The Liberation Of Manila

During the early months of World War II, Winston Churchill maneuvered to get the U.S. involved in the war to save his country from German invasion. Roosevelt, scheming to lure Hitler into a casus belli, ensnared Japan instead, resulting in the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Pacific War that followed. When the doomed U.S. garrison in the Philippines soon capitulated to the Japanese, the atrocities inflicted on the Filipino and American units that surrendered were portents for the inhabitants of Manila. The history chronicles the 1945 recapture of Manila largely from the perspective of the civilian population, which suffered horrific brutality from the Japanese, followed by destruction and heavy loss of life during the American assault. Individual stories are included of citizens caught in the crossfire between the tenacious Japanese defenders and American troops determined to seize the capital city while minimizing their own casualties, regardless of the cost in civilian lives. More than 175 photographs document the events described.

During the early months of World War II, Winston Churchill maneuvered to get the U.S. involved in the war to save his country from German invasion. Roosevelt, scheming to lure Hitler into a casus belli, ensnared Japan instead, resulting in the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Pacific War that followed. When the doomed U.S. garrison in the Philippines soon capitulated to the Japanese, the atrocities inflicted on the Filipino and American units that surrendered were portents for the inhabitants of Manila. The history chronicles the 1945 recapture of Manila largely from the perspective of the civilian population, which suffered horrific brutality from the Japanese, followed by destruction and heavy loss of life during the American assault. Individual stories are included of citizens caught in the crossfire between the tenacious Japanese defenders and American troops determined to seize the capital city while minimizing their own casualties, regardless of the cost in civilian lives. More than 175 photographs document the events described.

A detailed account of the liberation/destruction of Manila, which left 6,500 American, 20,000 Japanese, and 200,000 Manila citizens dead and leveled the thriving, cosmopolitan city once known as the pearl of the Orient.

The World Reshaped: Fifty Years after the War in Europe looks at the way the world has evolved since the end of the Second World War. The book focuses on Europe, commemorating the end of the War and the seemingly inevitable transition into the Cold War; the break-up of the Soviet Union; and projections into the future. The contributions, each with their own perspectives, trace many of the dominant themes of the history of Europe of the last fifty years, and look forward to the next millennium.

“Illuminating.… An eloquent testament to a doomed city and its people.” —The Wall Street Journal In early 1945, General Douglas MacArthur prepared to reclaim Manila, America’s Pearl of the Orient, which had been seized by the Japanese in 1942. Convinced the Japanese would abandon the city, he planned a victory parade down Dewey Boulevard—but the enemy had other plans. The Japanese were determined to fight to the death. The battle to liberate Manila resulted in the catastrophic destruction of the city and a rampage by Japanese forces that brutalized the civilian population, resulting in a massacre as horrific as the Rape of Nanking. Drawing from war-crimes testimony, after-action reports, and survivor interviews, Rampage recounts one of the most heartbreaking chapters of Pacific War history.

In 100 Miles to Freedom, U.S. Marine Bob Holland tells the story of the release of 3,700 American civilian prisoners of the Japanese at Santo Tomas University Internment Camp in Manila, the Philippines. Until their miraculous rescue on February 3, 1945, these civilians had been interned for more than three and a half years. This wartime account is complete with interviews of several prisoners describing their experiences and hardships in the camp, as well as black-and-white photos depicting Marines and prisoners during this tumultuous event in history. Discover why Brigadier General Robert E. Galer says that through this book, we can know and better appreciate what our proud and dedicated generation of true Americans did for our country.

The reconquest of the Philippine archipelago (exclusive of Leyte), with detailed accounts of Sixth Army and Eighth Army operations on Luzon, as well as of the Eighth Army's reoccupation of the southern Philippines.