Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila by James M. ScottMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Thanking of MacArthur and the Philippines, I previously thought of: Corregidor, flight before fall w/"I shall return", followed by the Bataan Death March. Well, all that is merely a few paragraphs of the several hundred pages of WW II scholarship here.
Instead, Yamashita and Sanji Iwabuchi (Rear Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy) lead Japanese marines etc. in a ruthless and hopeless defence of Manilla while exacting a rape and rampage holocaust on internees and civilians during the Battle of Manila recalling The Rape of Nanking. So, this is much more about the grim realities of those left behind waiting for the "return", many of which died in the crossfire and cruelties. The closing act is the hasty trial of Yamashita with its questionable process and conclusion.
[I obtained an ARC to review]
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