Leyte continued
While the Imperial Navy was floundering in their attempts to halt the persistent invasion of Leyte, Gen. Yamashita was in his headquarters at Fort McKinley on Luzon. He was receiving very little information from his own people and upon hearing of the US landing, he was heard to say, “Very interesting. But where is Leyte?” [The Japanese general had only just been transferred from Manchuria.]
Yamashita did not feel that the Japanese all-out standing defense should be on Leyte and he refused to supply more troops to the island. But he was overruled. Gen. Terauchi, knowing that the island’s occupation by the Americans would divide their bases, so reinforcements would be sent in.
21 October – Most of the Japanese beach defenses had been shattered by bombing and strafing and a majority of the 1st Battalion/16th Division had been wiped out. Parts of Tacloban had been liberated by the US troops and Gen. Makino was now forced to split the remainder of his 16th Div. in half, North and South Defense Forces.
As the ground forces continued fighting, Japanese aircraft from all other bases in the Philippines arrived on Luzon to support the plans for a counteroffensive.
25 October – Gen. Sosaku Suzuki, in charge of defending the Central Philippines, still was receiving inferior or misleading intelligence and remained confident of Japanese victory because: He still expected support from the Navy; he had glowing reports concerning Formosa; he was told that ALL US carriers had been sunk and no American aircraft were flying over his headquarters on Cebu. Suzuki told his Chief of Staff, Gen. Tomochika, “…we are about to step on the center of the stage. There is no greater honor or privilege.”
Two Japanese units were on en-route to Luzon: the Japanese 1st Division [the Gem Division] to land at Ormoc on the west coast and the 26th Division at Carigara in the north.
MacArthur’s summary:
“The assault continued after a rapid consolidation of the first few days objectives. Numerous enemy counterattacks were beaten off in all areas during the next few days as advancing forces reported increased resistance on every front. By the end of the third day, over 2,000 Japanese had been reported killed…
“On 24 October, elements of the XCorps began a drive up the Leyte side of San Juanico Strait, while farther south other units of the Corps pushed westward. At the same time, the XXIV Corps directed attacks northward and westward. The 96th Div., moving inland from Dulag, met heavy opposition from fortified positions on Catmon Hill, a terrain feature dominating the division’s zone of action and giving protection to enemy mortars bobbing shells toward the assault shipping in Leyte Gulf. Catmon Hill was initially by-passed, then neutralized by naval guns and field artillery and finally cleared of the enemy by 31 October.”
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Keefe R. Connolly – Markesan, WI; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Hospital Apprentice 1st Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor)
Daniel Coons Jr. – Fort Madison, IA; US Army, WWII
Joe Chadwell Tullahoma, TN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division
Charles A. Day – Redwood, CA; US Army, WWII, Korea & Vietnam, Colonel (Ret.)
Stanley L. DeWitt – Royal City, IN; US Army, Korea, Sgt., Medical Detachment/57th FA/ 7th Infantry Division, Bronze Star, KIA (Chosin Reservoir, NK)
Robert C. Martin – Lakemore, OH; USMC, WWII, PTO, radio/gunner, Putple Heart
Mortimer Goodkin – Short Hills, NJ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ATO (Adak, AK)
Robert Killey Sr. – Elmira, NY; US Coast Guard
Reuben Klamer – Canton, OH; US Navy, WWII, PTO, V-7 program / boardgame developer
Michael T. MIles – Wikes Barre, PA; US Army
Joe R. Nightingale – Kalamazoo, MI; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Seaman 1st Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor)
Elizabeth Thew – Hopeswell, VA; Civilian, WWII, Corsair cockpit construction / military librarian
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Posted on September 27, 2021, in First-hand Accounts, Uncategorized, WWII and tagged 1940's, Army, History, Leyte, Military, Military History, Pacific, Pacific War, Philippines, veterans, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 107 Comments.
Some time ago, I asked if you were aware of Merci Train cars and said I would post about it on my blog. I finally did post general information about it and it can be seen here: https://climbingdownhill.wordpress.com/2021/11/09/merci-train-car/
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Excellent! And thank you for making certain that I saw it. A while back, a glitch from WP broke the connection I had with many people I followed. Sorry to have missed this post when it first was published.
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Thank you again for the history lesson, GP!
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ANYtime, Lavinia!!
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Reblogged this on Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News.
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Thank you, Ned.
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Nice
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Thanks.
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I LOVE your military humor!
