BRIEFER: Guerrillas in the Battle of Manila | Presidential Museum and Library

(Part of the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Manila.)

Filipino guerrilla groups were integral to the liberation of Manila in 1945. They gathered intelligence, distributed aid, ambushed and sabotage enemy operations; and fought alongside American troops against the Imperial Japanese forces.

A Filipino guerrilla who fought in the 1945 Battle of Manila. (Photo courtesy of the University of Wisconsin — Madison, Center for Southeast Asian Studies.)

Filipino Blue Eagle Guerrillas giving directions to American servicemen, March 1945. (Photo courtesy of Mr. John Tewell.)

Filipino Guerrilla Group	Tactical Actions Taken	Attachment	Location of Engagement
Luzon Guerrilla Army Force (Lapham)	Freed about 500 prisoners of war	U.S. 6th Army Ranger Battalion	Pangatian Camp in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija
Hunters – ROTC Guerrillas / 47th Hunter’s ROTC Division	Secured the landing zones of the U.S. 11th Airborne Division Fought to capture Mt. Maculot in Batangas Fought with the 11th U.S. Airborne coming from the south Secured and cleared Nichols Field of Japanese forces	U.S. 11th Airborne Division	Mt. Maculot, Batangas; Pasay City; Nichols Airfield, De La Salle College in Manila (now De La Salle University)
Kuomintang – Organized Chinese Volunteers in the Philippines (CVP)	Organized into Chinese Provisional Battalion, joined the mopping operations of the 43rd Division, U.S. Sixth Army	43rd Division, U.S. Sixth Army	Antipolo and Ipo Dam
	Conducted numerous ambush and sabotage operations in Manila		Headquarters at 522 Benavidez Street, Trozo, Manila
Wa Chi or Squadron 48 Guerrilla (Overseas Chinese Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Force)	Established a resistance group to fight the Japanese	U.S. 44th Tank Battalion	Manila
	Helped seize the headquarters of the puppet Chinese association and the Kempeitai	U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, Flying Columns	Soler and Azcarraga Streets, Manila
	Attacked and captured Japanese soldiers, and cleared enemy remnants in different parts of Manila		Dee C. Chuan Lumber yard at Soler Street, Aguinaldo Building on Juan Luna Street at Binondo, Sta. Cruz Church, San Fernando Bridge, Paco District
Captain Manuel Colayco	Met the advanced team of the American forces and volunteered as a guide to UST	Lt. Col. Haskett Conner, U.S. Flying Columns	University of Santo Tomas, Manila
COWHM (Chinese Overseas Wartime Hseuhkan Militia)	Acted as intelligence operative to the U.S. 37th Infantry Division, gathered information regarding the concentration of Japanese troops in Manila	U.S. 37th Infantry Division	Manila
	Prepared and secured the Lingayen landing for the American troops	Southwest Pacific Area Special Detachment Manila Sector	Lingayen Landing and Manila
	Led by Major Ong Hung Ting, assisted the 1st Cavalry in their drive to Manila	U.S. 1st Cavalry Division	Manila
	Fought against the Japanese in Far Eastern University, cleared Binondo Church, and Santa Cruz area	U.S. 1st Cavalry Division	Far Eastern University, Binondo, Santa Cruz Area
East Central Luzon Guerilla Army (ECLGA)	Led by Lt. Vicente Kierluf, participated in the assault against the Japanese in Far Eastern University (FEU)		Far Eastern University (FEU)
Fil-American Irregular Troops (FAIT), composed of three brigades: Manila Brigade, McKinley Brigade, and Laguna Brigade	Provided intelligence on Japanese strength and troop movements Provided detailed information on Japanese defenses, showed maps on the exact location of enemy machine gun nests in Manila		Manila
	Eliminated spies and Japanese sympathizers, secured adequate food supplies, guarded entry and exit points		Manila
	Operated side by side with the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division	U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division	Marikina
	Led by Col. Mariano Castaneda, participated in the approach march to Manila	U.S. 11th Airborne Division	Manila

Bibliography

Custodio, Jose Antonio. Manila: The Decisive Battle. A Study on the Battle for the Liberation of Manila and Its Impact on the Pacific War. (Quezon City: University of the Philippines, Master’s Thesis, 1999).

Francisco, Rino A. “Guerilla Operations in Manila During the Second World War”. Manila Selected Papers of MSA Annual Conferences (1992 – 2002). (Quezon City: Manila Studies Association, 2004).

Pugay, Chris Antonette. “The Battle of Manila”. National Historical Commission of the Philippines. Retrieved on 16 December 2014 from http://nhcp.gov.ph/the-battle-for-manila/.

Wilkinson, Rupert, Surviving a Japanese Internment Camp: Life and Liberation at Santo Tomas, Manila, in World War II (North Carolina: McFarland, 2013).

Yung Li, Yuk- wai, The Huaqiao Warriors: Chinese Resistance Movement in the Philippines 1942 – 1943, (Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1996).