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., 1954

This volume, one of the series UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II, is the fifth to be published in the subseries THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC. All the volumes will be closely related, and the series will present a comprehensive account of the activities of the Military Establishment during World War II. A tentative list of subseries is appended at the end of this volume.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 53—61979

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C.—Price of this volume, $6.75 (Cloth)

UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II

Kent Roberts Greenfield, General Editor

Advisory Committee

(As of 1 May 1953)

Office of the Chief of Military History

Maj. Gen. Albert C. Smith, Chief[1]

[1] Maj. Gen. Orlando Ward was succeeded by General Smith on 1 February 1953. [↑]

The History of

THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC

prepared under the direction of Louis Morton

• The Fall of the Philippines
• Guadalcanal: The First Offensive
• Victory in Papua
• Cartwheel: The Reduction of Rabaul
• Seizure of the Gilberts and Marshalls
• Campaign in the Marianas
• The Approach to the Philippines
• Leyte: The Return to the Philippines
• Triumph in the Philippines
• Okinawa: The Last Battle
• Strategy, Command, and Administration

... to Those Who Served

Foreword

With the Leyte Campaign the War in the Pacific entered a decisive stage. The period of limited offensives, bypassing, and island hopping was virtually over. American troops in greater numbers than ever before assembled in the Pacific Theater, supported by naval and air forces of corresponding size, fought and overcame Japanese forces of greater magnitude than any previously met.

Though the spotlight is on the front-line fighting, the reader will find in this volume a faithful description of all arms and services performing their missions. The account is not exclusively an infantry story. It covers as well the support of ground fighting on Leyte by large-scale naval operations and by land-based air power under the most adverse conditions. In addition, careful attention to logistical matters, such as the movement of supplies and the evacuation of the wounded, gives the reader a picture of the less spectacular activities of an army in battle.

ORLANDO WARD
Maj. Gen., U. S. A.
Chief of Military History

Washington, D. C.
30 January 1953

The Author

M. Hamlin Cannon received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History from the American University of Washington, D.C. He is already known to American historians for his writings on Mormon and Civil War history which have appeared in historical journals. During World War II he served with the Navy in Australia and New Guinea.

Preface

The landing of the American forces on Leyte on 20 October 1944 brought to fruition the long-cherished desire of General Douglas MacArthur to return to the Philippine Islands and avenge the humiliating reverses suffered in the early days of World War II. The successful conclusion of the campaign separated the Japanese-held Philippine Archipelago into two parts, with a strong American force between them. More important, it completed the severance of the Japanese mainland from the stolen southern empire in the Netherlands Indies from which oil, the lifeblood of modern warfare, had come.

The Leyte Campaign, like other campaigns in the Pacific, was waged on the land, in the air, and on and under the sea. In this operation all branches of the American armed forces played significant roles. Therefore, although the emphasis in this volume is placed upon the deeds of the United States Army ground soldier, the endeavors of the aviator, the sailor, the marine and the Filipino guerrilla have been integrated as far as possible into the story in order to make the campaign understandable in its entirety. At the same time, every effort has been made to give the Japanese side of the story.

Obviously, to include every exploit of every branch of the armed forces, of the Filipinos, and of the Japanese would be far beyond the compass of a single volume. A careful selectivity was necessary throughout in order to avoid the Scylla of omission while skirting the Charybdis of oversimplification. Despite these precautions, because of the nature of the available documentary evidence, I may have unwittingly fallen into some of the very pitfalls that I tried to avoid.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to the many people who have given fully of their time and talents in the preparation of this volume.

Especial thanks are due to Dr. John Miller, jr., who, during his tenure as Chief of the Pacific Section, Office of the Chief of Military History, carefully reviewed the final draft of the manuscript. His sound advice and constructive criticism eliminated many a roadblock. I wish, also, to thank Dr. Louis Morton, Chief of the Pacific Section, under whose direction this volume was started; he made constructive criticism of several of the chapters. Dr. Kent Roberts Greenfield, Chief Historian, Department of the Army, devoted much time and effort to reviewing the manuscript and his many penetrating comments on the various chapters were invaluable.

Appreciation is due to the people of the Historical Records Section, Departmental Records Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, who helped to locate source material and furnished working space for me and the records. To Mrs. Lois Aldridge, Mrs. Frances Bowen, Mrs. Clyde Christian, Miss Margaret Emerson, Mrs. Ellen Garrison, Mr. Robert Greathouse, Miss Matilda Huber, Mrs. Margarite Kerstetter, Mr. Wilbur Nigh, Miss Sue D. Wallace, and Miss Thelma K. Yarborough—thanks.

I wish also to thank the members of the U. S. Air Force Historical Division, Air University, and the Naval History Branch, Naval Records and History Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, for placing at my disposal the pertinent air and naval records.

Thanks are also due to the members of the historical sections of the U. S. Navy and the U. S. Air Force and to the many participating commanders of various branches of the U. S. armed forces who read all or parts of the manuscript.

The late W. Brooks Phillips started the editing of the manuscript. He was succeeded by Col. B. A. Day, Chief of the Editorial and Publication Division, and Mrs. Loretto Stevens. Mrs. Stevens also prepared the final copy for the printer. Miss Mary Ann Bacon prepared the index.

Mrs. Martha Willoughby, in addition to accomplishing the arduous task of interpreting my handwriting, typed many of the drafts of the manuscript and saw that the subject and predicate agreed. Mrs. Wynona Hayden, Mrs. Stella Hess, and Mrs. Michael Miller also typed parts of the manuscript. Miss Elizabeth Armstrong painstakingly typed the final copy.

Mr. Wsevolod Aglaimoff and Lt. Col. Robert F. O’Donnell, as well as other members of the Cartographic Branch, spent many months in research for and preparation of the maps. At the time this volume was being prepared for publication, no reliable maps of Leyte were available. The maps for this volume are based on the highly inaccurate maps used by the troops during the operation. The relief in particular, as shown on these maps, has little in common with the terrain configuration which confronted the troops. Thus, both military and geographical information as given on the maps in the volume should be regarded only as an approximation of the actual situation at the time of the battle.

Major Arthur T. Lawry selected and edited the photographs used in this volume. Lt. Roger Pineau (USNR) furnished me the photograph of General Suzuki. Mr. Israel Wice and his capable assistants in the General Reference Branch were helpful at crucial stages of the manuscript.

My sincere appreciation and thanks go to Maj. Gen. Harry A. Maloney, Chief of Military History, and to his successors, Maj. Gen. Orlando Ward and Maj. Gen. Albert C. Smith, as well as to members of their staffs, for their understanding and co-operation.

M. HAMLIN CANNON

Washington, D. C.
15 June 1953

Contents

Tables

Charts

Maps

Illustrations

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).

LEYTE: THE RETURN TO THE PHILIPPINES

CHAPTER I

The Strategic Plan

“It is with the deepest regret that I must inform you that conditions over which I have no control have necessitated the surrender of troops under my command.”[1] With this message of 20 May 1942, from Lt. Col. Theodore M. Cornell, U.S. Army, to Bernardo Torres, Governor of Leyte, the control which the United States had held over the island since 1898 came to an end. Nearly two and a half years were to elapse before the sound of naval guns in Leyte Gulf would announce to the world the opening of the Leyte Campaign, the first phase of the re-entry of American forces into the Philippine Archipelago. (Map 1—inside back cover)

The primary purpose of the Leyte Campaign was to establish an air and logistical base in the Leyte area in order to support operations in the Luzon-Formosa-China coast area and particularly to nullify Japanese strength in Luzon. Leyte is one of the Visayan Islands, which constitute the geographical heart of the Philippines. It was hoped that the fertile Leyte Valley, broad and flat, could be utilized for major airfields and base sites from which large-scale operations could be launched against the rest of the Philippines.

