Leyte, 1944: The Soldiers' BattleCasemate, 2012 M12 7 - 424 pages When General Douglas MacArthur arrived in Australia in March 1942, having successfully left the Philippines to organize a new American army, he vowed, "I shall return!" More than two years later he did return, at the head of a large U.S. army to retake the Philippines from the Japanese. The place of his re-invasion was the central Philippine Island of Leyte. Much has been written about the naval Battle of Leyte Gulf that his return provoked, but almost nothing has been written about the three-month long battle to seize Leyte itself. Originally intending to delay the advancing Americans, the Japanese high command decided to make Leyte the "Decisive Battle" for the western Pacific and rushed crack Imperial Army units from Manchuria, Korea, and Japan itself to halt and then overwhelm the Americans on Leyte. As were most battles in the Pacific, it was a long, bloody, and brutal fight. As did the Japanese, the Americans were forced to rush in reinforcements to compensate for the rapid increase in Japanese forces on Leyte. This unique battle also saw a major Japanese counterattackÑnot a banzai charge, but a carefully thought-out counteroffensive designed to push the Americans off the island and capture the elusive General MacArthur. Both American and Japanese battalions spent days surrounded by the enemy, often until relieved or overwhelmed. Under General YamashitaÕs guidance it also saw a rare deployment of Japanese paratroopers in conjunction with the ground assault offensive. Finally there were more naval and air battles, all designed to protect or cover landing operations of friendly forces. Leyte was a three-dimensional battle, fought with the best both sides had to offer, and did indeed decide the fate of the Philippines in World War II. |
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advance Air Force airfields American ammunition amphibious assault assigned attack battle Baybay beach beachhead Breakneck Ridge Brigade Burauen Captain Carigara casualties Colonel Clifford combat command Company G convoy counterattack Dagami December th defense destroyer division’s Dulag enemy fire enemy position Engineer Field Artillery Battalion fight flank forward grenades group ofJapanese guerrillas Headquarters heavy Highway hill invasion island Japanese killed knocked Krueger landing Leyte Campaign Leyte Valley Luzon MacArthur machine guns Major moved naval nd Battalion night November th ofhis ofthe th Infantry opened fire Order Number Ormoc Bay Ormoc Valley Palompon patrol perimeter Philippines planes platoon Presidential Unit Citation Private First Class rear reinforcements rifle River road Sergeant ships Sixth Army soldiers soon st Cavalry supplies Suzuki Tank Battalion th Airborne th Army th Cavalry th Infantry Division th Infantry Regiment theJapanese troops U.S. Army U.S. Sixth Army wounded X Corps XXIV Corps yards