Historic Leyte Gulf Battle 72 Years Ago Recalled

The Battle at Leyte Gulf between American-led allied forces and the Japanese Imperial Navy in World War II that preceded the landing of Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the beachhead of Palo, Layte on Oct. 20, 1944, was considered as the greatest naval battle in history.

The sea battle involved a total of 282 warships: 216 American, two Australian, and 64 Japanese.

During the sea fighting, the Japanese lost four carriers, three battleships, 10 cruisers, and 11 destroyers, while the Americans lost one light carrier, two escort carriers, and three destroyers.

The once mighty Japanese Navy was heavily clobbered that enabled allied forces led by Gen. MacArthur for an amphibious landing virtually unchallenged in Palo Beach in Leyte on Oct. 20, 1944 that paved the way for the liberation of the Philippines occupied by the Japanese since 1942.

Then President Sergio Osmeña Sr. and Brig. Gen. Carlos Romulo, a ranking Filipino officer, accompanied MacArthur during the Leyte Landing.

MacArthur’s forces knifed into Leyte, then continued to push to other provinces in the Visayas, Luzon and Mindanao to liberate the Philippines from the Japanese.

The Leyte landing was a well-planned strategy to isolate Japan’s strategic position in China and other areas in the Pacific Ocean during the war.

It may be recalled that then US President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to flee from the Philippines to Australia shortly before the fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942 to organize a force that would launch a counterattack later.

However, before leaving, Gen. MacArthur promised the Filipinos with the now famous words “I shall return.”He fulfilled his promise on Oct. 20, 1944, returning to the Philippines triumphantly.

War records disclosed that in July 1944, Roosevelt met with MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz in Hawaii, where the decision was made to liberate the Philippines in a massive air, sea and land attacks.

The naval battle commenced at dawn of Oct. 17, 1944 that surprised the Japanese.

The fierce sea fighting, the biggest in naval history earned victory for the allied forces of Gen. MacArthur that culminated at Red Beach in Palo, Leyte.

After the victorious landing, Gen. MacArthur announced to the people by saying: “People of the Philippines, I have returned! By the grace of Almighty God, our forces stand again on Philippine soil.”

The successful Leyte landing was the beginning of the Japanese defeat in the Philippines.

The fighting moved to other parts of the country, including Manila where the Japanese forces suffered crushing defeat.

Gen. Tomuyuki Yamashita, commander of Japanese forces in the Philippines, fled to Kiangan, Ifugao to await Japanese reinforcement that never came.

Yamashita was forced to surrender to Filipino guerrillas led by then Maj. Gen. Fortunato U. Abat in Mt. Napulawan, Kiangan, Ifugao on Sept. 2, 1945.

The rest is history. (PNA) SCS/RBC/EDS