Battle of Manila (1945)

The Pittsburgh Press (February 25, 1945)

Manila Japs wiped out in walled city

Annihilation complete, MacArthur says

LUZON, Philippines (UP) – U.S. troops have completed annihilation of the trapped Jap garrison in South Manila and more than 12,000 enemy bodies have been counted so far, Gen. Douglas MacArthur announced today.

Gen. MacArthur announced, 22 days after his troops first entered Manila, that Maj. Gen. Robert S. Beightler’s 37th Infantry Division and Maj. Gen. Verne D. Mudge’s 1st Cavalry Division had overwhelmed the final enemy positions in the Intramuros, the ancient walled section of the city.

3,000 civilians freed

They released 3,000 civilians whom “the incorrigible enemy” had caught and penned in Intramuros and who had suffered “unbelievable indignities and dangers,” Gen. MacArthur said.

His communiqué added:

This operation and the tremendous and disproportionate losses in men and material sustained during the progress of our advance through Luzon, following the catastrophic defeat in Leyte, dooms Gen. Yamashita’s Philippine campaign and presages the early clearance of the entire archipelago.

Heavy toll on Corregidor

U.S. troops are also levying a mounting toll of the trapped and desperate Jap garrison of Corregidor.

Known enemy dead there total 2,309, Gen. MacArthur’s communiqué said. It is believed several thousand others have been destroyed in Corregidor’s labyrinth of rocky corridors by the blasting and closing of some 132 tunnels.

East and north of Manila, U.S. infantry have scored gains of up to 10 miles against Jap troops drawing into the mountains.

The Pittsburgh Press (February 26, 1945)

Trapped Japs inside Manila spurn surrender ultimatum

Yanks launch annihilation drive against enemy remnants in 3 government buildings

MANILA, Philippines (UP) – Trapped Jap bodies in Manila ignored a surrender ultimatum today.

U.S. troops immediately began an annihilation drive against the enemy remnants holding out in three government buildings.

The final assault on the last enemy pocket in the capital came as other U.S. forces pushed into the foothills of the Sierra Madres Mountains east of Manila in an attack on the 25-mile-long Kobayashi Line.

An estimated 1,000 fanatical Japs, believed commanded by Rear Adm. Iwabuchi, were lodged in the three buildings and faced certain doom.

Yanks guns open up

They had been given three choices in the ultimatum – suicide, a fight to death, or honorable surrender. Their only reply was sniper fire while the edict was being read over a loudspeaker.

When the deadline passed at daybreak, American guns opened fire and the troops prepared for an assault on the buildings to clean out the last resistance in Manila.

With the city virtually clear, other U.S. troops resumed their drive toward Luzon’s eastern coast with an offensive against the Kobayashi Line.

Near Los Banos

Units of the 1st Cavalry and 6th Infantry Divisions were attacking the Jap line from Taytay, two miles north of Laguna de Bay lakes to Norzagaray, 19 miles northeast of Manila.

At the same time, the 11th Airborne Division continued its rapid drive southward along the west coast of Laguna de Bay lakes and crossed the Juan River,15 miles below Muntinlupa. The thrust brought the airborne units within five miles of Los Banos, where another sensational liberation of Allied internees was carried out Friday.

A communiqué disclosed that the 33rd Infantry Division had joined the Luzon forces and was fighting in the hills north of Rosario, nine miles above San Fabian on the Lingayen Gulf.

Scattered Jap remnants continued to fight back on Corregidor as the Americans pushed down the tail of the salamander-shaped island.

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Address by Gen. MacArthur on Reestablishment of Philippine Government
February 27, 1945

More than three years have elapsed – years of bitterness, struggle, and sacrifice – since I withdrew our forces and installations from this beautiful city that over and under fire, its churches, monuments, and cultural centers might, in accordance with the rules of warfare, be spared the violence of military ravage. The enemy would not have it so. And much that I sought to preserve has been unnecessarily destroyed by his desperate action at bay. By these actions he has wantonly fixed the future pattern of his own doom. Then we were but a small force struggling to stem the advance of overwhelming hordes treacherously hurled against us behind the masks of professed friendship and international good will. That struggle was not in vain. God has indeed blessed our arms.

