Friday, 23 February
The Assault on Intramuros Begins
US troops in assault boats prepare to cross the Pasig
US National Archives
Not long after dawn on the 23rd of February the final phase of the Battle of Manila began as American artillery commenced a massive barrage on the Intramuros at 0730, with 120 guns and mortars lobbing almost 10,000 rounds into the Walled City before they ceased fire an hour later. During this bombardment what little remained of the Intramuros was pulverized, and many of the MNDF’s remaining personnel were killed (including possibly Admiral iwabuchi, who according to Miranda was killed in his headquarters at Fort Santiago by the shelling, although other sources state he survived this point).
GIs of the 148th Infantry Regiment move out from the Central Post Office toward the Intramuros
US National Archives
As soon as the thunder of the guns ceased the Americans began to move on the Walled City at 0830, as the 129th Infantry Regiment crossed the river through the haze of smoke and dust and the 148th charged from their positions at the Central Post Office toward the crumbled ruin of the Intramuros. Smoke shells were fired from the batteries north of the river to shield their movements, along with intermittent white phosphorous shells to further suppress the defenders.
GIs climb the rubble of the Intramuros Wall
US National Archives
By 0840 the 129th was ashore, clambering up the rubble strewn banks and through the blasted walls, encountering almost no resistance from the shell shocked MNDF. The first humans they saw in the district were two nuns, who came out of the smoke carrying a crying child, fleeing a Japanese machine gun which is quickly neutralized. Ten minutes later, the 129th linked up with the 148th, and begin to sweep the district, encountering stiff resistance at Fort Santiago, as well as Letran College.
A soldier carries a young Filipina woman from the ruins of Intramuros, as a group of nuns follow behind
US National Archives
As the Americans pushed into the district they encountered more resistance from pockets of Japanese troops, supported by mortars positioned in the ruined San Agustin Church, where a crowd of civilians were forced to stand amongst the weapons as they fired on the advancing Americans, these human shields preventing the Americans from silencing the mortars with counter-battery fire. As the Americans advance on the church the Japanese release a swarm of them with a white flag, allowing them to cascade into American lines as they fired on the Americans and civilians with their machine guns. Snipers in the few buildings still standing added to the carnage, but some civilians managed to survive to reach the Americans near Letran College, while the mortar position was overrun.
A Sherman rolls through the gate of Fort Santiago after it was widened by US combat engineers
US National Archives
As Fort Santiago, the Japanese were well dug in. As the US infantry pushed into the citadel they encountered enemy troops dug in wherever the structure was not totally demolished, including the old walls and dungeons. The fight was brutal, with bayonets, flamethrowers and incendiary grenades, and it would take all day to secure the citadel, even after combat engineers blasted the ancient gate wider to allow tanks to enter the compound. As the last remnants of the MNDF in the citadel were destroyed, the Americans made a horrifying discovery in the dungeons, where they found the remains of almost 3,000 civilian men rotting where the Japanese had murdered them.
A GI unleashes a flamethrower against a bastion of Fort Santiago
US National Archives
The Americans continued to push through the Intramuros, encountering stiffening resistance as they advanced further south, and stopped as darkness fell to regroup. The Japanese remained in control of the southwestern corner of the Walled City, but had otherwise been cleared from the citadel.
GIs pick through a shattered building in Intramuros
US National Archives
South of the battle raging for the Intramuros, the fight for the University of the Philippines had come to a close. Just after midnight, the Americans inside Rizal Hall had heard chanting and singing from the Japanese controlled part of the building, and starting just after 0200 explosions begin in that part of the structure, ending at about 0400. Investigation revealed the Japanese had all committed suicide with their own explosives, leaving the Americans in control of the ruin. The University is finally secure.
The blasted wreck of one wing of Rizal Hall
US National Archives
Finally, at the blasted wreck of the Manila Hotel, the Cavalry had almost secured the building, and General MacArthur could wait no longer. Assembling a group of soldiers with automatic weapons to guard him, he proceeded into the building and began the climb up to his old home in the penthouse. The scene he was met with was one of devastation, the fire having utterly destroyed the suite and all its contents.
MacArthur heads for the Manila Hotel
US National Archives
The shattered fragments of Emperor Hirohito’s vases, placed near the entrance by MacArthur’s wife as they fled in 1942 in the hope the Japanese would respect the residence, lay in pieces amongst the ash on the floor, along with the body of a Japanese officer. As MacArthur stepped over him to survey the ruin he said little as he examined the sad remnants of his posh pre-war life.
General MacArthur walks through the rubble of his pre-war home
US National Archives
As MacArthur returned to his penthouse and the battle for the Walled City raged, the 1st Cavalry pushed north from the Manila Hotel along the western perimeter of Intramuros, driving into the port district. During the fighting for the customs house today Private William J. Grabiarz attempted to pull a wounded officer out of the line of enemy fire, but was hit several times. After he could not go any further he positioned himself to shield the officer as he died, and was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Two Americans on Corregidor as smoke shrouds the area
US National Archives
On Corregidor, the Americans battle for Battery Wheeler ended as the last Japanese defenders mounted a desperate banzai charge and were annihilated, ending the last significant resistance on the western half of the island. Following this the attention of the attackers was fully moved to Malinta Hill and the eastern tail of the island to finish the battle. After the explosion on the island the night before, a series of smaller explosions were felt today, later discovered to be the Japanese within the Malinta Tunnel committing suicide by burying themselves alive.
Orphaned children in the rubble of the Intramuros - US National Archives
The Americans had encountered the horrors of the Japanese before during the battle for the city, and this continued today. The remains of the thousands murdered in the dungeons of Fort Santiago were uncovered today, as the stench of death permeated the citadel. At Santa Rosa College one 11 year old girl was found in the street miraculously still alive after being bayoneted 38 times and left in the streets for more than a week, and the sounds of crying allowed them to excavate a living baby from a pile of rubble where it had been buried, shielded by its dead mother’s arms. The survivors of the air raid shelter where the Japanese had slaughtered many and buried the rest alive were rescued today as well, one having escaped and lived off of water from a broken toilet over the last few days being able to raise the alarm as the Americans pushed into the area.
Two GIs catch some much needed rest after the fighting dies down in Intramuros
US National Archives
Manila: 23 February, 1945
Fort Santiago - The citadel falls to US troops today after a brief but intense fight. The remains of large numbers of civilians are found in the dungeons, looking like a scene out of a horror film
Japanese forces in Intramuros are driven to the southern edge of the Walled City by the end of the day
US forces push to clear the port, but are held up at the Customs House, where one GI earns a posthumous Medal of Honor
The Universtiy of the Philippines is finally secured by advancing American forces
The Government Quarter on the eastern end of Luneta, consisting of the Legislature, Finance and Agriculture Buildings, is now the last major strongpoint in the city, and Admiral Iwabuchi has moved his headquarters here for his final stand
San Agustin Church - Japanese mortars here use captive civilians as human shields, later releasing them in a massive, panicked throng to disrupt the Americans as the Japanese poured fire on both.