glider Infantry Regiments of Col. Robert H. Soule and components of the U.S. 11th Airborne Division under Maj. Gen. Joseph Swing, landed unopposed at Nasugbu in southern Luzon and began moving north toward Manila. Meanwhile, the 11th A/B Division's 511th Regimental Combat Team, commanded by Col. Orin D. "Hard Rock" Haugen, parachuted onto Tagaytay Ridge on 4 February. On 10 February, the 11th Airborne Division came under the command of the Sixth Army, and seized Fort William McKinley on 17 February
Swing was joined by the Hunters ROTC Filipino guerrillas, under the command of Lt. Col. Emmanuel V. de Ocampo, and by 5 February, his forces were on the outskirts of Manila.
As the Americans converged on Manila from different directions, they discovered that most of the Imperial Japanese Army troops defending the city had been withdrawn to Baguio on the orders of General Tomoyuki Yamashita, commander in chief of Japanese Army forces in the Philippines. Yamashita had planned to engage Filipino and U.S. forces in northern Luzon in a coordinated campaign of attrition, with the goal of buying time for defenses against an Allied invasion to be constructed on the Japanese home islands. He had three main force groupings under his command: 80,000 men of the "Shimbu Group" in the mountains east of Manila, 30,000 of the "Kembu Group" in the hills north of Manila, and 152,000 of the "Shobu Group" in northeastern Luzon.
Yamashita decided not to declare Manila an open city, as General Douglas MacArthur had done before its capture by Japanese forces in 1941. This was based on concerns that doing so would tarnish the "fighting spirit" of the Japanese military, not because Yamashita intended to seriously defend the city; he did not think that he could feed the city's one million residents, and doubted his forces' ability to defend a large area with vast tracts of flammable wooden buildings. While not planning to fight over Manila itself, Yamashita did order the commander of "Shimbu Group", Gen. Shizuo Yokoyama, to destroy all bridges and other vital installations in the area and then evacuate his men from the city as soon as American troops arrived in force.
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