The girded and unleashed power of America supported by our Allies turned the tide of battle in the Pacific and resulted in an unbroken series of crushing defeats upon the enemy, culminating in the redemption of your soil and the liberation of your people.

My country has kept the faith. Its soldiers come here as an army of free men dedicated with your people to the cause of human liberty, and committed to the task of destroying those evil forces that have fought to suppress it by brutality of the sword.

An army of free men has brought your people once again under democracy’s banner to rededicate their churches, long desecrated, to the glory of God and public worship; to reopen their schools to liberal education; to till the soil and reap its harvest without fear of confiscation; to reestablish their industries that they may again enjoy the profit from their sweat and enjoy their homes unafraid of violent intrusion.

Thus, to millions of your now-liberated people comes the opportunity to pledge themselves, their hearts, their minds, and their hands to the task of building a new and stronger nation, a nation consecrated in the blood nobly shed that this might be a nation dedicated to making imperishable those sacred liberties for which we have fought and for which many have died.

On behalf of my government, I now solemnly declare, Mr. President, the full powers and responsibilities under the Constitution restored to the Commonwealth, whose seat is here reestablished as provided by law. Your country is once again at liberty to pursue its destiny to an honored position in the family of free nations. Your capital city, severely punished though it be, has regained its rightful place as a symbol of democracy.

Address by Philippines President Osmena on Reestablishment of Philippine Government
February 27, 1945

This is an historic event in an historic city. From the time our Malay ancestors founded it more than eight centuries ago, colonial powers have fought for its conquest and domination. The Spaniards, the Dutch, the English, a Chinese pirate, our revolutionary fathers, have all vied with each other and shed blood for its possession; because its conquest has always meant the ultimate control of the entire archipelago. But today’s event is different from any of the previous conquests and victories. The present victory of American arms is not a victory for power, control or domination, but a victory for freedom, democracy and independence.

In sharing with you today the exultation over the triumph of American arms, let us bow our heads in reverent memory of our sacred dead and the dead of our Allies, whose lives are the forfeit that these, our liberties, might be restored. We mourn the destruction of our once-beautiful capital city of Manila and the murder of thousands of innocent people by the Japanese vandals, but this latest dastardly act of a savage enemy which has aroused the conscience of an outraged world should steel us to the firm resolve to continue the fight with every ounce of our strength until he shall have been completely vanquished.

To President Roosevelt who, in our grim days in Corregidor and Bataan, solemnly pledged to us in the name of the American people, the men and resources of the United States for our liberation, this day must be also a day of happiness over a pledge fulfilled. We shall be forever grateful to him and to the American people.

To Gen. MacArthur, this campaign has been a crusade. Friend and defender of our race, he never lost faith in the spiritual strength of our people. In this crusade, he is finishing the noble work begun by his illustrious father, Gen. Arthur MacArthur who, on August 13, 1898, successfully led another American Army to free Manila from a European power. Gen. Douglas MacArthur will go down in history not only for his signal military successes but also for consistently following truly democratic methods in dealing with Philippine civil affairs in areas retaken from the enemy. Instead of taking advantage of military operations to maintain military government over territories already recaptured, he has been faithful in his role as liberator in the truest American tradition. Thus, forty-eight hours after the occupation of Tacloban by the American forces, he turned over the functions of government to our Commonwealth. And now, in this City of Manila, he is following the same procedure.

To all the gallant members of the United States Forces, I bespeak the immeasurable indebtedness, the highest admiration, and the eternal gratitude of our people for their victorious accomplishments. They have come as brothers-in-arms enlisted in and dedicated to the sacred cause of restoring our liberties.

The time has come when the world should know that when our forces surrender in Bataan and Corregidor, resistance to the enemy was taken up by the people itself – resistance which was inarticulate and disorganized at its inception but which grew from day to day and from island to island, until it broke out into an open warfare against the enemy.

The fight against the enemy was truly a people’s war because it counted with the wholehearted support of the masses. From the humble peasant to the barrio school teacher, from the volunteer guard to the women’s auxiliary service units, from the loyal local official to the barrio folk – each and every one of these contributed his share in the great crusade for liberation.

