Even if this were true, it would have been physically impossible to carry out. The Japanese forces in Manila numbered 17, Approaching the city from north and south were 35, US troops supported by a few thousand Filipino guerillas. Knowing the impending battle they faced, the Japanese would have been intent on saving precious ammunition. Manual methods of execution like beheading, bayonetting and mass incineration were slow and inefficient.
The battle took a month — from February 3 to March 3, Unlike in Nanking which took place over 6 weeks where the 50, Japanese troops had complete control of the city, in Manila they were under relentless attack by U S troops and Filipino guerillas.
The Americans had bigger guns and more of it. Portable, yes, but also much bigger. The latter were used in in the Bataan campaign but there is no record of their use in Manila. One statistic that blunts the argument of Japanese responsibility is the low number of US deaths.
There is a flaw in this logic. The bloodbath was paid for in Filipino civilian lives. The bloodbath of American manhood did not happen.
It was the Japanese garrison that was wiped out. If this convoluted logic were to be followed, to deter an American invasion of Japan, were the Japanese prepared to murder millions of their own people?
There is therefore a disconnect between what the Japanese wanted to do against what actually happened. For the Americans, they were willing to negotiate and compromise with the enemy if American lives were at stake. This policy did not apply to Filipino lives. No one can blame the Americans or any commander for seeking low casualties. High casualties are not good for troop morale and are a waste of precious resources.
Were we not supposed to be allies of the US? History does not record their voice before or during the battle. If anyone is still interested, this would be an interesting subject for more research. Perhaps less could have been expected from the Laurel puppet government set up by the Japanese who would have gleefully lined them up and shot them as an example at the slightest provocation. So much for patriotic sympathy!
Countless government buildings, universities and colleges, convents, monasteries and churches, and their accompanying treasures dating to the founding of the city, were ruined. The cultural patrimony including art, literature, and especially architecture of the Orient's first truly international melting pot - the confluence of Spanish, American and Asian cultures - was eviscerated.
Intramuros, the historic walled city within Manila, would be one of the last places the Japanese would hold out. There are stories of heroism. One of the strongpoints which the Japanese defended was the Paco Railroad Station. Three hundred Japanese marines had turned the old railroad station into a fortress. It was the job of the th Infantry to eradicate the Japanese from their stronghold. After a day of probing, the US soldiers were unable to penetrate the resistance and the tough fortifications.
Privates Cleto Rodriquez and John Reese found a weak spot in the fortifications and exploited it. They kept moving forward and in a period of over two hours killed more than 80 Japanese and made it possible for the position to be taken by the US Army. Reese was killed and both men were later awarded the Medal of Honor. Anyone south of the Pasig River was trapped by the constant crossfire of Japanese and American artillery. The author points out the decision to use US artillery did not come easily.
MacArthur wanted to save as much of the city as he possibly could. At the same time, US commanders were more concerned about saving the lives of American soldiers. The last stronghold held by the Japanese was the Agriculture Building and it was there where Iwabuchi held up. The destruction of Manila was complete and its consequences would last for generations. Yamashita was tried by a military tribunal and on February 23, , was hung. What conclusion can we drawn from Rampage?
Perhaps it is that the violence we associated with the end of World War II in the Pacific was not confined merely to Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the firebombing of Tokyo, or the atomic bombs. Manila began , the final year of the war, as one of the most brutal chapters in the history of the war. The ancient walled city lay in ruins, the reconstruction of the city was concentrated south of the city at Makati, and where the German club once was is now an empty field.
In , on the fifth anniversary, a statue was sculptured by Peter de Guzman, commemorating those who lost their lives. It is a very poignant reminder that those who were killed were innocent civilians, among them women and children. Rampage is not a pleasant read; however, it is an historical account of one of the most horrific chapters in the history of World War II.
It is well-documented and includes a selected bibliography and index. The photographs in the book bring to life the atrocities committed by the Japanese during that horrible February of This is not a read for the faint of heart, but it does provide a poignant and accurate account of the Battle for Manila and the barbarity of which man is capable. On April 21, , two political parties united, creating a single, dominant party in what became East Germany.
American personnel faced a humanitarian catastrophe when they liberated Buchenwald Concentration Camp. Book Review. October 18, He started at the Museum in an Institute for the Study of War and Democracy. Article Type. What transpired in Spain in was not only a civil war but a social revolution.
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