The attack of the Philippines started on December 8, 1941 ten houyrs after the attack on Peral Harbor in hawaii. As the japanese forced advanced, Manila declard an open city to prevent it from destruction, meanwhile, the government was moved to Corregidor. The Japanese occupiedd Manila on January 2, 1942.

In march of 1942 U.S General Douglas McArthur and President Quezon fled the country. The cruelty of the Japanese military occupation of the Philippines is legendary. The 76,000 starving and sick American and Filipino defenders in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese on April 9, 1942. The Japanese led their captives on a cruel and criminal Death march on which 7-10,000 died or were murdered before arriving at the internment camp ten days later.

Finally in October of 1944 McArthur had gatherd enough additional troops and supplies to begin the retaking of the Philippines ,landing with Sergio Osmeña who had assumed the Presidency after Quezon's death. The battle entailed long fierce fighting, some of the Japanese continued to fight until the official surrender of th Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945.

the liberation of the Philippines was costly. In the Philippines alone, the American lost 60,628 men and the Japanese an estimated 300,000. Filipino casulaties are estimated a million and, sadly, these occured mainly in the last months of the war when the final outcome had long been decided in any event.