The guerrillas knew that without the support of the civilian population, they could not survive. Whole towns and villages dared enemy reprisal to oppose the hated invader openly or give assistance to the underground movement. It is thus that the Filipino people drew the ire of the Japanese who has never followed the rules of civilized warfare. And now his conduct towards the civilian population has become more cruel and brutal, embittered as he is by his failure to enlist the support of the people. For this reason, it is imperative that the war against him be prosecuted all over the country relentlessly and with dispatch in order that the people’s agony may not be prolonged and precious human life may be salvaged.

As I take over the civil functions of the Commonwealth government in our country, I cannot but pause in all humility, for guidance and inspiration before the figures of Jose Rizal for his patriotism, Andres Bonifacio for his indomitable courage, Apolinario Mabini for his farsighted statesmanship, and Manuel L. Quezon for his devotion to the cause of independence.

That no time may be lost in the complete restoration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the executive and judicial branches will be reestablished with utmost vigor and dispatch and I now call upon all the duly elected members of our Congress who have remained steadfast in their allegiance to our government during the period of enemy occupation, to be in readiness to meet in Manila as soon as conditions permit for the reestablishment of the Legislative branch.

I am fully cognizant that problems of great national significance must be faced immediately. The reestablishment of law and order in areas already liberated, the reopening of schools, the reorganization of the government, both national and local, are among the complicated problems that have arisen as a consequence of enemy occupation. Foremost among these problems is that of relief and rehabilitation, the urgency of which cannot be overemphasized.

This war has not only caused untold misery and suffering to the individual; it has also brought about wanton destruction, economic dislocation and financial bankruptcy to the nation at large. Farms and industries have to be rehabilitated; banks and credit institutions have to be reopened; roads and bridges have to be repaired; schools and hospitals have to be rebuilt; destroyed and damaged properties, both public and private, have either to be rehabilitated or indemnified. The legitimate claim of the common laborer and of the small farmer who has lost his only work animal and nipa hut must be given preferential attention.

So that these manifold problems may be faced with promptness and energy, I shall enlist the assistance of all those possessing not only proven ability and loyalty but also the confidence and trust of the people. In Leyte, as a recognition of the guerrillas who so valiantly fought the Japanese, I appointed Col. Ruperto Kangleon as the Acting Governor of that province. Today I have the pleasure to announce that, as a tribute to the civilian elements of our country who resisted the enemy with courage and fortitude, I have chosen Gov. Tomas Confesor as the ranking member of my Cabinet, appointing him Secretary of the Interior, and in charge of the reorganization of the City of Manila.

Our independence is a settled question. Our five decades of consistent struggles, in peace and war, have come to a definite, successful end. Our government, when in exile, was considered as possessing the attributes of an independent nation. It is a member of the United Nations. We have President Roosevelt’s word that when normal conditions have returned, law and order reestablished, and democratic processes restored, our request for the advancement of the date of independence will be granted. I hope this can be accomplished on August 13, 1945, the 47th anniversary of the landing of the American forces in Manila. Thus, Occupation Day will become Philippine Independence Day.

The gravity of our new problems demands the collective effort of all the people. The government cannot undertake to solve them alone. It needs the support of the people a united people. More than ever before, now that the rapid advance of our forces is widening its field of action, the government needs a united popular support to enable it to undertake successfully its tremendous tasks. Not by dissension and bickerings, not by resort to violence and lawlessness can we serve the national interest. It would be tragic indeed if at this last state of our crucial struggle for nationhood, we should fall apart and be divided against ourselves. We have had enough misfortunes and sufferings in this war; we cannot bear any more. To plunge ourselves into the abyss of disunion would be suicidal.

As the head of your duly constituted government, I therefore appeal to you, my people, to remain united. I urge you to forget petty political differences, to bury the hatreds and animosities engendered by the struggle, to obey the rule of law, justice and reason, and to remember that we all belong to one common country, our beloved Philippines. United we will continue assisting effectively in the successful prosecution of the war and in the rehabilitation of our country. United we can speedily achieve the full restoration of the constitutional processes of our government, disrupted by the enemy. United and in close cooperation with the United States, we can win for ourselves and our children all the blessings of democracy, freedom and security for which we have sacrificed so much in this titanic struggle against the brutal forces of tyranny and oppression.

The Pittsburgh Press (February 27, 1945)

MacArthur returns control to Philippines government

President Osmena appeals to legislators to reestablish Congress in Manila

MANILA, Philippines (UP) – Gen. Douglas MacArthur restored civil administration of the Philippines to the Commonwealth government today.

