Asia Pacific 1945: Philippines Campaign

While its bombers hit Japan, the US secured Leyte and its neighboring islands in the Philippines. By January, the Americans were ready for the main island of Luzon and, in February, the capital of Manila. The Japanese defended Manila to the death, taking many Filipino civilians with them, over a one month battle which saw the total destruction of the city.

Main Events

9 Jan 1945 Battle of Luzon

US lands at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippinesin wikipedia

3 Feb–3 Mar 1945 Battle of Manila

US captures Manilain wikipedia

4–11 Feb 1945 Yalta Conference

In February 1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Britain, and Premier Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union met at Yalta in Crimea, Soviet Union, to discuss the reorganization of postwar Europe. The conference aimed to both provide a collective security order and to give self-determination to the liberated peoples of post-Nazi Europe. It was agreed that Germany would be demilitarized and denazified, and that the Soviets would declare war on Japan several months after Germany’s unconditional surrender.in wikipedia

19 Feb 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima

Hoping to establish a base of operations from which to stage regular bombing runs on the main islands of Japan, the US Marine Corps landed on the island of Iwo Jima, the first allied landing on the integral territory of Japan itself.in wikipedia