Battle of Manila

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Part of Philippine Armed Forces Journal

Title: Battle of Manila
Language: English
Source: Philippine Armed Forces Journal Volume IX (No. 4) February 1956
Year: 1956
Rights
Fulltext: I'HILIPPINES ARMED FORCES JOUR~AL. A ITER finishing the job in Leyte titude on the part of the Japanest! and cutting the Japanese forces bec<•me apparent: he was fighting in half, the Sixth U.S. Army, sup- with suicidal fanaticism, and the reported by na\·al and air forces, m11de sistance on both flal\kS was bitter. the long-awaited lan11ing on Luzon The Manila drive was unleased on on January 9, 1945. Seizing and st'- February I. The 1st Cavalry Dicuring the Lingaren beachheaO. and vision, having been selected to spearestablishing an army base there, it heaO the attack on Manila, poised crossed the great Agno river, seized at Guimba, ~ueva Ecija. From there, Clark Field, and so outwitted the it made a southward advance and enemr that at no time had he been crossed the Pampanga river at Caable to launch a sizeabl<" co\lntet·- banatuan. The 37th Division crossed attack. These, the Sixth Army did the same river at Cal\lmpit, Bulain 19 days: In those 19 days. Gen- can. to make a two-pronged drive. era\ Walter Krueger's force had set While the 1st Cavalry Division the stage for the capture of :".Ianila. struck no real opposition, the The Drive to the City 37th Division encountered a On Januar>' 30th, the drive to- forceful one only in the vici wards Manila began in earnest. Th.- nity of Plaridel, Bulacan. By mid43J·d and 25th Divisions (I Corps), night of February I, 1945, the two held the northeastem flank on the divisions had made contact. edge of the mountains. The XIV The next morning, the 'tst Ca.Corps. in addition to its 40th and valry Division, swinging wide, struck :17th Divisions was assigned the through Santa Maria and Novaliches,• lst Cavalry Di\·ision, reinforced by smashing enemy resistance there. the 44th Tank Battalion (less Co The two divisions now stood abreast "C") of the 13th Armored Group, some 15 miles outside Manila. protected the southwestern flank That night, the 1st Cavalry stood against the enemy forces in the rear at Grace Park, inside the dty limits. of Clark Field. The central Jliain The 37th Division on the right fiwas in the clear for the attacking nally ran into strong enemy opposiforces. The familiar fatalistic at- tion behind a series of demolished r n:HRUAR\ 19.;~ ' • bridges on the main highway. On Feb- bound Pasig River, while the 37th • ruary 3rd, however, the 37th Division Division captured old Bilibid prisons . • joined the 1st Cavalry, and togeth- liberating 1,024 prisoners of war incr. the two divisions mo\•ed into the ternees, and was also on the Pasig heart of the city. River in force. ' The lst Cavalry, spearheaded by ?.\ercilessly, and with wanton distanks, entered Manila from the north regard of laws and ethics, the Jaat twilight of February 3rd. The panese deliberately set fire to the column rolled by the Chinese ceme- business district of Manila where tery. The enemy opened fire from the liberation noops were even the11 the tombstones while the Cavalry cleaning out pockets of resistance. troops returned shot for shot from Demolitions and fire became weatheir vehicles. pons of vengeance on the hopeles~ Sto. Tomas Internees Freed civilians. By Jllidnight of Februar y 5th, the It was here, on the banks of the 1st Cavalry Division had taken Sto. Pasig River, that the enemy was Tomas University liberating 3,521 met in force by the XIV Corps. It A Hied internE!es, and stood on the was ob,•ious that the river crossing bank of the sluggish, tide- was going to be a terrific battle Tlo• Sidh US Army. •upporled by novo/ ond gir lorcu, m<Jdt !Itt I<Jnfl·<Jwoiled I<Jnding 1n Luzon on Jonuory 9,/945 It ••ind f>nd Jecur•d !Itt Lingoytn bt<Jchhe<Jd I'HILIPI'INI::S AIIMI::D FOR!.:ES JOUMNA! Tl'•• Japo~••• lo•<•• ... ~ .. ~ ..