He solemnly proclaimed, “My country has kept the faith.”

He thus fulfilled a pledge given to the Filipinos when he withdrew his troops from Manila three years ago.

Standing among the ruins of burned and sacked Manila, Gen. MacArthur reviewed those three years of “bitterness, struggle and sacrifice,” and vowed that “by these ashes” the enemy “has wantonly fixed the pattern of his own doom.”

Gen. MacArthur’s historic action, broadcast throughout the world over the voice of Freedom Radio, was hailed by a cheering throng of civil and military officials gathered in the liberated capital.

Praises MacArthur

President Sergio Osmena, in accepting restoration of the civil government, appealed to all duly-elected members of the Congress who “have remained steadfast to their allegiance” to return to Manila and reestablish the legislative branch.

“I ask all my people to help reestablish law and order for a formal return so that in 1945 our request for independence will be granted,” President Osmena said.

The Philippines President warmly praised the American general for fulfilling his vow “to return” and drew a loud burst of applause when he predicted that “Gen. Douglas MacArthur will go down in history.”

Gen. MacArthur had told the Filipinos that the long struggle through the three dark years of Jap occupation was “not in vain.”

He said:

God has indeed blessed our arms. The great unleashed power of America, supported by our Allies, turned the tide of battle in the Pacific and resulted in an unbroken string of crushing defeats upon the enemy – culminating in the redemption of your soil and the liberation of your people.

My country has kept the faith.

Army of free men

He said the American soldiers came here as an army of free men that brought “your people once again under democracy’s banner… to rededicate your churches, long desecrated, to the glory of God and public worship… to reopen their schools… to till the soils and reap its harvests… to reestablish their industries… and to restore the sanctity and happiness of their homes, unafraid of violent intrusion.”

Gen. MacArthur continued:

On behalf of my government, I now solemnly declare: Mr. President, the full powers and responsibilities under the Constitution are restored to the Commonwealth, whose seat is here, reestablished according to law.

Völkischer Beobachter (February 28, 1945)

Corregidor ein Vulkan

Tokio, 27. Februar – Die Felseninsel Corregidor, die der gewaltigen US-Landeflotte immer noch den Zugang zum Hafen von Manila verwehrt, ist nach wie vor die Szene heftigster Kämpfe.

In einem japanischen Frontbericht wird die kleine Insel von 5 Kilometer Umfang mit einem in Rauch und Flammen gehüllten feuerspeienden Berg verglichen. Obwohl die unterirdischen Verteidigungsanlagen von dem tagelangen ununterbrochenen Bombardement schwerer amerikanischer Schiffsgeschütze teilweise erheblich mitgenommen sind, ist es den Nordamerikanern bisher nicht gelungen, durch die schmale Wasserstraße in die Bucht von Manila einzudringen und von dort aus ihr Übergewicht an Menschen und Material in die Schlacht zu werfen. Die Kämpfe um Corregidor dauern an.

Die strategischen Stellungen der Japaner innerhalb der Stadt Manila, die von der Altstadt bis zu den südlichen Vorstädten Manilas reichen, sind in den letzten 24 Stunden erneut schwerem nordamerikanischem Artilleriebeschuss und heftigen Bombenangriffen ausgesetzt gewesen. Die japanischen Stellungen blieben jedoch intakt und die Japaner waren in der Lage, die anstürmenden Nordamerikaner aufzufangen und zurückzuwerfen. Sämtliche Gebäude der Universität von Manila sind einem Artillerieüberfall feindlicher Batterien zum Opfer gefallen.

What happened to the guy who “liberated” Philippines from the Americans and the troops under him?

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The Japanese? Or some of the old revolutionaries? Well, you’ll see…

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The Pittsburgh Press (February 28, 1945)

U.S. attack gains ground east of Manila

Japs’ Kobayashi Line breached in drive

MANILA, Philippines (UP) – Jap forces fell back along a 10-mile front in the Marakina watershed east of Manila today under the impact of two divisions of U.S. troops and swarms of bombers and fighters.

Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s mounting offensive also brought the complete destruction of Jap remnants on Verde Island, off the southern tip of Luzon; elimination of all but several hundred enemy stragglers on Corregidor, and heavy aerial blows on the Japs from Formosa to French Indochina.

