Citizens of Manila, Philippines, were gunned down by the Japanese military in February 1945 for alleged guerrilla activities. Japanese forces massacred a number of non-combatant Manila civilians as anti-Japanese resistance fighters as the fierce fighting continued in the city of Manila.

　　Citizens of Manila, Philippines were gunned down by the Japanese Army in February 1945 for alleged guerrilla activities. The Japanese massacred many non-combatant Manila civilians as anti-Japanese resistance fighters as the fierce fighting continued in Manila City, and ordered a Japanese battalion dated February 13, 1945, to gather Filipinos in one place when killing them so as not to waste ammunition and manpower. He further ordered that the dead Filipinos be collected in buildings and incinerated or thrown into the river. The massacre of guerrilla suspects broke out with the massacre of about 115 Filipinos at the Dipac lumberyard on February 3, the first day of the Battle of Manila; from February 9, the massacre shifted from individual attacks on guerrilla suspects to an organized massacre.

　The Manila Massacre, also known as the Rape of Manila, was an atrocity committed by Japanese forces against Filipino civilians in the Philippine capital city of Manila during the Battle of Manila (February 3, 1945 - March 3, 1945), which occurred at the end of World War II. The total number of civilians killed by Japanese as well as American artillery and gunfire was estimated at at least 100,000. U.S. military operations may have caused about 40% of the total number of Filipino noncombatant deaths during the fighting.

　The month-long battle of Manila resulted in the deaths of nearly 100,000 more civilians and the complete devastation of the city. It was the site of the worst urban battle fought by American forces in the Pacific War. Japanese forces committed mass murder against Filipino civilians during the battle, and American armed forces killed many of their own people in the process. In the Battle of Manila, approximately 1,010 American soldiers were killed in action and 5,565 were wounded. Japanese soldiers were annihilated with approximately 16,665 killed in action.

　Japanese soldiers were subjected to constant U.S. bombardment and faced certain death in battle and capture. The beleaguered Japanese forces took out their anger and frustration on the Filipino civilians who were caught in the crossfire. They committed a number of violent atrocities that became the Manila Massacre. To protect their positions, the Japanese pushed Filipino women and children to the front lines as human shields. Surviving Filipinos were killed by the Japanese. Japanese soldiers slaughtered the surviving Filipinos by lobbing grenades into dugouts and trenches, by rifle fire, and by bayonet thrusts. The Japanese massacre in Manila was comparable to the Nanking Massacre of 1937-38.