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Summary

While the Japanese and American fleets were fighting in the seas surrounding the Philippine Islands, MacArthur’s forces were expanding the beachhead and seizing the high ground leading to Leyte Valley. The campaign on Leyte would last for two and a half rain-soaked months and mop up operations several months longer. Japanese Imperial General Headquarters decided to put forth a determined effort to defend Leyte, realizing that an American victory there would inevitably lead to the projection of American power onto Luzon and the ultimate fall of the Philippines. American submarines and aircraft based in the Philippines would sever the Japanese lines of communication to the Dutch East Indies – and thus drain the lifeblood of raw materials upon which the Japanese war economy depended. But by pouring reinforcements into Leyte, the Japanese high command made the defense of Luzon impossible. The troops fighting through the swamps and over the tortuous mountains of Leyte did not know it, but they were fighting in the decisive battle of the Philippines campaign.

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6 - The Battle for Leyte

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6 - The Battle for Leyte

Summary