The Battle of Manila from 3 February to 3 March 1945; fought by American; Filipino and Japanese forces; was part of the Philippines' 1945 campaign. The one-month battle; which culminated in a terrible bloodbath and total devastation of the city; was the scene of the worst urban fighting in the Pacific theater; and ended almost three years of Japanese military occupation in the Philippines (1942-1945). The city's capture was marked as General Douglas MacArthur's key to victory in the campaign of reconquest.