Friday, 16 February
Return to Corregidor and the “Battle of the Ballpark”
1st Cavalry Shermans advance across the baseball diamond at Rizal Stadium
US National Archives
The fighting in the north over the Police station now entered its fifth day with no changes throughout, but there was significant movement in the south. The Americans had been slowly pushing the Japanese away from Rizal Stadium in Malate for several days, and the time had finally come today to attack the stronghold. Beginning with an artillery barrage on the stadium and Harrison Park at 0715, the cavalrymen followed with an assault on the Arena in the southeast corner of the complex, which was by this point little more than a pile of rubble. From here, cavalrymen and sherman tanks moved onto the baseball field in the main stadium.
Cavalrymen fire a bazooka through a hole in the concrete wall of Rizal Stadium
US National Archives
The push onto the ballfield was a brutal slog, with Japanese snipers in the rafters of the grandstand and troops and guns emplaced in the strong concrete stands and dugouts below. In one bizarre incident, an AP report stated that a Japanese officer charged onto the field and ran to third base, but was quickly cut down by US fire. By 0930 the Japanese had been pushed inside the structure, forcing the cavalry to spend the rest of the day clearing out the buildings with hand grenades and flamethrowers. Despite this heavy resistance, by nightfall the stadium had been secured, and the cavalry began moving northwards to join the 37th Infantry in their assault on the General Hospital.
M18 Hellcat tank destroyers move onto Rizal Field with cavalry troopers behind
US National Archives
As the cavalry attacked Rizal Stadium, the 148th Infantry Regiment renewed their attack on the Philippine General Hospital a few blocks to the north. Again, a large artillery barrage commenced against the building, although after they become aware of the amount of civilians inside they redirected their fire to attempt to only hit the grounds. As tanks suppressed the Japanese in the main hospital building, infantry moved into the adjacent Nurse’s Dormitory to flank the hospital itself, also attacking the Chemical Building and the Bureau of Science Building.
A Sherman tank pushes a derelict streetcar out of the way on Taft Avenue near St. Scholastica College
US National Archives
The fighting over the Bureau of Science Building was particularly fierce, and the Americans were eventually repelled by the Japanese within. Despite this setback, the Americans were able to secure the Nurse’s Dormitory and the Chemical Building, providing them with a good position to support the continued fight for the hospital, and with the imminent arrival of the 1st Cavalry’s tanks as the day drew to a close the beleaguered GIs were hopeful the hospital would soon fall.
A C47 drops paratroopers over Corregidor
US National Archives
The paratroopers at Fort McKinley today did not make any major movements against the fort, but other airborne opened another phase of the Battle of Manila today, as the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment dropped on the island fortress of Corregidor, site of the last stand of the US forces in the Philippines three years prior.
Unlike in 1942, the fortress was not the last bastion of defense, and indeed was seen by the Japanese as little more than a glorified artillery battery. At 0945 the first paratroopers had touched down at their dropzones with little opposition, and within 15 minutes had secured the area for further drops. From their elevated position, they watched as troops of the 24th Infantry Division landed at San Jose Point, landing the initial infantry assault waves without incident, but soon attracting Japanese fire. To make matters worse, when their tanks began coming ashore they encountered Japanese mines, destroying a sherman and a self-propelled gun. Despite this, they were able to advance and secure the high ground on Malinta Hill by the end of the day, accomplishing their initial objectives. The initial phase of the Corregidor operation was thus considered a success, despite notable casualties. Also of note are the actions of Private Lloyd G. McCarter of the 503rd PIR, who silenced a machine gun after charging it with grenades in the first of a string of gallant actions over the next few days that would win him the Congressional Medal of Honor.
The Japanese defense was disorganized, as due to a happy mistake some paratroopers had blown off course, landing instead directly on the command post of the Japanese officer in charge of responding to the attack, allowing them to neutralize his position and thus also the command of the local Japanese forces, as well as cutting communications between the troops defending the beaches and the headquarters of Kenbu Group, which had overall command over Bataan and Corregidor.
US Army Engineers disarm Japanese landmines on Vita Cruz Street near Rizal Stadium
US National Archives
In the secured areas of the city, the Americans still dealt with the massive humanitarian crisis brought on as floods of refugees and victims of Japanese atrocities swarmed their lines from all directions, sometimes even running into firefights to reach the US lines. In addition, in the areas where the fighting had passed the danger remained, as the Japanese had placed landmines and booby traps in staggering numbers, and civilians as well as American troops continued to fall victim to them. Efforts to clear them were underway, with large numbers of US Army Engineers tasked with the dangerous work.
In areas closer to the frontline, the constant enemy fire forced them to come up with a creative solution to eliminate the landmines, often made from large aircraft bombs. They would advance behind a slow moving tank, and when a mine was located it would suppress the Japanese long enough for the engineers to run forward and attach chains to the mine, connected back to the hull of the sherman. They would then dash back into cover, as the tank pulled the mine up and to a safe location for them to disarm it.
Civilians take cover on a street, with a GI doing the same a short ways down
US National Archives
Although the Japanese continued to rape and murder what civilians they could find, no large scale atrocities took place today, and by now the Americans had squeezed the Japanese positions to such an extent that fewer and fewer troops were unoccupied with fighting them and able to terrorize the civilian population.
North of the river, the Americans were planning their next move: an amphibious assault across the Pasig into the Intramuros. In preparation for this undertaking, a request had again been made to MacArthur to allow the use of air support, and again it was denied. With little other option, the massing of artillery on the north bank commenced, with more than 140 guns available by the end of today for the upcoming attack.
Manila: 16 February, 1945
The Police Headquarters remains defiant, keeping the 37th Infantry troops in the north stalled
Fighting continues around the General Hospital
Rizal Stadium falls after a full day of hand to hand fighting inside its warren of tunnels and an armored assault across the ballfield
Fort McKinley remains defiant for the day