Leyte The Return To The Philippines

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.

The landing of American forces on Leyte and the successful conclusion of a campaign which led to the severance of the Japanese mainland from its southern empire.

In perhaps the most dramatic and well-remembered event of the Leyte campaign, General Douglas MacArthur, Commonwealth President Sergio Osmeña and the Philippine Cabinet returned to the Philippines at Red Beach on the northeastern coastline of Leyte Island on A-Day (October 20, 1944). In 1949, The Philippine Historical Committee (now the National Historical Commission of the Philippines) installed the Official MacArthur Leyte Landing Marker at Palo Beach (the Northern beachhead). For nearly 75 years, the citizens of Leyte debated the site of MacArthur's return. My research suggests MacArthur made his initial return at Dulag Beach (the Southern and Central Beachhead). The first half of this book (titled "Before the Return") discusses the outbreak of WWII in the Philippines and the events leading up to MacArthur's return. With great sentiment, this portion of the narrative shares my own account of WWII in Dulag. Furthermore, the latter half of the novel (titled "Red Beach, Dulag") presents the case that MacArthur made his return to the Philippines at Dulag Beach.

The loss of the Philippines in 1942 was the worst defeat in American military history. General Douglas MacArthur, the 'Lion of Luzon', was evacuated by order of the President just before the fall, but he vowed to return, and in August 1944 he kept his word when he led what, at the time, was the largest amphibious assault of the Pacific War on the island of Leyte. This is the full story of that fateful battle, one of the most ferocious campaigns of World War II and one of huge strategic and symbolic significance. In the face of stubborn Japanese resistance, including the first systematic use of Kamikaze attacks, the US forces ground slowly forwards before another amphibious assault took the vital position of Ormoc in the last decisive battle of the campaign. Based on extensive research in the US Army's Military History Institute, along with other archival and veteran sources, this important study sheds new light on the operation that saw the US finally return to the Philippines and in doing so placed another nail firmly in the coffin of the Japanese Empire.

The landing of American forces on Leyte and the successful conclusion of a campaign which led to the severance of the Japanese mainland from its southern empire.

First work dedicated solely to the use of Army tanks in the Pacific Theater. Covers armor battles in the Philippines, Makin, the Solomons, Rabaul, New Guinea, Saipan, Guam, and Okinawa.