Manila massacre

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The Manila massacre, February 1945, refers to the atrocities conducted against Filipino civilians in Manila, Philippines by retreating Japanese troops during World War II.

To avoid needless violence, Japanese Imperial Army General Tomoyuki Yamashita had ordered a withdrawal of Japanese troops from Manila. However, 19,000 soldiers under Vice Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi were encircled within the city. Various credible Western and Eastern sources^[1] agree that the death toll was at least 100,000 people. The massacre was at its worst in the Battle of Manila. During the battle for control of the city, Japanese troops took out their anger and frustration on the civilians caught in the crossfire. Japanese troops brutally looted, burned, executed, decapitated and abused women, men and children alike, including priests, Red Cross personnel, prisoners of war and hospital patients. Manila was called the "Warsaw of Asia",^{[citation needed]} being the most devastated city in Asia during World War II after Nanjing.

The Manila massacre is one of the several major war crimes committed by the Imperial Japanese Army as judged by the postwar military tribune.

[edit] See also

• Japanese war crimes
• Bataan Death March
• Akira Muto

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Battling Bastards of Bataan
• The Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century by Matthew White