Ruins of a church and commercial theater building stand amid rubble-strewn streets, a scene typical of Manila in the wake of the Battle of Manila, fought from February to March 1945. As US and Filipino forces fought house-to-house to retake the city from entrenched Japanese naval troops, much of the historic capital was reduced to ruin. Civilians, including children, can be seen picking their way through the wreckage — a stark reminder of the human cost of one of the Pacific War's most destructive urban battles. Project: 218441