Preliminary Discussion

Behind the decision to go into Leyte lay a series of strategically significant victories, which had followed a staggering initial reverse. American prewar plans for the Pacific had originally been based on the assumption that only the United States and Japan would be at war and that the U.S. Pacific Fleet would be in existence.[2] But the destruction of the fleet at Pearl Harbor and the entrance of Germany and Italy into the war nullified these plans. The strategy of the Joint Chiefs of Staff[3] in early 1942, therefore, was concerned chiefly with trying to limit the rapid advance of the Japanese and with keeping the line of communications to Australia open. The Pacific Theater was divided into command areas—the Southwest Pacific Area, with General Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander (he referred to himself, however, as Commander in Chief), and the Pacific Ocean Area (which included the Central Pacific), with Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as Commander in Chief.[4]

In 1942 and 1943 the Allied forces had halted the Japanese at Papua and Guadalcanal and started to push them back. On 8 May 1943 the Joint Chiefs approved a “Strategic Plan for the Defeat of Japan,” which was endorsed by the Combined Chiefs in December. The objective of the plan was to secure the unconditional surrender of Japan, an objective that might necessitate an invasion of the Japanese home islands. As such an invasion promised to be a “vast undertaking,” it would be necessary to secure a large supply base from which a great aerial offensive could be mounted against Japan. According to the original plan this base was to be located in China, but the Mariana Islands were afterward substituted for China. The plan called for the acquisition of successive island bases which could be used as “steppingstones,” preferably those which would shorten the sea route, provide for its security, and at the same time deny to the Japanese bases from which they might interfere with the Allied line of communications. The main effort was to be through the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Nimitz’ operations were to be conducted west through the Japanese mandated islands while MacArthur’s proceeded northwest along the New Guinea coast. The two series of operations were to be mutually supporting.[5]

Although no specific islands were named in the Strategic Plan, the Philippine Archipelago, because of its strategic position and long possession by the United States, naturally loomed large in the planning. The Philippines lie athwart all sea routes south from Japan to the economically important Netherlands Indies—rich in rubber, tin, oil, and rice. The capture of the Philippines would help to sever this line of communications and would furnish an excellent staging area for attacks against China, Formosa, or Japan. Aside from strategic considerations, the liberation of the Islands was important for reasons of Far Eastern politics and prestige.[6] The obligation of the United States to the subjugated Filipino people could not be lightly ignored. Furthermore, General MacArthur was imbued with a burning determination to return to the Philippine Islands and avenge the humiliating defeats suffered by the American forces in 1941 and 1942.

By the spring of 1944 the operations in the Pacific were going so well that the successes had exceeded even the most optimistic hopes of any of the planning officers. On 12 March the Joint Chiefs ordered General MacArthur to prepare plans for a return to Mindanao, southernmost island of the Philippines, with a target date of 15 November 1944.[7] General MacArthur on 15 June issued a plan for his future operations. The entrance into the Philippines was to be accomplished in two phases. The first would be a preliminary operation on 25 October into the Sarangani Bay area in southern Mindanao in order to establish land-based air forces to augment the carrier-based air support for the principal effort. The major effort was to be an amphibious landing operation with forces mounted from New Guinea for the seizure on 15 November of airfields and bases on Leyte.[8] The latter was to follow quickly on the heels of the first operation in order to take full advantage of the surprise tactics.

Leyte occupies a commanding position in the Philippine Islands. Because of its central location, its repossession by the United States would not only divide the Japanese forces in the Philippines but would also provide an excellent anchorage in Leyte Gulf, together with sites for bases and airfields from which land-based aircraft could bomb all parts of the Philippines, the coast of China, and Formosa. To an even greater extent than Mindanao, Leyte could be made into an excellent springboard from which to launch subsequent operations against the Japanese in Formosa or in the rest of the Philippines.

In his planning, General MacArthur recognized that the Leyte operation, his most ambitious to date, would require “massed carrier-based air support” and all of the “combined amphibious and naval forces available at the time.”[9]

By June 1944 General MacArthur’s forces had pushed up the New Guinea coast to the island of Biak, about nine hundred nautical miles southeast of Davao, Mindanao, while those of Admiral Nimitz were poised to strike at Saipan some twelve hundred miles northeast of Davao. In most of their previous campaigns the Americans had struck with overwhelming force at weakly held Japanese garrisons. Since the tide of war was now so favorable to the Allied cause, the Joint Chiefs thought that the Pacific timetable of pending operations might be accelerated. On 13 June they had therefore asked MacArthur and Nimitz their opinions with regard to three ways proposed for speeding up operations: “(a) By advancing target dates of operations now scheduled through operations against Formosa; (b) By by-passing presently selected objectives prior to operations against Formosa; and (c) By by-passing presently selected objectives and choosing new ones including the home islands.” Although the Philippine Islands were not explicitly named as targets that might be bypassed, they were certainly included by implication.[10]

On 18 June General MacArthur replied to the query of the Joint Chiefs,[11] and on 4 July Admiral Nimitz made known his opinions.[12] On the advancement of the target dates, both commanders were in complete agreement—it was impossible unless certain conditions could be changed. The logistic resources in the Southwest Pacific were being strained to the limit to meet the fixed target dates, while the strengthening of Japanese garrisons made it unlikely that the Central Pacific could make its present scheduled dates.

With respect to bypassing objectives prior to the seizure of Formosa, MacArthur thought it would be “unsound” to bypass the Philippines and launch an attack across the Pacific directly against Formosa—an attack which would have the benefit of no appreciable land-based air support and which would be based upon the Hawaiian Islands, 5,100 miles away. In his opinion it was essential to occupy Luzon and establish land-based aircraft thereon before making any move against Formosa.[13] Nimitz stated that in a series of informal discussions between his and MacArthur’s planning officers, the latter anticipated the seizure in early September of Morotai Island, 300 statute miles southeast of Mindanao. This was to be followed in late October by a limited occupation of the Sarangani Bay area on Mindanao, which was to be used primarily as a base for short-range aircraft. The major operation was to be the occupation of Leyte about 15 November. Nimitz thought that this timing was “optimistic.” He felt that the critical and decisive nature of the Leyte operation required “practically all available covering and striking forces, fire support forces, and all available assault shipping.” If successful, however, the Americans would achieve air supremacy over the Philippines. Therefore, since the inclusion of the Leyte operation with that of Mindanao would expedite subsequent operations, Nimitz considered it “advisable.”[14]

As to the feasibility of bypassing present objectives and choosing new ones, including the Japanese home islands, the two commanders were not in complete agreement. MacArthur pronounced the concept “utterly unsound,” since the available shipping was limited to a seven-division lift and there was insufficient air support. Nimitz thought that no decision should be made until after further developments.

The proposals disturbed General MacArthur, who concluded his message to the Joint Chiefs with the following peroration:

It is my opinion that purely military considerations demand the reoccupation of the Philippines in order to cut the enemy’s communications to the south and to secure a base for our further advance. Even if this were not the case and unless military factors demanded another line of action it would in my opinion be necessary to reoccupy the Philippines.

The Philippines is American Territory where our unsupported forces were destroyed by the enemy. Practically all of the 17,000,000 Filipinos remain loyal to the United States and are undergoing the greatest privation and suffering because we have not been able to support or succor them. We have a great national obligation to discharge.

Moreover, if the United States should deliberately bypass the Philippines, leaving our prisoners, nationals, and loyal Filipinos in enemy hands without an effort to retrieve them at earliest moment, we would incur the gravest psychological reaction. We would admit the truth of Japanese propaganda to the effect that we had abandoned the Filipinos and would not shed American blood to redeem them; we would undoubtedly incur the open hostility of that people; we would probably suffer such loss of prestige among all the peoples of the Far East that it would adversely affect the United States for many years....[15]

In reply, General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, cautioned MacArthur to “be careful not to let personal feelings and Philippine politics” override the great objective, which was to end the war. He also pointed out that “bypassing” was not “synonymous with abandonment.”[16]

Admiral William F. Halsey, the commander of the Third Fleet, and his staff, when they heard of the proposal, were enthusiastic about the possibility of bypassing the more immediate objectives. But in contrast to Admiral Ernest J. King, Chief of Naval Operations, who wished to move directly to Formosa, bypassing the Philippines, Halsey felt it necessary and profitable to go into the Philippine Archipelago, which he considered to be “the vulnerable belly of the Imperial dragon.”[17] Halsey stated that when Rear Adm. Robert B. Carney, his chief of staff, was asked by King, “Do you want to make a London out of Manila?” Carney replied, “No, sir. I want to make an England out of Luzon.”[18]

CONFERENCE AT PEARL HARBOR brings together (left to right) General Douglas MacArthur, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Admiral William D. Leahy and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff concluded that none of the currently selected objectives could be bypassed. They continued, however, to search for means by which the tempo of the war in the Pacific might be accelerated.

In the latter days of July, General Marshall invited General MacArthur to visit Pearl Harbor in order to confer with Admiral Nimitz on future plans for the war in the Pacific. MacArthur arrived on 26 July. To his surprise, the President of the United States was present. President Roosevelt invited him and Admirals Halsey and Nimitz to dinner. After dinner the President drew out a map and, pointing to Leyte, is reported to have said, “Well, Douglas, where do we go from here?”[19]

Although Mac Arthur had been given no intimation that strategy was going to be discussed, he launched into a long talk on the necessity of taking Luzon before moving against Formosa. Nimitz did not enter into the conversation. The following morning the discussions were continued. Admiral William D. Leahy, who was present, later declared: “Both General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz felt that they did not require any additional reinforcements or assistance” for the scheduled operations.[20] This Admiral Leahy considered most unusual.

Admiral Nimitz reported to Admiral King that the conferences “were quite satisfactory. The general trend of the discussion ... was along the line of seeing MacArthur into the Central Philippines....”[21]

There was no strong disagreement between General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz. Admiral Leahy said, “I personally was convinced that they together were the best qualified officers in our service for this tremendous task, and that they could work together in full agreement toward the common end of defeating Japan.”[22]

Strong efforts were already under way to accelerate operations in the Pacific. A shortage of shipping appeared to be the bottleneck which halted all attempts to speed up the operational target dates. General MacArthur at Brisbane had been directing the whole of his planning toward the reoccupation of the Philippine Islands, and on 10 July had issued a plan for all operations into the archipelago. According to this plan the conquest of the Islands was to be accomplished in four major phases.

