Gen. Douglas MacArthur
Initial US Army landings on Leyte

On 20 October 1944, troops of the United States Sixth Army under the direct command of Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, invaded the Philippine island of Leyte. This operation was the beginning of General Douglas MacArthur's fulfillment of his promise in March 1942 to the Filipino people that he would liberate them from Japanese rule.

The choice of Leyte was the result of heated discussion at the highest levels of the US military and government. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest J. King had forcefully advocated for an invasion of the island of Formosa, about 300 mi (480 km) north of the Philippines, insisting that it would both bolster the morale of the Nationalist Chinese, then fighting the Japanese occupation of their country, and provide a much closer base for military operations against the Japanese home islands. In the event, MacArthur's viewpoint that the United States needed to be seen as following through on its promise to liberate the Filipino people from Japanese oppression won out.

Summary of US ground forces:

US Sixth Army
Lieutenant General Walter Krueger
Approx. 202,500 total officers and enlisted[1]

Northern landing area
X Army Corps
Lieutenant General Franklin C. Sibert
Left: 24th Infantry ("Taro") Division
Right: 1st Cavalry Division
Southern landing area
XXIV Army Corps
Lieutenant General John R. Hodge
Left: 7th Infantry ("Bayonet") Division
Right: 96th Infantry ("Deadeye") Division
Reserve: 11th Airborne ("Angels") Division
Reserves
Landed 14 Nov: 32nd Infantry ("Red Arrow") Division
Landed 23 Nov: 77th Infantry ("Statue of Liberty") Division

United States

Ground force commanders for the invasion of Leyte
Sixth Army commander Walter Krueger
X Corps commander Franklin C. Sibert and division commander Frederick A. Irving
XXIV Corps commander John R. Hodge
Waves of men and machines near the invasion beachhead aboard powerful LCMs (landing craft mechanized) during the invasion of Leyte
Coast Guard-manned LSTs on Leyte
Men and equipment on Leyte beachhead
US 8-inch howitzers of the 61st Field Artillery Battalion readied near Tacloban
Men of the 7th Cavalry on Leyte
Amphibious craft anchored at Leyte
Men of the 1st Cavalry Division on Leyte, December 1944

Southwest Pacific Area
General Douglas MacArthur

US Sixth Army
Lieutenant General Walter Krueger
Approx. 202,500 officers and enlisted[2]

Army-level units[3]
2nd Engineer Support Brigade
6th Ranger Battalion
21st Infantry Regiment[lower-alpha 1]

Northern landing area

X Army Corps
Lieutenant General Franklin C. Sibert
Embarked in Task Force 78 under Rear Admiral Daniel E. Barbey
Left sector (Red Beaches)
24th Infantry ("Taro") Division[4]
Major General Frederick A. Irving
Infantry
Left: 19th Infantry Regiment
Right: 34th Infantry Regiment
Artillery
13th, 52nd, 63rd FA Battalions (105mm)
11th FA Battalion (155mm)
Division troops
3rd Engineer Combat Battalion
24th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
24th Medical Battalion
24th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment
Right sector (White Beaches)
1st Cavalry Division[5]
Major General Verne D. Mudge
1st Cavalry Brigade HQ
Left: 5th Cavalry Regiment
Center: 12th Cavalry Regiment
2nd Cavalry Brigade HQ
Right: 7th Cavalry Regiment
Reserve: 8th Cavalry Regiment
61st, 82nd, 99th, 271st FA Battalions (105mm)
302nd Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
603rd Medium Tank Company
801st Counterintelligence Corps Detachment

Southern landing area

XXIV Army Corps
Lieutenant General John R. Hodge
Embarked in Task Force 79 under Vice Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson
Left sector (Yellow and Violet Beaches)
7th Infantry ("Bayonet") Division[6]
Major General Archibald V. Arnold
Infantry
Left (Yellow): 184th Infantry Regiment
Right (Violet): 32nd Infantry Regiment
Reserve: 17th Infantry Regiment
Artillery
48th, 49th, 57th FA Battalions (105mm)
31st FA Battalion (155mm)
Division troops
7th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
13th Engineer Combat Battalion
7th Medical Battalion
7th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment
Right sector (Blue and Orange Beaches)
96th Infantry ("Deadeye") Division[7]
Major General James L. Bradley
Infantry
Left (Blue): 382nd Infantry Regiment
Right (Orange): 383rd Infantry Regiment
Reserve: 381st Infantry Regiment
Artillery
361st, 362nd, 921st FA Battalions (105mm)
363rd FA Battalion (155mm)
Division troops
96th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
321st Engineer Combat Battalion
321st Medical Battalion
96th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment
Other units
20th Armored Group
503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment
XXIV Corps Reserve – Landed 18 Nov
11th Airborne ("Angels") Division[8]
Major General Joseph M. Swing
Infantry
187th Glider Infantry Regiment
188th Glider Infantry Regiment
511th Parachute Infantry Regiment
Artillery
674th Glider FA Battalion (75mm)
675th Glider FA Battalion (75mm)
457th Parachute FA Battalion (75mm)
Division troops
127th Airborne Engineer Battalion
157th Airborne Anti-Aircraft Battalion
221st Airborne Medical Company
11th Parachute Maintenance Company
Other XXIV Corps units
20th Armored Group
503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment

