Table 5—Sixth Army Battle Casualties by Arm or Service, 20 October-25 December 1944
| Arm orService | Killed | Wounded and Injured | Missing in Action | Total | ||||
| Number | Per Cent | Number | Per Cent | Number | Per Cent | Number | Per Cent | |
| Infantry | 2,380 | 82.42 | 7,749 | 78.61 | 85 | 52.80 | 10,214 | 79.14 |
| Engineer | 132 | 4.58 | 762 | 7.73 | 46 | 28.57 | 940 | 7.28 |
| Medical | 100 | 3.47 | 375 | 3.80 | 8 | 4.97 | 483 | 3.74 |
| Field Artillery | 96 | 3.33 | 328 | 3.33 | 5 | 3.11 | 429 | 3.32 |
| Coast Artillery | 47 | 1.59 | 248 | 2.52 | 1 | .62 | 296 | 2.30 |
| Ordnance | 45 | 1.56 | 100 | 1.01 | 1 | .62 | 146 | 1.13 |
| Quartermaster | 41 | 1.42 | 67 | .68 | 9 | 5.59 | 117 | .91 |
| Signal | 12 | .42 | 76 | .77 | 0 | .00 | 88 | .68 |
| Transportation | 7 | .24 | 73 | .74 | 1 | .62 | 81 | .63 |
| Chemical Warfare | 13 | .45 | 44 | .45 | 0 | .00 | 57 | .44 |
| Military Police | 13 | .45 | 27 | .27 | 4 | 2.48 | 44 | .34 |
| Chaplain | 0 | .00 | 0 | .00 | 0 | .00 | 0 | .00 |
| Miscellaneous | 2 | .07 | 9 | .09 | 1 | .62 | 12 | .09 |
| Total | 2,888 | 100.00 | 9,858 | 100.00 | 161 | 100.00 | 12,907 | 100.00 |
Source: Sixth Army Operations Report Leyte, 20 October-25 December 1944, p. 155.
The object of the Leyte Campaign had been to force an entry into the Philippines and establish a solid base for their reconquest. It had accomplished this object, though the base had not been secured and developed as promptly or as effectively as the planners had anticipated. The construction program on the island had been a disappointment. Leyte never became a major air base. But the campaign had other and more important effects that had not been foreseen when it was launched. In their determination to make Leyte the decisive battle of the Philippines, the Japanese had committed the major portions of their fleet and air force in a vain attempt to stay the American advance. In the Battle of Leyte Gulf the Japanese Navy suffered irreparable damage—all of the carriers were lost and most of the capital ships were sunk or damaged. The air force was now almost completely dependent upon the suicidal kamikaze pilot. Finally, the dispatch of reinforcements and supplies to Leyte had seriously crippled the defenses of Luzon—the strategic heart of the Philippine Archipelago.
The Americans had established an air base in the midst of the Japanese-held Philippine Islands—a base within medium bomber range of Luzon, the principal American target in the archipelago.[35] As General Yamashita, commanding officer of all Japanese Army troops in the Philippines later said: “After the loss of Leyte ... I realized that decisive battle was impossible....”[36]
Three years of hard fighting over jungle trails had finally brought the U. S. forces back to the Philippines. Ahead lay months of weary struggle but ultimate victory was no longer in doubt.
[1] GHQ SWPA Opns Instns 81, 15 Dec 44. [↑]