On the morning of 27 February artillery and mortars attempted to smoke the Japanese out of the building. This failed, and 155-mm. howitzers and 105-mm. SPM's thereupon resumed point-blank fire for about two hours. At the end of this bombardment, the north wing had been demolished and the south wing had been damaged beyond repair. Only the battered central portion, roofless and gutted, still stood above its wings like a ghost arising from between toppled tombstones.

Just after 1400 on the 27th the 1st Battalion, 148th Infantry, attacked again and by 1600 had retaken the sorry remnants of the first floor. The battalion cleaned out the rest of the building except for isolated pockets in the basement by 1800, and completed mopping up before noon on the 28th. By that time the battalion had lost another 7 men wounded.

Meanwhile, the 5th Cavalry had assaulted the Agriculture Building. On the 26th, behind artillery support, the regiment attacked twice, but fire from a suicide-bent detachment of Japanese riflemen in the nearby San Luis Terrace Apartments forced the cavalrymen to seek cover after they had lost about 5 men killed and 30 wounded. The next day, losing another 15 men wounded, the 5th Cavalry cleaned out the apartment house and a few neighboring buildings in preparation for another assault on the Agriculture Building on the 28th.

Action on the 28th began with a three-hour preparatory artillery bombardment on the following schedule:

0800-0900	155-mm. point-blank fire from the west and north
0900-1000	75-mm. tank fire and 76-mm. tank destroyer fire, also point-blank, from the south and east
1000-1100	155-mm. point-blank fire from the west and north

The howitzers, tanks, and tank destroyers, so as to avoid endangering troops attacking the other two government buildings, aimed none of their fires higher than the first floor. As a result, much of the Agriculture Building collapsed on its own first floor. By 1100 the bombardment had disintegrated the entire northeastern corner and had damaged beyond repair the rest of the building. The destruction appeared so complete that as the cavalrymen moved in from the south they felt that not a single Japanese could be alive amid the mass of twisted steel and concrete rubble.

Encountering no opposition, the troopers easily gained access to the remains of the first floor, but soon ran into strong resistance from pockets at the northwest and southeast corners. A tank mounting a flame thrower thereupon came forward to reduce a pillbox at the southeast corner of the building, while other tanks lumbered forward to cover all sides of the structure with point-blank 75-mm. fire. Using small arms, bazookas, and portable flame throwers, the 5th Cavalry cleared the above-ground ruins by dusk, but left a few Japanese hidden in basement holes. On 1 March, after a surrender appeal had failed, demolitions and burning gasoline and oil took care of the last Japanese resistance.

The 5th Cavalry reckoned that it had killed at least 150 Japanese during the assault, that artillery fire had killed many more, and that riflemen had cut down others as they tried to escape during the preceding five nights. The 5th Cavalry's own casualties during the reduction of the Agriculture Building were 7 men killed and 75 wounded.

Just as the 1st Cavalry Division had had the honor of first entering Manila, the 37th Infantry Division now had the honor of reducing the last organized resistance within the city, that in the Finance Building. Throughout 28 February and 1 March 155-mm. artillery, 105-mm. SPM's, 76-mm. TD's, and 75-mm. tank guns lambasted the Finance Building from all angles. About 1430 on 1 March the fire stopped as a loudspeaker blared forth an invitation to surrender. Twenty-two Japanese responded.²⁴

After another bombardment lasting from 0800 to 1000 on 2 March, the 1st Battalion, 148th Infantry, began an assault, but halted when three more Japanese came out under a white flag. The Japanese remaining inside took advantage of the lull to open up with machine gun and rifle fire, catching many of the assault troops in exposed positions. Completely disgusted, the infantry withdrew for a final artillery and tank barrage, which lasted until 1300. At the end of this concentration the Finance Building was a shambles; the portions not knocked down seemed to be standing only from sheer force of habit.

What proved to be the final attack began at 1300, and by dark only a small pocket on the top floor remained to be eliminated the next day. This last effort cost the 148th Infantry 1 man killed and 13 wounded. About 75 Japanese were killed within the Finance Building on 2 and 3 March.

Late on 3 March, after he had made sure that all opposition in the Intramuros and government buildings area had been eliminated, General Griswold happily reported to General Krueger that organized resistance in the Manila area had ceased.²⁵ This information the Sixth Army commander relayed to General MacArthur the next day.²⁶ The Battle of Manila was over.