Battles that changed the course of history (4)
IN
the previous article, we wrote about the advance of Allied troops as they moved towards their main target: Manila. The troops landed via Lingayen on January 9, 1945. As they advanced, they retook Clark Air Base on January 23. A special group of US Army Rangers and Filipino guerrillas ( led by Captain Juan Pajota and Eduardo Joson) embarked on a lightning raid to free around 500 American POWs from Cabanatuan prison camp on January 30.
Foreseeing the attack on Manila, President Jose P. Laurel made a futile attempt early in December, 1944, to have Manila declared an Open City. “General Yamashita made a vague promise and even drafted plans for that possibility, then flew to Tokyo. On his return, he moved his headquarters to Baguio.”
Yamashita would later claim during the War Trial, that he ordered troops stationed in Manila to “evacuate the city and destroy all bridges and other vital installations as soon as any large American forces made their appearance.” He claimed, however, that his order was disobeyed.
Three years earlier, MacArthur had declared Manila as Open City before he withdrew to Bataan. As a result. Japanese troops entered the city unopposed. MacArthur’s decision spared Manila from destruction. This was not to be the case in 1945.
Tomorrow, February 3, marks the 70th anniversary of the month- long Battle of Manila.
The liberation of Manila was the first urban battle fought by Allied troops since the start of war in the Pacific. All the previous battles were done either at sea, or in open terrain or in the hills. A US veteran described the Battle of Manila as a different kind of warfare marked by savage fighting “street by street, building by building, and floor by floor”.
Subjected to continuous pounding and anticipating certain death, desperate Japanese soldiers vented their ire on defenseless civilians. The systematic torture, murder, and rape of civilians, as well as the torching of homes, resulted in deaths estimated at over 100,000. The civilian casualties almost equalled the civilian death toll during the bombing of Hiroshima. Various historical accounts refer to this dark chapter of Manila as the Rape of Manila, or the Sack of Manila or the Manila Massacre.
The Allies converged on Manila from two directions. Troops consisted of those who landed via Lingayen and those who landed later from south of Manila.
On January 31, 1945, the allies made an unopposed amphibious landing in Nasugbu. On February 4, 1945, US paratroopers parachuted down Tagaytay Ridge. The two groups soon linked up and as they advanced towards Manila, they were joined by Hunters ROTC guerrillas under Lt. Col. Emmanuel de Ocampo. ( For easier recall, we will refer to them as Southern Force).
The 16,000 strong Japanese group who “disobeyed” Yamashita, were led by Rear Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi. At the start of the war, Iwabuchi was given command of the battleship Kirishma. Kirishima was sunk in the battle off Guadalcanal in late 1942.
Iwabuchi had found himself ignominously kicked upstairs to a desk job in Tokyo. But due to the exigencies of the war, Iwabuchi found him- self back in the battlefront, this time commanding the Japanese naval troops in Manila.
Yamashita did not want to be trapped in Manila and ordered General Yukoyama Shizuo, who had over- all command in Manila, to withdraw. Iwabuchi saw, however, an opportunity to redeem himself from the shame of the loss of his ship and decided to dig in.
Iwabuchi divided his forces into two: one group to face the Allies coming in from the north, another group to face the Allies attacking from the south.
On the eve of battle, Iwabuchi addressed his men: “We are very glad and grateful for the opportunity to serve our country in this epic battle. Now, with what strength remains, we will daringly engage the enemy. Banzai to the Emperor! We are determined to fight to the last man.”
By February 1, 1945, Allied troops who came from Lingayen were welcomed by a cheering throng as they arrived at the Bonifacio Monument and as they advanced along Rizal Avenue.
Two days later, on February 3, US troops …” pushed into the northern outskirts of Manila and seized a vital bridge across the Tullahan River, which separated them from the city proper, and quickly captured Malacanan Palace.”
On the same day, US troops, guided by Filipino resistance fighters ( among them Captain Manuel Colayco), stormed the gates of the University of Santo Tomas Internment Camp in an effort to free more than 4,000 civilian internees.
The Battle of Manila had begun.