Pacific · 20 Oct 1944 – 31 Dec 1944
Leyte and Leyte Gulf
Allied forces landed on Leyte on 20 October 1944, defeated Japan’s naval counterattack in Leyte Gulf, and ended organized Japanese resistance on the island by late December.
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Allied forces began landing on Leyte’s eastern coast on 20 October 1944, after preliminary operations by underwater demolition and reconnaissance teams. Sixth Army units went ashore near Tacloban and Dulag, where the initial landings met little resistance. The Japanese had chosen to defend farther inland, beyond the range of naval gunfire. By the end of the first day, more than 130,000 Allied troops had landed. The capture of Leyte provided a foothold in the central Philippines and threatened Japanese supply routes through the archipelago. [1][4][8]
Japan’s Operation Shō-Go brought several naval forces toward Leyte Gulf. On 23 October, U.S. submarines attacked the Center Force in the Palawan Passage, sinking the heavy cruisers *Atago* and *Maya* and damaging *Takao*. On 24 October, U.S. carrier aircraft struck the Center Force in the Sibuyan Sea and sank the battleship *Musashi*. The Japanese force continued toward San Bernardino Strait despite the attacks. [2][4]
During the night of 24–25 October, U.S. Seventh Fleet forces defeated the Japanese Southern Force in Surigao Strait. At the same time, the Japanese Northern Force drew Admiral William Halsey’s Third Fleet away from Leyte Gulf. The Center Force passed through San Bernardino Strait and reached waters off Samar on 25 October. U.S. escort-carrier groups and their supporting ships fought the stronger Japanese force; the Japanese withdrew rather than continue toward the landing area. U.S. carrier aircraft attacked the Northern Force off Cape Engaño. By 26 October, the Japanese naval operation had been repulsed. [2][3][4]
Ground fighting continued after the naval engagements. Sixth Army’s X and XXIV Corps advanced across Leyte against the Japanese 35th Army, while Filipino guerrillas supported Allied operations. The island’s mountains, roads, and difficult terrain prolonged the campaign beyond the beachheads. Organized Japanese resistance on Leyte ended in late December, although guerrilla fighting continued afterward. [1][3][8]
The campaign secured Leyte for the Allies and inflicted severe losses on Japan’s remaining fleet. The Leyte ground-battle source listed 3,504 Allied killed, 11,991 wounded, and 183 missing, alongside 65,000 Japanese dead and 714–828 captured. A separate estimate for the naval battle listed about 3,000 Allied and 12,000 Japanese killed. Those totals covered different parts of the fighting and should not be treated as a single, consistently compiled casualty count. [1][3]