The initial phase envisaged footholds in the southern and central Philippines for the establishment of bases and airfields from which subsequent operations could be supported. The first operation, planned for 1 November 1944, was to be the seizure of the Sarangani Bay area in southern Mindanao for the purpose of establishing land-based air forces to augment the carrier-based air support for the advance into Leyte. The Leyte operation, the main effort of this series, was to come on 22 November. Major air, naval, and logistic bases were to be constructed on the shores of Leyte Gulf for the control of Leyte, Samar, and Surigao Strait, and for the neutralization of the Japanese aerial strength on Luzon.[23] The other phases covered the occupation of Luzon and the consolidation of the Philippines.

On 26 July the Joint Chiefs agreed that the primary purpose of the occupation of the Leyte-Mindanao area was to establish air forces there in order to reduce the enemy air strength on Luzon. Some of Admiral Nimitz’ assault craft which were suitable for shore-to-shore operations were to be transferred to General MacArthur. The Joint Chiefs, therefore, asked their planners to submit their views on the possibility of advancing the target date for Leyte to 15 November by compressing the intervals between contemplated operations or by the elimination of certain scheduled operations.[24]

In furtherance of this directive, planning officers from Washington met with General MacArthur and his staff in Brisbane in the early part of August and discussed means of accelerating the target date for Leyte. General MacArthur told them that a substantial interval between the operations at Sarangani Bay and Leyte was necessary. His reasons were as follows: (1) the assault shipping that was used for the Sarangani Bay operation would have time to turn around, reload, and then be used for the Leyte operation; (2) in the interval six combat air groups could be installed in the Sarangani Bay area to support the Leyte operation; and (3) the carriers would have sufficient time to execute two strikes before the Leyte operation.[25]

The planners from Washington, however, felt that there was sufficient assault shipping in the Pacific without using the same craft for both the Sarangani Bay and the Leyte operations. An enumeration of the vessels assigned to the Southwest Pacific and the Central Pacific gave the areas more than a six-division lift. As Brig. Gen. Frank N. Roberts, chief of the Strategy and Policy Group, Operations Division, War Department General Staff, in Washington, told Col. William L. Ritchie, his deputy, who was in Brisbane, “If you sit down and look at those figures a bit you will see that there should be sufficient assault lift for Leyte just on playing the numbers racket, without touching the shipping on Sarangani.”[26]

Both Washington and Brisbane recognized that the operations in the Leyte-Surigao area were necessary in order to provide air bases, depot areas, and a fleet anchorage for any future advance whether in the Philippines, against Formosa, or by a direct route into the Japanese homeland. Consequently, the planners never seriously entertained any idea of bypassing this area, although they continued to probe for means which would accelerate the target date.

The determination of the target date was dependent upon the availability of assault shipping and the desire of General MacArthur to have each successive advance supported by land-based aircraft. The existing shipping was needed for operations already scheduled. The planners concluded that additional shipping could be made available if certain phases of the campaigns of Central Pacific forces into the Palaus, scheduled to start on 15 September, were canceled or set ahead of schedule. The alternatives were to modify the concept of providing land-based air support for subsequent operations or to execute the Sarangani Bay and Leyte operations simultaneously.[27] There the matter rested. Apparently the Joint Chiefs had decided that the time was not opportune for an acceleration of the target dates.

On 27 August General MacArthur furnished General Marshall a timetable for future operations by his forces. On 15 September a division and a reinforced regiment were to seize Morotai in order “to protect the western flank” and to provide land-based aircraft for advances northward. On 15 October a division less one regimental combat team was to land in the Talaud Islands northwest of Morotai in order “to neutralize the [Japanese] western flank,” to establish air bases from which the neutralization of Mindanao and the western Visayan Islands could be accomplished, and to set up a base for airborne troops. On 15 November two divisions were to land in the Sarangani Bay area in order to construct bases for land-based aircraft that were to support the Leyte operation. On 7 December a regimental combat team and a parachute battalion were to drop on Mindanao and establish an airfield for fighter cover for the aerial neutralization of the western Visayan Islands and southern Luzon. On 20 December five divisions were to land on Leyte for the purpose of providing “major air and logistic bases for operations to the northward.” The plan was predicated on the assumption that there would be available in the Pacific sufficient amphibious lift and fleet support.[28]

Plans Agreed Upon

On 1 September 1944 the Joint Chiefs of Staff in their 171st meeting reviewed the situation in the Pacific. The time had come when it was necessary to issue a directive for future operations in that area. After much discussion, the Joint Chiefs left in abeyance the question of what operation should follow Leyte but “directed the Joint Staff Planners to prepare, as a matter of urgency, a directive to the Commander in Chief, Southwest Pacific Area, and the Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, to carry out the Leyte operation.”[29]

Accordingly, on 8 September, the two commanders were given the following missions: General MacArthur, after conducting the necessary preliminary operations, was to take the Leyte-Surigao area on 20 December, with Admiral Nimitz furnishing fleet support and additional assault shipping. Both commanders were to arrange for co-ordination of plans and mutual support of operations; to co-ordinate plans with General Joseph W. Stilwell, Commanding General, United States Army forces, China, Burma and India, in order to get maximum support from that theater; and to arrange with General Henry H. Arnold, Commanding General, Twentieth Air Force, for supporting operations.[30]

Concurrently with the issuance of this directive, momentous events were taking place in the Pacific. Admiral Halsey was in command of scheduled operations against the Palau Islands. On 7 and 8 September aircraft from his carriers struck at Yap and the Palau Islands, against which Admiral Nimitz had scheduled operations, and for the next two days bombed Mindanao. On the 12th and 14th the bombers hit the central Philippines in support of the operations against the Palau Islands and Morotai.

Admiral Halsey advised Admiral Nimitz that, as a result of the strikes, few serviceable planes in the Philippines were left to the Japanese, the bulk of the enemy’s oil supplies was destroyed, there was “no shipping left to sink,” the “enemy’s non-aggressive attitude [was] unbelievable and fantastic,” and “the area is wide open.”[31] Halsey also told Nimitz that one of his downed carrier pilots had been told by his Filipino rescuers that there were no Japanese on Leyte.[32] He therefore felt that it was time to accelerate the operations in the Pacific, and he strongly recommended that the intermediate operations—Yap, Talaud, and the Sarangani Bay area on Mindanao—be canceled. Leyte could be seized immediately and cheaply without any intermediate operations. Halsey’s fleet could cover the initial landing until land-based aircraft could be established. The force intended for the occupation of Yap could be made available to General MacArthur.[33]

When this message was received, the Combined Chiefs of Staff were attending a conference in Quebec. The recommendations were transmitted to Quebec by Admiral Nimitz, who offered to place at MacArthur’s disposal the III Amphibious Force, including the XXIV Corps, which was loading at Pearl Harbor for Yap. General Marshall so informed General MacArthur and asked his opinion on the proposed change of target date.[34]

The message reached MacArthur’s headquarters at Hollandia, on New Guinea, while MacArthur was en route to Morotai and observing radio silence. His chief of staff advised General Marshall that although the information from the rescued pilot that there were no Japanese on Leyte was incorrect, the intermediate operations could be eliminated. The 1st Cavalry Division and the 24th Infantry Division with sufficient service troops were available for the Leyte operation; adequate air strength could be provided; the logistic support was practicable; and the XXIV Corps could be used.[35]

General Marshall received this answer at Quebec on 15 September while he, Admiral Leahy, Admiral King, and General Arnold were at a formal dinner given by Canadian officers. The Americans withdrew from the table for a conference. Within an hour and a half after the message arrived, the Joint Chiefs ordered MacArthur and Nimitz to cancel the three intermediate operations of Yap, Talaud, and Sarangani, co-ordinate their plans, and invade Leyte on 20 October.[36]

Later that evening, as he was on his way to his quarters after the dinner, General Marshall received this message: “Subject to completion of arrangements with Nimitz, we shall execute Leyte operation on 20 October.... MacArthur.”[37]

On 3 October the Joint Chiefs of Staff directed General MacArthur to occupy Luzon on 20 December 1944, the date originally set for the entrance into Leyte.[38] The decision had been made. General MacArthur was to return to the Philippine Islands in force.

