Search in the National Archives Catalog for all Philippine Archives Collection descriptions. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Battle of the Philippines. Is MacArthur to blame for the bloodbath that destroyed the Philippine capital? The Philippines campaign of 1944–1945, the Battle of the Philippines 1944–1945, or the Liberation of the Philippines was the American and Filipino campaign to defeat and expel the Imperial Japanese forces occupying the Philippines, during World War II. The Philippines campaign (Filipino: Kampanya sa Pilipinas or Labanan sa Pilipinas), the Battle of the Philippines or the Fall of the Philippines, fought 8 December 1941 – 8 May 1942, was the invasion of the Philippines by Imperial Japan and the defense of the islands by United States and Filipino forces during the Second World War. Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944), naval battle of World War II between the Japanese Combined Fleet and the U.S. Fifth Fleet. The Philippines campaign, the Battle of the Philippines or the Liberation of the Philippines (Filipino: Kampanya sa Pilipinas, Labanan sa Pilipinas & Liberasyon ng Pilipinas), (Operation Musketeer I, II, and III) (Filipino: Operasyon Mosketero I, II, at III), was the American and Filipino campaign to defeat and expel the Imperial Japanese forces occupying the Philippines during World War II. Allied forces had advanced across the Central Pacific taking the Gilbert, Marshall and Caroline Islands. The sea battle of Leyte Gulf was the same story. January 31–February 21 – Battle of Bataan (1945) February 3–March 3 – Battle of Manila United States forces enter the outskirts of Manila to capture it from the Japanese Imperial Army, starting the battle. Japanese soldiers, captured by 43rd Infantry Division, Philippines 1945 U.S. Army 40th Infantry Division sniper guard on bulldozer The Ruins of Manila after the Battle for the Philippine Capital March 1945 7 105 mm M2A1 battery in action January 1945, Battle of Luzon 32nd Infantry Division 6×6 trucks and 57mm AT guns, Mindanao 1945 That battle also saw the introduction of … Very few battles during the last few months of WWII are known to have exceeded the brutality and destruction in Manila. By the summer of 1944, American forces were only 300 miles southeast of Mindanao, the southernmost island in the Philippines. Carrier based planes were already conducting strikes against the Philippine Islands. No National Archives description. After months of resistance and the American surrenders at Bataan and Corregidor, Frazier survived the Bataan Death March and more than 3½ years as a prisoner of war. The Battle of Midway in 1942 had done a great deal to damage Japan’s carrier force, but even into 1944, Japan statistically had a larger … The Battle of Midway in 1942 had done a great deal to damage Japan’s carrier force, but even into 1944, Japan statistically had a larger … The loss of ships and sailors was horrendous for both sides. This battle was said to be the last great carrier battle of World War Two. That battle also saw the introduction of … The Japanese Army had overrun all of the Philippines during the first half of 1942. If the carnage of Manila in 1945 did not happen, we would have had a very different Philippines today. The Battle of Manila (Filipino: Labanan sa Maynila; 3 February – 3 March 1945) was a major battle of the Philippine campaign of 1944-45, during the Second World War.