World War II Pacific: Advancing Across the Pacific

Competing Strategies & Peleliu

With the Marianas secured, competing strategies for moving forward arose from the two principal US leaders in the Pacific. Admiral Chester Nimitz advocated bypassing the Philippines in favor of capturing Formosa and Okinawa. These would then be used as bases for attacking the Japanese home islands. This plan was countered by General Douglas MacArthur who wished to fulfill his promise to return to the Philippines as well as land on Okinawa. After a lengthy debate involving President Roosevelt, MacArthur's plan was chosen. The first step in liberating the Philippines was the capture of Peleliu in the Palau Islands. Planning for invading the island had already begun as its capture was required in both Nimitz and MacArthur's plans.

On September 15, the 1st Marine Division stormed ashore. They were later reinforced by the 81st Infantry Division, which had captured the nearby island of Anguar. While planners had originally thought that the operation would take several days, it ultimately took over two months to secure the island as its 11,000 defenders retreated into the jungle and mountains. On November 25, 1944, after weeks of brutal fighting that killed 2,336 Americans and 10,695 Japanese, Peleliu was declared secure.

Battle of Leyte Gulf

After extensive planning, Allied forces arrived off the island of Leyte in the eastern Philippines on October 20, 1944. That day, the US Sixth Army began moving ashore. To counter the landings, the Japanese decided to throw their remaining naval strength against the Allied fleet. To accomplish their goal, Toyoda dispatched Ozawa with four carriers (Northern Force) to lure the US Third Fleet away from the landings on Leyte. This would allow three separate forces (Center Force and two units comprising Southern Force) to approach from the west to attack and destroy the US landings at Leyte. The Japanese would be opposed by Admiral William "Bull" Halsey's Third Fleet and Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid's Seventh Fleet.

The battle that ensued, known has the Battle of Leyte Gulf, was the largest naval battle in history and consisted of four primary engagements. In the first engagement on October 23-24, the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force was attacked by American submarines and aircraft losing a battleship and two cruisers along with several others damaged. Kurita retreated out of range of US aircraft, but returned to his original course that evening. In the battle, the escort carrier USS Princeton was sunk by land-based bombers. On the night of the 24th, part of the Southern Force, led by Vice Admiral Shoji Nishimura entered the Surigao Straight where they were attacked by Allied destroyers and PT boats. As they pushed north through the straight they encountered the six battleships (many Pearl Harbor veterans) and eight cruisers of the 7th Fleet Support Force led by Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf. Crossing the Japanese "T", Oldendorf's ships sank two Japanese battleships and a heavy cruiser, forcing the remainder of Nishimura's squadron to withdraw.

At 4:40 PM on the 24th, Halsey's scouts located Ozawa's Northern Force. Believing that Kurita was retreating, Halsey signaled Admiral Kinkaid that he was moving north to pursue the Japanese carriers. By doing so, Halsey was leaving the landings unprotected. Kinkaid was not aware of this as he believed Halsey had left one carrier group to cover the San Bernardino Straight. On the 25th, US aircraft began pummeling Ozawa's force in the Battle of Cape Engaño. By the end of the day all four of Ozawa's carriers had been sunk. As the battle was concluding, Halsey was informed that the situation off Leyte was critical. Soemu's plan had worked. By Ozawa drawing away Halsey's carriers, the path through the San Bernardino Straight was left open for Kurita's Center Force to pass through to attack the landings.

Breaking off his attacks, Halsey began steaming south at full speed. Off Samar (just north of Leyte), Kurita's force encountered the 7th Fleet's escort carriers and destroyers. Launching their planes, the escort carriers began to flee, while the destroyers valiantly attacked Kurita's much superior force. As the melee was turning in favor of the Japanese, Kurita broke off after realizing that he was not attacking Halsey's carriers and that the longer he lingered the more likely he was to be attacked by American aircraft. Kurita's retreat effectively ended the battle. The Battle of Leyte Gulf marked the last time the Imperial Japanese Navy would conduct large-scale operations during the war.

Return to the Philippines

With the Japanese defeated at sea, MacArthur's forces pushed east across Leyte, supported by the Fifth Air Force. Fighting through rough terrain and wet weather, they then moved north onto the neighboring island of Samar. On December 15, Allied troops landed on Mindoro and met little resistance. After consolidating their position on Mindoro, the island was used as a staging area for the invasion of Luzon. This took place on January 9, 1945, when Allied forces landed at Lingayen Gulf on the island's northwest coast. Within a few days over 175,000 men were put ashore, and soon MacArthur was advancing on Manila. Moving quickly, Clark Field, Bataan, and Corregidor were retaken and pincers closed around Manila. After heavy fighting, the capital was liberated on March 3. On April 17, the Eighth Army landed on Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippines. Fighting would continue on Luzon and Mindanao until the end of the war.

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