The Pittsburgh Press (February 4, 1945)
Fall of Manila due in few hours
U.S. advance guards believed already in outskirts of capital
By William B. Dickinson, United Press staff writer
Closing in for the kill, U.S. troops were expected to reach Manila today as two columns drove down on the Philippines capital from the Malolos and Sabang areas to the north and a third U.S. force drove against the city from the beachhead south of Manila Bay.
ALLIED HQ, LUZON, Philippines – Gen. Douglas MacArthur predicted yesterday that U.S. troops would be in Manila by today, climaxing the 108-day Philippines campaign.
It was believed here early today that advance elements had possibly reached the capital’s outskirts.
The official daily war bulletin issued at 6 a.m. today (5 p.m. Saturday ET) placed Maj. Gen. Robert S. Beightler’s 37th Infantry Division vanguards “less than” 15 miles north of Manila as of 6 p.m. Friday.
MacArthur, visiting the 37th Infantry Division’s advance units, said at 3 p.m. Saturday: “I believe we’ll make it tomorrow (Sunday).”
It may be stated today that the exact time of our entry into Manila is still uncertain, but it seems possible that advance elements may at least be in the outskirts by the time this is published. Capture of the city was believed to be a matter of hours.
Jap casualties for the first three weeks of the Luzon campaign, which started Jan. 9, were 33,000, it was announced. This compares to 1,271 Americans killed, 219 missing, and 4,099 wounded – a total of 5,389 or a ratio of almost 6-1 over the enemy.
The daily headquarters communiqué today, covering action through Friday, placed the 37th Infantry Division less than 15 miles from Manila, the 1st Cavalry Division to the east 22 miles north of Manila and the 11th Airborne Division coming up from the south 34 miles away. The prongs of the northern and southern pincers were within 53 miles of a junction un the center of the ancient city.
Dispatches from the 37th Infantry Division sector Saturday indicated U.S. troops were near the northern edge of the city.
Reported two miles away
The British radio quoted an unidentified American broadcaster using a mobile transmitter from the front lines that forward patrols had pushed within two miles of Manila without opposition.
The 37th Infantry Division’s new advance represented a gain of about three miles from positions last held before the town of Malolos, 17½ miles from Manila.
To the east, Maj, Gen. Verne D. Mudge’s 1st Cavalry Division veterans of Leyte pushed across the Angat River at the town of Bustos, 22 miles north of Manila. Patrols of that force had reached Sabang, on the north bank of the river 1½ miles north of Bustos, Thursday, but the main body was then well to the rear.
Near highway junction
The 1st Cavalry Division moving down Highway 5 was nine miles north of Biga, 13 miles from Manila and near which Highway 5 merges with Highway 3. The 37th Infantry Division moving down Highway 3 was five miles west of Biga.
At the southern end of the front, in Batangas Province, Maj. Gen. Joseph M. Swing’s 11th Airborne Division troops, who had driven ashore Wednesday, pushed through the town of Caylungon and were 27 miles due south of the Cavite Naval Base.
Troops of Maj. Gen. Charles P. Hall’s 11th Corps driving eastward across the northern tip of Bataan were meeting increasing resistance, the bulletins said, as they reached the vicinity of Balsic, eight miles east of Olongapo and within six miles of sealing off the top of the bloody peninsula.
Advance in north
At the extreme northern end of the Luzon front, Maj. Gen. Innis P. Swift’s First Corps troops battled through the rugged Caraballo Mountains for a two-mile advance 26 miles southeast of Baguio.
Steady progress was also reported near the headwaters of the Pampanga River, where nine Jap tanks were knocked out and heavy casualties inflicted on the Japs. The stubbornly-defended town of Umingan was captured by the 25th Infantry Division.
Heavy bombers, meanwhile, battered Cavite and Corregidor, starting numerous fires and explosions. Jap planes raided U.S. positions on Lingayen Gulf by night without causing damage.
‘Manila Derby’
A front dispatch reported that as Gen. MacArthur approached the front lines Saturday and heard the crash of Jap mortars in one sector, he received a tremendous ovation from Filipinos lining the roads and throwing flowers in the path of his jeep.
United Press staff writer H. D. Quigg with the 37th Infantry Division reported the Yanks were wearing hibiscus blossoms in their helmets as they thrust down Highway 3 in a driver to win the “Manila Derby” against the 1st Cavalry division moving down Highway 5 along the east bank of the Pampanga River.
A CBS correspondent reported from Luzon that pilots of the 1st Marine Air Wing swept over one of Manila’s principal streets at 200 feet without meeting anti-aircraft fire. The pilots reported no traffic was moving in Manila, but that it was possible that Japs had some tanks and armor hiding in strategic spots and were planning “futile house to house fighting.”
Civilians ordered out
A United Press dispatch from the 37th Infantry Division’s front said the Japs ordered civilians to evacuate Manila – the city’s population had been swelled from 673,000 to one million with the influx of war refugees – and roads leading northward from the city were clogged with weary natives.
The dispatch said that two columns of gray and white smoke rose 4,000 feet over the city. They came from the railroad yards and dock areas, indicating the Japs might have begun destroying military installations. It reported that only a few Jap troops and marines remained in the city.