![]() Despite early progress, General Douglas MacArthur was displeased with the pace of the advance, prompting a “race” to Manila between the 37th Infantry Division and the 1st Cavalry Division. In early January 1945, the Allies launched an operation to liberate Luzon, with the assault’s primary objective to reach the capital. After almost three years of island-hopping to reach the islands, victories at Leyte and Leyte Gulf offered a major strategic victory towards this mission, but Manila remained under Japanese control. ![]() The loss of the Philippines was a significant hit, and its liberation became a major objective of the Allied Pacific campaign. With this defeat, the Phil ippines, along with its capital Manila, fell under Japanese occupation. In April 1942, Japanese forces captured the remaining American and Filipino defenders on Luzon. After hard urban fighting house to house that destroyed huge portions of the cityscape, the capital city was finally reclaimed, freeing the Philippine capital at last. On February 3, 1945, after clearing much of the island of Luzon, Allied troops began to liberate the Philippine city of Manila from Japanese control. On Monday, February 3rd at 11:30 a.m., the Friends of the National World War II Memorial will hold a brief ceremony and wreath presentation at the National World War II Memorial to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Manila, the scene of the worst urban fighting in the Pacific Theater.
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