Leyte landing, 1944

Title

Leyte landing, 1944

Creator

Andres Cangco

Language

English

Source

Panorama X (10) October 1958

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

GOOD BEADING Entered as second class mail matter at the Manila Post Office on Dec. 7, 1966 OCTOBER 1958 VOL. X MANILA, PHILIPPINES No. 10 How MacArthur came back By Andres Cangco On October 20, 1944 a fleet of about 600 ships gath ered at Leyte Gulf. The ships ranged in size from tiny PT boats and minesweepers to giant troopships. This naval maneuver was the first phase in the liberation of the Philip pines. Leyte was selected by the American General Staff because of its geographical position in the archipelago. It was to be used as the site of major air and supply bases for the con duct of the Philippine campaign. The landfftg at Leyte was de signed “to establish an air and. logistical base in Leyte in order to support operations in the Luzon - Formosa - China (?oast area and particularly to nullify Japanese strength in Luzon.” Before the Americans landed at Leyte, the Filipino guerrillas had been worrying the Japa nese forces. Attacks on Ja panese patrols, demolition of supply dumps and communica tion points and actual skirmish es with large Japanese contin gents had sapped the strength of the enemy. The Filipinos at this time were supplied by sub marines. On October 21, 1943, General Douglas MacArthur sent this message to Colonel Ruperto Kangleon, the arei commander: “I desire that you establish and maintain direct communication with this headquarters at your earliest oportunity and there after you keep me informed of major developments involving enemy movement, dispositions and other activity within your area and observation.” The guerrillas intensified their attacks on7 the Japanese. But the enemy probably sensed that somtehing big was up be cause reenforcements were sent to Leyte. The 16th division and 6,000 naval troops from Samar and Palau were sent to Leyte. The enemy strength was esti mated at over 21,700 soldiers. However, during the battle, more and more Japanese sol diers came. <T he code name for the Leyte 1 operation was King II. The orders for its planning and con duct was given by General MacArthur on August 31, 1944. The day of the attack was October 20. Never in the history of Phil ippine warfare has such con centration of military might been used. Besides the naval strength, ground troops from the Central and Southwest Pa cific were joined under the com mand of MacArthur. The air assault of the enemy installa tions lasted for days. 4 Panorama Three days before the attack, minesweepers scurried around the gulf to remove mines and obstructions. On the evening of the 19th a convoy advanced as near as 3,000 yards from the Dinagat shoreline. All ships arrived on schedule, entering south of the gulf. As the naval manuevers were taking place, the air attacks became more and more intense. The Japanese were not even given a chance to fire at the fleet. After the ships had taken their positions, the big naval guns were let loose. The naval bombardment lasted up to nine o'clock the following morning. The firing stopped and the destroyersand cruisers moved nearer to the shore. The first assault is vividly narrated by an army historian: “Flanked by rocket and gun boat LCI’s and preceded by am phibian tanks, the 5th and 12th Cavalry Regiments which form ed the 1st Brigade and the 7th Cavalry, which with the 8th Cavalry composed the 2nd Bri gade, raced for the shore of Leyte. The escorting rocket ships laid down a heavy bar rage which': covered the beach defenses to depth of 1,800 yards inland and left the enemy indhpable of organized resistance. As the boats neared the shore, only small arms and machine guns opposed the landing. As planned, the regiments landed abreast, the 7th Cavalry Regi ment on the right and the 12th Cavalry Regiment on the left ...both squadrons landed on schedule with only slight op position, and immediately be October 1958 5 gan to execute their assign ments. The 2nd Squadron, with in fifteen minutes after land ing, knocked out two pill-boxes on the beach killing eight Ja panese in one and five in an other. It then organized rapidly and pushed on to secure its first objective: the town of San Jose. In the town, the squadron engaged in a house-to-house search but found few Japanese. By 1230, 24 Japanese had been killed, San Jose was in Ameri can hands, and the Cataisan peninsula was sealed off. The 7th Cavalry Regiment estab lished its command post on the west side of the town at 1245 The enemy had fled the town and were hiding in the swamps and abandoned houses along the road. After the 1st Squadron and thq 7th .Caw+ry * "tfa'd^ tefiuaed—the - Cataisan--airstrip» more landings were made at White Beach. By 1130 all the troops were ashore. (T he objectives fell one by one. The resistance was very light. The naval and air bom bardments were paying off. The contact between the Americans and the Filipino guerrillas was made and together they pro ceeded to mop up the area. When news that American forces had secured Leyte reach ed President Roosevelt, he ra dioed to MacArthur the follow ing message: “You have the nation’s gratitude and the na tion prays for success as you and your men fight your way back.” General MacArthur with Pre sident Osmena waded ashore. When they reached dry land, the General turned to his staff and to President Osmena and said with deep emotion: “I have re turned.” Safety First The sergeant glared at an undersized, sharp-eyed rookie and demanded, “You, there, what’s the first thing you do when you clean a rifle?” “Look at the serial number” was the immediate reply. “The serial number!” roared the sergeant. “Why?” “To make certain,” explained the rookie, “that I’m cleaning my own rifle.” 6 Panorama

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