Remembering The Battle in Manila

On October 20 Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the confederate commander in the Far East, invaded the eastern Philippines in the biggest contribute and sea assault of the Pacific War with nearly 200,000 work force and 700 ships.

MacArthur, who had vowed "I shall return" when he abandoned the Philippines for Australia more than ii years earlier, waded ashore twice, the second time for the benefit of the newsreels to advertise the people of the Philippines in a radio broadcast that he had kept his promise.

At the same time the US navy with her allies took on what was left of the Imperial Nipponese dark blue in the biggest sea battle in history, the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

For MacArthur it was a race against time to Manila and Luzon where thousands of American soldiers had been interned since the surrender of US and Filipino soldiers in May 1942.

University of the Philippines historian Ricardo Jose give tongue to the Americans surprised the Japanese when they contended the metropolis from the north on February 3, 1945.

"The Japanese destroyed all six bridges that crossed the Pasig River which divides the city north and south and began torching the Chinese quarter and the old stemma district of Escolta," he tell.

"Basically the city had to be interpreted building by building, street by street. It was ease up to hand in some quarters, tank and artillery bombardment in others. "What made the fighting difficult for the Americans was the fact that many of the study buildings were connected by tunnel

s. So when the Americans thought they had cleared one building and moved on to the next the Japanese would pop up again and attack them from the rear."

Augusto Dariana of the National Historical Institute said much of the knock for what happened in Manila was placed on Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, commander of the Japanese forces in the Philippines.

After 28 days, on March 3, the run Japanese resistance collapsed. Figures as to the military casualties vary hugely with estimates as high as a total of 22,000 dead.

"He left strict orders that the city be spared and for all troops to leave Manila saying it could not be defended.

Yamashita was execute in February 1946 following a trial in which he was accused of "violating the laws of war for failing to control his troops."

"Women were raped and slit with bayonets from groin to throat and left to bleed to death in the hot sun.

He said Filipinos were often mistaken for Japanese and were shot by American troops or strafed and bombed by their pilots.

Much of the damage was caused by the US bombardment, Jose Maria Bonifacio Escoda said in his book Warsaw of Asia: The Rape of Manila.

"The real slay of Manila was Adm. Sanji Iwabuchi of the Imperial Japanese Manila Naval defense team Force who disobeyed Yamashita's orders and decided to fight to the bitter end. He was killed in the battle."

"Not all buildings were destr
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