The hardest fighting in
Intramuros was the 129th’s effort to capture Ft. Santiago in the
northwest corner of the old walls. They fought room to room, and then
through subterranean dungeons and tunnels, using flamethrowers, phosphorus
grenades, demolitions and bazookas. In some cases, they poured
gasoline or oil through holes in the floor then ignited it to flush out the
die-in-place defenders. The regiment did not secure the last of the
fort’s tunnels until 1200 on 25 February. [xxxviii]
During
the fighting in Intramuros, some Japanese troops attempted to exfiltrate
wearing U.S. uniforms and carrying M1 rifles. Others showed a white
flag in the belfry of Del Monico church only to follow up with rifle fire.
None of this helped them. Only twenty-five Japanese surrendered in the
Intramuros fighting, all of them Formosans of the Imperial Japanese Labor
Force. At dawn on 26 February, seeing that the Intramuros stronghold
had fallen, Rear Admiral Iwabuchi and his staff committed suicide at their
headquarters in the Agriculture Building.
[xxxix]
Despite the loss of Intramuros, the
Japanese still held three strong positions, the Legislative, Finance and
Agriculture Buildings, which lay just southeast of the old fortress.
Since Rear Adm. Iwabuchi had expected U.S. attacks to come from the south,
he had fortified these buildings more thoroughly than the more northerly
strongpoints. It is probably also for this reason that Iwabuchi had
put his headquarters in the Agriculture Building. The Legislative,
Finance and Agriculture Buildings were of reinforced concrete.
Window-sited machine guns covered exterior approaches. Sandbags and
barricades blocked all ground-level doors and windows. Interiors were
also fortified as in other strongpoints.
The U.S. artillery preparation
on the buildings began on 25 February. However, the 1st Cavalry
Division, then deployed along the bay shore west of Intramuros, reported
shells falling on its positions. These were 37th Infantry
Division rounds that had overshot the government buildings to fall on the 1st
Cavalry Division. Major General Robert S. Beightler, commander of the
37th Infantry Division, immediately ordered a ceasefire at 1050
to resolve this problem by shifting troops out of the fire zone. Fires
resumed at 1245. [xl]
On 26 February, the148th
Infantry Regiment assaulted the Legislative Building and secured it by 28
February. The regiment’s troops were harassed by Japanese firing up
through holes in the floor and had to withdraw after their first assault to
allow more shelling of the still vigorously resisting defenders. On 26
February, the 5th Cavalry Regiment assaulted the Agriculture
Building after an artillery preparation, but troops had to withdraw because
of withering Japanese covering fire from the nearby San Luis Terrace
Apartments. The 5th Cavalry Regiment had to spend 27
February clearing out the apartments. On 28 February, the regiment
returned to the Agriculture Building with a three-hour artillery
preparation. Point-blank 155mm howitzer fires alternated with
point-blank tank and tank-destroyer fires, with all of these fires aimed no
higher than the first floor of the Agriculture Building so as to avoid
endangering friendly troops. Much of the Agriculture Building thus
pancaked on its own first floor, and the 5th Cavalry Regiment
assaulted into what was left. A flamethrower tank reduced a pillbox on
the southeast corner, and other tanks swarmed around the building to provide
point-blank 75mm fire. The 5th Cavalry Regiment otherwise
used flamethrowers, bazookas and small arms.
On 1 March, the 5th
Cavalry Regiment made a surrender appeal to Japanese survivors. When
there was no response, the regiment employed demolitions and burning
gasoline and oil against remaining defenders. An artillery preparation
was applied against the sole remaining Japanese position, the Finance
Building, on 28 February and 1 March. A surrender appeal this time
garnered twenty-five Japanese responses. After more artillery
preparation on 2 March, the 148th Infantry Regiment assaulted the
building. They cleared the last of the Japanese defenders from the
elevator shaft on top of the building on the morning of 3 March.
[xli]
On the afternoon of 3 March
Lieutenant General Oscar W. Griswold, commander of 14th Corps,
reported to Gen. Krueger of 6th Army that all resistance had
ceased. The struggle to capture Manila was over.
[xlii] The struggle to administer the battle-torn city, however,
was just beginning. U.S. military assets on the scene would play
a major part in reviving and running Manila for several weeks after the
battle. The task of administering the city was complicated by the
enormous toll the battle had taken. U.S. casualties in the battle were
1,010 killed in action (KIA) and 5,565 wounded in action (WIA), for a total
of 6,575. Japanese counted dead were 16,665. In addition, there were
an estimated 100,000 civilian casualties, of varying degrees of seriousness
and of diverse causes; most were probably generated by Japanese executions
and atrocities toward Philippine civilians, by friendly fire from American
artillery, and by mishap or exposure associated with dislocation. Much
of Manila itself was in ruins. The water system within the city needed
extensive repairs. Sewage and garbage collection systems were not
functioning. The electrical system was out. Most streets were
ruined and public transportation no longer existed. The major
government buildings, the Philippine General Hospital, and the University of
Philippines were destroyed, along with many residential districts. The
port installations were severely damaged. Besides all this, numerous
homeless civilians were milling about seeking food, shelter, and medical
care. [xliii]
U.S. forces in Manila were
immediately enlisted for occupation duty. After the battle, the 37th
Infantry Division bivouacked near Grace Park, in the northern suburbs.
On 5 March, the division was removed from 14th Corps, placed
directly under 6th Army, and given the mission of providing
security for the city. Troops from the division were distributed to
Filipino police stations, and so they had to deal with collaborators brought
in by civilians until the Counterintelligence Corps could investigate.
Looting was a major problem for the division’s security troops.
Large-scale looting was conducted during the battle by organized bands of
Filipinos who moved just behind the American advance. The looters
placed a point man in the American front lines to identify where the spoils
were richest, allowing those behind to carry off the goods without delay.
American security troops did not try to reverse the looting done during the
battle. They stopped further looting when the battle was over,
however, by mounting guard and patrol duty throughout the city, 24 hours a
day. [xliv]
Security forces faced the
problem of the city being strewn with numerous mines, unexploded shells, and
booby traps. Areas where fighting had been heaviest were roped off
from the public by military police until the 37th Infantry
Division’s engineer companies could clear them. On 8 March, the track
was blown off a U.S. bulldozer on Dewey Boulevard. There were
occasional casualties from mines throughout March. The 117th
Engineer Battalion piled fifty tons of cleared mines and shells in Burnham
Green Park, where on 16 March these exploded from causes unknown.
There were no casualties. The 117th Engineers were also
busy repairing warehouses, plumbing and electrical facilities, and building
an airstrip and Red Cross recreation center. [xlv]
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