æz ðɪ ˈɛlɪmənts ʌvðə jˈuː.ˈɛs. sˈɪksθ ˈɑːɹmi ˌʌndɚ luːtˈɛnənt dʒˈɛnɚɹəl wˈɔltɚ kɹˈuːdʒɚ mˈuːvd ˌɪntʊ ðə sˈɪɾi ʌv mɐnˈɪlə tə ɹᵻtˈeɪk ɪt fɹʌmðə wˈɛl dˈʌɡɪn dʒˌæpənˈiːz fˈoːɹsᵻz, dʒˈɛnɚɹəl dˈʌɡləz mˈæk ˈɑːɹθɚɹ ˈɪʃuːd ˈɔːɹdɚz fɚðə stˈɑːɹt ʌv pɹɪplˈænd ˌɑːpɚɹˈeɪʃənz tə ɹᵻkˈæptʃɚ ðɪ ɛntˈaɪɚ sˈʌðɚn fˈɪlᵻpˌiːn ˌɑːɹkɪpɪlˈeɪɡoʊ fɹʌmðə dʒˌæpənˈiːz, ˈɔːl kˈoʊdnˈeɪmd vˈɪktɚ, ɹᵻɡˈɑːɹdləs baɪ wˌɪtʃ ðɪ ɐsˈaɪnd fˈoːɹsᵻz wɜː tə pɹəsˈiːd.
As the elements of the U.S. Sixth Army under Lieutenant General Walter Krueger moved into the city of Manila to retake it from the well dug-in Japanese forces, General Douglas MacArthur issued orders for the start of preplanned operations to recapture the entire southern Philippine archipelago from the Japanese, all code-named VICTOR, regardless by which the assigned forces were to proceed.