With the seizure of Manila and its nearby ports and airfields, Sixth Army had gained control over a vital logistical hub required for SWPA forces to participate in the anticipated invasion of Japan. But MacArthur was not satisfied with this achievement; he would settle for nothing less than the complete liberation of the Philippines from Japanese control. Although there was no military necessity for clearing the rest of Luzon and the few towns still occupied by Japanese forces, it was American territory, and thus leaving it under Japanese control would have been an afront to American (and MacArthur’s) honor. MacArthur also directed the Eighth Army under Lt. Gen. Robert Eichelberger to liberate the Central and Southern Philippines, using several divisions and regimental combat teams allocated for that purpose. Sixth Army would make do with the nine divisions and two separate regimental combat teams left at its disposal. Prolonged combat would steadily erode the combat effectiveness of those forces, even as they strove to clear Luzon, the largest and most important of the islands in the Philippine Archipelago, of Japanese forces.