-ere ~ <:>ld"'9 •h• <••r ol M<:>nila o~lovnled Ia some ~0.000 " el•n•• o nd •••••<e lro<:>p>. b<:>lh ormr and no•1 pT>mtudy und•r no•y <onlrol bt•cau~e the cnl:'my was in tht• rni1\st knowr1 a,; )like fl and :\like j "en of a las:t-rlitch suicidal stand He iu the nature of rlouble feints lu ""ulrl ha,·e to be driven from huild- mnke the enemy believe that the iu,~.: to huilding, in that deadliest of main attack would he made in th( all fighting: hand-to-hand comhat. south with l\Iindoro and :'llarinduque Furthermore, the enemy was en- as bases. tr .. nched behind the thick stone-walls The Eighth Army units which of lntramuros, the andent walled were ordered to participate in thesl:' city in which he made his final. des- operations were of the Jtt'l\ Alrperate stand. borne Division with element" of the Aclion of lhe Eighlh Army 24th Infantry Division attached, the, When thP Sixth Army initiated 41st Infantry Dh·ision, the 38th Inits dl'ive toward ) lanila, Headquar- fantry Division. The lith Airbol'ne ters SWPA or..iered Lieutenant Gen- Division (with the 2nd and 3rd Batera\ Robert Eichelberger, Command- talions of the 19th Infantry, 24t~ ing General of the Eighth Army, to Division attached) was directed to initiate amphibious attacks against make an amphibious landing, for the Batangas and Zambales coasts. the Mike 6 operations. These Eighth Arm~· operations, For the Mike 7 operations, the XI : Corps under Major Genera! Charles boat. P. Hall with the 24th Regimental In the face of poorly·coordinated 'combat Team of the 24th Di\•ision enem}' machinegun ancl artille1·y attached was to land on the Zam- fires, the lith ALAJOI'nc Division bales coast and then make a sw1ft rnadt.> a quick dash to the lower dash across the top of the Bataan slopes of the Tagaytay Ridge. On peninsula towards Manila. F'cbt·uary 2, th('" Division was ready The 11th Airborne Division was to to b('"gin the ascent ugainst the main land on the coast of Batangas, drive enemy defenses on Tagaytay Ridge. inland toward Laguna de Bay and That night, the libemtion tl"Oops had from thence north towards 1\Ianila secured Calaway, advanced two miles to intercept enemy troops who would furthe1·, and were prepared to launch escape south from it. an attack against the principal JaThis would constitute the second panese position on Tagaytay Ridge. half ot the en\'elopment designed to Premature Jum]J trap the Japanese in or around )Ia- On the morning of February 3rd, nila. January. 29 was designated as forty-six C-17 planes loaded with the D-Day for the operations of the men of the Sllth Pamchute RegiEighth Army on Luzon. ment dispersed their trooper passenLandings at Nasugbu coast took gers ove1· Tagaytay Ridge. An unplace at 8:30 A.M., January 29, 1945, fortunate incident, the accidental following an air-na\'al bombardment, dropping of a parachute with supopposed by light machineguns and plies from one of the planes, how75-mm artillery fires. First to land e\'er, caused the premature jumJJ of a was the 187th Glider Regimental many paratroope1·s which landed Team which began to press forward them about six miles northeast of quickly, silencing artillery fi1·e that the intended drop zone. When the opposed them and by 3:30 ill the second lift, consisting of fitr-one afternoon seized a vital bridge C-47s arri\·ed O\'er the Tagaytar across the Palico Ri\'er gorge on Urea most of the troope1·s again the Nasugbu-Tagaytay Road. The jump into the wrong Mea ha\'ing advance was so swift that although misled by the collapsed chutes on the bridge was mined for demoli- the ground. tion, it was captured intact, thus Fortunately, no opposition of any saving a long detour o\'er a second- consequence, was met, and that pa· ary road far to the south. ratroopers who had landed in the • Determined to exploit his gains to wrong area were able to assemble the utmost, Lieutenant General Ei- and move to their proper drop zone, chelberger ordered the 11th Airborne without difficulty. There they clearto press onward to Tagaytay City ed Tagaytay Ridge and joined forces 1hrough the night of January 31st. with the 188th Glider Infantry, upJapanese Q-boats attacked