Battle of Leyte

Belligerents

United States

• Commonwealth of the Philippines

Australia

Japan

• Republic of the Philippines

Commanders and leadersArmy:
Douglas MacArthur
Walter Krueger
Franklin C. Sibert
John R. Hodge
Navy:
Thomas C. Kinkaid
Army Air Force:
George C. Kenney
Civilian Government:
Sergio Osmeña
Guerrillas:
Ruperto KangleónHisaichi Terauchi
Tomoyuki Yamashita
Sōsaku Suzuki
Shiro Makino‡‡Units involved

Ground elements:

Sixth Army (Final phase)

• X Corps
• XXIV Corps

Eighth Army (Final phase)

Aerial elements:

Fifth Air Force

Naval elements:

Seventh Fleet

• UDT 8, UDT 9

Fourteenth Area Army

• 35th Army

Strength Sixth Army:
≈200,000
Air and naval forces: ≈120,000
3,000 guerrillas 70,100 (including reinforcements)
246 artillery pieces
33 mortars
37–41 tanksCasualties and lossesBattle casualties:
3,504 killed
11,991 wounded
183 missing
Non-battle casualties (after 25 Oct.):
119 dead
6 missing
36,791 sick/other 65,000 dead
714–828 captured

The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the amphibious invasion of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American forces and Filipino guerrillas under the overall command of General Douglas MacArthur. The combined forces fought against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines led by General Tomoyuki Yamashita. The operation, codenamed King Two, launched the Philippines campaign of 1944–45 for the recapture and liberation of the entire Philippine Archipelago and to end almost three years of Japanese occupation.