[1] Philippine Municipal Government Reports, Folder 2, App. DD, Guerrilla File 6910.23 (B), Military Intelligence (MI) Library. [↑]

[2] Louis Morton, “American and Allied Strategy in the Far East,” Military Review, XXIX (December, 1949), 38. [↑]

[3] The Joint Chiefs of Staff were General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, United States Army; Admiral Ernest J. King, Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, and Chief of Naval Operations; General Henry H. Arnold, Commanding General, Army Air Forces; and Admiral William D. Leahy, Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief—the President of the United States. The Joint Chiefs were responsible for the conduct of the war in the Pacific, subject to the decisions of the Combined Chiefs of Staff. The latter were representatives of the United States and the United Kingdom. The Joint Chiefs represented the United States. [↑]

[4] Memo, Gen Marshall and Admiral King for President, 30 Mar 42, no sub, and two incls, “Directive to the Commander in Chief of the Pacific Ocean Area” and “Directive to Supreme Commander in the Southwest Pacific,” OPD ABC 323.31 POA (1–29–42), 1-B. [↑]

[5] JCS 287/1, Strategic Plan for the Defeat of Japan, 8 May 43; CCS 417, Over-all Plan for the Defeat of Japan, 2 Dec 43. [↑]

[6] United States Strategic Bombing Survey [USSBS], Military Analysis Division, Employment of Forces Under the Southwest Pacific Command (Washington, 1947), p. 32. [↑]

[7] JCS to CINCSWPA, CM-IN 5137, 12 Mar 44. CM-IN and CM-OUT numbers used in the footnotes of this volume refer to numbers on copies of those messages in General Marshall’s Message Log, on file in the Staff Communications Office, Office of the Chief of Staff, U.S. Army. [↑]

[8] GHQ SWPA, RENO V, 15 Jun 44. [↑]

[9] Ibid. [↑]

[10] Rad, JCS to CINCSWPA and CINCPOA, CM-OUT 50007, 13 Jun 44. [↑]

[11] Rad, CINCSWPA to CofS, CM-IN 15058, 18 Jun 44. [↑]

[12] Rad, CINCPOA to COMINCH, CM-IN 2926, 4 Jul 44. [↑]

[13] Rad cited n. 11. [↑]

[14] Rad cited n. 12. [↑]

[15] Rad cited n. 11. [↑]

[16] Rad, CofS to CINCSWPA, CM-OUT 55718, 24 Jun 44. [↑]

[17] William F. Halsey, Admiral Halsey’s Story (New York, 1947), pp. 194–99. [↑]

[18] Ibid., p. 195. [↑]

[19] Information was furnished by Capt. Samuel Eliot Morison, USNR, 22 January 1951, who stated that Roosevelt had related the incident to him. Lt. Gen. Robert G. Richardson, who was not present, states that MacArthur told him that the President pointed to Mindanao when he made his remark. Ltr, Gen Richardson to Gen Marshall, 1 Aug 44, Book 21, OPD Exec 9. [↑]

[20] Interv with Admiral Leahy, 5 Oct 50, OCMH. [↑]

[21] Memo, COMINCH for CofS, 9 Aug 44, OPD ABC 384 Pacific (1–17–43). [↑]

[22] Interv with Admiral Leahy, 5 Oct 50, OCMH. See also, Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, I Was There (New York, 1950), pp. 247–52. In answer to an inquiry about the conference made to the director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, the author was informed that “a careful search of the papers of Franklin D. Roosevelt in this Library has not revealed any materials that would be pertinent to the subject....” Ltr, Herman Kahn to author, 20 Oct 50, OCMH. [↑]

[23] GHQ SWPA, MUSKETEER Plan, 10 Jul 44. [↑]

[24] Rad, JPS to Staff Planners of CINCPOA and CINCSWPA, CM-OUT 71483, 27 Jul 44. [↑]

[25] Tel conf, Washington and Brisbane, 7 Aug 44, WD-TC 797. [↑]

[26] Tel conf, Washington and Brisbane, 10 Aug 44, WD-TC 809. [↑]

[27] Ibid. [↑]

[28] Rad, CINCSWPA to CofS, CM-IN 24770, 27 Aug 44. [↑]

[29] Min, JCS 171st Mtg, 1 Sep 44. [↑]

[30] Rad, JCS to CINCSWPA and CINCPOA, CM-OUT 27648, 8 Sep 44. [↑]

[31] Rad, Com3dFlt to CINCPOA, CM-IN 13120, 14 Sep 44. [↑]

[32] Rad, Com3dFlt to CINCPOA, CINCSWPA, and COMINCH, CM-IN 12893, 13 Sep 44. [↑]

[33] Rad, Com3dFlt to CINCPOA, CM-IN 12893, 14 Sep 44. [↑]

[34] Biennial Report of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, July 1, 1943, to June 30, 1945, to the Secretary of War (Washington, 1945), p. 71. [↑]

[35] Rad, CINCSWPA to JCS, CINCPOA, and Com3dFlt, CM-IN 12636, 14 Sep 44. [↑]

[36] Rad, JCS to CINCSWPA, CINCPOA, and Com3dFlt, 15 Sep 44, OCTAGON 31-A, CofS CM-OUT Log, 15 Sep 44; Biennial Report, p. 71, cited n. 34; General of the Air Force Henry H. Arnold, Global Mission (New York, 1949), pp. 529–30. [↑]

[37] Rad, CINCSWPA to JCS, CM-IN 17744, 15 Sep 44. [↑]

[38] Rad, JCS to CINCSWPA et al., CM-OUT 40792, 3 Oct 44. [↑]

CHAPTER II

The Nature of the Target

The Philippine Islands, the largest island group in the Malay Archipelago, were discovered by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. They became a Spanish possession in 1565 and remained so until 10 December 1898 when they were ceded to the United States by the Treaty of Paris as a result of the Spanish-American war. In the spring of 1942 Japan secured military domination over the Islands.

The Philippine Archipelago lay in the geographical heart of the Far Eastern theater of war. As a pivotal point of control the Islands were centrally placed in relation to Japan, China, Burma, French Indochina, Thailand, British Malaya, and the Netherlands Indies. Being the most northerly part of the Malay Archipelago, the Philippines were also close to the vital areas of Japan and the Chinese-held areas of the Asiatic mainland. Located southeast of the continent, they occupy much the same position with respect to the mainland of Asia that the West Indies do with respect to North America.

The Islands are among the remnants of a great continent that once extended over the space now occupied by the entire East Indies. There are some 7,100 islands and islets in the Philippine Archipelago, which has a land area of 114,830 square miles. Of these, about 460 have an area of one square mile or more and 2,773 are named. The Philippine Islands are divided into three main groups—Luzon and adjacent islands in the northern sector; the Visayan Islands in the central portion, comprising Samar, Leyte, and numerous others; and finally, in the southern part, Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. The Philippines had a prewar population of about 16,000,000, of whom 14,550,000 were Christians, 678,000 were Mohammedans, 626,000 were pagans, and about 64,000 were Buddhists and Shintoists.[1]

Geography of Leyte

The northeastern Visayan group, which consists mainly of Leyte and Samar, was selected as the point of entrance into the Philippines. Leyte had the higher potential military value. The air distance from the capital city of Tacloban to Manila is 295 miles. Leyte is a natural gateway to the rest of the Philippines, and its possession would greatly facilitate and support further operations to the north as well as expedite control over the remaining islands in the Visayan group.[2]

Leyte roughly resembles a molar tooth with its crown toward Samar and its roots pointing to Mindanao. The eighth largest island in the Philippines, with an area of 2,785 square miles, it runs generally from north to south, with an approximate length of 115 miles and a width of 15 to 45 miles. It is situated on one of the principal submerged shelves of the Philippine Archipelago, and the waters over the shelf have an average depth of 22 fathoms. (Map 2—inside back cover)

The Terrain

The island is mainly volcanic in origin. A range of mountains, the topographical backbone of the island, extends southeast from Biliran Strait in the north to Cabalian Bay in the south and separates the Leyte and Ormoc Valleys. All of southern Leyte is mountainous and, militarily speaking, of little importance. The northwest coast is also rugged, and except for the port of Palompon has little tactical significance. The heavily forested central mountain range is composed of numerous knifelike ridges and spurs and deep ravines and serves as an effective natural barrier between the island’s eastern and western coastal areas. It is a major obstacle to the rapid movement of troops and can be utilized very effectively in defending the island.

Leyte Valley, a broad and fertile plain, stretches across the northeastern part of the island from Leyte Gulf to Carigara Bay. More than twenty-five miles wide along the shore of the gulf, it is gradually narrowed by the mountain ranges to the north and south to less than ten miles as it reaches Carigara Bay. Most of the island’s population live in this valley, and here too are most of the principal cities and airfields.

The main road net of the island runs through Leyte Valley, a great number of streams interlacing it. The numerous rice paddies, centuries old, disrupt the natural drainage of the valley. Rarely is the water level more than a few inches below the surface. Even in the drier months, vehicular movement is limited to the existing roads. In 1944 these were poor, inadequate, and ill suited for heavy military traffic. The best of them had only a light bituminous surface and were neither wide enough nor strong enough for two-way military traffic.[3] It was hoped that Leyte Valley could be developed into a large air and logistical base to support further operations, but it was not well suited for this purpose.

The shore line of Leyte Valley along Leyte Gulf and San Pedro Bay affords the best landing beaches on the island. This coast is dangerous for beach landings during northeast monsoon periods, when heavy surf, high winds, and torrential rains imperil men, equipment, and shipping. July, August, and September are the best months for landing. In general there are good firm sand beaches, onto which landing craft can go directly. A road parallels the shore line, but there are few exit roads from the beach to this road and beyond. In many places close to the shore there are swamps and rice paddies which prevent rapid egress from the beach. There are other good landing beaches on the east coast of Ormoc Bay, but they are crossed by innumerable creeks and streams.