the land- proaching along Highway 17, at ing fleet at Nasugbu bay that same one o'clock in the afternoon of Ft!bnight, but was quickly dispersed, ruary 3rd. with the lost of one American patrol And so, on the 4th of Februarr. the Airborne units began to ad\·ancc attached to the Sixth Army and were< towards l\Ianila. The advance to employed as special intelligence • Manila of this southern force was agencies that spied on enemy posi• extraordinary_:._ the roa~ to Manila tions along Highways Nos. 3 and 5. at many pomts was fLiled with Selected teams were sent weeks cheering crowds waving American ahead to Manila to locate and ha· and Filipino flags. In many com- L 'ass enemy positions. In fact, the munities, the liberation forces were first casualty during the first night greeted by bands. of liberation of Manila was a guerAt early dawn, February 5th, the rilla intelligence officer and veteSltth Parachute Infantry succeeded ran of Bataan, Captain Manuel Coin crossing the Paraiiaque River, layco. He was at the head of the southwest of Nichols field, and ap- column that smashed the gate of the proached the airfield itself. Sto. Tomas University interment From this time on the fighting can1p. While he led the ta»ks and of Airborne soldiers was concentrat- jeeps safely to Sto. Tomas Univer ed in the Nichols Field area where sity, a J apanese guard threw the enemy had strong defenses, hav- a grenade hitting ' the jeep in ing expected orginail)' that the main which he rode. Colayco died a few attack against !\!anita would come days later from serious injuries and from the south rather than from wounds. th .. north. The value of the work done b~· Although the fighting in Nichols the ad\·ance units of the guerrillas Field was still going on, the back- was clearly seen in the almost Ul1bonc of enemy resistance had been opposed capture of the northern secbroken, when, on the afternoon of tion of the city. When the north-· February 10, the ... peration was ern section fell into the hands of turned over to the Sixth U.S. Armr. the 1st Ca\·alry and 3ith Divisions. The 11th Airborne Division remain- these guerrillas were employed in ed to carry out the conclusions of feretting enemy stragglers from the task under the control of the their hiding places among boxpiles Sixth Army. in bodegas, and in ceilings ol resHole of the Guerrillas The account of the battle of Ma· nila would not be complete, however, without mentioning the assistance given by members of the guerrilla units under Captain Alejo Santos and Major Alfredo Cabangbang, the R.O.T.C. and the Cavite Guer· rillas under Major General (then Colonel) Mariano Castafieda. When idential and business houses. By supplementing the personnel ol American mopping-up detail. in the city, it made possible the use ol the greater portion of the eflective strength of the 1st Cavalry Divi!ioJ\. in active combat operations ai;ainst the enemy elsewhere. J apanese Defenses the liberation Corces were starting The Japanese lorces which w .. re the Manila drive, the officers and holding the city ol Manila amount11\ell of these guerrilla units were ed to some 20,000 defense and sen·· • tce troops, both army and navy. wide. On the north bank of the • These had been thrown together in- Pasig, the 1st Cavalry's wide en•to a provisional unit at the last min- veloping movement crushed all eneute. (General Muto, Yamashita's my resistance. By Febjuary lOth, the chief of staff, later claimed that 1st Cavalry crossed at two point:s: these forces were primarily under the Philippine Racing Club and at navy control.) Makati, Rizal, which was unopposed. For the last stand, the enemy had it was on that afternoon, that the turned the city of Manila into one lith Airborne Division stood at the huge fortress with the core of his edge of the Nichols Field. Thus, defense in Intramuros. three divisions- one infantry, one All bridges over the Pasig had cavalry, and one airborne-had the been blownup and the bridge ap- Manila enemy encircled. proaeh areas mined. Pos~ihle crossmgs The 1st Ca\·alry Brigade