Army Historian Robert R. Smith wrote : '' " Griswold and Beightler were not willing to attempt the assault with infantry alone . Not expressly enjoined from employing artillery , they now planned a massive artillery preparation that would last from 17 to 23 February and would include indirect fire at ranges up to 8,000 yards as well as direct , point-blank fire from ranges as short as 250 yards . They would employ all available corps and division artillery , from 240 mm howitzers down . ( ... ) Just how civilian lives could be saved by this type of preparation , as opposed to aerial bombardment , is unknown . The net result would be the same : Intramuros would be practically razed . " " That the artillery had almost razed the ancient Walled City could not be helped . To the XIV Corps and the 37th Division at this state of the battle for Manila , American lives were understandably far more valuable than historic landmarks . The destruction stemmed from the American decision to save lives in a battle against Japanese troops who had decided to sacrifice their lives as dearly as possible . " '' Before the fighting ended , MacArthur summoned a provisional assembly of prominent Filipinos to Malacañan Palace and in their presence declared the Commonwealth of the Philippines to be permanently reestablished . '' " My country kept the faith , " '' he told the gathered assembly . '' " Your capital city , cruelly punished though it be , has regained its rightful place — citadel of democracy in the East . " '' For the rest of the month the Americans and Filipino guerrillas mopped up resistance throughout the city . With Intramuros secured on 4 March , Manila was officially liberated , albeit completely destroyed with large areas levelled by American bombing . The battle left 1,010 U.S. soldiers dead and 5,565 wounded . An estimated 100,000 to 240,000 Filipinos civilians were killed , both deliberately by the Japanese in the Manila massacre and from artillery and aerial bombardment by U.S. and Japanese forces . 16,665 Japanese dead were counted within Intramuros alone
Manila massacre
Manila massacre
Battle of Manila (1945)