Battle of Leyte order of battle explained

On 20 October 1944, troops of the United States Sixth Army under the direct command of Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, invaded the Philippine island of Leyte. This operation was the beginning of General Douglas MacArthur's fulfillment of his promise in March 1942 to the Filipino people that he would liberate them from Japanese rule.

The choice of Leyte was the result of heated discussion at the highest levels of the US military and government. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest J. King had forcefully advocated for an invasion of the island of Formosa, about north of the Philippines, insisting that it would both bolster the morale of the Nationalist Chinese, then fighting the Japanese occupation of their country, and provide a much closer base for military operations against the Japanese home islands. In the event, MacArthur's viewpoint that the United States needed to be seen as following through on its promise to liberate the Filipino people from Japanese oppression won out.

Summary of US ground forces:

US Sixth Army
Lieutenant General Walter Krueger
Approx. 202,500 total officers and enlisted[1]

Northern landing area

X Army Corps

Lieutenant General Franklin C. Sibert

Southern landing area

XXIV Army Corps

Lieutenant General John R. Hodge

Reserve: 11th Airborne ("Angels") Division

Reserves

Landed 14 Nov: 32nd Infantry ("Red Arrow") Division

Landed 23 Nov: 77th Infantry ("Statue of Liberty") Division

United States

Southwest Pacific Area
General Douglas MacArthur

US Sixth Army
Lieutenant General Walter Krueger
Approx. 202,500 officers and enlisted[2]

Army-level units[3]

2nd Engineer Support Brigade

6th Ranger Battalion

21st Infantry Regiment

Northern landing area

X Army Corps

Lieutenant General Franklin C. Sibert

Embarked in Task Force 78 under Rear Admiral Daniel E. Barbey

Left sector (Red Beaches)

24th Infantry ("Taro") Division[4]

Major General Frederick A. Irving

Infantry

Left: 19th Infantry Regiment

Right: 34th Infantry Regiment

Artillery

13th, 52nd, 63rd FA Battalions (105mm)

11th FA Battalion (155mm)

Division troops

3rd Engineer Combat Battalion

24th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)

24th Medical Battalion

24th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment

Right sector (White Beaches)

1st Cavalry Division[5]

Major General Verne D. Mudge

1st Cavalry Brigade HQ

Left: 5th Cavalry Regiment

Center: 12th Cavalry Regiment

2nd Cavalry Brigade HQ

Right: 7th Cavalry Regiment

Reserve: 8th Cavalry Regiment

61st, 82nd, 99th, 271st FA Battalions (105mm)

302nd Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)

603rd Medium Tank Company

801st Counterintelligence Corps Detachment

Southern landing area

XXIV Army Corps

Lieutenant General John R. Hodge

Embarked in Task Force 79 under Vice Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson

Left sector (Yellow and Violet Beaches)

7th Infantry ("Bayonet") Division[6]

Major General Archibald V. Arnold

Infantry

Left (Yellow): 184th Infantry Regiment

Right (Violet): 32nd Infantry Regiment

Reserve: 17th Infantry Regiment

Artillery

48th, 49th, 57th FA Battalions (105mm)

31st FA Battalion (155mm)

Division troops

7th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)

13th Engineer Combat Battalion

7th Medical Battalion

7th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment

Right sector (Blue and Orange Beaches)

96th Infantry ("Deadeye") Division[7]

Major General James L. Bradley

Infantry

Left (Blue): 382nd Infantry Regiment

Right (Orange): 383rd Infantry Regiment

Reserve: 381st Infantry Regiment

Artillery

361st, 362nd, 921st FA Battalions (105mm)

363rd FA Battalion (155mm)

Division troops

96th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)

321st Engineer Combat Battalion

321st Medical Battalion

96th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment

Other units

20th Armored Group

503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment

XXIV Corps Reserve – Landed 18 Nov

11th Airborne ("Angels") Division[8]

Major General Joseph M. Swing

Infantry

187th Glider Infantry Regiment

188th Glider Infantry Regiment

511th Parachute Infantry Regiment

Artillery

674th Glider FA Battalion (75mm)

675th Glider FA Battalion (75mm)

457th Parachute FA Battalion (75mm)

Division troops

127th Airborne Engineer Battalion

157th Airborne Anti-Aircraft Battalion

221st Airborne Medical Company

11th Parachute Maintenance Company

Other XXIV Corps units

20th Armored Group

503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment

Sixth Army reserve

Landed 14 Nov[9]

32nd Infantry ("Red Arrow") Division

Major General William H. Gill

Landed 23 Nov[10]

77th Infantry ("Statue of Liberty") Division

Major General Andrew D. Bruce

Japan

Southern Army (Southeast Asia)[11]
Field Marshal Count Hisaichi Terauchi at Manila

Fourteenth Area Army

General Tomoyuki Yamashita

Thirty-Fifth Army

Lieutenant General Sosaku Suzuki

1st Division

16th Division

26th Division

102nd Division

Elements of 30th Division

54th Independent Mixed Brigade

55th Independent Mixed Brigade

68th Independent Mixed Brigade

Third Shipping Transport Command

Major General Masazumi Inada

Leyte Defense Forces

16th Division

Lieutenant General Shiro Makino

9th Infantry Regiment

20th Infantry Regiment

33rd Infantry Regiment

22nd Artillery Regiment

16th Engineer Regiment

Miscellaneous units

2nd Company, 16th Transport Regiment

7th Independent Tank Company

16th Division Special Troops

Thirty-Fifth Army Depots units

Elements, 63rd Motor Transport Battalion

316th Independent Motor Transport Company

317th Independent Motor Transport Company

34th Air Sector Command

98th Airfield Battalion

114th Airfield Battalion

54th Airfield Company

2nd Airfield Construction Unit

11th Airfield Construction Unit

Naval Land Forces

Elements, 36th Naval Garrison Unit

311th Naval Construction Unit

Air Forces

Fourth Air Army at Manila

Lieutenant General Kyoji Tominaga

2nd Air Division

4th Air Division

IJN Fifth Base Air Force under on Formosa

Vice Admiral Kinpei Teraoka

Bibliography

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Notes and References

  1. Chun, p. 16
  2. Chun, p. 16
  3. Chun, p. 23
  4. Stanton, p. 98
  5. Stanton, p. 71
  6. Stanton, p. 87
  7. Stanton, p. 172
  8. Stanton, p. 94
  9. Web site: World War II Divisional Combat Chronicles .
  10. Web site: World War II Divisional Combat Chronicles .
  11. Chun, p. 23