Leyte Gulf Battle Analysis

The Battle of Leyte Gulf took place in the Philippines and pitted Japanese and the United States naval forces against one another for command and control of the western Pacific region during World War II. The Philippines, to the United States, was another stepping stone closer to striking at Japan’s home island and also a vital staging point to wage war against Japan’s merchant supply line of valuable resources such as oil and fuel. Japan was required to defend the Philippines in the interest of securing its merchant supply routes that fueled its naval armada and to stop the further advance of the United States in its efforts to collapse the Japanese imperial reach. The Battle for Leyte Gulf began operationally on October 17th and would conclude on October 26th with a victory in the favor of the United States. The Battle of Leyte Gulf is known for its massive naval engagements and the largest amphibious assault operation in the Pacific Theater and only second in size to the Normandy invasion, which would all occur between October 24th and October 26th. The purpose of this battle analysis is to not focus on the impressive and vital naval engagements to the overall operation, …show more content…
General MacArthur was commanding the Southwest Pacific forces and his primary focus was to move north into the Philippines as Admiral Nimitz approached from the east with his Central Pacific force. With weight of the United States Pacific force approaching the Philippines, Japan needed to hold its defensive line and make its stand, but they did not know where it would come within the island chain. Japanese Admiral Toyoda in a post war interview explained the need for the Japanese to stop the United States at the Philippines by