Leyte Gulf is large and open, offering an excellent anchorage for a considerable number of vessels, including those of largest size. Carigara Bay, to the north of the island, is twenty miles wide, but shallow waters, swamps, and the hilly terrain of its eastern and western sides restrict its value for military operations. A narrow neck of the central mountain range separates the bay from the northern end of Ormoc Valley. San Juanico Strait, which separates Leyte from Samar in the north, connects Carigara Bay and San Pedro Bay, the latter being a northern extension of Leyte Gulf. The strait is thirteen and a half miles long with an average width of a quarter to a half mile. Small landing craft can navigate the channel, but there are strong tidal currents which cause violent rips and swirls at many points.

Wedged in between the central mountain range and the hill mass of the northwest coast of Leyte, the Ormoc Valley, about five miles wide in its largest part, extends from Ormoc Bay to the north for fifteen miles where a narrow neck of the central ridge separates it from Carigara Bay. Through the valley runs a narrow road, its northern portion marked by steep grades and sharp curves. Halfway along, a branch road zigzags its course to Port Palompon on the west coast. Although most of the southern part of the valley is under cultivation, there are large patches of forest, scrub growth, and cogon grass in the north.[4]

The largest city on the island, the provincial capital, is Tacloban, which lies at the head of San Pedro Bay. As the only sizable port in the area, it handles most of the outbound shipping, mainly from Leyte and Samar. Its prewar population was about 31,000. Other important towns are Carigara and Barugo on the north coast; Baybay and Ormoc, the leading ports on the west coast; and Palo, Tanauan, and Abuyog along the east coast. All the more significant towns are situated on the main road system of the island, and the larger coastal barrios (villages) have roads of a sort.

The road system is divided into a northern and a southern coastal road net. The former, which is the better, was designed for the transportation of agricultural produce from the northern interior areas to Tacloban. The latter is composed of narrow, roundabout roads that are constantly in need of repair. The two systems are joined by a road, scarcely better than a trail, which runs west of Abuyog and corkscrews its way through heavily forested mountains to Baybay. Another road, long, narrow, and broken in parts, goes north from Baybay to Ormoc and thence through the Ormoc Valley to Carigara.

The Tacloban airstrip, the principal airfield on the island, was located on the Cataisan Peninsula, which lies just southeast of Tacloban. The Japanese had constructed another airfield, known as the Dulag airstrip, two miles west of Dulag; three others—the Buri, Bayug, and San Pablo airstrips—near Burauen, five miles west of Dulag; and still another at Valencia in the Ormoc Valley, eight miles north of Ormoc.

Control of the island of Leyte is dependent upon control of the Leyte and Ormoc Valleys and their adjacent hills and mountains. Thus, before a successful movement into Leyte Valley could be assured, control of the high ground in the vicinity of Palo would be essential. Continued dominance over the valley is dependent upon control of the high ground at its northwestern end in the vicinity of Pinamopoan on Carigara Bay, possession of which would preclude infiltration from Ormoc Valley. The control of Ormoc Valley and use of the excellent anchorage and harbor facilities of Ormoc Bay is dependent upon control of the lowland in the vicinity of Ormoc city and the commanding hills to the east.

The People

In 1939 the total population of Leyte was 915,853, of whom more than 912,000 were native Visayans of Malaysian stock. The largest other group consisted of 3,076 Chinese, half of whom were engaged in retail trade. There was a sprinkling of other national groups—40 Spaniards, 20 Germans, 81 from other European countries, 56 Americans, and 73 Japanese.

Because of their insular position and somewhat primitive culture, the inhabitants are primarily an agricultural and fishing people. The principal crops are rice, sugar cane, corn, and copra. Judged by Occidental standards, the mode of farming is backward and shows little tendency to progress. The Filipinos who have been exposed to industrial life, however, have been able to adapt themselves to employment in the limited trade crafts and manufacturing on the island.

According to his own standards, the Filipino lives well enough. His chief foods are rice or corn, fish, camotes (sweet potatoes), and occasionally chicken or other meat. The men’s clothing is simple; the average man has several changes of cheap cotton shirts and pants made of imported cotton cloth or, in the more remote districts, from homespun material.

Most of the dwelling houses are made of bamboo and sheathed with palm leaves on roof and sides. The material is gathered locally and tied with rattan. The houses rarely consist of more than two rooms, and many are raised on pilings, with space for the family pig and chickens underneath. In one of the rooms, or outdoors, is an open fireplace with a mud and stone hearth for cooking. There is little furniture, and in three out of four families the personal possessions would not be worth more than ten dollars.

Less than 5 percent of the people have a rising standard of living. This higher standard is exemplified by a better type of habitation, which ranges from a three-room house to a dwelling similar to that of the American middle class. The diet of more prosperous Filipinos is basically the same as that of the poorer class, but it offers a greater variety. Clothing follows the Occidental fashion. The wealthiest people and those with foreign education or contacts, who make up less than 1 percent of the population, dress and live in the same manner as Occidentals.

The Japanese, during their occupation, governed through the old administrative organization of the province. They and their puppet officials also set up larger governing bodies that exercised superior jurisdiction. On 6 February 1944 the puppet president of the Philippine Republic, José Laurel, appointed a commissioner who held supervisory power over the local governments in the Visayan Provinces.

The governor of the province of Leyte, who previously had been an elected official, was appointed by the president. He was the chief operative and administrative head of the province and on all provincial administrative matters his decision was final. The treasurer of the province, who reported directly to the governor, was its chief financial officer and tax assessor. He collected all taxes and license fees, national and local, and prepared financial statements for the governor but he had no say in administrative matters. The law officer of the province was legal adviser to the governor and to the municipal authorities. He could advise only on administrative matters.

The Japanese Military Administration maintained liaison between the Japanese Army and the civil government. The military police collected military intelligence and information and disseminated propaganda. The Japanese allowed only one political party on the Islands—the Kalibapi—to which all government officials were required to belong. This party was one of the principal propaganda agencies, being the prime mover of the pacification programs in the province, and exercised general supervision over the local neighborhood associations. The latter helped in maintaining law and order, assisted the constabulary, and aided in the distribution of scarce commodities.

It should be emphasized that during most of the occupation there were few Japanese on Leyte. Southern Leyte in general maintained the same Filipino institutions and officials as in the prewar years. The heel of the Japanese conqueror pressed but lightly on most of the people of Leyte. Beginning in early 1944, however, the Japanese Army forces on the island were reinforced. From that time forward the Filipinos had their crops appropriated and in other ways were subjected to the will of the Japanese. Misery, hunger, and poverty became commonplace and a resistance movement grew.

The Resistance Movement on Leyte

The Organizing of Guerrilla Bands

A period of uncertainty and confusion followed the surrender of the American and Filipino forces in the Philippines in the spring of 1942. Civilians and members of the armed forces who did not surrender to the Japanese Army fled into the hills. Some went because they wanted to continue the fight, others because they felt that the chaotic conditions on the Islands would afford unequaled opportunities for looting and pillaging.

Once in the hills, the men formed themselves into guerrilla bands.[5] At first all of the bands, because of their lack of money and supplies, freely raided farms and storehouses for food and equipment whenever they had the opportunity. Moreover, there were real bandit groups who frequently and wantonly raped the countryside. For a time all of the groups were discredited by the people. Gradually, however, strong men emerged who formed the guerrilla bands into semi-military organizations. The leader of each band, who was generally an ex-member of the armed forces, gave himself a “bamboo commission,” usually considerably higher than the one he had hitherto possessed.

The following oath of allegiance taken by the members of one of the bands is probably typical:

I do solemnly swear that I shall obey orders from my superior officer; that I shall fight the enemy of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and the United States of America whosoever and wherever he maybe [sic] in the territory of the Philippines; that I shall never allow myself nor any arm or ammunition to be caught by the enemy; that I shall never turn traitor to my country nor the United States of America; and muchless [sic] reveal to the enemy any secret of the Army to which I honorably belong; that I shall never abandon a wounded brother in arms; that I join the United Forces in the Philippines without personal or party interest, but with the determination to sacrifice myself and all that is mine for FREEDOM and DEMOCRACY; that I shall protect the lives and property of all loyal Filipinos everywhere.

I make this LOYALTY OATH without mental reservation or purpose of evasion.

SO HELP ME GOD.[6]

For some time the various guerrilla bands on Leyte operated separately, and there was little or no co-operation between them. They were united, however, in their hatred of the Japanese. Jealousy and strife between groups were rampant, but circumstances gradually compelled the smaller bands to submit to absorption, either by force or persuasion, into the larger and more powerful groups. The fact that there were few Japanese on the island enabled the guerrillas and loyal provincial officials to organize the governments of most of the barrios.

