Battle Of Leyte Gulf Essay

Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf is also known as the Battles of Leyte Gulf and was fought October 23-26, 1944 between The Japanese Imperial Navy and the US Navy near the islands of Leyte, Samar and Luzon. This battle is known as one of the greatest battles of all times as well as the largest naval battle fought in modern history due to 200,000 soldiers involved. In 1942 General Douglas MacArthur had promised the Filipinos that he would return to liberate them. On October 20, 1944 - a few days before the Battle of Leyte Gulf began- General MacArthur kept his promised and arrived in Leyte with the Allied Forces and the US Navy’s Third and Seventh Fleets as support for his invasion (8 Facts About the Battle...that will blow your mind).
There are four battles that as a whole make up the Battle of Leyte Gulf : Battle of Sibuyan Sea, Battle of Surigao Strait, Battle of Cape Engano and Battle of Samar.
After General MacArthur’s arrival, Japan went on the defensive and constructed the Sho-Go or Operation Victory. Their goal was to “decoy the U.S. Third Fleet north away from the San Bernardino Strait, while converging three forces on Leyte Gulf to attack the landing” (Britannica). Once this was

The first being Objective. Objective means, “direct every military operation towards a clearly defined, decisive and attainable objective” (AFM 3-0). The US clearly defined the objective for invading Leyte. According to Air Command and Staff College, the US invaded Leyte to “establish an air and logistical base to support further operations in the Luzon/Formosa and China coast area and, eventually Japan” (Graziano 27). Another principle used was Offensive. Offensive means, “seize, retain, and exploit the initiative” (AFM 3-0). The US used offensive when they arrived in Leyte a few days before battle and then also throughout battle when they responded to Japan with multiple offensive