A PROMISE KEPT

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A.P. American History - Oakwood High School
The United States in World War II
Pacific Theatre Continued
A PROMISE KEPT
RETURN TO THE PHILIPPINES
Mr. Marshak
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Fleeing the Philippines in 1942, MacArthur
pledged I shall return. Two and a half years
later he did so, with drama and flamboyance.
However, it took a hard campaign - including more
than 60 amphibious lands and the greatest sea
battle in history.
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September 13, 1944U.S. Third Fleet begins air
raids against Japanese naval bases in the
southern Philippines

• Preparing the way for invasion of the Palau
  Islands (500 miles east of the Philippines)
• Expecting strong opposition but encountered very
  little
• Japanese losses were heavy, and U.S. Third Fleet
  Commander Vice Admiral William Halsey reported
  success of the mission was Unbelievable and
  fantastic

• 478 Japanese planes destroyed (most of which were
  on the ground)
• 59 Japanese naval vessels sunk

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The Invasion Moves Forward

• Halseys raid stunned Allied commanders
• Japan was actually still far stronger than U.S.
  leaders believed
• Halsey convinced the Joint Chiefs to move on with
  the invasion immediately
• The northern island of Luzon and the capital,
  Manila, were initially targeted

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SHO 1The Japanese Plan for Defense

• Japanese strategy for defending the Philippine
  Islands
• Would go into effect only after the Americans had
  invaded Luzon
• Strategy was to build impregnable defenses
  inland, away from vulnerable beach-heads
• General Tomoyuki Yamashita assumes command of
  mission on October 9th
• Occupies Manila with 224,000 troops

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Intelligence Poor on Both Sides

• Japanese were just as misinformed about American
  strength
• On October 12th Japanese torpedo bombers attacked
  Halseys carrier fleet
• Only two cruisers were damaged
• Pilots claimed they had sunk 11 carriers, 2
  battleships, and 3 cruisers!
• Remarkably, they were believed! Japanese
  newspapers proclaimed the raid A Second Pearl
  Harbor

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Leyte GulfThe Worlds Greatest Sea Battle

• The single most decisive naval action of the
  Pacific War
• Massive three day battle
• Fought by the two greatest navies in the world
• Covered an area the size of France
• Americans destroyed the Japanese naval power once
  and for all.

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3 DAYS OF WAR AT SEA

• U.S. Third and Seventh Fleets combine to form the
  largest naval force in history, 800 ships
• The Japanese Imperial Fleet divided into three
  forces of 63 major combat vessels and a decoy
  force of empty carriers
• Japanese fleet was led by the 70,000 ton monster
  battleships Yamato and Musashi

• On day one U.S. ships suffer heavy damage from
  Japanese dive bombers and Kamikaze missions
• U.S. bombers finished off the Musashi, which had
  taken nearly 20 torpedo hits. One of the three
  Japanese forces is obliterated
• On the third day the remaining Japanese forces
  withdraw under fire

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KamikazesWarriors of the Divine Wind

• Followed Bushido military tradition of self
  sacrifice
• Named after a typhoon that destroyed a Mongol
  invasion fleet in 1281
• Roughly 1465 Japanese pilots flew Kamikaze
  missions in the final phases of the war
• Embraced the opportunity to die for national
  honor
• Were nearly impossible to stop because incoming
  aircraft had to be completely destroyed, not just
  damaged

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We watched each plunging kamikaze with the
detached horror of one witnessing a terrible
spectacle rather than as the intended victim and
dominating it all was a strange mixture of
respect and pity. -unknown U.S. Navy Officer
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Another Japanese Mistake

• Lt. General Tomoyuki Yamashita expected the brunt
  of the invasion to fall on Luzon, in the north
• Instead General MacArthur landed on the central
  island of Leyte

• The U.S. Sixth Army led the invasion under the
  command of Lt. General Walter Krueger
• Because of Yamashitas miscalculation of
  MacArthurs plan, the Japanese were outnumbered
  180,000 to 65,000

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OCTOBER 20, 1944

• MacArthur lands on Leyte Island, Philippines, 12
  noon
• Landed on Red Beach which had been invaded by
  U.S. Marines two hours earlier
• Accompanied by exiled Philippine President Sergio
  Osmena
• Addressed the Filipino people at 2 p.m.

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MacArthurs Proclamation
People of the Philippines, I have returned!
Rally to me! for your homes and hearths, strike!
In the name of your sacred dead, strike! let no
heart be faint. Let every arm be steeled. The
guidance of Divine God points the way. Follow in
his name to the Holy Grail of righteous victory!
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Leyte IslandA Muddy, Bloody Foothold

• Taking Leyte was supposed to be a swift operation
• Japanese resistance proved tougher than expected
• Weather hellish, terrain a nightmare
• It took three months of grueling battle before
  the island was secure and the operation could
  push onward

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The Problem of Weather

• The 1rst Cavalry Division was forced to cross
  Leytes swampy coastal plain the first day
• The rain began before sunset, and 35 inches fell
  over the next month
• Inclement weather delayed the conquest of the
  island and hindered plans to make it a key
  airbase
• Engineers struggled to build runways in the soft
  mud
• One out of every four planes attempting to land
  on Leyte ended up crashing, embedded in a soft
  spot

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Battle for Luzon

• The Japanese had been left with virtually no
  navy, and Yamashita had no means of preventing
  the U.S. from landing
• The U.S. Sixth Army were transported and shielded
  by Vice Admiral Thomas Kinkaids Seventh Fleet,
  with air support from Halseys Third Fleet
• The Japanese force in Luzon was 275,000 strong
• During the invasion nearly 200,000 Japanese were
  killed at the expense of just 8,000 Americans

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Mindanao The Final Assault

• MacArthur was determined to liberate every
  Philippine Island
• The campaign to liberate the southern islands saw
  a mass of intricately planned invasions
• Mindanao, the southernmost of the major islands
  would serve as the Japanese last stand in the
  Philippines
• General Jiro Harada commanded the Japanese
  Thirty-Fifth Army, by this point reduced to just
  43,000 men

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Mindanao Secure at LastThe Philippines Liberated

• The Americans landed on March 10th
• Japanese were literally dug into the
  countryside
• Advance was slow as U.S. soldiers cut forward
  through the jungle, destroying each position with
  hand grenades and flame-throwers
• Not until June 10th did Harada finally end his
  resistance, and it was June 30th before Mindanao
  was reported secure

• 13,000 Japanese were killed in the siege
• 22,000 Japanese surrendered to American troops
• 8,000 remained unaccounted for
• Americans lost 820 men during the invasion

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Gaining Perspective

• The Japanese had made the Philippines their final
  stand, but still refused to surrender after most
  of their army and entire navy had been
  obliterated in the campaign
• The ferocity with which the Japanese defended the
  Philippines was a determining factor in President
  Trumans eventual decision to use atomic weapons,
  instead of invading Japan
• Perhaps the greatest victims of the conflict were
  the Filipinos themselves. The price of their
  liberation was great, as they found themselves
  trapped for months between two armies fighting to
  the death