GUERRILLAS PREPARE FOR INSPECTION AT CONSUEGRA

All of the guerrillas declared that their primary purpose was to aid the civilians, maintain peace and order, and keep the Japanese from abusing the people. They also assumed control over various phases of public activities—the allotment of food supplies, the issue of emergency currency, and the punishment of criminals. The guerrillas in northern Leyte depended upon voluntary contributions to support them, while those in southern Leyte levied a loyalty tax. Hard money having been driven out of circulation, the guerrilla units tried to issue paper, which was acceptable only in those regions where the particular unit was active. There was no widespread circulation or acceptance of any of the guerrilla money.

The most important of the guerrilla leaders on Leyte were Lt. Col. Ruperto K. Kangleon and Brig. Gen. Blas E. Miranda. Colonel Kangleon had served for twenty-seven years in the Philippine Army and was a graduate of the Philippine Academy and General Service School. General Miranda,[7] a former member of the Philippine Constabulary, was very hostile to the Japanese and to anyone who surrendered to them. He killed many former prisoners, whom the Japanese had released, on the pretext that they were enemy spies. Miranda was especially bitter toward Kangleon, a former prisoner of the enemy.

Official recognition from General MacArthur’s headquarters was slow in reaching the guerrillas on Leyte, a fact that brought about misunderstandings. General MacArthur had early established contact with Col. Macario Peralta on Panay and Col. Wendell Fertig on Mindanao. In the middle of February 1943 MacArthur sent Lt. Comdr. Charles Parsons, USNR, to the Islands by submarine. Before his departure, General Headquarters had established the policies to be followed. The prewar military districts, as of December 1940, were to be revived.[8] Since General MacArthur had received information that Colonel Fertig had successfully created an effective guerrilla organization on Mindanao and Colonel Peralta one on Panay, he recognized them as commanders of the 10th and 6th Military Districts, respectively. Radio communication from MacArthur’s headquarters informed Peralta and Fertig of the appointments on 21 February 1943. Commander Parsons also carried formal letters, dated 13 February 1943, making these appointments.

Parsons safely reached the Philippines in early March and established friendly relations with Colonel Fertig. While on Mindanao he made several local trips, one to southern Leyte where he heard of Colonel Kangleon who had escaped from the Butuan prison camp and returned to his home. Parsons visited Kangleon with the promise that he would be made commander of the 9th Military District (Leyte and Samar), and succeeded in persuading him to join the guerrilla movement on Leyte.[9]

Until area commanders could be selected for the 7th, 8th, and 9th (Leyte) Districts, Peralta and Fertig had been authorized by MacArthur’s headquarters, through Parsons, to organize the guerrillas on neighboring islands, as well as on their own. Each thought he was to organize the guerrillas on Leyte. Peralta made contact with General Miranda on northwestern Leyte; Fertig got in touch with Colonel Kangleon. Both Peralta and Fertig told their contacts to organize Leyte with the official sanction of General MacArthur’s headquarters. Consequently, Kangleon and Miranda each thought the other to be a usurper.[10]

Miranda was adamant in his refusal to treat with Kangleon. Colonel Kangleon thought that Miranda should be ordered to “forget his established kingdom,” but if this failed, he declared, the 92d Division, commanded by himself, would “force ... Miranda to join us.”[11]

The situation became extremely tense, since both Kangleon and Miranda felt much bitterness. In August 1943 Kangleon sent a force against Miranda and during a clash between the two parties some of the men were killed. Miranda was routed and many of his followers joined Kangleon.[12] The power of Miranda was broken. Kangleon incorporated the other guerrillas on the island into the 92d Division, and Leyte was then unified under his command.

On 21 October 1943 General MacArthur recognized Colonel Kangleon as the Leyte Area Commander, and in a letter accompanying the appointment he told Kangleon what he expected of him. “I desire that you establish and maintain direct communication with this headquarters at your earliest opportunity and thereafter you keep me informed of major developments involving enemy movement, dispositions and other activity within your area and observation.”[13]

Japanese Punitive Expeditions

In the latter part of 1943 the Japanese military authorities tried to conciliate the guerrillas, offering, in return for their surrender, not only freedom from punishment but also jobs and the opportunity to resume their normal family life. A great many guerrillas took advantage of this offer of amnesty and surrendered.[14] Among the guerrilla units that surrendered to the Japanese were those of Maj. Marcos G. Soliman and other subordinates of General Miranda’s command.[15] They gave themselves up in January 1944, but General Miranda himself refused to surrender and left for either Cebu or Bohol.

After their attempts at pacification, the Japanese launched more frequent and intensive patrols against the guerrillas. The garrison troops that had been stationed on Leyte were reinforced. Southern Leyte, which had known few Japanese, was “reinvolved” on 8 December 1943. The guerrillas withdrew and hid in the interior. It was thought that after a month the troops would leave and be replaced by constabulary officers. But after two weeks the Japanese turned their attention to the civilians. Some they arrested and imprisoned for days without food and water, others they tortured and executed. Houses were broken into, property was looted, and food was stolen. Spies were brought in from neighboring islands to locate the guerrilla hideouts.

Since the people begged for action, Colonel Kangleon held a meeting of his unit commanders on 24 January 1944. With his officers in unanimous accord, he issued an order to fight, commencing on 1 February 1944. All officers and enlisted men of his command signed a loyalty oath that they would not allow either themselves or their weapons to be captured.

From 1 February until 12 June, according to Colonel Kangleon, the guerrillas in southern Leyte had only 10 casualties. In a report dated 18 May 1944, the Japanese casualties were listed as 434 killed, of whom 4 were officers, and 205 wounded.

The Japanese commander in Leyte made quite a different report. He stated that from 1 January to 31 August his forces had taken part in 561 engagements with the guerrillas. They had seized 7 vehicles; 7 generators; 37 radios and other items of wireless equipment; 1,556 weapons, including rifles, bayonets, and homemade shotguns; and 55,348 rounds of ammunition, as well as sticks of dynamite. The Japanese declared that they had taken 2,300 prisoners of war, including 3 Americans; that 6 Americans and 23,077 Filipinos had surrendered; 1,984 guerrillas had been killed; and that the Japanese casualties amounted to 7 officers and 208 enlisted men killed, and 11 officers and 147 men wounded.[16]

In the month of October 1944 General MacArthur’s Military Intelligence Section estimated that the strength of the guerrilla 92d Division was as follows: Headquarters, Leyte Area Command, 23 officers and 107 enlisted men; 94th Regiment, 71 officers and 1,210 enlisted men; 95th Regiment, 78 officers and 954 enlisted men; 96th Regiment, 37 officers and 710 enlisted men; total strength, 209 officers and 2,981 enlisted men.[17]

Colonel Kangleon stated that as a result of guerrilla activities the Japanese sent out fewer patrols, staying mainly in the towns. The civilians, he claimed, were therefore able to plant and harvest their crops. Despite these brave words the guerrillas were definitely on the defensive, since Japanese intelligence had accurate information on their movements and strength. Nevertheless, the Japanese also knew that the guerrillas had established communication with General MacArthur in Australia and that they were sending important information to General Headquarters. This service the Japanese were unable to cut off.

Liaison Between Leyte and Australia

After his arrival in Australia in March 1942, General MacArthur had maintained radio contact with Corregidor until 6 May, but because of conditions in the Philippines radio communication with other parts of the Islands was all but impossible.[18] Before its fall, Corregidor maintained radio contact with military commanders on the other islands. Afterward, a few men escaped and made their way to Australia. The sum of information they brought was not large, but it included the welcome news that guerrilla units were in existence all over the Islands. In the summer of 1942 General Headquarters began to receive messages from the guerrillas in the Philippines, though at first General MacArthur was not sure that the messages actually came from the guerrillas.

In August 1942 MacArthur decided to get in touch with the members of the resistance movement in the Philippines, and for this purpose he enlisted the services of Maj. Jesus Antonio Villamor, who had escaped from the Islands and who volunteered to return.[19] From August to December methods were devised and plans were made for sending an intelligence party to the Philippines.[20] On 27 December 1942 Major Villamor received orders to return secretly to the Islands by submarine with three other Filipino officers and two enlisted men.[21] They were instructed to establish an intelligence and secret service network throughout the Philippines; develop a chain of communications within the Philippines and to Australia, together with an escape route from the Islands for the evacuation of important personages; build up an organization for subversive activities, propaganda, limited resistance, and sabotage; and make an intelligence survey to obtain information on Japanese political, military, and civil intentions as well as the strength and disposition of Japanese military, naval, and air forces.[22]

Armed with these instructions, Major Villamor returned to the Philippine Islands. Slowly but carefully, from December 1942 to November 1943, he established an intelligence network that covered Luzon and the Visayan Islands. His story is told in part as follows:

I established this network principally with the idea that this net would be entirely independent of all intelligence nets previously established by the guerrillas, believing that in all probability you [General MacArthur] could rely more on guerrilla intelligence activities for the present. I wanted to establish something that would really be underground and as secret as possible. For that reason, I took my time about it. I took as much as two months to train each individual man. I tried to impress on each man that after he left my place, he would be on his own and that no matter what happened to me or to the rest of the net, he would carry on. I assured him that both GHQ and I would have faith in him.[23]