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Thanks. I get a kick out of it too!!
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Interesting as always, GP. The details continue to amaze me. Stay safe and well. Hugs on the wing!
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Thank you, Teagan.
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Thank goodness the Japanese had been misinformed.
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A great bonus for us, eh?! haha
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Absolutely! Haha!
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This is some awesome thinking. I love this! Wonderful ideas!💓
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Thank you.
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I really like rhis post, knowing about history, is a thing that makes me happy and relaxing. It’s really informative.
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Thank you. That’s very nice to hear.
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Pleasure is all mine.
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I want help tell the Pacific War story
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Reblogged this on depolreablesunite.
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I appreciate this.
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GP, do you remember several months ago you agreed to be interviewed this fall? Would you still be willing to do that? What would be the easiest way to send you the questions? I can certainly put them in the comment section for you to copy and paste with answers. If you still agree to do this, how would you like to proceed? Thanks. Pat
PS You control what you will answer, how you would like the questions phrased and what questions you wish you had been asked.
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I’ll agree to it. Questions can be about how I started and continued the blog. Questions about dad and the 11th A/B, etc. I just don’t like questions that get too personal – this is the internet… 🤪😎 I’d like them to be in the comments. I’ll copy them and delete them and then bring them to you with the answers and you can do the same, okay?
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I’ll get on it shortly. Any date you would like the answers by?
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How about 1 November? Is that enough time? Thanks for agreeing to do this.
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Fantastic!!
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Thanks, GP. One more question is GP your nom de plume? I’m thinking GP like the General Purpose Jeep.
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No, just initials. Too many in my family (when they were still here), had the same name, so to avoid confusion….
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LOL. Well, it works considering your blog topic. 😉
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😎
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Reblogged this on OPENED HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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Thank you, Michael!
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I’ve been reading in the comments after a MacArthur video on YouTube, comments extremely critical of him and comments greatly praising him. I’d be curious to know what your general opinion of him was?
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Mac was a true soldier. He is condemned by many because he abandoned the Philippines, but he was under orders from FDR, as a soldier, he obeyed his Commander in Chief. He refused to condemn the Emperor of Japan, but as someone who grew up in the Orient, he understood that Japan would not sit tight if the Emperor was harmed – in Any way. The man seemed unfeeling, but by many soldiers, they knew he asked the opinions of Privates as well as officers. There is always another side to any argument.
I, personally, was very glad my father served under him, met him and came home unharmed. Without him, we may not have won, at least not that quickly.
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Very interesting, thanks. A General is going to pick up a few enemies along the way.
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Especially in a non-voluntary Army.
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Reading your post, it struck me that battle strategy seems like an elaborate game–only thousands of people die. In a way, it’s quite confounding.
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Maybe more like Chess, where symbols of the ranks get taken off the board?
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Yes, I think chess is a good analogy.
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I have at least some sympathy and one thing in common with that Japanese general; I, too, have asked, “But where is Leyte?” Thanks to you and your blog, now I know. Despite being newly arrived from Manchuria, the good general could have profited by having you around to offer tidbits of information!
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haha, I probably would have been just as scared to death to tell the General the truth, just like his own soldiers!
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THanks for this post
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My pleasure. Thank you for coming by.
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God bless you GP
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👍
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It is incredible that Japanese generals could still be confident of victory given the capability of the forces arrayed against them and the difficulty of defending an island chain with so many potential points of attack. Koji’s posts are very helpful in getting the full picture of what was going on.
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I am very happy to hear you’re looking at the other side to get a clear picture.
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His posts are the first I recall from the Japanese and American points of view.
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Therein shows you what may have caused many a conflict. We don’t look at all sides BEFORE we get into a war. eh?
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Good to be able to read about both sides’ views of the conflict.
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I feel you have to see both sides. Dad used to say you had to look at All sides, meaning there was always more than 2.
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So true, GP. Thanks for sharing, and enjoy a nice rest of the week. xx Michael
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And you as well!!
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More important information for this Eurocentric reader
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I appreciate you reading about the Pacific, Derrick. I know I need to read more about the Europe/Africa side.
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🙂
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I think there was a fear of failure in the Japanese forces and any talk or hint of defeat would not be tolerated. In the end it lead to their downfall. Perhaps if accurate and honest intelligence was used things may well have been different – for a while anyway.
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Exactly. You explained it far better than I.
