Rampage

MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila

By: James M. Scott

Narrated by: Jesse Einstein

Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

The definitive history of one of the most brutal campaigns of the war in the Pacific.

Before World War II, Manila was a slice of America in Asia, populated with elegant neoclassical buildings, spacious parks, and home to thousands of US servicemen and business executives who enjoyed the relaxed pace of the tropics. The outbreak of the war, however, brought an end to the good life. General Douglas MacArthur, hoping to protect the Pearl of the Orient, declared the Philippine capital an open city and evacuated his forces. The Japanese seized Manila on January 2, 1942, rounding up and interning thousands of Americans.

MacArthur, who escaped soon after to Australia, famously vowed to return. For nearly three years, he clawed his way north, obsessed with redeeming his promise and turning his earlier defeat into victory. By early 1945, he prepared to liberate Manila, a city whose residents by then faced widespread starvation. Convinced the Japanese would abandon the city as he did, MacArthur planned a victory parade down Dewey Boulevard. But the enemy had other plans. Determined to fight to the death, Japanese marines barricaded intersections, converted buildings into fortresses, and booby-trapped stores, graveyards, and even dead bodies.

The 29-day battle to liberate Manila resulted in the catastrophic destruction of the city and a rampage by Japanese forces that brutalized the civilian population. Landmarks were demolished, houses were torched, suspected resistance fighters were tortured and killed, countless women were raped, and their husbands and children were murdered. American troops had no choice but to battle the enemy, floor by floor and even room by room, through schools, hospitals, and even sports stadiums. In the end, an estimated 100,000 civilians lost their lives in a massacre as heinous as the Rape of Nanking.

Based on extensive research in the United States and the Philippines, including war-crimes testimony, after-action reports, and survivor interviews, Rampage recounts one of the most heartbreaking chapters of Pacific War history.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2018 James M. Scott (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

Good but , hard to listen to in some parts.

While this book discusses the Battle of Manila, it is mainly centered on the Japanese treatment of the resident of the city, during the course of the battle, and the Japanese action are discussed for approximately 100 people, including a description of the number of bayonet wounds and other wounds, that each person received. These details are very hard to listen to for hour after hour. I had to put the book away numerous times because of the detail provided. IMHO A better title in my mind for this book would have been the MacArthur , Yamashita and Rape of Manila!

Bloody Nightmare

Do not attempt to eat anything when u listen to this. You may upchuck. This is a tale of TOTAL WAR!
The

EXCELLENT story that will open your eyes!

I thoroughly enjoyed Rampage. This story will open your eyes to the history of what truly took place in the Philippines after the Japanese invaded. This book will enlighten the reader to the truth of a horrible time in history when many innocent women, men and children where callously executed. You should read ALL of James M Scott’s books!

Horrific World War II true story in Philippines

This was an excellent book, but too horrific for me to hear in some places!!

Did not care for narrator.

Not a fan of his voice. Not a fan of his delivery. Not a fan of the way he says ethnic names while destroying military terms-which is part of the point of the book. It is military history and being woke has no place in it.

I bought the book on the recommendation of Dan Carlin as he used it for source material in one of his podcasts. I ended up buying the book so I could finish it with out being annoyed.

I was forced in high school to read two biographies on Douglas MacArthur and have never been a fan of his. Hearing about his opponent was very interesting and hearing about the POW camp in Manila was impressive and heart breaking.

It seems like a wonderful book that I’ll just have to read the old fashioned way.

Unimaginable

Essential for spanning knowledge of events beyond school teachings. No detail left out for the sake of the reader's comfort.

Detailed review of the Battle of Manila

The month-long, Battle for Manila in early 1945, unwanted by supreme commanders on both sides, resulted in devastation and atrocities unmatched in the Pacific War. Caught between the advancing American troops and the trapped and rampaging Japanese Marines, the civilian population of Manila suffered over 100,000 deaths. Having lived in the Malate section of Manila fifty years later, Scott's description of the battle brought to my mind vivid images of death and destruction to a familiar but now peaceful and vibrant urban area of the city. This is a battle that would not have been fought had certain Japanese leaders followed orders and withdrawn from the city thus leaving an open city as ordered by their distant commander. The events of this battle have left a legacy that affects Philippine society to this day. This topic and book should be required reading for any student of Philippine history or the Pacific War.

Amazing

I never knew this story knew how brutal the Japanese could be. The detail of what the Japanese did to civilians beyond believe

A gut wrenching history

Rampage is James M Scott's history of the little known Battle of Manila, a catalogue of Japanese army crimes against humanity and a narrative of the subsequent war crimes trial. What becomes clear in this fascinating and gruesome account is how ill-prepared the American forces which for much of the war in the Pacific in which they had fought the enemy in jungles and beaches were for urban combat. General MacArthur' leadership is depicted at the battle as at best distant both literally and figuratively. For much of the Manila campaign the general was headquartered well out side the city, and except for a few quick trips to Santo Tomas and other prisons had little real knowledge of the rapidly deteriorating battle terrain or the obstacles his troops were facing. Instead MacArthur spent time in staff meetings preparing for his celebrated return and planning a victory parade.

The Battle of Manila though rapidly becomes secondary in Scott's narrative as the majority of the Rampage given over to the Japanese army's rapid descent into chaos and barbarism. Toward the end of the battle, the Japanese troops acting on a fear of Manila 's civilian population, racism and General Yamashita's (Like MacArthur, Yamashita's HQ was well outside the city.) indifference causally slaughtered and systematically raped and tortured thousands of helpless civilians. Overall I found Scott's knows his subject well, though I expected more on the battle and tactics. However it was in his quest to "get it all down" that Rampage became for this listener mind numbing as chapter focuses and relentlessly details murder, rape and pillage.

History of one of Japan's vilest savagery in WW II

Well researched history of Japanese subhuman savagery in the Phillippines in World War II. This one example, among many, almost justifies the use of the atomic bomb to subdue their arrogant and repulsive culture. The book has some interesting information on MacArthur's personal relationship to the Philippines. Narrator is expressive and tells the story effectively, although his mispronunciation of a significant number of words is somewhat distracting.