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 ;br ;
Lieutenant General Walter Krueger ;br ;
Approx. 202,500 total officers and enlisted
 "Northern landing area"
 X Army Corps
 Lieutenant General Franklin C. Sibert
 Left: 24th Infantry ("Taro") Division 
 Right: 1st Cavalry Division 
 "Southern landing area"
 XXIV Army Corps
 Lieutenant General John R. Hodge
 Left: 7th Infantry ("Bayonet") Division 
 Right: 96th Infantry ("Deadeye") Division 
 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 ;br ;
Lieutenant General Walter Krueger ;br ;
Approx. 202,500 officers and enlisted
 "Army-level units"
 2nd Engineer Support Brigade
 6th Ranger Battalion
 21st Infantry Regiment
 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
 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
 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
 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
 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
 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
 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
 "Landed 14 Nov"
 32nd Infantry ("Red Arrow") Division
 Major General William H. Gill
 "Landed 23 Nov"
 77th Infantry ("Statue of Liberty") Division
 Major General Andrew D. Bruce
Japan.
Southern Army (Southeast Asia)
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
References.
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