The Battle of Manila: The Pearl of the Orient — I Like to Hear Myself Talk History

The city of Manila, located on the shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon, had been the capital of the Philippines since 1571, when the first Spanish Conquistadors arrived on Luzon in the area. It would grow under Spanish rule, starting with the walled city of Intramuros and its citadel at Fort Santiago, and expanding further beyond as time went on. In 1898 the Spaniards were overthrown, as the US navy sailed into Manila Bay and decisively defeated the Spanish Pacific Squadron, followed by a brief battle in Manila that left the Stars and Strips flying over the city.

Despite this, all was not well, as the ongoing Filipino Independence Movement soon turned their guns against the Americans, leading to what became known as the Philippine Insurrection or Philippine-American War, in which the United States defeated the revolutionary forces and affirmed their control over the archipelago. After the city was secured, it became the seat of the new US Insular Government, and a redevelopment program was initiated.

Planned by famed urban architect Daniel Burnham, the “new Manila” featured several large, concrete edifices, including a new government center south and east of Intramuros, as well as Dewey Boulevard, a wide, tree lined avenue along the bay in the south. The city was divided into several districts, with the major division being the Pasig River, separating the city into northern and southern sections.

Districts

Binondo

Located on the northern bank of the Pasig, The financial district of the city, the heart of Binondo was along Escolta Street, often refered to as the Wall Street of the East. The Manila Stock Exchange was housed in the opulent Crystal Arcade, an art-deco monolith with air condtioned interiors, which also housed a large upscale shopping complex. Binondo was dotted with other early highrise buildings, dating from the late Spanish period up to the late 1930s, the area housed a number major bank offices along with the regional and global headquarters of various firms.

ESCOLTA STREET

Celebrations of the Japanese victory on Bataan in 1942 taking place along Escolta Street.

Tondo

The largest district, Tondo was located noth of the Pasig, bordering San Nicolas to the south and Santa Cruz to the east. A relatively poor district that included additional port facilities along its shoreline, the district had notably been devastated by a massive fire in early 1941, months before the war came to Luzon, although little information exists regarding the condition of the area in 1945.

Quiapo

The geographic center of the Manila Metro Area, Quiapo was a trendy residential and office district that bordered Binondo to the east.

Sampaloc

The outer northeastern district of the city, Sampaloc was noted for its higher education institutions, notably the University of Santo Tomas, Quezon Institute and the Far Eastern University. The neighborhood of Santa Mesa, later its own district, was also a component of Sampaloc in 1945.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

The main campus of the University of Santo Tomas. During the occupation, this facility would house a large internment camp for American and other Allied nationals under the Japanese.

San Miguel

Separated by canals (esteros) from the maninland and the Pasig in the south, San Miguel was a residential neighborhood mostly notable for being home to the residence of the President of the Philippines at the Malacañan Palace, as well as Provisor Island, a large island in the Pasig that was home to San Jose Hospital.

CONVALENCIA ISLAND

A large island in the Pasig, Convalecencia is home to the San Jose Hospice, a large charity center operated by the Catholic Church.

MALACAÑAN PALACE

The official residence of the President of the Philippines, this executive mansion sits astride the Pasig, and has played home to the Japanese puppet government since its inception in 1943.

San Nicolas

The westernmost of the districts on the northern bank of the Pasig, San Nicolas was another residential district, notably playing host to Manila’s Chinatown in its eastern end, bordering Binondo.

Santa Cruz

A long, narrow district north of the Pasig, Santa Cruz was bordered to the east by Sampaloc and Tondo to the west. Notably home to several large cemeteries as well as the San Lazaro Race Course, the district bordered the suburb of Caloocan to the north, home to Grace Park airfield.

BILIBID PRISON

The municipal jail for the city of Manila has been used since 1942 as a POW camp, housing many of the “Battling Bastards of Bataan”.

CHINESE CEMETERY

A part of the La Loma Cemetery area at the edge of Grace Park, this area has been fortified by the MNDF, with modified depth charges serving as mines while 25mm AA guns are positioned in fake graves, bedecked with crosses and flowers.

SAN LAZARO RACE COURSE

A large, open track in the northern part of Santa Cruz, this area has been used as a barracks for the Japanese occupation forces since the fall of the city in 1942.

Ermita

The government district, Ermita was located south of Intramuros, as well as curving northwards along the eastern wall of the old city to meet the south bank of the Pasig. Housed here was the National Post Office, City Hall, Police Headquarters, along with the high end Manila Hotel. The Legislature, Finance and Agriculture Buildings were also present along the open Luneta Park abutting the southern wall of Intramuros, and south of that were the US High Commissioner’s Residence, University of the Philippines and the General Hospital. The area was also home to many of the wealthiest families in Manila, and was dotted with their lavish residences.

ELKS LODGE & ARMY NAVY CLUB

The center of pre-war American social life in Manila, these two social clubs had been gathering points during the fall of the city, and since then had been used by the occupation forces as a social club.

US HIGH COMMISSIONER'S RESIDENCE

Newly built in 1940, the building had barely been used before the Rising Sun was hoisted above it in early 1942. Since then it had served as the headquarters of the occupation forces,

LEGISLATURE BUILDING

The seat of the Commonwealth Government had served in the same capacity for the puppet government under the occupation, but now stood to be made into a central strongpoint in the defense of the city.

AGRICULTURE AND FINANCE BUILDINGS

Two identical government buildings in the middle of the Luneta Park, these join the nearby Legislature as one of the main Japanese strongpoints, surrounded by barbed wire and minefields, as well as numerous weapon emplacements.