A Jap Domei Agency dispatch said U.S. bombers had been taken to Clark Ficid on Luzon from Leyte, and apparently were operating from the big airdrome.

Capture peak

Units of the 6th Infantry Division paced the drive toward Luzon’s east coast and captured Mt. Mataba, 13 miles northeast of Manila, to knock a hole in the enemy’s Kobayashi Line.

The southern and western slopes of Mt. Pawagan were also secured by the 6th Division troops who drove to within two miles of the east-west Montalban-Wawa highway.

First Cavalry Division forces, however, encountered fierce enemy resistance at Antipolo, eight miles south of Mt. Mataba and 11 miles east of Manila.

Swarms of U.S. planes from fighters to heavy Liberator bombers supported the ground drive through the Marakina watershed.

Raid airfield

On the Northern Luzon front, 25th Division troops continue their drive northward toward the Cagayan Valley and captured Carranglan, 13 miles northeast of San Jose. Marine dive-bombers raided Echague Airfield in the valley.

Additional explosions rocked the Malinta tunnel on Corregidor and heavy smoke poured from the western entrance indicating the Japs were continuing their policy of self-extermination.

Liberator bombers dropped 60 tons of bombs on a chemical plant and fuel dumps at Takao, Formosa. Fighter-bombers raked the south coast of the island. Three coastal vessels were damaged in the nearby Pescadores Islands.

Raid Borneo

Four other coastal craft were destroyed or damaged between Haman and Amoy, on the China coast. Four seaplanes were destroyed and two enemy fighters shot down at Cam Ranh, French Indochina.

The big Liberators also raided Borneo, in the Dutch East Indies, dropping 100 tons of bombs on airfield installations near the oil center of Balikpapan.

Völkischer Beobachter (March 1, 1945)

Manila eingekreist

Tokio, 28. Februar – Die feindlichen Truppen auf den Philippinen haben die japanischen Truppen in Manila eingekreist, meldet die japanische Nachrichtenagentur Domei am Mittwochmorgen. Die Einschließungstruppen setzen sich aus Teilen der 1. Kavalleriedivision, der 22. Infanteriedivision und der 11. Luftlandedivision der US-Wehrmacht zusammen. Sie sind mit etwa 200 Panzern und schätzungsweise weise 150 Geschützen verschiedener Typen ausgerüstet.

Im Abschnitt der Lingayenbucht hat sich die Lage nicht besonders geändert, heißt es in dem gleichen Bericht weiter. Es habe aber den Anschein, dass die Amerikaner, die hier am Rizalsektor eingesetzte 6. Division abgezogen haben, um ihre Truppen in Manila angesichts der dortigen heftigen japanischen Gegenangriffe zu verstärken.

Schließlich meldet Domei eine neue amerikanische Landung auf Luzon in der Gegend von Los Banos an der Südküste der Lagunenbucht. Die Landung erfolgte mit etwa 100 Schiffen und führte zu harten Kämpfen zwischen den Invasionstruppen und den japanischen Verteidigern.

The Pittsburgh Press (March 1, 1945)

4,215 Jap dead on Corregidor

Manila Bay opened to Allied shipping

MANILA, Philippines (UP) – Virtually complete conquest of Corregidor opened Manila’s great bay today for Allied shipping and a steady stream of supplies to U.S. troops on Luzon.

A Tokyo broadcast, recorded by FCC, said that approximately 3,000 U.S. troops landed on Palawan Island, westernmost of the Philippines, Wednesday morning, Japanese Time.

The enemy report did not indicate where the invasion was made on Palawan, which stretches from Mindoro in the Philippines to Borneo in the Dutch East Indies. The 275-mile-long island is 750 miles due east of the French Indochina.

U.S. paratroopers and infantrymen practically annihilated the entire enemy garrison on Corregidor, killing Japs at a rate of more than 30-to-1.

Find 4,215 bodies

A communiqué said 4,215 Jap bodies have already been counted and many hundreds of others were killed or buried alive in Corregidor’s tunnels or died attempting to escape from the island. The American casualties were 136 killed, 531 wounded and eight missing in the 12-day battle.

While wrecked docks and shore facilities will prevent full-scale use of Manila’s port, the communiqué said one Allied cargo ship, loaded with supplies, already had entered the harbor.

U.S. troops, in the meantime, continues to fan out east of Manila and far to the north of the capital.

