Japanese Liberation and Liberation of the Philippines: Luzon (1945)

Japanese Liberation and Liberation of the Philippines: Luzon (1945)

The liberation of the Philippines is exactly that - the liberation of the Philippines, from the Japanese imperial army, by allied forces in World War 2. The Japanese invaded the Philippines in order to get resources, capture supply routes and to create a Japanese controlled "buffer zone" around mainland Japan. Allied forces, lead by MacArthur eventually retook the Philippines several years later and went on, along with other generals, to destroy the Japanese imperial army and subdue Japan's aggression. Whilst in the Philippines the Japanese army, as with other places inflicted great harm and hostility on the local people and captured soldiers.

 Japanese resistance, heavy rains, and unsuitable terrain limited Leyte's development as a major air and supply base and delayed the Luzon landing, originally scheduled for 20 December 1944. Japanese suicide planes had made their first devastating appearance at Leyte Gulf and now struck hard at ships leading the Luzon invasion force, sinking or seriously damaging eighteen vessels. The Sixth Army (now comprised of I and XIV Corps) landing at Lingayen on 9 January 1945, however, went unopposed.

 The depletion of Japanese air and naval power in the defense of Leyte convinced Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, commander of the 14th Area Army in the Philippines, that he could no longer contest American landings. He divided his soldiers into three groups and positioned them in the mountains of northern, eastern, and western Luzon. The Japanese were to make the enemy conquest of Luzon as costly and time‐consuming as possible.

MacArthur had justified the Luzon operation by arguing that the island's central plain, ideal for base sites, and Manila's port facilities could be seized within six weeks. He urged Krueger forward, despite his subordinate's concern that Yamashita might counterattack along the Sixth Army's overextended flanks. A “flying column” of the First Cavalry Division reached Manila's northern suburbs on 3 February, and 37th Division troops entered the city the following day. The 11th Airborne Division had been approaching Manila from the south. By 11 February, American troops encircled the city.

 

The Establishment of Japanese Rule in the Philippines

• On 3 January 1942, Lt. Masaharu Homma, commander of the Japanese Imperial Forces in the Philippines issued a proclamation stating the official ending of American sovereignty over the Philippines. He also declared Martial Law under the Japanese Military Administration.
• The Japanese authorities announced that their objective is to have Asia for the Asians and the Philippines to be a part of the Japanese Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.
• Filipino leaders were invited to form a new government to be supervised and controlled by the Japanese High Command.
• On 23 January 1942, the Executive Commission was created with Jorge Vargas, Manila Mayor, as Chairman. The other commissioners included Benigno Aquino (Interior), Antonio delas Alas (Finance), Rafael Alunan (Agriculture), Jose Laurel (Justice), Claro M. Recto ( Education, Health and Public Welfare) and Quintin Parades (Public Woks and Communications)
• There were also few Filipinos who opted not to collaborate with the Japanese; one of them was Jose Abad Santos.

Sources :

 http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O126-PhilippinesLiberationofth.html

 http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_liberation_of_the_Philippines_from_the_Japanese

 http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/camp/pac/phil/lib-luz.html