Battle Of Manila

Facts, information and articles about the Battle Of Manila, a battle of World War II

Battle Of Manila summary: The Battle of Manila is known to be the fiercest and first urban fighting in the region. Very few battles during the last few months of WWII are known to have exceeded the brutality and destruction in Manila.

The American forces arrived in Manila from several different directions. By 1941, Manila had been declared an open city by General Douglas MacArthur. Though the Japanese had not intended to put a lot of resources in defending Manila, rear admiral Sanji was given the assignment to defend the city to the last man.

General MacArthur anticipated that the city of Manila would be recaptured. In fact, the announcement came on February 4th. By then, his staff had even planned the victory parade. This was right at the beginning of the battle. The battle itself took close to a month and it soon became almost a house to house struggle. Though General MacArthur wanted to protect Manila and the civilians living in the city, the massive devastation of the battle still could not be avoided. The Japanese who had been able to hold off the American infantrymen became overwhelmed with fire from attack destroyers, tanks and howitzers.

The attack from the Americans left the Japanese troops facing capture or certain death. In their anger, the Japanese troops would retaliate against civilians which were the victims of some of the most severe brutality. These acts of brutality are now known as the Manila Massacre. Some of the acts which the civilian population suffered included rapes, massacres and violent mutilations. After the war, Japanese General Yamashita received the blame for the Manila Massacre and was eventually hung for war crimes.

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