MANILA CITY HALL

The clock tower of the neoclassical City Hall was a prominent feature of the Luneta skyline, and the large concrete building was to be another strongpoint of the Japanese defense of the city center.

NEW POLICE STATION

The headquarters of the Manila Police District along Isaac Peral Street, this is another large concrete building that serves as a major strongpoint in the defensive rings around Intramuros and Luneta Park.

THE MANILA HOTEL

The top hotel in Manila, the penthouse suite of this grand establishment had been the pre-war residence of Douglas MacArthur, and remained a top personal objective for the American commander.

CENTRAL POST OFFICE

An iconic edifice on the south bank of the Pasig, the Central Post Office had remained in use under the occupation, but not it concrete façade would serve as an excellent defensive position overlooking major crossing points in the river.

LUNETA HOTEL AND UNIVERSITY APARTMENTS

Examples of the upscale highrise buildings that comprised a significant potion of Ermita, many of which would be converted into strongpoints for the Japanese, as well as used for more sinister purposes.

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

A large complex south of Luneta, the University of the Philippines was considered the top school in the archipelago. Along with the adjacent General Hospital, the campus had been selected as a strongpoint for the Japanese defenders.

PHILIPPINE GENERAL HOSPITAL

Still filled with civilian patients, this hospital complex directly south of the University of the Philippines Campus was to be the site of yet another terrible struggle during the Battle for Manila.

Intramuros

The old Spanish walled city, Intramuros was located along the southern bank of the Pasig, bordered by Ermita to the south and east and the Port to the west. Although the old Spanish walls, standing over twenty feet tall and thirty feet thick, remained, the old moat had long since been filled in by the American authorities, turned into large open lawns. Inside, McKinley Plaza formed the heart of the district, and it was surrounded by tightly packed Spanish era buildings as well as new construction, with several churches and universities. At the northern tip lay Fort Santiago, the old Spanish citadel, and also within the district the Manila Cathedral, the Spanish Governor’s former administration building, Letran College and several religious institutions could also be found.

FORT SANTIAGO

The old Spanish Citadel at the northern end of Intramuros at the mouth of the Pasig, this had been the headquarters of the US Armed Forces Far East until 1942, and had since been the seat of the dreaded Japanese Kempeitai. Many horrors had unfolded in its dungeons over the centuries, and a final, bloody chapter still awaited.

MCKINLEY PLAZA

The central square of Intramuros, McKinley Plaza boasted the old Spanish government center as well as the famed Manila Cathedral, along with a public bomb shelter.

MANILA CATHEDRAL

The seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila, the Manila Cathedral had been rebuilt several times over the centuries, having endured war and earthquakes. Now, in 1945, the coming storm would prove to be yet another challenge to the ancient structure.

Malate

A backwater under the Spanish, the Americans had turned the district south of Ermita into a high end residential area, with high rise apartment buildings, as well as sports facilities such as the Manila Polo Club and the large, modern Rizal Stadium sports complex. Bordered by Dewey Boulevard and Manila Bay to the west, the southern edge of the district represented the southern edge of Metro Manila, bordering the suburb of Pasay.

DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY

Operated by the De La Salle Brothers, a Roman Catholic order devoted to providing education. De La Salle University had been founded after the American takeover of the Philippines to officer Catholic education in English rather than the traditional Spanish.

MANILA POLO CLUB

An open sporting venue in the southern part of Malate, the Polo Club had been taken over as a recreational facility by the Japanese Navy since 1942.

RIZAL STADIUM

A large sporting complex, Rizal Stadium had been a center of sport in Manila before the Japanese occupation, and was now set to become another strongpoint as they defended the city to the last.

Paco

Bordering Ermita to the east along the southern bank of the Pasig, Paco was a large, mostly residential area that was notably home to a community of ethnic Japanese before the war. Most of them had been interned by the authorities in the brief period before the city fell to the IJA, but had since been released and returned home. The district was also home to the Paco Rail Station, a major hub of passenger rail traffic into the city.

Pandacan

An industrial district located east of Paco, Pandacan housed several manufacturing facilities for various products, as well as oil refineries and holding tanks for companies such as Shell and Caltex.

OIL YARDS

The main strategic feature of Pandacan were the large holding tanks facilities for various oil companies, including Shell and Caltex.

Port of Manila

The Port of Manila was located to the west of Intramuros, and consisted of various docks, warehouses, and customs facilities.

PORT OF MANILA

Considered one of the best deepwater anchorages in the West Pacific, the Port of Manila was a sprawling complex and a hub of commerce. Its garrison of Imperial Japanese Navy troops would be the main defenders of the city in 1945.

Singalong

Situated on the southern edge of Metro Manila east of Malate, Singalong was a small residential neighborhood, at the time expanding as a relatively new development.

Santa Ana

An old missionary settlement from the Spanish period, Santa Ana was a developing residential district.

The Genko Line

South of the city lay two major military targets: the old US Army Air Force base at Nichols Field along the bay, and the US Army base at Fort William McKinley just to the northeast. In preparing his defense, Admiral Iwabuchi was of the opinion that the attack would come from the south, and accordingly he placed his strongest defenses in a line between these two points, dubbed the Genko Line. This was a series of strong defenses with a nucleus in a bunker under Fort McKinley, stretching from the coast to Laguna de Bai, blocking the direct southern route into Manila proper. Commanded by Captain Takesue Furuse, who would command the MNDF’s Southern Force. Iwabuchi himself also had a headquarters prepared at Fort McKinley, although he did not occupy it when the battle began.