This World War II-era Fluegel/Staehle patriotic cover is affixed with 3-cent Corregidor / Manila Bay stamp. This U.S. postage stamp was issued in September 1944 to honour the defense and resistance in the Philippines.
The cachet commemorated the Liberation of Manila on 4 February 1945. It featured a full-colour patriotic illustration, depicting the American flag, a bridge scene in Manila, an eagle emblem, and the text: "Manila - Freedom Rings Again for the Philippines Capital - 'As Manila is Burning - So Shall Tokyo Burn' - Signed G.I. Joe".
The postmark, dated 4 February 1945, marked the second day of the brutal month-long Battle of Manila, during which U.S. and Filipino forces fought to liberate the capital from Japanese occupation. The stamp was cancelled in Washington, D.C. on that day, corresponding directly to the date of that historic event.
The Battle of Manila (3 February – 3 March 1945) was a devastating, month-long urban conflict fought between American-Filipino forces and the occupying Imperial Japanese Army. Often described as the "Stalingrad of Asia," it resulted in the liberation of the Philippine capital but at a horrific human and cultural cost.
The battle comprised 35,000 U.S. troops and 3,000 Filipino guerrillas who fought to reclaim the capital from 17,000 Japanese defenders.
Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita had initially ordered his troops to withdraw to the northern mountains. However, Rear Admiral Iwabuchi Sanji refused to evacuate and ordered his naval garrison to fight to the death for every block, building, and room.
Expecting a swift victory, U.S. forces instead faced heavily fortified reinforced concrete structures, minefields, and subterranean tunnels. To minimise American infantry casualties, ground commanders relied heavily on devastating tank and artillery barrages.
Trapped behind enemy lines, desperate Japanese forces engaged in a systematic campaign of scorched-earth arson, mass executions, torture, and rape against the civilian population.
The climax of the battle occurred at Intramuros, the ancient Spanish walled city where the last Japanese forces held out. Heavy artillery reduced the centuries-old district to rubble, destroying irreplaceable cultural artifacts.
By the time the last pocket of Japanese resistance collapsed on 3 March, Manila had become one of the most physically devastated capitals of World War II, alongside Warsaw and Berlin.