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Found it interesting that Gen. Suzuki was receiving misinformation about all US carriers being sunk and no aircraft overhead. Has the government been sending misinformation throughout history?
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The misinformation here came because of a lack of communication network. Often they relied on firsthand info from people too afraid of telling a superior officer bad news.
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Aviation Trails said it far better than I did,
“I think there was a fear of failure in the Japanese forces and any talk or hint of defeat would not be tolerated. In the end it lead to their downfall. Perhaps if accurate and honest intelligence was used things may well have been different – for a while anyway.”
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Reblogged this on T. W. Dittmer and commented:
GP posted this about the battle for Leyte, the Philippines, during WWII, and I was so wowed I wanted to share it.
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Thank you very much for such a great intro!
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Wow. What a battle. Good job informing us, GP.
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Thank you for stopping in to read it, TW.
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I went up Catmon Hill one time I was in Leyte. Very strategic indeed. It has lots of Memorials for American as well as Japanese soldiers there. There was a big battle to take it from the Japanese forces.
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Thank you very much for your eye witness view. You didn’t happen to take any pictures while you were there, did you?
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Looking for it. Will get back to you.
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Thank you very much!
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Reblogged this on Subli.
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Thank you, Rose.
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In General MacArthur’s summary, he uses words such as “advancing forces, began a drive, pushed westward, directed attacks, moving inland and cleared of the enemy”. Yet those few, simple words describe a tax in men’s lives, in parents’ sons, that has to be paid in war, if you want to win.
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Mac’s summary, like his communiques, are often written to give people hope in a good outcome. It was mainly for that reason that the Filipinos loved him.
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Gotta wonder who was running Japanese intelligence. Good to look at the other side, GP.
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Thanks, John. Those in control were few, but very powerful – turns out they couldn’t accomplish everything.
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I’m always surprised, how long Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan first held out, and then how quickly they collapsed.
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It was as though they stood tall until the Allies shot out their knees.
(I realize that’s a poor metaphor, but then again I never said I was a philosopher, haha.)
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That Japanese general was unusually misinformed. Reminds me of what I read about Hitler toward the end of WWII in Europe. Another informative post GP.
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Thank you, Pat. I suppose by this time, updating communication routes wasn’t their priority, but it sure looks as though it should have been!!
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For the want of a nail..
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Interesting as usual.
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Thank you very much, Jacqui!!
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Een stuk geschiedenis waar ik nooit iets van gehoord heb
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Dat is niet ongebruikelijk, MaryLou. Het was echt een wereldwijde oorlog en om alles te weten zou een enorme en onmogelijke prestatie zijn om te volbrengen. Ik waardeer uw bezoek zo trouw!
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Seems the Japanese were very ill-informed indeed.
Lots of farewell salutes today, GP. May they rest in peace.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thank you, Pete. You are very sensitive to our history and that is greatly appreciated.
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The USS Hancock (CV-19) had joined the fleet earlier that month and was in combat at this point. (CEM Donald W. Wilson was a plank-owner on this carrier as well as the CV-5, which was lost at Midway.) Thanks for this post. I haven’t studied what was going on onshore.
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I understand. It often seems as though the Army and Navy were in two different theaters of operation here, doesn’t it. I often found that as I got so into researching the land war, I had to remind myself to go over to the Navy! So thank you for adding that information, Joy.
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I knew so little about the war when I started studying where the Wilson brothers served, slowly adding the bigger picture, but still only of those areas, learning something new every week!
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I found that the more I researched, the more amazed I became with that generation and all their struggles. I’m sure you did the same, right?
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Amen! They’d already survived the Great Depression.
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That was incredible in itself!
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Reblogged this on Dave Loves History.
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Thank you, Dave.
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Thank you for this history post, GP. This is indeed new and far detailed than our Highschool history course text book on Philippine History. Blessings to you and your family!
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I suppose schools can not include every detail of history, but I sure wish they would try harder than they do!
Thank you, Gersom.
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Reblogged this on John Cowgill's Literature Site.
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Thank you, John.
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You are very welcome.
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Between bad intelligence, bad assumptions and (likely) over confidence, they never had a chance. It’s sad that their culture was one that demanded so many deaths.
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So true, all the way around, Dan. Instead of a young man going out to fight to protect his country, they left home feeling they should never return.
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There is some irony that the enemy was subdued on Halloween.
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haha, I was wondering who would catch that; I should have known you would, Swabby. You are good at that!
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Thank you.
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