Kangleon was largely responsible for the Leyte radio network. This intelligence network did not cover the entire island but only those positions over which he had control. General MacArthur did not furnish any considerable supplies for this net until shortly before his return in October 1944.[24] On 3 July 1944 Kangleon received seventy tons of supplies; an additional shipment of supplies and men followed on 20 July.[25] This allotment was in addition to money sent him. The funds available to Kangleon consisted of $50,000 in prewar currency (“only a few hundred” of which were spent by him), $225,000 in “bogus Japanese” currency, and $479,198 in emergency currency printed in the Islands and used for “army” purposes.[26]

Several clandestine radio stations were in operation on or near Leyte in June 1944. These were primarily contact stations established originally to integrate more closely the activities of the various guerrilla units with the directives of Colonel Kangleon’s headquarters, which was in touch with General Headquarters. After the Leyte Area Command was recognized by General MacArthur, the first radio was sent to Leyte, but the Japanese captured it early in 1944 before it could be put to use. Kangleon received a new set from Mindanao. There were two coastwatcher stations in operation—one in southern Leyte and the other on Dinagat Island. These furnished MacArthur information on the activities of the Japanese in the area. Colonel Kangleon also used the radio set in southern Leyte to maintain contact with Colonel Fertig on Mindanao.[27]

As a result of information received from the intelligence network, on Leyte and in other areas, together with information from other sources, General MacArthur’s intelligence officers were able to piece together a reasonably accurate picture of the Japanese units on Leyte, their strength, dispositions, and fortifications.

Kangleon’s network, however, was not as active as most of the others in the Philippines that were operated by coastwatchers and guerrillas. From March 1944, when Kangleon’s network was established, to October 1944, when the American forces returned, the monthly totals of messages received by General Headquarters from Leyte were as follows: March, 6; April, 7; May, 7; June, 12; July, 13; August, 13; September, 17; and October, 26.[28]

The guerrillas of the Philippine Islands made far-reaching contributions to the war effort. They were an extremely valuable source of intelligence; their activities forced the Japanese to retain in the Philippines comparatively large forces which would otherwise have been sent south; it is estimated that they killed from eight thousand to ten thousand Japanese troops; and, finally, they bolstered the morale, spirit, and loyalty of the Filipino people.[29] They kept alive the hope and belief that the forces of the United States would return and redeem the Islands.

[1] MI Sec, WDGS, Survey of the Philippines, 3 vols., 15 Feb 43; Div of Naval Intel, Office, Chief of Naval Opns, ONI 93, Field Monograph of the Philippines, Jan 44; Allied Geographical Sec, GHQ SWPA, Terrain Study 84, Leyte Province, 17 Aug 44; ASF Manual M365–1, Civil Affairs Handbook, Philippine Islands, 25 Apr 44. [↑]

[2] Sixth Army Opns Rpt Leyte, p. 5. Unless otherwise stated the material on terrain is based upon this report, pages 5–7. [↑]

[3] S. D. Sturgis, Jr., Brigadier General, U.S. Army Air Engineer, USAF, Engineer Operations in the Leyte Campaign, reprinted from The Military Engineer, November and December, 1947, and January, 1948, p. 4. [↑]

[4] Allied Geographical Sec, GHQ SWPA, Terrain Study 84, Leyte Province, 17 Aug 44, p. 43. [↑]

[5] Unless otherwise stated, material on the guerrillas is based upon the Guerrilla Papers, a collection of disorganized, miscellaneous records by and about the guerrillas in the Philippine Islands. It is located in the Documents Files Section, G-2, Department of the Army.

The records of the Leyte guerrillas are incomplete, inadequate, and controversial. Some of the guerrilla bands had no records, and all that is known of others is from violently prejudiced sources. Consequently, the full story of the guerrillas can probably never be told. [↑]

[6] 24th Div G-2 Jnl, 22 Oct 44. [↑]

[7] Miranda’s rank is obscure. At various times he is referred to as lieutenant, major, colonel, and brigadier general. [↑]

[8] MI Sec, GHQ AFPAC, Intelligence Series, Vol. II, Intelligence Activities in the Philippines. During the Japanese Occupation (hereafter cited as Intelligence Activities in the Philippines), App. 7. [↑]

[9] Intelligence Activities in the Philippines, p. 56. [↑]

[10] Ibid., pp. 16–18. [↑]

[11] Memo, Col Kangleon for K-50-OCTOPUS (probably for MacArthur), 23 May 43, Guerrilla Papers. [↑]

[12] The estimates on the number of deaths vary considerably. In a letter to President Manuel Quezon by Senator Carlos Garcia, dated 16 October 1943, the deaths are mentioned as “several”; a manuscript by Mrs. Charlotte Martin, who was on Leyte, says “many lives were lost”; and 1st Lt. Jack Hawkins, USMC, a guerrilla, stated in December 1943 that “over three hundred casualties were suffered by the contesting sides.” Guerrilla Papers. [↑]

[13] GHQ FEC, MI Sec, GS, Messages in the Guerrilla Resistance Movement in the Philippines, Kangleon 201 File, DRB AGO. [↑]

[14] Office of Strategic Services, Research and Analysis Br, Rpt, Guerrilla Resistance in the Philippines, 21 Jul 44, Guerrilla Papers. [↑]

[15] ATIS, GHQ SWPA, Current Translations, 148, 6 Feb 45. [↑]

[16] ATIS, SWPA, Enemy Publications 359, Guerrilla Activities in the Philippines, 2 parts, 28 Apr 45, passim, DRB AGO. Any resemblance between the Japanese figures and those in Kangleon’s reports is purely coincidental. [↑]

[17] MI Sec, GHQ SWPA, G-2 Info Bull, The Resistance Movement on Leyte Island, 7 Oct 44, Doc Files Sec, G-2, Dept of Army. [↑]

[18] Intelligence Activities in the Philippines, p. 5. [↑]

[19] Lt. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton considered Villamor “the most daring of the Filipino pilots.” Lewis H. Brereton, The Brereton Diaries (New York, 1946), p. 58. [↑]

[20] Interv with Maj Villamor, 12 Oct 50. [↑]

[21] The party consisted of Major Villamor, 1st Lt. R. C. Ignacio, 2d Lt. D. C. Yuhico, 2d Lt. E. F. Quinto, Sgt. P. Jorge, and Sgt. D. Malie. [↑]

[22] AIB, GHQ SWPA, Instructions to Maj Villamor, 27 Dec 42, Guerrilla Papers. [↑]

[23] Villamor Rpt on Intel Net in Philippines, Guerrilla Papers. [↑]

[24] Intelligence Activities in the Philippines, p. 77. [↑]

[25] Ibid., App. 2. The number of men and the amount and kinds of supplies are not given. [↑]

[26] Ibid., App. 1. [↑]

[27] Ibid., passim. [↑]

[28] GHQ FEC, MI Sec, GS, A Brief History of the G-2 Section, GHQ SWPA, and Affiliated Units, Plate 10, facing p. 32, copy in OCMH. [↑]

[29] Office, Chief of Naval Opns, Guerrilla Activities in the Philippines, 14 Sep 44, file OP-16 FE. [↑]

CHAPTER III

Plans Are Made and Forces Are Readied

Estimate of the Enemy Situation

American knowledge of the Japanese forces on Leyte was derived from many sources.[1] The guerrillas on Leyte and other islands in the archipelago sent information to Australia on the movements, dispositions, fortifications, and defenses of the Japanese. Commander Parsons, on his submarine trips to the Islands, brought back with him important intelligence. Just before the invasion an intelligence officer from Sixth Army and one from the Seventh Fleet secretly went ashore from a submarine and gathered material on Japanese coastal fortifications and defenses in the beach area.

Much effort was expended before the invasion in mapping the island, but this work was based on prewar maps and the results were very inaccurate. Since much of the island was under heavy fog for long periods, the photomaps that were produced had little value. They missed many important terrain features and misplaced others by thousands of yards. In general, however, the maps of the beachhead areas were accurate.

In the spring of 1944 General MacArthur’s headquarters received information that the Japanese were starting to reinforce their Philippine garrisons. An early estimate, made in June, put the number of enemy troops on the island at 20,000, a sharp increase over the 5,900 of the previous month. The increase resulted from the movement to Leyte from Samar of the veteran 16th Division, which had fought at Bataan, and the arrival of 4,000 naval troops from the Palau Islands.[2] For the next month reports flowed in to General Headquarters that the 16th Division was building coastal defenses and air-raid shelters, and improving the airfields and garrison defenses of the island.[3]

In July 1944 the Americans received information that all was not going well in the Japanese homeland. From a radio interception they learned that Premier Hideki Tojo and his entire cabinet had resigned on 18 July. The Japanese message stated: “The situation is the result of the period of ‘sweating blood’ and we sincerely regret causing anxiety to the Emperor. We thank the people at home and at the front for co-operating with the government....”[4] The tenor of the announcement and of subsequent statements made it abundantly clear, however, that the Japanese were determined to do their utmost toward prosecuting the war to a successful conclusion.

