United States Army in World War II
The War in the Pacific

Leyte: The Return to the Philippines

by

M. Hamlin Cannon

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF MILITARY HISTORY
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WASHINGTON, D.C., 1993


 

UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II
Kent Roberts Greenfield, General Editor

Advisory Committee
(As of 1 May 1953)
 
James P. Baxter
President, Williams College

 

Brig. Gen. Verdi B. Barnes
Army War College

 

John D. Hicks
University of California

 

Brig. Gen. Leonard J. Greeley
Industrial College of the Armed Forces

 

William T. Hutchinson
University of Chicago

 

Brig. Gen. Elwyn D. Post
Army Field Forces

 

S. L. A. Marshall
Detroit News

 

Col. Thomas D. Stamps
United States Military Academy

 

Charles S. Sydnor
Duke University

 

Col. C. E. Beauchamp
Command and General Staff College

 

Charles H. Taylor
Harvard University

 

Office of the Chief of Military History
Maj. Gen. Albert C. Smith, Chief*

Chief Historian Kent Roberts Greenfield
Chief, War Histories Division Col. G. G. O'Connor
Chief, Editorial and Publication Division Col. B. A. Day
Chief, Editorial Branch Joseph R. Friedman
Chief, Cartographic Branch Wsevolod Aglaimoff
Chief, Photographic Branch Maj. Arthur T. Lawry

     *Maj. Gen. Orlando Ward was succeeded by General Smith on 1 February 1953.


. . . to Those Who Served


Contents

  Foreword vii
  The Author viii
  Preface

ix
Chapter     Page
I. The Strategic Plan 1
    Preliminary Discussion 1
    Plans Agreed Upon 8
II. The Nature of the Target 10
    Geography of Leyte 10
    The Resistance Movement on Leyte 14
    Liaison Between Leyte and Australia 18
III. Plans Are Made and Forces Are Readied 21
    Estimate of the Enemy Situation 21
    The Tactical Plan 23
    The Logistical Plan 35
IV. The Return 40
    The Convoy Forms 40
    Softening the Target 42
    Japanese Plan of Defense 45
    Securing the Channel Approaches 54
    The Convoy Enters Leyte Gulf 58
V. A Day: 20 October 1944 60
    Bombardment of the Shores of Leyte 60
    X Corps Goes Ashore 62
    XXIV Corps Goes Ashore 72
    Bringing in Supplies 80
VI. The Japanese Reaction 85
    The Air Forces 85
    The Battle of Leyte Gulf 88
    The Japanese Reinforce the Leyte Garrison 92
VII. Southern Leyte Valley: Part One 103
    The S Operations 103
    Enlarging the 96th Division Beachhead 107
    Catmon Hill Area 114
VIII. Southern Leyte Valley: Part Two 124
    The Dulag-Burauen Road 124
    Securing the XXIV Corps Beachhead Line 133
IX. Northern Leyte Valley: Part One 146
    San Juanico Strait 146
    Leyte Valley Entrance 157
X. Northern Leyte Valley: Part Two 168
    Drive up Leyte Valley 168
    Capture of Carigara 179
XI. Logistics and Civil Affairs 184
    Logistics 184
    Medical Support 192
    Civil Affairs 198
    Relations With Filipino Refugees 200
XII. The Mountain Barrier: Part One 206
    The Coastal Corridor 206
    Battle of Breakneck Ridge 211
XIII. The Mountain Barrier: Part Two 221
    Reinforcements 221
    32d Division Assumes the Offensive 223
    Battle of Kilay Ridge 227
    Central Mountain Range 235
XIV. Measure of the Fighting 244
    The American Ground Forces 244
    Japanese Warfare 251
XV. Battle of the Ridges 253
    American Plans and Preparations 253
    Battle of Shoestring Ridge 257
    Battle of the Hills 266
XVI. The Fall of Ormoc 275
    Plan for Amphibious Movement 276
    The Movement Overwater 280
    Drive Toward Ormoc 284
    Two Sevens Are Rolled in Ormoc 290
XVII. Battle of the Airstrips 294
    The American Dispositions 296
    First Japanese Effort 297
    Battle of Buri Airstrip 298
    Attack From the Sky 300
XVIII. Logistics 306
    Construction 306
    Supplies 308
XIX. The Entrances to Ormoc Valley 313
    Southern Entrance to Ormoc Valley 313
    The Mountain Passage 321
    The Drive South 323
XX. Seizure of Ormoc Valley 329
    Drive From the South to the Libongao Area 330
    The 32d Division Resumes the Offensive 339
    Debouchment From the Mountains 342
XXI. Westward to the Sea 347
    The 77th Division Goes West 348
    X Corps Goes West 354
    The Japanese Retreat 358
XXII. Leyte Is Liberated 361
    The Eighth Army Assumes Control 361
    The Road Ends 367
 
GHQ Operations Instructions No. 70, 21 September 1944 371
Basic Military Map Symbols 378
List of Abbreviations 380
Bibliographical Note 383
Index 391
 
TABLES
 
No.   Page
1. Sixth Army Daily Strength Reports, 12 November-25 December 1944 222
2. Shipping Tonnage Discharged in Leyte-Samar Area, 28 October-25 December 1944 310
3. Airdrops by 11th Air Cargo Resupply Squadron, 11 November-25 December 1944 311
4. U.S. Army Battle Casualties at Leyte, 20 October 1944-8 May 1945 368
5. Sixth Army Battle Casualties by Arm or Service, 20 October-25 December 1944 369
 