Fierce fighting broke out along the Kobayashi line, east of Manila, where the 1st Cavalry Division encountered severe Jap resistance at Antipolo.

Blast Palawan port

On the northern front, 32nd Division troops pushed north along the Villa Verde trail toward Balete Pass road, leading into the Cagayan Valley.

Other U.S. forces also continued their advance beyond Carranglan, 14 miles south of Balete Pass road and 80 miles north of Manila.

The communiqué disclosed that Boston and Thunderbolt dive bombers made a strong attack Monday on Puerto Princesa, principal port on Palawan Island in the Western Philippines.

Liberator bombers again raided rail installations on Formosa and enemy shipping off shore.

Seven Jap merchant ships were sunk or damaged by U.S. bombers in sweeps from Formosa to French Indochina.

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The Pittsburgh Press (March 4, 1945)

Book’s happy ending hits Page One with capture of Manila by Yanks

Open City story of tortured people
By John D. Paulus

It isn’t often that a novel has a happy ending that makes Page One in every paper of the land.

One such book is Shelley Mydans’ novel, The Open City, a story of the internees at Santo Tomas University compound in Manila. The happy ending was the recent capture of Manila by MacArthur and the release of the 3,000 men, women and children from the hands of the Japanese.

In Open City, Mrs. Mydans has fashioned a novel that burns in your temples, a book that makes you wonder how Americans could have let these things be. From her eight months’ stay in the Santo Tomas camp, Mrs. Mydans has built a story that should become a monument to the people who lived there through the torture and despair that only defeat can bring.

Blended story

This novel is partly a report on prison life under the Japanese and partly a study of what happens to people when they have been isolated from their own civilization and left to govern themselves with their own meager resources.

Mrs. Mydans has been able to blend a hard, factual story with a fictional tale of a young American who was driven to the St. Tomas Compound in a Jap staff car and deposited among the other internees. He had told the Japs that he worked on a nearby plantation and they seemingly believed him. But word soon spread around the camp that he was an American soldier who had escaped from a military prison on Bataan.

What his secret was, how it was discovered, and what happened to him because of it give the book its plot. But its substance, its very flavor, comes from the envy and deceit that lay hidden in a few at Santo Tomas, as it does everywhere.

Notable characters

Mrs. Mydans has fashioned some very interesting characters, too. In the background of the prison camp, they may appear to be matter-of-fact, but they have nobility and baseness, as do humans all over the globe. Notable among these are:

  • Harkinsen – the chairman of the compound, a worried-looking man ever trying to wring new concessions from the Japs.

  • Dr. Busch – a tireless physician, trying to keep a hospital going with meager drugs and facilities and some back-biting among his own people.

  • Vanny Parkness – a self-appointed actor who boldly made fun of the Japs, in a song during a camp show.

  • Mrs. Jenks – an old woman who went crazy from the mental torture and who set up a “bridal suite” in a hallway for herself and Mr. Jenks.

There are many other characters, of course, and they all contribute to the description of the close quarters, deprivation, strain of waiting and the physical hardships which this group had to endure.

American villain

And shocking it is that the biggest villain in the book is not a Jap – as well one might be. It is, rather, a human scum named Lance Diamond, who tries to run a one-bed brothel in the camp. When he is barred from doing so, he takes a vicious revenge upon his fellow prisoners, a revenge which will disgust every reader.

Yet perhaps this one great villain focuses even more attention on the other people, the good people, in the camp. And the reader, at book’s end, can’t help but have pride in the courage, honor and steadfastness of the men and women who lived through a three-year ordeal unsurpassed in the history of America.

You will like Shelley Mydans’ book – and you will cheer her heroes and heroines.

Bravo to Doubleday, Doran for publishing it.

Oberdonau-Zeitung (March 5, 1945)

Bedeutsame Erfolge um Manila

Die Japaner hatten durchschlagende Erfolge

Tokio, 4. März – Im Ringen um Manila auf Luzon beginnen sich die vor einiger Zeit eingeleiteten japanischen Vorstöße von Osten her auszuwirken.

