March 3, 1945: The Liberation of the Philippines

March 3, 1945: U.S. forces liberate Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Naval warfare, aerial warfare, jungle warfare, mountain warfare, and nasty street-to-street fighting: The Battle of Manila had it all. The Japanese didn't leave much for the Americans to liberate. But the people of the Philippines were finally free.

Following the Spanish-American War of 1898, when the United States took the Philippine Islands from Spain, the Islands were governed by the U.S., under the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands. This lasted until 1935, when it was reorganized as the Commonwealth of the Philippines, considered a step toward full independence.

That Commonwealth was attacked by the Empire of Japan on December 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The combined Filipino-American army was defeated in the Battle of Bataan, which saw many war crimes committed, and the Battle of Corregidor, in April 1942, forcing the evacuation of U.S. forces under General Douglas MacArthur, who, upon reaching safety in Australia, made his famous radio broadcast in which he told the Islands, "I shall return."

Guerrilla resistance against the Japanese continued throughout the war. Uncaptured Filipino army units, a Communist insurgency, and supporting American agents all played a role in the resistance. Due to the huge number of islands, the Japanese never occupied many of the smaller and more minor islands. The Japanese control over the countryside and smaller towns were often tenuous at best.

MacArthur returned with the U.S. Army and Commonwealth troops on October 20, 1944. On February 3, 1945, the fight to liberate the capital of Manila began. A city of nearly 2 million people at its peak, the fight between the Japanese troops on one side, and the U.S. and Filipino troops on the other, became urban warfare, resembling gang warfare in American cities. The Japanese High Command ordered their marines to leave the city, but they refused.

It took until March 3 to finally gain a Japanese surrender of the city, which was heavily damaged. Estimates of Filipino war dead reached 1 million. The Commonwealth was restored, and a one-year transitional period in preparation for independence began. Elections followed in April 1946, with Manuel Roxas winning as the 1st President of the independent Republic of the Philippines.

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March 3, 1945 was a Saturday. Actress Hattie Winston and film director George Miller were born.

Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. There was 1 game played in the NHL: The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.