It was October 1944. The Philippines had already suffered years under Japanese occupation. General Tomoyuki Yamashita had just taken command of the Japanese forces in the country.
His job was to stop the returning American forces. But when American troops landed on Leyte, the Japanese forces began to lose ground.
For Filipinos, the last year of the war was very hard. Food and other supplies were running out. Fighting spread across the country. Many civilians were killed or hurt by Japanese forces.
Then came the Battle of Manila in early 1945. Much of the city was destroyed, and about 100,000 Filipinos died during the battle.
Yamashita had ordered Japanese forces to leave Manila. But Japanese naval forces stayed and fought. The battle left much of the city in ruins.
By the middle of 1945, Yamashita’s remaining forces had been pushed into the mountains of northern Luzon. They had very little food, ammunition, and other supplies.
Then, in August, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Soviet Union also entered the war against Japan. On August 15, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender.
On September 3, 1945, Yamashita came down from the mountains with his staff. In Kiangan, Ifugao, he formally surrendered his forces.
The long Japanese occupation of the Philippines had finally ended.
⌨ ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