CHARTS
 
1. Operational Organization for the Leyte Campaign 25
2. Organization of the Central Philippine Attack Force 29
3. Japanese Army Organization of Major Units for the Leyte Operation 48
 
MAPS
 
1. Sixth Army Plan, 23 September 1944 32
2. Situation in the Pacific, Mid-October 1944 47
3. X Corps Landings, 20 October 1944 64
4. XXIV Corps Landings, 20 October 1944 73
5. 96th Division Advance, 21-30 October 1944 105
6. 7th Division Advance to Dagami, 21-30 October 1944 125
7. Securing the Tacloban Area, 21-23 October 1944 147
8. Fight for Entrance to Northern Leyte Valley, 21-25 October 1944 158
9. Drive to Jaro, 26-29 October 1944 169
10. Advance to Carigara, 30 October-2 November 1944 177
11. Battle for Northern Entrance to Ormoc Valley, 3-15 November 1944 207
12. Battle for Northern Entrance to Ormoc Valley, 16 November-14 December 1944 225
13. Shoestring Ridge, 23-25 November 1944 255
14. Shoestring Ridge, 26-27 November 1944 261
15. Battle of the Ridges, 5-12 December 1944 267
16. Situation on Leyte, 7 December 1944 274
17. Securing the Southern Entrance to Ormoc Valley, 7-15 December 1944 278
18. Japanese Attack on Burauen Airfields, 6 December 1944 295
19. Mountain Passage, 25 November-22 December 1944 322
20. Seizure of Ormoc Valley, 15-21 December 1944 329
21. Opening the Palompon Road, 22-31 December 1944 348
 
  ILLUSTRATIONS  
    Page
Conference at Pearl Harbor 5
Guerrillas Prepare for Inspection at Consuegra 15
Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita 51
Lt. Gen. Sosaku Suzuki 51
Patrol of Company F, 6th Rangers [1] [2] 56
Convoy Off Leyte 61
Landing Beaches 63
Troops of the 1st Cavalry Division 66
75-mm. M8 Self-Propelled Howitzers 70
Maj. Gen. Franklin C. Sibert 71
Beach Area 75
Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger and Col. Ruperto K. Kangleon [1] [2] 79
Unloading Supplies at Dulag [1] [2] 81
Japanese Air Attacks [1] [2] 87
Air Strikes Against Japanese Installations [1] [2] 95
Antiaircraft Gun 97
Lockheed P-38 98
Japanese Convoy Under Attack [1] [2] 100
Landing Areas and Leyte Valley [1] [2] 105
Crew of a Light Armored Car M8 109
Filipino Civilian Guides U.S. Tank 113
San Vicente Hill 118
105-mm. Self-Propelled Howitzer M7 Firing 120
Dulag and Bayug Airstrips [1] [2] 126
Maj. Gen. John R. Hodge 127
Disabled M4 Tank 132
Burauen 134
Engineer Troops 140
A Patrol From the 7th Cavalry [1] [2] 149
Maj. Gen. Verne D. Mudge 150
8-inch Howitzers Readied for Action 151
General MacArthur 153
Proclamation to the People of the Philippine Islands 154
Tacloban [1] [2] 156
Tank-Supported Infantrymen of the 34th Regiment 160
Palo [1] [2] 162
Pastrana 172
U.S. Antitank Platoon 174
155-mm. Guns Firing on Carigara 180
U. S. Patrol Crossing the Canomontag River [1] [2] 182
Access Road From WHITE Beach [1] [2] 186
Tanauan Airstrip 189
LST's Unloading at Tacloban Airfield 191
Road Conditions [1] [2] 193
A Litter Squad Evacuates a Casualty 196
A Casualty Receives Treatment 196
An Operating Room at the Station Hospital, Tanauan 197
A Casualty is Evacuated by Ship to a Rear Area 197
An Officer of a Civil Affairs Unit 200
Refugee Area on ORANGE Beach Near Dulag 202
Engineers Remove Land Mines 214
View From the Ridges Looking North up the Limon Valley 217
American Troops in Limon [1] [2] 226
Lt. Col. Thomas E. Clifford, Jr. 229
Filipino Carriers Haul Supplies 236
Foothills of Central Mountain Range 238
General MacArthur and Maj. Gen. Archibald V. Arnold 245
Troops of the 77th Division Board LCI's at Tarragona 281
Convoy Carrying 77th Division Approaches Deposito [1] [2] 282
A Patrol of the 307th Infantry 288
Aerial View of Ormoc 292
Buri Airstrip 299
San Pablo Airstrip 301
Operational Losses at the Burauen Airfields 307
Approach Road to Quartermaster Service Center [1] [2] 309
Heavy Machine Guns Cover Crossing 315
U.S. and Japanese Tanks [1] [2] 327
Japanese Dug-in Positions Along Highway Banks 332
Japanese Light Tank 335
Palompon After Allied Bombings 350
All illustrations but one are from Department of Defense files. The photograph of Lt. Gen. Sosaku Suzuki on page 51 was contributed by Lt. Roger Pineau (USNR).



Transcribed and formatted by Jerry Holden for the HyperWar Foundation