Meanwhile, all the Japanese garrisons in the Philippines were reinforced. The senior headquarters in the western Pacific was transferred from Singapore to Manila, and the brigades in the Islands were being developed to divisional strength. Of the estimated 180,000 troops, 80,000 were believed to be on Luzon, 50,000 in the Visayan Islands, and 50,000 on Mindanao. It was also believed that the enemy air strength on the Islands was being greatly increased. There were 100 to 120 airfields in operation and between 700 and 1,500 aircraft, of which half were combat planes and the others training aircraft.[5]

In September 1944 Sixth Army G-2 estimated that the Japanese forces on Leyte consisted mainly of 16th Division units and service troops—a total of 21,700 troops. The 35th Army had just been activated on Cebu and was to be charged with the defense of all the Visayan Islands. It was estimated that the Leyte garrison consisted of the following combat troops: 20th Infantry Regiment, 3,000; 33d Infantry Regiment, 3,000; 16th Division Reconnaissance Regiment, 1,000; elements of 102d Division, 1,700; 7th Independent Tank Company, 125; and 16th Division Headquarters troops, 1,800. The total amounted to 10,625 men. In addition there were 1,000 base-defense troops and 10,075 service troops.

It was believed that the Japanese would commit one division on the day of the landing and the equivalent of another division, assembled from the tactical reserves on the island, not later than three days after the landing. For the next ten days, five to eight regiments might be sent in from neighboring islands. These would constitute the “maximum numbers of reinforcements predicated upon the existence of conditions most favorable to the enemy.”[6] The enemy had an undetermined number of tanks and armored cars. The only artillery known to be available were some coastal defense guns emplaced along the east coast and some artillery pieces on the hills overlooking Tacloban.

Sixth Army believed that on Leyte there were five operational airfields; three probably operational or under construction; seven nonoperational; and one seaplane base. The two most important operational airstrips were the one at Tacloban with forty-five hardstandings and the one at Dulag with twenty hardstandings. The Tacloban airstrip could accommodate both bombers and fighters. At the time of the invasion, it was estimated that the Japanese could oppose the amphibious movement and the landing with 442 fighters and 337 bombers from airfields scattered throughout the Philippines.

Although the possibility existed that the Japanese Fleet, which was based in waters near the home islands, might move to the Philippines, such a move was considered doubtful. It was believed that the principal and immediate threats consisted of a strong cruiser-destroyer task force; submarines; and motor torpedo boats and similar craft.

Sixth Army concluded that the town of Tacloban, with its important port and airfield, was the key to the Japanese defense of the island. Consequently, a strong perimeter defense of the town and the surrounding area was expected. Since it was impossible for the Japanese, with a limited number of their troops on the island, to defend all of the east coast, strong forces and emplaced defensive positions were likely to be concentrated at road junctions and at the operational airfields. Mobile reserves would almost certainly be held in readiness at key points in Leyte Valley, ready to be rushed to the east coast areas under attack. It was assumed that strong defenses were already established in the Ormoc area and along the northeast coast of Ormoc Bay, since the port of Ormoc could be used to bring in reserves from the other islands in the archipelago. A strong garrison was expected at Carigara to protect the northern approaches to Leyte Valley and to repel any amphibious landing through Carigara Bay.

The plan for the liberation of Leyte called for more men, guns, ships, and aircraft than had been required for any previous operation in the Pacific. For the first time ground troops from the Central Pacific and Southwest Pacific were to join and fight the foe under a common commander. General MacArthur, who had left Luzon in a motor torpedo boat, was to return to the Philippines with a vast armada—the greatest seen in the Pacific up to that time.

The Tactical Plan

The Southwest Pacific Area was the command responsibility of General MacArthur. He had under his command Allied Air Forces, Lt. Gen. George C. Kenney commanding; Allied Naval Forces, Vice Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid commanding; Allied Land Forces, Gen. Sir Thomas Blamey commanding; United States Army Services of Supply (SWPA), Maj. Gen. James L. Frink commanding; and Alamo Force, which was virtually Sixth Army, Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger commanding.

On 31 August 1944 General MacArthur issued his first formal directive covering projected operations in the Philippines. The Leyte operation was known as King II. The Southwest Pacific forces were to “seize objectives in the Mindanao, Leyte and Samar areas in order to establish air, naval and logistic bases to cover subsequent operations to complete the reoccupation of the Philippines.” The assigned target dates were as follows: southern Mindanao, 15 November 1944; northwestern Mindanao, 7 December; and Leyte Gulf-Surigao Strait area, 20 December. The Sixth Army, covered by Admiral Halsey’s Third Fleet and supported by the Allied Air and Naval Forces, was directed to carry out the three operations.[7] On 15 September General Krueger received word that the Talaud and Mindanao operations had been canceled and that the target date—designated as “A Day”—for the Leyte operation had been advanced to 20 October.[8]

The American Forces

The immediate task assigned the forces of the Southwest Pacific, supported by the Third Fleet, was the seizure and control of the Leyte Gulf-Surigao Strait area in order to establish air, naval, and logistic bases to support further operations into the Philippines. Before the invasion, air and naval operations were to be conducted so as to disorganize Japanese ground and air defenses. The ground operation was divided into three phases. In the first phase overwater movement and minor amphibious operations to secure entrance into Leyte Gulf were to take place. The main effort, which constituted the second phase, was to involve a major assault to capture the airfields and base sites in Leyte Valley and to open up San Juanico and Panaon Straits. In the final phase, the remaining portions of the island in Japanese hands and the western part of southern Samar were to be secured, and Surigao Strait was to be opened.[9] The target date had been set for 20 October 1944.

General plans for the operation had long since been worked out, but not until 20 September did General MacArthur issue his final plan for the occupation of Leyte. It was based upon the assumption that American forces were or would be established along the Marianas-Ulithi-Palaus-Morotai line and that the Japanese land and air forces in the Philippines and Formosa would have been “seriously crippled and that the Japanese Fleet would elect to remain in Empire waters” with only “light forces remaining in the vicinity of the Philippines.” The Japanese were expected to have one well-supplied division in the area with only limited ability to reinforce it from others of the Visayan Islands and with all subsequent supply deliveries cut off. It was assumed that Japanese defenses would be concentrated in the vicinity of the airfields in the Leyte Valley and at Tacloban.

The command organization was as follows: General MacArthur was Supreme Commander, but during the amphibious movement and landing Admiral Kinkaid, as commander of the Naval Attack Force, was to be in command of all amphibious operations. (Chart 1) Army officers, who took control of their forces ashore, were to continue under the Commander, Naval Attack Force, until the next senior Army commander assumed control. Upon his arrival ashore and after notification to Admiral Kinkaid, General Krueger was to take control of the ground troops. General Kenney, as commander of the Allied Air Forces, would report directly to General MacArthur.

Admiral Halsey, as commander of the Third Fleet, was to co-ordinate his operations with those of General MacArthur but he was responsible to Admiral Nimitz, Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Area. The Third Fleet was composed of Vice Adm. Marc Mitscher’s Fast Carrier Task Force, together with miscellaneous elements. Mitscher’s force was divided into four carrier groups.[10]

The Allied Naval Forces, which consisted principally of the U. S. Seventh Fleet under Admiral Kinkaid, was to transport and establish ashore the ground assault force. The Central Philippine Attack Force consisted of three task forces. Task Force 77, commanded by Admiral Kinkaid, was to furnish direct air and naval support and was composed of battleships, light and heavy cruisers, destroyers, destroyer escorts, carriers, escort carriers, gunboat and mortar flotillas, mine sweepers, auxiliary vessels, and underwater demolition teams. The transports and cargo ships of the Northern Attack Force, Task Force 78, under Rear Adm. Daniel E. Barbey, and the Southern Attack Force, Task Force 79, under Vice Adm. Theodore S. Wilkinson, were to transport and set ashore the ground troops. Task Force 79 had been lent to General MacArthur by Admiral Nimitz for the operation.

Chart 1—Operational Organization for the Leyte Campaign

The Allied Air Forces, principally the Far East Air Forces under General Kenney, was to neutralize hostile air and naval forces within range of the Philippines. The Allied Air Forces consisted of the Fifth Air Force, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ennis P. Whitehead; the Thirteenth Air Force, commanded by Maj. Gen. St. Clair Streett; the Royal Australian Air Force Command under Air Vice Marshal William D. Bostock; and miscellaneous elements. On order, the Fifth Air Force was to be prepared to take over the mission of furnishing direct air support to the ground troops.

The United States Army Services of Supply, Southwest Pacific Area, commanded by General Frink, was to furnish logistic support for the operation. The Eighth U.S. Army, commanded by Lt. Gen. Robert L. Eichelberger, and the Allied Land Forces, commanded by General Blamey, were to take over missions previously assigned the Sixth Army and to assist the latter in training, staging, and mounting the troops for the Leyte operation.