The Japanese attempt to take the initiative away from the Americans had failed. The Sixth Army was at the northern and southern entrances to Ormoc Valley. Elements of the X Corps had been battering for a long time at the northern portal. With the capture of Ormoc, the XXIV Corps had sprung the lock on the southern doorway and was in a position to drive north and thus relieve some of the pressure being exerted against the X Corps.
The arrival of the XXIV Corps at the entrance to Ormoc Valley brought the critical logistical situation on the island of Leyte to the fore. The tenuous supply line already had been stretched very thin, and, with the 77th Division extending its lines, a strong possibility existed that it might snap altogether.
[1] USSBS, The War Against Japanese Transportation, 1941–1942 (Washington, 1947), p. 48. [↑]
[2] Japanese Studies, 11, 35th Army Operations 1944–45, p. 74, OCMH. [↑]
[3] Tomochika, True Facts of Leyte Opn, p. 23. [↑]
[4] Japanese Studies in World War II, 7, 14th Area Army Operations on Leyte, p. 11; 10th I&HS, Eighth Army, Stf Study of Japanese 35th Army on Leyte, Part III, The Part Played by the Japanese Air Force ... p. 5. [↑]
[5] 35th Army Opns, pp. 80–84. [↑]