Im Norden von Manila eroberten die Japaner die Ortschaft Nowaitsche mit dem Wasserwerk für die Hauptstadt. Im Nordosten sind den Japanern zwei weitere Orte in die Hände gefallen. Außerdem wurde die direkte Verbindung mit den japanischen Verteidigern in den Kasernen der Stadt hergestellt. In dem Bericht aus Tokio wird betont, dass sich die strategische Lage durch die japanischen Vorstöße grundlegend gewandelt hat.

The Pittsburgh Press (March 5, 1945)

Nurses treated as civilians in Jap camp

Victims only of reduced rations
By Earl Richert, Scripps-Howard staff writer

WASHINGTON – An Army nurse freed in Manila after nearly three years internment said here that, as far as she knew, none of the captured nurses had been assaulted or harmed by the Japs.

The nurse, 28-year-old Lt. Phyllis Arnold of Minneapolis, was taken prisoner on Corregidor and held in the Santo Tomas prison camp in Manila until February 3, 1945, when she and 67 other Army nurses were liberated.

She said:

We were fortunate enough to be treated as civilians.

But please don’t think that the prisoners of war were treated the same. The stories told about the atrocities committed upon them are true.

Life was “not so bad as prison camps go” until the Japs cut their rations last fall.

The nurses’ rations were cut to about 800 calories a day (About 200 calories are needed daily for the average person).

The nurses lost weight steadily. Lt. Arnold dropped from her normal 125 pounds to 100.

She said the thing she noticed most in flying back from Luzon was that the farther away from the front lines one got, the more optimistic the people were about the war being over quickly.

“In the front lines,” she said, “the boys all say that the war is a long way from being over.”

The Pittsburgh Press (March 7, 1945)

Mrs. MacArthur, 6-year-old son return to Manila

MANILA, Philippines (UP) – Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s headquarters announced today that the general’s wife and six-year-old son, Arthur, have returned to Manila.

The announcement said that Mrs. MacArthur had returned to Manila “to aid and assist in such way as she can in the care of internees and the rehabilitation of the city and its inhabitants.”

She and the boy accompanied Gen. MacArthur when he left Luzon in speedy PT-boats three years ago.

The Pittsburgh Press (March 15, 1945)

Tokyo directly accused of destruction of Manila

Gen. Romulo claims documents prove Japs were deliberate in massacre and wrecking

SAN FRANCISCO (UP) – The city of Manila was destroyed and her people slaughtered on direct orders from Tokyo, it was revealed here today by Brig. Gen. Carlos Romulo, Philippines resident commissioner.

He said he would indict the Japs on the floor of Congress.

Describing the Nanking atrocities as “a picnic compared to Manila.” Gen. Romulo said he would present Congress with captured documents, sworn affidavits and documentary films to substantiate his story of the “systematic, deliberate, wanton destruction” wrought by Jap Imperial Marines “on direct orders from Tokyo.”

Gen. Romulo was reunited March 2 in the Philippines with his wife and four young sons who had been with guerrillas since their separation over three years ago.

Manila only a shell

He said:

Manila is gone. It is only a shell. Thousands of her people were deliberately massacred by the Japanese.

Nanking was the primeval instinct of the Japanese asserting itself. Manila was studied; systematic!

In the walled city of Intramuros [in Manila] they herded 1,700 male civilians into Fort Santiagos. Then they doused the fort with kerosene and burned it.

Only three of 1,700 escaped. They were shot at.

A Spaniard who broke his back getting away but swam the Pasig River gave us the story.

Tried to make example

As women and children streamed through a breach made in the wall of Intramuros by U.S. artillery, the Japs mowed them down with machine guns. Thousands of them.

This was all on direct orders from Tokyo. We have captured documents to prove it. These documents said to kill as many Filipinos as possible!

The Japanese were irate because they didn’t get the support of the Filipino people and they wanted to make an example of them for the rest of East Asia.

It is hard for the American people to understand the kind of enemy we have. The American always wants to fight with gloves on.

What? Seriously?

Which means the Emperor is guilty too. Right?

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Oh yes. The only other city that saw more destruction than Manila was Warsaw. And yes, the rapes and killings in Manila were even worse than in Nanking, considering all this happened in the middle of active combat.

More complicated than that, but we thought he had something to do with it then.

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So… are the Fillipino-Japanese relations strained as much the Sino-Japanese relations or the Korean (yes, both koreas)-Japanese relations?

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Not so. The Philippines is a pretty pro-Japanese nation now.

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