were defended by high-powered wea- The 37th Division fighting almost pons. Every building was a pillbox; inch by inch, reached the eastern every wall a fortification; and every edge of Intramuros on February 16, street a tank' trap. Even artillery while the lith Airborne Division pieces had been placed on the up- came up from the south to make a per floors of buildings. The Corps junction, opening the door to new Commander ordered the 37th Divi- tactical dispositions. sion to drive straight ahead into the The Corps commander realized enemy and directed the 1st Cavalry that he could now veer his attention Division to make the envelopment to the enemy force along the eastaround to the east, with a special ern mountains. While the bulk of • force from the 7th Cavalry Regi- the 1st Cavalry Division was moved ment to capture the Novaliches up to the new battle zone in the Dam, another key installation to the nearby mountains to prepare operaManila Water System, together with tions there, he ordered the 1st Cathe important Balara filters. valry Brigade (which was standmg The 1st Cavalry seized the dam along Dewey Blvd.) to help in the and the filters intact on February final assault on lntramuros, passing 7, while the 37th Division made an it to the control of the 37th Diviassault crossing the Pasig River to sion. historic Malacafiang Palace. The This left the 37th Division, recrossing was preceded by a devas- inforced by one Ca\·alry Brigade, to • tating artillery bombardment. A make the final mop-up in lntramufloat bridge was thrown across the ros and the Port Area, while the river (later replaced by a pontoon lith Airborne held the line southbridge capable of carrying all hea- east of the city. vy divisional equipment.) By mid- First of all, the troops fought ~ight of the next day, the 37th their way into the High CommisDivision had a bridgehead on the sioner's residence, along the bay. south bank of the Pasig nearly a Then, they battled into the Armymile deep and almost over a mile and-Navy Club. And finally, after Org<>noud re.,sl<>nce in rhe clly of Manila"'"' ended on March 4, !94.5, ofrer building lo buoldong lighl wolh orroll•rr lire rupporl ro bfo.., our reinfotced cone••'• wo!ls two days, crossed the Luneta to bat- regiments-the I 29th, 148th Infantle for the Manila Hotel. Each of triPS and the 12th ('avalry--elosed these buildings were individual and in for the kill. difficult forts defended not onl} The !29th lnfantr·r made the enwith automatic weapons but also trance through the north wall. The with artillery pieces sticking out thl' 148 Infantry entered through the windows. It took three day.s, for east wall. The 12th Cavalry struck example, to capture the Manila Ho- through the Port Area, just outside tel. with the enemy making surcidal the west wall. counter-attacks from the floor to Through the rubble, smoke and, the next. After that, the .-\merican flames, these three forces ad\·anced troops concentrated on the- enemy's from building to building, from . core of defense. house to house, and from t·oom to lntramuros North of Manila Hotel lay lntmmuros. By February 23r·d, heav~ artillery, employing direct fire, had knocked two huge holes into its ancient Spanish stonewalls. The final assault started at 7:30 P.M. with a terrific artillery preparation!!. Before the infantry mo\·ed in through the hole, 105, 155 and 240-mm howitzers, 3-inch guns and tank~> had dropped 185 tons of high explosives and white phosphorous shells from 1.2 mortars. The bombardment lasted for an hour, after which, three room, until on February 24th, the enemr had bee1: annihilated of Intramuros. Organized resistance in the city of )lnnila was ended except for three strongpoints in the Ag~icultur al. Finance and Legislati\·e buildings, monument gove-rnment structures in the capitol area. To gain these buildings, direct nrtitlerr fire at point-blank range was necessary to blow out the reinfor·ced concrete walls. The last enemr in thcLe buildings was finally destroyed on :\larch 4, 1945. The battle of )lanita was over