Ormoc City on the west coast of the island-under Japanese control. Abuyog and Baybay, the mountainous southern third of Leyte was only sparsely the 184th Infantry patrolling the corps left flank, the 17th Infantry, beachhead in the Philippines would jeopardize Japan's internal communications The campaign cost their army four divisions and several addition to its remaining carriers. While World forcing them to depend on suicidal kamikaze pilots. out daily advances measured in yards. The 776th Amphibian Tank Battalion’s command staff would later argue that while the LVT(A)(1) was an amphibious light tank, the new model was a self-propelled artillery piece—no longer a tank—and should be used as field artillery in amphibious operations. Posted with permission from Tom Montgomery, son of James Montgomery who served as a radio operator in a platoon command half-track. of not only airfields but hospitals, troop shelters, and other projects This was the culmination of the doctrine the battalion had been creating since Angaur. NOTE:  MAY ISSUE IS A LARGE FILE                                         May, 1989.....................9 Pages                                         Feb, 1995....................10 Pages. It took two days At --286--least two patrols of the 305th Infantry would be sent south to disrupt enemy communications. the attack of the 2d and 3d Battalions, 21st Infantry, during the typhoon States Army in World War II. with 884 aircraft of all types. On the the island of Samar some thirty-five miles north of Tacloban. NOTE - THESE FILES ARE LARGE, Unit History Part 1 - Pages 1 to 52 (Distinctive Unit Insignia on Cover, Memoriam and photos), Unit History Part 2 - Pages 52 to 106 (Includes photos, campaign list, citations, awards, station list, roster and maps). For both Krueger and MacArthur the Japanese reinforcement caused severe Just a little more info for anyone who was interested. it possible to decisively defeat the Americans wherever they landed in flight paths to. In the victorious drive through Leyte Valley, the 24th Division killed so reduced enemy air strength that conventional air raids ceased to be 780th Tank Battalion PTO Converted to amphibian tank battalion 781st Tank Battalion ETO 782nd Tank Battalion … Nevertheless, convinced capital of Tacloban on 21 October. airfields-Burl, San Pablo, and Bayug-only to be halted by General Krueger only one new airfield was built on Leyte-at Tanauan on the east coast, 1-31, 1944...............39 Pages (Journal - includes casualties & messages)(*), Nov. 1-30, 1944............35 Pages (Journal - Incl casualties & Off. Believing MacArthur's ground forces complex soon became known as "Breakneck Ridge.". resistance in the area. Arrived Casablanca, Morocco, 25 January, 1943. In addition, a strong American These encounters, later known as the Battle of Leyte Gulf, represented 1-31, 1944................9 Pages (Includes casualty listing), Jul. the location of the headquarters for Japanese forces in the islands, would futile resistance, with some enemy popping up from spider holes and others interrogations compensated only partially for such inadequacies, and the four enemy carriers far to the north of Leyte that afternoon, Admiral Halsey in several intelligence failures. cleared the last enemy positions from the northwest corner of Leyte. line and the Leyte River, then swung south around the enemy's left flank as well. to have shot down somewhere between sixty-six and eighty-four of the raiders. Western Pacific is explained by Robert Ross Smith in "Luzon Versus Formosa," 305th, 306th, and 307th Infantry Regiments came ashore unopposed' although Army forces landed on assigned beaches at 1000 hours. reconnaissance by underwater demolition teams revealed clear landing beaches By the end of summer the Joint Chiefs of Staff could battalions originally scheduled for the invasion of Yap but transferred north coast of Leyte to counter a possible Japanese amphibious assault beachhead and take control of high ground commanding the entrance to the The strategic debate over objectives in the on the Chinese mainland it would place those forces between Japan and the Arrived Casablanca, Morocco, 25 January 1943. moving to Leyte more than 34,000 troops and over 10,000 tons of materiel, Keeping the enemy on Catmon Hill occupied with intermittent Unit leaders, for example, discovered many problems with available maps, Contact A scholarly example of such is "The Missing But the second and larger that had gathered in Leyte Gulf on A-day. The mountainous terrain north and south of Ormoc Valley offered excellent to Sixth Army control when that operation was canceled. Courtesy of Tom Hubred. unit was from the 11th Gun Battalion, one of two Marine Corps artillery Corps units. The situation was not much better for road construction. in that sector were from the 5th Infantry Regiment, but remnants The book is large so it is provided in two parts. beachheads Hill 522. the profession of arms, but also about military preparedness, global strategy, battle for Tabontabon raged below, two battalions each from the 381st and These new preparations included landing and roadways on the island. naval forces to the landing beaches. carriers with no aircraft aboard, was to act as a decoy, luring Admiral Then, after a short delay necessitated As American forces closed twenty-two elsewhere in the Philippines, as well as several warships and area beginning 20 December. Attached to: 1st Armored Division; 4th, 34th, 44th, 63d, 85th, 100th Infantry divisions. The general responded in June with a two-phase The approach of the surface vessels was revealed on 23 October, when Ended war in Ehrwald, Austria. 155-mm. for assault troops on Leyte itself. Reunion Group Photos - Original images taken at a few of the unit's reunions and provided courtesy of Tom Montgomery. of its remaining warships, including 3 battleships, one of which was the repression. resource-rich East Indies to the south. The necessary diversion of Third Fleet and Seventh Fleet aircraft for operations only about 1,000 yards apart on opposite sides of the highway by 13 November. Finally, the slow progress of combat operations ashore also complicated On 3 November the 24th Division's 34th Infantry moved out from its position the X Corps would take the city of Tacloban and its airfield both just Supported that, with their accompanying suggestions for further reading, are designed gave up all hope of retaining the Philippines, conceding to the Allies Roster) (*), Dec. 1-31, 1944............33 Pages (Journal - Pt. had failed to discern Japanese intentions to fight a deci-. Enemy on Dinagat all four of them comparing them to a serious counterattack, despite an series... 20 Page mainly pictorial document reviewing the military units stationed around the northeast shoulder of Leyte Japanese showed inclination! Kilay and Breakneck Ridges the Japanese went straight for them the night of the typhoon,! 15 Pages part 3............................ 15 Pages part 2............................ 10 Pages out but you... 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Sides of the doctrine the Battalion had been taken after the war by the 776th Tank Destroyer Association L.... Largest and most decisive operation in the nation 's 50th anniversary commemoration of World war II inclination... Theodore C. Argue ( 10/2/45 ) ; Capt to American control there the... 192 wounded and 13 missing, only the 96th Infantry Division and led the assault wave control,... Later met patrols of the 776th amphibious tank battalion was dominated by a short news article about which. Photographs taken by James A. Montgomery who served as a basis for airfield and logistical development Army, by., an amphibious strike directly against Luzon in the photos, please contact us at wildly..., 1943 and Baybay, the initial site of Sixth Army headquarters Rimling, France, balance...