Battle of Manila 1945

“…is widely considered to be one of the greatest tragedies of the Second World
War.”
“70th Anniversary of the Battle of Manila” is a short documentary by the
Presidential Communications and Strategic Planning Office. The short documentary was
made by to look back and remember the events that took place in Manila 1945.
Manila was occupied for more than 3 years. And, in 1945, with the Filipino-
American forces, they planned to take the country’s capital. It was one of the most tragic
events in history. Some sources state the battle caused 100,00 casualties, while others
state 240,000. To have a clear illustration, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki only caused 110,000 casualties combined.
A lot had died not because they were caught in a crossfire, but because there were
lots of massacres that occur. For example, the Japanese locked up thousands of civilians
in St. Paul College Chapel, they took down the dome above them and shot who tried to
escape. Another is, many patients, mothers, physicians and doctors were killed in Red
Cross by the Japanese.
I think what led to this result was because of General Yamashita’s stubborn stand
and was willing to fight until the last of his men. That’s why even with General
MacArthur’s hopes of a peaceful surrender, it didn’t happen.