Sixth Army reserve

Landed 14 Nov[9]
32nd Infantry ("Red Arrow") Division
Major General William H. Gill
Landed 23 Nov[10]
77th Infantry ("Statue of Liberty") Division
Major General Andrew D. Bruce

Japan

Japanese commanders concerned in Leyte campaign
Count Hisaichi Terauchi
General Tomoyuki Yamashita
Lieut. Gen. Sosaku Suzuki
Japanese landing ship LS-159 burning at Ormoc Bay on Leyte's west coast
IJN landing ship No.11 at San Isidro, northwest of Leyte

Southern Army (Southeast Asia)[11]
Field Marshal Count Hisaichi Terauchi[lower-alpha 2] at Manila

Fourteenth Area Army[lower-alpha 3]
General Tomoyuki Yamashita[lower-alpha 4]
Thirty-Fifth Army[lower-alpha 5]
Lieutenant General Sosaku Suzuki[lower-alpha 6]
1st Division
16th Division
26th Division
102nd Division
Elements of 30th Division
54th Independent Mixed Brigade
55th Independent Mixed Brigade
68th Independent Mixed Brigade
Third Shipping Transport Command
Major General Masazumi Inada[lower-alpha 7]
Leyte Defense Forces
16th Division
Lieutenant General Shiro Makino[lower-alpha 8]
9th Infantry Regiment[lower-alpha 9]
20th Infantry Regiment
33rd Infantry Regiment[lower-alpha 10]
22nd Artillery Regiment[lower-alpha 11]
16th Engineer Regiment[lower-alpha 12]
Miscellaneous units
2nd Company, 16th Transport Regiment
7th Independent Tank Company
16th Division Special Troops
Thirty-Fifth Army Depots units
Elements, 63rd Motor Transport Battalion
316th Independent Motor Transport Company
317th Independent Motor Transport Company
34th Air Sector Command
98th Airfield Battalion
114th Airfield Battalion
54th Airfield Company
2nd Airfield Construction Unit
11th Airfield Construction Unit
Naval Land Forces
Elements, 36th Naval Garrison Unit
311th Naval Construction Unit
Air Forces
Fourth Air Army at Manila
Lieutenant General Kyoji Tominaga[lower-alpha 13]
2nd Air Division
4th Air Division
IJN Fifth Base Air Force under on Formosa
Vice Admiral Kinpei Teraoka

Notes

  1. ↑ Detached from 24th Infantry Division
  2. ↑ Died before he could be tried for war crimes
  3. ↑ A Japanese area army was equivalent to a Euro-American army.
  4. ↑ Hanged for atrocities committed by men under his command
  5. ↑ A Japanese army was equivalent to a Euro-American corps.
  6. ↑ KIA on Cebu 19 April 1945
  7. ↑ Served approx. seven-year sentence for covering up war crimes
  8. ↑ Committed suicide 10 August 1945
  9. ↑ Less three companies on Samar
  10. ↑ Less one company on Samar
  11. ↑ Less 3rd Battalion on Luzon
  12. ↑ Less one company
  13. ↑ Transferred to Manchukuo, held by USSR as a POW for approx. ten years

References

  1. ↑ Chun, p. 16
  2. ↑ Chun, p. 16
  3. ↑ Chun, p. 23
  4. ↑ Stanton, p. 98
  5. ↑ Stanton, p. 71
  6. ↑ Stanton, p. 87
  7. ↑ Stanton, p. 172
  8. ↑ Stanton, p. 94
  9. ↑ https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/cbtchron/cc/032id.htm
  10. ↑ https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/cbtchron/cc/077id.htm
  11. ↑ Chun, p. 23

Bibliography

Print

  • Chun, Clayton (2015). Leyte 1944: Return to the Philippines. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-4728-0690-1.
  • Stanton, Shelby L. (1984). World War II Order of Battle. New York: Galahad Books. ISBN 0-88365-775-9.

Web

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