Davao City
Second World War

On December 8, 1941, Japanese planes bombed the harbor, and from December 20 they landed forces and began an occupation of the city which lasted until 1945. Davao was among the earliest to be occupied by Japanese forces, and the city was immediately fortified as a bastion of Japanese defense. Under the brutal Japanese regime, girls, teenagers, and young adults were kidnapped by Japanese soldiers and were forced into becoming sex slaves under the oppressive " comfort women " system, where the victims were routinely gang-raped and killed. Korean and Taiwanese nationals were also brought by the Japanese to Davao and were forced into becoming sex slaves.

The city was subjected to extensive bombing by forces led by Douglas MacArthur before American forces landed in Leyte in October 1944. The Battle of Davao towards the end of World War II was one of the longest and bloodiest battles during the Philippine Liberation, and brought tremendous destruction to the city, setting back the economic and physical strides made before the Japanese occupation.
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