The German Wehrmacht did not respect the open city status and heavily bombed the city.[7] Manila was declared an open city on 26 December 1941 by US general Douglas MacArthur during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines.[8] The Imperial Japanese Army ignored the declaration and bombed the city.[9] Batavia was declared an open city on 5 March 1942 after the remaining units of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army were evacuated.