Battle of Luzon The Battle of Luzon was a land battle fought as part of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II by the Allied forces of the U . S . , its colony the Philippines , and Mexico against forces of the Empire of Japan . The battle resulted in a U . S . and Filipino victory . The Allies had taken control of all strategically and economically important locations of Luzon by March 1945 , although pockets of Japanese resistance held out in the mountains until the unconditional surrender of Japan . Background . The Philippines were considered to be of great strategic importance because their capture by Japan would pose a significant threat to the U . S . As a result , 135 , 000 troops and 227 aircraft were stationed in the Philippines by October 1941 . However , Luzon — the largest island in the Philippines — was captured by Imperial Japanese forces in 1942 during their campaign to capture the Philippines . General Douglas MacArthur — who was in charge of the defense of the Philippines at the time — was ordered to Australia , and the remaining U . S . forces retreated to the Bataan Peninsula . A few months after this , MacArthur expressed his belief that an attempt to recapture the Philippines was necessary . The U . S . Pacific Commander Admiral Chester Nimitz and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest King both opposed this idea , arguing that it must wait until victory was certain . MacArthur had to wait two years for his wish ; it was 1944 before a campaign to recapture the Philippines was launched . The island of Leyte was the first objective of the campaign , which was captured by the end of December 1944 . This was followed by the attack on Mindoro , and later , Luzon . Preparation . Before U . S . forces could launch the attack on Luzon , a base of operation needed to be established close to the island . Airbases in particular had to be established in order to provide the advancing troops with air support . Troops under Brigadier General William C . Dunckel captured the island of Mindoro , with the assistance of the 7th Fleet . By 28 December , two airbases were controlled by the U . S . and were ready to assist in the attack on Luzon , which was scheduled to be launched on 9 January 1945 . With the capture of Mindoro , U . S . forces were positioned south of Luzon . However , MacArthur intended to land his forces at Lingayen , further north . This would place his troops close to several roads and railways on Luzon , which led to Manila — the main objective — through the plains in the center of the island . Deception operations . U . S . aircraft constantly made reconnaissance and bombing flights over southern Luzon , intending to deceive the Japanese forces into believing that the attack on Luzon would come from the south . In addition , transport aircraft were used to make parachute drops with dummies . Minesweeper s were used to clear the bays of Balayan , Batangas , and Tayabas , located to the south of Luzon , and Filipino resistance fighters conducted sabotage operations in southern Luzon . These deception operations failed to convince General Yamashita , the leader of the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines , and he built significant defensive positions in the hills and mountains surrounding the Lingayen Gulf in Northern Luzon . Battle . The assault on Luzon was launched , as planned , on 9 January 1945 , codenamed S - day . The Japanese forces reported more than 70 Allied warships entering the Lingayen Gulf . Pre - assault bombardment of Japanese shore positions from these ships began at 07 : 00 . The landings were commenced an hour later . The landing forces faced strong opposition from Japanese " kamikaze " aircraft . The escort carrier was destroyed by a " kamikaze " attack , while a destroyer and several other warships were also sunk . Aircraft from the 3rd Fleet assisted the landings with close air support , strafing and bombing Japanese gun positions . The landings at the Lingayen Gulf on 9 January were carried out by the 6th Army under the command of General Walter Krueger . Approximately 175 , 000 troops from the 6th Army landed along the beachhead within a few days , while the I Corps protected their flanks . XIV Corps under General Oscar Griswold then advanced south toward Manila , despite Krueger ' s concerns that his eastern flank was unprotected and vulnerable if the Japanese forces attacked . However , no such attack occurred , and the U . S . forces did not meet much resistance until they reached the Clark Air Base on 23 January . The battle there lasted until the end of January , and after capturing the base , XIV Corps advanced toward Manila . A second amphibious landing took place on 15 January , southwest of Manila . On 31 January , two regiments of the 11th Airborne Division made an airborne assault , capturing a bridge , and later advanced toward Manila . On 3 February , the 1st Cavalry Division captured the bridge across Tullahan River leading to the city . They advanced into the city that evening , and the battle for the capture of Manila began . On 4 February , the paratroopers of the 11th Airborne — approaching the city from the south — came to the main Japanese defences south of the city of Manila where their advance was halted by heavy resistance . General Yamashita had ordered his troops to destroy all bridges and other vital installations as soon as the U . S . forces entered the city , and Japanese forces entrenched throughout the city continued to resist U . S . forces . General MacArthur announced the imminent recapture of Manila on the same day . On 11 February , the 11th Airborne Division captured the last Japanese outer defences , thus encircling the whole city . U . S . and Filipino forces carried out clearing operations in the city in the following weeks . Military casualties totalled 1 , 010 Americans , 3 , 079 Filipinos and 12 , 000 Japanese . Battles continued throughout the island of Luzon in the following weeks , with more U . S . troops having landed on the island . Filipino and American resistance fighters also attacked Japanese positions and secured several locations . The Allies had taken control of all strategically and economically important locations of Luzon by early March . Small groups of the remaining Japanese forces retreated to the mountainous areas in the north and southeast of the island , where they were besieged for months . Pockets of Japanese soldiers held out in the mountains — most ceasing resistance with the unconditional surrender of Japan , but a scattered few holding out for many years afterwards . Casualties were stunningly high for the Japanese . Japanese losses were 205 , 535 dead , with 9 , 050 taken prisoners . Allied losses were far lower , with 8 , 310 dead and 29 , 560 wounded .