In 1945 , the battle for the liberation of Manila began when American troops tried to occupy Manila on January 1945 . Intense urban fighting occurred between the combined American and Filipino troops under the United States Army and Philippine Commonwealth Army including recognized guerrillas , against the 30,000 Japanese defenders . As the battle continued , both sides inflicted heavy damage on the city culminating with the Manila massacre by Japanese troops . The Imperial Japanese Army was pushed back , eventually retreating into the Intramuros district . General MacArthur , though opposed to the bombing of the walled city , approved the heavy shelling which resulted in deaths of over 16,665 Japanese alone within Intramuros . Two of the eight gates of Intramuros were badly damaged by American tanks . The bombings leveled most of Intramuros leaving only 5 % of the city structures ; the walls lost 40 % to the bombings . Over 100,000 Filipino men , women and children died from February 3 to March 3 , 1945 during the Battle of Manila
Manila massacre
Manila massacre
Intramuros